Class and politics of writing

In this story, the main character is also in a struggle with what she can share in her literature as a writer. She struggles to maintain a very fine balance between not destroying the relationship she has with her parents but at the same time making literature that is about her own personal life and is relateable to her audience. Also, there are clear racial undertones as the main character is an African American woman. This poses another issue for her as a writer because people are more interested in the writing of the priveleged and elite and not as interested in the plight of an African American woman. This story comments on racism and literature by saying that writing should be gender and race neutral. Writing is writing and should be examined by merits of literature and no other criteria.

Dutiful Hijas

This piece was very interesting to me because it really related to The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. It really described the family dynamic of a Latino household. It was really eye opening because many of the children that come up in these households are in a very unique dilemma. The struggle between caring for their elders just as their elders cared for them when they were young versus pursuing their own endeavors both academically and socially. The main character wants to be a "dutiful hija" (dutiful daughter) but at the same time really wants to start her life. She is in  constant cycle of guilt and somewhat starting her life. I enjoyed this piece especially because of the detail. It was very specific and I felt like I was a part of the family being described.

Search for Arab Feminism

I really identified with this particular piece. I took a feminism course in high school so I had a good amount of background information as to what exactly Maudi was speaking about. In this story, it is clear that Maudi wants to develop her own definition of feminism in the light of her culture. She actually enjoys cleaning the home and keeping it neat and tidy because she feels like that is the proper way to live. This goes against the typical definition of feminism because cleaning and cooking are considered very subservient, female done tasks that modern day feminists are trying to break away from. I enjoyed reading how she kind of developed her own unique position and towards the end of the story she somewhat found others who shared her unique position.

Coyote and the Pebbles

Although I read this story a few weeks ago, I remember the artwork and the message of the story very vividly. Reading this story was a very unique experience. I've never really read a story where a Creation myth was illustrated. I enjoyed this piece for the various morals that can be taken away. One thing that I noticed right away from reading this story is the concept of being on time is very important. The coyote was left out of the meeting because of the fact that he just was not able to arrive promptly. Also, there seems to be an underlying theme of arrogance. The coyote believed that he could have the best artwork in the star with his pebbles but in the end he ended up messing up everyone else's artwork. This story tells us never to get too arrogant about any one of your characteristics. I really enjoyed reading this story because it was one of the only stories that I've read describing the creation myth of a culture.

Coraline

Prior to reading this graphic novel, I actually saw the Coraline movie and I was thoroughly freaked out. When I learned that we would be reading that particular novel in the class, I was actually frightened. Although the overall story did have a very gloomy and creepy mood, there were definitely some lessons that could be taken away from the overall timeline of events. One thing that I definitely learned was that parents play a very important role in what a child develops into. I would have liked to read more of the story and see how Coraline develops as a person so that way I could truly see how much of an impact her parents had on her.

The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

When I was first handed this book to read over the summer, I really believed that it was going to be just another summer assignment that I would dread to read. But a few chapters in I really enjoyed reading and was one of those books I could not put down. The development of the narrator as a character and how he influenced Oscar was one of my favorite themes of the book. It was very similar to a father-son relationship which was interesting because Oscar never really had that father figure in his life. This book also explains the very scary but very real family dynamic in a typical Domincan American household. Some parts of the book it almost seemed like the mother was psychologically torturing Lola and that was very upsetting. Overall, I am really enjoying the book and can not wait to see how it progresses.