"Monster" and "Incognegro" both talked highly about racial issues. In Monster, Steve is a 16 year old black boy on trial for murder. I believe, in a way, this creates a conversation because the fact of the matter is - he is up for murder and he is what society views as " the perfect canidate." When I say this I mean our world today is more inclined to believe that a person of a "minority" group would commit a murder rather than someone of the "dominant" race. Steve's indentity does not favor him in the situation. Even in the beginning it is hard to believe that his defense attorney even believes he is innoncent. Whether or not this is talked about in the book, during trial you have no idea what is going on in a judge's head. Even though they are not suppose to judge/nor discriminate against a person for the color of their skin, how do you know they aren't? How do we know that Steve being black could have been used against him?
Zane creates a stir because he is a black male pretending to be white. He is doing this for the fact that he wants to help his brother out but at the same time, his identity is taken away from him. Pretending to be someone else, you can completely lose who you are. I don't know believe Zane did, but how do we know Zane doesn't wish that he was white and not black? Using it for stories or to watch lynchings, could this trigger him wishing he was someone else?
Both books share the fact that these indivduals are at a disadvantage because they are black. Steve's trial could have gone better if he wasn't hanging out with a crowd that was completely black - or is he wasn't black himself. Zane has to pretend to be a white male to get the coverage he wants or help out someone in need. Looking at these two stories it is hard to believe they are at any advantage at all. Both stories were sad and brought up racial issues that we are still facing as a society today.
Power is big in our society and these characters have to gain it. They do not have power in their hands from just being themselves. Zane gets power when he saves his brother and Steve gets it when he is found innoncent. Both had to work for the little power they eventually got. Nothing was handed to them.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Unit 4 - Monster
This book really interested me because it was a novel that I feel I would have read outside of class. It dealt with issues that I find interesting. What I liked about it was that throughout the book I couldnt decide how I felt about Steve. When reading it you want to believe he did no wrong and that he did back out when it came to the robbery and that in general peer pressure was what lead him to join these certain "friends". When I first started reading it I found it interesting that Steve is going back and forth on how he feels about himself. When we did our quiz in the last class it asked what issus Steve faced internally and externally. I think throughout his book Steve was trying to find himself. First off he is only 16 and being so young facing jail for murder can change a person in ways that one who hasn't will not experience. I believed that throughout the book there were cases that Steve did stick to the fact he felt he didn't do anything wrong (that he was in the wrong place at the "wrong time") but he felt guilty for ever being assoicated with the James, Bobo and Cruz. I know that he sticks to his belief that he is NOT a bad person, because he says it on pg. 93. One thing that interested me was in the beginning of the book Mrs.O'Brien tells Steve that he needs to believe in himself if he wants to win the trial. This made me wonder if Steve didn't care too much about the trial because he knew he was innocent (at least he KNEW he was) and felt that whatever happened, happened. I had a lot of questions when reading the book - for example, did Mrs. O'Brien really believe that Steve was innoncent? In the beginning I felt that she was scared of him in a way and was back and forth on her opinon. But, at the end Steve mentions " What caused her to turn away? What did she see? "
If anyone wants to answer any of the questions I had on comments with your ideas that would be great :)!
- Nora
If anyone wants to answer any of the questions I had on comments with your ideas that would be great :)!
- Nora
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The Book Thief - Blog
For this Blog I choose Hans Huberman to focus on. I decided to chose him because I felt that throughout the frist half of the book he was the " light " that was needed in such a hard time. Liesel had never had a Father or any male figure in her life prior to foster care and I think their relationship important in her growth in the book. He made Liesel feel safe right from the beginning and with a book that is focusing on gencide which is already dark enough it gives off a warm feeling for the reader. It was something that myself as a reader could look at as something good, instead of bad.
Hans faces conflicts with his family in a lot of ways. His son does not agree with the fact that Hans is not already involved in the Nazi Party. Their relationship is strained because their viewpoints differ but at the same time Hans does not speak his views because of the time being so dangerous. I also think that his relationship with Rosa is one big mess and he is very unhappy. He puts up with Rosa because thats what he has always done and I think Liesel is just a much a support to him as he is to her.
