Please comment on this reading and respond to three classmate's comments.
This assignment must be completed by Friday @ 5:00PM EST.
The stories that you should replied to in this post:
Mother Tongue (44)
Black Hair (240)
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Hey Ms. Higgins! (and fellow students)
ReplyDelete_Amy Zhan
(PS. I've logged onto my own blogger account. I was mistakened because I thought blogger and blogspot were two totally separate things. Apparently, I was wrong. :o ! Uh, but I think I put my site to only "invited readers". So yeah... you can't visit it, sorry. (: )
say hello
ReplyDeleteJonathan Pak
hello, Mrs.higgins``
ReplyDeleteHEY MRS HIGGINS :D (took me a while to figure this out..)
ReplyDeleteHi, Mrs. Higgins!
ReplyDelete- madeline :D
Hi Mrs.Higgins =]
ReplyDeleteHI, Ms. HIggins :D
ReplyDelete- Stephanie M.Park
This is Ingrid by the way (didnt know that my name wouldnt come out on the other post)
ReplyDeleteHI
ReplyDeletehi mrs. higgins :) what's poppin? hahaha.
ReplyDelete*Arianne Miclat
hi Mrs. Higgins
ReplyDelete:)
hi mrs. higgins
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. Higgins
ReplyDeletehi mrs higgins this is sharif, figured it out even though it took me a while
ReplyDeletehello....
ReplyDeletehi mrs. higgins
ReplyDeleteHi Mrs. Higgins, sorry for posting late, I didnt have access to my computer until today.
ReplyDeleteHeyy Mrs. Higgins
ReplyDeletesorry it took me a long time to post my comment
i just couldn't figure it out then i had to make a google account
Hi Mrs. Higgins, sorry it took so long.
ReplyDelete-Praxiteles Lykos
Hi Mrs Higgins sorry it took so long
ReplyDeleteBy the way this is Noorulain Ahmad
Wait. So if we comment on this blog on Mother's tongue, we don't need to write a reaction paper ?
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong. :o
Hello, I liked mother tongue. It reminded me of my own mother who also speaks "broken english". I felt some kind of empathy towards the character, I know how she feels, embarrassed and atypical.
ReplyDeleteHey ChuChu, I loved Mother Tongue as well! Though I have to agree with you that it can be sometimes embarassing for my mother to speak differently compared to other people, I actually like the way my mother uses her words. It's not very complicated and since it's a type of English I grew up with as well, I'm pretty used to it.
ReplyDeleteThere was one part that I can especially relate to and it's the scene where Amy Tan acted as her mother on the phone. My mother would often ask my brother or myself, to translate for her or act as her. It was rather confusing due to the fact that sometimes my mother would want something done her way, and there's no way the transaction can be made. Then she'll complain and get furious because it's not going her way. I'll have to translate for her to the person on the phone but making it sound a bit more apologetic.
In a way, it kind of reminded me of this book I read several years ago. I actually don't remember the title (I believe it goes along the lines of .. Starfish King ? Something like that, I really don't recall.) but there was a scene that was really similar. The landlady asked the family what they were making (because she smelled burning) and the mother of the protanganist was very suspicious of the landlady's nature and needed her daughter (the protanganist) to translate for her. The protanganist liked the landlady and literally changed her mother's words while translating. The mother thought the landlady was trying to know how much the family made so that she can raise the rent. It was pretty amusing yet a little sad because of the language and cultural barriers.
I really enjoyed reading mother tongue. Even though my first ( and really only) language is English, I could really relate to Tan's mother. Even after taking Spanish for five years, most of the time I have no idea what is going on and I doubt that if I was to go to Spain, I would be able to talk to anyone. It is very frustrating to try to have a conversation with someone when you don't speak the same language.
ReplyDeleteAmy: I loved that part too. I found it very interesting and I can image so many people having similar problems because of language and cultural barriers.
I LOVE "Mother Tongue" too! It reminded me that when I used to be an ESL. I used to be same or little better than the protanganist's mom. I was embrassing and really shy that I couldn't speak as well as native English- speaker (of course, my first languege was Korean). But right now, I'm getting better, but, still my pronounces weren't that good.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my parents, unlike author's mom, weren't embrassing about their English. I don't know why. I guess that they tried to learn English little by little.
I think the mother felt very enclosed, as if she can't get out of the language barrier that prevents her from excelling further as an english major. For example, she has her daughter speak on the phone for her so people would not take advantage of her.
ReplyDeleteI remember when i first came to this country when I was about 3 and when some kids asked me if i could go get 10 cents for a mini gummy hamburger. I did not understand them, so I brought out a handful of coins from my piggy bank, I believe it was about 2 dollars. So they decided to let me think it was 10 cents and use MY money to purchase food for themselves without offering me any. I know how the mother feels, frustrated and angry. This story upsets me in a way, but is still very intresting.
Sorry I left this part out, I know how you feel Amy, my mother also has me translate for her, by attending fairs, meetings and speaking on the phone for her.
ReplyDelete@Chuchu, oh my god, that's HORRIBLE! Who are those kids? Tell me their names, addresses, and school they're attending. Don't worry, I won't hurt them THAT much. ;) I mean, really though, that's pretty mean considering that you're like, just 3 years old. That's pretty cruel. I don't know about you people, but back then, for me, 2 dollars was a lot. Heck, I didn't even come to America at 3. I was sent to China at two years old, and then came back when I was five.
ReplyDeleteIf it was me and if I had known what they had done, I would've literally "see them after school". Ahahas, if you know what I mean. (=
LMAO, i completely resent them. That day taught me about how people can be cruel and dishonest. And YEAH! TWO DOLLARS WAS A LOT BACK THEN!
ReplyDeleteWow. Can you imagine? People taking advantage of you because of your weaknesses? That really says something, I believe, about how people feel superior compared to the people who have "limited" or "restricted" understanding of the language and culture.
ReplyDelete@Madeline, I totally agree with you. Ahahas. I've been taking Spanish since 6th grade. Honestly, back in 6th and 7th grade, my Spanish teachers were so easily taken advantage of. My class was pretty horrifying in their ways of bullying and manipulation. In 7th grade, we made 3 teachers get fired or they quitted themselves. However, everyone in the class got 100s on their report card in Spanish. It was pretty hilarious and in a way, it was fun but in a cruel way. So then in 8th grade, I started DYING in Spanish. This was when I moved from Fresh Meadows to Bayside and started attending MS74. It was crazy ! I dropped from the 100 to a 85! I realized how dumb I was in Spanish. I mean, I didn't even how to say the number FOUR let alone the weekdays. But eventually, I managed and somehow broke through my little disadvantaged. Though a little discouraged, I pulled myself up from that ohsoverydark age of shame and humiliation. So yeah, Madeline, Spanish is hard and I doubt I would manage in everyday conversations as well. I could try, but it'll sound "broken" since the verbs wouldn't be conjugated correctly or my vocabulary consists of the word in English plus an "o" or an "a" at the end. Seriously, that's basically how I would've done it. Ahahas, not to be funny about it but yes, it's because it's hard. It's really really hard.
