Vignette response

In this post,  will respond to Vihn, and Victor's vignettes.
What I have noticed that is similar about these vignettes are that they talk about family. They talk about how they support them, who they consist of, or the learning experiences they are presented to by their families. Vihn, for example, had to move to a whole new country. Everything was confusing to him: The cars, the streets, and the layout of the parking lot. Vihn had to go through many societal changes and luckily his family was there to greet him and his mother and help them. He writes about them in a positive tone.

 By now, I can see who those people are. It is my cousin and his family. My cousin belongs to my mother’s side of the family branch. His mother and my mother are siblings. They are a family of four. First is the second child, Stroy, a fat and perhaps stubborn as well as spoil. Second is the third child, Kong. Kong is smaller and younger than Stroy and he is more obedient than Stroy when given orders. Kong is like a monkey while Stroy is like big fat fluffy cat.

In this quote, Vihn describes his family when he just got off the plane. He describes them in detail which shows he is excited to be in America. He also uses figurative language when he says "Kong is like a monkey while Stroy is like a big fluffy cat." I like this particular sentence the most because it shows that he had some humor when he got off the plane. He seems excited to be in America and definitely shows it in this quote.
In Victor's vignette, he writes about how seeing how his family acts is a learning experience for him.

Unlike the old generations of Liangs, my siblings, my cousins, and I all realize our parent's flaws and have learned to behave unlike them. The main reason I am positive and caring towards others is because my father, a lot of times, isn't like that towards me, which I know makes me unhappy and left out in the world.

Here, Victor explains how seeing how his dad acts shapes the way he acts. What I would expect is that he acts the same as his father, but it is exactly the opposite. In these vignettes, and in many others, family comes up.

Esperanza's Future

In the last four vignettes in The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, Cisneros shows that she could symbolize Esperanza. I think she could symbolize Esperanza because in the about the author section, she grew up in Chicago around the same time and seemed to have a similar life. I think that because of this symbolism, Esperanza will become a writer when she is older. I think she will come back for the ones she left by writing this book and showing that there are people out there that struggle in these situations.

I think that Esperanza, in her future, will come back for the ones she left behind, no matter how much she does not like Mango Street. Mango Street is Esperanza, and she will have to come to terms with who she really is. On page 105, Esperanza makes a wish to leave Mango street and the old lady is talking to her about it.

“When you leave you must remember to come back for the others. A circle, understand? You will always be Mango Street. You can’t erase what you know. You can’t forget who you are.”

Here, Esperanza is told by the old lady that she will always be Mango Street. I think this particular event decides whether she will come back for the ones she left behind. She feels a connection to Mango Street and to her they feel like family. Because of that, I feel that she will return for the ones she left behind.
Also, on page 107, Esperanza is saying how she never had a good house.

“You have a home, Alicia, and one day you’ll go there, to a town you remember, but me, I never had a house, not even a photograph...only one I dream of. No, Alicia says. Like it or not you are Mango Street, and one day you’ll come back too.”

Esperanza is sad she could could never be proud of her home.She always wished she could be something better. I think That this shows that she will have a good future. She has already been through this life and now as a result, I think that she will be motivated to create a better future for her and others.

Cisneros Teen raising

Cisneros obviously believes that parents do raise their teenage boys and girls differently. She indirectly mentions this in many of her vignettes. Throughout the book, this is clearly shown. On page 8, Esperanza is talking about her feelings about Nenny. "And since she comes right after me, she is my responsibility." Cisneros indirectly mentions here that girls need to be raised  to be able to babysit and raise a good family. She says that they should be able to keep order in the house and they should be raise this way because that is what the stereotype is. Also, Cisneros feels that if a mother figure should die, than the daughter should step in as the mother figure, instead of the father. On page 31, Esperanza is talking about Alicia. “Alicia, whose mama died, is sorry there is no one older to rise and make the lunchbox tortillas.” Since her mother died, Alicia had to step in as the mother figure. Cisneros implies here that girls should also be raised to be responsible should something bad and unexpected happen. As the mother figure, Alicia has to work much harder. In this vignette, Cisneros implies that girls should be raised to prepare for how society is, not to change the truth because if something unexpected happens, they may not be prepared for it.

