Blog 3: A White Heron

Sylvia felt a connection with the white heron because she's closer with nature than she is with actual humans. Her and the bird are very close because they both want the same thing and freedom, and they both are by themselves. In her relationships with other people, she's disconnected from them because she isn't good with communicating. Her cow and the white heron are her best friends because they're alike in ways, and connect with each other from the things they have in common. 

Sylvia tries to stay true to herself and to the white heron in the end because he doesn't tell the guy the secret of the bird. Freedom symbolizes, in this story, that you have to find it yourself and be true to yourself always. 

 

Blog 2: The Body of Christopher Creed Ending

My final thoughts on the ending of The Body of Christopher Creed:

-Kind of confusing in a way of how it ended
-He says .."Reply That Makes Me Believe Totally That Creed is Alive"

~I agree with that because when you read the letter that he says he

thinks Chris Creed is still alive, it seems like it's Chris writing about

himself and why he doesn't want to be found.

-It's really frustrating because you really don't know if Chris is alive or dead

~In the book, he says they never find where he is, and that's what

you've been looking forward to this whole time you were reading.

Did you enjoy reading it?

-I really enjoyed reading this book because I could really get into it and it

didn't take forever for me to start to like the book.

~This book is like the kinds of books I enjoy reading

-The author did a really great job in keeping the reader fascinated with

the book, and everything that was happening.

Theory for the responses on Torey's web page:

-The first response on Torey's web page was from someone named Torey J.

Healy. The response was kind of weird in a way with the words and phrases

she/he said back to Torey. "If I had a candle and you, I would dance naked

to 'Titanic' while you read passages of this poetic journey from sweet youth

to robust manhood." [page 326]

-The second response on Torey's web page was from someone named Alex

Healy. His response was pretty mean and cruel, responding to something

as serious as Torey's story. "The fact you failed to capture was the pain of

the Creed mother and father, but being that you're just a boy, you could not

understand the agony of parents who lose a child." [page 326-327]

-The third response on Torey's web page was from someone named Michael

Alex Adams. This one, to Torey, said he thought it was Chris Creed in disguise,

because when Michael wrote back, he only responded to Torey's grammar

problems during his whole story. "Use your spell-checker and/or stick to

songwriting." [page 327]

-The fourth and last response on Torey's page is from Victor Adams. This is the

one where Torey says that it makes him believe Chris Creed is "totally alive".

Creed and Woobees:

"...I didn't care, the sounds of my guitar made me calmer, somehow. Guitars are like 'woobees'.." [page 185]

A woobee is from when you're little or when you're older, something that made everything better when you had it with you. Something that you looked at, held, listened to, saw that made you feel safer or less upset or made you happy. Torey needs to calm down at this point in the book because he's getting so worked up over everything that's been happening with Bo involving Chris Creed. 

I used to have a woobee when I was younger, and it was my blankie. I still have it in my closet but I don't really use it anymore. I have a new woobee for myself now that I'm older. I have a bear that I have to sleep with every night and it helps me fall asleep. It used to be my Aunt Kathy's bear but I took that when we went to her apartment to clean it out. 

TBCC: Chapters two and three

"How could people live their whole lives with their kid and not know this?" [pg. 25]

Torey is talking to himself about Chris Creed and his parents. He's pretty much saying that how could Mrs. and Mr. Creed not know who Chris was or how he felt this whole time he lived with them. It sort of ties back to how they think of their son Chris. They always thought he was so normal and had friends or was just a happy kid. But for their whole lives they didn't know he was so unhappy and wanted to run away or possibly kill himself. This stood out to me because the importance of knowing your children and knowing what they're going through is really important, as you can see.

Chapter 23: Graduation Speech

I feel that the graduation speech would have been a lot different if the speaker was African-American and not Caucasian. The Caucasian seemed to be talking down to the African-American students, making him seem superior to them. It was sad though because their response was putting their heads down, or not speaking up to what he said. If the speaker was African-American like the students, I feel that the speech would be a lot more uplifting and encouraging. I think that Harriet Tubman would make a great speaker for the students rather than that Caucasian man who talked down to them. Her speech would be something like .. 

"Hello students. My name is Harriet Tubman, and I'm an African-American, just like you guys. I know what you've all been through. I've seen all the cruelty and discrimination in this world like you have. I've been discriminated against, and wished I was something more beautiful than who I am before too. 

I'm here to talk to you guys and tell you not to think that anymore. If you've ever been discriminated against, look passed it. There are so many people out there who try to put us down because of what we look like, and how we're "different". Well to be honest, we aren't as different as they say we are. We've achieved a lot of the same stuff, possibly even more stuff.

There are many sports athletes, inventors, speakers, writers, and more that have been African-American who have achieved so much in the past and present. When someone is putting you down, you shouldn't give in and give up. You have to think about what's fair to you as an individual and remember that we're all the same, no matter what "color" we are. We've all achieved the same things, some better than others, but we've all achieved something and made a difference. We shouldn't be labeled on who we are, but what we do as a person. 

The next time someone puts you down, remember this. You aren't different, they are. They're the cruel ones, and they're the ones trying to make things different for us. We're the change we need to see in the world someday, and one day, things will be different. You just need to have hope, and believe that you can make a difference."

Chapter 19: Serena Williams

Serena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan in 1981 and is now the 7th tennis player in the whole world. She grew up with 4 other sisters, one of them being murdered in Los Angeles, California in 2003. Serena got her first grand slam in 1999, with four straight years of grand slams until 2003. Unfortunately, in 2003 she suffered from a knee injury that made her sit out for 8 months.

"I've always said that I'm insatiable." - Serena Williams.    

This relates to the book I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings because the athlete in it loved what he did. And for Serena, when she was out because of her knee, she went right back into playing when she got back in. It was like a lot of motivation for the thing she loves. That relates to the book because he loved what he did, and he was the best at it. He beat Caucasian's at it, which surprised a lot of people since he was so motivated.                                                                                                                                  

Chapter 17 & 18: After the "Retreat" & The Revival

"The idea came to me that my people may be a race of masochists and that not only was it our fate to live the poorest, roughest life but that we liked it that way." - Page 121.

I chose this quote because it stood out to me, before we talked about it in class; kind of. This quote really ties in with the book and the African-Americans. It shows how hard an African-American's life is, and how it used to be too. It's showing how the African-Americans are 'masochists', meaning people who like pain, or endure pain in their lives. It shows how the African-Americans are so used to being put down, beaten, and scorned that they're used to all the pain. That they'd rather feel the pain, then have people pity them. 

I chose this particular quotation because it was easy to find a connection to the book and the African-Americans. It really stood out because when it says ".. my people may be a race of masochists .. we liked it that way," I got really confused. I got confused because why would you like to feel pain, and live a life like that? But then I realized not only are they used to it, but they sort of have to get used to it. It's pretty sad when you think about it, and how much pain African-Americans were/are put through.