Montana 1948 Link

I posted a link to a website that offers a synopsis of the movie "Brokeback Mountain." This is because, while reading Montana 1948, I could not help but find some similarities between the two stories. This is because both take place in the west. Brokeback Mountain takes place in the summer of 1963, while Montana takes place in the summer 1948. In addition, both stories revolve around problems arise because of the prejudices at the time. Whether prejudice against homosexuals or Indians, in both stories, the prejudices lead to the abuse of these minorities.

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Moccasins appear again when David sees the high school girl at the store. Throughout the book, the moccasins symbolize Indians and prejudice against Indians. In this situation, I also found it interesting that when the girl walked by in moccasins, David was curious as to whether or not she had been one of Uncle Frank’s patients. This helps the reader to realize that all Indian women were in danger and could have possibly been abused by Frank. The fact that in this situation, David was stirred sexually, also allows the reader insight into the theme of desire. Despite David’s awareness of the injustices caused by his Uncle Frank, he can not help but be intrigued and excited by them. This shows, that almost everyone is prone to sinning because of their desires.

Another prominent development in the second half of the book, was David’s corruption or debauching. David was a child up until this summer when his situation caused his mind to be corrupted by the real and adult world. Everything seemed perfect to his innocent eyes, but because of this one event, he became aware of everyone’s secrets. He saw things that he could have never anticipated and realized that Montana was not what it had seemed a few days ago. At the same time, he begins observing his surroundings, and notices secrets that he never contemplated before. For instance, David suspects that Len was in love with his mom. This supports the theme that you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors or even in anyone's mind. It also portrays the theme of secrets.

In addition, the ongoing theme of facades and the universal desire to mask reality becomes even more outstanding as the novel unfolds. Len pretends not to love David’s mom. The Hayden’s try to fulfill their perfect family reputation and even after the developments of the summer, cover up Frank’s suicide (this supports that you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors) to keep their facade in place even after death. Furthermore, when the whole scenario was at its peak, David and his family continued to do daily life activities and acted as if nothing was unusual

Finally, justice being served is a withstanding theme portrayed in many novels including Montana. Being a sheriff, Wes is faced with situations that involve justice daily. There is a point when Wes is contemplating letting his brother go, but when he realizes how guilty Frank is, there is no turning back. Therefore, he continues his quest to punish Frank, and in the end, Frank punishes himself. Throughout the entire story, David's dad's moral values and responsibilities override his family relations and take precedence even over his families happiness. This portrays the strength of the will of justice, and shows that justice is more important than even the strongest and most everlasting bond (brotherhood in Wes's and Frank's case).

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So far, this is a pretty good book. Although the writing isn't amazing the book is extremely riveting. From the prologue, the book was filled with suspense. When I read the first few pages, I really liked the format of the story because although the narrator is telling the story from the present, he flashed back to the year of 1948 and used memories prior to this time to provide context for his story. Because the prologue flashes to scenes that will happen, but only gives us glimpses into each characters to be positions, I wanted to read, to see how these characters were put into their extreme situations. In addition, the author offers excellent imagery to allow the reader to imagine exactly what the scene is and how it would look. In addition, this book offers insight into a portrayal of a warped suburban society (although in this case it is more rural). Like Revolutionary Road (movie with Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet), the "tranquil" suburbs mask a warped society that is only unleashed beyond closed doors. Because of this, the book also provides context for the theme of appearances vs. reality. David's Uncle Frank, epitomizes this, as he was the perfect son, and charming man, yet the sins he was committing were beyond what anyone would expect from such an excellent model and ideal man. In addition, the fact that David's father does not ever wear a badge, shows that he is trying to appear as something other than a cop because he is trying to avoid becoming the character of a sheriff (it is not him). The Zeit Geist of the story is proving to be extremely vital to the plot. This is because if influences everything due to the location of Montana and the time, which was following the end of World War II . The area, was not one filled with great wealth, but it was one that revolved around society life. Because of this, David, the protagonist feels uncomfortable with his situation, and people such as Frank, hide their sins. In addition, I was shocked by how warped the compact society that David resided in was. Prior to finding out about his Uncle, his life had been uneventful and he was naive to the horrors of the world, until suddenly, they became at the forefront of his life. It was insane that David's dad chose to pursue his own brother, although it was the right thing to do because justice needs to be served. It was even worse however, that David's grandfather, was somewhat aware of David's sins because of David's previous entanglements with Indian women, yet he thought and did nothing of it. In addition, I found it interesting, that while David was so anxious to grow up and be told the information as an adult, his mother searched for purity and was nostalgic of her childhood. The moccasins were the beginning of David realizing his family's dis-functionality because it was the first time he noticed that his father was racist. Also, it is easy to see that this book will rely on the presence of sex and death in everyone's life because of the quote in the first half of the book. Finally, it seems as if coyote will symbolize something, as Marie says that a coyote is hard to find when you are looking for it. I think that this may parallel the situation with David's father who is searching for evidence of Frank's previous rape. This is because now that he is looking for the information, it may not come easily. In general I look forward to continuing the book.

The House on Mango Street Link

Although i was not interested in the lesson, the poem included in this website was one that reminded me a lot of Mango street. it seems that in many of Cisnero's writings, the idea that a child is ashamed of something, often who they are because of their heritage, or family, is prominent.

