FINAL!! Reflective ESSAY!!!

Throughout the school year, i have been writing alot in my Blog which is called iblog. As time have passed since my first blog post, i have seen many improvements in my writing. I have been writing about personal experinces, responses to other student’s blog posts, free writes and a lot of book reviews or essays.

I’ve never had a blog before right untill i started freshman year. At fisrt i was not too intrested in writing on Blogger because writing is something that i never really liked to do. Not only that but sinse Blogger will be part of my school asignments, obveiesly it would be all bout academic stuff.

Soon i was informed that Blogger wont always be all about your writing assignments. I consider blogger to be a writing website where you can just write out all of youer ideas and express your self freely without having no one to judge your writing. And due to this, there are many things that can write about and poast it in my blog.

Things that  happen in my everyday life inspires me to write about in great detail which is something that i still  need to work on to become a great writer. Things that happen in my life that are funny, crazy, exciting, etc.... I once wrote about the topic of death  and how i have experinced it and how i feel about it. This is a perfect example of one of my blog posts that came to be one that i liked. I Like this blog post because i didnt really prepare to write abou it. Instead i just gave it all i have and spit out all my thoughs about it. But at the same time just writing about what happens in your everyday life can also make your writing weak. That is why to post a very good blog post of someting that happened. it really needs to come in great detail. I have noticed this because I know that my writing is not that great when i dont prepare before i post my final piece. I think that this is one of the reasons that some of my blog posts are not that great. like other blog posts. In the end, I i improved my in writing strategies and know when the write time is post a good blog post.


In the begining, I always rushed to finish my blog post which was a mistake that i did. Due to this, my blogs were not so good. After i have read my past blog posts, i have seen dramatic changes in my  writing and in my ways of expressing my self. After the first semester, i began to put a lot more thought into my blogs which made my blogs be more interesting. Somethings that i was not very good at were the response post because a lot of the time, some blog posts that i have read were good but not great to a point where i could really write a lot. Not to be mean, but If there was someone who really had an extordinary mind and always wrote what was in their mind, then there would really be a lot to talk about. I like to read blogs that i can relate a lot to and express myself. I once responded to Bassam’s blog post of how he was bullied and wanted revenge. I found it really interesting so i decided to write about it...This quote shows the opposite of building mutual trust and respect. beating someone really bad is a total disrespect. I also understand how it feels to be on the side where ecery kid is insulted or has been beat up...i got stronger, and realized that i have knockout power behind my fists. i took adventege of it...his is the opposite of  resolving conflict peacfully. This is resolving your problems with violence which is not the right thing to do.

This is was my second blog post that i posted when i first started on Blogger. after reading this blog post in a long time, i noticed that it was pretty good. This post was a response post to Bassam’s blog post of revenge. And in that post he talks about how he was bullied. As you have read, i realted to his blog post. Thats something that like to do when i write my response post and over time, i have improved. For example, i give a better view of my perspective in the respnse posts.

like i said before, i like to relate many things that i see or hear. This is something that I think that i have gotten better at over time. To be good at this, i think that when we are going to but up a blog post of something that we either read or saw, alawats come back to simmilar a situation and write about how similar they are.
There was one essay that i did months ago which i think turned out to be a very good essay. The essay was basically a book review and the fact that i read a very good book it turned out really good. The book is called A long Way Gone and it was about violece of war and coruption. Due to this, I found a lot of realtions with othere things that i seen on TV.This book contains so much violence, bloodshed, gore scence and its such so violent. This book is so well written because as you are reading it, it's just as if your watching a movie. I'll say that if this book directed by a very good director, you will say that it is way worse than the movie RAMBO. This book is so brutal. I say this because it just contains very good imegry.

As you can see, i made a relation to something that i saw. There so mach that you can relate things to each other especially if you have an open mind because theres so much that you can write about if you can go in debt with what you are relating to. As a writer, this is something that i have improved a lot. I know this because every time i write about somethimg theres something i can relate to. And i think that this it is a very good thing do do as a writer because it makes your writing sometimes a lot more interesting.

Another thing that i have eperienced alot and still due when iam writing is writers block. But when it came to writing in my blog, i did not find this much of a problem. Well the reason is because in my blog, i can just release all of my emotions, momories, feelings, etc...Of course there must have been times when I just could not write something good. due to this, i would just write something that is just random and would not maake my blog post interesting.

i think my solution to this problem should be that when every time i experience something cool or bad, redord it down and then when it comes to writeing something down, i wont have to worry about writers block and write freely from whati experienced.

From i what i have accomplished from blogger such as new strategies in ways of writing, i have came to a conclusion for next semester. For the next semester, i shall try to reach my goals to improvemy writing. One of my goals is to add alot more details in my eriting. This has always been a problem for me because details is what makes peoples writing good. To achieve this goal i will need to think about the topic that i am writing about indebt to get a lot afrom it. writing many words that relate to my topic can come upon great detail. I also wish to accomplish my goal of reducing clutter in my writing. I think that in every essay that i have wriiten, there is always clutter. Due to this my writng turns out to be not as effective. Wys to achieve this goal is to take out all the things that are useless or expand more on it. As you can see, i have done good and bad in my writing, i develped new ways to make my writing better, found ways to reduce writers bolck, and set new goals for myself for next semester.

