Smoke Signals

A smoke signal is a story about the modern day lives of Native Americans. The movie Smoke Signals is about a boy trying to find himself, but in this process, there are symbolism's and metaphors that gave the movie deeper meaning. Fire, was the symbol of fire. When Thomas' house burned down when he was a baby, it set up a metaphor where Thomas said "some kids are born from fire and some are born from ash." This is a metaphor for Victor, who is the fire, and Thomas, who is the ash. Victor is viewed as fire because he is a strong and angry all the time. Thomas is considered ash because he is frail and weak. Another metaphor that relates to Thomas being considered ash is the fact that when his house burned down he survived, but his family and his home were gone, which could show that he, metaphorically, burned in that house too and part of him is in those ashes.
Looking at symbols in the movie, basketball seemed to be a very important one.                                                     
    I became so engaged in this movie that I researched other Sherman Alexie work, such as Diary of a Part-Time Indian. This movie also shares a lot of parallels to Sherman Alexie's novel. One of these parallels is also thy symbol of fire. In both the movie and the book fire kills Thomas' parents and Junior's sister, taking people that were major figures in their lives. The fire's also show a parallel because they were both alcohol-related, which seems to be a common theme in Native American literature. Also, in both of them the fires come back to haunt them. In the novel, the fire haunts Junior and keeps causing him to blame himself for his sister's leaving and her death. In the movie, the fire keeps coming back to haunt Arnold Joseph, who accidentally started it during the party. The memory haunts him so badly that it drives him to leave his family and live in a constant state of drunkenness.

In that moment, Victor’s father becomes a hero to Thomas. In that same moment, Victor’s father is driven to an unshakable grief, the kind of grief that forces a man to leave his wife and only son. Thus, Victor has a radically different and conflicted feeling about his father. And Victor confronts the pain of his father’s leaving over and over in the many stories told about his father by Thomas, notorious for his storytelling.

Victor’s feelings grow even more complicated after learning of his father’s death in Arizona and the two young men journey there to settle his affairs. Throughout their journey, Victor is exposed to the human intricacies of his father’s life and choices. In learning more about the man his father was, and surprisingly with the help of Thomas’ stories, Victor discovers more about himself and the man he will become. Friendship arises and personal growth. 

Hailey's Digital Story

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be more technological, and to be able to use this project as a resource for my career as a teacher and a professor. This project gave me a lot of confidence with using Windows Media Player! I do believe that the classes' input on suggestions for the future were beneficial. This project would be much more stronger if it were spread out. Also, although I would say that mine didn't relate to a few of the stories we read in class, that is what makes it so personal and unique. I do give you permission to access this presentation for your future classes, if needed. Thank you for an awesome semester, and I do hope to take one of your courses in the future.

Have a great Summer !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ZU8fz_IqY

The Cats of Mirikitani

The Cats of Mirikitan
                              Wounded from War, healed from Art

Regardless of the distractions to life on the streets of New York, Jimmy Mirikitani drew constantly. Most ignore homeless people; however Linda Hattendorf, who is the filmmaker decided to use his story. Japanese American Internment Camp, bombs, and cats, is what caught Linda’s attention to this Japanese American man. Once she gives him a chance to share his story, it is clear that the man was wounded from war and isolation from his loved ones, but healed from art.

Art not war is the motto Jimmy lived by. He’s an 80 year man, who was raised in Hiroshima, but moved to NY in 2001. The film is recent enough in the sense that we were all live to witness on Television the devastation of the World Trade Center collapsing. Lina saw this homeless man on the streets of New York coughing. I can only imagine the impact it had on him.  My God mother was in the World Trade Center, but she managed to escape, since she was only a few floors away from the ground. I cried and panicked, but I thanked God that she was alive, and that she survived. Just like my God mother, Jimmy Mirikitani

Although there was chaos, Linda Hattendorf, was able to rescue Jimmy from the toxic smoke due to the World Trade Center, and invite him over. Her apartment is where they are able to bond. Forty kids died during the atomic bomb and 260, 000 were killed. Jimmy isn’t afraid of sharing the story of the experiences that he has been through. This is the land of opportunity, the land where people from other countries dream of living in. Yet, it is interesting to note that Jimmy thinks that this country is garbage. There are people still homeless and bankrupt he says. At first, he even refuses to get social security, even though that it there to help him.