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Although I cannot say that I love the language... i do really enjoy the imagery used such as “mother’s feet, were plump and polite” because it is off kilter and allows the reader to view things in Esperanza's eyes. Also, one of the major themes is that everybody longs for something different than what they have as seen by the following quote. “But the truth is it is scary to look down at your foot that is no longer yours and see attached a long long leg” (40). And “everybody wants to trade” At the same time however, when people do get what they wanted, they do not always feel comfortable with it because it does not fit with their character. I noticed in the chapter “A Rice Sandwich” that disappointment is also a theme because although Esperanza always wanted to eat lunch in school, when she finally got to the experience was not at all what she had wished. In this chapter, Esperanza feels ashamed of who she is and because of the constant abasing she receives, points to the wrong and terrible house. The nun also exhibits racism because she automatically assumes that Esperanza lived in one of the terrible houses even though she didn't. Throughout the second half of the book, a sense of family is portrayed especially with Esperanza's protectiveness of her sister Nenny. she feels that as Nenny's sister, it is her job to stand up to her. In addition to kinship, other cultural traditions are revealed just through Esperanza's story telling (the oldest is always told first about a death). Another theme presented is that bad things often happen to good people, like Aunt Lupe. In the book it says “Diseases have no eyes” because they do not choose the right people to cause hardships to. I also like the poem that Esperanza reads to Aunt Lupe... “I want to be like the waves on the sea, like the clouds in the wind, but I’m me. One day I’ll jump out of my skin. I’ll shake the sky like a hundred violins.” It describes Esperanza's aspirations and dreams for herself, as she wants to be better than she is and better than what people think she can be. It is also interesting that Elenita says she sees a home in the heart for Esperanza because this is exactly what happens. Despite Esperanza's constant running from Mango Street, in the end she has to accept that it is a part of her. The story is also told in a somewhat feminist perspective as Rafaela is oppressed by her husband who locks her in the house. Also the girls always strive to get married (Sally), but when they do get married, like Ruthie, they are oppressed by marriage (when Ruthie was young she could have had so many jobs but she didn’t take them because of marriage). In the second half of the book especially, it is easy to see that Esperanza has grown up because of the lessening of her innocence and naivete as she narrates. in certain chapters such as "Sire" this is especially clear. “Four Skinny Trees” offers really effective characterization because they parallel Esperanza and she describes things such as their secret strength that are difficult to realize from the story which concentrates more on her surroundings. Esperanza has dreams but also hardships so even if her dreams do come true, she will not forget where she comes form. She also wants to be independent and has begun a “silent war” so that she will never need to be with a man. Finally, the story offers some insight into the lives of illegal immigrants and humanizes them by portraying them as family members (Mamacita) Something that was extremely sad in the book was the story of Geraldo. “His name was Geraldo. And his home is in another country. The ones he left behind are far away, will wonder, shrug, remember. Geraldo --- he went north… we never heard from him again.” This story presents the theme of the insignificance of each person, but also the unjustness of the fact that often people in low social classes do not have the recognition of identity that they deserve. The quote from the last chapter, “You will always be Esperanza. You will always be Mango Street.” (105), depicts the major point of the story which is that Esperanza although may leave Mango Street will carry it around with her forever.

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I am not completely enjoying this book, so thank god it is short. Although I appreciate the language, I do not enjoy how petty everything Esperanza talks about seems. I like how the author wrote the book in vignettes because it also makes the book pass by faster since each chapter is so short. In addition, this type of language creates a childish exterior despite the hidden themes in the story, which are actually much more mature. The book is also childish in the sense that Esperanza, who is the narrator in the story is young and naive. For instance, she is still at a stage in her life where boys and girls are not meant to talk to each other. This could be interpreted literally, but I also believe that the chapter "Boys and Girls" describes how women in general were not viewed as good enough to be a part of the men's sphere. Also, Esperanza does not even recognize Angel's tragedy (she commits suicide), but instead describes her jumping off a building as her learning to fly. In a sense, this makes Esperanza blind to tragedy as she does not completely recognize it or understand it. Six of the major themes that are present so far are feminism, racism, ambition, segregation, stereotypes and labels, and diversity. This book discusses stereotypes by explaining the way those who live in Esperanza's neighborhood are viewed. In speaking, Esperanza also mentions her discontent with the stereotype that she is placed in. Another theme, diversity is ever- present in the story, as each of the people Esperanza describes are different. In addition, Esperanza designates certain chapters such as "Hair" and "Laughter" to comparing and highlighting the differences between the differences in different people's traits. Segregation is also prominent, because not only is the city divided based on heritage and wealth, but there is also division between men and women. The house on mango street is obviously a symbol, although I cannot yet tell whether it will be a positive or negative symbol. So far it symbolizes Esperanza's insecurities, along with her disappointment. In addition however, it symbolizes Esperanza's ambitions because she dreams of leaving the house and many more things. My favorite quote so far was "Is waiting for a car to stop, a star to fall, someone to changer her life" 27. This is when Esperanza is talking about Marin. I can relate to this feeling and the general tone of aspiration and longing.

Bean Trees Link

I was really intrigued by the topic of illegal immigration that was presented in the novel. Because of this, I began to research articles. Many of the articles are from the governments' point of view and therefore do not allow any insight into the thought process of the illegal immigrants. Due to the focus on the struggles of illegal immigrants I really liked this article because it was a personal story from an illegal immigrant. Also, it talks about the current struggles that the immigrants face also because of the recession, which was extremely interesting and unique.