Reasponse post to essays

This is to Ashli:
Well Ashli, i can see why you would read this book and im not going to lie, the book seems really intresting. From what you wrote, i can see that there is so much you can get out of it. What I'm trying to say is that you can learn from it. I think that trhis book is a good example of how things can turn out if wether your successful or not.
As i read you rough draft, i noticed many things where you can add a lot more detail and where you can be more clear with what you said. I saw how you said that the personalities of the two sisters are different. But, my question is how do the differences of the two sister affect the theme of the story. But wait, you never explained what the theme and the conflict is. Theme and conflict is always good to have in book reviews. That way, you can say how the differences of the personalities of the two sisters either affect the conflict or how it causes a conflict. This is something that you should expand a lot more in your essay. That way when your doing your final essay, it will be very easy to undersatnd. : / = D


To Ivan:
I havent read the book that you read and i probably wouldnt want to read it because i can just see the movie. You really workeed hard on it becaue you explained a lot. But, not enough. what i look in in these essays is the themes and how they are developed. you can easily get the theme by just reading the summary of this book. But for those who havent read the book, add as much detail you can so that in the end the theme will come out. This is what i told Ashli. I think that i saw the conflict but thats one thing that i think that you should make more clear. what is the conflict.

To Elizabeth:
i can see how you enjoy reading Terry Pratchett books. Maybe I'll take into consideration of reading some of his books. to keep it simple. i think that you should explain a lot more about the characters and how they affect the theme of the sotry and the conflict.

Final Book Review "Search for Safety"

The book that I have recently read is called “Search for Safety” by John Langan. I have also read many other books from the same author and in a way, they are al very similar. They all have a social conflict meaning that there is always someone or a group of people that are causing the conflict to the main character. Or a better way to say it is “Character vs. Character” Well any ways. The book “Search for Safety” happens to be character vs. society. The main “main” character is Ben McKee.

Ben McKee is treated like shit by his stepfather who hates him. But of course, Ben's mom is blinded by love. Larry is considered to be and aggressive and jealous man. And yes, Ben' mom is still in love with him. Ben cant really do much because he knows that he will be beaten. In the beginning of the book already Ben is being beaten by Larry for not ordering simple orders such as stay in room. "When I want you upstairs, you stay upstairs!" he yelled." But I-"Whap! Larry cuffed me hard in the jaw with the back of his hand, snapping my head back and splitting my lip...This constantly happens through out the book and there’s nothing he can do since he has no protection from his mom, there’s nothing he can do. You know if i was Ben's situation would of probbaly didnt do nothing.  Ben's takes a hit for not following that simple rule. Just imagine what Larry would do to ben If he calls the police on him. Ithink that his life would be in great jepoardy. But is it worth it? Hummmm maybe not. That risking your life against a psychopath.

The only safe place that Ben has is school. In school, he has new friends and has a great time. But most of the time, he needs to hide his bruises that Larry leaves him after beating him. This here is similar to the same situation with David and his mom in the book A Child Called It. I just think is what Ben Mackee will do.

The other book that i read from the same author is Brothers in Arms. Both of these books share many similarities. They both have the same plot, violence in the conflict and there’s always the main character has a hard time staying safe everyday

I think that the purpose of writing this book is to show the way some people are living in the same situation just like Ben. And yea, there are many families all over the world where the father especially stepfathers are very abusive in many violent ways. And for those who have never experienced this situation in their live, this book gives a very good ideal of how it is. Also, this book has a lot of imagery through very good details. That the thing about this author, he gives a ton of sensory details.

As the book was ending, I noticed drastic changes in the characters like Ben. Thought out the book, Ben was kid who tried all he can do stay safe in his own house.  Ben's mom married a guy who hates Ben, Due to this, Ben was miserable because he didn't get food very often and was always beat by his stepfather. I don’t blame him, His stepdad was to strong.

I was really frustrated because of actions of the main characters. First of all, Ben was to sacred to call the police and send who is his step dad because of the beatings he was receiving. I mean why would you hide that like a deep secret. I think that is an ignorant act. Ben’s mom is so STUPID. First of all she's blinded with love. She loves Larry. But is having your husband beating your one and only child considered to be love? That’s stupid. Another thing is that she even takes the beatings from Larry for only looking at a guy. “Larry, you got things all wrong. i was just talking to him. That’s all"..."next time you don’t even look at him. You hear me"...WHAP!...Stop it Larry...WHAP!”This here shows lack of responsibility from both parents. But of course. Ben's mom is deeply in love with him and won’t leave him. Aoutomatically, this shows that Larry is very jelouse. As you can see, Ben's mom only saw a guy and Larry got reallt mad. And remember, what will Larry do next  if she would do something like kiss the guy. He will probably kill her. But then again is it worth it? is this real love? NO

Ben is really scared of Larry because of what he has been doing. There’s a part where Larry says that he is willing to kill Ben if he ever calls the police. Due to this, Ben does not try to call the police. As time passes, Ben’s teachers and friends are noticing the burses in his body but Ben is holding it back and acts like he has nothing. At one point it was now to stand up and burst out the truth. And so he did. But, it was a mistake that he did. Due to this, Larry was going to kill Ben big time. But then the police caught him and everyone were now happy.

