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.

Chapter 5 Principles of Document Design Summary

     Chapter 5 in Diana Hacker's "Rules For Writers" lays out the different forms of document design. Selecting your heading, footer, and font size are three major elements that form your appearance of your documents. Different types of headings like those ending with ing, noun, question, and imperative sentences are described. Using lists to help readers collect information quicker is an effective method. Lists need to be introdused with an independent clause followed by a colon. Adding different types of visuals to your documentaion can help a lot. For example, at my work we write instructions for manufacturing that include pictures that accurately depict the operation being performed, where som paragraphs could not give an operator the same level of detail. Graphs, tables, maps, and charts are shown in the next section. Displaying data accurately is very important as well as displaying it in a method that is chewable for a meeting atmosphere or if its posted in an email it should be bulleted for quick bites of info, with links to the details if needed by the recipient.

"How Do We Forgive Our Fathers?" from "Smoke Signals"

     When I watched the scene in "Smoke Signals" by Chris Eyre and Sherman Alexie where there seems to be an apex of emotions and thought while the poem "How Do We Forgive Our Fathers" is narrated, I felt chills on my arms. I looked up the transcript of the poem and found that the author was Dick Lourie, here it is.
How do we forgive our Fathers?
Maybe in a dream
Do we forgive our Fathers for leaving us too often or forever
when we were little?
Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage
or making us nervous
because there never seemed to be any rage there at all.
Do we forgive our Fathers for marrying or not marrying our Mothers?
For Divorcing or not divorcing our Mothers?
And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness?
Shall we forgive them for pushing or leaning
for shutting doors
for speaking through walls
or never speaking
or never being silent?
Do we forgive our Fathers in our age or in theirs
or their deaths
saying it to them or not saying it?
If we forgive our Fathers what is left?

     The movie at that point, showing Victor on the bridge yelling out was really intense to put it mildly. We can't know all the harbored pain and resentment that Victor had. It was really interesting how Victor and Thomas were able to stay together so long when they seemed so opposite. It was the tragedy and perhaps the hope that kept them together. This poem speaks volumes for both of them. The line that asks "Do we forgive our Fathers in our age or in theirs or their deaths saying it to them or not saying it? If we forgive our Fathers what is left?"

     What is left? Its us. The focus can now be shifted away from that which haunts, or hurts our souls. There are so many people out there who are "Fatherless" either never knowing them or not wanting to know them. This movie would be great for those folks, in my opinion.

     On another level, I was thinking that "Our Fathers" could mean our forefathers, our ancestors. What kind of world have they left us? What kind of "Fathers" will we be? and if we are not able to leave this planet in a kind state, will we be forgiven?

  

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers, chapter 48

In Chapter 48 of Diana Hacker's "Rules for Writers"we learn about the various forms arguments we can present. Diana breaks the different types of arguments into Illogical fallacies such as stereotypes, generalizations, false analogy, post-hoc fallacies, making assumptions, and the omission of the other side of the story, or the lack of weighed options, untrue premise, unfair emotional appeals, and misleading quotations. All of these types of falsehoods can be countered by using the correct evidence or data in our writing when arguing our points. Emotions are harder to gauge but Diana shows a good example of the type of emotional plea that we shouldn't use like justifying something based on the fact that any attempt to argue against it comes from some type of person or group that the writer doesn't like, and even stereotypes possibly.

For me, I personally wish we could make stricter laws against our politicians that we pay for with our tax money. It being close to voting time, I have become dulled to the vagrant slandering and pitiful attempts to persuade me to vote based on one candidates negative views about the other. I know that there are a lot of different groups that use their muscle in the advertising, but any commercial that pops up and ends with "...And I approve this message" should be contested by an independent third party to verify all claims and that the commercial entails the details of both side of the story just like the FDA regulates our drug companies by forcing their commercials to include communication about the negative side effects and possible unsavory outcomes posed by the use of the drugs being sold.

Quote from "Obituary" Lois-Ann Yamanaka

"I think about dying every night. Sometimes I want to die at strange moments in the day. Sometimes every day. My mother says its all those books I read about concentration camps. The arsenic in the heart that I tell her about and the gas chambers with the fingernail scratches on the walls and ceilings." from  "Obituary" by Lois-Ann Yamanaka.

