The second half of American Born Chinese ends in a way I was not expecting. In this second half, the Monkey King goes on a quest as the disciple of a man working for Tze-Yo-Tzuh. He became an emissary for Tze-Yo-Tzuh after completing the journey. Jin Wang transforms into Danny after renouncing his Asian heritage and breaking his friendship with Wei-Chen. It then travels three years into the future where Chin-Kee is visiting Jin-Wang/Danny for the third time. Chin-Kee and Danny get in a fight during which Danny unveils Chin-Kee to be the Monkey King. Danny then turns back into Jin-Wang. The Monkey King then reveals that Wei-Chen is his eldest son and that he has strayed from his path to become an emissary. Danny eventually rights this wrong and becomes friends with Wei-Chen again.
The ending of this book is pretty unexpected. I knew the story would come together somehow but I didn't expect it to be so literal about it. I thought each story would have a lesson that linked with the others yet the ending was written in a way I think I liked more.
My opinions on the book is that its a good quick read. The whole book didn't take me over an hour and a half. The story itself is interesting and the animations help the reader visualize. While this may not have been my favorite novel so far, it definitely wasn't the worst. I found the style the book had to be unique and would be surprised to see another book like it in this class. Overall, I give this book a 3/5. While the majority never had me extremely interested, I was never bored with the story and I greatly enjoyed the ending.
Monday, February 27, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
American Born Chinese Part 1
American Born Chinese is an interesting book. It is the first book of its kind that we have read so far in class. Its basically a large comic book. It uses pictures, speech bubbles, and other comic features and is the most unique book we have read so far. While not a big comic fan, I truly have enjoyed this book so far. It takes on a serious tone, especially for a comic, yet it still remains able to make a few bright and funny moments throughout. The pictures do a great job at illustrating what is going on. The book focuses highly around stereotypes and how they differ from reality.
The main character in the book is Jin Wang. However, there are a few other main characters in the book. The Monkey King is one of these. I don't know his main purpose in the book yet but I think it has something to do with underestimating people. The whole story of the Monkey King seems to revolve around people thinking less of others and being made brutally aware of it. Another two main characters are Chin-kee and Danny. Chin-kee is the extreme stereotype of an Asian person. He represents America's stereotype of a Chinese person by knowing everything and playing "jokes" on others. Danny is Chin-kee's cousin and simply wants Chin-kee to stop embarrassing him.
Jin does his best to be considered an American after moving to a new school. It follows his struggle to gain friends. At the end of the first half of the book, it follows his struggle to talk to a girl that he likes.
To be honest, I have never seen a book like this one before. The story is interesting and is given in a way I've never seen before. It has been a solid quick read. It is one of my favorite books read in this class so far.
The main character in the book is Jin Wang. However, there are a few other main characters in the book. The Monkey King is one of these. I don't know his main purpose in the book yet but I think it has something to do with underestimating people. The whole story of the Monkey King seems to revolve around people thinking less of others and being made brutally aware of it. Another two main characters are Chin-kee and Danny. Chin-kee is the extreme stereotype of an Asian person. He represents America's stereotype of a Chinese person by knowing everything and playing "jokes" on others. Danny is Chin-kee's cousin and simply wants Chin-kee to stop embarrassing him.
Jin does his best to be considered an American after moving to a new school. It follows his struggle to gain friends. At the end of the first half of the book, it follows his struggle to talk to a girl that he likes.
To be honest, I have never seen a book like this one before. The story is interesting and is given in a way I've never seen before. It has been a solid quick read. It is one of my favorite books read in this class so far.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
The End of Brown Girl Dreaming
The second half of Brown Girl Dreaming starts to actually have a purpose. The book loosely revolves around Jackie's struggle to become a writer. This part of the book also brings in her family life and shows how it influenced her decision to become a writer. For example: when Jackie's uncle was put in prison, she began to write about what he was experiencing there in poetry.
By the end of the book, Jackie grows old enough to recognize the racism around her. It starts to take mention in her writings. Mentions of groups such as the Black Panthers lead Jackie to want to fight for her equal rights. When one of her teachers says she's a feminist, Jackie is able to draw comparison's between her fight and her teacher's fight. These fights for equal rights also have some bearing on her writing.
By the end of the book, nothing new has really happened. Jackie becomes recognized as being able to write but there isn't much conflict there. I know the story is written based purely off of memories so her frustration isn't captured well in the book, yet the book never really feels as if it resolves itself. She becomes able to write but the story ends when elementary school ends. She never writes anything big. The book seems to end suddenly with a piece that is written by Jackie as an adult describing her life when she was in fifth grade.
