Freewrite

As I was walking to class this morning, I was thinking about food. I am pretty hungry so I imagine it would have been food on my mind. I also thought about a conversation that I had around 2:30 this morning with someone very special : ) My mind was also thinking in rhyme; almost as though I was freestyling in my mind. Kinda odd because I am not the best "freestyler" out there. My color was red because it's my favorite color so it seems to stay on my mind. Red means passion and strength to me, and whenever something takes a lot of my consentration away, I consider it passionate.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven: Analyzing Question

I liked this story because it was written in a way that readers can understand. It flowed very well. In his remembered conversation with the police officer, the narrator is told that he's "making people nervous. You don't fit the profile of the neighborhood." What does the police officer mean? How does the narrator interpret his comment? When I read this part of the story, I immediately pictured a black man driving down an all white neighborhood. To me, it seemed like the officer was judging him and following sterotypes. "Making people nervous" means to me like the people that live in these houses are scared because they see someone who doesn't look and probably doesn't talk like them either. "You don't fit the profile of the neighborhood" is pretty much self explanatory. "The profile"? What is "the profile" and how does the officer know he doesn't fit it? That's the reason why I think he is sterotyping the narrator. The narrator interpreted his comment meaning "I'm way out of this world and no one is on my level. I'm way ahead of my time". Kinda like he is so out there that nowhere on earth is right for him.

Hills Like White Elephants:Analyzing Question

This was pretty difficult for me to do because I interpreted this story to mean something rather strong. What is the couple arguing about in the story? What specifc lines best illustrate their positions in this argument in the first half of the story? In the second half? I believe this couple is arguing about an abortion. Just recently I was faced with this same situation. Now I didn't have an abortion, but a friend of mine that I am very close to did. It was hard for me to deal with then, and it's kind of hard to deal with now when reading this story. I'm not to sure what is meant by position, but in the first half the man seemed more emotionless and irritated. The bottom of page 125 represents that. The women seemed more relaxed and calm. The bottom of page 125 and the top of page 126 represents that. In the second half of the story, when the couple actually starts talking about abortion, the man seemed filled with more emotion. The man seemed like he kind of cared, but he kind of didn't care. The bottom of page 126-128 represents that. The woman seemed jumpy and nervous. The bottom of page 126-128 demonstrates that as well. As the conversation started off, the man seemed as though he cared about her getting an abortion because he claimed it was the right thing to do. It was almost like he was trying to persuade her that it was right. However, when she was starting to agree to it, he would quickly change his mind and turn her against it. It was like he was playing mind games with her.

Girl: Analyzing Question

Finding a question to analyze was kind of difficult for me to do because I found this story to be the most interesting for me. What does the primary speaker believe about the world, and women in general? I feel the speaker is very close-minded and believes the world only gives to certain people. The speaker strikes me as a person who thinks that the world is design to have the rich and proper or the poor and proper-pretenders. She give me the impression that the world is judging people but in reality she is judging her daughter. The speaker appears to think that nothing is free in this world, which is a true statement. I also feel like the the speaker believes women have a certain role in the world. I feel she thinks that women are suppose to cook and clean and basically be a "housewife". I think the speaker is very judgemental and feels as though if her way isn't the right way, then no way is. I feel the speaker's mentallity consists of women are not meant to accomplish things in the world; we are meant to be accomplished. Meaning, people can accomplish me as a female and that all my dreams are meant for someone else-a man-to accomplish.

Girl

As I was reading "Girl" by Jamaica Kineaid, I immediately starting picturing images of an afican american, elderly woman who is directly talking at a little girl. Perhaps maybe not a little girl, but a girl that is around 12-14. I found it quite interesting and a little weird that every so often, the author would relate the girl to becoming or has become a slut. I also kinda thought this was a little funny because it reminds me of my mother when I was little. My mom used to tell me to do this and to do that and leaving no room for me to get in a word. But in the mist of my laughter, I also thought it was a little sad because it gave me the impression that as a female, all the girl was allowed to do was wash clothes and cook and clean and do all the things a "perfect" female is to do. However, in today's society the "perfect" female rarely exists. I thought it kinda gave females a bad name because she periodically referred to the girl as a slut. It made me think that if this person is calling this girl a slut, then what is stopping others from doing so? How would it build her self-esteem?

Golden Grove

I think the second translation or the one that begins with " The grove of golden tress has fallen silent" is better. The reason is this translation makes more sense to me. This translation seems like the author is actually speaking to me instead of at me. However, the two translations do have something in common. Both stories are talking about the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. They both use similar words, if not the same words in their stories. But it seems as though the second translation is a little bit frustrated or disgusted with something. That something being the past of the author's life. I like this translation also because the author expresses more feeling and emotion in this story.

