Last blog post - recommendation for book

I recommend 'The Present' written by Spencer Johnson. Students should study and need motivation to study. In that point, this book helped me during my adolescent period. When I was tired of studying or had a lack of motivation to study, this book reminded me of learning importance. Also, it not only encourages students to study, but it also advise them to be dilligence.

As the book title suggests, it can be two meaning. 'The Present' can mean a gift that you receive from somebody. However, 'The Present' also means 'right now.' It is between the past and the future. Therefore, the book put importance on the time, especially now. Through a person's story, this book emphasises on the valuable time.

I think this book will not be a burden to students because it contains short story which is just about 100 pages long with a big text size. Additionally, it teaches students a life lesson about managing the time.

After I read the Emerging Scholar's website, I feel the students need some motivation to study and learn how to manage the valuable time. I believe that 'The Present' will help them to go to college and get a degree.

Mulan and Ailin

I don't agree with this idea because were also brave and independent. I cannot understand why some people think Mulan has been overly westernized. I don't see the point of meaning westernized. Is this because Mulan fought against men or fought against custom ? Or does it mean Mulan did not want to marry a man whom she do not know? In my opinion, if people think Mulan has been overly westernized, they do not know eastern culutre well. They didn't even research the culture and history. There were queens in Chinese history. Sometimes Chinese women governed over the men.
I think Disney viewers will be find with Ailin. Even though Ailin lived in the different culture, people know what is going on globally. They know their culture is not only one, but they know that there are many different cultures all over the world. Additionally, Ailin also pursue the freedom from old Cihnese culture which is foot binding. The westerners also fought against their freedom, so I think they can understand or have even sympathy for Ailin.
I think that Ailin is more representative of Chinese culture because Ailin showed more old Chinses custom which western people do not know, and the old custom is foot binding. Foot binding is only old custom of China. However, the readers can see Chinese culture in Mulan is marriage. The women's marriage brings honor to their family. I learned that this marriage meaning is similar to western culture in the past. The wester women also married in order to bring honor to their family.
Marriage matter is also important to Chinese culture, but the foot binding is the only custom that Chinese culture has. This is the reason why I think Ailin is more representative of Chinese culture.

[Black and White] Answer of number 17 question.

I think Eddie's wealth made his crime lighter than Marcus's one. Eddie could hire a lawyer who could defend him from his crime with money. In contrast, Marcus's family didn't have money, so Marcus only got a local lawyear who worked for the government.

Eddie's lawyer who is paid is more responsible to defend his client than Marcus's lawyer who worekd for the government.

The reason is because the lawyers who work for clients are more affected by their result whether they win the case or not, but the other lawyers who work for the government are safe even though they lose their trial.

Article.

It is interesting to know the differences between children literature and adult literature. There should be differences, but after reading this article, I can get a more idea about it.

This research compared three types of writing. Those are children literature, adult literature, and newspaper article.

I like children literature because the vocabulary which they use is interesting. They write about children and about children's concerns.

Fiction which is for children deals with bravery and fear in its topic. I think this is because children is our hope and future. I believe that's why writer in children's book writes more about bravery and fear in their book. I can see this perspective in Harry Potter that conveys bravery to fight against vice and fear for losing their hope. On the other hand, fiction which is for adult describes topic of intimacy and sexuality. Adults are more interested in family and society. They know that they should be close with each other and live together.

It is interesting to read this article and getting to know about more detail in the differences between writings.

When it comes to fairy tales

I vividly remember Cinderella. This fairy tale target girls because it is about a poor girl who was bullied by her stepmother and married the most handsome prince. Prince rescued Cinderella from her stepmother and two ugly stepsisters. This is one reason why I remember Cinderella.

Another reason why I remember Cinderella is because there are a number of dramas that get their motives from the Cinderella story. Whenever one of the movie or drama shows, it reminds me of Cinderella. Many girls dream that one day the most handsome and competent prince will rescue them from their situation. For example, Julia Roberts, who acts as Vivian Ward, in ‘Pretty Woman,’ was a prostitute. However, she met Richard Gere, who acts as Edward Lewis. He was a really rich man. At the end of the movie, they fell in love and Julia Roberts was rescued from her prostitute situation.

