Family

One of the strongest parallels I see between my experiences and those in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian are close-knit families. In True Diary both of Junior’s parents live within five miles of where they were born. My family may not be as close as that, but all of my aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins (except for two) live in Illinois. My dad grew up in Illinois, and my mom in Indiana. My family and Junior’s family both stick together in their own ways. It seems that Junior’s family is almost stuck to the reservation, my family doesn’t seem like that; it’s more that we gravitate to each other by nature. These close knit families are extremely important. Most of the people I know have family in other states and even countries. Having your family close to you creates a support network that is hard to break. This is what keeps Junior going in the book when he is grieving. Without a close family and friends, he would not have been able to recover properly. I have not needed to rely heavily on my family for support like Junior, but I know in the future it will very well happen. A close-knit family creates a support system, which you can fall back on.

Fate: Max, Bigger and Buckley

I found what Max said about Bigger during the trial to be very moving. He pointed out many of the things wrong in their society. For example, why this crime had received so much negative press and angry mobs. Max points out that the mobs and Bigger are strangers, blinded by hate. People had already assumed Bigger was guilty of murder and rape before the trial, this was mostly stemmed is racism. Max explains the problems of segregation and how blacks are oppressed, he tells the story from Bigger’s point of view, saying he didn’t kill, but theoretically lived for the first time of his life. I appreciate Max; I think he and Jan were the only ones who were honestly trying to help Bigger. They were the only ones who saw the truth. In Buckley’s testimony, he brings up the rape of Mary frequently and believes Bigger had planned the entire crime before it was committed. Both of these we know to be false. The problem is, those in the book don’t know this except for Max and Jan. The underlying racism and hints that Bigger is emotionless and sadistic were shown in the press coverage, the statements given by Buckley prior to the trial and the testimony of Buckley.  When comparing the two testimonies, Max vs. Buckley, I see a major difference between the two. Max’s testimony was rooted in hope, hope for a better society, hope for acceptance and a hope for the public to see the flaws, why this segregation and racism is helping no one and needs to stop. Buckley’s testimony does the opposite of this; his is rooted in hate and hopes to inflict this same hate and fear of Bigger into others. Buckley's prosecution is what Max was trying to dissuade the public from. Sadly, the public sees Buckley’s side of the story, as opposed to Max’s. This results in Bigger being sentenced to death.

A Principle to Keep

Carpe diem. Seize the day because today is all you have. It’s really important not to get hung up on the past or future too much. Don’t sweat the small stuff and accomplish what you can do today. You should make everyday count, it can be difficult, but if you don’t live everyday to the fullest (within reason) you’re not really living. If you don’t take risks once in a while, you could miss out on the best moments in life. Make life extraordinary. Even if you do something out of the ordinary once in a while, it will make things better. Take a leap of faith, try something new, take chances and live a life worth living.

“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.” –Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. This quote says how one should live in the now. If you do this, you can live the most efficient and enjoyable life you can. This is the epitome of the phrase carpe diem, if you “live in the now” you are successfully seizing the day.

Janie

Janie is a very opinionated character. She really sticks to what she believes in. She will not let others dictate the way she lives her life. Janie, as a young adult, was searching for love. She thinks she finds love with Logan Killicks. Janie soon realizes she really isn't happy with Logan and meets Joe Starks. Soon after she meets Joe, she leaves Logan (they had been married for less than a year) and marries Joe. She admires Joe for his strong ambition and drive. At first Janie admired Joe's determination but soon realizes his need for control and power. Janie feels very restrained and unhappy in her relationship. "A feeling of coldness and fear took hold of her. She felt far away from things and lonely." Joe believed he had the right to do these things and boss her around and dictate her actions. Joe did not view Janie as an equal, he almost viewed her as an accessory or pet, as if she were his property. He made her wear a head rag because other men would look at her head and Joe was jealous. "This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was NOT going to show in the store. It didn't seem sensible at all. That was because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was." Joe was very focused on being seen as a strong power figure, because of this he kept his emotions to himself so as not to be seen as weak. "The years took all the fight out of Janie’s face. For a while she thought it was gone from her soul. No matter what Jody did, she said nothing. She had learned how to talk some and leave some. She was a rut in the road. Plenty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels." Their relationship was very toxic. They were married for twenty years before Joe died. Now Jody is with Tea Cake and I think she is much happier.

Thankful for Classmates

I really love our fifth period English class. I’m thankful we have such a great group of kids in our class. I am especially thankful for Yaira and Sylvia. Also quick shout out to Veronica Ortiz and Maday as well, you guys are awesome!

I’m thankful for Yaira J. She’s a really fun person to talk to and have random conversations with. Yaira’s the best, we always manage to make each other laugh and I hope she doesn’t get too annoyed by me. She’s also really nice and I’m happy we’ve gotten to be better friends since last year when we met in bio class. Hope you have an amazingly awesome Thanksgiving!

I am quite thankful for Sylvia as well. She’s pretty, pretty cool. We have bonded a lot this year I think. Biology was the best with Sylvia and all our other friends last year, it was so fun and we made jokes about everything. I admire Sylvia’s ability to keep her head high in times of trouble. I love talking to Sylvia during lunch sometimes when we have yummy coffee and hot chocolate. I like the fact that I can talk to you about lots of different stuff and we’ve gotten closer because of it. Sylvia is incredibly sweet and she manages to perk me up when I’m ever feeling down. Have fun tomorrow Sylvia, eat lots and lots of delicious food!

Love you guys! Everyone have a good Thanksgiving.

Ernest Hemingway

It seems Ernest Hemmingway had a pretty eventful life, and a pretty difficult one at that. I feel that his experiences in war and his upbringing took a toll on him from early on in life.  In my opinion, from watching the documentary he seems sort of corrupt. I understand that he suffered from some mental issues, it just seemed he could have handled things differently. In the documentary, when his children spoke, I felt bad for them; they didn’t get the father figure they deserved. Hemmingway’s elusive relationships with women had something to do with it. He managed to have four different wives over the course of his lifetime, not to mention the women on the side. It seems he wasn’t able to put what mattered most first. His writing was always put above everything else, including his family. I wish that he could have had other ways of dealing with his problems, besides drinking or finding other women. He could have tried harder to make things work out with his relationships. Something that could have spawned this way of life could be the influence of super masculinity from when he was younger. It seems that he was insecure about his masculinity from early on because of his upbringing. This influenced his way of writing and possibly relations with others. It was said that he might not have been the best father because he set his standards to high and always expected the most from people. He felt he had a certain reputation to always uphold; this led to him not living the most moral life.