    I chose this quote to write about because I can recall a stage in my childhood when I was fascinated with horror stories and real life gorey massacres and the holocaust. I was more interested in these as historical facts. Lovey seemed to take death as just another happenstance of life. Her mom points out her attitude of desensitization possibly coming from her choice of literature. I found that I had a new appreciation and understanding for life, looking at it like a fleeting moment that one should enjoy as much as you can before it disappears.
    The quote was taken out of the part of the story where Lovey is asked to write her obituary as part of an english or journalism project. Most of the story is directed at Lovey's emotions stemming from people teasing her and bullying, as well as, being ashamed of her culture.
    What I enjoyed about this story was that I was looking for some kind of Crux, or axis that hooked everything together and I didn't find it at first, it seemed like a mish-mash od thoughts and stories all crammed in a few pages. When I read it a second time I read it fast, without stopping to analyze every nook and cranny as I usually do. What a difference, I felt like I was in her shoes, in her head and scattering the same emotions and clips of sentences about. It fekt like when I was in Junior high and I felt like the little bit of understanding that I had was able to make sense of the world in brief fragments of my life.
    The quote I chose also kinda set me back abit because with how she was describing herself I wasn't able to picture her reading books about the holocaust, or much of anything actually. This was a good excercise in making assumptions of how we hear different versions of our language and of the characters that speak them.Great story! Try reading it without stopping.

Extra Credit: Optional Writing Topic Summary

    "Close Reading a Text and Avoiding Pitfalls" by Purdue Owl focuses on techniques for capturing all the themes and meanings of your paper or essay summaries. This can help you organize your writing so there is less time wasted backtracking through paragraphs to keep the main points of your work focused and work collectively.
    Actively highlighting as well as writing marginal notes can help you when you are searching through your work briefly for a subject. It will also show you how your work flows through paragraphs and chapters.
Keeping a notebook to freewrite helps expand your ideas as well as close loose ends or answer the unanswered questions from your marginal notes. Step back from the paper and see if you can place a thesis statement on it, understanding all the nuances that the author has generated in the essay or novel.
   In the "Avoiding Pitfalls" section of this writing we see the consequences of four actions that writers typically come across when focusing too much on just the plot, trying to answer a question that the student thinks the teacher wants answered, assuming that it isn't necessary to focus on the entire picture created by the author but that any piece of the fiction is relevant, and lastly padding your work with extra words to try to meet a word requirement for the assignment. These four things end up hurting the writer more than helping them.
   I need to work on these Ideas more in my writing. I always think I can retain everything I'm reading, but the longer the story the more there is to try and retain. When an author drives us through different scenarios of fiction it is really hard to remember all different things an author is trying to send out. I have done better with using my words sparingly and not "Pad" my work with unnecessary devices.

Rules For Writers Chapter 47 Summary

     Diana Hacker explains the mechanics of reasonable arguments in chapter 47 of "Rules or Writers".
The goal of constructing reasonable arguments is to bring the readers closer to the author's frame of mind. The reasonable argument presents a viewpoint and then supports that viewpoint by asking reasonable questions and presenting facts or data to support the author's argument. The author should focus on the argument from different points of view by adding elements of social and scientific reasoning to the subject.
     It is suggested that the author views the argument from the point of view of many different types of people in the audience such as doctors, lawyers, social workers etc. look at the data, does it prove the argument through answering questions through different areas of expertise? Does it seperate the subject from a path that is still questioned? Or does it leave room for many more questions. Reviewing the answers and delegating them in such a way as to capture all the reasonable minds is imperative for supporting your subject. This can be done by using illustrations or citing expert opinions.
    It is responsible of the author to bring into the argument all the opposition if they can as opposed to alienating readers. Using the right wording or symbols can be powerful in connecting with everyone that will be reading your argument.
    For some reason when I write my essays  first draft I'm not considerate of the audience. When I go back and reflect on the papers I write I spend a lot more time on what evryone will think about my subject, how it is supported and how I can involve everyone in looking at the subject through my eyes.

