How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents

The book that I am reading is entitled "How the Garcia Girls lost their accents", by Julia Alvarez. The plot of my book involves an evil Dominican Dictator who is overthrown by a revolutionary doctor and all of his supporters. The doctor however is unable to see through the coup de tat and is forced to flee to America before he is captured in beheaded in his home country. Once he arrives in his country we follow the development of his daughters lives and how they all assimilated into American Country, thus losing their accent. There are four girls each with their own unique story lines.

Carla: The oldest daughter and possibly the most responsible has been detailed as an analytic throughout the book. Carla although the oldest appears to be one of the weakest of all the sisters. As young girl she had trouble being accepted into her class and constantly felt embarrassed about her insufficient English vocabulary. She had trouble embracing puberty and later had these fears amplified as she was approached by a pedophile on her way walking home from school.

Sandra: Sandra is the most troubled sister of all. Her lack of identity and understanding of American virtue caused for her to have a mental breakdown earlier on in the book( but later on in the storyline). Sandra has the most drastic of mental breakdowns but each daughter does in fact express mental illness. Aside from Sandra's mental breakdown not much else is known about who she is as a person or her life experiences.

Yolanda: Yolanda, Yolanda, the tomboy of the family. Proclaimed to be the poet of the household Yolanda was launched into stardom at an earlier age. Shortly after arriving in America did Yolanda find that the words she used to express herself found much attention. At her first school her teacher, Sister Zoe adored Yolanda and tutored her in English. As she grew older however, she began having trouble embracing her sexuality and this led to the divorce of her first husband John. After the divorce and major heartbreak Yolanda too had a mental breakdown although not as severe as Sandra's.

Sofia: Sofia is the youngest and perhaps the most liberated has the most exciting storyline of all the other sister combined. Nicknamed Fifi she has always been romantically inclined and is cited as never going with a boyfriend since her early teens. Conflict ensues when her father finds a batch of live letter stowed away in one of her drawers. When Sofia is confronted by her father about the letters she lashes out in an emotional paroxysm an leaves the home vowing never to return. She runs away to Germany where she begs her love to marry her. They get married and have a son named Otto who is the pride of the family, a blonde haired, blue-eyed boy.

Word Count: 478

Jr. at Whitney Young & Hiding the Reservation

When I first imagined attending Whitney Young I had no idea of what to expect. I was wise enough to understand that the quotas and stereotypes expressed in high school movies were long overdue and exaggerated. I knew not to expect to walk into a school with everyone dancing and singing on cue, in a highly in-tuned dance choreography. I knew that nerds with unfortunate body configurations wouldn't be stuffed into accommodating lockers. I knew that the school jock wouldn't also be the Valedictorian and that our prom wouldn't be blown into flames by some alien girl named Carie, but even with all of the things that I "knew" I still had no idea of what Whitney Young was really going to be like. from this perception I can udnerstand what Junior was feeling as he walked into a new highschool and how others felt about him.

I believe that Junior would be accepted fully if he attended Whitney Young. With so many people with so many different racial, and social backgrounds he wouldn't have a problem finding a place where he felt that he belonged. I feel that Junior would gravitate toward the art section of our school. Junior, with his love for drawing cartoons would gravitate toward the Art Department and the Art Department's staff. I would suspect that Junior would spend all of his time there, drawing picture after picture and receiving and accepting the critiques that came his way. He wouldn't be shunned as there are many people within this school who are just like him. The diversity of Whitney Young allows for it to be frightening and accomodating. With so many different people from different places no one can really be excluded at all.

Now when it comes to being yourself I believe that everyone tries to "hide the reservation" to some extent. Everyone tries to be perceived as having more money than they really have or being more of something that they are not. Society is just an entity that pressures individuals into trying to be perfect and to some extent I think that these societal rules exist at Whitney Young. With such wide range of people at Whitney Young I feel that the students who attend find almost a necessity to hide some part of them in order for them to feel  completely socially accepted. The reason for this is that even though a person may be generally accepted by one group or social cliqe they may also be shunned by another and in order to feel a universal sense of popularity some areas of who they are must be frabricated.