Freewrite

Desert-Dry, camel, water, sunny, hot, heat, sand, lumps, humps, windy, holes, people, music, dance, videos.
Universe-mine, me, monica, egocentric, world, god, blue, earth, oceans, stars, shapes, water, life, school.

Freewrite-Shephard

When I close my eyes, the first thing that comes to mind is a german shephard, dog, little boy, farming, more animals, and the outdoors.

Close Reading

Close reading for me is carefully reading or re-reading a specific text. To me Close reading for me is also analyzing a specific text line by line or even word by word.
I am honestly not sure what the word pastoral means to me. Considering I have never used it or heard it a day in my life. According to OED, pastoral means of relating to, or composed of shepherds or herdsmen. the etymology of the word pastoral is Middle English, from Latin pastoralis.
When I think of the word mistress I think of a seductive/sassy lady whose goal in life is to seduce men. OED definition of the word mistress is : a woman who has power, authority, or ownership: as a : the female head of a household. The etymology is Middle English maistresse, from Middle French, from Old French, feminine of maistre master.
The word nymph to me is a mystical creature. OED definition is : any of the minor divinities of nature in classical mythology represented as beautiful maidens dwelling in the mountains, forests, trees, and waters. The etymology is Middle English nimphe, from Middle French, from Latin nympha bride, nymph, from Greek nymphE.

Carolina Reader-The Flea

This poem stood out to me because I found it rather interesting to relate a flea to sex. I came up with this notion because of lines 3-4. It stated, "It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled be". The flea is the representation of the actual sex. That thing or aura that fluctuates between two people when they are exchanging bodily fluids; which are the two bloods mingling. Somewhere in the poem, I found it rather interesting that a baby was conceived. In line 8, "And pampered swells with one blood made of two". Two becoming one to me, represents two people making baby. The words "swell with one blood" symbolizes a baby that is growing with a mixture of its mommy and daddy's blood, thus creating one blood. Also in line 10 it suggests that this is a family of some sort because of the words "three lives". I only chose to write about the first part because it was the part that stood out to me the most.

Carolina Reader- In the Desert

I found this poem to be very short, yet filled with lots of mind wandering details. The speaker could either be a man, woman, or another creature. Lines 1 and 2 "In the desert, I saw a creature, naked, bestial". These lines represent to me the speaker wandering in an open place with no sense of dirrection and suddenly stumbling upon a beast-a naked beast or creature. Lines 3-5 "Who, squatting upon the ground, Held his heart in his hands, And ate of it". I imagine a big, nasty, hairy looking animal crouching down eating organs. However, I don't believe the organs belong to the beast. I think it belongs to someones else that was stranded on the desert, that either died or was killed. "His heart" represents an alike creature, someone that he loved and he is eating it. The word "Heart" means love. So in essence, he is eating someone that he loves. Line 6 "I said, Is it good, friend?" This is the speaker watching the beast eat away at his dead love one. Lines 7-10 "It is bitter-bitter," he answered; But I like it, Because it is bitter, And because it is my heart." Bitter, meaning cold and gone; similar words used to describe death. He likes it because it is gone and because it's someone he loves.

Strategies 6E

Grandmother-My mother's mother... My dad's mother-in-law...My aunt's mother...My grandfather's wife...My greatgrandmother's daughter. All these title's relate back to my grandmother. The word grandmother is important to me, but not on a level as most. I'm not that attached or close to my family so the "kisses and hugs" and "baking cookies" never existed to me. I lived in New York for most of my life so I wasn't around my grandmother often. When my family and I eventually moved to South Carolina, I was at the age where I didn't want to develop a closer relationship with my grandmother. Don't get me wrong, I love my grandmother. When I think of the word grandmother, I think of an elderly, strong, black women who has a head full of gray hair and lives confidently alone in the house next door. She has an army of people who would protect her and take care of her. I think of a lady who daily says she is painful, but somehow manages to make it to church on Sunday mornings : )

