Final Discussion

My apologies I seem to receive the notifications really late on my phone. I know it’s too receive a grade but I still write for the final discussion board just it’s honestly fun to write an express my thoughts. I would say the reading that had the most impact for me was “Araby”. Not because of the story itself but what it forced me to do. It helped me get out of my comfort zone and forced me to care. one of the most challenging aspect of writing out these discussion board and the essay is that I didn’t care enough about the story. I didn’t find myself interested their stories because I honestly it was boring. However trough trial and error as well as having to rewrite my essay and attend my screenwriting class. I came to a realization that in order to write stories that I care about. I have to be an effective writer and to do that I need to read and write things that are not part of my immediate orbit. I need to create a connection so that I can write in a way that feels comfortable and natural to me. Anyways thank you Professor. I used to write simply for myself and to write my thoughts and ideas down but I’ve come to enjoy it as it’s own art form. I still have a long way to go but I do feel motivated to continue on forward with my writing.

Out of all the assignments we have read, ” The lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara,  left the biggest impact on me.  I saw myself as that little girl, Sylvia.   Sylvia was uncomfortable. I could tell by her constant annoyance after they reached the toy store.  I used to be resistant when I was in a place I didn’t feel I belonged. I became defensive and put on this bravado to seem confident.  The story also gave the kids small insight into the lives of their friends.  One of them not as surprised or uncomfortable. She fit in. I became aware that everyone I knew didn’t live like I did. Didn’t have the same privileges or opportunities as I had.  I became aware of those who seemingly had a more active family life.  I also learned that there are people with a lot less than my family had, which was hard to believe considering I always thought we were dirt poor.  Towards the end Sylvia decides ” She isn’t going to let anyone beat her.” I felt the determination in that line. I knew when I saw what life could be like, I decided the same thing.

The reading that had the most meaning to me was the vignette “Minerva Writes Poems”. I chose this one specifically because I grew up without a father figure and my mom raised me as a single mother. While reading through the vignette I was able to closely relate to the story and see from the mother’s point of view that she wanted the best for her children. I looked at this from a point of view of my own mom and thought back to all the things that she had done for me as a child to have a good upbringing. I was able to sympathize with the mother in the story and see that all she wanted was for her kids to be happy and fed. As much as she had wanted to resent her husband for leaving her and the children she knew that she had a job to take care of these children and raise them

Hello Prof Conway, I think the story’s that have had the most meaning to me through this semester is “The lesson by Toni Cade Bambara”, The reason for this is because this has a true meaning towards the situation of all immigrants and some black African American. So in the story is basically about Ms. Moore wants the kid’s to know the reality of the world, she wants to teach them why education is important, How social inequality is a problem to the society because with out the opportunity and money like others have we aren’t able to succeed on life, For example one of the examples is the toy store, Miss Moore takes the kids there because she wants them to see how the rich are able to afford and spend a lot of money, and how in the kid’s situation they aren’t able to spend that or get that money in a week. So this talks about the difference in the rich and the poor. Also in now day’s this important because as everything is increasing in price, this who are poor, suffer because they don’t have enough. For example Food prices are increasing, rent is increasing, So this is why this story had the most meaning to me, not only because it compares the difference between the poor and the rich but because it shows us, not only me but other colleagues why is important to study and try to get the most out of college and achieve our career.

In this semester, I did many readings in this class. The one that had the most lasting impression on me was “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. Other than doing my research essay on this short story, I saw many ideas in the short story. In “the lesson,” I read about the economic injustice at the time. I also saw the growth of the character throughout the short story. Something that I connected to myself. People grow every day, whether big growth or small growth, whether physically, mentally, or just by learning something new. You can say it’s in the nature of humans to grow and adapt. Even this semester, I am growing as a reader and as a writer. Not just in this class, but my other courses help me grow more professionally. I really like most of the texts that we read this year I really did find them to be interesting. I wish everyone good luck on the exams and have a good holiday.

The story we read this semester that had the most meaning to me was “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. The reason this story resonated with me so much was because growing up my mother has always been really religious. My father was not religious at all and I feel like maybe my parents didn’t talk much about about religion before having me but decided not to baptize me as a child and ultimately gave me the decision to make my own choices once I was old enough. My mom always took my sister and I to church every sunday and we attended sunday school but we never participated in the religious celebrations most children would have like baptisims, first comunion’s , ect so I always felt really left out. As a preteen I went to a church camp with my youth group and at the camp people were “being saved” and some were speaking in tongues and saying they had seen the holy spirit, I wanted to fit in so badly that I pretended to speak in tongues and said I felt saved. Looking back this story is hilarious and reading “Salvation” brought back those memories for me. Just like Hughes wanted to get the salvation over with I wanted to just finally feel like one of the people who had been saved.

