While reading the anthology Black Like Us and the intriguing novel Giovanni’s Room, many things caught my attention. Characters, villains and situations kept me wanting to read more. Two things that caught my attention the most were the characters and messages in these stories.
Among the diverse characters I encountered in the anthology Black Like Us, the character that stood out for me was Phelia from “Bird of Paradise” by Alexis DeVeax. The reason Phelia stood out from the rest of the characters was because she had a different response to her daughter’s sexuality than the other characters in the book. I admire he ability to see past her daughter’s lesbian label and accepts her for who she truly is. I liked that she was able to do this because most parents would have turned their back on their son or daughter and avoid the subject. Others think that homosexuality is an option and try to fix their son or daughter’s sexuality. I also enjoyed reading about her reaction because I thin kit was good to see a parent who approved and accepted her daughter’s sexuality. We often read about parents who disapprove and refuse to accept the facts and assume that all parents react this way. I believe Phelia serves as and example as to how parents can react to their child coming out. I like how she shows us that keeping an open mind is important in order to love. Another thing that stood out for me was the messages that most of the authors told us in their stories.
Out of all the messages the authors told us through their stories the one that captured my attention was the message of accepting and loving ourselves. I think this was the most important message I received from the stories because when we don’t love ourselves, we sometimes don’t allow others to love us as well. This message can be found in many the stories from Black Like Us but it’s mostly found throughout the book Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. I believe that if David could have loved himself in his true skin he would have allowed Giovanni to love him as well. I really like this message because it appeals to heterosexuals and homosexuals alike. I think we can all learn from this book and the other stories to love ourselves. This is important because We need to appreciate who we are in order for others to appreciate us and accept us for who we are.
There are many things that I gained from reading Black Like Us and Giovanni’s Room but I liked the character of Phelia and the messages the most. I believe it is important to keep an open mind on people’s sexuality. We are not all the same, but that’s OK. With that, it is important to love ourselves in order for others to love us for who we are. I don’t keep an open mind or don’t love ourselves; we can potentially miss out on amazing people and experiences.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
The Blues
The story “The Blues Ain’t Nothing But A Good Woman Feelin Bad” from the book The Big Mama Stories by Shay Youngblood is the story of Miss Blue, who experienced heartbreak and wrote a blues song about it. Listening to this story the narrator is able to learn about love and pain, how you can’t have one without the other. And that at the end of the tunnel, there is always light.
In the beginning of the story, the narrator is sitting in Miss Blue’s porch watching soap operas. Here Miss Blue begins to tell the narrator her heartbreak story. Miss Blue’s story takes place in June of 1923 at a juke joint and at Miss Blue’s mama’s house. In this story we find conflict between two people, Miss Blue and Bo Willie. These two characters face conflict because on the day they were supposed to get married, Bo Willie left Miss Blue for another woman.
In this story we learn characteristics about the narrator as well as other characters. One of the things we learn about the narrator is that she lived down the block from Miss Blue. The narrator also tells us that she used to fall asleep listening to Miss Blue singing her blues at night. We learn that she sits on Miss Blue’s front porch to watch soap operas. In this story we meet Miss Blue an elderly woman who used to sing blues for a living. She lived by herself because her son died and her daughter disappeared. Miss Blue used to sit on her porch watching soap operas all day. We also learn that after heartbreak, she was able to create a blues song that became her only hit. In Miss Blue’s story the antagonist is Bo Willie, the man she was supposed to marry. We learn that Bo Willie was a married man when he was trying to win over Miss Blue. He worked as a porter at the railroad, which caused him and Miss Blue to be apart. In the end, we learn that the woman he had left Miss Blue for ended up leaving him with all his money. Another character we meet is the character in the soap opera, which triggers Miss Blue to tell her story.
One growing up theme in the story that the narrator is facing is contemplating mating, courtship, and marriage. Although the narrator is not contemplating doing these things she does learn about them nonetheless. She learns that you can’t have love and pain without each other. She also learns that although one may cry and hurt over love, it is something we have to get over. She learns that there is going to be pain in love but at the end, things will always look up. This growing up themes doesn’t really create conflict for the narrator as much as it did to Miss Blue. I believe the narrator can potentially use this story later in her life when she does contemplate mating.
