Author: Trinasia Harper

Final Reflection

Trinasia Harper

                Throughout this semester while I was writing to answer the prompts, I realized that I am a very unconfident writer. I’ve noticed a pattern in my work as well throughout this journey. It seems that whenever I think too much about what I’m writing I get a sort of writer’s block. However, when I just go with the flow and stop being so judgmental of what I’m, writing it comes out somewhat better. I also feel like having the freedom to write without worrying about a grade has helped me become a more confident writer because I didn’t have to worry about being good enough for a higher grade.

                If I am being honest, I’m not really proud of any of my writing. As stated, before I’m not a very confident writer and because of this I judge myself very harshly. Even though a paper can get me a passing grade it doesn’t necessarily mean its good to me. I tend to start writing pieces and never finish them because of how judgmental I am to myself. So, as far as having writing pieces I am proud of I have to say that I have none. I do write poems sometimes for my personal enjoyment and I do like some of them. While writing the ones that I do partially like I can say that I was just letting the words flow and I was uncaring about whether it would be considered good or not. If I am speaking of class writings, I did like the individual reading prompts where we got to choose which story we wanted to work on. I don’t necessarily like my writing however I did enjoy how I was able to go deeper into the meaning of the story that I wrote and not have to stay on surface level. It allowed me to think deeply about what the story was about and relate it back to myself.

                One of my greatest challenges throughout this semester was adjusting to being back in person. It was difficult to balance having to get up early in the morning to go out to class and then coming back and doing all the homework that was due for all my classes. Since my first two semesters were online It was easier to find time to do other things but with this semester, I had to balance out my time and take my commute into account. It was difficult to find time to do much else than go to class and come home. I think this semester really drained me emotionally and mentally.

                This class was one of my favorite classes this semester, I didn’t feel pressured to be the best overall, instead I was pushed to be the best me and although I have a long way to go before, I can consider myself a good writer I feel like this experience was amazing. I think this class helped me grow as a person as well as a writer.

How Good Is Your Sense of Direction?

Trinasia Harper

My sense of direction honestly is not the best. I frequently rely on google maps to guide me to the places I need to be. I often joke about how bad my sense of direction is by calling myself geographically challenged however If I really think about it, I rarely get lost. I can usually get by, by following street signs but google maps helps me out a lot. If I am going somewhere I’ve never been before then I try to go along with someone who’s been there before. Once I’m shown how to get there depending on whether I was paying as close attention or not I am usually able to get back to that place. Since I’m afraid to get lost I tend to stick to the paths that I know well.

            Getting to and from a place I’ve never been to is sometimes very challenging. I have personally never read a map but I’m pretty sure I would not be able to understand it. Taking directions from someone is not easily processed by me. It takes multiple times of hearing the directions for me to slightly understand where to go and how to get there. So overall I am not great with directions, receiving them or giving them.

Happy Endings

Trinasia Harper

My reasoning for choosing this story is simple, I like happy endings. Before reading this story, the title drew me in. It made me wonder just what it meant by “Happy Endings”, happy ending for who? and what could this happy ending possibly be? Just from the title I already had a preconceived expectation that this story would be delightful and thought provoking all at once. I had also heard of Margaret Atwood before although I am not too familiar with her, knowing of her did make me more interested in seeing what the story was about.

In the story “Happy Endings” the argument that how and why things happen is more interesting and important than what happens is made. In this statement the author may be reimagining the old saying that it’s not the destination, it’s the journey that’s important. When thinking about this statement in terms of the nature of truth and facts it could mean that knowing what lead up to the “fact” is more important than the fact. In knowing what happened to cause something to take place puts the action into a more comprehensible state. It is more important knowing why or how something happened than it is knowing what happened. Being able to understand why something happened sometimes gives you the ability to stop it from happening again or to make it happen again.

Chopin 2:Race

Trinasia Harper

When race is being spoken of, I do believe the authors race should be considered. If a story is focusing mainly on minorities however the author is not apart of the minority being spoken of then their credibility does come into question. In dealing with issues of race I personally would feel that if the author was not a member of said race, then they would not be able to fully understand the struggles that race encounters. With that being said authors such as Kate Chopin, although they aren’t members of the races they speak of they do capture some of what that race has to deal with from an outside perspective.

