Rough Draft Essay 4 "Should Toshio and Kiyoshi be responsible for their family's debt?"

     I look at my own daughter who is seven months old and try to imagine telling her that when she turns 16 she will have to get a job so she can help pay our house off. Worse yet, so she can pay for my car which I won't let her drive. That still doesn't compare to the circumstances that surrounded Kyodhi and Toshio in the story "All I Asking For Is My body" by Milton Murayama. Those poor boys were forced to pay off their grandfather's debt through a distorted version of filial piety that lets the parents actually indenture their children and grandchildren like slaves. Its one thing to help your family, but its a whole other story to expect your children and their children to pay off your debts. Kyoshi and Toshio'd parents should be ashamed for forcing their children to work off their grandfather's debt, and even though they try to use the word "honor" to describe why they must pay, the parents should wake up and take a hard look around them and the culture that they are supporting and perpetuating.

    I realize that the Japanese culture at that time was very rigid and inclusive. Honor, could be rooted in the traditions of that culture, but on the islands there was not as rigid and sophisticated a society. Even though there were seperate races on the island they were not seperated by national boundaries or dialects. As the generations unfold on the island, it seems they will not only drift farther from the traditions of their original countries but also the values that were taught by there parents and grandparents. Effectivley, Toshio understood very well that he was locked into a virtual slavery for the benefit of his grandfather. Societies like the English, French, and Dutch went through drastic changes when they colonized the North American Continent. Many traditions were lost including religious, in the form of the way they celebrate holidays and ceremonies, and governmental in the way the common people had more control of the decisions being made at the top levels of their states. Throughout the migration of civilations there is evidence of the mixing and mashing of traditions and values. The language of pidgin is a great example of the blending of languages, and how people will go through a natural transformation when isolated on an island together, and how they evolve together.

      Even after the debt was paid by Kyoshi's lucky rolls, I could see that there would probably be a state of shock. What? No more debt? what would the family do? How would they live out the rest of their lives? Kyoshi will see the world through the actions of the military, but will his parents wake up and get out of the sewage ditch they live in? Would the boys father still try to hang a guilt trip on them through filial control? It would be interesting to see how the boys and their parents react to their new debt free life. Maybe the grandfather will try to further his fortunes by asking the family for more, whats to stop him? After all if the generations remain loyal and honorable then of course they would grant their grandfather's wishes.

     Toshio came off ten times more rebellious than Kyoshi. While you knew that Kyoshi was often deep in thought about his surroundings, Toshio would shout stuff like "If we were in Japan, you'd probably sell the girls into prostitution to pay up grandfather's debt."(48) and the line that namesakes the book "Shit, All I asking for is my body, I doan wanna die on the plantation like these other dum dodos."(48) These statements show the anger and frustration at the parents for forcing their children to pay debts not accrued by them. Incredibly, they kept working everyday, using up their youth, and lives to eke out what little they can to survive while they have this 6000$ debt  hanging over them.

    I think the question for this essay should ask "Why would Toshio and Kyoshi ever want to be responsible for their families debt?" That would be the more challenging question to answer. There is no honor, tradition, or pride in breaking your back in a cane field all day only to come home to a sewage ditch, sleep in your filthy clothes, all to pay someone elses debt you hardly know. I can't imagine putting that life on someone I knew or even hated. That sounds like hell to me. Not the work, but the goal of repaying a debt you cannot afford to someone you hardly know, and through the process of doing that you've blown 20 years of your life. When I look at my child that is the last thing I want for her. The answer to this essay question is NO.
    

"All I Asking For Is My Body" Part 3

I took the quote "Shit too was organized according to the plantation pyramid."