I really enjoyed our most recent reading of the semester “The House on Mango Street”. It felt like a very comforting read. I think partially because so many stories are relatable and also because the author talks about her own childhood and they are true stories and experiences which makes it more special. Another reason is that most of her stories brought up some of my childhood memories I haven’t thought of in a long time. Her writing style is something I would choose to read when looking for a book that would distract me from day to day things and create a window to a different world. The diversity of topics and people’s destinies that the author reflects on in her stories kept me very curious and engaged. I thinks it’s more rare to come across a book that seems simple but in a very unassuming manner presents important points.

The reading that had the most meaning for me was Little Snow-White. I’ve always liked fairytales and Snow White was the only one I can remember watching in my childhood because I watched it so much. For me it brings back memories of when I lived with my grandma and she had a vcr of it and that was the only Disney Princess film she had. I also like that as I got older I found out that most disney princesses had a twist in their story that made it much darker than disney portrayed. I find it interesting to read the different versions and interpretations of such a classic tale. Reading Little Snow White was really interesting because fairy tales are supposed to teach a lesson to children until Disney made a version of these fairy tales without the dark elements. Even though these stories may not have been child friendly, they still serve a purpose to show us how dark the real world can get.

I personally resonated most with “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. As a fan of psychological fiction, reading it made me really think about the way young girls present themselves. In a modern setting, often children now imitate adults and can be put into unsafe situations. The power dynamic between men and women is overlooked but in almost every circumstance, plays a big part in privilege and much more. Many young girls are vain because that’s all they have control over at that point in their life. Coincidentally, I found out she created a novel recently called “Babysitter” and wanted to read it. I lost my love for reading for fun a while ago but since then I’ve gotten the book on Audible and it’s been a good read so far. It’s nice to have a certain awareness as women of possible violent situations or look back at your formative ages, now being more capable of better decision making. Overall, I’d never think I would be back reading outside of coursework but I’m glad I’m giving it another try after being introduced to an author, It gave me more insight into the importance and enjoyment of it,

The reading with the most meaning was definitely “Araby” by James Joyce because of the epiphany that the protagonist discovered. This short story intrigued me since it can be relatable, and it comes with a lesson. There was extreme desperation from the boy to be liked by his friend’s sister which he was extremely infatuated with. There were obsessive moments of lust and vanity which is something many readers can relate to.  The boy was seeking fulfillment in Mangan’s sister since his life was described as mundane. I truly admired the accountability and maturity that the narrator manifested towards the end of the story.  It takes a lot of growth and courage to be able to own up to unhealthy behaviors.  

The reading with the most meaning to me this semester would be “The House on Mango Street”. While the other stories we read offered great explorations into some heavy subjects such as morality, maturity, faith, and belief; The House on Mango Street felt more fleshed out. The other stories read this semester were all contained to one day or moment in the lives of their characters. The House on Mango Street stretched out over a year. It introduced characters who felt relatable, dealing with real-world problems. Each character felt reminiscent of someone I’ve known, encountered, or me. I see myself having a similar plight concerning my name just as Esperanza did, I had a friend dealing with a situation like Sally’s. I understand the vignette “Those Who Don’t” because I come from an environment where outsiders view my friends, family, and me as a potential threat. I had a neighbor who, like Rosa Vargas, had too many unruly children; some were my friends. The environment also felt familiar, growing up in the urban inner city myself, in what would be considered a poorer neighborhood; I could picture the way she described her own vividly. It was also great to not only be introduced to diverse characters, but for them to also be given such depth in their vignettes really aided in fleshing out the overall world of the story, making it a very enjoyable read.  

Out of all  semester’s readings the one that had the most meaning for me is “how to Read a Poem” this is mainly because it really change the way I see and read poems. I used to thought poems was simple but it showed me poems can be way more complicated than it may seem on the surface level. It also taught me that the way I was reading poems was wrong and showed me how to fix that by giving me tips and a thorough explanation on how to read them the right way. This really expanded my knowledge on poems, and made it easier for me to understand them. Before reading this I didn’t care for poems but now I really like and enjoy reading poems.

The reading this semester that had the most meaning to me was “The Lesson ” by Toni Cade Bambara because of the lesson it showed and the characters. The story started off with children just wanting to do whatever they want and go play. They are then made to take a trip to an expensive toy store by their neighbor Miss Moore and the kids don’t know why at first. All the kids are just left speechless by the price of all the toys there and leave after a while. When asked what they learn only two kids Sylvia and Sugar learn the lesson and the rest don’t. The reason this had the most meaning to me was because it made kids who were innocent to the unfairness of the world be shown firsthand the unfairness. After being shown I was surprised at how the kids reacted with one of them even wanting to go back again. I also liked how it was inspirational as it showed the two kids who understood the lesson wanting to overcome the unfair distribution of wealth.

