Blog Post 5

Blog Post 5

Yolanda was the tomboy of the family and got herself into trouble as a child. She is haunted by the memory of a kitten that she kidnapped from its mother, as well as the fear she felt as the family struggled to leave the Dominican Republic. Once in the United States, she had difficulty interacting with men in sexual and romantic situations, and eventually divorced her husband, John. This heartbreak led to a mental breakdown and the inability to use language in a meaningful way. This was a particularly traumatic experience since language was a particularly important part of her life as a poet. She returned to the Dominican Republic after her divorce in order to reconnect to her cultural roots, though she finds she has forgotten her Spanish and sticks out culturally. When faced with a challenging situation, such as car trouble at night in the middle of nowhere, she feels most comfortable in her identity as an English speaking American woman, rather than a Dominican immigrant. She is the sister who most enjoys taking on the role of storyteller, and she hopes to unfold the past to better understand the trauma that underlies the various struggles of the entire family. I really do not think that she has moved forward or backward because of anything yet, and the identity of her is encapsulated by lust for others.\

Something positive is also a major motif of the novel, nicknames. Throughout the novel, nicknames are used to convey a sense of intimacy. This intimacy can be positive, such as when the Garcia daughters refer to their mother as Mami to express affection. On the other hand, nicknames can convey a negative sense of being overly familiar, such as when John refers to Yolanda as Josephine, anglicizing her name and distorting her identity in the process. Also another positive thing would be snow, which also is a symbol in the book. Snow symbolizes hope for the future and the positive aspects of the American dream, as well as the terrifying potential of the unknown. Yolanda’s first experience of snow makes her think of atomic fallout, and she terrifies her class with a warning of imminent doom. Once she realizes her mistake, the snow comes to symbolize the culmination of her long-held hope to experience a mysterious and wondrous occurrence she has only heard about. The unique nature of each snowflake also symbolizes the possibilities that America offers Yolanda to explore her identity and express a new voice. Snow is a conveys a meaning of god, which could relate to a person v. god as a type of label.

A major source of race and identity in the novel if the family that it comes from, the Garcia's family. The interpersonal conflict within the Garcia family takes root during the point of political and cultural rupture, when the family had to leave the Dominican Republic. The fragmentation of the extended family in 1960 due to immigration leads to a spiraling dissolution of the Garcia nuclear family. As the girls mature, they grow increasingly distant from one another, their parents, and their relatives on the Island. Their integration into American culture tears them further apart from their family roots and leaves them badly prepared to deal with their parents’ more traditional perspectives. During Sofia’s rebellious phase, she leaves home and prompts a serious rift in the family. Carla’s clinical indifference toward the family also reveals interpersonal distance. The fact that the Garcia parents commit their daughters to mental hospitals so quickly indicates that they cannot reach out to their daughters during emotionally challenging times. Though the origins of the family conflict are in the past, the effects continue to reverberate even when the girls begin families of their own. I really agree with the Lin article when it says "And yet, while you're never fully aware, you're never fully not aware, either. Like many of the Asian American kids of my generation stuck somewhere between white and black, I filled the vacant parts of my identity with basketball and hip-hop." I feel as though many kids today face these problems along with the family issues, which both in turn shape someone's identity. 

Post 4

Valentine’s Day as part of the “Romantic Industrial Complex”
I believe that Valentines Day has become a very Hallmark holiday. I think that it is mainly to sell things like chocolate, roses, and cards. All of those things normally would not make too much money if it was just any other day in the year. This year it was estimated that 17.6 billion was spent world wide on presents and that most of the actual cards were just women. This intrigues me, I think that women buy cards for Valentines day so that they do not look bad. I think that the only real reason they get something for their other is so that they do not seem selfish, and make it seem like it is a holiday just for women. This is even though we all know that it true is. Valentines day is a money making holiday, we may see it as the love and hearts, but big companies like Macy's and Kay Jewelers see it as dollar signs. Men are always forced into buying things on this day, and not just for their lover. They have to purchase things for their mothers their daughters etc. and those companies see it as a major opportunity. To be completely honest, who can blame them? They didn't start this, all that they are doing is taking advantage of something that was already going on.

Musicians and the concept of “selling out” - MIA’s Superbowl Halftime appearance
It's a sad day for M.I.A.'s career. As annoying as her gimmickry is, it seems like she has 'finally given up', and she is finally trying to get mainstream famous so that she can make a little bit of her own cash, instead of having to live off her billionaire boyfriends money. I cannot believe that so many celebrity's do this, they should be role models. They are the people who represent our culture, our nation when they are broadcasted. Many of them are sellouts or drug addicts, when they should be better. They are the people the world sees whenever a music video or movie comes out, they should be able to control themselves or be kicked out of the game. To be honest, why do people care about them. They are just regular people that have a job and a life. I truly do not see what the big deal is about these people. They always are on TV on TMZ or ET, but why do people care? Why do they try so hard to see what they are doing every second? Why do people pick apart at them and try to find  every flaw? We are all human, we all have flaws and make mistakes, why are theirs so much more important than mine? People go to prison every day, get accused for murder and they didn't come up with a TV show where they just tell stories about them.