Story moved me. IT is redemption despite the various hardships that this man faced. This film captures an American story. Not only is his artwork a gift, but it is his story. Mr. Mirikitani was charming, his story heartbreaking and gives all Americans lessons to learn about caring and strength. Thanks so to the director and to Mr. Mirikitani for sharing his life story, his love of cats and his great art with us. He will be missed, I would’ve loved to meet him.

The Third and Final Continent

The Third and Final Continent

 

 

The encounters and experiences the young immigrant of "The Third and Final Continent" faces eventually leads him to the state of contentment, satisfaction, and appreciation. The story gives the reader a glimpse of how it is residing in different continents and the journey allows for the manifestation of meaning of life and identity. The Third and Final Continent is in fact America. Although this story touches upon the ideas of foreignness and dislocation, as Dr. Zamora mentioned, it is much gentle and sentimental when compared with the other stories, since he assimilates much smoother than other characters that we may have read throughout this course. This story embraces the promises of America.

The fact that the narrators name is not mentioned is interesting, since as our Ethnic American Literature class analyzed from Cisneros, "My Name", a name gives one meaning.  Is his identity not stable enough for him to reveal his real name? Also, in the beginning travel defines his identity by his nervousness; and later the arranged marriage provides a sort of stability.

The main character moves from India to England, than from England to America. When he is in England, along with other Bengali bachelors, he retains his Indian identity complete with being “barefoot in drawstring pajamas, drinking tea”, watching cricket and eating “pots of egg curry” (Lahiri). He then moves to America take up a job at Tech University in the library. This is the narrator's first state of change. He has to adjust from the British setting to the American setting. Everything is new to him. The text says, "Even the simple chore of buying milk was new to me; in London we'd had bottles delivered each morning to our door" (Lahiri 175). When he was thirty six he was offered a full-time job in America, in the processing department of a library at M.I.T. He said, “The salary was generous enough to support a wife, and I was honored to be hired by a world-famous university, and so I obtained a green card, and prepared to travel farther still.”

The narrator did not have much money, and therefore had to live in a place with poor living situations and a crowded environment. When he first comes to the States, his isolation gets mixed in with his anxiety and inability to sleep. He had never seen such a busy street or car horns as loud as these in his country.  As mentioned in the story “Car horns, shrill and prolonged, blared one after another. Flashing sirens heralded endless emergencies, and a fleet of buses rambled past their doors opening and closing with a powerful hiss, throughout the night. The noise was constantly distracting, at times suffocating” (Lahiri).  This quote from the story clearly shows that the noises seemed to aggravate the narrator and it had become intolerable for him to live peacefully in that place. This reaction of the narrator to the traffic and car horns shows that the narrator came from a place that was peaceful and quiet, this whole situation makes him feel lonely and curious as to why people seem to be living their life in this way.

Upon his first meeting with Mrs. Croft, the narrator is slightly intimidated and overwhelmed. But after a while, the narrator becomes accustomed to Mrs. Croft's schedule and habits.  The narrator begins to admire her age and marvel at the fact that she is a very special woman who has seen a good many number of days and events. She is the first death the narrator mourns in America. She becomes part of his life. It says, "I barely recognize the buildings now, but each time I am there I return instantly to those six weeks as if they were only the other day"(Lahiri 197). The next person to accompany him is his new bride. At first, they are very much awkward upon her first few days in the country. However, that awkwardness soon blossoms into a love that is strong with an outcome of a child. His family is the main seed of the narrator's growth because they define who he is now. He has more than he has ever wanted and has found himself to be over satisfied and happy. The last line of the text reads, "As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination" (page 198). The narrator has found himself, after all of his life encounters, no matter how often they happen, happy and content in admiration.