Maybe I should learn sign language. :o !
I 100% agree with you guys(I mean Chuchu and Amy). People take advantages from my weakness. But, luckly, no one took an advantages from me. Even though I used to be inferior than other people (because of my poor English), I start feeling that I am equal with everyone. Everyone learn other langueges that they never heard of.
ReplyDeleteWhen people tried to get an advatages from Tan's mom, I remembered shorth mission in Kenya. In Kenya, there was a small free market that Kenyan people sold real handmade things. Before I told you the story, 75 sillings(the currency of Kenya)was almost same as one dollar (but still, one dollar was really a lot for tham). When I bought the nacklace and bracelet, the Kenyan lady tried to cheat on me. She told me that I could pay 500 sillings or 200 American dollars. I was so pissed of that I tried to left. The lady hold my arm and said she would sell me 400 sillings. So guess what? I bought them because of that annoying lady. I still remembered the red face of the lady and other merchants(?)laughing at her or me (?).
I also LOVED "Mother Tongue". I don't know if I could relate in a way that my parents speak "broken english" also, because I really don't think they do. Although my parents do have a thick accent when it comes to speaking english, but my mother has the thicker accent (I think). Only because my dad has been in America since the 90s, and the rest of us only came here at 2001.
ReplyDeleteEven though my parents have an accent, I'm not embarrassed. When I first came to America, I also had an accent and was in ESL as well. I was in ESL for 2 years, (3rd grade and 4th grade). After that, I guess I got used to how the people around me talk and I adjusted to the way they spoke, so I lost my accent. I still speak my language at home though, (Tagalog, Filipino dialect.) But I never once was embarrassed by the way my parents talked, only because I know there's other people with parents that talk the same way. Everyone has their own way of speaking, so I thought there was nothing wrong with it. And I still think there's nothing wrong with it.
@StephanieMinah- I definitely agree with you! I didn't know how to speak English well when I came to America. And because of that, I was really shy and didn't talk much. I did understand what people said though, but I just never really spoke that much because I was scared that people wouldn't understand me.
@Madeline- I think it's good to learn your native language because that's your family's background. But that's only my opinion. I think it's pretty cool when you know how to speak a lot of different languages. I secretly wish that I could talk fluently in Spanish. Hahahaaa. My native language is actually highly influenced by the Spanish language, but there's a lot of differences also.
I'm Arianne by the way. Hahaha.. my account name is just "sincerelyaerie" =)
ReplyDeleteAhhhh. I'm so PO-ed! Sorry, but really though. I typed up this really long response to Arianne, and then POOF! Gone. It's gone! Vanished into thin air! Where did it go ?!
ReplyDeleteAnyways, that's besides the point. I'll try to recall what I said but I can't promise it. Hehe.
I believe that people residing in America are actually all immigrants. There is no igenious American because the people are all derived from other countries. I mean, if you've learned your global and US history, you would know what I'm talking about. ;) Therefore, I agree with you, Arianne, because there are several ways of speaking English and I don't believe there is a true English. Whether it's American English or British or England, yaddayadda. Lols. The true English would actually be Latin, I believe, because the language was derived from there.. right? Correct me if I'm wrong. )=
It's so admirable how you accepted your family's accents and that you weren't embarassed by them, Arianne. I don't know anyone who would've said what you said and actually meant it.
And accents makes people different, I would suppose. It's their "voice" and how they use the language to their advantage. I love it. =)
I mean, if nobody had an accent and everyone sounded the same... It would sound very boring and monotone-like, right?
:D
Arianne, I totally agreed with you, everyone has his or her own accents. People from each states have their own accents. People from each country have their own accents. I still have an accent but it's my 'voice' that no one can not change unless I try to change it.
ReplyDeleteArianne, I think we have a similarity that dad lived in here more than rest of his familly. Well, my dad has been in America since 1990(I guess), a rest of us went to Korea on Decamber of 1997 and came back here on D-2day of Christams of 2004. Isn't weird? :P
To Arianne: I agree with you too. And it's true that everyone has there way of speak and their own accents. This reading also reminds me that my mother speaks "broken English". She does the same thing that Mrs. Tan did when she needs to call the bank or other English speakers. My mother always ask my older sister to translate for her, sometimes she asks me to do it for her too. I think I aslo spoke "broken English" when I just came to here 4years ago. I really found very hard to communicate to my classmates at that time. And I just couldn't speak that well.So I did not talk too much at that time. Although my speaking grew bettter now, I think I still have accent. However, I am proud of it. My accent represents my own personality. And that's unique. Thus, I like my accent. I think everyone would like their accents of speaking, right?
ReplyDelete@Amy-
ReplyDeleteLmfao! Sucks that everything got deleted. Hahaaa :p But anywho, thanks for admiring what I said, lmaao. Well, what's there to be embarrassed about right? No one is perfect after all. Hahaa. And I don't know what you mean by true English, but the English language originated from the tribes of North Western Europe. :p
hi ms higgins it took me forever to figure this out i had to actually sit down and figure everything out step by step.
ReplyDeleteChuChuLIKESCheese i agree w. yuh 100% i enjoyed reading Mother Tongue it was very interesting to see how well the character was able to adjust to living in a new country and learning new thingss.
ReplyDeletei felt as though i was able to connect w. the character in a way because both my mother and father moved in america from england at a very young age and they had to learn a new way of talking even though in england they speak english (proper english). they had to pick up on the way we speak here in america and learn many new things as simple as driving on the other side of the road.
ReplyDeleteEnglish was my first language unlike Amy's mother. Although I personally cant connect to the story, I agree with all the comments. I loved this story because it showed that everybodys language in daily life is different. People that have English as a first language have an easier way of speaking although it might not be proper english. Not being able to understand the language of the people surrounding you is difficult. I agree with Amy Apple when she said people take advantage of your weakenesses. Not understanding the language makes you an easier person to be cheated from. Like ChuChu, when she didnt know the value of the money she had, and the other kids stole it shows how you can be cheated.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that not only is she a one of a kind person but also that she herself wants to succeed, keep going. Her mother's english may not have been the best but she still strived to do her best. Amy had to translate and pretend to be her mother during various occasions. Her mother's broken english became a problem many times, even when Amy went to the stockbroker. Must have been embarrassing to be in front of the person you were yelling at a week before in the phone. I found the ending ironic. Now that she's all grown up and has written a book, her mother thinks its easy. In her own words says "So easy to read." I sort of connected to the short story where Amy is discussing the problems on a test. I sometimes find two answers for a test question when in reality there is only one correct answer.