Armand’s Reaction

Trinasia Harper

Armand stared at the letter, stunned, he couldn’t believe what he just read. This isn’t possible, he thought, it can’t be. His mind flashed back to his childhood, to his loving and supporting mother. The shock he felt before was now replaced with outrage an anger. How could she do this how could she hide this from him? Amidst all his anger and bewilderment arose a hint of sadness. It all made sense now, Desiree wasn’t the reason their baby looked as it did, he was. Armand was disgusted with himself, not only for what he did to Desiree but for who he now knew he was. He could never look at his slaves the same, knowing that part of their blood ran through his veins. After barely recovering from what he had just learned Armand knew what he had to do. He raced out of the house in search of his wife and child. He had to reconcile with Desiree and reunite his family. Armand searched and searched for them but they were nowhere to be found, they had disappeared and to Armand’s dismay never returned. For Armand life was over as he knew it, he spent the rest of his days regretting that fateful day wishing he could rewind time, he wished he’d never told her to leave and most of all he wished he’d never found that letter.

The Thirteenth Night

Trinasia Harper

Feminist Theory

In society back then women were not able to play prominent roles in society. The role of women was to take care of the house, the husband, and the children. It is fair to say that women were seen and passed off as objects back then. This is shown in the story by the situation that the main character Oseki finds herself in. Her husband is verbally abusive to her, and she wants to leave but she knows that divorcing him would mean giving up everything. It is said in the story that if a woman divorces her husband, she is not allowed to retain custody of her children. A divorce also comes with the loss of benefits for her and her family. We saw this in the story when Oseki’s father and mother spoke about the benefits they and their son were receiving simply because Oseki was the wife of Isamu. We also saw how a woman’s opinion or voice was less important than a man’s. When Oseki voiced her troubles to her parents while her mother agreed that she should leave her husband her father disagreed and told her to put up with it, ultimately convincing her to stay. All of this goes to show how women were not considered as important as mean or not considered as equals.

Marxist Theory

Regarding Marxism, Isamu and Roku exist in two different worlds. While they are both men the way they live are completely different. Isamu can enjoy the luxury of being in a high social class while Roku must work and live out a meager existence as a member of the lower social class. Since Oseki is married to Isamu she would be considered a part of the upper class while Roku would be a part of the lower class. Although they grew up together, they were now in two different worlds. When Oseki and Roku met that night, it was shown that no matter what social class you’re in everyone has struggles. Through the lens of the Marxist Theory, we can see that in the story Oseki who represented the upper class was benefitting from the work of Roku and people like Roku who represent the lower class by using and riding the rickshaws. However, when they realized they knew each other they both felt embarrassed of what the other would think of them.

Government

Trinasia Harper

Both short stories “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” and “The Trial of Thomas Builds the Fire” by Sherman Alexie exists within an unjust and biased kind of government. Throughout the stories we can see the unfairness in the way the BIA treats the native Americans. In the story “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”, when Viktor asks for money to go collect his father’s remains the BIA has seemingly already made up their mind that they were only going to give him a certain amount which was only $100.They also showed a lack of sympathy when he told them about the death of his father. At the beginning of the story “The Trial of Thomas Builds the Fire” a guy from the BIA states when speaking about what charges Thomas would be brought up on “It has to be a felony charge. We don’t need his kind around here anymore.” Along with this statement, Thomas states” He was guilty, he knew that. All that was variable on any reservation was how the convicted would be punished.” These statements show just how discriminatory and unfair the BIA is. Going into the trial just as Thomas said he was already considered guilty before the trial even started. They sentenced him based on stories he told and not real facts which just confirms how unfairly Native Americans were treated.

Parents

Trinasia Harper

Trinasia Harper

Children are highly impressionable, especially at a young age. When speaking to young children, parents, adults, and elders should be careful in what they say around young children to an extent. Depending on the age of the child sometimes being semi brutally honest is what’s best. However, when dealing with really young children adults should be very careful in what they say and how they say it. Adults should tell children the truth in a very gentle and delicate manner. Children grow and learn through experience and through the teachings of their parents so if they grow up with parents and adults who lie, and break promises then it is very likely they will grow up to do the same things. When children are young, they need a balance of lies and truths. Adults should avoid “just teasin” kids in excess. Teasing may lead to either serious problems when the child grows up or it can lead to character development in the child.    

Where I’m From

Trinasia Harper

I am from glass tables,

from Lysol and Febreze.

I am from the small taupe apartment, which smells of cigarette smoke and vanilla  

I am from the snake plant,

the golden gate

I am from family reunions

and stubbornness,

from Pat

and Troy and Andrea.

I am from the unwillingness to get along

and the resistance to change.

From “just get it next time”

and “you can’t be perfect”

I am from a strong but sometimes wavering belief in a higher power.

I’m from New York and uncertain origins,

Chicken and Chocolate cake.

From the dedication of a mother to raise her children as well as someone else’s,

the supportive father who worked hard to provide,

and the unrelenting will to survive.

I am from the always messy yet somehow neat photo. Although the pictures fade and the pages start to age the memories held within them will always remain