D.N, Questions: February 28, 2008.

Do Now: Can you recall a time were you were left out?

• I guess there has been times were I have been left out but being this so sudden I can't really recall any of those times. I must have become immune to it or something, but I can't really tell unless it happens now and it pisses me off.
  

Legal Alien by Pat Mora.

Comprehension Check:

• How does the poet say he is viewed by Anglos, and by Mexicans?

She says Anglos view her as a Mexican, and Mexicans viewed her as an American.

Thinking Critically:

• How do you think the poet feels about being bi-lingual and bi-cultural?

Even though its hard, she must feel proud. Proud that she comes from two different parts of the world and she is the product of crossroads.

• Think about: How is she view by Anglos and Mexicans?

She is viewed as sh doesn't belong to there cultural but to the other because of the hyphen she carries. So while of Anglos doesn't see her as one of them, they see her as a Mexican. Whereas Mexicans see her as an American: "You may speak Spanish but you're not like me."

• How do you interpret the title “Legal Alien?”

I see it as being born in America, which makes you Legal in the country, but at the same time you are not accepted because of your cultural. Those that were normally not "pure" American, were called Aliens, because they didn't come from the country. Also, it shows how alienated a person could feel not being accepted by either of your cultural.

[To continue.]

D.N, Protest Lit. February 15, 2008.

Do now: Select one of the literary works discussed and analyzed in class and give reasons why this work can be considered the best work that represents protest literature.

• I would pick Ambush because it doesn't only show you at the way but during and after as well. So you could see the damages it could do to a man in both times. Before such as, the stress a person is put through when a situation is presented, for example when O'Brien didn't know and panicked when an enemy was near. And after, when he couldn't forget what he had done - a kill a man - and couldn't bring himself to forgive either. He couldn't go through the process of, forgive and forget. Also, it is more realistic because of the fact that it was a narrative account.
  

D.N, Questions: February 27, 2008.

Rosario Morales, Aurora Levins Morales. Ending Poem.

Do Now: Do you consider yourself as having a mixture of roots? Why or why not?

• I know I have a mixture of roots because I'm not fully from one country. My ancestry could be traced back, and even though its forgotten it's still there and will always be there.
  

What geographical regions can be identified in this poem?

• Puerto Rico, Carribbean, New York, Bronx, CA, Africa and Europe.

Describe the message within the following verse "History made me" and "I was born on the crossroads."

• I think both messages means/shows how you are what you are because of your past history and if it wasn't for all these types of peoples coming together, you wouldn't have been all those things/ethnics or nothing at all. Also, because of those nationalities, and ethnic group combining, you are, who you are.

How could you characterize the speaker's racial and ethical background?

• Latino-American. Jewish.
  

Letter to Speaker.

Task: Write a letter to either speaker in O’Brien or Owen’s work, sharing your reactions to his narration and asking any questions you have about his experience. Letter must include your name, fake address, date, opening and closing salutations, admiration of their narrative, include two vocabulary words from list, include citations from the text to support, and questions. Must include introduction, body, conclusion. Approximately 350 words.

Dear Speaker,
I have just completed the narrative account called Ambush, and I must say, what I have read was shocking. The text was filled with so many literary elements and sense imagery that the "peril" you were in because realistic to me. Before reading this account, I truly believed that I knew what war was, but I guess I didn't. After, it because apparent to me that was was much more than what I first believe that I knew what was was, but I guess I didn't. After, it became apparent to me that war was much more than what I first believed it to be, that was changes a man, make him make choices that hold him responsible for a life, and emotionally damages them.

How you explained it, it seems that regret is a big cause and does change you. You state that "sometimes I forgive myself, other times I don't." I wonder if this is because you think that this man should be alive to this day, and that you shouldn't have killed him. But have you ever thought that what you did was a simple human reaction? In Ambush you also say, "of course not" when your daughter Kathleen questions you on weather you ever killed a man. At first I just thought she was too young to hear about death, but then I realized it was just your guilt.

I have always believed that going to war was prideful and you comeback a man of strength and heroism. I always thought, it was the case for every single person. However but you narrative it has become clear to me, that this isn't always the case. "Sitting alone in a room I'll look up and see the young man coming out of the fog." To me this shows how you haven't forgotten your time at war and probably never forget that you killed a man. Moreover, you also state, "and it will always be that way." Did you ever think that if you knew, the death of this soldier would effect you this much, would you have still thrown the grenade without thinking?

I also notice how mentally a person could go wrong and they state to become more and more paraniod, and I'm positive the surrounding didn't help at all. With "the night being foggy and hot" and "three grenades... lined up in front of me" must have been intense. To be near such deadly weapons and not knowing when to use them. By the quote "I had already thrown the grenade before telling myself to throw it." What this shows me, is that under such situations, a person freaks out at the first sign of danger. Would you have still thrown the gernade, if you came to understand that the solider must have been in the same position as you and if you made any sudden movements you'd freak him out and possible get shot at?

