Reaction to LeGuin

When authors decide to read to their fans they can sometimes make their work more vivid. Leguin is very likable and is passionate about her work. Before she even starts reading, I feel this warm kindness radiating off her. You can see that her audience is affected by the way she reads. She is well spoken and shows this as she reads the passage. With every word spoken, I can visualize the story in my head. Every word she speaks is like a brush stroke painting a picture in my head. Hearing Leguin live makes the story that much better. The best way to describe this is like when you go to a live concert, the show is always better than just listening to their music. The same applies here and just hearing and seeing LeGuin speak almost makes her work become alive. Coming from me, a person who does not enjoy reading, I can consider reading this book, because hearing her read is making me interested.

Reaction to Cisneros

Sometimes, seeing the author speak along side with their writings makes it easier to understand. Overall Cisneros is very monotone. In this video the tone is very neutral but it is her message that stands out the most, "She wants to make opportunities, not wait for them to be made for her." Cisneros describes how Esperanza does not want to rely on anything such as "chance", instead she wants to do it "on her own abilities." Cisneros and the quotes both shows how much Esperanza wants to move forward in life and not just settle for something small. Throughout the entire video I did enjoy the pictures, music and visual quotes. This video brought both visual aids and a speaker which is key in keeping the audience's attention and focus. If the video loses one of these key elements, I feel like the message will not have a great impact to the audience. Also, I love how the music builds up towards the author's message, from slow paced then changes to a very optimistic beat like there is still hope for Esperanza and that she is not giving up.

Tone

Tone is a very important part of literature. Tone can make a story come alive and show the reader changing emotions shown by the author's attitude. From the beginning of the story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin, the tone is very calm and yet mysterious. It is not until the secret is revealed about the child that the tone changes and becomes disturbingly dark. In the story "The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World" by Gabriel Marquez, the narrator describes how the villagers bring a dead man come alive, by giving this character a name, some quality traits, and potenial doings. Normally when thinking of death you would normally relate it to sadness, but the tone manages to be a pleasant one.

Cisneros and Tan's Experience

The values that are learned from our parents are passed down and help us grasp a sense of individualism and connection to our past. Amy Tan's "A Pair of Tickets", shows us how she had no idea of the significance of her Chinese past. She shows her transition progressively when she arrives in China shortly after her mother's death. Her mother's death was her connection to her past,"And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.... Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish."

"The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros described how first generation Americans define the "American Dream." The American Dream, according to Cisneros, consisted of owning a house that she and her family could be proud of. Cisneros had moved from place to place never ending up in a place where she could ultimately call home. She described, "A real house. One I could point to. But this isn't it. The house on Mango Street isn't it. For the time being, Mama says. Temporarily, says Papa. But I know how those things go." Cisneros ultimately knew that she and her family would unlikely find that place where they could truly call home.

Presentation of Females

The way females were presented in this story was very harsh and primal. Considering the time and location the author was born plays a huge role on what inspired her to write this story. I suppose for the time and location this story had taken place, it was probably considered proper and part of their culture. I personally believe that non of this is ethically correct and that a person's freedom should not be restricted to this standard. It is crazy how our culture and the way females are represented differ from many other foreign countries. From my prior experience in the military and from traveling in other parts of the world, it is sad to say this way of life still occurs in many parts of the world today.

Julian

Girl

After reading the story "Girl", I honestly thought she was thinking to herself. I thought she was constantly trying to remind herself of what type of person society wanted her to be. Almost like she was drilling this in her head or in other words, beating herself up about being a lady. I felt like this was a first person narration but that she was referring to herself mostly in the third person by using words such as, "you." I believe this because the setting almost seems like a negative and stressed environment and that this could lead to possible mental or emotional problems that would lead some one to think like this.

Julian

The Appointment

The theme from both the video and the story is clearly about death. The moral is somewhat unclear and can be interpreted into many things. One thought is that nobody can run away from death. Another idea is that death comes in many unexpected forms. I like the overall concept of the video because if you think about it, the story is ridiculously short like a trailer. I thought the idea of death disguised as a fortune teller was a great concept. A fortune teller telling some one's future makes sense, but a merchant telling you your future seems a little off to me. My final thought is if I were to pick a movie of my own that reminded me of this story, I would strongly recommend "Final Destination."

Julian