These types of situations happen throughout the world. This is why I wanted to read this book. After reading this book, it gave me a good perspective of domestic violence. After finishing this book the first thing that popped is this situation. I mean you never know, the people that you know may be going through the same thing. This is why the John Langan wrote this book. To give the audience a good perspective of what domestic violence is.

After finishing my book, "Search For Safety" by John Langan, I noticed drastic changes in the the characters like Ben. Thoughtout the book, Ben was kid who tried all he can do stay sfe in his own house.  Ben's mom mareied a guy who hates Ben, Due to this, Ben was miserable because he didn't get food very often and was always beat by his stepfather. I dont blame him, His stepdad was to strong.

While reading the book, I was really frustrated because of actions of the main characters. First of all, Ben was to sacared to call the police and send who is his step dad because of the beatings he was reciving. I mean why would you hide that like a deep secrect. I think that is an ingorant act. Just even writing about this gets me mad..UGH!!!! but it is just a story. Another thing is that Bens maom is so STUPID!!!!!!!!! I HATE HER!!!! First of all she's blinded with love. She loves Larry. But is havibg your husband beating your one and oly child love. Thats Stupid!!! Another thing is that She even takes the beatings from Larry for only lookking at a guy.

" Larry, you got things all wrong. i was just talking to him. thats all"..."next time you dont even look at him. you hear me"...WHAP!...Stop it Larry...WHAP!

tHIS HERE SHOWS COMPLETE LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY FORM THE BOTH PARENTS. but of course. Ben's mom is deeply inlove with him and wont leave him. Nother thing about Ben's mom is that she is jusy a stupid person who lioke to be taken advantege of. I hate her!!!!!!!!!!. Larry dosent work and with the job that mom has, he needs to pay for rent, foof and bills. aND YOU KNOW lARRY DOES? he takes about half the money and buys beer. She is so stupid!!!! UGH!! i HATE. HER.

tHATS IT, I CANT FINISH THIS BLOGPOST. iM FU**** MAD!!!!!!!

c 

Search for Safety first test-run of book review

If you've read other books by this same author, how does this one compare? (You don't need to decide which one is better, although you can.)

What was the author's purpose(s) in writing this book, and how can you tell? How well was this purpose achieved?

The book that I am reading is Search for Safety by John Langan. Jhon Langan has a series of books that happen to have the same plot. I haven't read all of the books. I've only read one and the one that I am reading right now. I liked the first book that i read and sice i liked it, i would want to read the other books that he wrote. The thing about the books that he writes is that you can some what realte to the themes.

In Search for Safety, the main character is Ben Mckee. Ben Mckee is treated like shit by his stepfather who hates him. But of course, Ben's mom is blinded by love and at one point, Larry who is the stepfathewr of Ben beats her up for looking at anothe guy other than him. Rught of the bat, Larry is considered to be and aggressive and jelous man. And yes, Ben' mom is still in love with him. Ben cant really do much because he knows that he will be beaten. In the begining of the book allready Ben is being beatin by Larry for not ordering simple orders such as stay in room.

The only safe place that Ben has is school. In school, he has new friends and has a great time. But most of the time, he needs to hide his bruises that Larry leaves him after beating him. This here is similar to thae same situation with David and his mom in the book A Child Called It. I just think is what will Ben Mackee do.

Search For Safety happens to be the second book i read from the same author who is John Langan. The other book that i read from the same author is Brothers in Arms. Both of these books share many similarities. They both have the same plot, violence in the conflict and theres alawys the main character has a hard time staying safe everyday. I am not done with the book but what it seems like the theme of thew story is to stand up search for a better way to live. This theme is very similar to the theme in the book Brothers in Arms.

I think that the purpose of writing this book is to show the way some people are living in the same situation just like Ben. And yea, there are many families all over the world where the father especially tepfathers are very abuseive in many violent ways. And for those who have never experienced this situation in their live, this book gives a very good ideal of how it is. Also, this book has a lot of imegrey through very good details. That the thing about this author, he give a ton of sensory details.

"Whe i want you upstairs, you stay upstairs!" he yelled." But i-"Whap! Larry cuffed me hard in the jaw with the back of his hand, snappping my head back and splitting my lip...

This constantly happens through out the book and theres nothing he can do sinse he has no protection from his mom, theres nothing he can do. Maybe further in the book, Ben's mom will realize what she and got her self into and Ben by marrying Larry. Overall, this book seems good because of the way it was written and for the purpose of why it was written.

Vignette Response

While reading the first vignette that Luis Alba wrote, I was really impressed because he i know that he put all of work into it. The one thing that i liked about his vignette which happens to be titled " The Sirens Go Off" is first of all, the title, his title cached my attention which made me want read it. As I was reading this vignette, there was a lot of suspense which makes his piece very interesting. One thing that luis states in his vignette is

David walked with the backpack full of spray cans and I had the caps on all my pockets. We found a spot right in the middle of the train. We were nervous...David and I were hesitant to be the first to start painting...All of a sudden, a motorcycle engine just turned off. We ran. I looked back while running, across the train I could see red and blue lights on the floor and on the bridge on top of us.

