1. Identify and briefly define important words, terms, concepts, or characters.
Characters:
Esperanza: She is the narrator of the story. She is a young girl who lives in a red house on Mango Street.
Nenny: She is Esperanza’s little sister. Her real name is Magdalena.
Lucy: Esperanza’s friend and neighbor.
Rachel: Esperanza’s friend and Lucy’s big sister.
Meme Ortiz: He moved into Cathy’s house after her family moved away. His real name was Juan.
Louie: He is the oldest in a Puerto Rican family of little sisters. He is a friend of Esperanza’s brother.
Guadalupe: She is Esperanza’s aunt.
Sally: She was Esperanza’s friend. Her eyes looked like Cleopatra’s. Her father was very strict.
2. Summarize the main idea, theme, action, or event of the reading. Be sure to include a quotation that best captures the overall feeling or mood of the reading.
HOUSE ON MANGO STREET
This book is about the life of Esperanza, a young girl who lives on Mango Street which is located in a rundown neighborhood of the Latino section of Chicago. Esperanza had moved from house to house for a few years. Her parents always told her that “One day we would move into a house, a real house that would be ours for always so we wouldn’t have to move each year. And our house would have running water and pipes that worked. And inside it would have real stairs, not hallway stairs, but stairs inside like the houses on T.V. And we’d have a basement and at least three washrooms so when we took a bath we wouldn’t have to tell everybody. Our house would be white with trees around it, a great big yard and grass growing without a fence. This was the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket and this was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed” (pg.4).
Unfortunately, the house where they moved was not the house of her dreams because “The house on Mango Street is not the way they told it at all. It’s small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small you would think they were holding their breath…Everybody has to share a bedroom-Mama and Papa, Carlos and Kiki, me and Nenny”(pg.4). Before they moved to this house on Mango Street, she felt ashamed of the houses where she lived, especially the one on Loomis. She knew this was not the house she dreamed about, therefore she said, “I knew I had to have a house. A real house. One I could point to. But this isn’t it. The house on Mango Street isn’t it. For the time being, Mama says. Temporary, says Papa. But I know how those things go” (pg.5). The next time she saw Alicia, Alicia said “You live here, 4006 Mango”, Esperanza then responded, “No, this isn’t my house…” and then she said, “I don’t belong. I don’t even want to come from here” (pg.106). She didn’t want to stay there forever; she wanted to expand her horizons, and to make her own future. She also wanted to surpass the expectations that others had for her. Esperanza was a young girl, with principles and morals and who believed in herself. She saw examples of people who can not make it in life, and she did not want to be one of them. She wanted to succeed in life; however, she knew that the road to success was not going to be easy. She had the support of her family and she knew that her parents would always be there for her, even though they could not help her financially. They lived in a poor and dangerous neighborhood, and she thought that “Those who don’t know any better come into our neighborhood scared. They think we’re dangerous. They think we will attack them with shinny knives. They are stupid people who are lost and go here by mistake” (pg.28). Then she said, “But we aren’t afraid…” (pg.28).
She knew the people in her neighborhood and so she felt safe. She tells stories about her friends and other people who lived in her neighborhood. Her first story is about Cathy, who think she’s the queen of cats, and who is going to be her friend but only for a week, because she is moving out of the neighborhood. Her parents think that the neighborhood is getting bad, and “In the meantime they’ll just have to move a little farther north from Mango Street, a little farther away every time people like us keep moving in” (pg.13). She also told stories about her two friends Lucy and Rachel, two poor girls who she met the first day she moved in the neighborhood. The three of them collected money to buy an old bike, and then compromised in taking a ride together at the same time. She also speaks of other people in her neighborhood such as, Meme Ortiz, Louie, Louie’s cousin, who gets arrested for stealing a car, Marin (Louie’s girl cousin) who stands by the door dancing to music and looking at boys. She also talks about Rosa Vargas’s kids who are too many and too much; about Sally who’s father does not let her go out because he is very strict. She tells a story about Minerva who “is only a little bit older than me but already she has two kids and a husband who left” (pg.84).
Esperanza’s had a good heart and she was naive at times, like the time when she went with Sally to the fair, Sally left Esperanza all alone; waiting for her while she left with a boy. Esperanza waited standing next to the red clowns. Then the clowns attack her, she called Sally many times, “Sally, Sally a hundred times. Why didn’t you hear me when I called? Why didn’t you tell them to leave me alone? The one who grabbed me by the arm, he wouldn’t let me go. He said I love you, Spanish girl, I love you, and pressed his sour mouth next to mine” (pg.100).