One of the lessons the narrator learned was that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. The narrator learned this through Miss Blue’s story as she sees that Miss Blue writes a song about it and was a hit. She learns that she has to be an independent woman and not let heartbreak bring her down as much as she may cry about it. I also think she learned about memories and how they are important to keep things that were once important in our minds even if there are bad things to remember as well.
“The Blues Ain’t Nothing But A Good Woman Feelin Bad” by Shay Youngblood is a short story about heartache. With her story, Miss Blue taught the narrator about relationships and heartbreak. This information is something she can learn from and use later in her life.
In the beginning of the story, the narrator is sitting in Miss Blue’s porch watching soap operas. Here Miss Blue begins to tell the narrator her heartbreak story. Miss Blue’s story takes place in June of 1923 at a juke joint and at Miss Blue’s mama’s house. In this story we find conflict between two people, Miss Blue and Bo Willie. These two characters face conflict because on the day they were supposed to get married, Bo Willie left Miss Blue for another woman.
In this story we learn characteristics about the narrator as well as other characters. One of the things we learn about the narrator is that she lived down the block from Miss Blue. The narrator also tells us that she used to fall asleep listening to Miss Blue singing her blues at night. We learn that she sits on Miss Blue’s front porch to watch soap operas. In this story we meet Miss Blue an elderly woman who used to sing blues for a living. She lived by herself because her son died and her daughter disappeared. Miss Blue used to sit on her porch watching soap operas all day. We also learn that after heartbreak, she was able to create a blues song that became her only hit. In Miss Blue’s story the antagonist is Bo Willie, the man she was supposed to marry. We learn that Bo Willie was a married man when he was trying to win over Miss Blue. He worked as a porter at the railroad, which caused him and Miss Blue to be apart. In the end, we learn that the woman he had left Miss Blue for ended up leaving him with all his money. Another character we meet is the character in the soap opera, which triggers Miss Blue to tell her story.
One growing up theme in the story that the narrator is facing is contemplating mating, courtship, and marriage. Although the narrator is not contemplating doing these things she does learn about them nonetheless. She learns that you can’t have love and pain without each other. She also learns that although one may cry and hurt over love, it is something we have to get over. She learns that there is going to be pain in love but at the end, things will always look up. This growing up themes doesn’t really create conflict for the narrator as much as it did to Miss Blue. I believe the narrator can potentially use this story later in her life when she does contemplate mating.
One of the lessons the narrator learned was that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. The narrator learned this through Miss Blue’s story as she sees that Miss Blue writes a song about it and was a hit. She learns that she has to be an independent woman and not let heartbreak bring her down as much as she may cry about it. I also think she learned about memories and how they are important to keep things that were once important in our minds even if there are bad things to remember as well.
“The Blues Ain’t Nothing But A Good Woman Feelin Bad” by Shay Youngblood is a short story about heartache. With her story, Miss Blue taught the narrator about relationships and heartbreak. This information is something she can learn from and use later in her life.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Big Mama Values
Reading the story “An Independent Woman” from the book The Big Mama Stories by Shay Youngblood I learned the value the black women in the community have as well as the values about life. One thing I learned about the black women in the community is that they always stick together no matter what happens. When Aunt Mae was having an affair with Mr. Otis, I thought his wife and Aunt Mae would become enemies. To my surprise they didn’t. They stuck together as they both rejected Mr. Otis for lying to Miss Tweedie. I also learned a value about life as Aunt Mae compared the day she got her divorce to the Fourth of July as she says, “After the smoke cleared, I felt free.” I learned that life can be covered with smoke sometimes but once the smoke clears, everything will be clean and free.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Trickster who Gets Tricked
Have you ever heard of the saying “What goes around comes around?” In the story “Uglier Than a Grinning Buzzard” by Louise Anderson from the anthology Talk That Talk we see this saying come true. The main character in this story is the trickster Buzzard who tricked other animals into jumping in his back to later drop them and eat them. The antagonist is the monkey who in a turn of events, tricks Buzzard and teaches him not to trick the rest of the animals.