This here shows a lot of suspense and it just makes you want to keep on read what will happen. I can relate to a similar situation that Luis had went through. The one difference wasn't about  the poliece and trying to run away. My situation was being caught with my cousins by some Border Brother, the fact that my cousins happened to be gang affiliated with the nortenos. Just as how Luis was nervous and scared, that was the same thing that i felt. Another thing that i noticed about Luis vignettes is that he used very good figurative language. And a lot of his figurative language gave a better tone and taste in his vignettes. In the same vignette, "The Sirens Go Off" one of ny favorite

I shivered like if I had furious ants crawling all over me, bitting my skin making me feel cold.

This similie gave a humerous tone and really showed feelings in his situation. This similies can represent the sensation of being nervous , scared and maybe scared to death within a panic situation. This is what i think of this expression. Overall, i think that Luis vignettes show a lot of work that have been put into and very good figurative language that makes up the vignettes. And also i can relate to some of his vignettes. In the end, it is very good.

 

 I think that Sandra Cisneros would say that boys and girls should be raised equally due to different standards that they are raised by. If i were to ask Sandra If teenage boys and girls should be raised with equal morals, I'm pretty sure that she will say yes.

One reason why she would say yes is because throughout history, men were considered to be superior to women. And in some cases, This ideal is still happening. On pg. 88 in the book The House on Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros , it says, "Nenny says she wont wait her whole life for a husband to come and get her." And on page 89 "There is always one with the red lips who is beautiful and cruel." Since the book was written by Cisneros, She implies that girls should embrace their feminine side but shouldn't let men control them and should maintain their independence. Yes some boys are raised to have the upper hand in the family and get the idea that women should dedicate their live to their husband. Due to this, some women are actually used to this idea.

Another reason why Cisneros would say that boys and girls should be raised the same way is because boys can be aggressive, Due to male aggressiveness, guys are temped in a way. And some guys are raised to be strong, Guys will then believe that they are strong enough to take over women.

This may seem hard to believe but it is not. On page 100 it says, "Sally make then stop, i couldn't make them go away..." This here shows that Esperanza cannot "defeat boys' power in society. She ant even overcome it. Clearly, men take advantage. This happens if boys are raised to be aggressive while girls are raised to be smart and to be a house wife. And a lot of the time, men who are aggressive  take over women even if they may be smarter. Its like that.

In many families a girl who is beautiful, must stay safe. Guys will always like a girl who is beautiful. Girls are raised to stay safe and sometime especially to stay away from sex.until their ready. If they happen to have sex, then they may be considered to be sluts. On the other hand, guys who have sex, may be considered to be cool. This is all due to the way boys and girls are raised.  But maybe, if both guys and girls are raised with equal morals, then it would be a whole different situation. This is why Sandra Cisneros would say that girls and boys should be raised equally with equal morals.    

This is Me

                                                                    Playing Bass

Playing Bass is my favorite thing to do in my free time. And of course, it is my all time favorite hobby. In my family, I happen to play bass and also so does my godfather.  But, there is a big difference, He has been playing bass guitar for about 15 years and I’ve been playing for only 4 months, a huge difference.

            Sometimes, I’m considered to be a nice and smooth person. That’s just the same way I play bass, nice and smooth. But, if I haven’t been playing my bass in quite a long time, then that’s when I’ll get rough. I’ll pluck the freaking string so hard that it will feel good hitting the right notes and making the sound extremely awesome. That’s just me when it comes to playing bass guitar, just like a homeless man craving for food.

Then there’s my godfather who is an awesome bassist. Compared to me, I’m just an amateur and he’s an expert. I’m the baby learning how to walk while he the toddler running, skipping and jumping everywhere.  I’m only plucking the strings while he’s plucking, and slapping and popping the strings. His brothers and him used to be in a Spanish Rock band and I’m just the single bassist. When it comes to playing bass, my godfather is a beast. I’ve seen him play before and sometimes, I don’t even know what notes he’s playing because he’s just so fast. But soon, I’ll be just like him, I’ll be the toddler running, skipping, and jumping everywhere.

             

I’m in the Oven

 

The intense heat rushing throughout the Bay Area. I live in Oakland, very close to the ocean, but still I feel like if I’m in the desert. It’s at 95 degrees and I’m dying. Lazy, not wanting to do nothing the extreme hot weather is hitting me like the shock of freshly-lit charcoal on my dad’s grill.

The heat slaps me in the face, making me dizzy. It makes me move a lot; I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m in the mood for going for a swim. Only that would end my laziness of not wanting to do anything.

At this point, I do not want to be I’m my house. My only option is to go outside where the heat is not locked in my home like a prisoner in his cell. Being outside with dad, mom and my sister will make me feel better.

