Author: Deborah Adekoya

Final-Reflection

Deborah Adekoya

DEBORAH ADEKOYA

A roller coaster ride that lasted 15 weeks, if anyone asked me what I would title this semester, this would be my answer. English 201 definitely shocked me a bit. I used to think English is an easy class, and this mindset almost set me up for failure this semester. I don’t know if this makes sense, but to me, the semester was fast and long at the same time. When I needed time to complete my missing assignments the days went quickly, but when I really wanted a break, the days were longer. I was a very bad procrastinator this semester, so bad that in the 10th week of this class, I had only completed 3 out of the 10 modules posted. It was really bad. If this semester taught me anything, it’s that I should sometimes appreciate deadlines and create them for myself. If I had known this earlier I would not be here typing my final 1 hour before it’s due. 

This class has definitely taught me a lot about writing and time management. In the first week, I remember not doing my “Where I’m From” poem correctly because I was confused about the instructions, all I knew was I had to do a poem. I didn’t know what the poem was about and what the format was. I was really lost, but then I saw my classmate’s poems and I figured out how to complete the assignment. This assignment though was not the best because I didn’t follow the actual instructions. In this class, I think the best assignment that people didn’t see is my research article. I believe this was my best assignment because it is the only assignment I submitted on time, I put a lot of effort into it and I enjoyed doing it to some extent. I was really proud of myself when I completed it because when we first got it, I was so confused I didn’t know where to start because I hadn’t read the previous literature pieces. However, as soon as spring break hit, I was prepared and ready to do the work I needed to do. I guess I was in the zone, which was really cool. I think that was my most productive moment in this class. Even though I’m proud of this assignment I wouldn’t say it was my favorite. I think my favorite assignment was the erasure poem. I really like writing poems, and this was my first time doing an erasure poem so I found that very enjoyable. 

My greatest challenge this semester was doing the work. I had zero motivation to do my work. Especially in this class, I would look at how long the pieces are to read and say “Nah, I’m not doing this now, maybe tomorrow.” I did this many times till I fell very behind. Thank God, I was able to catch up, and submit enough work to pass the class.

This class was a great class. I definitely benefited from it. I furthered my experience with WordPress, I learned to manage my time wisely, and best of all, I learned how to make an erasure poem. Many times you’ll be tempted to start later but if you start now you won’t have to do it later, I hope you all remember this is the future. 

Race and Narrative

Deborah Adekoya

by Deborah Adekoya

Personally, I feel like race doesn’t matter when writing a narrative based on racism. It’s the same way you can have any type of teacher teach about racism or colonization. As long as the writer or teacher is respectable and doesn’t cross the line as someone whose ancestors did wrong most especially. I believe Chopin was very respectful in her delivery, we see on pages 1- 3 that Chopin utilizes the word “negros.” Which is risky but still respectful as it wasn’t the actual N-word. At the same time, I wonder why Chopin decides to write stories about racism, not just that but she also made the black character the antagonist and the white character the one we feel sorry for. This isn’t something that usually occurs in a racism narrative.

Chopin- my ending

Deborah Adekoya

Deborah Adekoya

Armand read the letter that he had kept a secret all these years. He thinks back to when he first read the letter, right about when Desiree had shared the news of her pregnancy with him. He knew he had to do something, but he didn’t know what that something would be. If people found out Armand was black he didn’t know what they’d do, his business, status, and family’s life were on the line. So he hid the letter from everyone including Desiree, whom he loved. As he reads over the same letter that ruined his life, he starts to ponder on what exactly led him to do what he did to Desiree. He remembers how heard the town gossip. The word in the street said Desiree cheated on Armand with a negro. Armand knew that this wasn’t true but he still decided to use this as his scapegoat even if it meant he wouldn’t see his only love and son forever. As the letter sits in his grip, anger begins to flood him, he wishes he could do something but it’s too late. He burns the letter and he spends the rest of his life trying to fill the hole Desiree and his only son left in his heart.

Racism and cruelty

Deborah Adekoya

Deborah Adekoya

Question: First, write a paragraph explaining why you chose this particular story out of the three. What drew you to it? How did you make your decision? What did you base your choice on? Then, write in another two paragraphs about the following questions: What is Colson Whitehead saying about racial relations within an institution such as education? How does he express the capacity for cruelty, as bolstered by racist ideology? Give specific examples from the text.  Your post should be well thought out, written in complete sentences, and in good grammatical standing. Remember to make it colorful and media-rich as well.

Answer:

I decided to answer this question before I actually read the story, I picked this story because it is about critical race theory. I really enjoy talking about and reading different forms of literature that have this concept. I entirely based my choice on the topic and my interests.