Hans does not speak much of what is going on at this time. He chooses to keep his mouth shut because as a reader you feel that he does not agree with it but goes along with it because that is simply what people are doing. Germans didn't have a say, they either followed or they were viewed as filth just as jews were. In a lot of cases people are not going to be the one to make a difference when their life is in jeopardy. It is an issue that we still face today as humans.
In some ways I view Hans as not unqiue because I feel that he feeling the same way many people are feeling but are not saying it. In a lot of ways the book was hard for me to understand because there is so much going on. With that said, Hans being a light in the book was a way for me to view things in the book differently. It made me happy that Liesel was taken into foster care even though the situation was the best.
:)
Hans faces conflicts with his family in a lot of ways. His son does not agree with the fact that Hans is not already involved in the Nazi Party. Their relationship is strained because their viewpoints differ but at the same time Hans does not speak his views because of the time being so dangerous. I also think that his relationship with Rosa is one big mess and he is very unhappy. He puts up with Rosa because thats what he has always done and I think Liesel is just a much a support to him as he is to her.
Hans does not speak much of what is going on at this time. He chooses to keep his mouth shut because as a reader you feel that he does not agree with it but goes along with it because that is simply what people are doing. Germans didn't have a say, they either followed or they were viewed as filth just as jews were. In a lot of cases people are not going to be the one to make a difference when their life is in jeopardy. It is an issue that we still face today as humans.
In some ways I view Hans as not unqiue because I feel that he feeling the same way many people are feeling but are not saying it. In a lot of ways the book was hard for me to understand because there is so much going on. With that said, Hans being a light in the book was a way for me to view things in the book differently. It made me happy that Liesel was taken into foster care even though the situation was the best.
:)
Thursday, September 9, 2010
MAUS themes :)
Hellllo my lovely class,
Maus was the first graphic novel I have ever read. Prisoner on the Hell Planet shocked me greatly when I read it. I had to re read over it because it was a lot to take in at one time. The first connection I made after reading it was the title. I realized that in so many words Artie was saying that he was living in his own hell. Even though he was not techincally a "prisoner" (not being in jail) he IS because his own mental issues/past/mother's sucide kept him from living a happy life. The title really gave the whole story it's meaning.
Another thing I thought interesting was people were actually drawn in this comic. No animals were being used. I believe that this was done because Art wanted the reader to take this part more personal. Instead of listening to his father's story (which of course is tragic) he was giving the reader an idea of HOW he has felt over the issues first hand. By using people it made it more relateable. The reader can actually look at the people in the comic and relate to the emotions on their face. When using animals it is more difficult. I also believe that he wanted the reader to remember the "humanistic" side to it. With his father's story using the animals make the novel a bit lighter. But when you get to the comic in the middle of the story it sends a shock back into the novel.
I understand in ways that Artie felt responsible for his mother's death because he might have felt by brushing her off when she came into his room was a "breaking point" but I never really understood WHY she did. What really set her off? Was it her past? Was Vladek not able to get over what had happened during the Holocaust? It also shows that Artie was labeled at the "stronger one" in the novel rather than his father. In the end it was Artie giving his shoulder up for his father to cry on, not vice versa.
I thought this part of the novel was very powerful and got my attention quickly :)
- Nora
Maus was the first graphic novel I have ever read. Prisoner on the Hell Planet shocked me greatly when I read it. I had to re read over it because it was a lot to take in at one time. The first connection I made after reading it was the title. I realized that in so many words Artie was saying that he was living in his own hell. Even though he was not techincally a "prisoner" (not being in jail) he IS because his own mental issues/past/mother's sucide kept him from living a happy life. The title really gave the whole story it's meaning.
Another thing I thought interesting was people were actually drawn in this comic. No animals were being used. I believe that this was done because Art wanted the reader to take this part more personal. Instead of listening to his father's story (which of course is tragic) he was giving the reader an idea of HOW he has felt over the issues first hand. By using people it made it more relateable. The reader can actually look at the people in the comic and relate to the emotions on their face. When using animals it is more difficult. I also believe that he wanted the reader to remember the "humanistic" side to it. With his father's story using the animals make the novel a bit lighter. But when you get to the comic in the middle of the story it sends a shock back into the novel.