I don't believe that Junior would be the most popular here at Whitney Young as he was in Reardan. I honestly don't even believe that Junior would make our basketball team. With such a firecely competitive team I don't think Junior would meet the physical requirements. He wouldn't be shunned because of economical or racial background either though. As expressed previously, Junior wouldn't have a problem making friends and feeling wanted. Junior would be joyfully accepted as a person and admired for the personal qualities for which he has. He would enjoy his classes here and generally feel as if this is where he belonged. He would love the availabale knowledge present at our school. Our library and tech center would captivate Junior. He woukd be overwhelmed with the access he had to knowledge and would exhaust his resources to the fullest.

Junior with his many accomplishments and failures his a young man with extreme potential. His goals and moral standards set him apart from most people. His will to be successful and to make more of himself than anyone else expects of him drives him to new places and to meet new people. Junior's hard working and durable personality describes him as a person and is what makes him so enjoyable to read about. He would have an amazing time here at Whitney Young and we would have an amazing time with him.

American Dream Comparison

American Dream

The American Dream is an ideology expressed by many different people in many different ways. The term American Dream became popular in the 1920s during the time period involving World War I and Prohibition. American citizens were experiencing a lot and living through a lot of mayhem at this time and the American Dream served as an ideology for American citizens. The American Dream can be described many different ways and it’s because of this versatility the American Dream meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

In “The Great Gatsby” shows the American Dream in multiple ways. In my opinion, “The Great Gatsby” splits the American Dream into two sections. These two sections can only be described as the “Haves” and the “Have-Nots”. The story centered on a supporting character named Daisy. Daisy represented the American Dream to every main character in the story. For Tom, Daisy was apart of his dream of perfection. He obtained all the money and fame he desired from being an accomplished polo player. Being born into wealth he no longer felt the need to pursue materialistic items and instead turned to women for a sense of enticement. Tom’s perfect dream consisted of him having both a wife and a mistress making Daisy an integral part of his vantage point of the American Dream.

Gatsby, the man who the entire novel is named after also finds himself mesmerized by Daisy. He too, bases his idea of the American Dream around the thought of one day acquiring Daisy for himself. This inner ambition of wanting to take what he fills is rightfully his propels Gatsby to enter a life of crime. Myrtle who is rarely mentioned outside the semblance of Tom has also given her dream to that of Daisy. To Myrtle her American Dream has wrongly been bestowed upon Daisy whom she plans to rip it away from.

In the book “Raisin in the Sun” the American Dream is one again placed upon the shoulders of a woman. In this book, however, it wasn’t placed upon her because of her beauty, but because of her strength. Lena otherwise referred to as Mama is a woman in the book “Raisin in the Sun” who embodied the American Dream. She had worked all her life in order to give to her children what she never had. She wanted for them to have opportunities to be successful in the world, but above all, all Lena wanted from her children was their happiness. When Lena comes home with the insurance money from Walter’s death, she takes a new form of the American Dream, hope. With the money that she now owns everyone envisions what he or she could do with it. Walter envisions a liquor corporation that springs up from the liquor store he hopes to create. Beneatha sees it as an opportunity to finis medical school. Ruth sees it as a chance to move into a nice home in a nice neighborhood, and finally Lena sees the money as an opportunity to makes those around her happy.

The American Dream is a complex compilation of ideals and motives that helped to shape the self-esteem and outlook of American citizens. The American Dream serves as a dream that has and continues to provide a working force for American industries. The American Dream provides hope for American citizens in lower social classes and reinforces the ambitions of the rich. The American Dream in these two stories, while providing different outcomes, stem from the same place.  

