Blog #6

I believe that many of us refer to the issues raised in these novels as “weird” because it is a subject that is very different from what is normally seen. Our society has developed based on the beliefs of man and woman being together only and each person having only one set of sex parts. By reading stories where people are different from the so called “normal” it makes us as readers and people ask questions and view them as “weird” because it is not what we are used to.

In regards to this whole unit on gender, sexuality, and belief my views have pretty much stayed the same so far. I believe that everyone should be accepted in society no matter what their preferences are. While I do think that it is different seeing two females or two males together, I don’t think that there is anything wrong with it. I believe that if they are happy then they should be able to express themselves just like any other human being can. They are not forcing their beliefs onto others, so why should heterosexuals be allowed to force their views so strongly against homosexuals? They are people just the same.

So far, I think that the literature is very different from others that I am used to reading, but then again this whole unit is a different one. I think that Middlesex discusses a very interesting subject but that it could be boring at parts. Once it got to the end, it drew me in however when it really discussed about Cal/Callie’s true inner feelings and the confusion faced. I liked how descriptive Middlesex was, but at times I thought that there was so much detail trying to be described, that I lost track of what issue was really being talked about. Overall however, I found the novel interesting enough. I think that Speak will be very interesting though and I am excited to start that novel.

In response to the introductory materials, I thought that they were really shocking and it made me realize how hurtful society can truly be. The biggest shock to me was with the Westboro Church. They preached their views so strongly and forced them upon everyone. Anyone who didn’t believe what they did was seen as a bad person. I think that that is very wrong and that they are overstepping their boundaries. I also thought the “Heterosexual Quiz” was very interesting. It made me really think about how I would feel if I was asked those questions. Being asked things such as “When did you realize that you were heterosexual” really made me recognize that there was no way of really answering this. It made me feel like it was wrong and shameful to be heterosexual, which are probably how many homosexuals feel and that they can’t express their true feelings which I think everyone should be able to.

Blog #5

From the novels read in this unit, Monster and Incognegro, which deal with cultural identity, race and white privilege, there are many connections seen. The most obvious one is the power of white privilege and how the blacks are seen as bad or criminals and that they are inferior to whites. Stereotypes are seen within both novels as well.  With Monster, Steve is automatically looked at as guilty of a crime because of his race. Before the jury can even learn about the facts of the crime, they jump to the conclusion that he must have had something to do with the crime because of his color. This issue is also seen in Incognegro. Zane Pinchback, also known as Incognegro, works as an undercover writer to get perspective into the whites. He is accepted by them because of his lighter skin color. In the book, his brother Carl is sent to jail for a crime that he did not commit and one of the biggest reasons for this is because of his dark skin color, even though the sheriff knew he was innocent. This shows that race plays a role in both books, especially within the judicial system. Another connection seen between both books was the fact that power was held in the hands of the white people. In both books, no blacks held any power nor were they given the chance to have any.

These books are able to create a “conversation” about the issues presented in this unit by discussing controversial areas. In Monster, it deals with a young 16 year old black child being put on trial for a murder that he supposedly did not commit. This creates conversation about this not only because of his race but also because of his young age. It really makes people talk about the judicial system. In Incognegro, Zane Pinchback pretends that he’s white which can be seen as creating a controversial conversation. Many wonder whether this is the right thing to do, pretending that you are another race, or if he really does want to be white and just pretends that he doesn’t like disguising himself.

Some similar themes seen in both books were racial stereotypes and white power.  Both books are told from a black’s perspective and in both, blacks are viewed as inferior to whites no matter what they do. The blacks are viewed as unwanted and criminals in both novels and in Incognegro it goes far enough that his race is even disguised. Also in both books, the whites hold the power and make the decisions for society. Black’s views were looked at as unimportant and as a waste of time.  The whites stick together to overpower every other race.

These texts relate to our discussion of power and privilege in many ways. In Monster, the power and the privilege of making decisions are in the hands of the whites because Steve’s attorney is white and so is the jury. They hold the power in making the important decision of Steve’s life. This shows white privilege because the power is based on white’s beliefs and views on the concept of race. In Incognegro, the power and privilege is also in the hands of the whites as well.  They used this power very strongly by holding lynching’s and KKK meetings. Nothing could be done to stop them because the white’s had the privilege of being their specific race so they were the overpowering force.

Blog #4

From reading all the different materials so far in this unit, the one thing that has really stood out to me was the role that upbringing plays regarding race. The video clips and questioning beliefs worksheet in class were really strong supports of this as well.  I really enjoyed the video clips because I believe that brought up a lot of issues and made me think about things that I just never really thought about such as “white privilege” and how while whites work hard and get ahead they assume that everyone can, when in reality it is much harder for a black person to get ahead even though they may work just as hard. This is due to the many problems with race in today’s society.  Also, from the questioning beliefs worksheet in class, the statement “Hatred is learned” really stood out to me as being true. You do not come into this world already knowing who to hate and who to love. That is something that is taught to you over time. Children look up to those who raise them as their role models and they want to be just like them.  They are obviously going to believe what is taught to them.