“Yo dad, get out the watermelon from the refrigerator so we can enjoy it.” And so he did. We might as well finish it and not let it the heat kill it. We enjoyed as we talked about the good times like ever before. “Ugh! I hate this F-ing weather” my sister said. Yes agree with her. The day would be a perfect day only if it was like 15 degrees lower. Until then I’m miserable. I can’t even sleep. The intense heat is driving me crazy day and night. I feel like I’m in the oven. If I can’t handle this heat, I sure wouldn’t handle being in Arizona with my uncle. He’s lucky enough to have a built in swimming pool. And all I can think about is being in refrigerator. I cant do nothing to change this weather, I just have to deal with it. 



Pandillas en East Oakland

 

 East Oakland is where I stay. Home to three Latino gangs, Border Brothers (BBs), Nortenos (chaps, Nortes, X4) and Surenos (X3). Yea I Know about this. I’ve been around Nortes and Border Brothers before, but I’m not gang affiliated. Yea I know the gangs signs, but won’t throw em up where I stay at. I might get shot and killed.

Sometimes I don’t feel safe walking late at night through my neighborhood where many guys who are mainly Nortes are out there posting like they own the street. Yea I’ve been threatened before by a Norte by wearing black. This may be crazy but it is.

I don’t really have a closet filled with bright color T- shirts. For example, I don’t really have red or blue T-shirts because I run the risk of being threatened by a Norte, BB, or a Sureno. When I go shopping I avoid buying t-shirts that are blue or red. If I did, obviously, I would standout to gang banger. If I were to wear a red T-shrirt, I will standout like the British.

Gunshots at night or even in the plain day. Those gunshots are not only from pistols like 9mmthat are shot manually, but there are gunshots being shot by automatic guns like Uzis. Yes this Is tough living in a city where all this shit happens. Drive bys near my house and all I can say is “DAMN”.  Gangs shoot and kill to prove a point. That point is states to not mess with them. This aint a surprise for me, This is just  East  Oakland, and I got to deal with it.

Sketches

I love to draw. Other than playing bass, drawing is my big time hobby. My hobby of drawing is way stronger than my hobby of playing bass. Drawing is one of those things that help me a lot with my emotions. For example, if I’m mad, drawing will help me release my anger.

I guess some people consider me as a good drawer. I don’t, but I’m confident that I’m good enough to compete against others. Animation is my thing. I hope to major in it. I know that I can because I just love to draw. My inspiration was Dragon Ball z, my all time favorite cartoons. Considered to be epic animation. Drawing is my favorite thing to do and someday, I’ll be famous for my work.

TREES

The word trees come out a lot in The House on Mango Street, and this of course must have an important significance towards Esperanza’s life. While reading the vignettes that show trees, there is a pattern going on and every time, the meaning of the symbol tree is getting much closer to being discovered. At first, it was hard to catch the meaning of trees in the vignettes, that is why rereading the sentences before it mentions trees and after it mentions trees was the way to find what it means in each vignette. In the end, all of the “results” would come together to make the final significance of trees.

On page 74, there’s almost an obvious answer of what trees mean and is the starting point to the investigation of what trees mean. This quote is very important toward Esperanza and what she is feeling. The quote says: "Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine. Four who do not belong here but are here." This quote is important because Esperenza compares herself with the trees, she says that the trees do ot belong there but are there. IN one way, Esperanza is sort of simmilar to that. Shes where she is because shes there and of courres wishes that she would be somewhere else. For example, her dream house.

I think that the main important quote that basically shows the meaning of trees is on page 97. This qoute shows  alot of emotion, which is part of the meaning toward trees. This important qoute happens is about Esperanza and waht she's feelling. 

And then i dont know whybut i had to run away. I had to hide myself at the other end of the garden, in the jungle part, under a tree that wouldnt mind if i lay down and cried a long time.        

   The tree is somewhat a comfort palce for Esperanza when she feel sad. The quote is obviously showing that. But, this qoute is alos the misssing piece of the puzzle to now detremine what trees signifies. In the end, th tree shows isolation. Trees show isolation of Esperanza and discomfort in her own enviorment. The tree signifies Esperanza being an outsider in a way where she is embarassd from where she comes from.

The book The House on Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros is written to show something very important about the theme, but at the same time, the main point of each vignette is written with symbols. As you read it, you won’t realize what the symbols are and what they represent. Of course, I read the book and did not notice the symbols. But after re-reading the book, and reading the vignettes more than twice, then that’s when I’ll notice the significance of the symbols in the vignettes.

In the vignette, “My Name” happens to be an important one and the symbol of that vignette is are windows and so is for the other vignettes: No Speak English, Rafaela, and Sally. First of all, In “My Name”, there is a quote that tells a lot. “She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow…Ezperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.”  The window here symbolizes only way out toward a better life. Since there must be no way out then the window is small, very hard to get through. The fact of sitting their sadness on an elbow just shows waiting, Waiting for a chance towards better life. Esperanze’s name means hope and this quote show somewhat of hope.

 In “No Speak English” the window is something sort of similar to the other vignette of My Name.  This shows the reason to not advance. Well In the U.S, whether you’re you don’t speak English or not, it will always affect you. In this Vignette, the window represents. No will. The will not to go further. The quote that shows this is “…or afraid of English. She wont come down, She sits all day by the window and plays the Spanish radio show…” The window in this vignette also symbolizes homesick.