ReplyDeletemadeline
ReplyDeleteI find that pretty cool, how you've taken so many years of spanish, and I'm sure that if you ever went to Spain you'd get along well. SInce many tourists don't really know what they're saying, but those who live there try to understand...even if it means using sign language.
chuchulikescheese
ReplyDeletei find it very touching how you help out your mom when she need's your help. I myself help my parents when they need anything. I think if I had to I'd take to there manager or boss too if they needed me too
Hello Mrs.Higgins
ReplyDeleteI love Mother Tongue. I found connections towards the story, of how my mom was the same as the author’s mother. My mom also speaks "broken" English and her accent was very funny probably because she’s old, so when she try to learn a new language is hard for her to pronounce the words correctly and speak fluently, she always tells me how she doesn’t have a “flexible” tongue as her excuse for not saying the words correctly. Her best English was “hi, how are you.” So when she sees a person that’s all she can say, after that she does not know what to say. She always use her smile to hide her broken English, it actually works! I know how the author feel when she have to translate English for her mom, I myself have to help my mom when there are problems she can’t solve because she doesn’t know English too well. I have to talk on phone acting as if I’m my mom. I have to sound mature and tough which I don’t like, but it was a good experience after all.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother Tongue Writing Response=
ReplyDeleteThe story 'Mother Tongue' by Amy Tan, is about the relationship between Amy Tan and her mother, and how that relationship had affected Amy's overall learning of English composition. Amy prefers herself as a writer not a scholar of English because she is very interested in the power of language, in that it can spur visual images and emotions. In school, Amy's overall English was greatly different from that at home in that she carefully wrought grammatical phrases, while at home she would say things like 'not waste money that way'. Amy's mother is an immigrant from China who speaks ruptured English. Although Amy's mother speaks broken English, Amy's friends can sometimes understand what she says, while to Amy, her mother's English is perfectly lucid. Amy had always hated her mother's English because she expressed her perceptions imperfectly as to the time when she yelled at a stockbroker for not giving her a check. Amy's mother's English had affected Amy in that of her results on achievement tests, IQ tests and the SAT. Amy had been affected in that it is true that a person's developing language skills are influenced by peers, such as her mother. Amy would score in the sixtieth percentile on achievement tests while she would score in the ninetieth percentile in math and science. Amy had trouble on fill-in-the-blank questions and on analogies. Amy became an English major on her first year of college and then she was enrolled as pre-medical. Ultimately, Amy wanted to preserve her translation of her mother's Chinese and her mother's internal language which would reveal her mother's passion and imagery.
1st Review- Rong Li
ReplyDeleteI agree with your summary of Mother Tongue. I agree with your summary mainly because I too have an immigrant mother from Vietnam who has had English speaking problems. Along with my mother are my grandparents who also speak broken English. Amy's mother, my mom and your mom are similar to each other in that in the past, my mom would mix up the tenses in her sentences and she would incorrectly use plural words for singular words such as 'are you sicks'. While my uncle would say things like 'long time sago';it is correctly spelled as he would say it. Since he owns a restaurant in Houston, whenever a customer comes in he would say 'yeah hello huh'. Ultimately I respect their broken English because we all wouldnt perfectly speak our second language.
2nd review- Diana llanos
ReplyDeleteI concur with your summary because even though Amy had to deal with her mother's limitations of the English language, she still strove for what she wanted, which resulted in her being a English major and a pre-med student. Also, it is true that Amy struggled in several English composition and literature tests mainly because a person's development of speech is influenced by peers.
3rd review- Kayla Livingston
ReplyDeleteI concur with your summary because with all people, moving from a settled culture to an unknown culture is going to make a person uncomfortable resulting in poor speaking abilities. It is true because my mom came from Vietnam when she was a teenager and she had to adapt to the American culture through studying vigorously along with speech classes to reach the American dream.
i loved Mother Tongue and i understand what the narrator has gone through because i go through that almost everyday.My aunt's english it's also "broken" and "limited" because she uses constantly the same words in almost everything she says.
ReplyDeletei understand what is to be like the narrator because just like her i have to attend to my aunt's meetings, pay the bills, translate documents and so.
at first the narrator felt embarrased by her mother's broken english but afterwards she decides that that's the way her mother tongue was, that was the way her mother expressed herself and she respected that because although her mother's english was not perfect it didn't mean that her mother's thoughts were imperfect. the fact that she respected her mother's way of speaking is one of the many things i approved about the narrator's attitude when trying to cope with what she was going trhough
I can relate a bit to the story because my dad has an accent to his english. My parents can speak fluently in english and have never asked me to talk on the phone for them because of their english. My mom came to America (from Korea) before my father so she has no accent but my dad has an accent, although not enough to distort an understanding his speech.
ReplyDelete@Stephanie Minah
I was born in America and english was my first language but I can relate somewhat to your situation. I could not pronounce the "th" sound as a child. In my third grade graduation I was made aware of this because I had a line in the ceremony using a word with the "th" sound. I learned how to make the "th" sound sometime after, but during the ceremony they changed the line. As a kid I took it to heart, making me work towards fixing my pronociation.
@Amy Apple
ReplyDeleteI can relate towards your "dying" in spanish. In my freshman year of spanish I had a teacher, Mr.H (I transfered to Cardozo in my junior year so you probaly do not know Mr.H). Mr.H was a nice teacher but I hardly learned anything about spanish from him. After failing a test I was aware of my knowledge and managed to teach myself the necesary spanish for freshman year.
@Brian Nguyen
My dad moved to America in his mid-teens and my mom before age 10. My mom adapted more easily because she was younger but my dad had problems so head to work harder to fit in. My mom's speech is fine but my dad has an accent, leading me to believe speech is affected by the age where people immagrate.
second review
ReplyDeleteto some cultures the olders always knows more than the youngers. it might be true but no one knows everything and everyone must learn from others whether they are oldest or youngest. but to me it really feels weird and akward to sometimes, in very few cases, correct my aunt's language.
have you ever been on a situation where you correct an older person and the person gets mad and ask you a question like : So now you have the guts to correct my words?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Arianne that each of us have our own accent, we speak differently. Sometime our accent can make us feel proud but sometimes we can feel embarrassed by the way we speak. For example, in the story the author was ashamed of her mother's English because she expressed them imperfectly. Our accents make each of us different from others, we should be proud of our accent because that’s what makes us unique.