In the story, “Uglier Than a Grinning Buzzard” I found two tricksters: Buzzard and Monkey. The Buzzard is a trickster because he took advantage other the hot weather to trick the other animals. He found the weakness that the other animals had and used it to his advantage. First he pretended to be their friends and offered them a ride to cool off. Then, he dropped them on their back and ate them. The monkey, also a trickster, found a weakness on Buzzard and used it to trick him. Monkey noticed that Buzzard was weak for an easy pray and used it to teach Buzzard a lesson. He also hopped on Buzzard’s back but instead of falling like the other animals; monkey used his tail to choke Buzzards and taught him to not trick the other animals. These actions show how both of these characters are trickster.
There are many ways an author can reveal a character. Two ways the author revealed the character of Buzzard was by his actions and by what the other characters said about him. Before reading of Buzzard’s trickster ways, through Rabbit’s mama that, “Whatever you do, don’t trust a buzzard!” This immediately shows the reader the bad reputation that Buzzard has before learning of his dirty schemes. Later, we learn of his actions, which prove what a trickster Buzzard is. He used other animals to his advantage, which proves that Rabbit’s mama was correct. In the case of Monkey, the author used Monkey’s thoughts and dialogue to reveal him as a character. In the story, we find the monkey analyzing Buzzard’s actions as he says, “Uh huh, um hum, right on, right on.” This shows that Monkey is astute as he is able to find Buzzard’s weakness and uses it to trick him. Although Anderson portrays Monkey as a trickster, she contrasts Monkey and Buzzard’s behavior. Buzzard used his trickery to eat the animals while Monkey used trickery to teach Buzzard a lesson. Monkey didn’t use trickery to kill the Buzzard, though he could have, Monkey was a hero trickster because he saved the other animals in the jungle.
I found value in this story and believe it applies to today’s modern and technological world. Today people use technologies such as the Internet to meet people who take the role of the buzzard. Nobody can really know a person online and certainly can’t trust them. This story taught me to not use people to one’s advantage. Sometimes people pretend to be someone’s friend to gain something and once they are done, they cut them off their life. I don’t believe this is right. People shouldn’t use people for personal benefit.
The story, “Uglier Than a Grinning Buzzard” by Louise Anderson is a story about a trickster who gets tricked. It is a story of value to humans as it teaches us not to use others for our own benefit. As we learned in this story, what goes around does in deed come around.
In the story, “Uglier Than a Grinning Buzzard” I found two tricksters: Buzzard and Monkey. The Buzzard is a trickster because he took advantage other the hot weather to trick the other animals. He found the weakness that the other animals had and used it to his advantage. First he pretended to be their friends and offered them a ride to cool off. Then, he dropped them on their back and ate them. The monkey, also a trickster, found a weakness on Buzzard and used it to trick him. Monkey noticed that Buzzard was weak for an easy pray and used it to teach Buzzard a lesson. He also hopped on Buzzard’s back but instead of falling like the other animals; monkey used his tail to choke Buzzards and taught him to not trick the other animals. These actions show how both of these characters are trickster.
There are many ways an author can reveal a character. Two ways the author revealed the character of Buzzard was by his actions and by what the other characters said about him. Before reading of Buzzard’s trickster ways, through Rabbit’s mama that, “Whatever you do, don’t trust a buzzard!” This immediately shows the reader the bad reputation that Buzzard has before learning of his dirty schemes. Later, we learn of his actions, which prove what a trickster Buzzard is. He used other animals to his advantage, which proves that Rabbit’s mama was correct. In the case of Monkey, the author used Monkey’s thoughts and dialogue to reveal him as a character. In the story, we find the monkey analyzing Buzzard’s actions as he says, “Uh huh, um hum, right on, right on.” This shows that Monkey is astute as he is able to find Buzzard’s weakness and uses it to trick him. Although Anderson portrays Monkey as a trickster, she contrasts Monkey and Buzzard’s behavior. Buzzard used his trickery to eat the animals while Monkey used trickery to teach Buzzard a lesson. Monkey didn’t use trickery to kill the Buzzard, though he could have, Monkey was a hero trickster because he saved the other animals in the jungle.