     It took awhile for this book to get going for me. I guess I liked the global aspects of it rather than the little dramas occurring between the gradeschoolers. The ending wrapped up very nicely and was more fulfilling than I expected. Amazing, that he was able to win all that money, probably because he learned the math in school, in such a short time, while he just as well could have been stuck on the plantation for the rest of his life working the fields living in a sewage pile. It is funny to me that he sends the 6000$ back to his brother who doesn't believe the family should be paying their grandfather anyway, and now with the war going on they have an exceptional oppurtunity to completely forget about it.

     For some reason the analogy of the shit pyramid caught my attention. It shows how Kyoshi's thoughts were organized and how, like his brother he is able to realize that the shit trickles down hill as the saying goes. The plantation boss on the top and his brethren in filipino camp at the bottom. Its amazing how people thought they had to live in those conditions and under that amount of oppression, and its hard to believe that this was happening in a part of America, even though Hawaii didn't officially become the 50th state until 1959.
Kyoshi was lucky perhaps that a war had started and that he was able to go. I think we all would rather die fighting than live a life at the bottom of a pyramid of crap.

"All I Asking For Is My Body 2"

Why does Kiyoshi believe Obaban is a substitute for his mom?

    Kiyoshi says that Obaban is the "logical" substitute for his mom. "She was old and lived a full life" Kiyoshi states. Obaban was Kiyoshi's grandmother. It was believed that a healthy family was one that died chronologically. I believe this to. I wouldn't want to see my kids go before me. Obaban's stroke/death, supposedly would allow Kiyoshi's mom to live. I think it made sense to everyone that believed in the traditions that Obaban should die before Kiyoshi.
    This story, in my opinion, is so choppy at this point I have a hard time following the plot while I'm trying to remember who is related to who, and how. I constantly have to filter all the wording in my head, but I feel like it is really good practice because all authors are different and will create their stories in their own ways. I will have to read the rest of this book because I have to know how it ends. What happens to Kiyoshi?

Chapter 9 Balancing Parallel Ideas

   In Chapter 9 of "Rules for Writers" by Diana Hacker, we learn about making items within a sentence parallel. Using the correct verb at the right time can create the proper balance within a sentence. I think this not only helps to improve grammar, but also helps the writer get the right "flow" to a story or description. Diana Hacker states that a sentence is awkward when it violates the reader's expectations. Repeating function words to clarify parallels will help your sentence structure.
   I use parallels in descriptive and comparison type sentences often. When I'm describing how three things are the same and have to name name that description using one adjective, I need to make sure the sentence flows right so the reader can absorb the material without having to reread the sentences. An example would be "I know that the Arctic waters are frigid because seals, sea walruses, and sea lions all have a thick layer of blubber and they all have fur." The sentence uses the parallel of grouping "all" the animals to further support what I know about all of them.

"All I Asking For Is My Body"

     I didn't feel sorry for Makot. I'm guessing his mother was a prostitute. Maybe his father or mother just gave him money so he could get out of the house and not be as exposed to the situations as he might have been if he just stayed there. He was for sure ashamed, that is why he pushed his mother back into the house when his friend came over. I think Makot will grow up a lot different than the other kids in his area. He may either follow his parents lead and not care about what people think as long as he can make a buck, or he might go the other direction and become angry and resentful at the situation. I don't feel sorry for him because I think in some ways he is more learned because of his childhood experiences. It will be his choice on which direction to take from here. At the end of the story it sounded like he has run out of kids to try to befriend. While he may have to live with his situation, there are plenty of stories of children who come out of places like that strong and productive to society. Children in the neighborhood who are not exposed to such things yet may learn them the hard way. The only thing that really scares me is that Makot is interested in buying a rifle, which may lead to more trouble making. It doesn't sound like he needs it for self defense, but he'll probably use it as a more powerful slingshot to kill more than birds.