Word Count: 592

Protest Song Lyrics

“Protest Song Lyrics

This song actively protests the standards and mind sets of the children born into the generation of today. The 21^st century has brought many advantages and disadvantages with the growth in technology and medical advances an argument could even be stated that humanity has propelled more rapidly than ever before in human history however with all such success there is also regression. This song points out the many negatives that currently plague my generation. The first aforementioned defect is that rap has generally degenerated from a form of art that projected political, social, and culture ideas toward a vulgar competition of accolades. Such a feeble turnabout has only brought misinterpretations toward the listeners of the genre. Gradually the supporters of hip-hop became subjected to trashy one-liners that generally degraded the culture many sacrificed to build. This song attacks this aspect of Hip-Hop. The artist (Hopsin) calls out the listeners of Hip-Hop in the line “Making sure your lame swag is all polished and neat while your favorite rapper is like Yeah, he got it from me.” In this line he says that the teens of my generation take the priority of clothes over anything else. Instead of bidding for an education e-bay is the place to be in order to buy the newest threads.

I chose this song because I felt like it protested all the topics that I felt were necessary to be mentioned. Hopsin not only attacks what he thinks is wrong he does so in as public a way as possible. I liked his approached because artists aren’t often seen disregarding popular trends openly. Hopsin’s song dramatically changed my opinion of the songs that I listen to and the lifestyle that the artists singing these songs project. It is because of this song that I began to realize just what social media was feeding society and began to realize that I, just like anyone else can take an active stance against anything that I feel is wrong.

Word Count: 330

Man I hate rap, but if the shoe fits, wear it

I've become a freak of nature all the kids stare at

Who walk around bumping RAW with the s*** blaring

Saying "F*** school" and dropping out like a miscarriage

I'm embarrassed

And I'm ashamed I played a part in this devilish game

Making your common sense perish

But I ain't taking the full blame

Cause most of you chumps running around here ain't never had strict parents

All of your brain cells rotting from w**d

You feeling like if you ain't got it, life's not as complete

You having sex with every-motherf*****-body you see

With a past so dark that Satan'd jump out of his seat

But still you out in these streets thinking you hot as can be

Without the knowledge to lead so you just follow the sheep

Making sure your lame swag is all polished and clean

While your favorite rapper's like "Yeah, he got it from me"

You been brainwashed by a fake life that you're used to livin'

When I say the word "fun", what do you envision?

Probably drinking and smoking out with your crew

And chilling with clueless women you trying to bang, bumping New Edition

Is that all you think life really is

Well if so, then you're a f***** idiot

I honestly feel like grabbing your head and hitting it

Matter of fact, you don't even deserve a brain; GIMME IT!

Do you even have any goals

Aside from bagging these h*** and packing a bowl

Well let me guess- No

You're only in school because your parents make you go

When all you do is play beer pong and hang out with your bros

Yo, society's got you living for a whack cause

You're a f***g adult with no skills at all

You don't read any books or play ball

You don't draw, you literally do nothing at all

Still you fiend for the glamorous fruits

You don't have cause you idolize rappers that do

And all they say is "I got money and it's stacked to the roof"

And now you think that it's gon' magically just happen to you

How? Your lazy a** don't commit to labor

You pick something up, try it out, and put it down two minutes later

Then you complain about your life cause it ain't getting catered

Now whoever tries to call you on your bulls**** a hater

You wanna succeed, you have to try

Or one day you'll get older and regret it all cause you can't provide

Your friends are lowlifes, don't act surprised

Look, just cut the bad fruit off of the tree, make the sacrifice

Girls, stop acting like you want a guy with traits like Romeo

B**** that's a fucking lie

You always talk about how every man's fake

And you can't take it and you want something real

Shut up tramp, save it

Twice a week you put on your makeup and d*** bracelets

And head to the club half-naked with you’re a*** shaking

Pulling a lowlife n**** who claim he cash making

Til you let him hit and find out he work at the gas station

One of them n**** got you pregnant and you can't raise it

But you caused it, your actions made a fat statement

You want Romeo, then act patient

And stop fronting like he in the club posted in the back waitin'

It's the club, where guys put on a new persona

After they get loaded with a few coronas

They always shouting and wild out with habits that very few condone of

Then they look for beautiful brainless b**** like you to bone 'em

Then when they leave you, you cry and cry

Talking 'bout, "Oh my god I can't find a guy

I've spent so many years and I've tried and tried

Why am I even on Earth? I should die"