I found value in this story and believe it applies to today’s modern and technological world. Today people use technologies such as the Internet to meet people who take the role of the buzzard. Nobody can really know a person online and certainly can’t trust them. This story taught me to not use people to one’s advantage. Sometimes people pretend to be someone’s friend to gain something and once they are done, they cut them off their life. I don’t believe this is right. People shouldn’t use people for personal benefit.
The story, “Uglier Than a Grinning Buzzard” by Louise Anderson is a story about a trickster who gets tricked. It is a story of value to humans as it teaches us not to use others for our own benefit. As we learned in this story, what goes around does in deed come around.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Baptism: Initiation to Life
In the second part of the book The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight up Stories of a Black Woman’s Life by Frankie Lennon the title “Baptism” serves as symbol of what the author is experiencing. A symbol is something used for or regarded as representing something else. These stories represent baptism because they wash away the narrator’s innocence as she is initiated into the reality of life.
Baptism is an act, an experience, or an ordeal by which one is, sanctified, initiated, or named as we see in the story “Baptism.” In this story, the narrator Frankie describes the life changing events she witnessed during the 1960’s, which were baptism to her. As Frankie states, “This decade of crisis and drama would take us to the water to be baptized: In fire and in ice.” To me, ice was the water used to baptize Frankie when she no longer encountered “White’s Only” signs above water fountains. Ice, the water used to baptize her as she experienced a higher standard of living. Still, there was fire: The water used to wash Frankie’s innocence away as she witnessed assassinations, and other gruesome acts of violence. This is baptism because the child who loved fairy tales was quickly learning that life was not always a fairy tale, whether she was ready or not. The narrator was placed in a position where everything was possible. Including in America, where a president was shot and parents were sacrificing their own children. Baptism, a rebirth, can also be the purification of thought and character of a person.
In the story “Fever” we learn about the narrator’s first love Stacey, which baptizes the narrator. In this story the narrator is baptized and reborn into her own identity as a lesbian. I believe she is being baptized because she is embracing her true identity without hiding her feelings for Stacey. They share a love that purifies them as a lesbian couple who truly love each other. Unfortunately there is also fire. In this story Frankie is baptized by fire as she learns the social stigma of same sex attraction. Though she is with the person she loves, she is forced to keep her relationship secret because of Stacey’s homophobia. This leads to Stacey becoming engaged to a man and leaving Frankie heartbroken. I think this experience is a form of baptism to the narrator because this experience allows her to grow as a person, which is purification of character. Though she doesn’t stay with Stacey, she manages to accept Stacey leaving. This shows how Frankie was born again as a stronger, lesbian, woman.
In the second part of the book The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight up Stories of a Black Woman’s Life by Frankie Lennon we find stories that are forms of baptism to the author. These stories teach us how the narrator is pushed into the reality of the world as if she were pushed into the waters of baptism.
Baptism is an act, an experience, or an ordeal by which one is, sanctified, initiated, or named as we see in the story “Baptism.” In this story, the narrator Frankie describes the life changing events she witnessed during the 1960’s, which were baptism to her. As Frankie states, “This decade of crisis and drama would take us to the water to be baptized: In fire and in ice.” To me, ice was the water used to baptize Frankie when she no longer encountered “White’s Only” signs above water fountains. Ice, the water used to baptize her as she experienced a higher standard of living. Still, there was fire: The water used to wash Frankie’s innocence away as she witnessed assassinations, and other gruesome acts of violence. This is baptism because the child who loved fairy tales was quickly learning that life was not always a fairy tale, whether she was ready or not. The narrator was placed in a position where everything was possible. Including in America, where a president was shot and parents were sacrificing their own children. Baptism, a rebirth, can also be the purification of thought and character of a person.
In the story “Fever” we learn about the narrator’s first love Stacey, which baptizes the narrator. In this story the narrator is baptized and reborn into her own identity as a lesbian. I believe she is being baptized because she is embracing her true identity without hiding her feelings for Stacey. They share a love that purifies them as a lesbian couple who truly love each other. Unfortunately there is also fire. In this story Frankie is baptized by fire as she learns the social stigma of same sex attraction. Though she is with the person she loves, she is forced to keep her relationship secret because of Stacey’s homophobia. This leads to Stacey becoming engaged to a man and leaving Frankie heartbroken. I think this experience is a form of baptism to the narrator because this experience allows her to grow as a person, which is purification of character. Though she doesn’t stay with Stacey, she manages to accept Stacey leaving. This shows how Frankie was born again as a stronger, lesbian, woman.