Cisneros also shows that boys and girls should be raised to look at personality, not just looks. On page 27, in the vignette Marin, Marin is talking about attraction.

“What matters, Marin says, is for the boys to see us and for us to see them. And since Marin’s skirts are shorter and since her eyes are pretty [...]The boys who pass by say stupid things like I am in love with those two green apples you call eyes, give them to me why don’t you.”

Here, she talks about Marin’s physical attractiveness as a good thing to the guys, yet there is no positive outcome for the girls if they are attractive. Only boys will look at them and say stupid things. This shows how boys and girls are raised to look at looks and not personality. Since this thought is so widespread, it has become a part of American society. Cisneros thinks that people should raise their kids to look at others personality and not just base their decisions off of looks.

Just an Ordianry Life

Just an Ordinary Life

1. Splitting Up
2. New Family
3. Neck
4. Still Life

Splitting up

The day I thought was supposed to be normal was turned around. I walked in to the kitchen, to find breakfast waiting for me. Steaming pancakes and maple syrup, staring at me, beckoning to me. I quickly ate my breakfast and walked in to the living room to watch my Saturday cartoons. Later in the day, my parents walked in, ready to tell my sister and I. “We’re splitting up” my mom said. My sister and I looked at each other confused. “What?” I asked. “We aren’t going to be together anymore.” Naturally, like any kid would, I thought it might have been my fault. Though I was reassured that it was not, I still had my doubts.

I know I will have to move, commute between houses, and live with two new families. I am not ready for change. For change to happen so fast. Like a car moving at full speed. For a kid, an ideal situation is living with both parents, however, it would have been worse for everyone if they had stayed together. If i just close my eyes, I can imagine what it would have been like if they had stayed together. I am glad though, that even though they were not good for each other, they managed to raise me.

It happened so fast. First they split up, then they moved, then they remarried. I never thought I would be a part of two new families. Slightly the same, slightly different. At the time, I thought it was a bad thing to be split up among two completely different people. I did not like change. A normal life was perfect for me. I thought of all the changes that would happen. some good, some bad. Two Christmasses, switching from house to house, new family members, and others. Many new things come with a new family. Many more than I had expected.

Having a new family brings about new changes and experiences. They bring about two different viewpoints. The disagreements between families creates a more opinionated person.
Now new families also cause trouble, sometimes causing me to choose sides.  For example, I may have to choose between my mom’s opinion or my dad’s.
Neck

I walked into the waiting room at Children’s Hospital of Oakland dazed and tired. I glanced at the clock. 5:30 AM. I would want to be anywhere else right now. Asleep, at home, or even at school. Just not here. But my neck has to have problems. It has to be me with whatever scientific term they want to give it. But they have to fix it.

I walked in and got changed into a gown. they rolled me into the operating room and put the gas thing on my face. I proceeded to slowly fall asleep and the surgeon walked in. That is when I fell asleep.I woke up nine hours later, dazed and confused. “Is it tomorrow?” I asked. Not really talking to anyone. Just asking. I looked around the ICU, not even thinking about the excruciating pain like a nail driving into my neck. Thinking about everything that was going to suck about that week did not make that few minutes any better. I would have to do homework when I returned home. I would have to wear a neck brace for four months. I would have to also return to school soon. To me, nothing sounded good. Not even food. The drugs made me nauseous. Nauseous like I just stuck my head in a gas tank and inhaled. I refused food and was not able to finish the stuff I had. Everything around me seemed uninteresting. Even the TV. Nothing good was on. The TV seemed useless. Swinging around to go right in front my eyes. Volume so low that I have to lean forward. That just seemed like too much work.

Still Life

The day I left the hospital, I only cared about one thing, and that was getting a burrito. The hospital food never excited me, being jello, defrosted meat, and soggy fries. As soon as I got out of the hospital doors, I walked to the car and sat down. The drive only took a few minutes, and soon I was home. Except there was a difference. I could not turn my neck. I felt as still and straight as a lamp. One push and I could just fall over. When I had the burrito, it felt like a gourmet dish. The nasty food from the hospital did not compare to even a mediocre burrito. The beans, rice and cheese, placed perfectly in to the burrito felt like heaven on my taste buds.

