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- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
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- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
I think the most impactful reading for me was “Girl.” while reading it, I couldn't help but think about my grandmother who is from Mexico and disapproves of my tattoos, how I dress, act, how I talk sometimes. I remember when I got my first tattoo she said that the only people who get them are prostitutes in Mexico. Guess it’s a good thing I hardly go. Every time she visits she always, without fail, says something to the effect of “you’re a lady, you don't act that way.” I can’t help but think that it’s a cultural thing, though. Especially down here where the older Hispanic generation isn’t exactly keen on opening-up to the newer generation’s ways and culture. I guess for me I’ve not only felt that way from my grandmother but from society in general. When I was old enough to be comfortable in my own body and dress, act, and think how I want, that’s when people tell me that I'm not “laldy-like enough” or I'm too “man-ish.” It's hard. This story really hit me hard because it reminded me of every time that I wasn’t accepted because I didn’t follow the “rules” of how a young Hispanic woman is supposed to act.
ReplyDelete-Bethanee Campos
I bet it was hard for me and of course is the culture most of our grandparents are old school thats why for them is really hard to understand the new generations. They were raised in a different generation. Just be patient, loving and caring with them. Good Night
DeletePosdate: My mom is old school I have bad luck.
“Doves” by Ursula Hegi has a unique story that draws you in viciously with the beautiful details. It is open to interpretation obviously, but I believe the two doves that the lady purchased symbolize peace and tranquility, as well as the start of a new life. The reason I say this is because the doves seem like very peaceful creatures that don’t do much other than keep you company and comfort you. Also, they dance to the softest tunes and enjoy your presence overall, like on page 160 when the authors says that the doves swivel their heads when she returns from work. In the story “Symphony” by Pam Houston, I love all the different characters that were implemented by the author because we get to see what each one has to offer to the lady. She mentions how she feels about each guy and also talks about the dreams she has which involves them. Overall, this story was really interesting to read and fantasize about. Lastly, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, really feels like a different story compared to the other two. I feel like it is discussing all the different restrictions that a woman has when it comes to a certain someone in their life or anything in general.
ReplyDelete-Alec De La Garza
The “Doves” reading is quite strange and all over the place. I did not really know where to follow because the plot of the story was inconsistent. It talked about the white doves that she buys, but does not really add on to the plot of that. Instead Francine talks about K-Mart and Goodwill. This was not my favorite because it really did not go anywhere meaningful as how it started off to be. Doves mean peace and with this story it seemed she did not really get any peace. “Symphony” actually intrigued me and kept me tied in. I liked how she woke up thinking of the word “symphony” because since I am a choreographer I sometimes just wake up with ideas of dance moves or of songs to dance to. Christopher brought that out of her, but with me I do not need someone to bring that out of me. It just comes out naturally, thank God. “Girl” is a reading that I can relate to on a personal level since many Hispanic/Latino households ride on the gene and tradition of the woman to be the maid and the caregiver of the family. Caregiver in a sense of taking care of anything in the house that needs to be done like washing the dishes, laundry, mopping, etc. There are so many levels of this reading that quite irritate me because I remember going through a stage of my life, where I was given all these rules and guidelines of what to do in the house and out of the house.
ReplyDeleteKrista Olivarez
What I like about the story “Doves” by the author Ursula Hegi is that Francine went to the Pet Store just because she wants to buy two simple gray doves. I think is a good idea she bought the doves so she can full her empty house with happiness. Sometimes as humans we need to interact with other human beings or animals because we may get depression if we are alone all the time, definitely, we need good companionship. What I did not like about the story is that abusive people stole pairs of shoes and left the used ones in the shoe store. I can imagine Francine was outrage because she had to pay for those shoes people stole. Some people should learn the value of honesty nowadays.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about the story “Symphony” by Pam Houston is that the author is giving details and describing each man this lady had in the story. Also, the character is saying good things about them. What I did not like about the story is that she seems heart-breaking because Christopher one of her loved ones did not really appreciate her. He called her a complicated woman you do not know what you want in life.