ReplyDelete@Brian Nguyen
ReplyDeletemy aunt and i moved together two years ago
but i catched up with the english faster than she did. my aun't will constantly say "miss Thomas" but one thing that i really like about her is the fact that she doesn't feel shy although i know that sometimes she ralizes she is saying something incorrect. but she will repeat herself in all tenses that she knows when she really wants you to understand her point.
@Rong Li...
ReplyDeleteu have a point.but it is not easy to just "be proud of your accent" because people many times make fun of ur accent. like a western african accen, the deep ones.
I really enjoyed reading Mother Tounge. Mainly because I can relate with my family. My mother knows how to speak eglish well, she has an accent. Sometimes when I correct her, she say "whatever". I had a similar encounter as Amy Tan. My gradmother had lived in New York for over 17 years and still does not speak a whole sentence in English. When She needs someone to call her doctor, incurence company, I am the one who calls for her. The person on the other end know that I am her by the sound of my voice. I answer questions and she dictates to me.
ReplyDeleteHaving your own way of speaking makes you, you. I think that even though it is not gramatically correct or makes sense sometimes, it makes your personality. Sometimes I find myself laughing and snikeringat my grandma's attempt on english. The way my grandma says "celery" is funny to me, but it is her limitation.
I liked Mother Tounge because it descibes a situation that most people go through when english is not thier first language.
@ ChuChu...
ReplyDeleteThat is so sad. That is the wort thing I have ever heard. I agree though, people shold not use people especially when they do not understand something.
@ Amy...
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to your story about spanish. That exact same thing happened to me. In the sixth grade, I went to MS 216. I barley had an education. My spanish teacher did not speak english. All the children walked all over her. She graded us based on our attitude and if you were nice. She had her moments (she cried). Then when I went to MS 74, I knew I had to work extra hard.
@ Arianne....
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I am not embaressed with my family's accsent. Even though it can be funny at times, it gives them an authentic personality. Since my family and I, speak russian, I know may people other than my family that have a Russin accent.
Response to Mother tongue: Mother tongue was an interesting story; I can sympathize with the difficulty of trying to exist in an English speaking society without more of an intimate knowledge or understanding of that language. It must have been terribly isolating, to be judged based on the command of the language rather than the emotion behind it. Granted, if the people really did find the mother's way of speaking to be something they had difficulty understanding, all they needed to do was ask for clarification. Withholding medical information, concerning something as serious as a brain tumor is something devoid of any level of morality or sympathy. I suppose I could draw a parallel to my own difficulties with the Greek language. The part of Manhattan where I grew up lacked a Greek school, and my mother's fairly Americanized outlook overpowered my dad's village style thoroughly Greek upbringing, and I didn’t pick up too much of the language. Nowadays, I am making a conscientious effort to master the language, as occasionally a less than articulate understanding of it can hamper situations with friends, family, and especially on vacation. It’s frustrating to continually have to ask for a translation, even though hit and miss conversation is always followed by understanding. Nonetheless, I applaud the author's determination in trying to resist being typecast as a person limited by her language, and rather than being discouraged by people who tried steering her away from what she loved, used their criticism to fuel her interest in language.
ReplyDeleteMother tongue was a very touching story to me because I can relate in various ways. Her mother spoke "broken english" in the same way that my father does, so I definitely understand where she's coming from when she says that people assume their thoughts aren't as complex as as someone who speaks perfect english just because they don't express themselves well. I've also had to speak on his behalf in numerous ocations whether it be parent teacher conferences or when someone calls. I agree with Amy when she says that her SAT reading scores were affected because she spoke Chinese at home. I also find myself doing significantly better on the math portion of the test than on the reading. All in all, I believe that many can relate to this story specially if you have parents who weren't born here or if you weren't born in the country yourself like in my situation.
ReplyDelete-Ingrid Palencia
@ Kayla Livingstone-
ReplyDeleteBoth of my parents were born abroad, and my mom came here relatively early in life (when she was about 8). Like your parents, she had to adjust to a completely new setting, with an entirely different language. granted, as the years progressed she assimilated, her early years here were fairly difficult. kids are mean (you don't get off too easy with the name "Asimina Frangopoulos"), and cultural norms are hard to break, but we all persevere.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@ Diana Llanos...
ReplyDeleteI concur with your situation when it comes to exams. Theres always at least a 100 point difference between reading and english which at times bothers me because I do really well in my english classes but when it comes to these reasoning tests and those long and tedious passages, I find difficulty choosing one right answer.
@ madeline- After a few years of Spanish, immersion in the culture is all you really need to get it going, I swear I picked up more in two months in Greece (granted, with many awkward pauses as i searched for words that i ultimately could not find) than I did in the one measly year of Greek school that I did take when I moved to Queens. You'd do fine in Spain. Besides, English is actually relatively commonplace in the EU,at least I think so.
ReplyDelete@ Jeanette...
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because both of my parents have accents (my dad more than my mom) and I frequently get comments on how funny my dad sounds. Although I also tend to laugh at the way that he says "hose" instead of "house", I admire him for struggling to learn the language at the age of 38 when it is almost always impossible to loose an accent. If I was in his shoes, I know I'd be going through the same problem.
@ Amy-
ReplyDeleteI love the mix of people in this country, and your entirely right. i know for a fact I'd hate it if nobody had an accent, it removes a bit of the exoticism of the world. it also brings up the question of what kind of accent is no accent? does monotone count as an accent?
i know id certainly hate not being able to hear my second cousin speak Greek with a British accent, most interesting thing Ive ever heard.
@Prax
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I LOVE THE WAY YOU TALK (your "voice")! I don't know to explain it but your usage of words is amaaaaaaaaazing !! -appaluds- And also, speaking Greek with a British accent certainly does sound interesting. :P
What you said about the hose vs horse thing actually reminded me of something WAYYY back in the days of my childhood. Probably when I was around the age of six or seven, around the time when I began learning English. During that time, my mom knew a few simple words and expressions such as "I'm sorry". So there was an incident where my mom mistakened "Sorry" for "saw-li" which in my home language, meant keys. It isn't actually mainland Chinese, it's more of a dialect from the countryside. But it was pretty amusing how she recognized "sorry" but mistook it for keys.
I REALLY don't recall the incident but it was just something funny to laugh about and remember the good ol` days. I'll probably still remember it when I turn 60+, probably. Hehe.
Oh. And ALSO @Jeanete, you went to MS216 and MS74 too?! Same here! We probably had the same Spanish teacher in MS216. Lols. My class made several Spanish teachers cry.. even the guy ones..
