Is there such thing as RACE?

A big topic of discussion in our college lit. class lately, has been the topic of race. One of the questions our teacher our teacher asked was...is there such thing as race?

My answer is yes! I think there is definitely such a thing as race. If there wasn't I don't think people would make such a big deal about it all the time. However, I don't think it just has to do with your color of your skin, which is the first thing people think of. Every race has a different style of, "slang, songs, movies, cartoons, jokes, and theater," (Barrett and Roediger). When immigrants first came to America, these different styles were the way people of the same race could find others like them. Words such as guinea, was linked to African slaves. To an even greater extent, those from the northwest coast of Africa. By using words like these, which are original and from a certain area, others from where they are from. Therefore, I do believe there is such a thing as race.

Caucasia

Ok so so far I find the book ok. It seems like it's going to start picking up now. In the beginning it was weird. I had no idea what was going on for the longest time. I can for sure say though that something is funky between Birdie's mom and Redbone. Part of me thinks that she works for him with something illegal and then he told so everyone is upset. Another part of me thinks that he has something to do with Birdie. Redbone and Birdie's mom definetly know something though! I really want to know too!

Also why is Birdie so isolated all the time? I feel so bad for this girl. She is not black enough to fit in with her dad and sister, yet her mother is white. Also, I feel it was mean of Cole to start leaving Birdie in the dust when Carmen came around. Yeah she stuck up for her at the hair salon but she left her!

There are a lot of things going on in this book right now and I wish the author would start telling us some of the answers.

Ummmmmmm duh!

OK so after reading the short story Speaking in Tongues, all I can say to Tia is DUH!!!!! OK, I understand that Tia was unhappy and I do agree that her culture was very demanding, but boy does she make some dumb decisions.

First she runs away to a big city where she doesn't even know if her mom is even alive and with hardly any money at all. Then she goes to McDonald's to get something to eat with the little money she has and a man starts staring at her. What does she do? She stares back!!!!!! That is a big no no. Then the next day he comes back. If a strange man came up to me and invited me back to his house to take care of a cut that I got from running away from a mad woman whose car I slept in, I would run the other way so fast that he wouldn't even be able to complete his question. But what does she do? She agrees to go with him. Another big no no.

After she spends one night there she leaves the next morning safely. She should have run then especially after she met the woman that told her what a bad man he is. But what does she do? She goes back with him yet again!!!!!!

Yes, this was a very terrible thing that happened to Tia but there were many chances where she could have prevented this. It drove me nuts while I was reading this that she wasn't taking care of herself.

Soldier's Letters

I really enjoyed reading the letters from soldiers. The ones that I particularly enjoyed were those from soldiers back to their girlfriends and wives. Each one tells stories and makes you feel almost as if you are experiencing what they are going through. You know that each letter was written with great thought for this was the only communication between them and their love back home.

One that I enjoyed the most was from a soldier in the civil war named William F. Testerman and he was writing a letter to his girlfriend, Miss Jane Davis. It was written July 25th, 1864. Unlike most of the writing individuals create in letters today, it was very beautifully written. Though there were a lot of spelling errors due to his lack of education, his writing was still beautiful. William's letter almost seemed graceful as you read from one word to the next. He used phrases such as, "if you were to fail it would almost break my heart for you are the girl that I am depending upon and if it was not for you I would not be writing by my candle tonight". Reading this letter makes you realize how much these two individuals must miss each other. Being so far apart and not knowing if you would ever be together again.

Here is the link if you would like to read the whole letter...
http://spec.lib.vt.edu/cwlove/testerman.html

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

I found this story extremely depressing, but I think I liked it the best out of all the stories we have read in college lit. Yes, it is about a man getting hung in front of Yankees, but the story was rather good. I think it was written extremely well. When you first start reading it you wonder, what did this man do that was bad enough for him to be hung? As you read on, you find out that he even has a wife and children which makes you feel even worse for this poor man.

As you continue reading, the author tells of this man being hung meeting a Yankee soldier. The soldier informed this man and his wife that "the Yanks are repairing the railroad" and that, "any civilian caught interfering with the railroad, its bridges, tunnels or trains will be summarily hanged". I believe that this is the reason this man is in this situation. He was with the South and tried to interfere with the Yankes and this bridge.

When describing the actual act of when he was being hung, a very vivid image is put into your head. Then all of a sudden he hits the water. Although the men are shooting at him they keep missing! He is going to live! Then it arrives at the part where he is walking down the street to his house. I actually believed at first that he actually made it out of the Yankes' hands, however now I believe differently. I think that this man died at the hanging. He never even made it into the water. Those thoughts of escaping were his last before he died. He imagined them all as he was hanging there. He died just as he reached the gate to his home in his dream.

How freaking sad and depressing! However, I do like the writing style of Ambrose Bierce and this story was definitely one of my favorites.

Seeing Jimmi Hendrix at Woodstock

I actually found "Because My Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play "The Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock", to be one of the best stories we have read besides the "The Sutton Pie Safe". I found this story to show a very good insight of Victor's life and had very interesting stories within it. Like the story about how the dad was in jail. Though the story was sad and upsetting, it was interesting. It told a lot about Victor's dad's history and gives you a better understanding of the racial discrimination. A lot of stories that we read in College Lit. make you dig and dig for the story. This story just told you flat out. I like that.

One question I still have however is how old is Victor exactly? The story sends mixed messages throughout the entire thing.

One more thing I have to add that I really liked about this story was the list in the middle. The list told of the daily routine Victor and his father performed. I feel that putting that list in the middle of the story made it seem more personal and almost easier to understand. It made the story easier to relate to. This is definitely one of the top stories we have read in College Lit.

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

I found this story to be rather odd. When reading it it definitely makes you think, OK what the heck? Here is this man named Mr. Shiftlet who just one day comes to this little farm house where a mother and daughter live. Both of whom are named Lucynell. So this man just walks right up to them and starts talking about rather disturbing subjects. Mr. Shiftlet came out of nowhere and starts talking about a doctor who took out a man's heart. Personally if a man randomly appeared on my front porch and this was one of the first things he said to me, I'd be a little creeped out. But not this lady! What does she do? She invites him to live with her! What the heck! First of all she hasn't even know the guy for more than ten minutes and he is a major creeper. He even said to her,



"I can tell you my name is Tom T. Shiftlet and I come from Tarwater, Tennessee, but you never have seen me before: how you know I ain't lying? How you know my name ain't Aaron Sparks, lady, and I come from Singleberry, Georgia, or how you know it's not George Speeds and I come from Lucy, Alabam, or how you know I ain't Thompson Bright from Toolafalls, Mississippi?"



If someone said something like this to me, he would be literally kicked off my property. This guy does not seem like he should be trusted. Then not only does Lucynell let Mr. Shiftlet live on her property, she practically forces him to marry her daughter. I admit he did do some stuff to help out around the house but I believe it was all a set up. He had his eye on the car from the very beginning. I don't know exactly how, but I do think this some how relates to the bible. There are many times in the story in which the author refers to the bible. Including, the fact that he was a carpenter like Jesus, how he taught Lucynell to talk even though she is deaf, how he said, "My mother was a angel of Gawd", and how when he leaves Lucynell at the diner, the name of the diner was The Hot Spot.

I don't know exactly what it was but some how I want to believe that this relates to characters and stories from the Bible.