Literary essay #2

Jonathan                                               1/5/11
                        The First Day  

     The short story The First Day, Edward P. Jones tells the reader about the events that lead to a change in a mother’s life trying to give her daughter a better future. You see, the mother did not know how to read or write and even with this problem she didn’t give up on finding her daughter a school that would lead her to a better future. The story takes place in New Jersey Avenue where the mother explores their way for a school where her daughter can attend. It turns out to be harder than they thought. Even if they did find a school the mother would not be able to read or write to fill out the forms that would register her daughter in the school records as a student.

On their adventure and search for schools, the first school they found was located between New Jersey Avenue and Third Street and was named Seaton Elementary School. This elementary school did not accept the daughter because of the location the mother and her daughter lived in and which the school considered too far. Soon enough, they find a school for her on New Jersey Avenue, but this is where the dilemma comes. The mother receives a form that she has to fill out with the daughter’s information. This is where the mother’s inability to read and write comes in effect because to get her daughter into school she must read the form and write down her daughter’s personal information. For example, the mother must write down the little girl’s full name, date of birth, age, gender, medical problems, etc. Basically, for the mother to submit her daughter to a school (on a” ride” to a better future) she must find the way to fill this form out. In the end the women who helped the mother ended up being the daughter’s future teacher.

“I see,” my mother says, looking around the room. Then:” Would you help me with this form? That is, if you don’t mind.” The woman asks what she means.” This form. Would you mind helpin’ me fill it out?” The woman still seems not to understand.” I can’t read it. I don’t know how to read or write, and I’m askin’ you to help me”. My mother looks at me, and then looks away. I knew almost all of her looks, but this one is brand new to me. “Would you help me, then?”.The woman says “Why sure,” and suddenly she appears happier, so much more satisfied with everything. This is the conversation where the mother is speaking up to the teacher and courageously telling the teacher about her inability to read and write. This quote was the turning point in this story and in the mother’s life because she felt that she was really being cared for and being helped in a way that she will learn something she wasn’t able to learn. “She’s to be my teacher, she tells my mother. My mother stares”. This quote is the part of the short story where the women introduces herself as the future teacher of the little girl and surprises the both the daughter and the mother.These quotes are both prime factors in a change in the mother’s life.

     In conclusion the lesson learned in this short story is that you should always ask for help when you really need it even if it is something you’ll be embarrassed of. In this short story the mother learns that you should always look for ways to find help, to learn how to read and write (partially), and never give up on a goal that you desire to succeed. I think that this story is very inspirational because it teaches the reader to ignore embarrassment in a problem and do whatever you can to do what you want to achieve.





    

Charles

  12/7/10

                         Charles
       Story by Shirley Jackson, response by Jonathan Guzman



The story Charles is about a little boy, his teacher, his classmates, and Laurie. Laurie, a little boy is doing something really slick and is telling on his classmate for doing misdeeds (one wouldn’t expect from a child). In the story, Charles hits the teacher because she insists that he uses a marker of her choice. The theme of the story is how a child can use his or her imagination to attract attention. In this case Charles, is an imaginary friend who is influencing Laurie to hit teachers and classmates and also to scream bad and insulting words at people.

Charles who is supposedly a bad student in school is causing many parents to be concerned that his behavior might influence their children. “It was Charles”, he said. “The teacher spanked him and made him stand in the corner. He was really fresh”. This quote was on the first page and  represents the event that could have influenced Laurie to think that hitting people is the correct thing to do. This quote also shows that Laurie is inventing an imaginary friend to attract attention from her parents.

“I could hardly wait for the first Parent-Teachers meeting. I wanted very much to meet Charles’ mother. The meeting was still a week away”. This quote was on the second page and it is spoken by Laurie’s mother with great concern. She is upset about Charles’ bad influence over Laurie and wants to discuss it with his mother. “Charles?” she said. “We don’t have a Charles in kindergarten”. The teacher quotes these words at the end of the story on page two, when she states to the mother that there is no Charles in the Kindergarten.  Laurie’s mother was shocked to hear that Charles was not an actual classmate of Laurie’s and that she lied.

Basically, the overall thesis is that of a child looking for attention. To get attention Laurie uses his imagination and creates little white lies.

