Blog Assignment on “Being a Man” By Paul Theroux
It is my opinion, the claim that Paul Theroux tries to convey in his essay "Being a Man" is his disdain for how a man is perceived in America and how the idea of masculinity seems to be forced into the minds of every young male. He states in his essay "The whole idea of manhood in America is pitiful." "Even the expression "Be a man!" strikes me as insulting and abusive." He again solidifies his claim when he states, "It ought to be clear by now that I have something of an objection to the way we turn boys into men."
I think that his sub-argument is that he felt that being a writer and being a man were incompatible. He tells that even as a young man he knew that his wanting to be a writer was at odds with the perceived notion of being a man. When he says, "Everything in stereotyped manliness goes against the life of the mind." I think that he is talking of his struggles as a young man trying to persue a career in writing. You get the feeling that he spent alot of time being humiliated because he was viewed as an outcast due to his unwillingness to conforn to what he considered "oppressive roleplaying."
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Questions from "Mommy, What Does 'Nigger' Mean?"
As I read "Mommy, What Does Nigger Mean?" by Gloria Naylor, I myself had many questions. Why does Ms. Naylor say that she considers the written word inferior to the spoken. She states in her passage that "Words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power" (Naylor 510). After thinking about this for a moment, I see her point. If you take a look at Webster's dictionary you can see that the word "nigger" in and of itself is not a bad word. It is derived from the latin word niger meaning black. It is only when the word is spoken by some ignorant person that is fuled by racial hatred and bigotry that it becomes a bad word.
Ms. Naylor describes her family and childhood home in the passage. She also discusses how the words "nigger" and "girl" were used among her family. I think that she does this so that the reader can invision her family life and childhood home. This makes it easier for the reader to relate to her family.
I often wondered why African Americans would use the word nigger. Why would they choose to use a word that has such deep seated hatred associated with it, but Ms. Naylor explains that by "meeting the word head-on, they proved it had absolutely nothing to do with the way they were determined to live their lives" (Naylor 512). The family took a word that was used to signify worthlessness or degradation and tranformed it to signify the varied and complex human beings they knew themselves to be, thus redering the word impotant.
Ms. Naylor describes her family and childhood home in the passage. She also discusses how the words "nigger" and "girl" were used among her family. I think that she does this so that the reader can invision her family life and childhood home. This makes it easier for the reader to relate to her family.
I often wondered why African Americans would use the word nigger. Why would they choose to use a word that has such deep seated hatred associated with it, but Ms. Naylor explains that by "meeting the word head-on, they proved it had absolutely nothing to do with the way they were determined to live their lives" (Naylor 512). The family took a word that was used to signify worthlessness or degradation and tranformed it to signify the varied and complex human beings they knew themselves to be, thus redering the word impotant.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Blog Response to "Killing Time in Iraq" by Colby Buzzell
When I first read Colby Buzzell's "Killing Time in Iraq" his writing style is what caught my attention. His writing is so raw and unfiltered that it just grabs ahold of you and does not let go. Since he is blogging it is more effective than journal writing because it allows other people to connect with Buzzell in a much more personal setting. You find yourself relating to him and you almost get the feeling that you are a fellow soldier ruffing it in the trenches alongside him.
My sister spent a full year in Iraq when the Iraq war first began in 2001 and the stories she told me were unreal. You turn on the news and you know it is a bad situation, but you are so far removed that it is hard to relate. It is only when you hear the story from a soldiers perspective that you realize that you don't know the half of it. I think this is precisely why a publisher would want to publish Buzzell's blogs, because you would be getting the real story and not some polished CNN story where you hear only what the media wants you to know.
My sister spent a full year in Iraq when the Iraq war first began in 2001 and the stories she told me were unreal. You turn on the news and you know it is a bad situation, but you are so far removed that it is hard to relate. It is only when you hear the story from a soldiers perspective that you realize that you don't know the half of it. I think this is precisely why a publisher would want to publish Buzzell's blogs, because you would be getting the real story and not some polished CNN story where you hear only what the media wants you to know.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Response to Chang Rae Lee’s “Coming Home Again”
I liked the story very much. Upon reading this story I immediately related to Lee because my grandmother lives at home with my mother and depends on her for many of her daily needs. When the author is speaking of his mother’s metal stand with the medication that she wheeled around, it kind of made me pause for a moment because I can imagine the ka-jug sound that he described as his mother rolled the stand across the floor. I think that many different cultures could share a lot of common threads. Sure there are going to be fundamental differences such as the cuisine and language, but at the end of it all it is not too difficult to place yourself in the author’s shoes.
The ironic thing about Lee’s mother's illness is that she has stomach cancer and can no longer enjoy to prepare and eat the food that played such a big role in her family's life. I believe that the food in the story is a symbol used to represent the mothers true love. After all the mother is seen by the children as unable to express her feelings, but it was through the food that the she was able to accomplish this. I think that the author is trying to get the reader to understand that time is precious and a little communication can go a long way. In the story there seems to be some resentment on both the authors and the mothers’ part about having sent him away to boarding school. The most heartfelt part of the story for me is when both mother and son were able to honestly share thier feeling thus providing them with the closure that they both had desired for many years.
I think that the author entitled the story “Coming Home Again” for a couple of reasons. One being in the literal sense that he was once again back home to care for his ailing mother, but I also think that there is a metaphorical meaning in that he was finally ready to go home now that he understands his mothers true feelings.
I liked the story very much. Upon reading this story I immediately related to Lee because my grandmother lives at home with my mother and depends on her for many of her daily needs. When the author is speaking of his mother’s metal stand with the medication that she wheeled around, it kind of made me pause for a moment because I can imagine the ka-jug sound that he described as his mother rolled the stand across the floor. I think that many different cultures could share a lot of common threads. Sure there are going to be fundamental differences such as the cuisine and language, but at the end of it all it is not too difficult to place yourself in the author’s shoes.
The ironic thing about Lee’s mother's illness is that she has stomach cancer and can no longer enjoy to prepare and eat the food that played such a big role in her family's life. I believe that the food in the story is a symbol used to represent the mothers true love. After all the mother is seen by the children as unable to express her feelings, but it was through the food that the she was able to accomplish this. I think that the author is trying to get the reader to understand that time is precious and a little communication can go a long way. In the story there seems to be some resentment on both the authors and the mothers’ part about having sent him away to boarding school. The most heartfelt part of the story for me is when both mother and son were able to honestly share thier feeling thus providing them with the closure that they both had desired for many years.
I think that the author entitled the story “Coming Home Again” for a couple of reasons. One being in the literal sense that he was once again back home to care for his ailing mother, but I also think that there is a metaphorical meaning in that he was finally ready to go home now that he understands his mothers true feelings.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
My First Blog
Hello Everyone,
It is currently 1:06 a.m. so I will make this short and sweet. My name is Robert Espinosa and I am married with two wonderful children. I am a first time college student and am pretty nervous. It has been awhile since I have been to school, but I will give it my best. I enjoy going to the movies with my family and watching the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. I hope to one day earn a degree in Education.
It is currently 1:06 a.m. so I will make this short and sweet. My name is Robert Espinosa and I am married with two wonderful children. I am a first time college student and am pretty nervous. It has been awhile since I have been to school, but I will give it my best. I enjoy going to the movies with my family and watching the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. I hope to one day earn a degree in Education.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)