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.
Genevieve Zilmer English Blog
Monday, March 30, 2015
Sunday, March 1, 2015
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.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
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.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
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.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
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.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
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.
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