Today, when the country of Dominican Republic comes to mind, some ideas that are commonly associated with the country consist of vibrancy, festiveness, beaches, and exoticism. What many do not realize is that the Dominican Republic was once a disastrous place to live in. In Before We Were Free, Julia Alvarez explores this world and the harsh circumstances that the characters deal with. It is a captivating piece of historical fiction in which the author focuses on the three themes of freedom, power, and maturation. Alvarez develops the main character Anita’s unfortunate situation through the theme of freedom.…
What do you know about masks? Look beyond the Halloween masks to see where this is going; facades and masked intentions. People mask their thoughts and feelings for many different reasons. Whether it being to hide the truth or to hide, masks have served many purposes throughout our lives. And yet, what happens when the mask is broken or revealed?…
As a child, Gary Soto imagined that he would “marry Mexican poor, work Mexican hours, and in the end die a Mexican death, broke and in despair” (Soto, “Living Up The Street” 184). Although this may seem surprising coming from the renowned modern Chicano poet of “Saturday at the Canal”, it was the inevitable fate of many in his childhood community. Soto grew up in Fresno, California at the heart of San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural industry in the mid-20th century, where everyone in his family worked in a field or factory. He and his family were never able to envision a future unlike their present of near poverty and violence. As a Mexican-American, he was neither here nor there; he didn’t feel ties to either culture of his label.…
Shift of Innocence The mind of a young child is nearly unfathomable. To attempt to delve into its depths is, typically, a fool’s errand; and yet, somehow, certain authors manage to reach back through the years and call to mind old memories. They are able to spin stories from these dream-recollections.…
First, Let Teenagers Have a Fair Shot at Adolescence Across the hypercritical and interconnected global society that exists today, a multitude of notions and opinions constantly stream from every source imaginable; however, Leon Botstein’s analysis of education in America stands out among the most profound. Bluntly writing in a piece entitled Let Teenagers Try Adulthood, Botstein proposes, “the American high school is obsolete and should be abolished” (153). This provocative nature of Botstein’s writing leads to polarized views of the education system that could ultimately result in alienation of individuals or groups with more moderate views. That is not to say Botstein lacks valid points.…
Books that gain popularity amongst the public tend to have a straightforward, easy to follow outline that includes an introduction of the main characters, a plot following one of the characters and a conclusion that resolves the issue and brings together a happy ending. Martha’s Half-Breed doesn’t follow this outline and because it is based on her life it shows a dark reality to this world that the author thought might not be welcomed by the readers, by focusing on her childhood and omitting the other sections he might have thought it would have appealed to a larger audience. Half-Breed starts off with the innocent childhood of Maria as she starts off with a description of how her family came to be which consists of her parents, siblings and her great grandmother Cheechum. She grew up in an area where she was surrounded by her own people and that’s where most the stories she tells happen. This first part of the book, the childhood, sets a tone that is completely changed once you read past it, while Maria does acknowledge her awareness of the racial injustice towards her people by their white neighbors at the time, the setting still has a happy, dark comedic spirit to it that accurately reflects the innocence seen through a child’s eyes.…
Has there ever been a time were you just need someone else's thoughts well in these two excerpts “Who Are You Maria? From Call Me Maria by Judith O. Cofer and The Watcher by James Howe”. Words make a difference in Maria a conversation occurs between her grandmother that is a powerful set of words, while in The Watcher the set of words can be heard in a different way. In both of these passages there's powerful dialogue given by the elders that does help the characters in both scenarios they are set in, with Maria and her open mind and even and his straight up mid these two characters have a lot in common and their next step are valuable to what happens next. In general both of these characters take the quotes their elders tell them and use them…
The opiate epidemic runs rampant in West Virginia, killing parents leaving kids left alone to pick up the pieces of their parent's mistakes, wondering what happened along the way. Eli Saslow beautifully narrates the story of the Pulliam family in such a predicament in his article "What Kind of a Childhood is that". Published in December of 2016 by Washington Post, Saslow shows the devastating effects of heroin addiction and how it affects the standard American family. By using narration, imagery and characterization to tell the tragic story of the Pulliam family, Saslow effectively convinces readers to alter their mindset of addiction. Saslow's article puts perspective into what West Virginia calls opiate orphans, children who have lost both…
Coming of age stories reveal the struggle of life in early age. The stories also demonstrate life lessons and life losses. “Even though you're growing up, you should never stop having fun”. -Nina Dobrev. Unfortunately, I disagree with this quote since there are times when you need to actually grow up and not have fun.…
For Victor, getting the girl is what he is going for in 7 grade. In the beginning of the short story “Seventh Grade,” by Gary Soto, Victor, the dynamic protagonist, throughout his day tries to catch up and talk to Teresa, tries to find her and tries to impress her. He is conflicted with confidence around this girl he likes. Throughout the plot tries to impress and get her to notice him. Without his dose of confidence he fails on his attempts.…
Of all the texts a high school student can read, what makes each text memorable? Is the author reaching its audience or is it just another half written essay that has no meaningful points and seems to exist for the sake of filling out a library.? The book looking for alaska by John Green tells the story about Miles, who is tired of his friendless, dull life in Florida, and convinces his parents to send him away to boarding school in Alabama so that he can seek "the Great Perhaps. " Once there he goes on adventures with his new-found friends in a quest to find himself and to solve a mystery that his friend, Alaska, leaves behind.…
Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year old boy, has an intense fear of change as well as growing up; however, after this experience he is more open and understanding of the necessity it is for development. In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the pivotal moment in the psychological development of Holden Caulfield is watching Phoebe on the carousel, because it reveals the author’s message that growing up is a necessity. Throughout the majority of the novel, Holden searched for answers about the adult world as well as constantly trying to prevent children from growing up. In the beginning, he was distraught over the question, “Do you happen to know where they go in the wintertime?”…
In the short story “Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto, the protagonist, Victor has a crush on a girl named Teresa. Teresa was in Victor's French class. The main conflict was that Victor truly wanted to date Teresa, but he didn’t know how to ask her. Although Victor didn’t know French, he put his hand up when the teacher asked if anyone knew French. He did it so that maybe Teresa would notice him. The lesson that Victor learned was to not lie.…
In “A Summer Life,” Gary Soto uses tones of guilt and fear to capture the memory of his six-year-old self stealing a pie from the local grocery store. Although young Soto is aware he is committing a sin, the savory senses of the pie persuade him to steal the pie. The author’s diction intensifies the moral conflict between Soto and himself, first guiltily, then fearfully. Before stealing the pie, Soto recognizes stealing a pie from the innocent grocery store owner is wrong, but justifies what he is about to do by saying sensations such as “boredom” and “the juice of guilt” overcame him.…
The story covers changes in her life, a result of life choices she made. She depicts the pros of…