"One of these days" Literary sentences

                                                     
11/23/10
One of these days

         Short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, response by Jonathan Guzman

        The short story One of these days is about a dentist named Aurelio Escovar who has dentistry, except he doesn’t have a degree. Aurelio is living through a life of poverty and disgrace and the time period is during a Civil War in Columbia. In this story Aurelio who is busy with his precious gold tooth, is constantly polishing it and keeping it as his property and refuses to give it back to the mayor. However, the Mayor arrives at his dentistry and has an extremely bad toothache and he threatens the dentist that he will shoot him if he does not receive proper dentistry. All of this also is taking place with the dentist’s decision to cheer one side of this war that is going on.

The thesis of the short story is about how this dentist who decides to come out of the poverty with a golden tooth and also the fact of his anger towards people for the deaths of people he knows (war deaths). As a result of the deaths and anger he tries to harm the mayor who is partly responsible of what is happening in Columbia during that time.

“Dry your tears”, this was the quote that showed the dentist’s change and seriousness. Aurelio was ready to do something, unexpected, nothing that can now be changed. Aurelio Escovar in the inside is another person, many people think of him as a good, and hard working person. But, in the inside he is different, he is sensitive and quick tempered. Aurelio is also the type of person who would look for revenge, which in this case he thinks in harming the mayor because of having something small to do with his friends’ death.

In conclusion, I think that this short story shows a lot of inner thoughts of the dentists and whom he considers an enemy. As a result of a short transition of the poverty to richness, he is becoming mentally different than what he was before. This story shows the idea of how people can change with objects that can change their life forever.

Childhood to Adolescence

       11/15/10
           Childhood to Adolescence  
                Short story by Sandra Cisneros response by Jonathan Guzman

The story The Monkey Garden by Sandra Cisneros is a short story about a mature women’s point of view who is speaking of her past and the innocence she had as a child. She soon creates a garden (in a vehicle), replacing a lot. “Things had a way of disappearing in the garden, as if the garden itself ate them”. This quote says that this garden had an energy that captivated people and was a world of piece. She has a problem of having fear of going towards adolescence and she is not ready to mature yet. This “Monkey Garden is the place she can really stay away from the adolescence”.  

The thesis is the transition from childhood to adulthood and the difficulties for some people to decide to change to the adolescent thoughts, life, acts, etc. The Turning Point was when she was forced to play a game she did not want to because of the fact that it is doing something that “only” adults do. She thinks that kissing the boys would change her completely and that everybody would consider her an adolescent. She doesn’t want to be called an adolescent, at least not until she decides which way she will drive her life.When she was in the garden it was all different. “This I suppose was the reason why we went there. Far away from where our mother’s could not find us”. This is the quote that proves that she feels calm and not pressured by any people around her.

The plot was all basically adolescence versus immatureness.  In the beginning she is happy that the monkey’s next door moved away to Kentucky because they were annoying to her at night when the screamed. Then the “garden” is built in a vehicle where she felt that she was comfortable in a place where she is not surrounded by adulthood. “This is where I wanted to die and where I tried to one day but the monkey garden had me”, this meant that she felt comfortable and where she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Next she was forced to play a “game” because her keys were stolen and she was to kiss a man of her choosing to get her purse back. Then she continued to live in the world of adulthood. Finally she was able to realize that she really does not know weather or not she wants to be immature or have adolescent thoughts.

The Setting was in her home, garden, and at street. The characters were Sally, friends,etc. The Conflict was basically the fact that everybody she knows are becoming adolescents and she is still stuck being a girl and wanting to stay away from “growing up”. The main point of the conflict is that she is expected, and pressured to act like and adult. She is pressured by her mother, friends, and family. Basically she is being separated and torn away from her relatives.

Death Forgiven Response

      11/8/10

                        Death Forgiven    
Short story by Francisco Jimenes response by Jonathan Guzman

Death forgiven is basically about how a parrot dies and then given a small funeral without really any cosequences father who killed the parrot. The father always hated the parrot and did not like the way it behaved. These behaviors supposedly were being “annoying”, the bird would always bother him in every way.The examples of the annoying actions were the noise, and he killed the bird because the bird was way to loud and disturbed him when he basically did anything.