Sherman Alexie author of “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”

   Comic books aren’t the only things that I have in common with Sherman Alexie. Our childhoods are not the only differences Sherman and I have either. It may be that I can relate to his spirit of rebelliousness and his will to do good things in life that makes me want to compare my life to his, as I’m sure we all tend to do with those we are fond of. I’m not comparing Sherman and I in a way that is competitive but in a way that I can explore how our differences and similarities help us grow into the humans we have become today.                
Sherman was born and raised on an Indian reservation in Spokane Washington and came from what he considered a “Middle Class” family where his folks were able to raise him and his family on minimum wage jobs and government surplus foods. I was born in Santa Rosa to what I guess I considered middle class wage earning parents (A Secretary and a Fisherman), and brought up fairly privileged I guess. I never really wanted for anything that was unreasonable like a Ferrari when I was 16. Sherman mentions that “A smart Indian is a dangerous person widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and Non Indians” so one can imagine the things that went on in school and how hard it must have been for him to succeed through it all. I was also nerdy but not as smart, often ridiculed, but I never felt dangerous in making anyone else look bad. I felt kinda like an outcast in school sometimes because my pops often had me working with him on his fishing boat so all the clothes I got were from ACE hardware. I can relate with some of the feelings that Sherman goes through in school, but for totally different reasons.                                                                                                                       
     I ended up graduating high school, and finishing some college. I’ve been through a few manufacturing jobs and have been through an apprenticeship program when all this time I haven’t really pursued anything as my lifetime career. Sherman on the other hand was voraciously reading and writing since he was three years old. He says in his story that if he weren’t an Indian he would have been considered a prodigy, but since he was an Indian, he is just considered an oddity among his folks. He seemed destined to be involved in the literary world even though he also points out that he can’t believe he became a writer, he says he should have been a pediatrician.  I do good through the charities I support and activities that give back to our community like helping in the Bodega Beach cleaning days. Sherman does good for all his people by teaching kids as a guest teacher and writing interesting stories like “Superman and Me’ that help us think about the cultures and people the main stream may not always shine a light on. Sherman is out there trying to save his people’s lives by helping them to become smarter, and not letting them slip into the forgetful, uneducated stereotypes that are associated with his people.                                                                                                                   Our futures may be as different as our pasts. When I read Sherman’s story I feel like I want to hang out and talk with the guy for awhile about what its going to be like by the end of this century, I’m sure he could enlighten me 10 fold. I don't feel destined to become anything special, and I don't relate specifically to one race or type of people. I like to read about someone who rebelled and didn'tstand with the status quo. I like to hear about the person who went against the odds and won. Sherman's tales are the rare ones that are worth storytelling. In one way his story makes me feel very average, but in another sense I ask myself "Is average O.K. for me or should I be bringing myself to the next level?" I believe that is Sherman Alexie's goal all along.



Note: I lost the formatting on this when it publishes. I'll try to re post when I get it fixed. The preview looks different than what I'm writing now.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers chapter 4

Building Effective Paragraphs

     In the fourth chapter of "Rules for Writers" by Diana Hacker we receive coaching on how to fill our paragraphs with more powerful matter.

     Diana describes how we should keep our focus on the point of each paragraph, which can be hard sometimes if we have a lot of information we are trying to impart on our audience. She then moves on to our topic sentence. Topic sentences can be placed anywhere in the paragraph, and are sometimes hard to spot. It is a good practice to underline the topic sentences when you spot them. This certainly helps when writing summaries.
     The next section describes the different methods of developement which include: Example and illustration, narration, description, process, comparison and contrast, analogy, cause and effect, classification and division, and definition. These patterns of developement can be mixed and matched throughout an essay to give it flavor and effectiveness.
     Repeating key words to keep focus of the main idea, using parallel structures in sentences to underscore themes, and maintaining consistency of the opinion or subject of the paragraph helps the audience better chew the incoming information.
     Next is providing transitions. I have to say that when I've got all the nuts and bolts of a first draft completed and I'm tuning up the final draft I love to find the perfect segways to connect all the pieces together so it becomes smooth to read (If that is my intent). When you find that right chain of words to lay into your paper you know when it feels right. Its is a really important effect to have seams or remain seamless within your writing.
     Lastly Diana describes when to cut off your paragraph and start a new one. When I'm writing my first draft I run into ths a lot, where I'm trying to pour out information for three paragraphs into one long untidy half page.
     Knowing these different descriptions of paragraphs and learning how to come up with some smooth or comical transitions is critical on our adventure to pick up all the tools we need to complete our essays.