All in all, you narrative opened my mind and made me gape, as to how wrong I was about war. That it is more intense, frightening , and life changing than most people would ever believed. I do hope you take the time and reply to my questions.

Sincerely,
Kevin Toscano

Wiki-cabulary & WikI-elements

• Wiki-cabulary: i.e. all vocabulary words and appropriate definitions this will be ongoing, but you will need to include the title of the work for us to easily identify where to find these words.

Olaudah Equiano: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African.

Pestilential: tending to cause infectious diseases
Avarice: extreme greed for wealth or material gain
Inhabitants: a person or animal that lives in or occupies a place
Apprehension: anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen
Clamour: a loud and confused noise, esp. that of people shouting vehemently
Loathsome: arousing intense dislike and disgust
Copious: plentiful; abundant
Improvident: shortsighted; failing to provide for the future
Procured: to obtain something, especially by effort, to provide somebody for prostitution
Dejected: feeling or showing sadness and lack of hope, especially because of disappointment
Accursed: enduring the effects of a curse; horrible or hateful
Quadrant: a 90 degree arc representing one fourth of the circumference of a circle. The area bounded by a quadrant and the two perpendicular lines that connect it to the center of the circle.
Kindred: close to somebody or something else because of similar qualities or interests.

Wilfred Owen: Dulce et Decorum Est

Trudge: to walk, esp. laboriously or wearily: to trudge up a long flight of steps
Fatigue: weariness from bodily or mental exertion; a cause of weariness; slow ordeal; exertion; the fatigue of driving for many hours.
Floundering: to make clumsy attempts to move or regain one's balance.
Ecstasy: an overpowering emotion or exaltation; a state of sudden, intense feeling.
Writhing: to twist the body about, or squirm, as in pain, violent effort.
Cud: the portion of food that a ruminant returns from the first stomach to the mouth to chew a second time.
Vile: repulsive or disgusting, as to the senses of feelings.
Zest: hearty enjoyment.
Ardent: having, expressive of, or characterized by intense feeling; passionate; fervent.

Tim O'Brien: Ambush.

Peril: exposure to the risk of being injured, destroyed, or lost.
Gape: to stare with open mouth, as in wonder.
Ammunition: the material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any weapon, as bombs or rockets, and esp. shot, shrapnel, bullets, or shells fired by guns.
Repellent: something that repels, as a substance that keeps away insects.
Platoon: a military unit consisting of two or more squads or sections and a headquarters.
Mr Khe: place in Vietman.

Aurora Levins Morales and Rosario Morales: "Ending Poem".

Metiza [Spanish]: a woman of mixed racial ancestry, especially one of mixed European and Native American ancestry.
Diaspora: a migration or scattering of a group of people
Jibara [Spanish]: a girl or woman of rural Puerto Rico, female peasant
Shtetl: one of the small Jewish communities formerly found in Eastern Europe.
Forbears: ancestors (a variant spelling of forebears).
Mija, negra, ne [Spanish]: affectionate terms for girls or women.
Caribena [Spanish]: a girl or woman of the Caribbean islands.
Boricua [Spanish]: Puerto Rican

Pat Mora: “Legal Alien".

Bi-Lingual: using or able to use two languages especially with equal fluency
Bi-cultural: of, relating to, or including two distinct cultures
Exotic: strikingly, excitingly, or mysteriously different or unusual. introduced from another country : not native to the place where found
Inferior: of low or lower degree or rank
Alien: belonging or relating to another person, place, or thing.
Token: an outward sign or expression
Bi-lateral: having two sides. affecting reciprocally two nations or parties

Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales: I am Joaquin/Yo Soy Joaquin.

Gringo: a foreigner in Spain or Latin America especially when of English or American origin; broadly : a non-Hispanic person
Paradox: a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true
Neurosis: a mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, does not result in disturbance of the use of language, and is accompanied by various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances (as visceral symptoms, anxieties, or phobias)
Sterilization: to make sterile: as a: to cause (land) to become unfruitful.
Vanquished: to gain mastery over (an emotion, passion, or temptation)
Moors: followers of the religion of Islam who conquered Spain during the 700s and who lost most of their territory by the late 1200s
Barrios: a Spanish-speaking quarter or neighborhood in a city or town in the United States especially in the Southwest
Bigotry: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance
Dejection: lowness of spirits
Exploitation: to make use of meanly or unfairly for one's own advantage
Fierce: violently hostile or aggressive in temperament b: given to fighting or killing marked by unrestrained zeal or vehemence
Mariachi: a Mexican street band; also : a musician belonging to such a band
Barren: not reproducing: as a: incapable of producing offspring —used especially of females or matings.