The Effects of Colonization on the Native Americans

    When europeans began settling the eastern portion of the United States in the 16th and 17th century, the majority of them were running away from an oppressive government that did not tolerate their religion or beliefs. The native americans, at first, treated these new settlers like allies. They traded, ate together sometimes, learned each other's language and in some cases even fought together side by side against common enemies. Unfortunately, over time, there were those who held power and could sway the masses that believed that the United States would, and should belong to an Anglo-Saxon majority, knowing full well the terrible effects that would have on the native people of this land. This was Manifest Destiny.
    There are many reasons that people betray other people. The colonization occurred quickly. More and more settlers appeared from all over europe once the word got out how beautiul, how rich and how much of the land there was to explore and claim. The wealthy and the powerful cut up huge chunks of land to take for themselves despite there being an entire race and culture of people already living on that land for possibly thousands of years. the betrayal came in the form of force. Native americans who generally lived humbly and happily were welcoming of the white man. They welcomed trade and technology. The white man saw the natural resources and an uncivilized people who could be duped and forced to move away from the precious forests and clean, warm lakes and rivers. In the end it was the white man who, through greed and racism lay claim to the whole North American continent, promising to the native americans that i they just move here or there then they would not be disturbed. Over and over again they were forced to move and lie after lie was told. Some native americans fought hopelessly to stop it, but it soon became apparent that the white man would not stop and didn't care about the native americans in any respect.
    About 350 years of living like a second class citizen is what Thomas and Victor from the story "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix Arizona" by Sherman Alexi, have had as a history for their people. Two men who are very different, but come from the same blood, and the same generations of a devalued people. If the Chinese were to suddenly decide that they were going to settle the united states and move everyone that wasn't chinese to the coldest regions of Montana, or the hottest regions of New Mexico, and they had laser guns, disease warfare, and mechanized robots that could attack us if we refused, that still wouldn't be as harsh as what happened to the native americans because we have all the comforts that we have to make that journey at least for awhile.
    It seemed like Victor, who was by far more emotionally intense about his people and the way they had to live, would have fought against Manifest Destiny and the genocides that occurred during that time. Thomas seems like he would have let it happen eeing the movie "Smoke Signals", and the way the reservations are portrayed is a grim reminder of how the white man has abused an entire race. Through all these years of this life I wonder why we haven't assimilated with them. Are they keeping their cultures alive by staying segregated? or is the white man still there putting up a fence? It may be many factors like preservation, racism, shame.
    In the future will there still be seperate tribes? say in 1000 years? I enjoy speculating about the time when we are basically all one race and one color. Then no matter what we were doing we couldn't use those as reasons for pushing a people out of their land. We couldn't use Hitler's theory of genetic superiority. We wouldn't kill our brothers and sisters because of their color. We probably won't have anywhere left to colonize except another planet, where the natives may chew us up and spit us out if they found out about our history of colonization and what effects it has had on our own people.

“This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” Sherman Alexie

      I chose the quote "Victor, I'm sorry about your father," Thomas said. "How did you know about it?" Victor asked. "I heard it on the wind. I heard it from the birds. I felt it in the sunlight. Also your mother was just in here crying".

      Its not really a singular quote but a section of the writing that really seemed to bring a lot of things down to earth. I think about my family and my reality. My father and I are also not very close, we see each other a few times a year, and I'm the only one that ever calls or caontacts him. If he were to die though, I would be with my family in grievance while I remembered all the good and bad things my father did. This brings to light a cultural difference to me. In one of the lines of the story Victor describes the reservation as a place of "empty bottles and broken dreams". That really cuts into the comfort I feel in my own life. I cannot help but feel sympathetic for Victor and Thomas when I think of how lucky I've been in my life.
    The story seems to outweigh the movie, in my opinion, in respect to the gritty, poor, destitute feeling of the reservation, while the depth that the story goes into about Thomas was really interesting to read. I enjoy reading about characters that seem to be on the borderline of crazy and psychic. Thomas seems to have no "filter" and even though his environment can be hostile towards that, he keeps going and believing in himself.
    I enjoyed the movie for its lighthearted moments and the actors were pretty good. I enjoyed the reading for its close proximity to the realities and intensity of the reservation life.