"Mother Tongue" was an enjoyable read because it spoke about a situation that many can relate to. This short story sympathize's with the difficult and often embarrassing challenges faced by those living in a country where their home tongue is not spoken. Also, with the relatives who must protect and assist their struggling parents. Similar to the story of Amy Tan's mother and her "broken english" my parents also had to live under new circumstances where their native language was not the main language. My mom had to learn english on her own in school because for my grandparents this was a constant struggle. The shift from completely different settings often causes inconvenient situations because the foreigner does not know how to defend themselves with the second language or voice out their rights. However, by making them feel more comfortable and less pressured to speak "perfectly" in time their challenge will fade and shyness will become confidence. The fusion of one's own culture and that of there permanent residence is a beautiful thing because their accent brings out individuality and authenticity to the person.
ReplyDeletegrklexi93
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment about everyone's daily language being different even if we are speaking the same language. Everyone has an accent because it is part of you and is what makes you, yourself. Whether you have a stronger accent than others does not define you, what makes you who you are, are the goals you set yourself up to and how far you go in achieving them. One does not to be born in a different country or have parents who struggle with the language to understand the hardships and challenges it can bring, but perseverance, will outshine any minor mistake.
ingrid palencia,
ReplyDeleteI admire your appreciation for your father's attempts to continue on in improving his english. Even though, I have not had to go as far as to translate or speak on any of my parents behave because of the language difficulty, I understand the pressure and awkwardness it can bring. However, there are still times with my dad as well especially for movies where we have to explain what the actors mean, I love the effort he puts in watching or reading something that is not in his native tongue.
@Augusta
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it is not easy to be proud of our accent, most of the time we are embarrassed with our accent because people can make fun of them and sometimes our accent just sound weird. But our accent can help us define our personality, making us unique. We should not be ashamed of our accent because that’s who we are! Since we can’t change our accent, we should be happy for sound “different”.
I enjoyed reading "Mother Tounge" by Amy Tan. Although I english was my first language, it was not my parents' first language. One thing i can relate to in this story is how my mother and father talk. My mother speaks proper english, but my father misuses singular and plural words. I always have to correct him. I find my father's english embarrassing. It is embarrrassing because my father does not take corrections in a positve way, he thinks i am making fun of him. My father, like Amy Tan's mother speaks in "broken" english. I can also relate to this story because my father makes my mother speak for him when he realizes he does not know how to say what he wants to say in proper english. I really liked this story, it was very touching.
ReplyDelete@ Chuchu, I agree with how you think the mother feels enclosed in her language barrier. I think that is how my father feels, & awe!!! that's so mean!!!!
@ Alexis/Vanessa/Rong, i agree with what you said to about everyone having different accents, and how everyone's accents make them different form everyone else, and how it makes them unique.
@ Jeanette, That's how i feel, because sometimes when my mom istn around, i have tot do w.e for my dad too...
@ Mrs. Higgins, I am soooo sorry for posting this late, I kinda almsot forgot beacause im not used to this... Sorry!
really enjoyed mother tongue. It was a story that i know may people can relate to. I can somewhat relate to the the author because as you continue to speak a certain way, people don't realize it and you tend to pass your speaking habits down to people you are always around. I agree with chu chu because my mother often speaks broken english sometimes and she doesn't even realize it. I also agree with jeanette, because the way you speak makes you you and everyone is certainly unique in their own way. Rong li also makes a good point. Some people may be embarassed because of their accent because of what other people may think of them. The story birings out a good message also. It tells you to always be dedicated to what you want to do. This lady didn't speak proper english all her life, and now she became a professional english wirter.
ReplyDeleteI liked mother tongue because it showed how people from other countries have to adjust to our way of speaking. I can't relate personally to this story but know people who have this problem whether in school or in my neighborhood.
ReplyDelete@ Sharif I agree with you when you said "As you continue to speak a certain way, people don't realize it and you tend to pass your speaking habits around"
Hi, I finally got the hang of this thing. I was entering the wrong url.
ReplyDelete-Ayesha Ahmed
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAre we talking about black hair on this blog or a different one? oh, well. i guess i will write on this one anyway.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I found "Black Hair" a bit depressing. After reading this story, i realize i am so lucky to have the life that i have and i am grateful for it. I can not image what it would be like to have to sleep inside someone's open car or under a tree. Soto worked so hard. i tried to imagine myself in his shoes. after all he was seventeen, when he first started working, just a bit older than i am now. i can not even picture what life was like for him. I did like how he started "there are two kinds of work: one uses the mind and the other uses muscle". For some reason, i found that so interesting. and it is true! some people are better thinkers while others can do things with their hands. Even though this story wasn't normally something i would read for me, it still was pretty interesting. for some reason, i always find it interesting to see how other people live their lives.
ok now im not so sure if we're suppose to leave the comment on this page or another. Well either way i'll drop it here.
ReplyDelete"Black Hair" written by Gary Soto. What can i say about it? Just like most of the stories from "Across Cultures" it's touched my heart. Which i guess isn't rare anymore since all of them seem to be getting to me. He began working at a young age for the money. I began working last year and in a way i get where he's coming from. It isn't easy and the boss always looks at you with a face that you can hardly never understand. It's either good or bad but as long as you get the job then you're happy or at least i was. Soto mentions how he found his job boring and wondered if he would have to work there forever. "So i knew work. I knew the fatigue and the boredom and the feeling that there was a good possibility you might have to do such work for years." I feel like him at times when I'm at work. Every so often i look at the time Soto chilled with mexicans and he himself was mexican except that he didn't always act like it.
well since i don't see who else is on
ReplyDeletemadeline: i agree, it is depressing in a few ways. Like this 17 year old guy having to work hard, and he doesn't even enjoy the job.
ok so i guess im the third person to do a blog on this. i feel as though black hair was able to open up everyone's eyes to see that life is not always what we think it is. In this short story it opened up my eyes on this 17 year old mexican to see all the life obstacles he had to go through and live with every day. The part that effected me the most was when he spoke about having to sleep in a abandon house, on church balconies and any where else he could find somewhere to just sleep. In the end when the author showed us how someone took him in and he had a place to sleep and eat it made me actually smile because he was able to finally have a place to stay. Overall this book showed me that people have to live day by day no matter how hard there life is to continue on making money.
ReplyDeleteOVERALL THIS STORY WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITESS.