One question raised in the video was about if racism will ever be brought to an end. I thought that was an interesting question and it made me really think about the present issues.  I think that many people want to put an end to this, but it all depends on the attitudes of those raising each generation. If activities are done with young children, such as the activity in A Class Divided, to show the power of discrimination and how it is not a good thing to have then I believe it could be eventually talked about less and less. Also, the younger these activities are done the more positive of an outcome it will have because the older that people get in life, the more they form their own beliefs which are then harder to change. I think that was one reason that the activity was harder to do on adults because you are not going to change what they have been brought up thinking and based on experiences they have already gone through. I think race will always be an issue that is seen however because you can’t change everyone’s views in life

I think that your personal beliefs do play a role however in how you interpret the texts and information about race in general. Depending on what you were raised to believe, you might think that race isn’t a big issue today if you didn’t hear a lot about it growing up or vice versa. In my case, I wasn’t raised in a racist family and was brought up to believe that everyone is equal and that you shouldn’t judge any person just because of their physical characteristics. I think that this is one reason as to why I didn’t really think of Steve in Monster as coming in worse than anyone else because I never singled him out thinking “Oh he’s black”. I looked at it from an equal playing field.

Blog #3: The Book Thief

As I read through the first half of this book, the one character that really stood out to me was Hans Hubermann. As a person, you could really feel his compassion and love towards Liesel. He was caring and treated her as if she were his own child, not just a substitute that he was forced to take care of. He helped to her to read and was there for her when she was scared. I think that he is very nice compared to Rosa and I was glad that he was actually welcoming and showed that he believed in Liesel since Rosa beat her and seemed to look at her as only a way of getting paid, not as her own child. His perspective on the conflict that is occurring is that it is not right and shouldn’t be happening. He doesn’t think that it is right to discriminate against a group of people but he is afraid to speak up and say anything because he wants his family to be protected and does not want to start any trouble with the already horrible situations being experienced.

Hans faces many conflicts throughout the novel. One of the biggest once faced is the fact that he does not join the Nazi party even though his son is in it and many people are. His son calls him a coward for not joining and he begins to wonder if he really is one. The overall conflict that I believe Hans is facing is whether he should do what he thinks is right, or do what is wrong because everyone else is doing it. I think he wants to do what is right but with the circumstances faced, the wrong thing might be the safest thing. His perceptions regarding the Nazi regime are that they are wrong for what they are doing but that they are too powerful for anyone to be able to stop them.  On the imminence of war, he feels afraid of what could happen to his family, especially since he is not a part of the Nazi party that his son has joined. They probably think he is unfaithful and that could probably give them good reason to come after his family first. His view on the subjugation of the Jews is very strong as well. He knows that the treatment being done to them is very wrong and wants to help them but he is afraid to speak up because of his family. He doesn’t think that one race should be treated as better than another.

Han’s perspectives are unique because despite most people who didn’t give much of their own thought into what the situations were and just went along with everyone else; Hans clearly acknowledges that he knows right from wrong. He actually wants to do something to help out the Jews as well and no one during this time would be willing to do that which makes him so unique. I really like him as a character because of how loving and kind he is. I think that everyone deserves to be treated that way. I also like that he voices his opinion and knows that what’s occurring is wrong and that he wants to help. He seems to look out for the best of everyone which is nice when reading a novel about such horrific events and experiences.

Blog #2

As I read Maus, I quickly came to discover that Vladek's Holocaust narrative/experience was a very rough and wearisome time. The farther into the book I got, the worse it sounded. It made me wonder how anyone survived this harsh typeof treatment and how you could be even slightly “normal” after going through this type of event. Reading about the times when Vladek was a prisoner of war really made me look deeper into my emotions and ask myself the question “what emotions would I have felt during that time and how would I have coped”? Also, on pages 108-109 where Vladek and Anja have to make the decision of whether or not to send their son away so that he would have a better fate then being killed by the Germans really struck me as an interesting passage. I personally believe that this would be such a hard decision to make, but after reading the novel and seeing the brutal killings that happened to many of the children, I believe that the way their son died and what they did for him was the right thing to do.

As the novel progresses on, I believe that it is not the basic narrative that so much changes, but more the situation that changes a little bit each time and for the worst. For example, it starts out with Jews facing some struggles.Then as time progresses, the noose begins to tighten as Chapter 4 suggests, and things become even more strict. It comes to the point where Jews just have to hide out in bunkers that they build themselves to avoid the Germans at all costs and death as long as they can. In my group, we discussed how these bunkers were actually really interesting and that it was pretty cool that you could see the layout of the bunker in the images.

The story that is being told visually and not so much in the words are what the settings and times were really like. The images let us imagine even further what it was like because they give detail that we then connect with what we read. The visual story also shows us around what age Vladek is experiencing each situation. This helps to follow the narrative as well. When we look at both the words and images together however it puts the whole picture together and we really get to see the type of emotion that the characters are feeling and see the full situation. With both of these elements, we can read what the narrative is saying and then view the images of what the author wants us to really get from the words instead of each person having their own interpretation of what type of emotion is supposed to be felt.

Introduction

Hi I'm Nicole and I am a sophmore at Ship this year! In my free time I like to ride horses. I've been doing this since I was about 13 years old and it takes up alot of my time. I am an Elementary Education major and am getting certified in the Middle Level 4-8 program. My minor will be in Language Arts. I actually was required to take this class because it is one of the many english courses needed for my major, but I think it will be interesting to read novels that are culturally diverse. The last book that I read was Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I was interested in this book because I had heard from a friend that it was about a school shooting and since I am an Elementary Education major, it caught my attention.

My thoughts regarding "cultural diversity" in society today are that it is a very important element. I believe that it is seen very often, but I think it needs to be taught and heard about much more in our society, especially since classrooms are very diverse today. To me, cultural diversity is all of the different cultures or societies that make up the world. In this class, I am expecting to learn about how the different aspects of life vary from culture to culture. I also expect to learn about the different themes in literature that usually occur in certain types of cultures and why they show up so often in certain places of the world.