Rules for Writers, ch 32, summary

This weeks reading in Rules for Writers will be about the comma, in my opinion a poorly misunderstood little fella! The comma is used to help make sense of sentences, to keep confusing and maybe sometimes embarrassing things from being misconstrued. It is used to separate items in a sentence. For example, She liked tomatoes, cucumbers, lemons, and pineapple. When using commas for separating items, it doesn't have to be a noun. It can be single words, phrases, or clauses. (273) Comma's are used with numbers and titles, as well as to express the plural of a noun. You can use a comma to pause a sentence, add related details, and continue with the original thought. It can be used to separate a title from a name. Comma's can also be used to serve as a bridge between two separate sentences, keeping the writing from being too wordy.

If you have a hard time knowing exactly where comma's are to be placed, I would suggest asking a friend to read what you've written, and see if all your sentences are clear and concise to them.

All I Asking For.....dialogue

This weeks reading comes from the story All I Asking for is My Body, by Milton Murayama. The story takes place in Hawaii in the early to mid twentieth century, and is told by a young Japanese boy named Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi and his friends Nobuyuki and Mitsunobu become friends with an older boy named Makot, who is a resident of the Filipino camp on the island.

The three boys became fast friends with Makot, I think mainly because he spent money on them, and they were poor. Makot would take them to the movies, and buy them food and treats. I think Makot spent money on them because he wanted and needed friends, and nobody wanted to associate with him because of his parental situation. In a sense, he was buying friendship. Makot's father did not work, and his mother seemed to be a disrespected lady. I do feel sorry for Makot to be living in a situation like that. No child can pick their parents lifestyle, and when the child see's how disrespected his parents are by others, and knows there's nothing he can do about it, it makes for a lonely life. I think it's one of those unfair injustices of life, where there is nothing to be done but survive as best you can. Makot seems to accept this life, but when Kiyoshi tells him he's been forbidden to be his friend because of Makots parents, Makot shows his shame in his face. It's obvious this has happened to Makot before, because his reaction is to just say goodbye and then walk away.

I don't like the way Mikot treated his mother, by being physical with her and telling her to shut up, but I also believe that children are a direct product of their upbringing. Makot was throwing his anger and the injustice of his life on his mother, and projecting the blame towards her. Makot was clearly embarrassed by his mother, and didn't want her near his friend. Kiyoshi was puzzled by Makots disrespect towards his mother, thought he would never do that to his own mom, but he also thought that his mom would never act the way Makots mom did in the first place.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the book, I really liked this first section! Does Kiyoshi continue to be Makots friend behind his parents back? Does Makot try to run away from home? And I really like the dialect the story was written in. It breaks the rules of English, and that catches and holds my attention more than anything.

Essay 3 workshop

Lovey is a character portrayed in Lois-Ann Yamanakas’ story, Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers. According to Wikipedia, Lovey is a Japanese girl living on the big island of Hawaii just after World War II, in the midst of middle school, where the three stories take place.

What role does media or schooling play in shaping Lovey’s identity? How does she learn to view herself?

I think media and schooling both had a huge impact on shaping Lovey’s identity. Most children in the United States watch some form of TV while growing up, and the majority of it gives them an unrealistic idea of what life is really about. I think TV takes us away from our pain and dislike, and hatred, and (falsely) tells us about this magical world where all the people are beautiful, live in fancy homes, and have abundant amounts of money and energy. It allows us to think that there is no stress, or real-life situations, like bills, or poverty, or death and disease. I also believe that too many parents are using TV as an easy way out of keeping their brood entertained and out of their hair. In the US, allowing children to spend hours glued in front of a television set has replaced telling the child to go play outside, for hours at a time. And let’s not forget the soundtracks. Music stirs at people’s emotions, and the music picked for TV adds to the longing felt by the average person.

Lovey’s media came in the form of Shirley Temple movies, which she would watch with her best friend. Lovey believed that Shirley Temple was a perfect person, in looks and in life. A pretty white girl who starred in movies, and whose movies always had happy endings. Particularly the endings where Shirley Temple would cry, or someone would cry over her and express their love for her. Lovey longed for loving attention from her own life, and would often fantasize about her own “happy ending.” One where her mother would hold and hug her, and where Shirley Temple would cry for Lovey. Media gave her a sense of not being worthy of the kind of love she saw on TV, of telling her because she didn’t look like Shirley Temple, or have the same living situation that was portrayed on TV, she was unworthy of the same things Shirley Temple got. I think TV blinded Lovey to what she did have. She couldn’t see the love her mother had for her, or how special and unique her heritage was. But we all feel that way. We all long for what we don’t have, or view what we do have as not good enough.

