Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Being a Mexican American
Although I'm not Mexican this is probably my favorite short story. No matter where you live in America you are most likely going to be identified with the people you hang out with. So if you live in a community made up of a specific race you are going to be identified with them. This story tells it from the perspective of a kid that is trying to defy who he is identified with. He will forever be a Mexican, but as he starts to mix with other groups he slowly looses parts of his roots. This portrayal shows how he will never be able to completely let go of his roots because they go so far back in his life. We become so connected and wrapped up with our past that there is no way to leave it behind. Some think this is bad others take it as a blessing. Mendoza believes that no matter what it will always stay with you and it makes you who you are. I agree because no matter what your past was like, good or bad, it still made You. A point that Mendoza makes is that people will never fully integrate with each other. Is he so far off? If you take a look at a diverse city like Chicago you will find that there are neighborhoods for each ethnicity. No one segregates us but ourselves. In my life time I really wonder if I will see a true mix of culture throughout the world.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
King still king?
Martin Luther King Jr. is far from a forgotten figure. His prominence is known throughout the world. However now he is looked at as a revolution. He is not just the man who started this idea he is the idea. This news of equality spread throughout the world. The Civil Rights Act not only effected the United States of America, but the world as a whole. Everyone knew about it and was amazed a feat that seemed impossible was accomplished. I think the idea that you can do anything you put your mind to is really what was brought out from the movement. People now-a-days give up to fast when the times get tough. If M.L.K. Jr. was still around I believe he would be fighting another movement for the better of a harmonious world. So Martin Luther King is still around in our lives not as a person, but as the idea of a driving force of determination.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Short Stories
For this blog I will explain why I like "This Sacred Soil" and "Children of the Sea." These two stories have very different origins and purpose, but overall a similar conflict. Both characters in each story are forced off their lands. The means by which this happen are different but non-the-less they are forced to leave.
In "This Sacred Soil," the author really put into perspective the view of the Natives. He basically wrote that the Red man and the White man, will never agree on anything. The Natives will forever worship their gods and the White man will worship his. His reason for giving into the idea of a Reservation is that he doesn't think that their will be any Native Americans left by the time the Reservation has a big impact. All he can do is hold onto the virtues they have left and pray that one day both cultures will find that their maker is the same. The part that made a deep impact on me is this: "At night when when the streets of tour cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled and still love this beautiful land. The White Man will never be alone." to me this means that Chief Seattle thinks that for as long as the White Man lives in America, he will never have the compassion of that of the Red Man.
In "Children of the Sea," the story of the life of children in Haiti put into perspective just how lucky I really am. I believe to many people take everything we have in life for granted. Life around the world is much harder than just getting by in school and having a good relationship with your family and friends. In the story the kids had to worry about staying alive. These stories of genocide really get to me because it's really hard to fathom why a race of people could turn on each other. It happens all around the world and the reasons for it are wars that have been fought for many of thousands of years and yet each battle is still in full swing. So this story is especially compelling because it puts into perspective all the things we take for granted.
In "This Sacred Soil," the author really put into perspective the view of the Natives. He basically wrote that the Red man and the White man, will never agree on anything. The Natives will forever worship their gods and the White man will worship his. His reason for giving into the idea of a Reservation is that he doesn't think that their will be any Native Americans left by the time the Reservation has a big impact. All he can do is hold onto the virtues they have left and pray that one day both cultures will find that their maker is the same. The part that made a deep impact on me is this: "At night when when the streets of tour cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled and still love this beautiful land. The White Man will never be alone." to me this means that Chief Seattle thinks that for as long as the White Man lives in America, he will never have the compassion of that of the Red Man.
In "Children of the Sea," the story of the life of children in Haiti put into perspective just how lucky I really am. I believe to many people take everything we have in life for granted. Life around the world is much harder than just getting by in school and having a good relationship with your family and friends. In the story the kids had to worry about staying alive. These stories of genocide really get to me because it's really hard to fathom why a race of people could turn on each other. It happens all around the world and the reasons for it are wars that have been fought for many of thousands of years and yet each battle is still in full swing. So this story is especially compelling because it puts into perspective all the things we take for granted.
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