05.08 Free Choice Blog

Women of Colour

by Rupi Kaur

our backs 

tell stories 

no  books have 

the spine to

carry

     

     The poem I read is from an instapoet, named Rupi Kaur, who mainly writes poems about women power and femininity. In one of her books, this poem stood out to me.The poem stood out to me because my interpretation of the poem made me see that any person, or a persons worth cannot be degraded into something inanimate, and that we are more of who we think we are. I also admire how the author uses 'books' in comparison to backs. Besides the internet, we only read about profound people in books, sometimes their life, sometimes their work.But this particular poem made me realize that those profound people we know were more than stories written on pages, that they were also people.

    Since the author is a feminist and writes about such, I believe that she is targeting younger females, to not let society put them in a box because it does not know what they have been through. I believe that the author's intent was to affirm her readers and their life experiences by her works.

04.08 Free Choice Blog

Moonrise

by Sarah Crossan

     The chapter is entitled "Section A". The chapter talked about a seventeen-year-old  Joe who came to Texas to visit his brother Ed, who is currently sentenced to death row, and was convicted of a murder he did not commit as he told his brother Joe. I am thrilled and looking forward to finishing this book and what events will happen in the  near future. I thought that how the structure of the book was written was odd, since it was like in a form of poetry yet it is not. The book is a novel. The plot is amazing, and I would not mind reading a book concerning the justice system such as this one. 

     I believe that the authors intent was to let her audience focus on the order of events since she uses Chronological Organization. The author also uses imagery in this chapter, evoking the readers senses such as 'So many doors and bars, but no windows,' and 'It's all fluorescent lighting, flickering and humming, like the building itself is strung out.' Making the readers a part of the book with Joe. In a prison. Visiting his brother Ed on Section A in the death row hall.

04.04 Bias and Opinion

   


      I found an example of bias in the book that I have been reading titled Small Island by Andrea Levy. A paragraph written in Chapter 4 shows a conversation of Hortense and Celia. The paragraph started with the marching of soldiers to war, which Hortense commented on why must so many men go. Celia sombrely replied that they fight because if Hitler will win the war, slavery will return, and so they will be working without pay, and in chains. In her mind, Hortense understood why the return of slavery was very important to Celia, and it is because 'her skin was so dark. But mine was not of that hue- it was the colour of warm honey.' For that reason Hortense believed that she will not be enchained.

     The book is meant to have many opinion and bias regarding its theme of racism. However, for assessment purposes, the author could have avoided bias by not planting the idea to Hortense that just because her skin was not as dark as Jamaicans, does not mean that she will not be treated as a slave. Now, Hortense's warm honey complexion is due to illegitimacy. The opinion that she will not be treated as  a slave due to her complexion became a fact, which now led Hortense to have a biased characteristic towards other Jamaicans. This also made herself believe that she is superior to them.

04.03 Tone Analysis

   The story mainly suggests a negative tone due to the authors choice of words despite the few positive tones in the story. Below are examples of a negative and positive tone analysis from the story.

Positive Review

  First, the opening of the passage had the phrase  the fire burned brightly  which is positive in its tone, describing the warmth in contrast of the cold and wet night. Second, the word soothingly is  a positive tone describing the voice of Mrs White while comforting her husband that lost in a chess game.Third, the sentence his eyes got brighter is positive in tone, describing happy emotions in contrast to the beady eyes. Fourth, the sentence squared his bare shoulders is positive in its tone, describing how proud the sergeant-major is to talk about his travels and adventures. Lastly, the dialogue of Mrs White saying 'sounds like Arabian Nights' is positive in its tone, specifically the term Arabian Nights  describes the theme of forgiveness, justice, and humanity.