Strategies 6D

I chose to read the story "Black Elvis". Overall this was a good story. It kind of confused me in the end, but I managed to form my own ideas about the ending. The characters in the story that had metaphoric names were Black Elvis and Butch. Black Elvis was kind of self explanatory to me. He was trying to impersonate or immitate Elvis. This was kind of easy to figure out due to the clues in the story. Black Elvis played a guitar and sang some of Elvis's songs. His clothing also played a part in his title as well. He wore a dark suit and used eye liner. The eye liner part was kind of tricky because eye liner comes in different colors but usually when people put eye liner on, it is usually black or some dark color. What i really found interesting was the fact that Butch's name was really metaphoric. His name was Butch and he works at a late night joint cooking slabs of ribs : ) Kind of ironic? Butch, according to Black Elvis, was also responsible for booking the gigs at slab's. Even though the title of this story is "Black Elvis", I don't think the point behind the story was strictly about Black Elvis. I think the story was trying to blend different races together. We all know that Elvis is white, so the title "Black Elvis" was already a culture blend. The Korean guitarist that is from Memphis and loves ribs in Atlanta was kind of cool too. I think the relationship between the title and the story was to prove to people that music and areanas have no color, to end stereotypes.

Beyond Words Review Questions

1. Some examples of text are books, movies, magazines, TV productions, music, clothes and art. Books, magazines, movies, TV productions, and music is pretty self explanatory in the form of text. I chose to add art to my list because although you cannot read art, words are hidden within artwork. Just like the quote states, " A picture is worth a thousand words". By artwork I mean paintings, scultptures, collages, murals, etc. I also added clothes because someone's personal style is a form of art. You can create mental stories about someone or tell a story just by their outfit.
4. Genre is a category for a specific thing. For example, there are different types of genres in music, text, or as they stated dogs. The reason for genres is to classify or identify a specific type of interest. Genres in music are rap, r&b, classical, jazz, heavy metal, etc. Genres in text are fiction, nonfiction, mystery, romance, etc.
14. When you take a text apart, you should be looking for unity. This usually reveals the theme or feeling. Look for sequences. This links events or different parts of a text. Look for parts. This breaks the whole down. Look for patterns or repetition. Look for arrangement and balance, contrasts, and heirachy in texts. Heirachy meaning some things are more important than others.
15. Details are important in a text because they sometimes make up the text. For example, "Its cold and raining outside" compared to "The shivering, cold, icy, tingling sensation increased on the spine of my back as the sharp, transparant, liquid pierced through the air colliding with the damp grey cement". Details create a vivid imagination in the mind of the reader and makes it easier to understand the text.
17. Perspective is defined in the text as the illusion of depth in paintings. Perspective varies depending on the person and what you are reading or looking at. Perspective is closely related to experience and point of view. Both are internal opinions and the way the reader views things.

Strategies for Reading

The first thing I noticed when I started reading this assignment was the quote at the beginning. Francis Bacon stated, "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested". I thought this quote was reasonable and true. The tasted books are the books that readers just read to read. There really isn't any meaning behind it except for enjoyment. When I hear the words tasted, it symbolizes a treat or mouth-watering satisfaction. The swallowed books are the books that readers read and understand. Perhaps maybe store away in our memory for awhile. Lastly, the chewed and digest books are for readers to understand and meditate on what they have read. Its moreso for long-term purposes. I personally am not a fan of reading. I don't like to read for assignments and seldomly I will read for enjoyment. However, I noticed as I was reading, that I have to be able to distinguish pleasure reading and academic reading. I also realized that I am a passive reader. Sometimes I have to read lines and words over and over again just to understand what I have read. This usually happens when I am completely uninterested in the reading. I'm not too interested in annotation either. To me, it complicates the reading more. I personally like the skeleton outline. However, during the Black Elvis reading, I felt the skeleton outline was unneccesary because the story was self explanatory. I believe that poems and lyrics are closely related because music is a form of poetry and art to me. Most poems rhyme as lyrics do also. Lyrics sometimes use metaphors and symbolizism just like poetry. However, they differ because poetry usually consists of a few words or stanzas. Lyrics consists of bars. In a song called Flashing Lights, Kanye West stated, " Like a flight with no visa, first class with the seat back I still see ya...In my past, you on the other side of the glass...like my memories museum...I'm just saying hey Mona Lisa you know you can't roll without Caesar". To me this song lyric could also be used as poetry. There is a lot of symbolizism and metaphoric action going on in this bar, just like poetry. Illustrations and collages are another way to express poems. There is a saying, " A picture is worth a thousand words". I believe this is a true statement. On page 85 of the Strategies for Reading book, there is a collage of the short story "The Welcome Table". A quote is in the collage and it states, " Ever wonder where we'd be if history had been herstory"? To some this may be a statement, to me it was poetry. This quote could have gone so many ways. Overall, I thought this reading assignment was rather long but I have formed a new insight on reading and how to approach it.

HI