Cilie and Nettie

                                    Celie and Nettie

In Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple, there are two very important characters that play a big role in this story. Those characters are Celie and Nettie, African American sisters. They both share similarities and big differences. Their main difference was that they both went through a very rough childhood. They then went through separate ways leading to very different ways of life which change who they are completely.

Celie has gone through a lot that’s stuck with her for most of her life. To start off, she was sexually abused at a young age by her step father. She was raped because her mother did not want to have sex with Celie’s step dad because she knew that she would end up pregnant. Cilie’s mom could not withstand another pregnancy. Celie describes her situation in brutal detail in the first letter of the novel.

“You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t…Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He starts to choke me, saying you better shut up and get used to it.” (1)

This experience was very brutal for her. She even says that she feels sick every time.  This quote shows her disgust towards herself. This did not happen once but twice and Celie got pregnant twice by her step father. Not only that, but when she was in labor and gave birth to her child, her father gave one of them away. “He took my other little baby, a boy this time, But I don’t think he kilt it. I think he sold it to a man and his wife over at Monticello” (3) This just shows that her father was cruel enough to sell Cilie’s baby and make her suffer again. That’s just another experience she won’t forget.

           

Celie then marries Mr.___ and once again lives a horrible life. Mr.___ married Celie not because of love, but because he needed a wife to take care all of his children. Almost throughout the whole novel, Celie does not stand up for herself and must do everything that Mr.___ tells her to do. Celie does not have a voice in Mr.___ home. “Harpo ast why his daddy why he beat me (Celie) Mr.___ say, cause she my wife. Plus she stubborn…he beast me like he beat the children.”(22) Celie is beaten only because she is Mr.___ wife. Her being beat only because he Mr.___ wife, just shows that she has no voice in Mr.___ home. She says that when she receives the beatings from him, she makes herself like wood and takes the beatings. That shows how strong she is. Another thing that Celie has to go through in her everyday life is to do everything Mr.___ tells her to do. Whether she does it or not, she still might receive a beating from Albert just for the hell of it.

           

Throughout the entire novel, there is someone very important to Celie and also helps Celie change. That person is Shug Avery. Shug is a very important woman to Celie because she brings hopes up. It is said to be that Celie survives being with Albert only when Shug stays with them. Well this is because Albert loves Shug and not Celie. Celie is just a useful person.

“Pretty soon it be time for Shug to go…one day she say to me well. Miss Cilie, I believe it time for me to go…she come over and put her hand on my shoulder. He beat me when you not here…what he beat you for? For being me and not you.”  (76)

This shows that Mr.___ beats Celie only for who she is. Celie takes care of his children and does everything she’s told to do. And what it looks like,Mr___’s thank you is a hit to the face. Since Shug Avery stays in Mr.___’s home, Mr.___ pays all his attention towards her and not Cilie, Which is why Cilie says she receives the beating for being who she is and not Shug Avery.

            One thing that really affects Cilie is when Albert has “sexual relations” with her. In one of the letters, Cilie talks to Shug of what she feel when this happens.

“Most times, I pretend I aint there…Just do his business, get off, go to sleep…She start to laugh(Shug) do his business, she say…you make it sound like he going to the toilet on you. That what it feel like, I say. (77)

This is important because it shows what Celie feels when Mr.___ has sexual reactions with her. This has happened with her dad. So she basically knows what it feels like. But, the fact that she still lives day after day even though she’s treated like crap,  just happens to show her determination of trying to live better.

             Nettie on the other hand, Is much different than her sister Celie when it comes to explain their lives. Celie and Nettie went through rough childhoods. Sometimes your childhood can be similar to what your future would be like. For example, there’s Celie. But, with Nettie it’s different. Destiny chose Nettie to live a better life unlike her sister Celie.

           

Unlike Celie who is like a servant instead of a wife, Nettie is missionary that is living in Africa with a caring couple who cares for her...

“Corrine and Samuel and the Children are part of a group of people called missionaries…they feel they were born for missionary work in Africa. We’ve been together. They’ve been like a family to me.” (129)

Apparently, Nettie feels that she now has a family who cares for her. She’s has a rough childhood without the support of a loving mother and father. Probably, if she wouldn’t have met Corrine and Samuel, then she would have ended up like her sister Celie, miserable. Do to this, Nettie is also very independent.

Unlike Celie, Nettie is much braver and fights back. First of all, Albert doesn’t love Celie at all. He loves Nettie. On day, Nettie goes to see Celie and she’s welcomed by Mr.___. So then Nettie was off to school. Mr.___ starts to creep on her and begins to follow her on his horse. Then all of a sudden, Mr.___ pops out and tries to rape Nettie. But, Nettie defends herself and hits Mr.___ with her books despite the consequences. Celie didn’t know what happened until she read on of the letters that Nettie wrote.

“…He followed me on his horse…After while, I had to rest. And that’s when he got down from his horse and started to try to kiss me, and drag me back into the woods…I started to fight him, I hurt him bad enough to make him let me alone.” (126)

This shows how strong and brave Nettie is and stands up for herself. She did no want to be sexually abused and feel what her sister felt and still does. She saved herself from a horrible experience.