"Shooting Dad"

       Sarah Vowell's "Shooting Dad" was a kind of lighthearted tale about how the daughter of a gunsmith comes to know herself a bit better while finding some common ground with her pops. I find that most reporters and media figures tend to lean left politically, as was definiteley the case in this story. I thought it was awesome that Sarah mentioned reading Ginsberg novels while her dad would be downstairs making gun barrels. I could really picture their house in Montana while listening to this lecture. What I really enjoyed about this story was that there seemed to be such a lightness to their talk of death. It seemed surreal, and genuine at the same time that Sarah's father would have his ashes blown out of a cannon he made. What a tale. What a scene. Sarah who was the obvious rebel in the family discovers that she is just like her pops. She suddenly realizes that she likes her little toys as much as he does, and that they are both artists and slightly rogueish.The music in the background seemed to amplify the setting, along with Sarah's voice which seemed casual and submissive, but straight forward and a little playful to.
      I asked myself after listening to this, what kind of memorable ritual will I have when my dad passes?
we only see each other a couple times a year. He is a retired commercial fisherman living in Bodega Bay. It was a long time before I discovered how much I was like him, which makes me think of my rebellious years and in thinking about those times I reflect back on Sarah's story and remember my own overwhelming epiphany- that I need to be near or in the ocean my whole life. It seems like I'm drawn to it sometimes more than others.  Even later, when asking about my dads parents and grandparents I came to find out that his father captained a steamboat in Alaska and his grandfather was a fisherman as well. Most of my rebellious years I didn't want to be anything like my parents, not that I'm a fisherman now, but it was strange how once I realized why that part of me was the way I was I was totally accepting of it, and in that way It seems that Sarah's story was similar probably to the way a lot of people probably feel once their rebellious years are over and they come to understand where and who they come from.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers Chapter 3

      Chapter 3 In "Rules for Writers" by Diana Hacker takes us into the details of revising and cosmetically editing our essays. When I say "Cosmetically" I mean the details of spelling, proper grammar, and sentence structure. The nuts and bolts of your essay are there, now you need to step back to the curb and see how it looks through the eyes of the buyer (I watched too many real estate shows).
      Diana starts with clarifying global revisions. There is a detailed checklist of global revisions that includes purpose and audience, focus, organization and paragraphing, content and point of view. Proofreading for mispellings and grammar errors is very important. When I read something that has mispellings and grammar issues it makes it difficult to stay focused on the writer's message, like when your talking with someone and there is a booger hanging out of their nose. Proofreading and making the necessary changes can make a huge difference to the audience. It makes the difference between a rough draft and your final essay.
      Section 3b challenges us to make our paragraphs and sentences more streamlined, and crisper. The importance of peer review is discussed here as well. In this case the reviewers are only asked to specifically review the writers global changes. The writer then took some reviewers suggestions and proceeded with clarifying some aspects of his essay as well as focusing on different areas that need more support. This is awesome. We use this in our class and it really helps.Its like you have a team of writers working on one paper. I always thought I needed to perform my work independently to bring out my own flavors but when you have a lot of critics you can get some oppurtunities to amplify your flavors you might not have thought of before.
     Proofreading, revising and peer reviews are the three hot topics I connect with in this chapter. I have and will continue to use all of the weapons to conquer my future essays. The peer reviews are the most fun with people you don't really know because you really get an araound the world set of viewpoints.

Coming Home Again by Chang-rae Lee

Wow "Coming Home Again" by Chang-rae Lee was a very intense essay. Cancer is one of those terrible things in life that we suddenly lose our loved ones to like car accidents or heart attacks. It does not pick a specific person based on any known traits except in obvious cases like smoking.

What’s the importance of food in this essay? 

The food in this essay, to me , represents the family life and the traditions that are lost through time. There are many families that take great care to preserve their recipes. Its like a wedding ring that has been passed from mother to daughter through generations. Chang's mother who had come from Korea had grown up in Korea and had probably been taught all the magics of cooking by her mother. Chang doesn't go into specifics about his sister, but it sounds like he was the one most interested in cooking, so he would be the one to take over the tradition to pass on to his family. The kitchen was the place where the family could learn and talk and be one with their customs. This was where the magic happened. I think the U.S. must be the place where the saying "Too many cooks in the kitchen came from" because everywhere else I've been cooking is a family affair.
Chang describes the importance of food further, "During the following days, it was always the cooking that started our conversations. She'd hold an inquest over the cold leftovers we ate at lunch, discussing each dish in terms of its balance of flavors or what might have been prepared differently....I wish I had paid more attention....After her death when my father and I were the only ones left in the house, drifting through the rooms like ghosts, I sometimes tried to make that meal for him....but nothing turned out quite right, not the color-not the smell."(P34).This shows not only how much the life of his mother was missed during their family time, but also how important it was for them to keep with their traditions as it pertains to keeping the memories of loved ones close. While reading this, I really had the sense that Chang's mother was using the cooking as a way to stay in his and his father's life after she was gone. It is a very sad story, but a very good essay the way Chang is able to move back and forth like you would with real memories, not a linear time scale but through different important actions that happen in life.