The plot of the story is that first the child has a good life with the bird, then the bird dies because he was killed by the father, next the drama of the child crying of pain (“I fell to my knees and prayed and prayed for “el perico”), finally the bird was put in a cigar box and then buried a foot underground and was given a funeral (moment of silence).

The thesis of the story is how a death basically stays unsolved and really has some sort of a sour feeling of anger towards the person who did this. Examples that supports this is when the boy started to cry and got on his knees to say goodbye to his parrot with a sudden anger. From the beginning to the end of the story the character/narrator was very sad and really showed it with his words and not literally addressing that he “feels sad”. The mood and tone of this short story is light words and that they represent the somberness of the person of this death.

My opinion is that “el perico” didn’t deserve to die because this is just the life of a parrot, making noise, copying what people say, and flying around. Just think about it, if you would kill a pet that has been in your family so long ,wouldn’t you feel guilty? This was wrong and not allowed because this is considered animal cruelty and the assassination of innocent animal, and other than that the father would always have in his conscience that he killed. I think that the bird could have been moved somewhere where the father would not be bothered. I also thought that killing the bird wasn’t the only option, I thought the father could have told his boy to take the parrot with him wherever he goes and keep him quiet.

B...... Out of Carolina

11/3/10
             B...... Out of Carolina                   
   Short story by Dorothy Allison, Response by Jonathan

The short story B...... Out of Carolina really shows, describes and provides a sensitive sort of feeling. In this short story there are many things that could be implied into sensitivity. The main thing that would imply is something such as when the girl listens to the speech her mother gives her to grow healthy and very decent person, the mother mostly tries to make her  daughter feel that stealing is wrong and can destroy your life. This short story creates a world where violence and robbery/thievery is being used in language, actions, and thoughts.

The overall thesis is decency, and criminality. Having this as a thesis is also able to create a feeling in doing what’s correct instead of ruining your life doing what is wrong. This short story is mostly about wrong doing when already been warned. In this story crime is done, stealing, and mostly regretting it afterwards and feeling really sorry for doing the crime. When committing this crime the girl feels guilty and her personality changes after the crime because of her ignorance towards her mother’s words.

In B...... Out of Carolina the characters are the mom, the girl (Narrator), the man, and the sales-girl. In the beginning of the story the mother states to her daughter that stealing must not be committed by her. Then the girl ends up stealing candy from the store. Next, the man tries to attract the girl in a way that was inappropriately (he was drunk). Finally the family ended up being mostly broken entering the world of criminality, and the girl ends up stealing and finally confessing to her mother.

Eyes and Teeth Response

           Eyes and Teeth                 10/25/10
Book by Wanda Coleman, Response by Jonathan Guzman

The short story Eyes and Teeth is very disturbing for those who their race is mentioned. In this short story the African American race is being discriminated against. I found this comment on African Americans very rude, and hating because it insults and shows hate towards African Americans about them and their skin color.

The overall thesis of the short story “Eyes and teeth” is that you should not hate because of someones race, color, and looks. Buzz in this story is insulted by his own mother and he feels left out and hated. This day was the grand change for Buzz’s life and will never, ever be the same again. These words change Buzz into a person of hate and anger towards his mother (for an amount of time). Buzz’s actions, mental points of views, and physical face expressions towards his mother (angry face).

Eyes and Teeth’s characters are Buzz, Wanda (Narrator), Buzz’s mom, and Wanda’s mother. At the end of the story, the new characters are Buzz’s children. In the short story, Wanda (the main character and narrator) is playing with Buzz, his friend. As they play the parents are talking about “adult stuff”. Buzz and Wanda were playing hide and seek when they quietly stop playing and they listen to, and spy on their parents. Buzz’s personality soon changes with the following quote, “ I’m so glad this baby didn’t turn out black and ugly like Buzz. I can’t stand to look at nothin’ that black, and I feel so sorry Buzz is as black as he is- tar black like his grandfather”. This was the disturbing quote in which Buzz changed, forever. Buzz and Wanda stayed emotionally shocked. His mother then had noticed a change of her  Buzz’s actions and feelings. Twenty years later Buzz returns, now with two new children.