My opinion of the book is that it was probably my least favorite to read. I've never really liked poetry and a book written through poems is not a good start. Then there's a large lack of conflict for the vast majority of the book. Not to mention the ending of the book that I discussed before. Overall, I think the book serves to sum up Jaqueline Woodson's early life, yet that seems to be the only purpose of the book.
By the end of the book, Jackie grows old enough to recognize the racism around her. It starts to take mention in her writings. Mentions of groups such as the Black Panthers lead Jackie to want to fight for her equal rights. When one of her teachers says she's a feminist, Jackie is able to draw comparison's between her fight and her teacher's fight. These fights for equal rights also have some bearing on her writing.
By the end of the book, nothing new has really happened. Jackie becomes recognized as being able to write but there isn't much conflict there. I know the story is written based purely off of memories so her frustration isn't captured well in the book, yet the book never really feels as if it resolves itself. She becomes able to write but the story ends when elementary school ends. She never writes anything big. The book seems to end suddenly with a piece that is written by Jackie as an adult describing her life when she was in fifth grade.
My opinion of the book is that it was probably my least favorite to read. I've never really liked poetry and a book written through poems is not a good start. Then there's a large lack of conflict for the vast majority of the book. Not to mention the ending of the book that I discussed before. Overall, I think the book serves to sum up Jaqueline Woodson's early life, yet that seems to be the only purpose of the book.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Beginning of Brown Girl Dreaming
The first part of Brown Girl Dreaming summarizes the first few years of the Jacqueline Woodson's life. Jacqueline was born in 1963 in Ohio. Her dad wanted to name her Jack after himself but her mom refused and had her named Jacqueline. After a short period of time, Jacqueline along with her mother and sister leave her father. They move back to their mother's parents house in South Carolina.
Over the next few years, Hope, Odella, and Jacqueline were shielded from their surroundings. They were told to stay away from any children in the neighborhood. As marches go on across the country for equality, Jacqueline's mother, grandma, and grandpa support the peaceful marches and condemn violence on both sides. Soon Jacqueline's mother heads to New York to get a job and tries to find housing for them. Jacqueline's Grandma starts teaching the children to be Jehovah's Witnesses to keep them on track. She also lets them come in contact with other children around them. They end up learning more about the children in the neighborhood and it teaches them how to interact with others. Their mother returns with a new baby and comes to take them back to New York.
The book so far is just a summary of Jackie's early life. She is too young to remember a lot so a decent amount of what happens is very vague. The book is set during and after the movement for racial equality so it has a lot of potential to show how the population of the United States was reacting to segregation. Overall, there's not much to comment on so far in the book since nothing important has happened yet.
Over the next few years, Hope, Odella, and Jacqueline were shielded from their surroundings. They were told to stay away from any children in the neighborhood. As marches go on across the country for equality, Jacqueline's mother, grandma, and grandpa support the peaceful marches and condemn violence on both sides. Soon Jacqueline's mother heads to New York to get a job and tries to find housing for them. Jacqueline's Grandma starts teaching the children to be Jehovah's Witnesses to keep them on track. She also lets them come in contact with other children around them. They end up learning more about the children in the neighborhood and it teaches them how to interact with others. Their mother returns with a new baby and comes to take them back to New York.
The book so far is just a summary of Jackie's early life. She is too young to remember a lot so a decent amount of what happens is very vague. The book is set during and after the movement for racial equality so it has a lot of potential to show how the population of the United States was reacting to segregation. Overall, there's not much to comment on so far in the book since nothing important has happened yet.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
The Ending of Yaqui Delgado
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass ends in a way I didn't really expect it to end. I expected either a physical confrontation with Yaqui or Piddy running away. Neither of these occurred. Instead, in a stroke of irony, Piddy showed the disciplinary officer the video that Yaqui's friends took of Yaqui fighting Piddy. I find it to be quite ironic that the video of the fight is what stops Yaqui from being able to bully Piddy. However, the second I read that the video was put on social media I knew it would factor into Yaqui's downfall.
It angers me that Yaqui got immunity in this case. Assault, Battery, sexual assault, conspiracy to assault and more crimes caught on video lead to no charges because her friend group is too large. She literally gets a "get out of jail free for 10 years of your life because you are popular" card. I say everyone there should have been charged in Civil and Legal court. In legal court, they could have been tried for assisting a sexual assault and conspiracy to assault. Of course, Piddy would need some way to get away. This is where Civil court comes in. Physical pain and psychological damage can result in massive amounts of money for the person that was injured. While the families of those who mugged Piddy may not have much money individually, when grouped up there is enough for Piddy to be able to move to a nicer neighborhood. This ensures that Piddy is safe from those who attacked her and they get punished for the crimes they committed.
Veering back to how the story actually ended. I think you can guess that I don't like that Piddy was the one who had to move out. Although, I think she liked it because she got to go back to her old school. She had friends there and wasn't viewed as an outsider. I think she liked this option the most and would have chosen to move back to her old school if she could have anyways.