Writing Topic Summary Chapter 2

             Chapter 2 of "Rules for Writers"  by Diana Hacker covers how to begin Drafting your essay. It is important to gather your ideas and organize them before worrying about your sentence structure and choice of words. For Americans, we like to have a very clear thesis statement so our main point is understood right out of the gate, according to Ms. Hacker. Apparently, there are foreign countries who's writing of essays is more acceptable with the thesis being very subtly called into existence as the reader progresses. I liked the quote that Diana uses in this chapter from Joan Didion who says "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means". I never put it in those words but I tend to do that everytime I write.
             Figuring out your thesis statement maybe the most difficult. You need to grab the readers attention in a way that shows your intention and also your integrity. If I'm reading something, I want to believe that the author actually believes what they are writing. Once you have your thesis in your head, you can then work on your revisions of your thesis statement. Remember that drafting is just the age of discovery for your paper. You can go back and forth fine tuning your thesis statement as you go. I have sometimes begun writing with my thesis statement laid out and then in the process of writing found I couldn't support it enough with the body of my essay so I have to go back and maybe open up the scope of my statement or narrow it into a focus that I can support.
             The body of your draft is the Meat of the paper. You have given the reader your idea now tell them the reason, or describe the effects, or use your critical thinking to dissect your subject. This is really where I pay a lot of attaention to my audience. How do I want the reader to feel? Do I want them to discover something new? or do I focus on showing evidence for something that maybe questionable? There are many roads to take here and you can spend a lot of time just focusing on your supporting paragraghs.
            My favorite part of anything I have ever written is the End. It feels great when you can find that perfect balance in your last paragragh to leave the reader with a specific emotion or train of thought. I think this is what politicians study most when they are out stumping. What information or feeling do I want the reader to walk away with? Is it mystery that calls them to investigate? Is it a sense of closure that there shouldn't be anymore questions on the subject after they read my paper? You have many choices to play with here.
              I always use these guidelines for my papers. I spend a lot of time reading and re-reading my papers until I find that flow that causes and easy, chewable read for the audience. I like when there is almost a poetic aspect to the way words, paragraghs, and the thesis all work together in synergy. This chapter reaffirmed some things like using different ideas for hooking the reader.

1st Draft Essay Cloud Study

         In my life I’ve had some rare opportunities to hunt for pictures in the cloud formations, and last September while vacationing in Florida, I learned that it doesn’t require a lot of skill or knowledge, but it does require plenty of relaxation and something we often take for granted, time. There is much to be said for showing something for all the hard that you do as the weeks and months float by. It is difficult, however, to say describe in so many words those things you do that take up your time but produce othing except lovely memories and wonderful pictures.

       We are lucky in this world, some of us. We have the ability to reward ourselves with the fruits of our labor most of the time. You may not, at first glance, see a reason to view the clouds for pictures. It may be that you can close your eyes and create your own clouds or pictures. I admit that this was my take on cloud pictures for many years. I would look up sometimes and say to myself "Wow, that cloud kinda looks like an elephant". If I ever said that out loud with someone standing near me, there would usually be disagreement on what the clouds picture actually was. I often felt that it was helpless to argue because by the time the next sentence would roll out of your mouth the elephant had turned into an ostrich. So, most of my life I had much more important things to worry about than clouds.

       While I was planning my vacation I wasn't really thinking of clouds or anything else besides finding a nice beach to shrug off all the built up overtime I had put in at work the past year, all the bad drivers who came close to killing me, all the late nights I spent wondering how to pay for this or that, all the stresses of politics, economics, and everything else that might have caused my shoulders to tighten, or my teeth to grind or my head to scratch. All these things were what a good 3 week vacation were going to cure, I was hoping anyway.