At school, Lovey was subjected to teasing by her fellow classmates and ridicule by her teachers. As this story took place after World War II, I can see how these types of behaviors were more acceptable. The teacher was the authority figure, and allowed to act in as a parent. But these days, while bullying by other students is still happening, ridicule by teachers, especially in the US, is not acceptable behavior. The teacher has gone from the authority figure, to a pawn in parents hands, having to follow the parents standards. In the story Obituary, Lovey was the subject of derogatory remarks because of her nationality, which was a combination of Japanese and Hawaiian. Other students make fun of her for being Japanese, and for having physical Japanese features, and her Teachers made fun of her for speaking Pidgin, a dialect of English that she grew up with. One teacher went so far as to tell her that the way she speaks is un-American. I think in that era, people who didn’t speak or act like mainland citizens were sent to school to be changed into this ideal of what an American was. You couldn’t have a different accent, or live your life like from another country. A good example would be my own mother. When she moved to the US from Puerto Rico as young adult, she was coached by family, friends, neighbors and teachers to put aside her culture, and start behaving like an American. Which meant no speaking Spanish, no cooking traditional food, and no native dress. This subtle brainwashing flowed to my brother and I. We did not learn Spanish growing up, or learn about our mothers culture. Everything was centered on our white American fathers culture.

All of this torment gave Lovey a hatred for school, and a hatred for being herself. She was ashamed of not being a perfect English-speaking white girl, of not being smart. Ashamed of her family, and of how she dressed. She withdrew into herself, and tried not make attention. She even redirected her shame and anger at another student, trying to find someone to help share the blame she felt for herself. Lovey acknowledged that she often though about her own death, and fantasized about how it would release her from her tormentors. But she was particular about it, and didn’t want to die in a couple of specific ways. I think she was hoping that if she died, everyone who ever made fun of her would feel shame, and would realize how much they influenced her death.

Besides family, media and school are major factors in shaping how Lovey views herself. She loathes her looks, speech, dress, and intelligence, and thinks that if she were different, more people would like her, and she would feel the love that she longs for. Unfortunately, many people grow up feeling this way, and these emotions are carried into adulthood, creating a circle of insecurity that becomes more and more difficult to overcome.

"...Pheonix, Arizona" dialogue

After watching the movie Smoke Signals, and reading the story "This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona, I'd have to say that I was more impressed with the story. I really did enjoy the movie. I thought the characters were very well developed, and the actors portraying them did an excellent job. I also like the format of the movie, how it seemed to be filmed in real time, showing that the characters could have been any person of the street in real life, not some hot-shot Hollywood action figures engaging in epic car chases and gun fights.

But reading the story took the movie to a different level for me. Mostly from the character Thomas, the storyteller. Thomas was portrayed as a weak person in the movie, physically smaller, a different perspective on life that was outside everyone else's standard. He was probably considered the geek of the neighborhood. But he loved to tell stories. In the movie, his stories bordered on fantasy, mixing reality with his perceptions. His stories seemed to annoy people more than fascinate them, and they definitely had some embellishment.

While reading the story, it seemed to me that it was Thomas' story, his version of what happened on the journey with Victor. Victor was friendlier to Thomas, respectful, treating him like an equal. And Thomas' stories were prophetic, seeing the past and future. People listened to Thomas' stories, and didn't make fun of him. I like this because I like to believe the all people are inherently good, and even though it's plainly obvious that Thomas is a good person, he is seen as a respected member of his tribe to other people, and especially to the one person that Thomas wishes the most respect from, his friend Victor.

Smoke Signals dialogue

I would like to talk about an image that kept coming up in the movie Smoke Signals. Fry Bread seemed to be a constant image that was associated with many stories of Victor and Thomas' life. Indian Fry bread is a main staple in their lives growing up. But not only is it a food source for them, but it also comes as a spiritual source, and a source for stories. Thomas seemed to be able to tell many stories that were involved with the fry bread, at times almost elevating the fry bread to a heavenly status. I think the residents of the reservation also use the fry bread as a link to their past, keeping them connected with their ancestors. Victors mother showed this by explaining that she is not the only one involved in making her famously delicious fry bread. Her mother and grandmother are involved, as that is who the recipe comes from. I think it helps them remember who they are, and where they come from, and for the future, it will also have fry bread in it.

Ch. 13 Rules for Writer dialogue

Chapter 13 in Rules for Writers teaches us how to keep the language of our writing consistent with tenses, how to keep skipping from indirect to direct sentence structure, and how to keep the "mood and voice" (p 107) consistent with the story.

Consistency of tenses is important, as it helps the reader understand from who's point of view the story is coming from. First, second, and third point of view sentences can change the time frame of the story.

Switching from indirect to direct sentences can come in the form of questions or quotations, sometimes leaving the reader confused as to whether or not the writer is asking them a question. There are three different moods in English. Indicative-used for facts, opinions and questions. Imperative-used for orders or advise. And subjunctive-used in certain contexts to express wishes or conditions contrary to fact. (p107)

I had never considered tenses and moods before in my writings, and will now use what I've learned from this chapter to carefully read over everything I've written and be certain that I keep consistency with the tie frame of my story.