The power of silence can cut through anything, but who says this? Our family members, friends, society? Is this what is best for us? To keep quiet and not speak our minds in fear of the consequences? Our reputation could be at stake if we say the wrong thing at the wrong moment.…
In the book “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, we follow young Louie. Louie as a young child adventerous, and bullied. Stalked by his peers they catch him beating him till someone steps in for Louie, this is his life. His brother bounds, transforming Louie. Louie races past his opponents with glee, running toward the Olympic arena.…
In Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders, Brent Staples says that black men are typically perceived as a danger to society and uses personal encounters to give his idea life. The time period Staples paper was written about was an extremely divided time in our country. Segregation had been put to an end, but black people still were not yet seen as equals to most of the white population. In his article, he tells stories of how he was treated, how some of his friends were looked at, and how they were always suspected to be dangerous when they were doing nothing wrong. He started the story by telling of an encounter he had with a white woman in Chicago on one of his many sleepless nights.…
There are some very exciting books coming out this Fall, and more than I have seen in a long time. This list just scratches the surface. I've already pre-ordered all the books listed below. You may want to consider checking them out! 1.…
There Are No Children Here There are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz is an anecdote around two young men who are utilized to experience childhood in Chicago's Henry Horner Homes. The principle characters, Lafeyette and Pharoah, live in the repulsions of the Chicago's internal city in a low-wage lodging venture. Alex Kotlowitz takes after their lives for a long time so as to uncover way of life in supposed other America. In his book there are no kids here the writer portrays the majority of their delights, disillusionments, and tragedies.…
Racism is embedded into essentially every American institution and is nurtured by people who have racist predispositions. Ta-Nehisi Coates in Between the World and Me, writes “the ground we walked was trip-wired. The air we breathed was toxic. The water stunted our growth. We could not get out” (Coates, p. 28).…
In this stunning memoir, Rosemary Bray describes growing up poor in Chicago in the 1960s and becoming one of the first black women at Yale--and she shows why changes in the welfare system make it virtually impossible for her inspiring story to happen today. "Certain things shape you, change you forever," Bray writes. " Years later, long after you think you've escaped, some ordinary experience flings you backward into memory. Being poor is like that.…
The memoir, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is written to be a letter to describe the future issues to be anticipated for his son in American society. Coates wants to show the reality of the difficult life that must be lived if you are African American in the United States. Ta-Nehisi Coates wants to accurately share the trials and tribulations of the stereotypes of our society to protect his fiveteen year old son, and children all over the nation like his. Children who may not yet understand what they can expect from their futures, just because of their race or identity. The memoir begins by describing the history of violence towards other racial groups from white supremacists.…
In 1849 finding gold could save a family from a horrible life. Leah has found a whole sack of gold up until now. She kept the sack underneath her floorboards. The only reason she doesnt buy things with them is because people will get suspicious about where all this gold is coming from.…
The New World and the New Mind Technology such as internet and cell phones has somehow made its way into every part of our lives from school to a simple workout at the gym. Whereas years ago we barely knew anything about it, or how to even use it. People seem to have found the gateway to the easy road in life. With internet you can find the solution to your problems in no time by googling whatever it is you need or want.…
The Code of the Street by Elijah Anderson is a theory developed by Anderson himself that demonstrates the explanation of the high rates of violence and the life of inner-city people, mainly African-Americans, living in Philadelphia. In some of the most economically depressed and drug- and crime-ridden pockets of the city, the rules of the civil law have been severely weakened, and in their stead a “code of the street” often holds away (Anderson 9). The “code of the street” is known as a set of informal rules leading to the public behavior known as violence, deterrence, the possession of respect is at the heart of the code, and the belief that there are two different types of families known as “decent” families and “street” families. When it…
Breaking the Rules With The Stranger: The Difference Between Perception and Reality The article, ”Stranger’ by Toni Morrison, narrates her encounter with a stranger. She explains the impact a stranger can leave behind, based on her own experience, how she experience welcome as she approached the stranger, and wished they could meet again. She felt “cheated, puzzled and also amused” (136) when the stranger never shows up as promised. Which kept her wondering that most of time the people we think are not what they turn out to be.…
Book Title: The Dark Tourist: Sightseeing in the world’s most unlikely holiday destinations. By Dom Joly. Simon & Schuster, United Kingdom, London. 2nd Edition. ISBN 978-1-84739-846-8.…
“Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros is about a daughter who felt ignored by her family. Sandra has six brothers and is a writer. She was always left out when the brothers played and her father would accidently tell people he had all sons. The setting of the story was where ever they were living at the time. The family would live in Chicago but when money ran low they would move to Mexico City and then move to Chicago again.…
Amos Tutuola’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts follows outlandish episodic tales and a character stuck in the middle of a nightmare. Many of the horrid stories the author describes reflect the negative consequences of British colonization in Nigeria. However, Tutuola describes the dream-like 10th Town of Ghosts, a flourishing city in which his character prospers. Tutuola juxtaposes the 10th Town of Ghosts amongst other frightening cities in the Bush of Ghosts to reflect an accommodating view of British colonization in Nigeria.…