Black Hair Summary
ReplyDeleteThe story "Black Hair" by Gary Soto is about a man named Gary who had experienced various rough times in his teenage life. It is very sad yet disappointing to think that he was an actual runaway kid. As a result to him running away from home, his future was ruined. He had to work for a Tire factory that had slimy showers and greasy materials. He worked very hard in setting tires into machines that would only pay a dollar sixty five. His teenage life was rough in that he had no shelter, so he had wondered around the streets to find places to sleep, he didn't have a sufficient amount of food, he experienced fatigue, he was broke and he had several aches. It is sad to think about what he had experienced but he was the one to cause his own sufferings. This story was interesting and after reading it, I felt that I am a lucky boy because like Soto and other teenagers these days, their first jobs are working in restaurants while I teach science.
Diana llanos: i love what yuh wrote i feel the same way yuh do about working at such a young age. my fist job was at the age of 15 i think, at this day care. i was both happy but then again mad that i had to work to earn my own money to buy any little things i wanted to. In the end having a job makes yuh more independent and shows yuh how to mature and handle your money correctly. some times yuh might not like what yuh do for a living nd other times yuh just have to stick it out and work for your moneyy.
ReplyDelete1st review= Madeline
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because it is depressing to be a teenage boy working hard for eight hours a day in a tire factory. It requires a lot of energy and strength and at the end of each day Soto had to find a place to sleep.
SO THIS IS MY LAST POSTING AND NO ONE IS REALLY HERE. SO I GUESS IM GOING TO WRAP IT UP AND SAY IM HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME IN THIS COLLEGE NOW CLASS ITS OPENING UP MY EYES TO NEW THINGS WHICH WILL PREPARE ME FOR COLLEGE NEXT YEAR. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE TOMORROW LOVE YA :-*
ReplyDelete2nd review:Diana Llanos
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because at a young age with little experience in the work field, jobs can be real tough. Young people have a higher tendency to be looked down upon their bosses. This story is very fleeting like you mentioned.
3rd review: Kayla Livingstone
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the story can open up people's eyes because the experiences Soto had to go through at 17 years old so not very easy. I don't believe anyone in this class could follow his footsteps..
This story "black hair" is a very passionate and informative story. It shows you the life of a hard working teenager trying to make a decent life. There was actually a point where he had to sleep in a car. He wasn't able to take a clean shower daily, all he did was work in the factory for little amount of money. I certainly agree with bRIAN BECAUSE A 17YR working that hard is very depressing and hard to heaer about. I can't imagine ever living like he did. I also agree with kayla because this story is capable of opening the eyes of many and it shows young people how hard it is to make it in the real world. Diana also makes a good point because working at a job at a young age which you dont even like is tough.
ReplyDeleteReview:
ReplyDelete- Diana: I totally agree with you. I never really thought about it, but these stories are all touching in so many different ways - so many people can relate to them. That's cool that u have a job though - I really should start looking for one!
- Brian: I agree with a lot of the points you brought up but i don't really think Soto's future was ruined because he was a runaway. I think it just made his life a lot harder.
- Kayla: I agree with you as well. This story did open my eyes about how life is not always what it seems like. I found the part where Soto is sleeping in the car really interesting as well. I also liked the part where the woman gave him two dollars to ride the bus. Most people would have proublay just walked pasted Soto on the street and not even cared. This story was pretty good but my favorite so far is "One Voice".
the "Black hair" by Gary Soto was a sad story for me. Gary, a 17 years old mexican, ran away from home. He was only 17 and he had to work hard in order to get money.and he slept in abandon house and on the car. and he had to overcame many life obstacles every day. this story change my view of life. before reading this story, i used to quit the job that i thought it was not too hard for me. and at that time, i did not like to go to work, i got money from my parents. since i did not have an experience like Gary Soto had,so i did not know it's very hard to earn money by myself. it is very sad that a seventeen year-old boy, had to work for 8 hrs a day, and he had to find a place to sleep every night, and he only earn a small amount of money. after reading this story, i think Gary had a very hard time to work in the Tire Factory, but he worked so hard. after i read this story, i think people should work hard in order to get something.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading "Black Hair" by Gary Soto, I felt sad because I don't think anyone deserves to go through life like that. It somehow reminded me of the stories that my mom told me of her childhood. When my mom was young, she already started helping my grandma work to provide for the family. My mom sold food on the streets just to help out. If I was in Soto's shoes, I don't think I'd survive more than a day out in the real world. It would be too hard. I admire him though in a way that he knew how to work to take care of himself. Just like everyone else, I feel lucky to be having two loving parents who do their best to provide for us, me and my brothers.
ReplyDelete@kayla-
I agree with you. It opened up my eyes also, and now I'm going to try to be less of a burden to my parents because it must be already hard for them to be working full-time and taking care of us at the same time.
@diana-
I also agree with you. Although I don't work yet, I've tried applying. It's true that those who have a higher power in the company you'd want to work for give these looks that you really just don't know how to interpret.
While reading "Black Hair" i thought of everyone i've seen sleeping on the streets. I would never think to see someone my age trying to find a place to sleep everynight.It was sad to see that he had to work hard everyday and still end up sleeping on the street.Working these jobs was the only income he had. This story was very inspiring and makes me appreciate being supported by my parents.
ReplyDelete@Diana-
ReplyDeletei agree with you. i worked in the summer on 2008, i know working is very tire and boring sometimes. well, i was happy with the job that i had during that time. but working makes you very tired. and i also agree with you that the story is very touching. the 17 years old boy work so hard and he earn a little money, and he has to find a place to sleep at night.
Black hair by Gary Soto is an autobiography of a person who struggles to achieve his ultimate goals. The story depicts how as an average teenage boy Soto goes through various working experience. As he mentions in the first sentence that, ““There are two kinds of work: One uses the mind and the other uses muscle.” People in our society tend to judge people according to where they work. People who rely on their brain power to work are usually classified into a higher standard compared to people who are dependent on physical capability. In my opinion I believe that a person should not be judged on whether they utilize muscle power or mind to operate their lives and make a living. Both functions require willingness and determination to earn a living, therefore they should be appreciated. During a specific period of time in his life Soto faced extreme poverty and lived in miserable conditions which one cannot imagine in today’s society. By reading this short story I realized how everyone has to go through tough times in order to achieve what they desire in life. It is hard to imagine how he had to sleep in the car and live up to terrible times. Concisely, after reading this story I acknowledged how precious my life is and especially the aspects of it. I reminded me to cherish everything that I own and be thankful because some of us don’t even have that.
ReplyDeleteOMG!!!! Well apparently my responce deleted itslef somehow (which by the way took me a long to do) but what I basically said was something like this:
ReplyDelete"Black Hair" by Gary Soto is a story that can be viewed in two different perspectives. For one, he is a boy living the life of an undocumented foreigner, working long hours for little pay and living a very undesirable life. On the other hand, he makes part of one of the many teens who run away from home and find themselves forced to rough it out in the "real world". Personally I can't relate to the story but I do have family members who've endured similar conditions and from all the stories I've heard it is almost impossible not to pity them. Personally I do know what it's like to be in a fighs with your parents which ultimately lead your life becoming more difficult and stressful. In my opinion, we all endure many different hardships but at different levels.