       It was the second day of my vacation in South Beach, Florida when I walked out onto the sand and could see nothing except the great deep blue sky splitting the lower half of the world with the brilliant aquamarine ocean. Breaking up these were clouds in the sky and tourists and sand in the ocean. I didn't realize how beautiful it would be, really one of the most breathtaking moments I've had in my life. I had to take a picture immediately. I wasn't sure if the landscape was to blame for all the love I was feeling. I think it also had much to do with knowing that I wouldn't have to sit in traffic or stand in line for three weeks. Through all of this emotion I was feeling as I walked toward the water, I kept feeling the need to look up. I looked at all the sky, with hotel rooftops behind me and only the Atlantic's horizon in front of me. I plopped my towel down about 20 feet from the shore, laid back with my dark sunglasses on and began to focus on the clouds.

      Clouds are constantly shifting water vapors in the sky. They are whispy and light sometimes, and dark and heavy other times. Florida is interesting because you can have 5 different types of clouds in the same view. I started playing the old cloud/animal picture imaging using my imagination. I fell asleep in approximately 10 minutes, and slept right there for about an hour, woke up with a slight headache and medium sunburn that I knew would cause some peeling. Everytime I laid back and looked up at the clouds while I was on vacation at that beach those three weeks I would try different imaging like people I knew, or machines, or make up new things alltogether.

      All of this cloud studying had one very important aspect to it. It relaxed me to the point of restfulness I had been unable to attain for about a year. When I awoke there was no alarm clock or cell phone ringing, only the lapping of the waves and the light breezes tickling my nose. I highly recommend that you try your own cloud study, it doesn't take much skill.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers chapter 1 Summary

     While reading Chapter 1, "The Writing Process" in Diana Hacker's book "Rules For Writers", I'm reminded of looking at Google earth while still being in space and then zooming in on my target address. I mean that you can see all the components that make up the world, like the water, the clouds, and the land masses. This seems like the way you begin writing. You consider your subject, your audience, your evidence, your main Idea, your sources and your method of planning out the design of your paper. You then can zoom in to more detail and see the countries borders and the capital cities, along with islands and some different terrains. This is an analogy for Narrowing your subject to a topic, placing restrictions on your audience and focusing in on your purpose. This was for section 1A.
     Section 1B takes you into seeing your subject matter from different angles and developing your views from the different methods of outlining such as listing, clustering, freewriting, and talking and listening whereby you gain more knowledge and different points of view by engaging others to think about a subject with you.
     In section 1C Diana Hacker persues the art of Thesis statement creation and Tentative thesis statements and their uses.
     Sketching a plan and Developing an outline as in section 1D will help the writer see things from the 3700 foot view. The outline is the placement of the paragraphs so they have the greatest returns. Where would you like your punchline? where would you like the audience to have the Aha! here is the evidence and so forth.
     Drafting of your writing is covered in section 2a,b,and c. Again this is a view from above but with more attention placed in organizing your paragraghs and perhaps the placement of your thesis statement. Thesis statements should become clearer and grab the reader pulling them into the place of the author's intention. Working on the body of the paper will be the next step. Ask yourself "Do I have all the pieces that make sense following the thesis statement and preceeding my conclusion?" The body is the Beef of the paper and does all the explaining, or complaining for some. The last thing is your conclusion, with the expectation that it will be the final puzzle piece to back up your conclusion and hopefully make your audience feel a sense of completion or whatever sense you as the author intended to leave them with.
      Section 3 is where you can view your paper for the second time, in another light. See it and make necessary changes to all of the content. Add more color or contrast where needed. Polish up the grammar by revising and editing where necessary. Proofread until you smile.
      The google earth street view may be the equivalent to section 4 where you can dip into the paragraphs and sentences to check the flow.  The flow must always be directed using your Main Point. When reading from one sentence to another does it sound sweet in your mind or harsh and interruptive. As the author your intent may be the latter, maybe its a horror story or maybe you need a laid back simple tone or voice in your writing to give a type of description of a usual place or thing. You may find that sticking to your main point becomes difficult, or you may find you want your main point to shift slightly in one direction or another. I find this happens everytime I write. This view is also where you choose your 360 degree view. Would you like to see your paper from a narrative, an example,  a process, a comparison/contrast, an analogy, a cause and effect, a classification and division or a definition. All of these types of paragraphs and essays have their own unique sets of circumstances. Again check the flow and transition of your work. Is it having your intended effects? or do you need to add some new design reverting back to a previous section. Proofreading constantly will help you steadily mold your sculpture of writing into a work of art.
     All of these tools are the backbones writing a great paper. Subject matter itself never seems to be an issue because it is endless. This Chapter will help me write by going through the necessary structural methods of outlining which I haven't worked on enough. Its equivalent to using muscles that can help you run farther and faster the more excercise they get. Diana Hacker's lessons seem obvious and reliable, the standard by which great works of writing may be produced. I may not reference this chapter a lot but the lessons it provides are ones that I will use probably everytime I write.