What I like about the story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid at the beginning of the story he seems like a nice man but then I am realizing he was not a good person because he starts assigning her a lot of tasks plus giving her a bad treatment. He also called her slut and that is a big insult for a woman that is not correct. She is a lady and deserves a lot of respect.
Oscar A. Jacome Serrano
The short that I felt drawn to this week was “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid. I think it was a perfect dialogue about what’s expected of a girl. The small unspoken expectations that may not be always said allowed but just understood. For example like when Kincaid writes “This is how you sweep a corner” or “This is how you smile to someone you don’t like too much” or most importantly “this is how to keep yourself from looking like a slut”. These are things that young girls are taught, to keep them from embarrassing themselves or their family. It’s a nuisance , to be in public and have your mother constantly remind you to “fix yourself”. I don’t openly speak much on social issues but as someone that has grown up to see the difference between how my mother treated me & my sister, to the way she treats my brother, I’m utterly annoyed. God forbid our sweaters accidentally slid off one of our shoulders, or shirt rode up in the back even an inch. But see that would never happen in front of my mother, because my sweater/shirt would never get the chance. I think that these motherly quirks happen throughout many different cultures, so it’s not an ethnic thing, it’s a girl thing. Jamaica captured this perfectly. I loved it !
ReplyDeleteAisha Teegarden
I really liked “Girl”, I feel that most girls can relate to it. We are expected to be all these things, but expected not to be certain things as well. We have to be the specific mold of what a woman is, and when I was reading it. I felt like my grandmother was talking to me, and I think most Hispanic/Latina women understand this. It was very relatable to what I feel most girls feel today. I feel that “Doves” was a bit confusing. I didn’t really understand why the doves were only mentioned a bit, and it went off onto other things. I felt I got lost in the story, and not in the good way. I did enjoy “Symphony”, there was something about the way it was written that I really liked. I think it was pretty interesting how she wrote about the men she has met in her life, and how different they are from each other. I really enjoyed how most of these are written from a woman’s point of view, especially “Girl”. Again I just feel I did not understand “Doves”, maybe I’m reading too much into it and not really enjoying the story for what it is.
ReplyDelete-Alyssa Rangel
“Doves” by Ursula Hegi to me had a huge amount of detail within the story. When the lady bought the two doves, I immediately thought that the two doves have to mean something bigger. The doves she purchased most likely portrayed the start of her new life. I say new life, because usually at wedding ceremonies doves are set free to symbolize the start of their new lives as a couple. In the story “Symphony” by Pam Houston, as readers we witness how many characters an author can stir up in one story. I found this one interesting because the lady describes how each person makes her feel and it was just an interesting piece to read. The last story titled “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, was somewhat different from the other pieces but yet a little relatable. Especially, if you are female. Women have always had restrictions on anything that they do, and that might stay the same for all of time. It has not yet stopped, although females can vote, run in elections, or marry other females, the gender still seems to have it less fair than male. Overall, I found every piece interesting.
ReplyDeleteClarissa Partida
To my point of view, the story “Doves” was sort of all over due to the fact that it talked about various ideas with nothing in too deep. It appears that it's plot was quite inconsistent an wasn't as meaningful as how it started off within the reading. The story that quite caught my attention the most was “Girl”. This is a reading that I can relate to on a personal level and I'm sure it is the same case for most of our female population here in the RGV. Many Hispanic households are and have been brought up with the believe that the woman is the one in charge of catering to the man and family. My family is made up of my parents, my older brother and I. Though I remember my father ALWAYS pointing out how he tried to be fair in our punishments and granted permissions for whatever the reason may have been, it was not always the case. It was pretty obvious that there was some more favoritisim towards my brother because he was the guy and older, rather than the girl. Growing up I was given many rules to follow and expecations to fill as long as I remained living under my father's household. Things did change a bit once I moved out, however those Mexican culture expectations of a mother/female of the house are still in the picture. I enjoyed reading "Symphony" and all the variety in characters it offered us that played a significant role with the main character too fro the entire story. I can't recall reading a story that did such thing, from the ones we've had to read so far.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Rodriguez
I really enjoyed reading “Girl” because I feel like a lot of the times women are judged, since a very young age. It made me realize how lucky I am to have parents that accept my siblings and I for anything and everything. I think a lot of the times people are scared of what others might say/think about them but you should just worry about being happy. I’ve always been able to express myself in my family, and not let other peoples opinions affect me.The reading “Doves” reminded me a lot of my boyfriends grandma because she has a lot of birds, of all different kinds and she keeps buying more. She started getting them once her kids had moved out and now she treats them like family. Like in the reading, getting companionship. Honestly I feel like birds are great companions because they always sing or make noises and you will never really feel alone.