A Single Shard

I agree with the article by Linda Sue Park because I also felt same feeling whenever I tried to find a book and read. Since hefty book titles are sold out well with celebrity authors name on it, some authors do not care about how they write. They just describe the normal things which are nothing special.

In this sense, I think Copper Sun is a really great book. This book has a theme of slavery and friendship. This can help adolescents to rethink about their history and life again because slavery was their own history and friendship is what adolescents are experiencing in school. Furthermore, the title of the book has an implication. The surface meaning of Copper Sun is about the sunset and sunrise. However, if you relate it to Amari’s life, the Copper Sun can have a different meaning.

On the other hand, Twilight is a really famous book, but I cannot find important meaning in the story. I think that is because it deals with the fantasy world and love story. There is vampire and wolf. Edward, a vampire, fell in love with Bella, a human. They tried to overcome the differences in their species. I feel like that there are some lessons you can learn, but I am sure most of the story in this book is unrealistic. You cannot learn something valuable after reading this. There is no vampire and no wolf-man in this world. We do not have a chance to see their fighting and falling in love with a human. Twilight is just for fun. I like it, but I cannot get real lessons about life. This book only made me think of the fantasy world.

Fresh Gril

Fresh Girl

I can see the multi cultural theme in this book because there are apparent different ethnicities.
It was another book about cultural differences.

The main character, Mardi, is an immigrant American from Haiti. She is just 12 years old, but I still knew someone in her class would bully her because she is from Haiti. Isaac, who is also called Ike, always teases her and makes fun of her. I am not sure whether Ike is from Haiti or not. Elementary students are not mature. They do not know how to accept differences, especially when appearances are totally different from theirs. Differences, such as skin color, and language, caused her to be treated as nothing or somewhat weird. This problem still exists today.

This book not only deals with multi-cultural issues, but the book also deals with the sexual violence. Mardi acted very strangely in the book. She sometimes cut herself in bathtub. She was so concerned about what mother and Serina said about sexual things. At the end of the book, it is discovered that she was raped. This happened when her family was escaping from Haiti because of her uncle, Perin. She was very very young when she was raped. She did not know about sexual acts much.

Finally she told about everything that happened to her, and that was the beginning of how Mardi overcame the hardship.

This book also brings to mind a political issue today. I heard still now Haiti is not so stable as a country, and there was an earthquake which killed thousands of people. This book made me think of that. If their government was well-organized, the nation in Haiti will get over the disaster much easier.

Research Paper Proposal

Russell Sprouts

You will select an issue in multi-ethnic literature that appeals to you and research the topic. You will write a paper of at least 700 words, discussing the topic.

This is story about Russell. Even though it finished when Russell is just elementary students, this book shows a process of child to be an adult. How children improved their thinking.
It is divided 6 stories about Russell.

I found out growth of every child in the world is same. The way how childrend think toward the world is depended on their parents.

So I want to give a topic that how different ethnic family teach their children. Is there differences method of teaching in different ethnic family???

Esperanza Rising

Esperanza Rising was easy to read because the text size was big compared to other literature books. I can know that Esperanza Rising was translated or written by a Spanish speaking author because there are some of Spanish words in the sentences.

I was really sad when I read about the death of Esperanza’s father on Esperanza’s birthday. The death of Esperanza’s father must be a trick of her greedy uncle, Tio Louis. I was so proud of Esperanza and her mother for deciding not to marry Tio Louis just to get money and continue living in a luxury life. Esperanza and her mother chose to live together even though they do not have enough money and do not have a luxury life.

I do not like the ending line. I wished the happy ending was longer. Esperanza and her mother all struggle so hard and spent almost their time for working hard and overcoming the fatal illness. It was really long line. Ryan described their hardships for about 250 pages. However, the happy ending was only 30 to 50 pages. I feel so bad about Ryan finishing the end so quickly with a simple words, not describing how happy they are and how happily they lived from that time. I was so sad while reading the book, the 30 pages happy ending could not change my sad feeling to happy so suddenly.