            As you can see, Celie and Nettie have very different lives, Celie was miserable until she stepped up and had the confidence to leave Mr.___.  Nettie, who leaves and become a missionary with a loving couple who cared for her throughout many years, but all of this happened because of Celie’s most important decisions that changed their lives completely. That decision was to marry Mr.___. “I see him looking at my little sister. She scared. But I say I’ll take care of you. With God help.” (3) Celie was willing to protect Nettie from Mr. ___ at all costs. Celie then says “I ast him to take me instead”(7) This was the turning point of everything. Nettie was saved. In conclusion, the way Celie and Nettie lived was because on of Celie’s most important life changing decisions.

Rebutal to Eric.

   The question that Eric answered was that Should the number of years of required schooling be changed? After reading his blog post, i saw that there are something that are very weak. something that he says is that after high school, you go on to college. Well not all people go on to college for various reasons. When we talk about the number of years required, we're basically talking about from preschool to kindergarten and then elementary school to middle school which then goes to high school. We cant really put collge because like i said, its your choice if you decide to go to college or not. the amount school years is 14 is you dont flunk.

   Having this amount of school years are actually good beacuse theres is so much things you need to learn other than the basic material. If you want to go to college, then of course, you do need all 14 years of school. Thats a law. Eric, i know you want to go to college but trust me you need all of those years to go to college and you need to do good, which i bet you do.

I rea lize that your talking about hifh scool, but not onliy high school, but an early college high school. Dude,all of the years of high school are needed even though its just a normal high school. High school isneeded to to go to college. Wanna go to college, suck it up and deal with all years of school. Really no big deal, time pasts like a flash. By the time you know it, you'll be done with high school.

Celie' Relation with God.

 Celie has a way to talk with God. Celie writes lettes to God. In those letters, she talks about her eceryday life. Some of the things that she says are pretty shocking. Alot of violence goes on in her life. AS i keep reading, i realize that Celie does not live a good life. It seems that most of the time, she's just a miserable. To start it off, she was sexually abused by her own father which is really disgusting. Thats a very harmful experience that will follow her for the rest of her life.

"You gonna do what your mammy wouldn't....Then he push his thing inside my pussy"

I ean thats juyst wrong. Why would a ather want to do that just for the f*****sure? Thats just f*****.Since shes gone through a lot of shit, she doesnt really have no one to talk to but God. God is like her only friend. Sometimes, i think that she writes the letters to feel good and to just realese her feelings. I consider that a good reason to why write letters to God.

Celie has a lot of guts to be stay alive beacuse she has gone through so much. Her mother died, she was abused sexually by her father, she doesnt know where her little sister is at, she's married to a son of a b****, shes takes beating from him and is treated like shit. I think that if some would to go through all that, i think that , that person would of probablly commited suicide. Imean, thats just too much to handle.

Her letters play a big roll in her life because her letters to god mean everything to her because those letters are considered to be like her true friends. Writing out her everyday life is like talking to a true friend who cares about her. That is why her letters to God is very important to her. God is like her true friendor even better, a familly.

Should Teens be allowed to Vote?

   I think that teens should be able to vote because everyone should have a voice when it comes to laws. In my opinion, if teens had the right to vote, there would probably be many laws that wouldn't of happen.Our nation fought for independence, to vote, to live free without the rule of a king. Voting was a big issue and still is in my opinion. Students like teenagers, play a big role in our society. The teenagers who want to succed in life, are the ones who are very smart, talented and of course must have common sence.

   For example if students where able to vote for the Dream Act, then there would of been a very high chance that it would of passed and very well educated students with strong talents would be able to go to college. A lot of the teenagers who are smart and talented are condidered to be the future of our nation. Those who study, go to college and vote are the ones who also improve our nation.
 This is very impoertant fact when it comes to voting

It allows them to get rid of bad governments and makes sure that any government listens to its people...http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicID=588.

Something that catched my attention and that i agree with a lot is

16 year olds are mature enough to make important decisions such as voting. Their bodies are fully adult, they have been educated for at least 10 years...All this allows them to form political views and they should be allowed to put these across at election time. There is no magic difference between 16 and 18 - indeed, many 16 year old are more sensible than some 20 year olds. http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicID=588

Really, i agree with this because teen agers that are 16 years old and are very mature to be able to vote. Really theres just a two year difference between 16 and 18, not very much. There are many teenagers that are intrested in politics which most of the time involves voting. Teenagers should recieve the right to vote because it will make a change.

Can I Handle College?

One of my big goals in life is to go to a good college and study engineering. I want to become an Aero Engineer. Of course, to become an aero engineer, a lot of work has to be done. One thing for sure, to become an engineer,  a lot of math has to be taken. Math is one of my weakest subjects and so is science. Because of this, somethimes i just want to give up on that goal because science, and math is difficult for me. That's why somtimes i just want to give up. I mean, I'm in high school know and the years wiill pass like a flash and by the time I know it, I'll be applying for colleges.