In the second part of the book The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight up Stories of a Black Woman’s Life by Frankie Lennon we find stories that are forms of baptism to the author. These stories teach us how the narrator is pushed into the reality of the world as if she were pushed into the waters of baptism.
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Stages of Life
In the book, The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman’s Life we read and learn the story of Frankie Lennon’s journey through life. Throughout the book we can find stages of “The Journey” as explained by Lennon in her blog. Two stages I have found in the book so far are Meeting the Mentor and Test/Road of Trails.
One stage I found was Meeting the Mentor. In this stage, the journeyer meets a mentor, teacher or guide. It is through this mentor that the journeyer learns new skills and gains confidence in abilities to continue in the journey. I found this stage in the story “Sanctuary.” I believe this story exemplifies the stage of Meeting the Mentor because it is in this story that she meets Reverend Bean. Reverend Bean teaches Frankie that, “Love was for everyone” and that there was nothing wrong with being same sex attracted. I believe his teachings facilitate Frankie’s journey because she no longer has to hide who she is. She doesn’t have to worry about hiding her identity anymore which is one less thing she has to worry about. Though all her problems are not solved, Frankie uses Reverend Bean’s teachings to facilitate her journey.
The other stage I found was Test/Road of Trails in the story “Skirmishes.” In this stage the journeyer encounters challenges that test his/her ability to continue the journey. In the story “Skirmishes” we find the narrator in her A.A meeting after being fired from her job. This incident makes her want a drink really bad. This becomes a test, a battle within the war, as the title states. This is a test because Frankie doesn’t want to relapse into drinking. She wants to stay sober, but getting fired was an excuse she wanted to use in order to drink again. She fights with the monkeys in her head as she imagines tasting the alcohol in her lips. Tempted by the monkey’s words she gets up and walks to the door almost defeated by the urge to drink. Fortunately she hears Sam say, “don’t leave five minutes before the miracle.” For the first time she raises her hand and says, “I’m Frankie and I’m an alcoholic.” In doing this, Frankie wins this skirmish and passes the test.
In the book, The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman’s Life by Frankie Lennon, we can the stages, Meeting the Mentor and Test/ Road of Trails. These stages test Frankie’s ability to continue in her journey. In the end, She learns from these stages and continues on her journey trough life.
One stage I found was Meeting the Mentor. In this stage, the journeyer meets a mentor, teacher or guide. It is through this mentor that the journeyer learns new skills and gains confidence in abilities to continue in the journey. I found this stage in the story “Sanctuary.” I believe this story exemplifies the stage of Meeting the Mentor because it is in this story that she meets Reverend Bean. Reverend Bean teaches Frankie that, “Love was for everyone” and that there was nothing wrong with being same sex attracted. I believe his teachings facilitate Frankie’s journey because she no longer has to hide who she is. She doesn’t have to worry about hiding her identity anymore which is one less thing she has to worry about. Though all her problems are not solved, Frankie uses Reverend Bean’s teachings to facilitate her journey.
The other stage I found was Test/Road of Trails in the story “Skirmishes.” In this stage the journeyer encounters challenges that test his/her ability to continue the journey. In the story “Skirmishes” we find the narrator in her A.A meeting after being fired from her job. This incident makes her want a drink really bad. This becomes a test, a battle within the war, as the title states. This is a test because Frankie doesn’t want to relapse into drinking. She wants to stay sober, but getting fired was an excuse she wanted to use in order to drink again. She fights with the monkeys in her head as she imagines tasting the alcohol in her lips. Tempted by the monkey’s words she gets up and walks to the door almost defeated by the urge to drink. Fortunately she hears Sam say, “don’t leave five minutes before the miracle.” For the first time she raises her hand and says, “I’m Frankie and I’m an alcoholic.” In doing this, Frankie wins this skirmish and passes the test.