For the next few weeks, I did not have to go to school. Even if that was the case, I still had to do homework.  New material I had not yet been exposed to. Such as Spanish. I had to do many worksheet pages and even take a quiz, on stuff I had not even seen in my life. I did not like this because I was not actually learning anything. Just copying out of the book.  

When I actually returned to school, it hit me that I had to do work. The easy days at home I had did not compare to eighth grade. Though eighth grade was not hard, compared to staying home it was as challenging as calculus.

New School

In the middle of eighth grade, I had no idea that I would be going to ASTI. I thought Alameda High was my only choice. Later, I found out about ASTI and thought that I may apply. My plan originally was to go to Alameda High, and I did not know what I would do if I was accepted to ASTI. I had been told it is a lot of work, by many people. I was conflicted between schools. I knew almost no one that was going there, except for a few people. Also, the amount of work seemed like it was enough to keep me working all night. As I soon found out, I was wrong about many things. First, I began to meet new people and make new friends. Also, I got used to the homework that was given. As the year progressed, I knew that I had made the right decision.

Cloud/sky symbolism

In the story, "The House on Mango Street", many symbols appear. In this story, sky symbolizes freedom and independence. On page 33, in the vignette, "Darius and the Clouds", she talks about they sky. "You can always fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad. Here there is too much sadness and not enough sky... Still, we can take what we can get and make the best of it." She talks sky here as something that can help her through bad times. She knows that whenever she looks  at the sky, she can reach for the stars. To her sky is like a gateway to a better life. If she can look up  and imagine a good life, then she can get a good life. When she says there are too many clouds, she means  there are too many obstacles stopping her from achieving freedom. the clouds symbolize a barrier to a better life. An obstacle she has to get by to achieve the life she dreams of. On page 59, she talks about her sick aunt. " Maybe the sky didn't look the day she fell down. Maybe God was busy" This quote also shows how sky symbolizes freedom and independence. The day her aunt was disabled, the sky was not looking down. She was not free that day. Sandra Cisneros's use of symbols in this book definitely brings it to life. Her figurative language makes the characters and descriptions jump off of the page. On page 82, Esperanza talks about Sally. "And if you opened the little window latch and gave it a shove, all the windows would swing open, all the sky would come in" Before this quote, she is talking about Sally being sad and having people gossiping about her. The sky would come in symbolizes her finding freedom from the rumors and stories and bullying. Sally could be free by letting the sky flow in. Esperanza says after on page 83 that, "There'd be no nosy neighbors watching, no motorcycles and cars, no sheets and towels and laundry." There would be no one in her business and nothing to obstruct her view of freedom.

Windows symbolism

In "The House On Mango Street", I think that windows symbolize a barrier to the real world and its opportunities. In the vignette, "My name", Esperanza's great grandmother is taken from her vibrant and opportunity filled life into a life of boring sadness.

“I would’ve liked to have known her, a wild horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn’t marry. Until my great grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off…And the story goes on she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit on their sadness on an elbow.”

Here, she describes how her great grandmother lost the opportunity to great things in life. She got married and lost her charisma, and she regretted it ever since.

I also think that windows symbolize opportunity because in the vignette Rafaela, Rafaela looks out the window, locked inside because of her beauty. “Rafaela leans out the window and leans on her elbow and dreams of hair like Repunzel’s.” Her husband wants her to stay inside because of her stunning beauty, which he feels might cause other men to be tempted to take her.

In books, things can symbolize multiple things. Windows in “The House On Mango Street” is a perfect example. I think that this symbol also symbolizes discrimination. In parts of the book where windows are mentioned, there is always a pattern of discrimination. In the vignette “Sally”, Sally loses many friends.  “You don’t laugh, Sally. You look at your feet and walk fast to your house and you can’t come out from.” Soon after, she mentions windows and how she wishes they could be opened. In a way, this symbolizes both opportunity and discrimination. It symbolizes discrimination because when she lost all her friends, no one payed attention to her. She just walked with her head low, being shut out from the world. The windows symbolize opportunity because if they are opened, then she will have a better life. She can enjoy the outside world, and interact with people around her, when the window is open for her. 