Esperanza Rising reminds me of Mexico’s revolt and immigrant situation in United States. I heard about the revolt of Mexico in world history with another countries revolt because of politician’s corruption, famine, or confusing economy. As far as immigration is concerned, I now know that there are lots of immigrants in United States from Mexico. They were treated very badly and received low wages, even though they worked the same number of hours, and they had a poor reside system. Although it is fiction, I think that mistreatment of immigrant from Mexico might happen and can happen even now for any immigrant in America.

Three Book Review

Copper Sun is worth teaching in class because it deals with the matter of skin consciousness and slavery which is a main problem in history and now as well. This book will help students understand the history of slavery better through fiction. Additionally, it will let students see the different aspects of slavery through the views of Amari and Polly.

Harry Potter is widely popular book all over the world. Even though it is fantasy fiction, it shows deep friendships. Harry, Hermione, and Ron develop their friendship fighting against Voldemort, the worst vice in wizard world. They help each other when they are in trouble, which develops their relationship better. Although, in reality, we do not experience the same hardships as Harry, this book can be an example for students to be more cooperative with each other.

Twilight is another famous book in the world. I do not think this book is of much value to use in class. First of all, Twilight is just a love story. It mostly shows the feelings of Bella towards Edward. I do not want my students to absorb too much in romance because I want my students to focus on their studies. This book is not a normal love story but a love story about a vampire, which does not apply in real life.

Review for Copper Sun

When I began to read the book, I did not understand why the author entitled it Copper Sun. However, upon further reflection about the meaning of the words Copper Sun, I began to understand. One fellow student said that is because sun does not always look the same color. Copper sun implies that the sun is viewed during a certain time of day such as sunrise or sunset. I agreed with this idea. Symbolically, sunset represents the hardest or lowest time in life. Amari experienced the hardest moment when she was captured by American slave traders and treated not as a human but as property or an animal. As far as sunrise is concerned, sunrise is a good moment as there is light in the sky. When Amari and Polly reached the St. Augustine, they experience a time which for them was equivalent to sunrise. Amari and Polly could see some hope in the new land.
On the other hand, sunset could be viewed in an opposite way. Sunset brings the promise of rest at the end of the day. Draper brings this idea into the book towards its conclusion. She writes, “Amari glanced toward the west and watched the sun set. It glowed a bright metallic copper- the same sun that set each evening upon her homeland. She knew that she had found a home once more” (pp 302). In this context, sunset is a very positive idea. For Amari, sunset corresponds to her freedom when she gets a new life and is able to relax. Similarly, Draper may portray sunrise as a beginning of Amari’s hardships. Amari was captured in the morning. Her journey of servitude began with the rising of the sun. In this sense, sunrise is not a hopeful symbol. It only signifies a beginning.
When I began to read, I did not know very much about the slave trade. Through the first part of the book, I felt so sorry for Africans being betrayed by people whom they welcomed. It was a horrible. When Besa said that there are some people whom they have not seen coming, I hoped Besa would not welcome them and that he would fight against them. However, the Africans welcome the new people, and they were betrayed and sold as slaves.
The process of being shipped in the boat was terrible. It is unthinkable that humans mistreat their fellow beings in that way. Draper described well how they treated slaves—not as humans but as animals (pp 17). After they were shipped in a boat, Amari could meet Afi who had already been sold twice. I really could not understand when Afi told Amari that she had a hope to live and should live for the future. I could see foreshadowing that Amari would someday be truly free.
This book contains some religious points, but I could not match it with the bible. This story bears much similarity to the biblical story of Moses and the Egyptian Captivity. There is one large discrepancy. Fort Mose was not the perfect place like Canaan. Furthermore, there is not a leader akin to Moses nor is there an Israelite people which he leads. The slavery which Amari and Polly experienced is the same as that which the Israeli people felt at the hand of Pharaoh. As the book said, Polly continues to pray to the God not to be captured. The fact that they prayed to God is the same as Moses praying to God while escaping from Egypt.
At the end of the book, Draper says that the content of the book is almost true. She said that she used a lot of materials regarding to the slavery. It seems to me that the first half of the book which described slavery as harsh is real but the other half detailing Amari’s escape is unrealistic. Draper probably wrote it to please her target audience of adolescents so they will not be disappointed. She made the ending unrealistically happy. I do not complain. I enjoyed walking away from the book with a smile on my face regardless of the doubts in my head.

new post!

happy new year !