The reading that had the most meaning to me was “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. All of the readings were interesting in its own unique ways, but “The Necklace” was more relative to todays society in my opinion. In the story you have a woman with a good man who provided and tried to make her as comfortable as possible, however she longed for something much more. She wanted the materialistic things in life. She also wanted to appear as if she was of higher standard than what she was. Her husband worked hard to get her into a room full of prominent individuals and because she wasn’t content with who she was, she borrowed a necklace in which she lost. Her and the husband borrow money to buy a necklace just like the one she borrowed and had to work and tear down their bodies for a long time to get out of debt, all for the necklace to wound up being fake. In todays society social media had portrayed individuals to be happier, richer, stronger , and wiser. Behind the scenes the same individuals may be battling depression, wearing fake jewelry and clothes, weak minded, and copying and pasting others words. It is important to be comfortable with who you are, live within your means, and work for what you want. Be patient, your time is coming. Thank you Professor Conway for enhancing my understanding of literature. Happy Holidays everyone!

“Salvation” by Langston Hughes is the reading that I connected with the most because of the experience Langston faced. His aunt wanted him to be “saved” to hear and feel Jesus in his soul. Me, I went to Catholic school growing up but never paid attention during mass and religion class because it wasn’t of great interest to me. My grandmothers specifically would tell me to always pray, go to mass, and invite Jesus into my life. This was something I didn’t want to do because quite simply it wasn’t important to me and just like Langston, I never felt anything. Langston went through the whole celebration and was the last one to go up to the altar because he didn’t feel or see anything. Langston ended up crying that night because he knows he deceived everyone in the church and lied about his experience because he didn’t feel anything. I related to Langston’s exact feeling because after my sacraments I lied to my family about feeling like a brand new person and more spiritual. 

My favorite  reading this semester was “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. This story truly had a lesson, from the Author perspective it shows how African Americans struggle to live a life that’s equal and fear. “The lesson” make me feel  that these ideas depicted belong to me as a child growing up watching  my parents trying to figure out how and what we are going to eat today when things were bad at that time. I can relate to the group of kids, looking at the prices of things knowing how expensive things were and can’t afford them. I think that anybody that read this story get her message and reflect on this serious issue about inequality among the African American people living in the United States and  raises the issues of injustice in the society. I learn a lot from reading this story and i appreciate the Author and how she choose the group of kids to spread her ideas.

My favorite reading this semester is “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, this short story was a bit comedic and relatable. A lot of us have gone into stores and have seen ridiculous prices for minuscule gadgets, a lot of us budget to buy stuff we need rather than want. One might think to themselves “why aren’t I in on it” like Sylvia thought. I found Sylvia’s personality so hilarious and spunky, she had control over the whole gang and when she didn’t she threw a fit. She disliked Miss Moore so much, but Sylvia did understand that Miss Moore was smart and could teach them things. Even though Miss Moore knew the such dislike Sylvia had for her she gave Sylvia leadership of the whole group, she gave her a sense of responsibility.

My favorite reading was the vignettes from the house on mango street because it was very relatable to many people as we saw from the discussion posts many people connected to different stories which shows just how much reach these vignettes have and for me I found many of them relatable to the point that it was difficult for me to pick one for each the past 2 weeks of  discussion, overall it was a fun and enjoyable to read and was much easier to connect with at least for me than any of the other stories. Overall it was really cool to see how many different perspectives and different overall Storytelling was able to be told in one collection of stories compared to some of the other stories that were more focused on one or two types of stories compared to this collection that was able to tell it from so many perspectives.

Of everything we read this semester, my favorite was “The House on Mango Street.” I enjoyed reading this story because it is the only story that I genuinely connected with. I feel that an audience/reader wants a story when they are able to relate to themselves. They are able to realize that what they feel, what they think, and what they say are being thought, said, and felt by other people. This makes it very easy for the reader/audience to understand the reading and everything about it. In the discussions, I explained how the character moved to different places sounded a lot like me because I always explained to people where I moved from, and there was a long list of moving places, just like me. The author discussed how the father needed to go back home because of a family member’s death, and how it was the first time seeing the father cry, which brought a memory back so fast into my head. It is the only discussion board that I truly enjoyed because I loved sharing my thought on it.

This semester’s reading that had the most meaning for me was the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. This story is very powerful and well-written in a way that shakes your core. As women, we can still experience situations like this one or at least hear about it on the news and it makes us think about male-female relationships. In the story, Connie puts a lot of weight on her physical appearance, and in the end, gets punished because of the way she looked. Would it be different if she looked different? should women hide their sexuality in order to be safe? Also, In our modern society, with the internet and higher education, it’s sad to see how people still stay in their primitive point of view; in which men have the power in a relationship and make all the decisions while women need to obey. Same as in sexual situations where women “lose” their power because they feel weak, and do things they don’t want to just to satisfy the men’s desires.