After that, she learned to be wise from her own experiences in life. She wanted to get out of that neighborhood and she did not want to belong there. Esperanza was a very smart girl but she didn’t like the way she looked. She thought she was ugly, and she didn’t like her name. One day she said, “I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do” (pg.11)
Esperanza always knew that there was something special about her, and in order to find out what it was, she needed to leave the neighborhood. The day after she spoke to the three sisters (las comadres) at the baby’s funeral, the sisters also saw something special in her and said, “She is special” (pg.104). They ask her to close her eyes and make one wish and said, “Well, that’s all there is to it. I’ll come true” (pg.105). Then they said, “When you leave you must remember to come back for the others. A circle, understand? You will always be Esperanza…” (pg.105).
Esperanza was full of hope and dreams, and one of those dreams was to have a beautiful house, “Not a daddy’s. A house all my own. With my porch and my pillow, my pretty purple petunias. My books and my stories…” (pg.108). She knew that she did not belong in that neighborhood, and at the end of the story she said, “One day I would pack my bags of books and paper. One day I will say bye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away. Friends and neighbors will say, What happened to that Esperanza? Where did she go will all those books and paper? Why did she march so far away? They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I have left behind. For the ones who cannot out” (pg.110).
3. Formulate a question for discussion.
Do you think Esperanza left her neighborhood when she became an adult? And if she did, do you think she will ever go back?
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Jian Jun - China Men (part 2)
In the Grandfather of the Sierra Neveda Mountains part, Ah Goong is the main character, this part focuses on the life of Ah Goong, especial in America. He helps to build the railroad in United States and earns only one dollar per day after 1863. He has earned some money and spent half of them for the American citizen paper. Though he came and back three times between China and America, he finally died by the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.
Ah Goong’s life is toilsome. He also bore all the difficulty when he was in US. He makes money for his family and follows what his wife has told him. Kingston says, “Grandmother forced him to leave both places, ‘Make money’, she said, ‘Don’t stay here eating.’ ‘Come home,’ she said.”(127) These words show that Ah Goong looks like a tool to earn money in grandmother’s heart. At that time, the life in China was not good enough, especial for common people. “Make money”, “Don’t stay here eating” indicate that Grandmother wants to let his husband go outside to earn the money, as she think America is the gold mountain. When Ah Goong has earned some money, she forces him to come back China and she can use his money, that’s the “Come home”. So this is the reason why Ah Goong comes and leaves US for three times.
To tell the truth, the life for Ah Goong and Chinese people in America at 19 century is hard, especial for those railroad workers. They use their own hands to build the railroad. They have long time work per day. Although they work eight hours and rest 8 hours, the amount of their work is so huge. Also, their living condition in America is poor, Ah Goong calls the people who in charge “demons”. “Demons” force them to work fast for their own benefit. Every month there are some people dead of that. They think those workers are cheap labors, so they treat workers so badly. Kingston writes, “The workers discussed the ten-hour shift, swearing their China Man obscenities. ‘Two extra hours a day—sixty hours a month for four dollars.’ ‘Pig catcher demons.’ ‘Snakes.’ ‘Turtles.’ ‘Dead demons.’ ‘A human body can’t work like that.’ ‘The demons don’t believe this is a human body. This is a chinaman’s body.’”(140) Chinese people use their thoughts and actions to do the work well, but they have a very low status in America at that time.
Ah Goong spends half of the gold which he has earned on the citizenship paper of America. Finally he died in California, lonely. Kingston indicates, “he was a homeless wanderer, a shiftless, dirty, jobless man with matted hair, ragged clothes, and fleas all over his body. He ate out of garbage cans. He was a louse eaten by lice. A fleaman.”(151) This is the result of Ah Goong.
My question is, how do Chinamen struggle for their benefits during the railroad construction? (140-144)
Ah Goong’s life is toilsome. He also bore all the difficulty when he was in US. He makes money for his family and follows what his wife has told him. Kingston says, “Grandmother forced him to leave both places, ‘Make money’, she said, ‘Don’t stay here eating.’ ‘Come home,’ she said.”(127) These words show that Ah Goong looks like a tool to earn money in grandmother’s heart. At that time, the life in China was not good enough, especial for common people. “Make money”, “Don’t stay here eating” indicate that Grandmother wants to let his husband go outside to earn the money, as she think America is the gold mountain. When Ah Goong has earned some money, she forces him to come back China and she can use his money, that’s the “Come home”. So this is the reason why Ah Goong comes and leaves US for three times.