When thinking of the narrator, I am reminded of my Grandfather, Diego Diaz. My Grandmother married Diego when she was seventeen years old. He escaped Cuba from a mini boat, I just can’t recall exactly how many years ago. My grandfather then moved to Parlin, NJ, for a better life, and that is where he met my beautiful grandmother Maria Ramos. In his country, food was overpriced. Having a loaf of bread was considered a privilege. He had to hunt for his food, in order for him and his family to survive. When he came to America, he actually hunted the bunny that he bought me, in order for him to make it. The language barrier attacked his confidence. When he didn’t know any English at all, he felt that he didn’t belong, and he felt that he couldn’t defend himself. However like Mrs. Croft, my grandmother helped him assimilate and welcomed him to her home with open arms. He lived in a studio, in a bad neighborhood, so he ended up moving into a two bedroom apartment with my grandma. My grandma helped him learn English, and bought him books for him to read. Like the narrator, it was difficult to get accustomed to the many difference, however they both had an optimistic and grateful attitude towards this country, and that is what helps him to move along. I began to feel proud of the narrators’ success in this country. My grandfather knows that I am beyond proud of how well he has adapted. Unfortunately, my grandmother and grandfather divorced, so it has been six years since I have spoken to him. But I know wherever he is; he is happy, much happier than he was when he first moved. Both my grandfather and the narrator are more open minded than other characters that have been discussed in class, such as the Father in Bharati Mukherjee , who is dutiful to is religion, and who blames his wife for moving to this country. My grandfather and the narrator of The Third and Final Continent, transition easier since they have a better attitude towards America. The attitude and eagerness to learn is what helps them find themselves.

On March 20^th, our Ethnic American Literature class has discussed how the landing on the moon is an important symbol.  In the story, it is mentioned that the astronauts landed on an unknown country, this can be referring to the narrator who had arrived on this unknown country.  This shows that the narrator had come to a new country where he had no one to call his own, and did not have any home as well. Coming to this country, he didn’t know what to expect, or how he would assimilate. This turned out to be a great transition for him as he had to adapt to various different situations, conditions and laws of this new country.

 

 

Family Ties

My Name by Sandra Cisneros

My Name by Sandra Cisneros

The author Sandra Cisneros discusses what she doesn’t like about her real name, Esperanza.  “In English, my name means hope.  In Spanish, it means too many letters.  It means sadness, it means waiting.” She has taken a positive word, hope, and given it three descriptions that are negative. The first, “too many letters,” is a description of the word as it is written. She is frustrated by the physical difficulty of her name, which sets her apart from others. She has taken a positive word, hope, and given it three descriptions that are negative. The first, “too many letters,” the second “relation” with her grandparents, and lastly, it’s too complicated for school.

She was named after her great-grandmother who she didn’t know, but knew of her.  She was “a wild horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn’t marry until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off.  And the story goes she never forgave him.”  Yet, the author doesn’t seem to relate to this aspect of her great-grandmother, lamenting how her grandmother “looked out the window all her life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow.”  It’s this picture the author relates to her name.

Esperanza does not like the way people pronounce her Spanish name at school and likes to keep it whole - without a nickname - like her sister Magdalena (Nenny). She secretly wants to baptize herself under a new name more suited to her private personality, for she does not like the mumbled English sounding name of Esperanza.

Consequently, the author did change her name to the one shown above.Esperanza's name just contributes to her sense of not belonging. Esperanza’s life is full of sadness and waiting. The teachers cannot pronounce her name in school. When she uses the word “baptize”, she is saying she wishes she could start over and create a new identity from. Consequently, the author wants to change her name to “a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees.” 

I’ve always like the uniqueness of my name, especially the spelling of it.  My mother told me that my dad choose my name, from the soap opera, “All my Children.” He was in love with the name Hailey Vonn as well as the actress, so he decided that his daughter was going to be called Hailey. All along, my father knew that my mom was going to have a baby girl.  However, the doctors told my mother that I was going to be a boy. She had the name “Optimus” all ready to go. But, fate decided that I was going to be a girl. Thank God for my dad, because if not, my mother would’ve probably picked a very complicated name for a girl as well. As I grew up, I found more people who spelled their name just like mine, but not many.  I still like it.

 

In spite of their importance, though, most people know very little about names and about the effects they have on us every day.

 

                                                          My Name by Sandra Cisneros

In English my names means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, song like sobbing.

 It was my great-grandmother’s name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse – which is supposed to be bad luck if you’re born female-but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexican, don’t like their women strong.

 My great-grandmother. I would’ve liked to have known her, a wild horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn’t marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That’s the way he did it.

 And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but don’t want to inherit her place by the window.

 At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister’s name-Magdalena-which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza.