Monday, March 21, 2011
imitation
Don't talk to her; don't talk to him; stop kicking the seat; do the dishes; fix the Netflixs; fix the TV; don't answer the door; how do you spell "enjoy"; how do you spell "their"; how do I check my facebook; feed the dogs; pick up after yourself; how do you spell "yourself" ; how do I record things; how do I check my twitter.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Week six work. post 1
The story "Girl" was the only short story that was actually just a very large sentence. The story is about a mother giving guidelines to her daughter on how a lady should like her life, what a lady should do to prepare meal and to clean " Wash the whites clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry..." (Kincaid). This patten goes on and on with the daughter speaking only twice in between it. Most stories that are heavily based on dialog are usually connected to the author's past experiences in my opinion. Even if the poem does not rhyme it's very distinct pattern in how the mother speaks give it rhythm without making the story sound too repetitive. Although I cannot fully relate to this short story, I can compinsate with the feeling that our parents sometimes find themselves shaping ourselves in their image because they only want whats best for us even if we don't agree. I personally loved how the mother began getting more and more specific as she went on warning and teaching her. Like all parents, I truly believe that in some way our parents will live on trough us whether it be from talents, knowledge, or traits. I like to think that Jamaica Kincaid took her mother's words of advice to heart and now see things from her mother's point of view to write this short story. Although, I felt like this could also be interpreted in many other ways, I feel that it has more of the author in it any social commentary or feminist critical theory. In conclusion, "Girl" can relate to everyone on some level or another, its odd composition and sentence structure makes it appealing as well as easy to read and the story gives the reader an idea of the author's relationship with her own mother. This was by far my favorite out of the three short stories I read this week.
Monday, March 14, 2011
transitions
additions last, besides, and then, moreover, equally important, in addition
comparison: also, the same way, likewise, similary.
concession: granted, naturally,of course
contrast: although, and yet, at the same time, even so, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, otherwise, regardless, yet.
emphasis: certainly, indeed, in fact, of course.
example or illustration: after all, for example, for instance, in fact, in other words, in short, it is true, to illustrate, thus, truely, specifically
summary: all in all, altogether, finally, in conclusion, therefore, to summarize, to put in differently, that is.
time sequence: finally, after a while, afterward, again, also, at that time, before, further, formerly, since, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, subsequently, in the part, last, lastly, meanwhile, simultaneously, second, presently, then, thereafter, soon, still, too, untill, now, when.
comparison: also, the same way, likewise, similary.
concession: granted, naturally,of course
contrast: although, and yet, at the same time, even so, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, otherwise, regardless, yet.
emphasis: certainly, indeed, in fact, of course.
example or illustration: after all, for example, for instance, in fact, in other words, in short, it is true, to illustrate, thus, truely, specifically
summary: all in all, altogether, finally, in conclusion, therefore, to summarize, to put in differently, that is.
time sequence: finally, after a while, afterward, again, also, at that time, before, further, formerly, since, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, subsequently, in the part, last, lastly, meanwhile, simultaneously, second, presently, then, thereafter, soon, still, too, untill, now, when.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Rough Draft
Dagoberto Gilb’s The Flowers is a short and sweet story of a young teen trying to
figure right and wrong as he’s moved to a troubled apartment complex. These couples
and singles who live around young Sonny throw him into a more adult word than he is
accustomed to only encouraged by Sonny’s interest in the lives of these people among
people besides him and his immediate family. Sonny learns each and everyone’s names
and background from pictures or threw the complex’s thin walls. Through the course
of the novel, Sonny rapidly grows up from this much exposure and freedom to come
and leave home as he pleases. When breaking down Sonny’s relationships with the
other tenants, looking at important quotes and some psychoanalytic criticism, one
could see how these the Flowers unknowingly made this boy the troubled youth at the
novel’s end as well as how the reader can and will connect to young Sonny Bravo in
the Novel.
Before Sonny is taken to the flowers he lives with his mother alone after his
sister moves out. Silvia, Sonny’s mother is portrayed as an overly lenient
housewife who spends a great amount of time on what she wears and how she looks
each and everyday because of this Sonny has a very large amount of freedom and is
used to not seeing his mother very much during the afternoon. Silvia believes that
money is made to spend today and not to save for tommorrow, later Sonny begin to
think the same way with his money either earned, given, or stolen.Silvia doesn’t
cook or desire to spent any time indoors and prides herself on being so attractive
for her age and being the envy of most other housewives. As show moves into the new
apartments she quickly drops her promise to be a stay at home mom for now on. Sonny
tells her very little about his life as she hides a lotwith him as well. In one
quote very early in the book Sonny explains how little he saw of his mother “ My
mom would be around for maybe an hour or two and she’d either change clothes and
leave or be so tired she went into her bed and went to sleep”(Gilb 6 ).The quote
supports the idea of Sonny lack of any sort of authority in his life already up to
the point where he moves. This all sets up events yet to come as well as tell the
reader that Sonny already is a person who keeps to himself.