You want Romeo, you're not worthy

You're c***-thirsty

You're nasty and probably got herpes

Sometimes the secret to find is to stop searching

Try a new formula, cause your last one's not working

The term "real n****"'s publicly used

And I need to know what it means, cause I'm f***** confused

Are you one for always busting your tool

With nothing to lose and something to prove to homies up in your crew

Is it because you're selling drugs to get loot

And brag about how you done been shot and stabbed

Like it's fun to be you

But your life's a struggle, right, and you just hustling through

Nah, you hamster a** n*****, you just stuck in a loop

It's clear you can't stand the law, you're lost as an abandoned dog

And all you're interested in is fighting, rapping, and basketball

I can't even f*** with you, cause if we out in public

You gon' get caught stealing some s*** and get my a** in trouble, too

You'll get old and be nothing

Living life in these streets, thugging and starting shit with anybody mean mugging

Look at you, a real n****, thinking your life's cool

Girls used to turn me down for guys who were like you

'Til you grab their heart and shove a spearhead right through

Then they regret it because it wasn't the right move

Your real n*** talk seems bogus

A real n**** don't brag about being real as long as he knows it

And his future doesn't seem hopeless

A real n**** stays out of jail, handles shit, and he keeps focused

So all you rappers whose soul is out in the wrong

You inspire the issue I wrote about in this song

You go to pile on the young who roam around in the slums

See this is what happens when rap's overcrowded with bum

Hope the hour is long when I'm rolling out with your tongue

The man above is my guide, you know the power is strong

All you menacing freaks are only in it for cheese

And the mass control limit was breached – f*** hip-hop

They only in it for cheese, and any eyewitness can see

They purposely making the innocent weak

My existence on this planet's for you, I ain't only here to benefit me

Yo, we need to make a change while there's still time

It is hard, and sometimes I struggle trying to reveal mine

I can guide you if you feel blind

I just need you to be willing to journey into my ill mind

Community Proposal

I live in the Auburn Gresham community and plan to find out what people in my community believe the American Dream is and what they do to gain their portion of it. In order to find these answers I will interview various people and build a portfolio of what local people believe the American Dream is really made up of.

Neighborhood Demographics

• Entirely composed of African-Americans
• Most citizens within my area are of working class.

Interview Candidates

• Ms. Booz (Neighbor)
• Owner of local corner store.
• My mother
• Simeon Students & Teachers

American Dream

The portion of The American Dream that I witness in my neighborhood is the desire to become wealthy through hard work. I expect to find individuals who will give me another perspective of what life is like in African-American communities. I expect to find people who have been faced with various challenges and how they triumphed or failed in meeting these challenges.

The American Dream

New York City now faces a lawsuit on a ban placed on the selling of certain high sugar soda products. The lawsuit came about because the ban could potentially disproportionally hurt small minority owned businesses than it would large corporations. The allegations began because minority owned businesses have traced a substantial amount of their profits back to the selling and buying of many of the pops that have recently been banned by that piece of legislation. The ban was originally legislated in order to prevent New Yorkians from over-indulging in high sugar soda pops and fattening up. The NAACP felt otherwise and initiated a lawsuit against New York City Officials to lift the ban. 

I believe that this post relates to our classes idea of the American Dream. The people who own small local family food stores all just want to make a living to provide for their families. They obviously have worked hard to gain the business that they now own and from there, they have been working to preserve the dream that if they work hard enough they can progress through American social classes. Their American Dream was then threatened by someone else's opinion of what the American dream should represent. Some Americans believe that America should offer healthier food options to its children at all cost. Health has been a big concern in America since the released statistics that state the growing number of Americans who are obese. Considering that oppression is non-existent throughout America the Food Administration should prove to be no exception. The clash of these two ideas led to the civil lawsuit which will be settled outside of the press.

Word Count: 234
 http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/23/health/new-york-large-drinks/index.html