To Whom it May Concern...

To whom it may concern,

            After reading this short story by a Ms. Silko, I find myself extremely annoyed by her writing. Although I do see that it is extremely annoying to someone that is of her descent getting pulled over and searched, I do not think that all Border Patrol men should be to blame. Instead of talking about specific border patrol officers, she made generalized statements about the government overall. I am from Florida so I have to deal with a lot of illegal immigrant coming into my town and taking over. I know that Ms. Silko is not an illegal immigrant and was discriminated against, which I believe is wrong, but in Orlando it is crawling with illegal immigrants. They are taking up the schools and not paying taxes for their kids to go to school. I think that makes me a little biased because my family put me in a private school because the public schools in Florida are filled with people that shouldn’t be there. I agree that since she was Native American, she shouldn’t have been looked at so harshly. But as far as border patrol goes, that is their job. They are paid to stop cars that look suspicious and make arrest. I also agree that at times, certain border patrol officers do take their authority to far and abuse their power. But as far as I am concerned, sometimes they need to be stricter. Nothing annoyed me more than her quote about the iron curtain. I say “Yes!” we need a 10ft wall at the Mexico border because illegal immigrants are bringing in drugs and illegal contraband. I know that I am generalizing but that is what border patrol is for.

Keeping my family Close!

If I were a solider in Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s unit, I would have a hard time deciding what I would carry. For starters, I think I would carry some pictures of my family members. Some specific ones would be one of my whole family including my brother and sister and my parents. I would also carry one of my grandparents and of my aunt who is very special to me. I would want to carry them with me in order to remember my family and possible remember what I am fighting for. If I had to choose something else it would be a journal. I think that being able to write all of your thoughts down and what you are going through would be very important because it would keep you sane. It would also be useful to tell stories about my experiences in the future.

I think the other thing I would carry would be a ring that my parents bought for me in Greece. I wear this ring all the time and it is a constant reminder of my parents and how much they mean to me. I wear this ring every day and if I don’t I feel like I am missing something. All of these things are very important to me because they remind me of my family and home. If I was a solider, also, it would remind me who I am fighting this war for. It would be very important to me to keep them close to my heart and to constantly remind me that I want to go home to see them.

A Little Taste of Victory

“The School Days of an Indian Girl”, a story by Zitkala-Sa, is a memoir of Zitkala-Sa’s experiences growing up on an Indian Reservation and then transitioning into the “white man’s world”. The story focusses on her obstacles and being able to overcome them in order to reach her dream. She grows up on the reservation and then is sent to learn to speak English and become educated. Although all of these experiences are happening for her, she is not happy and fears she will not succeed in life. After she decides to go to college, her mother essentially throws her out. Though this happens, I feel that deep down, her mother was truly proud of her.

I do not believe that she achieved the American Dream. Yes, she did go to college and learned how to speak English and received a diploma but at what cost? Though she did accomplish part of the American dream, she was without anyone to celebrate it with. “The little taste of victory did not satisfy a hunger in my heart. In my mind I saw my mother far away on the Western plains, and she was holding a charge against me.” (438) Zitkala-Sa always had a hope that she would overcome great obstacles in her life and although she did, she didn’t reach the American Dream because she lacked what was most important, friends and family to share in her triumph.

The Queen of Hawaii

Quote: “Does it make nothing for us that we have always recognized our Christian teachers as worthy of authority in our councils, and repudiated those whose influence or character was vicious or irreligious? That while four-fifths of the population of our Islands was swept out of existence by the vices introduced by foreigners, the ruling class clung to Christian morality, and gave its unvarying support and service to the work of saving and civilizing the masses?” (Ch. LVII)

Through all of her struggles during her reign as Queen of Hawaii, Liliʻuokalani never quiet focused on religion. But as you can tell here, she truly struggled with the matter of Christianity in Hawaii. She claims that she always gave respect to her Christian followers and rejected the idea of uncooperative people. As you read, though, you can tell that she was still torn between acceptance and forgiveness. This quote is so powerful because she is asking the Christian’s who came in and took over her throne why they did it. She wants to know what she ever did to them to make them feel this way. Just by reading it I automatically feel her anguish in asking them Why?  

How Would You Choose?

      Wavering between two nations and two cultures; I could not imagine the feeling of being in the middle of two things I love and have to constantly deal with choosing between the two. My perplexing question would be “How do you choose?” I mean I have never been in a situation to the extent that McKay felt while being moved from Africa to America. My biggest problems have been choosing which shoes to wear with this outfit. I want to know how he would handle things. How can he get along with his life with a constant struggle between two cultures? He states, “Something in me is lost, forever lost/ Some vital thing has gone out of my heart”. I honestly wouldn’t know how to handle anything if I was moved from my home to a new country with completely different customs than that of my home. The poem is a riveting account of his fight with overcoming the obstacle that is his “natural culture”. The title alone, “Outcast”, already describes what a hardship that McKay dealt with. If I ever felt like an outcast, I’m not sure how I would handle it. I don’t handle change very well so I would guess it would be very hard for me to adjust and be ok with myself enough to make an effort to fit in!
         In general, I think that McKay was brave to endure the battle between what he had become accustomed to and what he was literally hit in the face with when he moved to America! If I had been in that situation I would not have been as strong as he sounds in his poem. So how do you choose? My guess is that it just has to come naturally.

That "Aha" Moment

As I read Frances EW Harper’s poem, “Learning to Read”, my understanding of the text didn’t come until the end. I found that as I was reading, I was paying special attention to “read in between the lines” because for some reason I always miss some crucial piece of the reading until it is explained in class. As I got to the end of this poem, however, I realized that this poem is as straight forward as can be. The poem is literally about “Chloe” finally learning how to read, even though she is sixty. As I was reading the last line I caught myself going back and making sure I hadn’t missed something. But my realization of the text was perfectly clear; this poem really is about a slave woman finally being given her right to learn how to read. As I finished the poem I thought to myself, “Wow. Harper does an amazing job of making the message so clear and simple while still using complex texts.”

As I read Charles W. Chesnutt’s story, “The Wife of his Youth”, I was completely shocked when I realized that this story was different than what I expected. I was so overwhelmed when I realized how much of a journey and how much courage that Mr. Ryder’s first wife must have had to travel all that time for her true love. I honestly don’t know if I could be without my true love for that amount of time! I can’t even fathom the extraordinary pain and suffering (emotionally) the women went through. My moment of realization came when I had to put myself in her shoes and ask, “Could I myself do that for someone”. As of right now, the question is still unanswered!

JOURNAL #9

This reading had many connections with present day issues, mainly in politics. The first one I found was on page 7. It discusses how Congress had decided to pass the Compromise of 1877. This did many things but one big one was that it withdrew the troops from the South. This made me think of when President Barack Obama pulled the troops out of Iraq, though it has been a few years. The troops had been “deployed to ensure free elections and to protect black populations from attacks by whites who were determined to retain political power in the South…” (pg. 7) reminds me of how the troops in Iraq had not been taken out in order to protect the innocent people from groups seeking to hurt them, like al-Qaida.

Another connection I made is on page 17 discussing the anti-Chinese sentiments and immigration laws. During this time in the US, many Chinese immigrants had come into the state in order build railroads and provide for their family. In 1882 though, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which “prevented people from china from entering the country unless they were joining relatives…” (pg. 17). This reminded me of the Arizona SB 170, which is the strictest and largest anti-illegal immigration act in the US. The law prevents illegals from entering into the United States. I think that this comparison of the introduction and the present day shows that history does repeat itself!