I understand in ways that Artie felt responsible for his mother's death because he might have felt by brushing her off when she came into his room was a "breaking point" but I never really understood WHY she did. What really set her off? Was it her past? Was Vladek not able to get over what had happened during the Holocaust? It also shows that Artie was labeled at the "stronger one" in the novel rather than his father. In the end it was Artie giving his shoulder up for his father to cry on, not vice versa.
I thought this part of the novel was very powerful and got my attention quickly :)
- Nora
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
cultural lit assignment # 1
Hiiiiii Class,
My name is Nora Hartten and I am a senior at Ship. I just turned 22 in May. I transferred here almost 2 years ago from a college in Maryland. I grew up in Maryland my entire life and came to school here because it had a good education program. At the time I was an education major and a psych minor. I decided to change my major last year to Psychology because I found myself much more passionate about it. Hopefully I will be able to graduate this year since I changed my major around. I currently work at New Visions which is a CRC program for people with mental illness. My main interest in psychology is with schizophrenia/DID/ and eating disorders. After college I would like to work in either a clinic for individuals with eating disorders or a psych ward with people who suffer from schizophrenia and DID.
In my free time when I am not working or doing school work I like to work out. I am a big gym person :) I also play flag football at Ship which I love. I like football in general and most sports as well. I love cooking and being with my friends. I love to read and watch movies. I am pretty simple when it comes to occupying my time. I got engaged on July 4th 2010 so I have been planning my wedding which is taking up a lot of my time. My fiancé graduated from Shippensburg in 2009 with his degree in physics. He is a nuke sub for the Navy and is currently stationed in New York.
I have always been interested in people and the way people do things/why they do/what makes them act certain ways/etc. Even though this class is a lit class I feel that I will be able to take away some answers to the questions that I stated above. I feel that the readings will give me answers and help me understand our world better. I am also hoping to learn from other people in the class and see how my opinions on certain issues change as well. To be completely honest on my thoughts on cultural diversity I believe that we as a Nation don’t have much. I think that many people like to think that people accept America as a diverse place but in reality they don’t. I do not think most America is tolerant to people that they believe differ from them.
The last book I read was a play called "Angels in America." My fiance's brother gave it to me :)
- Nora
My name is Nora Hartten and I am a senior at Ship. I just turned 22 in May. I transferred here almost 2 years ago from a college in Maryland. I grew up in Maryland my entire life and came to school here because it had a good education program. At the time I was an education major and a psych minor. I decided to change my major last year to Psychology because I found myself much more passionate about it. Hopefully I will be able to graduate this year since I changed my major around. I currently work at New Visions which is a CRC program for people with mental illness. My main interest in psychology is with schizophrenia/DID/ and eating disorders. After college I would like to work in either a clinic for individuals with eating disorders or a psych ward with people who suffer from schizophrenia and DID.
In my free time when I am not working or doing school work I like to work out. I am a big gym person :) I also play flag football at Ship which I love. I like football in general and most sports as well. I love cooking and being with my friends. I love to read and watch movies. I am pretty simple when it comes to occupying my time. I got engaged on July 4th 2010 so I have been planning my wedding which is taking up a lot of my time. My fiancé graduated from Shippensburg in 2009 with his degree in physics. He is a nuke sub for the Navy and is currently stationed in New York.
I have always been interested in people and the way people do things/why they do/what makes them act certain ways/etc. Even though this class is a lit class I feel that I will be able to take away some answers to the questions that I stated above. I feel that the readings will give me answers and help me understand our world better. I am also hoping to learn from other people in the class and see how my opinions on certain issues change as well. To be completely honest on my thoughts on cultural diversity I believe that we as a Nation don’t have much. I think that many people like to think that people accept America as a diverse place but in reality they don’t. I do not think most America is tolerant to people that they believe differ from them.
The last book I read was a play called "Angels in America." My fiance's brother gave it to me :)
- Nora
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