Following the orders of his new stepfather and complex owner, Sonny is told to do
odd chores around The Flower. Sonny soon meets Cindy, a drop out without a job
living with her husband who is never around. Cindy is attracted to Sonny and every
so often lures him to her apartment, She eventually get Sonny to make love to her
and is one of Sonny more obvious turning points. As her secret affair continues she
becomes more dependant on Sonny’s company than he is to her as seen in many of her
later quotes “ Just a little longer. Stay with me just a little longer. I’m always
alone. I’m lonely.”( Gilb 174). Even when knowing he’s doing is wrong, Cindy teases
and begs Sonny to stay. He’s caught in this look mostly from his fascination in the
lives of others, a naive quality that really helps remind readers of his true age
in contrast with the situations and problems he finds himself in.
Perhaps the root and heart of Sonny’s personality is Pink, a car salesmen who is
secretly trying to find a way around the racial issue in the apartment
complex. Sonny get a lot of his rebellion from Pink because in Pink’s eyes Sonny is
full grown adult as well as call him his “ little brother“. In exchange for giving
him information on his stepfather‘s suspicion of him , Pink promises Sonny
wonderful things and constantly assures him that he’s doing right “ But it all be
good, it‘s all good, we don‘t got nothing to worry, you know what I mean? It be all
good, all of it gonna be good eventually.” ( Gilb 233). Pink encourages keeping
secrets and also to really look up to one’s self. Sonny’s new found confidence makes
him even more impulsive than he was before and makes many questionable choices
along the way along with creating new tension between Sonny and his stepfather
Cloyd. Pink is without a doubt what makes Sonny’s change come full circle and
connects all other examples only heighten this proof.
Sonny’s roller costar rides, keeps readers emotionally invested in him and the
first person perspective helps as well. Without much parental guidance and Sonny
became more independent and goes where ever he wants to, This lack of supervision
gets Sonny in a love triangle between two woman with personalities who are on way
opposite sides of the spectrum and Sonny’s only real role model becomes himself as
right and wrong only is defined from personal experience and trial and error alone.
Without such time and detail in the telling of his inner thoughts and feeling this
novel would not be as powerful as it is. The Flowers could show anyone how much our
world and popular culture around us shapes our ethics, they shape us all more than
most even realize it.
figure right and wrong as he’s moved to a troubled apartment complex. These couples
and singles who live around young Sonny throw him into a more adult word than he is
accustomed to only encouraged by Sonny’s interest in the lives of these people among
people besides him and his immediate family. Sonny learns each and everyone’s names
and background from pictures or threw the complex’s thin walls. Through the course
of the novel, Sonny rapidly grows up from this much exposure and freedom to come
and leave home as he pleases. When breaking down Sonny’s relationships with the
other tenants, looking at important quotes and some psychoanalytic criticism, one
could see how these the Flowers unknowingly made this boy the troubled youth at the
novel’s end as well as how the reader can and will connect to young Sonny Bravo in
the Novel.
Before Sonny is taken to the flowers he lives with his mother alone after his
sister moves out. Silvia, Sonny’s mother is portrayed as an overly lenient
housewife who spends a great amount of time on what she wears and how she looks
each and everyday because of this Sonny has a very large amount of freedom and is
used to not seeing his mother very much during the afternoon. Silvia believes that
money is made to spend today and not to save for tommorrow, later Sonny begin to
think the same way with his money either earned, given, or stolen.Silvia doesn’t
cook or desire to spent any time indoors and prides herself on being so attractive
for her age and being the envy of most other housewives. As show moves into the new
apartments she quickly drops her promise to be a stay at home mom for now on. Sonny
tells her very little about his life as she hides a lotwith him as well. In one
quote very early in the book Sonny explains how little he saw of his mother “ My
mom would be around for maybe an hour or two and she’d either change clothes and
leave or be so tired she went into her bed and went to sleep”(Gilb 6 ).The quote
supports the idea of Sonny lack of any sort of authority in his life already up to
the point where he moves. This all sets up events yet to come as well as tell the
reader that Sonny already is a person who keeps to himself.
Following the orders of his new stepfather and complex owner, Sonny is told to do
odd chores around The Flower. Sonny soon meets Cindy, a drop out without a job
living with her husband who is never around. Cindy is attracted to Sonny and every
so often lures him to her apartment, She eventually get Sonny to make love to her
and is one of Sonny more obvious turning points. As her secret affair continues she
becomes more dependant on Sonny’s company than he is to her as seen in many of her
later quotes “ Just a little longer. Stay with me just a little longer. I’m always
alone. I’m lonely.”( Gilb 174). Even when knowing he’s doing is wrong, Cindy teases
and begs Sonny to stay. He’s caught in this look mostly from his fascination in the
lives of others, a naive quality that really helps remind readers of his true age
in contrast with the situations and problems he finds himself in.
