Ain't I a Woman?

This rhetorical question that begins this piece is almost just as thought provoking as the piece in its entirety. It raised the question in mind of what a woman really is and how I myself perceive woman, girls and females in general. When i first think of the word woman I can not help but think of my mother and the images of strength, compassion and sheer willpower that she remings me of. But when I think of girls I think of pretty young beauties who are delicate and need to be cared for and need consoling and comfort. And after reading this piece and realizing my thoughts on what woman and females are as a whole i realize the discrepancy in my views. Which echoes what Sojourner Truth was complaining about. She feels that even though she poses all these strong qualities she is looked upon as not a woman but as something else. At this time race was defiantly an issue in how people viewed her but I feel even now and I hate to make generalizations but I think men in general view woman in this way. If the woman is tough then she is looked upon completely differently than a pretty, delicate woman. While Sojourner Truth may feel like less of a woman because she is not waited on hand and foot by men she is obviously a strong and wise woman and i think in comparison she is the better of the two types.

Suicide Note

This piece is very powerful and moving. The introduction starts the reader off with the conclusion of this story and sets the tone for the entire piece. This note is really saddening, to learn about this girls story and her thinking behind her suicide is (I hate to say it but) disgusting. To read this and to read her apology to her parents it really makes ones skin crawl. To see someone take their life because she had not felt she had pleased her parents fully and had achieved to the standards set before her. The guilt that this young woman feels is truly unreasonable yet in her mind no doubt it was reason enough to take her life. After reading the note it seems that she has felt that she had disappointed her parents, so much to the effect of wishing death upon herself. To see someone who feels so worthless and so strongly in the wrong for failing to get perfect scores in school, not being born a man, not being smart enough or strong enough is truly depressing. So she has come to the conclusion that death is inevitable. It is truly puzzling at least for me why someone would feel this way, was it self driven or was it all the pressure that her parents had put on her? Either way it is very sad to read this piece and know that afterwards she killed herself.

Credo I believe....

I believe in the power of friendliness. I believe in this power because it has proven to me on countless occasion that it is one of the most powerful forces known to humans. I have seen people moved from sadness to happiness with just a simple gesture of kindness and compassion. To be friendly with people is very important when communicating and forming relationships. This power has helped me move through life and overcome obstacles that present themselves.

Goblin Market

After reading this long winded poem many of its ideas and symbols resonated in my mind. But the part that stuck out for me was the first page and the way that the author illustrates the scene. How all these goblins are "crying" about all their delicious wares, urging the listeners to buy, buy, buy. The imagery of this scene can be considered contridictory and comical as these goblins which are usually considered ugly and disgusting are shouting about the beautiful fruits they are selling and the amazing products they have to offer. Luring people to buy the great things they are offering while the girls rush through one enchanted by the amazing offers and the other opposed to them knowing their pollutant nature. Could this be an allusion to modern day society where we are bombarded with advertisements and commercials generally trying to sell us things we have no need of?

America Ignorance of War

This article by Czeslaw Milosz starts out with a very powerful rhetorical question "Are Americans really stupid?". And with this he doesn't mean stupid as in dumb he means ignorant to everything, living in a bubble which he describes as people mindlessly day in and day out going to work seeing houses as natural, things that are supposed to be there, feeling their work in a factory as meaningful and integral to the world, feeling that money made at work is the all powerful force in the world and not thinking anything of it at all. But America has never really experienced anything else, he goes to show how war metamorphises all these meaningless things that we as Americans live and worship as our entire existence. He explains how war transforms the way one looks at life, how one looks at what is around and what is thought of as the norm. He uses Poland during the Nazi invasion and occupation as the example, how seeing burned out, blown up homes, bodies on the street, people being round up (their fate being inescapable and terminal) forms people's realities, and expectations of reality. All these things being common place in this society makes this is their reality, while we in America know nothing of this, promoting our foreign policy of control and "influence" as we keep the fighting "over there". We are at war with countries yet we really know nothing and have experienced none of this first hand.

Alexie: What you Pawn I Will Redeem

This story is told by a Native American of the Spokane tribe, he begins in a tone of almost desperation. He begins with telling the reader of his current homeless situation, and how after failing at most things in life for example in school and in love, he had found something he was good at. But in the beginning it doesn't seem like he is truly happy, he talks about his Native American friends and about panhandling and getting drunk. Until all of the sudden he sees his grandmothers "regalia" in a pawn shop and his life is given an aim. He refers to it as a quest as he attempts to earn money to get his Grandmother's "regalia" back. But as he gets money from people who are sympathetic to his cause he quickly squanders it away with food and drink. He does not do this selfishly though and is very generous treating people to food and drink in bars and restaurants. And in the end he returns to the pawn shop with 5 dollars asking for the "regalia". The generous pawn shop owners sees his authenticity and gives the "regalia" to him free of charge. He runs out ecstatic and dances feeling his grandmother's presence with him as he dances in the street. The story begins with an almost depressed narrator who feeling like the world had done him in felt on the fringe of society. But as the story went on he turns into a very genuine man who despite being put down seemed to maintain his sense of humor, who is very generous and giving and in return in the end receives his grandmother's regalia and is truly able to celebrate his tradition and culture in the end.

Sedaris:The Girl Next Door

It really amazed me to finish this reading and hear Brandi refer to David Sedaris as a faggot after his attempts to be friendly and nurturing to her. And to read that she called his mother a bitch was even more disheartening. It was obvious that her mother had fed her these words because where else would a little 9 year old girl hear these terms and where to direct them. This can be considered what a bad mother can be, a mother should be thoughtful and careful what she says around her daughter who being young and impressionable will most likely repeat what she hears. Sedaris's mother although a more ideal mother figure still has petty arguments with her son and tries to undermine what he is doing, but it is obviously doing out of love. And that is what i think to be the most important criteria. What makes a mother who she is is the love that she has for her children, she cares about them, thinks of them first is not lost in her life and not caught up on who and what has done her wrong. Both these mothers obviously love their children but they do not think of only them they keep their grudges and think ill of others, both trying to persuade Sedaris and the little girl that they were no good for each other and even evil.

Legacies Introduction:The Struggle For Meaning

After reading this essay by Bruno Bettelheim on childhood development I was intrigued at how he views fairy tales in such high esteem and influential on the mental growth of a child. I have always thought about how we as human beings grow and what affects us as we grow and develop mentally to adapt to our society. I have never thought so in depth though and I found myself reflecting many times during the reading on how we as humans ascertain the meaning of our existence through imagination and thought. I was amazed to see the connection between what we as children have read and learned and how we may perceive things when we get older. I had never thought though about how fairy tales have played a role in this and I was surprised to see such a evident connection.