How could it be dangerous to be smart? Sherman Alexie's "Superman and Me"

I must first of all begin by saying that "Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie felt like a punch in the face to me for some reason. I enjoy reading about history, mostly early european history, and I usually stay away from early American history because there is a part of me that feels shame for what happened to the Native Americans during the Manifest Destiny era. I can't imagine the horrors involved with being fully uprooted from your culture and environment and placed in some of the least savory places to live. I doubt if my ancestors were involved with any of this personally but its not really about my ancestry from a specific country, but it is about my ancestry as a human. Throughout history there are examples of where Americans have stepped in and defended humanity where there have been injustices against humans. It was during America's Infancy that some of the greatest injustices were wrought. It is this legacy that Sherman Alexie is very aware and not so subtly punches you with in his writing.

       For a Native American to be smart, especially at a young age was a dangerous thing for Sherman. When you are aware and knowledgeable of many things around you you become dangerous because you may uncover truths as well as raise the bar for everyone around you. This could be very dangerous for you because there may be many others around you that don't want to have higher expectations from parents, teachers, or friends. You may uncover something, like the past, that nobody wants to talk about. Maybe our teacher is not expecting you to be intelligent and may even put you down as opposed to help bringing out your talents. Maybe your parents will resent you being smarter than them instead of being proud of you.
       When I was in school "Nerdy" was not cool and those kids were picked on the most. I think it was dangerous for them in different ways though. I think Sherman's danger was apparent within his entire community. There weren't any expectations of anyone becoming a somebody mostly due to the racism within our society. Sherman says that his family was poor by most peoples standards, but the fact that one of his parents could find a minimum wage job once in awhile meaned that they were middle class to reservation standards. If your smart then you would be expected to find your way out and bring yourself up to the normal standards of society. It woul also be dangerous to be smart if when in the process of becoming smart you realize how cruel our society can be as well as how easy it would be to just hang up your cletes and go home to join the others who couldn't make it. Its like being smart can also be your enemy. I am really happy to see that Sherman could pull through all this and build his own road.

Freewriting Excercise 1

Opening the barn doors to my brain. That is what I think of Freewriting. I remember last semester starting freewriting and I was thinking how great it felt to just go for it, let the thoughts and themes and any crazy idea I have just flow out. I really love poetry and feel like this is close to what it must feel like for natural poets to just break loose and whip out the masterful interconnected thoughts that can melt hearts and Blow minds. Where do I go next? I just write about a theme that comes to me and detail it or draw up a chart in my head that shows the lnks to side stories and hidden stages of events that might transpire while I'm still coming up with some kind of creative place to try to organize it all into something semi cohesive but why? Is it a freewrite? or an organization? a critic will look at it and find many ways to blast it but there it is still hanging around waiting for the next time I grab my laptop or pick up my pen. Freewriting is like pure just doing.

Summary of Chapter 46 Writing about Texts

          In Chapter 46 of Rules for Writers by Diana Hacker, I learned about ways to engage in your reading using annotation and seeing the purpose of the text or advertisement, as was the case with the McDonald's ad that is trying to persuade onlookers that McDonald's food is healthy. The main goal of summarizing is to state the main idea and key points of the text. Analyzing is breaking down the whole picture into little bits than can be disected and understood from different perspectives and different intentions to give you a clearer picture of the purpose and what the author uses to give the reader the perspective intended.
       

Brief Autobiography

       Hello my name is Eric Strang. I'm English/Scottish/German/Greek as far as I know.I work as an engineer tech at a medical device company here in wonderful Santa Rosa. I've lived here most of my life and have attended the SRJC on and off since 1993. I plan on graduating with my A.S. in Natural Sciences next year. I really enjoy attending the J.C., and will probably come back for classes even after I've graduated. The atmosphere, physically and spiritually is wonderful. My family and I often take walks around the campus on the weekends.
        I enjoy traveling, and have been to a few countries in Europe and Southeast Asia. I paint with acrylics and play guitar and bass guitar when I'm not maintaing "normal" household duties. I look forward to getting thoroughly schooled in English as well as my other class, Pols1, this semester.

Thanks!

EStrang