To tell the truth, the life for Ah Goong and Chinese people in America at 19 century is hard, especial for those railroad workers. They use their own hands to build the railroad. They have long time work per day. Although they work eight hours and rest 8 hours, the amount of their work is so huge. Also, their living condition in America is poor, Ah Goong calls the people who in charge “demons”. “Demons” force them to work fast for their own benefit. Every month there are some people dead of that. They think those workers are cheap labors, so they treat workers so badly. Kingston writes, “The workers discussed the ten-hour shift, swearing their China Man obscenities. ‘Two extra hours a day—sixty hours a month for four dollars.’ ‘Pig catcher demons.’ ‘Snakes.’ ‘Turtles.’ ‘Dead demons.’ ‘A human body can’t work like that.’ ‘The demons don’t believe this is a human body. This is a chinaman’s body.’”(140) Chinese people use their thoughts and actions to do the work well, but they have a very low status in America at that time.
Ah Goong spends half of the gold which he has earned on the citizenship paper of America. Finally he died in California, lonely. Kingston indicates, “he was a homeless wanderer, a shiftless, dirty, jobless man with matted hair, ragged clothes, and fleas all over his body. He ate out of garbage cans. He was a louse eaten by lice. A fleaman.”(151) This is the result of Ah Goong.
My question is, how do Chinamen struggle for their benefits during the railroad construction? (140-144)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Yuan - On Discovery, China Men
1. Identify and briefly define important words, terms, concepts, or characters.
Tang Ao: a Chinaman who is looking for the Gold Mountain. However, he is trapped in the Land of Women and forced to change his sexual identity.
The women: females as guarders, servants, and all other sort of characters in the Land of Women.
Gold Mountain: symbolic represents America.
2. Summarize the main idea, theme, action, or event of the reading, and quotations that best captures the overall feeling or mood of the reading.
“On Discovery” is a legend about a chainman; Tang Ao came upon a Land of Women instead of his original signed destination, Gold Mountain. He was locked in a woman’s room and his wrists and ankles were shackled. Those women transformed him into a female gradually by piercing his ears, binding his feet, feeding him women’s food, and applying facial cosmetics on him. Once his sexual identity changed completely, he was displayed in the Queen’s court. Everyone felt “she” was attractive, especially “her” tiny feet.
Theme
-Women suffered physical and spiritually by bounding feet into small size. Therefore, they seemed to be weak and had to dependent on men. Women lost their freedom and mistreated by old female tradition.
-It metaphorically compares earlier Chinese immigrants as Tang Ao who was forced to do all kinds of hard works in America. They suffered discrimination and oppression in order to survive in the Gold Mountain.
Quotes
“The less you struggle, the less it’s hurt” one said..
“What are you doing?” he said, “sewing your lips together,” she joked..
3. Formulate a question for discussion.
When the woman joked that she would sew Tang Ao’s lips by the needle, does she just poke fun on him and wanted to distract him from fear, or has other meaning beyond this statement?
Tang Ao: a Chinaman who is looking for the Gold Mountain. However, he is trapped in the Land of Women and forced to change his sexual identity.
The women: females as guarders, servants, and all other sort of characters in the Land of Women.
Gold Mountain: symbolic represents America.
2. Summarize the main idea, theme, action, or event of the reading, and quotations that best captures the overall feeling or mood of the reading.
“On Discovery” is a legend about a chainman; Tang Ao came upon a Land of Women instead of his original signed destination, Gold Mountain. He was locked in a woman’s room and his wrists and ankles were shackled. Those women transformed him into a female gradually by piercing his ears, binding his feet, feeding him women’s food, and applying facial cosmetics on him. Once his sexual identity changed completely, he was displayed in the Queen’s court. Everyone felt “she” was attractive, especially “her” tiny feet.
Theme
-Women suffered physical and spiritually by bounding feet into small size. Therefore, they seemed to be weak and had to dependent on men. Women lost their freedom and mistreated by old female tradition.
-It metaphorically compares earlier Chinese immigrants as Tang Ao who was forced to do all kinds of hard works in America. They suffered discrimination and oppression in order to survive in the Gold Mountain.
Quotes
“The less you struggle, the less it’s hurt” one said..
“What are you doing?” he said, “sewing your lips together,” she joked..
3. Formulate a question for discussion.
When the woman joked that she would sew Tang Ao’s lips by the needle, does she just poke fun on him and wanted to distract him from fear, or has other meaning beyond this statement?
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