-Ingrid Palencia
The story “Black Hair” was so sad, the author was a seventeen years old Mexican boy, he’s young but he to do a “man’s” job loading and recapped tires. The story had given me some positive and negative aspects of life. The negative was that a teenage boy has to work everyday from eight-thirty in the morning to five or six in the evening, he sleep in those unlocked cars and the balcony of the church. The story also reminded me about the immigrant that came to U.S. for their America dreams, working at least 12 hours a day, getting no breaks and earning little salaries. “There are two kinds of work: one uses the mind and other uses muscle” (Black Hair pg240). To me, this quote was very true, the educated gets to work in nice office using their brain to do the job, earning very pleasant amount of income where the uneducated gets to work in awful environment doing work using their body and earning a very little amount compared the educated ones. We should be glad that we live in this century, don’t have to work at very at young ages or at least not in that kind of environment. We took everything for granted!
ReplyDeleteBrian Nquyen: your right he did cause some of his sufferings. If you really think about it he could have avoided some of what he went through. I think it's pretty kewl you get to teach science. Most of us have boring jobs but we have to learn to deal with them
ReplyDeletePersonally i haven't had a really job but i really look up to the people who strugle to find one. (the only time when i worked and got paid was last summer when i organized my uncle's office, i hope that counts)
ReplyDeleteLiJun Chen: I think the statement you made towards the end holds a very significant point, which is in order to achieve something in life it is necessary to work for it and only then will you be able to realize how much it’s really worth.
Denzel527: i agree with you because its hard to believe that someone our age has to do much to survive. It makes me think how easy my life is compared to them. three tests in one day and loads of hw makes my life tough but i wonder how these people rely on themselves to survive and live through such harsh times.
Kayla: I agree with her because she correct in stating how this short story had opened everyones eyes and made them think twice about thanking foreverything thing we have. Because many of us in the fuss of our lives forget how lucky we are to have the things and benefits that some crave for.
I agreed with Li Jun Chen, that we should depend on ourselves to achieve our own dreams whether they are easy or hard. In now a day, most of time we take things for granted, believing that’s the way it should. For example, we believe that it is our parents’ responsibilities to take care of us, doing everything for us even the smallest things, when we don’t like them. Our solution was to run away from home but Gary Soto’s situation was different, his mom and stepfather didn’t take care of him so it is reasonable that he run away. He took care of himself, finding job and finally rented a room, he achieved all of this by himself without anyone’s help.
ReplyDeleteReviews
ReplyDelete@ Diana Llanos: I've heard your stories about work and the people you're not too fond of which makes me admire you for sticking with the job.
@ Ayesha Ahmed: I concur with what you said about realizing how precious your life is and how you cherish it. This story makes me want to take back anything I've ever said about not being comfortable with my life.
@ sincerelyaerie: I definitely agree with you when you said that you wouldnt survive living in a situation like that. If I was ever forced into anything remotely close to that I'd probably give up and go back to my parents or stick it out but have not eventualy found a place to live like Gary did.
-Ingrid Palencia
@Brian Nguyen
ReplyDeleteI agreed with you that it is really hard for him; it is hard for anyone that faces the same situation as he does. Have almost nothing to eat, working in a very awful place and earning little amount of money. It is sad that he can’t find any place to sleep where he have to go through the cars in the parking lot and how he get caught by the lady owner of the car which he just ran away after trying to explain to her the situation.
The story "Black Hair" by Gary Soto is a very touching and depressing story. I was amazed at how independent he was at such a young age. And i admire him for following his dreams. This story shows how tough life really is out there, in the world. It shows reality, in a harsh way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rong Li because most people our age take things for granted and fail to understand how hard life really is. I also agree with Li Jun Chen on how everyone should work hard for something they need.
@sincerelyaerie:
ReplyDeleteI agreed with you, I wouldn’t survive if I’m Soto, have to work many hours a day and basically no where to go after the job is done there is no place that he can call a home and be comfortable. If I was him, I would go home and stick to my parent, but I admire his determination of keep on going no matter how hard it is, even if the future didn’t look good.
@Rong Li-
ReplyDeletei totally agree with you. that we all should gald that we live in this country, which has the limited age of working, so we won't have the same situation that Gary Soto had in the story. aand i think sometimes it's just being so unfair to Gary Soto that he has to work so long and he still has to find the place to sleep. it is so sad that he can't sleep in his home.
Black Hair was pretty intense. I don't think I would have the guts or the strength to run away from home at that age and live off the street. I felt kind of proud of Gary Soto because he had the strength to find a job. If he chose this life style he needed a way to survive.
ReplyDeleteI don not think I can compare to this story as much as the other ones. Gary seems like a hard worker (that is the only way I can connect). My father is one of the hardest workers I know.
@madeline...
I also agree that I feel lucky that I have a place to sleep, somthing to eat. It is unfortunate that some people do not have that opportunity.
@Kayla...
I really liked your blog. I agree with you when you said that it opens your eyes. It is also one of my favorites.
@Brian...
I was also thinking, what a shame that he ran away from home. When you leave home, it is so much different. But if he chose it that way, he had to learn how to survive on his own and not depend on other people.
@Brian Nguyen-
ReplyDeletei agree with you that Gary Soto had a hard time of dealing with what he had at that time because he was runaway, but i don't think his future was ruined. he still got a job, even though he has to wrok very hard and he earns a little.
"Black Hair: shows the difficulty of living in poverty, something many poeple do not understand. Gary Soto said work was seperatedd between physical and mental labor(which I beleived is classified as white-collar and blue-collar workers). I heard of these terms from my mother, who said if you don not want to perform physical labor as a blue-collar worker, you have to do well in school. This convinced me to work harder in school beacuse I hated hard labor.
ReplyDeleteThe story "Black Hair" is very interesting as it explains the hardships of poverty that none of us could fully understand. The story discusses hard labor tough jobs which people have to keep no matter how much they hate it. I really like this story as the author use imagery extensively to fully describe his work and I slmost felt like I was actually there watching him.
ReplyDelete@jeanette1005
ReplyDeleteI agree with you as I really think it was brave of him and really strong of him to stay out in the cruel world as a runaway with a agonizing work and then no place to sleep. I could never accomplish that I don't think I would be able to take all the hardships at once.
@madeline
ReplyDeleteI agree with you as this story has opened my eyes in way to appreciate whatever I have including a bed to sleep on as there are a lot of people out there who work harder than me and deserve a good night sleep while I hardly do anything enjoy my sleep without even appreciating it.