I believe Colson Whitehead is saying that racial relations affect institutions badly because the students can’t have fair opportunities in their educational places. In the story “The Match” we learn about black students and how most of them do boxing. The school holds this important boxing match, that brings the only form of happiness the black students feel if a match is won over a white student. Griff, a black student, was made to believe his match was fair, till the white superintendent came and told him that in the third round he should let the white student win or else they’ll kill him. I believe they instructed Griff to do so because the white people didn’t want to place bets on black students. This story highlights most systems that are part of critical race theory. Were black folks are put “lose situation” and there isn’t such thing as justice.

What I found different about this story is, that Griff who was put in the “lose situation” did not give in to what the white man wanted. This doesn’t usually happen in these narratives. Whitehead definitely emphasized cruelty when in the story we find out that Griff was not counting the matches, and in the match, he was supposed to give up in the continued fighting because he thought it was the second match. The white people ended up killing him anyway, this part was definitely very cruel. This narrative like most racial-based narratives definitely shows the white man as the bad one and the black people as the victims, just like many other racial-based stories. I feel like the unfairness in this story adds to the cruelty capacity, the fact that grown men have the guts to ruin young boys’ games in order to “keep the system alive.”

Feminism in Ichiyo

Deborah Adekoya

Deborah Adekoya

Question: Think about the setting of “The Thirteenth Night”, particularly in terms of the historical era. Given what you know of the era, and more specifically, what you learned about Higuchi Ichiyo’s life story, what or who could the female character represent? What role(s) did women play in society at the time, what kind(s) of power did they have, and how did they navigate their way through the systems of power?

Answer: The female character represents Ichiyo and many other females that lived during the Meiji era. Women were meant to be submissive and obedient wives, that looked after their husbands and children. They had to stay at home and cook, clean, and look after the children. They had no rights and could make no choices. This was the woman’s role in society at that time. They had no clear form of power and when it came to navigating their ways through systems of power, they had to be fearless and rebel against the norms of society. The author of Thirteen Nights, HIGUCHI ICHIYŌ is well known because of how fearless she was during the Meiji era.

Marxism in the Thirteenth Night

Deborah Adekoya

Deborah Adekoya

WEALTH & SOCIAL CLASS VS POVERTY & TRUE LOVE

Question: Think about the similarities and differences between Isamu and Roku in terms of social class.  
What do you think Oseki learns from her run-in with Roku?  What is the significance of their meeting through the lens of Marxist theory?

Answer: Oseki realizes that social classes play a big role when it comes to people her family is willing to accept. Even though Roku is the love of her life, he like her is from a low social class, while Isamu is from a higher social class and is more educated than both her and Roku. When it came to her getting married, wealth, Isamu’s social standing, overpowered poverty, Roku’s social standing. She has to pick whether she wants to be selfish and go after true love or whether he wants to be selfless and go after social class, which would bring her family happiness. Through her meeting with Roku, she can see the difference in social class, and how important it is in her society.

Alexie- Government

Deborah Adekoya

Deborah Adekoya

This system of government/rulership is a discriminatory one that has many characteristics that indicate what type of government it is. The main characteristic I identified is the “no real justice” so basically the unjust characteristic. We see this in “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire” when the people in the courtroom made a commotion and the judge wanted to get back to the “administration of justice” and Thomas asked “Is that real justice or the idea of justice?” In this, we see that justice is in question on whether it will be true and real justice. The other characteristic is inequality, we see this because Thomas has to defend himself, and on top of that, the judge is not even willing to see his point of view. We see evidence of the judge discriminating against Thomas when Thomas tells the judge that he in fact does not understand his charges. The judge responds that since Thomas has now decided to speak that proves that he actually does understand. From a reader’s point of view, this makes absolutely no sense. One can only assume the judge said this because Thomas is an Indian and the judge doesn’t see the need for Thomas to know his charge because he is already guilty. The justice system has no mercy or compassion for Thomas. He is a native American man of color, living in America at a time when racial discrimination was at its peak, the justice system definitely was not built to favor him. This is why I think Thomas decided to tell stories in court rather than actually defend himself. He knew the outcome of the case before the case started. I feel like everyone did.

JUSTICE VS DISCRIMINTION

Parents- Gorilla, my Love

Deborah Adekoya

I believe parents should be very careful when talking to children. Most of the time children copy the actions of their parents. So when parents lie, sugarcoat or make empty promises their children will eventually start doing the same thing. I believe that promises are important, but when words are carelessly thrown around to make a little kid happy, that child will find it hard to know the true value of words and why promises are important.

Where I am From- Deborah Adekoya

Deborah Adekoya

I am from Africa

From respect and culture

“Always look out for one another.”

I am from Love

From Family and Unity

“We can do this together.”

I am from Christianity

From kindness and purity

“Love the Lord with all your heart”

I am from food

chicken, ribs, jollof rice, fries

“Don’t play with your food”

I am from memories

from pictures and good times

“Live life in the moment.”

I am from me

From self-love and positivity

“Go Debby, You got this girl”

I am from beauty

from dark skin and black girl

“Melanin it’s all beautiful.”