Im not a very good test taker and most of the time get nervous when taking big tests. I lnow that to get into colleges, i have to take a serious of tests like the SAT's, ACT's and entrace exams. the thought of tests just freak me out. I'm not a very good test taker and I know that in college, its all about tests, essays, and projects. If you cant do that well, then maybe college is not for me. I'm one of those students that don't learn things right away like other students do. I just wish i can learn things like science, and mat like a flash.

Iknow that to become an engineer, you have to take a lot of math, probably untill your done with Calculus which is considered one of the hardest and most complicated math. I mean, i can bearly handel geometry which may be considered an easy subject for many students. I need to take a lot of science, which is another subjet that i struggle a lot. Maybe that career isn't suited for me.

Like always, one must always have a plan B. My plan B is to become an animation artist. drawing is one of my favorite things to do. It's one of my hobbies other than playing Bass guitar. Doing something that i love as my career is living a good life. I love to draw and maybe become an animation artist.

I dont know, but i think that college will be to difficult for me and maybe wont be able to deal with it. Maybe college isn't for me. Time will tell.

Response Post to Lhadze's post

  Reading Lhadze's post about whats Emo/Sscene, actaually caught my atention. When i saw her tittle "Emo/Scene," i actually didnt know what type of people are considered to be a scene untill i read about the characteristics. This is one of her quotes that gave very good imegry.  

Emo on the other hand is all black and mainly basic clothing with studs, and rips kind of like scene. An emo is quiet, shy, and much more emotional. They wear EXTREME amounts of eyeliner and always have black nails. Both types have piercings...

If you see me, automatically, you will not consider me being and emo guy. One thing for sure, i do wear alot of black. i don't wear eyeliner at all and dont have any piercings. What fits my description is either baggy or skinny jeans, vans or nike, skating T-shirts, and lots of hats like beanies. I'm not much of a person who wears clothing with lots of colors.

Not too long ago, my sister called me emo because i was in my room listening to my ipod which i mainly have all types of rock music. For example, I listen to the bands Nirvana, HIM, Linkin Park, Silversun Pickups, Breaking Benjamin, Guns N Roses, and plenty more bands. I didn't want any lights on so i turned all of then off. Well, just because of that my sister considered me emo. But this is just me and I'm very different from an emo guy.
 

Just like you people are preppy, jock. hipster, gangster, what ever you are, you represent who you are. And sometimes its not always clothing but definitely you personality

This is another thing that Lhadze said and i agree with it 100%. After reading the characteristics of a Scene girl, i do consider Lhadze a teenage scene girl. But,  that doesnt change anything. I still respect Lhadze the way she is. Being Scene or Emo, is just a way of life. I think. I know girls that are scene and most of them are pretty out going. Clothing doen't change anything.

Elite Colleges

 The Most Persuasive Argument

  I think that the most persuasive argument came from Richard D. Kallenberg, because he gave many strong and persuasive points. His argument was well put and the flow was also good. I like Ivan dont agree with him most of the time. There were other arguments about the elite colleges that were good, but i think that that Kallenburg's argument was the strongest out of all of them. There are many things that i liked of his argument. One of them was:

attending a selective college with a large endowment offers numerous advantages, which can put students on a more favorable trajectory in life.

This is somethiung that catched my attention and i asked myself, "how can you get numerous these numerous advanteges are ther ad vanteges that you cant get at public universities?" So then i kept treading and he then Kallenberg answered my question he said
 "At selective institutions, a student is surrounded by talented and high achieving peers." I dont really agree with him because at public Universites, ther are many students who are talented and high achieving peers. Another thing that i like of his argument was when Kallenberg said

If you attend a highly selective college, the per pupil expenditure is $92,000, compared with just $12,000 at the least selective colleges. The richest colleges require students on average to pay just 20 percent of the total cost of college, compared with 78 percent at the least wealthy colleges.

At first, i was very confused when i read this. But, then found out that you as a student going to an elite university is still paying more than a student going to a least selective College even thogh paying 20% of the college cost than the student paying 78% of the college cost. Another thing that surprised me was wehen Kallenberg said a studen is more likely to graduate from a selective institution than the less ones.
Not only he said this, but so did other debaters. Overall, I think that Richard D. Kallenberg had the most persuasive argument even though I dont agree with some of his points.

The Least Persuasive Augument

I think that the the least persuasive argument comes from Martha (Marty) O'Connell.
First of all, when she said " Understand that it is not where you go that matters." It certaintly daoes matter where you go and theres important reasons why.
  You want to go to a college where you will feel comfortable studying for about four years. Why would you choose to go to a college that you probably dont even know how it is and choosing to go to that college just because its a college.
  When she started to talk about the cekebritities and how they went to college but some of then dropped out, but do very well in life and are filthy rich. I said to myself, "yea thats amazying but thats luck.

The “oohs” and “aahs” follow as the audience learns that Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates dropped out of college...

Like Cameron said. All Bill Gates did is took MAC and put it into a PC. He just did that and then became filthy rich. It doesnt matter what celebrities did. What matters is you. You going to good college and succeed. I was actaully surprised when I read that Bill Gates dropped out of college, but i dont really care abou that. What matters is you,  you wanting to go to a good college it get a great education or even lucky enough to go to an elite collge.