The Jim Crow Laws. Wow. I can't believe the U.S. was like that before. Well, I mean I knew, but each time I hear or learn about it is still shocking.
America is supposed to be the "Land of the Free", but how is rascism a way to portray freedom? How is bigotry supposed to give America a good name? Why would anyone feel that prejudice is acceptable? The whole thing is just ridiculous.
I don't think that these people understand how unintelligent they sound. It's like saying that people with brown eyes can't associate with people with blue eyes. Or people with long hair are superior compared to people with short hair. Or that people who are right handed and people who are left handed can't get married to eachother. It just doesn't make any sense. The people who are racist have no reasons to back up their claims. Why do they hate African Americans so much? What did the African Americans do to deserve such harsh treatment? Nothing. There is no reason to justify the fact that they were treated like that.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
My response to the seemingly huge packet of stories that actually didn't take long to read at all
Almost everyone is responding to the same thing: eggs. So I think I'll skip that one.
Maurice Sendak recalls an important memory in her life that includes books, sibling love, and jumping out of a fourteenth story window. Out of all the short stories that I read, this one struck out to me the most. It intrigued me and made me laugh as I was reading it. In reading the first sentence, you never would have guessed that the story would end the way it did.
In the first paragraph, I love how she made a simple memory of her grandma pulling the window shade up and down into a picture book. At this point it was apparent that this child would grow up to be a writer. With an imagination like that, how could she not? As a child, if that same thing happened to me, I would have been like "Oh hey, grandma's pulling the window shade up and down. whoopee!" I definitely would not have compared it to turning the pages of a picture book.
The story that the author and her brother wrote together is so deep and passionate, yet so innocent at the same time. It shows how naive kids really are, and how they truly do not understand the world around them. How were they to know that siblings don't marry siblings? My favorite part of the story was probably the end of it "...they cry out in unison, 'We are inseprable' andleap from the fourteenth floor of the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital-SPLAT!" For one thing, you would never have imagined this coming out of a seven year old. Secondly, it was just hilarious. Not because they died in the end, but because they made it so intense for a something written by children.
I also noticed in the whole short essay/story, she did not focus on one specific thing. Yes, the whole thing was about "writing in general", but she jumps from topic to topic. She starts out talking about the window scene, and then The Prince and the Pauper, and then the story, and then ends with how she ended up becoming a writer. Even though she talked about all these things in less than a page and a half, it all seemed to flow and become a pleasurable read.
Maurice Sendak recalls an important memory in her life that includes books, sibling love, and jumping out of a fourteenth story window. Out of all the short stories that I read, this one struck out to me the most. It intrigued me and made me laugh as I was reading it. In reading the first sentence, you never would have guessed that the story would end the way it did.
In the first paragraph, I love how she made a simple memory of her grandma pulling the window shade up and down into a picture book. At this point it was apparent that this child would grow up to be a writer. With an imagination like that, how could she not? As a child, if that same thing happened to me, I would have been like "Oh hey, grandma's pulling the window shade up and down. whoopee!" I definitely would not have compared it to turning the pages of a picture book.
The story that the author and her brother wrote together is so deep and passionate, yet so innocent at the same time. It shows how naive kids really are, and how they truly do not understand the world around them. How were they to know that siblings don't marry siblings? My favorite part of the story was probably the end of it "...they cry out in unison, 'We are inseprable' andleap from the fourteenth floor of the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital-SPLAT!" For one thing, you would never have imagined this coming out of a seven year old. Secondly, it was just hilarious. Not because they died in the end, but because they made it so intense for a something written by children.
I also noticed in the whole short essay/story, she did not focus on one specific thing. Yes, the whole thing was about "writing in general", but she jumps from topic to topic. She starts out talking about the window scene, and then The Prince and the Pauper, and then the story, and then ends with how she ended up becoming a writer. Even though she talked about all these things in less than a page and a half, it all seemed to flow and become a pleasurable read.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
I'm bad with technology...
I can't seem to figure out how to attach a link to my blog...
So for now let's just put it here. Here's the link to the blog I will probably be following:
http://snapsandblabs.com/blog/
So for now let's just put it here. Here's the link to the blog I will probably be following:
http://snapsandblabs.com/blog/
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Why I Write
George Orwell and Joan Didion talked about in their articles how they write because it is their passion, their destiny. My reasons are nowhere near that deep. Though it sounds bad, most of the time I just write for a grade. I would say the biggest reason as to why I write is to work my way up to a good future. I wish that I could say "I write because I love to." But unfortunately, I cant.
As a child, I tried to write. I started journals, started poems, even started a few stories. But those were never completed. I just did not have the devotion or drive to push me to keep writing. To be completely honest, I used to hate writing. Well, hate is a strong word...let's go with strongly dislike. I used to strongly dislike writing. Everything that I was being forced to write was a burden. But I soon realized that in order to be successful in what I wanted to as an adult I needed to know how to write, and more importantly, know how to write well.
So I pushed myself. I chose classes that I knew would help me enhance my writing abilities, and I worked hard. I think it has helped me tremendously. Writing has never been one of my fortes, but by going through these experiences my writing has improved. It is still far, far away from anything amazing though. There's still a lot of room for improvement.
Everytime I look back, I think "Why did I hate writing so much?" And I don't really have an answer. Maybe it's because I was never good at it. But that's not an excuse. Just because you're not good at something doesn't mean you should loathe it and stop trying. Or maybe it's because my brain just does not think creatively. I am a person that functions and thinks better with concrete facts. The half of my brain that works better is the science and math part. It's hard for me to be creative and think of the metaphors and imagery that brings life into a piece of writing. So I need to keep pushing myself to push through that barrier. And I think I have a little bit, because I am enjoying writing a lot more than before.
As a child, I tried to write. I started journals, started poems, even started a few stories. But those were never completed. I just did not have the devotion or drive to push me to keep writing. To be completely honest, I used to hate writing. Well, hate is a strong word...let's go with strongly dislike. I used to strongly dislike writing. Everything that I was being forced to write was a burden. But I soon realized that in order to be successful in what I wanted to as an adult I needed to know how to write, and more importantly, know how to write well.
So I pushed myself. I chose classes that I knew would help me enhance my writing abilities, and I worked hard. I think it has helped me tremendously. Writing has never been one of my fortes, but by going through these experiences my writing has improved. It is still far, far away from anything amazing though. There's still a lot of room for improvement.
Everytime I look back, I think "Why did I hate writing so much?" And I don't really have an answer. Maybe it's because I was never good at it. But that's not an excuse. Just because you're not good at something doesn't mean you should loathe it and stop trying. Or maybe it's because my brain just does not think creatively. I am a person that functions and thinks better with concrete facts. The half of my brain that works better is the science and math part. It's hard for me to be creative and think of the metaphors and imagery that brings life into a piece of writing. So I need to keep pushing myself to push through that barrier. And I think I have a little bit, because I am enjoying writing a lot more than before.
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