In the book, The Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman’s Life by Frankie Lennon, we can the stages, Meeting the Mentor and Test/ Road of Trails. These stages test Frankie’s ability to continue in her journey. In the end, She learns from these stages and continues on her journey trough life.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Modern Cinderella Story
The story “Cindy Ellie, A Modern Fairy Tale” by Mary Carter Smith from the anthology Talk That Talk is a modern Cinderella story. I enjoyed reading this story because it is modern, original and entertaining.
One of the things I really liked from this story was the modern twist. One of my favorite scenes in this story is when the Cindy Ellie’s godma turned the onion into a white Cadillac. I liked this scene because it shows the story’s modern twist. Who doesn’t want a white Cadillac these days? I also liked how the godma turned Cindy Ellie’s rags into a dress made from African laces and made her hair into braids. The reason I liked this is because I feel it embraces Cindy Ellie’s culture as she receives a traditional African outfit. It also makes this fairy tale original from the other fairy tales where the princesses get sparkly and puffy dresses. Another characteristic I liked about this story is the humor and exaggeration used by the author to describe the characters. One example of this is when the author writes “Poor Cindy Ellie had to give one a perm, the other a jheri curl, and both of them facials; not that it helped much. Honey’s them gals was ugly from the inside out!” I think the humor in the writing style makes the story entertaining and fun to read.
While reading the story I encountered two words that needed to be clarified. One of the words was curdled. This word can be found on page 397 in the sentence, “The milk of human kindness had curdled in her breast." I found out that the word curdled means to spoil or to turn sour. Learning this word allowed me to realize that the author was saying that Cindy Ellie’s step mom was actually cruel. The next word I needed to clarify was the word primping. This word can also be found on page 397 in the sentence, “Oh, them stepsisters was primping and buying designer gowns to go to the ball.” The word primping means to dress with excessive attention to detail. This means the stepsisters were really trying to look their very best to impress the mayor's son.
The story “Cindy Ellie. A Modern Fairy Tale” by Mary Carter Smith has turned into one of my favorite fairy tales. I really enjoyed it because of the author’s style of writing and because of the story’s modern twist. If I could choose anyone to ask a question to, I would choose the author. I would ask her what inspired her to write this story?Another question I would ask her is, what other fairy tale does she have a modern twist for?
One of the things I really liked from this story was the modern twist. One of my favorite scenes in this story is when the Cindy Ellie’s godma turned the onion into a white Cadillac. I liked this scene because it shows the story’s modern twist. Who doesn’t want a white Cadillac these days? I also liked how the godma turned Cindy Ellie’s rags into a dress made from African laces and made her hair into braids. The reason I liked this is because I feel it embraces Cindy Ellie’s culture as she receives a traditional African outfit. It also makes this fairy tale original from the other fairy tales where the princesses get sparkly and puffy dresses. Another characteristic I liked about this story is the humor and exaggeration used by the author to describe the characters. One example of this is when the author writes “Poor Cindy Ellie had to give one a perm, the other a jheri curl, and both of them facials; not that it helped much. Honey’s them gals was ugly from the inside out!” I think the humor in the writing style makes the story entertaining and fun to read.
While reading the story I encountered two words that needed to be clarified. One of the words was curdled. This word can be found on page 397 in the sentence, “The milk of human kindness had curdled in her breast." I found out that the word curdled means to spoil or to turn sour. Learning this word allowed me to realize that the author was saying that Cindy Ellie’s step mom was actually cruel. The next word I needed to clarify was the word primping. This word can also be found on page 397 in the sentence, “Oh, them stepsisters was primping and buying designer gowns to go to the ball.” The word primping means to dress with excessive attention to detail. This means the stepsisters were really trying to look their very best to impress the mayor's son.
The story “Cindy Ellie. A Modern Fairy Tale” by Mary Carter Smith has turned into one of my favorite fairy tales. I really enjoyed it because of the author’s style of writing and because of the story’s modern twist. If I could choose anyone to ask a question to, I would choose the author. I would ask her what inspired her to write this story?Another question I would ask her is, what other fairy tale does she have a modern twist for?
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