Perhaps the root and heart of Sonny’s personality is Pink, a car salesmen who is
secretly trying to find a way around the racial issue in the apartment
complex. Sonny get a lot of his rebellion from Pink because in Pink’s eyes Sonny is
full grown adult as well as call him his “ little brother“. In exchange for giving
him information on his stepfather‘s suspicion of him , Pink promises Sonny
wonderful things and constantly assures him that he’s doing right “ But it all be
good, it‘s all good, we don‘t got nothing to worry, you know what I mean? It be all
good, all of it gonna be good eventually.” ( Gilb 233). Pink encourages keeping
secrets and also to really look up to one’s self. Sonny’s new found confidence makes
him even more impulsive than he was before and makes many questionable choices
along the way along with creating new tension between Sonny and his stepfather
Cloyd. Pink is without a doubt what makes Sonny’s change come full circle and
connects all other examples only heighten this proof.
Sonny’s roller costar rides, keeps readers emotionally invested in him and the
first person perspective helps as well. Without much parental guidance and Sonny
became more independent and goes where ever he wants to, This lack of supervision
gets Sonny in a love triangle between two woman with personalities who are on way
opposite sides of the spectrum and Sonny’s only real role model becomes himself as
right and wrong only is defined from personal experience and trial and error alone.
Without such time and detail in the telling of his inner thoughts and feeling this
novel would not be as powerful as it is. The Flowers could show anyone how much our
world and popular culture around us shapes our ethics, they shape us all more than
most even realize it.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Week four work. post 3
Angry with Cloyd for raising his voice at him, Sonny steals a large amount a money from Cloyd’s desk.
Unable to put it back now that he has damaged the envelope it was in, Sonny keeps the money between a
boy scout hand book along with money of his own. If I stole such a large sum of money from a family
member I wouldn’t leave it still in the house. The money meant nothing to Sonny, but he was still
compelled to steel just from rage. Perhaps it was also because Cloyd promised to pay him some for all the
work he does around the complex but never for filling his promises. I don’t have the guts to steel that much
money unless something drove me to the extent of steeling money to buy or to give to someone else yet
Sonny does it all just from his compulsive nature and as he begins to stop thinking about things as much and
starts taking some action. Without too much of a role model, Sonny look up to himself and even if he can
still be very responsible and logical at times, his ethic are sort of warped because of it without a doubt.
Unable to put it back now that he has damaged the envelope it was in, Sonny keeps the money between a
boy scout hand book along with money of his own. If I stole such a large sum of money from a family
member I wouldn’t leave it still in the house. The money meant nothing to Sonny, but he was still
compelled to steel just from rage. Perhaps it was also because Cloyd promised to pay him some for all the
work he does around the complex but never for filling his promises. I don’t have the guts to steel that much
money unless something drove me to the extent of steeling money to buy or to give to someone else yet
Sonny does it all just from his compulsive nature and as he begins to stop thinking about things as much and
starts taking some action. Without too much of a role model, Sonny look up to himself and even if he can
still be very responsible and logical at times, his ethic are sort of warped because of it without a doubt.
Week four work. post 2
From a feminist perspective, the character Cindy is a very horrible role model and someone the modern
woman would never want to be, but she is a very core character in this novel and help the protagonist grow.
Cindy differs herself from the conventional modest woman into something all her own, she grows bored of
her husband and so needs some one new to come into her life to keep the days from going so slow. She falls
in love with Sonny from the very first time they meet. This novel most likely takes place in the early 90s
where full gender equality has been around for a long time already, No woman in the flowers acts like the
stereotypical mother or house wife. Cindy along with Silvia both grew up in a world with woman’s right as
they’re both materialistic and stand out more than any other wife or mother in the flowers. I still assume
that this novel takes place in 1992 because of that.
woman would never want to be, but she is a very core character in this novel and help the protagonist grow.
Cindy differs herself from the conventional modest woman into something all her own, she grows bored of
her husband and so needs some one new to come into her life to keep the days from going so slow. She falls
in love with Sonny from the very first time they meet. This novel most likely takes place in the early 90s
where full gender equality has been around for a long time already, No woman in the flowers acts like the
stereotypical mother or house wife. Cindy along with Silvia both grew up in a world with woman’s right as
they’re both materialistic and stand out more than any other wife or mother in the flowers. I still assume
that this novel takes place in 1992 because of that.