Negative Review

     The sentence the night was cold and wet is negative in its tone, describing the story's setting of a bad weather. The phrase radical changes and the sentence putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils  are negative in its tone, showing how Mr White's drive will let him go to extreme measures to win. Also, the word latter is negative in its tone describing Herbert's position between the father and son game of chess. The adjective order of a tall burly man, beady of eye and rubicund of visage connotes a negative tone, this suggests a bad quality such as greed or dishonesty. A rubicund face on the other hand does not exactly connote Santa Clause. The soldier regarded Herbert how the middle age wont to regarding presumptuous youth a which is negative in tone, describing how the sergeant views him and his dislike of  Herbert. 

03.07 Free Choice Blog

Small Island Chapter 2 Blog

     The book is polyperspective and in the first chapter, it is narrated by Hortense, a Jamaican woman who went to England in order to reunite with her husband Gilbert Joseph. Here the author mainly uses Compare and Contrast Organizational Patterns through out the chapter, in order to discuss the disappointment of Hortense's expectations that her husband Gilbert fed her. 

   Gilbert sent Hortense a letter before her arrival in England stating that he will be there to meet her at the dock with longing and enthusiasm, and in the letter, Gilbert also described the grand house they shall live in. However, Hortense arrived at the dock with no sight of her husband. She took the initiative to go to the address written in the letter and found it hard to communicate with the locals for directions. In the end she managed to arrive at the right apartment and did not greet her husband with enthusiasm. It is when Hortense entered the house her disappointment came along. Instead of seeing a grand house to live in, she was stuck with an apartment room where a few steps would take you to another part of the house. Hortense was not afraid to hold back her thoughts repeatedly saying that she went all the way to England only to stay at a shabby household. This irritated Gilbert.

     My personal reaction, if I was Hortense, I would give Gilbert some slack. If the story took place after World War II then it is only expected that England is still rising form ruins and that they were even fortunate enough that they have a roof under their heads.

02.07 Free Choice Blog

Small Island

by Andrea Levy

I. Prologue       

     A. British Empire Exhibition

1. Butcher's Association trip

2. 'the whole Empire in  little'

3. The whole world and only one day to see it

     B. Queenie

1. Left sitting between two farm helpers

2. Queenie's mother told her to hold Emily's hand

3. Scenic railway

     C. African Man

1. They got lost in Africa

2.  African Man

3. Shook hands

Summary:

     The Small Island is a novel created by Andrea Levy. The setting first took place in post-war England where Queenie's family went to the British Empire Exhibition due to the Butcher's Association Trip her family has. The exhibition attracted many people and brought every a piece of world  in one place. Queenie's mother and father left her with Emily and Graham, two farm helpers, and her mother ordered Queenie hold on to Emily to not get lost on the crowd. While exploring the exhibition, they stumbled upon Africa where Queenie encountered an African man. She gave a description of him being carved out of chocolate, while the farm helpers teased her with the man. Instead they shook hands and when the man talked proper English, they were surprised. To make up for it, her father took her to a scenic railway at the exhibition to forget about her encounter.

     

02.03 Summarization

The passage with the sentence(s) highlighted or bolded

They turned history on its head and the New York Yankees into baseball's most stunned losers to reach the World Series for the first time since 1986.

At one minute after midnight, the Red Sox closed out the Yankees 10-3 in Game 7 when Ruben Sierra grounded out to second base. Nothing whacky happened. No ball through someone's legs, no errant throw, no sudden breeze from the supposed ghosts of Yankee Stadium. Just a simple throw by Pokey Reese to first and the Red Sox were the American League champions.

"I've only been here a couple of years and I can't imagine what people in Boston have been suffering through,'' Kevin Millar said. "Not many people get the opportunity to shock the world. We came out and did it. We made history by getting to Game 7 and made history again by winning it. 

They were on fire the first three games, especially Game 3 with a 19-8 victory in Fenway Park, and then they were frigid. They lost in ways that Red Sox fans were used to seeing their teams lose. In extra innings two nights in a row. Against a pitcher with an ankle tendon held together by stitches the next. And finally against a slumping hitter who found his home run stroke and a forgotten pitcher who came through in Game 7. 

15 to 20 word summary

The Red Sox threw everyone off, especially New York Yankees when they made history by winning Game 7.