Overall, I find the ending of Yaqui Delgado to be brutally realistic. The government isn't willing to punish a group of individuals who clearly need punishment so their victims are forced to flee. Not to mention Piddy shows some signs of Post-Traumatic Stress a year later. I find this to make the ending even more authentic. While the book may not have ended in some grand confrontation, this made the book even more important. A grand confrontation would have spoiled the book's point on what bullying truly is. Ending it in this almost anti-climactic way shines a light of realism down on the book that makes it very authentic on bullying.
It angers me that Yaqui got immunity in this case. Assault, Battery, sexual assault, conspiracy to assault and more crimes caught on video lead to no charges because her friend group is too large. She literally gets a "get out of jail free for 10 years of your life because you are popular" card. I say everyone there should have been charged in Civil and Legal court. In legal court, they could have been tried for assisting a sexual assault and conspiracy to assault. Of course, Piddy would need some way to get away. This is where Civil court comes in. Physical pain and psychological damage can result in massive amounts of money for the person that was injured. While the families of those who mugged Piddy may not have much money individually, when grouped up there is enough for Piddy to be able to move to a nicer neighborhood. This ensures that Piddy is safe from those who attacked her and they get punished for the crimes they committed.
Veering back to how the story actually ended. I think you can guess that I don't like that Piddy was the one who had to move out. Although, I think she liked it because she got to go back to her old school. She had friends there and wasn't viewed as an outsider. I think she liked this option the most and would have chosen to move back to her old school if she could have anyways.
Overall, I find the ending of Yaqui Delgado to be brutally realistic. The government isn't willing to punish a group of individuals who clearly need punishment so their victims are forced to flee. Not to mention Piddy shows some signs of Post-Traumatic Stress a year later. I find this to make the ending even more authentic. While the book may not have ended in some grand confrontation, this made the book even more important. A grand confrontation would have spoiled the book's point on what bullying truly is. Ending it in this almost anti-climactic way shines a light of realism down on the book that makes it very authentic on bullying.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Youth Lens in Feed
In Feed, youth and adolescence are viewed in a different way than we view them today. The youth are viewed as being spoiled and don’t listen to their parents or others in power. The adolescents aren’t much better to be honest. Most who have the feed are spoiled by it. Only the lower class comprising of those barely able to afford the feed and those who can’t afford it are normal. Adolescents in Feed are also unable to think for themselves and need the feed to make decisions for them.
Adults in Feed view adolescents as young adults who have the right to do whatever they want. This can range anywhere from going out and getting drunk at a party to downloading a virus that causes their feed and brains to malfunction. Adults view these things as normal. Then again, they grew up in the same society and were the products of their environment.
Rich and poor are also viewed differently in Feed. The rich are definitely more spoiled and more self-centered. The poor work harder and do what they can to survive. This reflects down on the youth and can easily be spotted in Titus and his friend group and also in Violet. Titus acts like a complete jerk while Violet tries to act normal.
All characters, whether young or old are stereotypes of modern day people in Feed. With the adolescents being the main focus of the story, attention is focused highly on their attitudes and they wind up drawing the short end of the stick. These youths and adolescents may seem normal to the adults in Feed but they seem very different to us. Yaqui Delgado Pt. 2
The middle half of Yaqui Delgado focuses on building the story up for the end conflict. There aren't many major plot points that occur during this part of the book. The one major part being that Yaqui Delgado mugs Piddy on the street at the end of the reading.
Before being mugged, Piddy tried to avoid Yaqui and her friends whenever possible. When Yaqui got caught by the police for stealing, Piddy was happy that she had ISS or a suspension. She was in such a good mood that when she saw inappropriate words on a locker she covered it up with a drawing. She got caught and had to serve a Saturday detention. While there, she ran into Yaqui and knew that no matter what she did, she would not be able to stay away from her. Later, while at work, Yaqui's friends tell Piddy to meet Yaqui at the park to fight. Piddy doesn't go and Yaqui eventually mugs her on the street.
I feel that the bullying in the book is starting to become a bit over the top. This is the most extreme case of bullying possible. I don't think many bullies would be willing to fight on an open street and then proceed to rip the victim's clothes off. However, cases like these do happen and people do get hurt. I'm hoping that this open attack by Yaqui will end up being her downfall. With all of her friends taking pictures, hopefully one will post something on social media that will result in Yaqui being expelled.