Week four work. post 1
Just finishing the book and looking back, Sonny has grown a lot since the very beginning. The amazing
amount of freedom led him to make some choices that anyone would have done, there wasn’t one good role
model around him either they all kept to themselves while all interacting with Sonny at the same time. He
wouldn’t be the same without the time with each and every person at the flowers. Sonny sees himself as an
adult and doesn’t question himself as much as used to even if he’s making the wrong decision. He doesn’t
feel guilt as much as he did before, the eyes in Cloyd’s study don’t scare him anymore. I would
disagree to anyone who says Cloyd is the root cause of this all, it’s the fact that he has little to no connection
with his other family and little to no one on one time with his mother that made him what he was. The twins
gave us a good contrast of what Sonny was and the immature teenager that he could have been and Cindy
taught him a lot about relationships sorta.
amount of freedom led him to make some choices that anyone would have done, there wasn’t one good role
model around him either they all kept to themselves while all interacting with Sonny at the same time. He
wouldn’t be the same without the time with each and every person at the flowers. Sonny sees himself as an
adult and doesn’t question himself as much as used to even if he’s making the wrong decision. He doesn’t
feel guilt as much as he did before, the eyes in Cloyd’s study don’t scare him anymore. I would
disagree to anyone who says Cloyd is the root cause of this all, it’s the fact that he has little to no connection
with his other family and little to no one on one time with his mother that made him what he was. The twins
gave us a good contrast of what Sonny was and the immature teenager that he could have been and Cindy
taught him a lot about relationships sorta.
Week three work. post 2
The hardest part about this book and critical theory is trying to avoid reader’s response, there are much
more interesting theories and I’m pretty sure everyone else is doing that one too. On the other hand from
what I’ve learned in class some things in the text are left purposely ambiguous to either keep the story
relevant or encourage discussion. Something that’s very difficult about the text are the Spanish parts, I sort
of feel like I’m missing some thing if I don’t understand what most of what the twins are saying, to me that
don’t really exist at all. Without them the story would be more or less the same since every character
spends time with sonny on their own and almost never with anyone else in the apartment besides Cloyd and
Bud or Nica and Mr.Josep. in all honesty I love the ambiguity…I just wish for a more interesting book.
more interesting theories and I’m pretty sure everyone else is doing that one too. On the other hand from
what I’ve learned in class some things in the text are left purposely ambiguous to either keep the story
relevant or encourage discussion. Something that’s very difficult about the text are the Spanish parts, I sort
of feel like I’m missing some thing if I don’t understand what most of what the twins are saying, to me that
don’t really exist at all. Without them the story would be more or less the same since every character
spends time with sonny on their own and almost never with anyone else in the apartment besides Cloyd and
Bud or Nica and Mr.Josep. in all honesty I love the ambiguity…I just wish for a more interesting book.
Week three work. post 1
Unlike the books I had to read last semester, this novel is very easy to read. Its loose and un formal style
really makes it flow and I find myself doing a weeks worth of reading in an afternoon since a lot of it is just
un important to the whole plot and character’s growth in general. Every passage with sonny talking about
what he sees in his head really doesn’t make too much sense or maybe it would feel more important if he
didn’t talk about it so often. When you pick out these parts this book is very short, already close to finishing
and nothing makes me want to keep reading besides the fact that I have to write a short essay on it. This
novel has also made me realized how much I’ve grown as a reader since high school where I spent two
years never having to read any sort of short story or novel because the teacher always had it on CD or
something. I hope that next time I can cut the text into short segments that I can easily read during the week
than to just put it all off and read eighty pages on Sunday night. Without question the reading is the easiest
part of this course, I’m my opinion the hardest part is this blog, I would have a much easier time just
writing a paper each week and turning it in. without due dates I always do things the day before, it’s a nasty
habit, but I feel like I do better under the pressure of deadlines.
really makes it flow and I find myself doing a weeks worth of reading in an afternoon since a lot of it is just
un important to the whole plot and character’s growth in general. Every passage with sonny talking about
what he sees in his head really doesn’t make too much sense or maybe it would feel more important if he
didn’t talk about it so often. When you pick out these parts this book is very short, already close to finishing
and nothing makes me want to keep reading besides the fact that I have to write a short essay on it. This
novel has also made me realized how much I’ve grown as a reader since high school where I spent two
years never having to read any sort of short story or novel because the teacher always had it on CD or
something. I hope that next time I can cut the text into short segments that I can easily read during the week
than to just put it all off and read eighty pages on Sunday night. Without question the reading is the easiest
part of this course, I’m my opinion the hardest part is this blog, I would have a much easier time just
writing a paper each week and turning it in. without due dates I always do things the day before, it’s a nasty
habit, but I feel like I do better under the pressure of deadlines.
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