Opinion on PA Gun Law from Philly.com
From a legal and financial standpoint, trying to pass such laws are a waste of taxpayer money.  According to the UFA, only the Commonwealth of PA has the right to create gun laws. We’ve seen cities and municipalities all over the state try to overstep this law by introducing “Lost or Stolen” firearms laws in the past few years and all end with a big cost to taxpayers due to court costs and attorney fees. York City even considered trying to implement a similar law but realized that it was fruitless.  And even if they could pass a law banning firearms from City government property, where is the money going to come from for metal detectors, extra personnel to man the detectors, gun lockers for law-abiding citizens to store their weapons? Are we going to take even more law enforcement officers off the streets to “protect” our local officials? The best solution for this problem would be for elected officials to provide for their own safety and security if they are so inclined. City council can hire security if they feel the need, but it shouldn’t come at a cost to the taxpayers they serve.  Or, they can decide to defend themselves as  at least two local mayors,  several state reps and other law-makers I’ve know through the years who entrust their safety in their own Second Amendment right.

Blog post 3

We're all real people and we can experience the full range of emotions, including happiness and sadness, love and anger. The bottom line is that stereotypes are destructive because they limit our potential! Yet how many guys do we know who try hard to act like the stereotype, without even a second thought? What damage do we do to ourselves and others? Boys are not born to be violent, or to have unhealthy attitudes towards girls. We learn these attitudes and behaviors through the stereotypes of what society thinks it means to "Act Like a Man," and we can free ourselves from the restrictions of these boxes once we see them as unrealistic ideals. Then we can start the process of change. This is not to say that it's wrong for guys to like sports or fix cars or for girls to enjoy cooking. The problem is that we are told that we must perform these roles in order to fit in. It is important for all of us to make our own decisions about what we do. A stereotype rigidly confirms the belief that if you are a girl or a boy, or a woman or a man, you must perform these specific roles, and do them well. This belief takes away our personal choices in determining our own interests and skills. It also discourages men from participating in "women's work" (such as flower arranging and child care) and it restricts women from choosing roles that are traditionally "male" (such as engineering and science). The concepts of acting like a man or being ladylike do not only relate to attitude. There are also physical expectations which are connected with these stereotypes, many of which are unrealistic. When we unconsciously try to live up to the standards of these stereotypes, we can do physical and emotional harm to ourselves. Often, we don't notice this because we tend to mold ourselves to fit these stereotypes as a matter of course. This can be damaging. A boy with a very slight build who wants to be musclebound is fighting against himself if he tries to change his physique to match that of the stereotypical male.

Luara is the mother of the four sisters. Laura had to adjust to cultural and material differences in the United States. Her family name and privilege meant much less in the U.S. than it had in the Dominican Republic, though she continued to be proud and supportive of her daughters. Because of this I believe that she would say about the same thing that I said. She is a strong female and this makes her want to fight for her daughters, even if she has to try to over come a society that is based off stereotypes. Because she is supportive of her daughters, she is a strong woman and that is why I believe she would have the same reactions as me.

Q20: I would watch the one  primarily comprised of interviews with people who know you and bootleg footage from your actual life. I would watch it because critics are describing the documentary as “brutally honest and relentlessly fair. This intrigues me and makes me want to know what my friends said about me and whether or not it really was fair and true about me. I would then probably argue with the people who made it to see why they did so without asking me.

Q19: I would tell him that I just felt like kicking him to wake him up and see his reaction. I would tell him I put the video on Tosh.0 and wanted to get the view video of the week, but we lost so he destroyed the video and did not play it on the air. This is why you can not see it and never will see it. That is the excuse I would make to my friend.

Q16: I would still watch the game. I would do this because i do it now with soccer matches, even though I know the score of a game I still watch the game in entirety. I enjoy watching sports, and if I was a fan of this sport then I feel as though I would watch it even if I knew the outcome. This love for the game is the true reason why I watch them.

Q12: I would give the wizard 100 dollars, this is because the question stated it as a percentage. He made them one dollar sexier, making the limit seem like it is 100. This is why I would only give him 100, also I feel pretty comfortable with my self image. I feel like I do not wish for my image to improve because i like it the way it is.

Q7: I would put on the top of my newspaper the story of a group of Scottish marine biologists capture a live Loch Ness Monster. I would do this because it has always interested me and I have always been a true believer of this beast. I would do this because I would think its more important, I would love to write an article on this monster over the other one any day.

Q5: I would take the pill. I would do this because I believe that love is more powerful than music. I think that the pain that they would feel is worse than if I had to hear the same song over and over. I feel as though it would be a sacrifice worth doing if I could truly find my true love. This finding of her would be worth it to me.

Q1: I think that this person would not be more impressive than Albert Einstein. I would say this because Albert Einstein changed the world in his views on the way that galaxy's worked and showed that light and time and space could be explained through math and theories. He is truly more superior to this magician, and can not be out matched.