Hi I finally made it on
ReplyDeleteThe short story "Black hair" shows us that we never realize what we have and we take everything for granted. Gary had a harsh life, from sleeping in strangers cars or sleeping on cardboard on the church balcony to raiding the church kitchen for food. I agree with Madeline. I realized how grateful I am for my life and how lucky I am. Like many people commented here, I dont think I would be able to survive a day in Gary's shoes.
ReplyDelete@kayla livingstone
ReplyDeletePeople work for the goal of money. Unfortunately, greed for money turn people to commit crimes. People do live for money, a fact that is sad because without money, life is extremely hard.
@Brian Nguyen
YOu felt lucky of your position, as do I. Life seems easier compared to Soto, but everyone has difficulties in life. Life is not fair, some people have harder difficulties in life.
@sharif aidara
You said the story is an eye opener to many, just proving many people are ignorant of poverty. This ignorance is due to the fact that many people have not experienced poverty. Many people are unaware of the difficulties the lower class have, although reading this story is an eye opener I doubt we will do anything about it.
Posted comments but
ReplyDelete"Your OpenID credentials could not be verified".
appeared (using AIM screename). My posts were different but I had to revisit the site (a few hours later) for the site to take my posts. I was very annoyed rewriting several times from scratch just for the posts to not show up.
Anyone know how to solve this?
it's funny how people are replying to me saying "@sincerelyaerie". Lol. my name is arianne. haha.
ReplyDeleteThis story really opened my eyes coming from a background where I was always kept inside brought from school straight home, I never thought about how hard life could possibly be. When I first took the bus home I was excited my friends would always be like " whats so fun about this?" I guess living in a life where you are sort of spoil I thought of it as an adventure.
ReplyDelete@noorulain
I totally agree with you the writer did a really great job writing the story, you end up feeling like you can become te person and feel everything he is going through.
@Ayesha
I think that us being students is also a job. I think its a job that never ends. School is like the company and we are the employes trying to make a better future for the world. Its a job that some people decide to quit when it gets to hard while others keep promoting themselves up.
@jeanette1005
I totally agree with you the only way i can connect to Gary is because i Always am working hard. I only got to all the classes i am now not because i'm smart but because of all the hard work I do
"Black Hair" by Gary Soto is an unfortunate story about Soto recalling his past job and the struggles he faced as a seventeen year old boy who ran away from home. This left him to face the world all on his own without a penny to his name. Despite looking dirty and inexperienced Soto was hired to work for a tire factory, this kept him occupied during the day so that he did not have to constantly think about his next meal or where he would spend the night. It was not until Soto saved up enough money that he was able to rent a bedroom because before that he had to wash off a little at gas stations, sleep on lawns or in a church balcony on cardboard.
ReplyDeleteMany times in life it is not the success attained that is important but the hard work done to reach it. No matter what you do it is important to always have a goal for something better and perservere. Soto was determined to work hard and get out of the hardships he faced to be someone that he could look in the mirror and be proud of. Even though he is now an author of poetry collections it was his tire factory job that made him a success in overcoming his "dark fate."
Black hair it's a great story.
ReplyDeleteit is soo impressive how someone could have enough courage to do what he did.
i mean who is willing to abandon their houses to go through everything Sotho went?
Sotho's personality impressed me the most because although the hardships he had to go through were very difficult to even immagined
he confronted them and at one point of his life he had fun with all that situation
he has definatelly a strong and admirable personality
Reviews
ReplyDelete@lunatichigh1327
I agree with your response on the short story because poverty is something that people know but don't quite understand. Everyone has seen someone less fortunate but to actually be that person you see on the sidewalks is a whole different perspective. This story taught me to appreciate even the things I feel everyone has like a clean shower everyday because what I feel is nothing could mean everything to someone.
@grklexi93
I enjoyed your response because it is true that no matter how appreciative we are of what we have it is easy to take it for granted. With our hectic lives and the "need" for the latest ipod, computer, or clothing we forget that the simplest things that food everyday is a luxury that not everyone has.
@jeanette1005
I agree with your feelings about not having the courage to risk everything you have and love to live out on your own especially at such a young age. Soto had a lot of will power and determination that despite all the negative situations he was going through, he knew that he was going to make it out ok.
i just want to add a small detail in grklexi93 passage and also to say that i totally agree with her. people WAISTE lots of stuff and they too selfish these days, Start thinking about others who do not have what you do have
ReplyDeleteStories like this are real and happen to many people
i wonder what happened afterwards
ReplyDeleteNoorulain i sooo agree with you
ReplyDeletei quite felt in that way
i have seen people struggling to even have breakfast and that could be the only thing they would eat
so while reading i was kind of assimilating the story to the experiences i had presenced.
Believe it or not but I really didn't like this short story, 'Black Hair' because I think it's very dark. It makes my stomach churn, my throat tighten and a bit of fear creeping in my heart. I don't know how to really explain it but this story makes me feel really scared. This 17-year old adolescent is living by himself in the streets. I wouldn't have ever managed that. It's a really dark image because it's no longer the protected and secured feeling that you would feel knowing that you have a family backing you up. Even though he did have a family.. his family was very cruel. "my Mother crying at the kitchen table, my stepfather yelling with food in his mouth." (242). It was around the time when he was lying down in someone's lawn. I felt extremely bad for him. I wouldn't say pity because it's such a vague feeling but.. I really can't think of a word to describe it. I feel awful knowing that there's such poverty in the world.
ReplyDelete@rong li; I have to agree with you 100%. I guess I never realized it or maybe I just didn't want to realize it.. but I'm (and perhaps majority of teenagers) really dependent on my family. As independent as I say I am, one way or another, I always turn to my family for help when I need it. It just never occured to me that it would be so harsh. I actually teared up when I was reading this story. It was THAT moving. :c
@Arianne; I probably wouldn't be able to survive in the real world either after reading what Soto had to go through. It's funny because this story also reminded me of my mother's experiences too. I guess I always took things for granted, a LOT of things. Though I had some understanding of the hardships my mother went through, my whole perspective changed after reading this story. Now that you mentioned it, I feel appreciation for my family in a way that I've never felt before.
@Li Jun, Do you have or did you have Mr. Parascos? Lols. Because what you just said reminded me of him. When people work hard for something, they appreciate it more than when the 'thing' is given to them. Like, for example, when your parents give you like, a toy. You wouldn't be treasuring it because it came to you easily. However, when you have a job, and for the first time in your life, you bought something you wanted with your own hard earned money. It's like, the best feeling in the world. It's literally like, YESSS ! >=o ! Lols. So yeah.. =x