Before being mugged, Piddy tried to avoid Yaqui and her friends whenever possible. When Yaqui got caught by the police for stealing, Piddy was happy that she had ISS or a suspension. She was in such a good mood that when she saw inappropriate words on a locker she covered it up with a drawing. She got caught and had to serve a Saturday detention. While there, she ran into Yaqui and knew that no matter what she did, she would not be able to stay away from her. Later, while at work, Yaqui's friends tell Piddy to meet Yaqui at the park to fight. Piddy doesn't go and Yaqui eventually mugs her on the street.
I feel that the bullying in the book is starting to become a bit over the top. This is the most extreme case of bullying possible. I don't think many bullies would be willing to fight on an open street and then proceed to rip the victim's clothes off. However, cases like these do happen and people do get hurt. I'm hoping that this open attack by Yaqui will end up being her downfall. With all of her friends taking pictures, hopefully one will post something on social media that will result in Yaqui being expelled.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass
The book Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass is a book based around bullying. Piddy recently moved from one neighborhood to another. The problem was that despite the two neighborhoods being close, they were in different school zones. Piddy ended up transferring to the new school at the beginning of the new school year. She is regarded as the "new girl" for the first few weeks and most people don't pay here any attention. Then she starts to get bullied.
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass is highly aware of how real bullying works. When Yaqui Delgado thinks that Piddy is talking to her boyfriend Yaqui sets out to make Piddy's life miserable. It starts first with subtle warnings towards Piddy. But it soon escalates to where Yaqui is throwing chocolate milk containers at Piddy so they burst and mugging her and stealing her necklace. Even Piddy's friends start to stay away from her in fear. Piddy enters a daze similar to post-traumatic stress after losing her necklace. Her main goal is no longer school, its survival, and there's no room for the "space in-between."
Unfortunately, I think this book takes a pretty accurate view on bullying. One person bullies another because they find something wrong with that person and they know they can get away with it. This is perfectly exemplified in the book with Yaqui and Piddy. Then the bullied person's friends start to shy away to avoid being bullied themselves. It's something that is difficult to stop. Considering how far the book has come in under a hundred pages, I wonder what will happen next. Will Piddy's bullying get worse? Will she lose all of her friends? How will this bullying stop?
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass is highly aware of how real bullying works. When Yaqui Delgado thinks that Piddy is talking to her boyfriend Yaqui sets out to make Piddy's life miserable. It starts first with subtle warnings towards Piddy. But it soon escalates to where Yaqui is throwing chocolate milk containers at Piddy so they burst and mugging her and stealing her necklace. Even Piddy's friends start to stay away from her in fear. Piddy enters a daze similar to post-traumatic stress after losing her necklace. Her main goal is no longer school, its survival, and there's no room for the "space in-between."
Unfortunately, I think this book takes a pretty accurate view on bullying. One person bullies another because they find something wrong with that person and they know they can get away with it. This is perfectly exemplified in the book with Yaqui and Piddy. Then the bullied person's friends start to shy away to avoid being bullied themselves. It's something that is difficult to stop. Considering how far the book has come in under a hundred pages, I wonder what will happen next. Will Piddy's bullying get worse? Will she lose all of her friends? How will this bullying stop?
Thursday, February 2, 2017
My Subvertisement
The subvertisement assignment was an interesting assignment. I enjoyed making my own subvertisement that made fun of McDonald's. I found the search process for the perfect ad to turn into a meme pretty easy. Once I saw the original ad I knew I could turn it into a great subvertisement. After thirty minutes of putting the subvertisement together I had a rough draft of the subvertisement. I also commented on the new subvertisement along with the original advertisement. After getting suggestions in class on Tuesday, I made some editions to the project. I revised my descriptions of the advertisement and subvertisements to fit the upgraded rubric. I used Microsoft Paint to edit the subvertisement to make it look slightly better. Unfortunately, Paint is the best "photo editor" that I have when it comes from changing blacks to reds and whites to blacks. I worked with it and it turned out okay. I've posted the final project below, I hope you enjoy.
This McDonald’s advertisement is made to show the giant size of McDonald’s burgers. They also make the burgers look extremely tasty and use “big.beefy.bliss.” along the top to describe them. This advertisement encourages you to go out and buy McDonald’s burgers because they will taste so good. The intended audience is any consumer looking to buy a quick meal that will satisfy their hunger. McDonald’s obviously think this advertisement will encourage people to buy
their burgers.
My subvertisement targets all consumers and shows what will happen when they eat McDonald’s burgers. With “big.beefy.bliss.” still along the top, this time it describes what is happening to those that are eating McDonald’s. The subvertisement calls attention to how unhealthy the burgers are for you and that eating such a “blissful” burger comes with the cost of increased body weight and its’ side effects. My subvertisement points out the reality of what is happening to those who eat McDonald’s burgers and turns McDonald’s own words against them. I hope that this subvertisement would turn people away from McDonald’s and prevent any health issues that would have been caused by their burgers.
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