ReplyDeleteThe reading “Symphony” reminded me of something Ive read before but I can’t quite put my finger on it. It was a unique reading and I liked the way it was written because even though there was multiple characters I didn’t feel overwhelmed. I feel like the way it was written made it easy to understand. And I feel like a lot of the times bot everyone truly expresses how they feel about people but in this reading I think Pam Houston is speaking her truth.
I really enjoyed reading “Girl” because I feel like a lot of the times women are judged, since a very young age. It made me realize how lucky I am to have parents that accept my siblings and I for anything and everything. I think a lot of the times people are scared of what others might say/think about them but you should just worry about being happy. I’ve always been able to express myself in my family, and not let other peoples opinions affect me.The reading “Doves” reminded me a lot of my boyfriends grandma because she has a lot of birds, of all different kinds and she keeps buying more. She started getting them once her kids had moved out and now she treats them like family. Like in the reading, getting companionship. Honestly I feel like birds are great companions because they always sing or make noises and you will never really feel alone.
ReplyDeleteThe reading “Symphony” reminded me of something Ive read before but I can’t quite put my finger on it. It was a unique reading and I liked the way it was written because even though there was multiple characters I didn’t feel overwhelmed. I feel like the way it was written made it easy to understand. And I feel like a lot of the times bot everyone truly expresses how they feel about people but in this reading I think Pam Houston is speaking her “truth”
-Cecilia Cantu
Wow, these stories were difficult to read. The first two are rooted in relationships of some form or another. A part of me almost expected the relationship with the doves in Doves to be the most important aspect of the story. They are instead relegated to a plot device. A very important plot device, but a plot device none the less. They’re interesting things birds and they serve an interesting role in the story. Symphony is a less familiar story to me. The people the narrator describes hardly seem like people to her. They’re all just perceptions of her. On a few occasions, she elaborates on those impressions, but mostly it is naught but a feeling. It’s not the easiest thing for me to relate to Girl. While there are expectations for what a boy needs to be, they are much less rigid and have hardly any social consequences for failing to live up to them. Girls, as described at least a little in this story, can have a great many people out for them, if they fail to live up to certain things. There tends to be very little which can be done about it after the fact.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Hinkle
I really enjoyed “girl.” It made me feel a bit uneasy/uncomfortable because that is the sad reality for girls growing up in the majority of households. Girls are raised or have been raised to not be more than a man. A girl is expected to clean, to cook, to raise the kids, to garden, to do anything and everything that does not seem masculine at the surface. What is expected of a man? To work and provide, but can’t a woman do the same? It irks me to have men subjugate women just because they feel inadequate, especially when a woman can do the man’s job better than he can. I am looking forward to a future where women don’t have to follow that norm set by society. This seemed to be the only story that I enjoyed. I did not like the other two because it felt like any other story that I have read in the past. I enjoy writings that fight against the gentrification of women, writings that give hope for the future. Symphony was okay. I liked that beginning statement “Sometimes life is ridiculously simple. I lost fifteen pounds and the men want me again.” Men are shallow creatures who deserve to be compared to the animals that they are.
ReplyDeleteJonathon Morin