The Color Purple Essay

Colin Forbes
2/24/11

Compare and contrast essay

“The Color Purple”, by Alice Walker, tells the story of a two African American sisters in the early 20th century. Celie deals with many problems throughout her life and writes to God about them. Also, it is about her sister Nettie, a missionary in Africa. “The Color Purple” is an epistolary novel, which means that the novel is written in letters. Though they start off being raised the same, Celie and Nettie go off very different ways. Celie gets married off to an abusive husband and Nettie goes to Africa with missionaries. They both encounter discrimination throughout their lives, and both try to overcome. Also, Celie deals with questioning religion and God, even though she has written to him most of her life.

Throughout the novel Celie and Nettie both deal with their religion and spirituality. Celie mostly goes with what people tell her. She accepts what is real and never educates herself about religion. Though she has faith and addresses God throughout the story, she begins to question the reality of God. All her past experiences and observations make Celie feel like she is not being treated equally. By men and women, she is recieving harsh insults for being stupid, ugly, or black. She writes to God, expecting help through her hard times, but fails to get any. She tells Nettie in a letter that she will not write to God anymore.

“She say, Celie! Like she shock. He gave you life, good health, and a good woman you love to death. Yeah, I say, and he give me a lynched daddy, a crazy mama, a lowdown dog of a step pa, and a sister I probably won’t ever see again.” (192)

Here, she begins to question how God benefits her. She reflects upon the bad things in life that she has to deal with and does not bother to think about the positive things. She also thinks that God may not be listening to her because she is colored.  “Let ‘im here me, I say. If he ever listened to poor colored women the world would be a different place, I can tell you.”  Here, she attempts to convince Shug Avery that God is not fair by saying that if he listened to poor colored women, the world would be equal for everyone, no matter the race or creed. Nettie, on the other hand, is educated about religion and decides to make it a career. She was taught by missionaries and knows more about religion than Celie. Nettie’s take on religion is slightly different from Celie’s.  She does not keep her knowledge to herself but instead teaches religion and equality to kids in Africa. Nettie’s firm belief in God helps her throughout the story by giving her the courage to stand up to gender inequality in Africa.

Sexism plays a big role in “The Color Purple”. Women are treated unfairly in both the American South and in Africa.  When Celie and Shug announce they are moving to Memphis, Celie breaks gender barriers between men and women. She speaks up and tells Mr_ how she feels.

“You a lowdown dog is what’s wrong, I say. It’s time to leave you and enter into the creation. And your dead body just the welcome mat I need. Say what? He ast. Shock. All round the table folkses mouths be dropping open. You took my sister Nettie away from me, I say. And she was the only person love me in the world.” (199)
She stands up to Mr_ and tells him all of her feelings that she has held in from the day they were married. She knows that Mr_ does not love her and she wants someone in the world to love her. Mr_ treats her with little respect throughout the book, and constantly fights Celie’s attempts at equality. Celie deals with sexism throughout her life. Her stepdad even removes her from school because he impregnated her.

“The first time I got big Pa took me out of school. He never care that I love it. Nettie stood there at the gate holding tight to my hand. I was all dress for the first day. You too dumb to keep going to school, Pa say. Nettie the clever one of the bunch.”

Her stepdad never cared about cared about how she loved school. He still took her out. He always thought Nettie was the smart one and completely gave up on Celie. He never tried to support her and he just gave her away. Nettie even tries to defend Celie, saying that she is smart, but her stepdad will not change his mind.

Nettie, however, does not achieve equality while she is living in Africa because of their culture. The village that Nettie lives in only educates the boys and treats the girls with little respect. The boys are given many privileges and rights and the women and girls of the tribe do not get much say in what happens. Nettie is not given the rights that the boys are given and the girls are not allowed the education that the boys are allowed. Nettie tries to fight for women’s rights in Africa but has little success.

“The world is changing, I said. It is no longer a world just for boys and men. Our women are respected here, said the father. We would never let them tramp the world as American women do. There is always someone to look after the Olinka woman. A father. An uncle. A brother or nephew.”

The father of Tashi does not think that women are equal in their village. He thinks that there will always be someone to look after them because they are not educated. He says that they respect their women by not letting them have the same freedoms as American women. He thinks that American women are tramps and they are not respected by their communities, yet they have equal rights as men in America.

            Though Celie and Nettie are similar in a few ways, their differences far outweigh their similarities. Celie has a far worse life than Nettie, but manages to overcome sexism. Nettie, on the other hand, is not able to overcome sexism, but is able to overcome racism.