• Wik-elements: here is where you will identify the following elements in Equiano’s narrative: You will give definitions of each literary element and identify them in the text.

Genre: a type of work of literature.
Symbolism: something that represents something greater than itself.
Imagery: language that reflects on your five senses.
Plot: sequence of events.
Characters: the people in a work of literature.
Setting: the place where the story takes place.
Conflicts (internal/external): a problem going on in the story between two forces.
Point of View: the view in which the story is told.

Questions & Answers: Olaudah Equiano

Cooperative Learning :

• What aspect of the condition aboard the ship does the protagonist stress in this account?

The protagonist stress how unsanitary and dirty the ship was, plus everyone else on board added to its comfortablenesses as well as it's disgust.

• Cite two examples of the slave traders' cruelty to slave.

One way the slave traders were cruel was that when they ate fish and had enough they would just throw it back to the sea without giving some to the slave even though they begged to get some./ They were also beaten [flog], probably half to death if they disobey or stepped out of time.

• What might have motivated the traders behavior toward there human cargo?

The fact they believe they were better than the African might have motivated them. The salve traders probably strongly believe the slave were a weak race and didn't even deserve to be put in the same category as the whites.

Comprehension Check:

• For what crimes were slaved punished?

Slaves were punished for many crimes, such as defying the whites and trying to get away by attempting to jump of the boat and swim away.

• And what was the punishment?

Normally the where beaten harshly, or staved more than they already were.


Critical Check Questions:

• Why does Equiano blame the illness aboard the ship on the "improvident avarice" of the improvident avarice?

Equiano blamed the illness on the improvident avarice of the slave traders because all they wanted were workers and didn't care about the health and well being of the Africans, so they got sick from the bad conditions.

Support from the Text:

• How could you tell that Equiano had a great zest for life despite his assertion that he wanted to die?

You could tell because if his astonishment when he first saw the ship and then after when he saw the whites on the horses. He even states, "... and where now convinced it was done by magic." He was so amazed because it was something he never saw before.

Infer:

• What does the passage reveal about the author?

It reveals how strong internally he is to suffer so much and not try to commit suicide like his country men did. Also, because even though there were awful conditions he remained strong.

Draw Conclusion:

• Explain what the variety of languages indicates about the slave trade?

It shows that the slave traders didn't care were the person was from or what language he or she spoke. all that matted to them was the fact that they were black. In addition, it shows they got slaves from all over Africa.

Interpreting Quotes: Dickinson & Lawrence

“I never saw a wild thing feel sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough. Without ever having felt sorry for itself.”
- DH Lawrence

In this quote, I believe that DH Lawrence is comparing wild animals that suffer and how different they are to everyone else; humans. It states "I never saw a wild thing feel sorry for itself" meaning his eyes had never came across a wild animal that was depressed because it had to look for it's own food, that it couldn't just walk into a gorercy store and buy food there. Meanwhile, humans get depressed for all sort of things, normally things that are completely insignificant. For example, a girl would go completely insane if a nail broke. They would act as if there whole world was falling apart, when in fact it isn't such a big deal; it'd grow back. Shouldn't we be happy that it wasn't eaten off by a tiger? Wild animals have to compete for food and if they don't get any, they'd just have to starve for one day until the hunt begins again. When they don't get food, they don't feel sorry for themselves. They don't go back to there den and feel sorry for themselves. Meanwhile, people go to the store and pick out what they want to eat and when the store doesn't have what they want, they'd sulk, or get moody, or even feel sorry for themselves. When they get hungry in the middle of the night, they could make themselves a sandwich, or go to a Seven Eleven. There aren't any Seven Eleven's in the wild.



"I am nobody who are you?"
-Emily Dickinson

I've always been the middle child until three years ago. I'm an older brother, with responsibilities to my younger siblings. I've always seemed to the "pride" of the family, because I academically excel. I'm paranoid and freak out about my grades and I constantly worry weather or not my parents would be pleased with my report card. I worry about passing tests and finishing homeworks on time, and if I'm falling behind in a class, I seem to fall apart quickly. I'm Vice President of Student Government, and attend the meetings regularly, with responsibilities to the student body. I'm also a member of the National Honors Society with the responsibility to participant in activities as well. I'm extremely fussy and orderly about many things. I'm misophobic and slightly speratophobic refusing to flush public toilets with my hands, instead doing it with my foot, or hold the poles on the trains with my bare hand. I'm a friend to many, mostly trying to make everyone happy and trying extraordinarily hard to put a smile on there faces. I'm normally a calm person, but break down easily when something goes wrong in life. I hate obstacles preferring a clean road in life, but I get stressed out when they appear. I'm me.