The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
                               Lauren Valenzuela
                                             1-20-14
                                              Per. 3
                      

        The central idea of the book , “ The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian” is to go out of your comfort zone and do what is best for you despite how hard the journey may be.

 In the book the main character is Jr. (aka Arnold). He was determined to get a good education despite many draw backs that he experienced throughout the book. Jr. is Native American living in a reservation full of poverty and other social problems as well. Jr. decided to get an education he deserved. Jr. left the school in his reservation as well as his best friend Rowdy to attend an all white school. This caused people including Rowdy from his old school to perceive Jr. as a traitor. Jr. later experienced prejudices from the white people in Reardan ( the new school). Jr. pushed through and ignored mean looks and unfair treatment. Jr. eventually learned to be friends with many of the white kids. Later on in the book Jr experienced, the deaths of people whom were a big part of his life. Including, His grandmother, his dad’s friend who was like an uncle, and his older sister. Despite all of this , Jr. approached life with humor and determination. In the end junior succeeded the first year of his new school even though he had many set backs. Jr. was also able to be friends with Rowdy again.

Dialectical Journal:

This Book contains a similar subject to a book we are reading as a class,”Warriors Don’t Cry”. These books both share a similar idea of going out of what you are comfortable with to find what is best and what you deserve. This book also shares many qualities and ideas with many speeches from integrationist and people who believe that you should always believe in yourself and dream big. One example is like when Dr. King said his “ I Have A Dream” speech.

I had some questions I had in while reading the book. When Jr. explained a lot of indians who lived in poverty because they usually got drunk and made wrong decisions. I wondered, why did these indians drink all the time? Why didn’t they stop? I also questioned how it was so easy for Jr. to become friends with all the white kids so quickly and how hard it is for the Little Rock 9 to become friends with the white kids.

There were a few words that came up during my reading that I didn’t understand. Some of which were, ambidextrous, decrepit, and contemplate. There were not cry many words i didn’t know because the story was pretty “straight forward”. I learned that ambidextrous meant able to use both hands. Decrepit meant the state of being weak or frail. Lastly, I learned that contemplate meant to exam or inspect.

A discrepancy that I noticed comparing this book to "Warriors Don’t Cry”  is that the whole process of integrating to an all white school was much less dramatic for Jr. then for Melba and the other 9.

Some differences in perspectives of others is that everybody thought Jr. was a traitor. They all felt betrayed because Jr. was the only one who wanted to leave his school and go to an all white school. Despite this, his parents supported him and were proud of his brave decisions.

The Pearl blog entry

In the story, The Pearl by John Steinbeck shows the reader that wealth should not change who you are as a person. In this story, the author shows Kino and Juana in the beginning as not very wealthy. They do not have much of anything. As the story progresses, after Kino finds the " Pearl of the World" everything changes. Things that weren't a big deal before really ended up becoming big conflicts. Kino is not himself and becomes more aggressive towards Juana. Basically, everbody is after him and jealous from him having the pearl. The pearl also ends up bringing evil to Kino and his family. All of this conflict is from the wealth of having thepearl  and how it got into Kino's head and changed him as a person.

Constructed Response Lauren Valenzuela

Constructed Response Lauren Valenzuela

9-30-13

Per. 2

The story, “ A Dark Brown Dog” by Stephen Crane is told in third person omniscient. This is where the narrator knows all about the characters and how they feel. In the story, the narrator showed how the dog was feeling by saying, “ This thing seemed to overpower  and astonish the little dark brown dog, and wounded him to his heart.” The tone of this story is very dark and humorous. The author uses phrases like, “ But the father was in the mood to have fun, and it occurred to him that it would be a fine thing to throw the dog out of the window.” A couple of words that contributed to how this story was dark and humorous was in the sentence, “ He swung him two or three times hilariously about his head, and then swung him with great accuracy.”  This story made me laugh a little but it also challenged my thinking.  It had certain words that were used differently than how they are usually used in a sentence. For example, “At the same time with his ears and his eyes he offered a small prayer.” This story also made me feel somewhat upset towards the end when the child was crying when the dog was found laying on the ground.

In the story, “ The Day I Got Lost” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, the point of view is in 1st person. I know this because the narrator uses “I”. For example, “ For many years I have been teaching philosophy in the same university, and I have difficulty locating my classrooms.”  The tone of the story is very amusing and mirthful. In example, “ One evening I took a taxi because I was in a hurry to get home. the taxi driver said, ‘ where to?’ And I could not remember where I lived.” Phrases with words that contribute to the tone include, “ Elevators play strange tricks on me.” and “ Where do I live?” This story is definitely one that will make someone smile as it did to me. The way Schlemiel became so confused so easily also made me grin.

( 359 words)

We Breathed You In

                                                   Response to Poetry                   Lauren Valenzuela

                                                                                                      9-12-13

                                                                                                      Per. 3

    In the poem, “ We Breathed You In” by Patti Tana, Patti is trying to tell all the people who had perished that they are still in our hearts. Patti is trying to say that on 9/11 many passed away and that we will never forget them. In this poem, the tone is very sympathetic and full of sincere emotions. Patti is trying to say that we feel so bad about this event. In the poem she constantly repeats the sentence, “ we breathed you in.” This clue suggests that Patti Tana is saying all who died in 9/11 are still apart of us.