On The Reservation

Montana 1948... 

I cannot lie, by the cover (and) the title, I honestly thought the book would be boring, (and I'm pretty sure others did as well) but I was wrong. I did not think there would be so much 'drama', if you will. 

As read in the beginning of the first part, life sometimes was not easy due to the harsh conditions of the reservation. According to wikipedia.com, average daily temperature can reach as high as about 85 ºF in July and as low as about 28 ºF in January. Not too bad, I guess. But then again, the hottest recorded temperature was 117 °F on July 20, 1893, and the coldest was on January 20, 1954, at -70 °F.

Specifically, on the reservations, one climatic factor affected large areas. The dryness of the soil made it extremely difficult to farm, because the economy is largely based on agriculture, and the hot, dry winds made it worse.

 I think I would have the same view on the Uncle Frank thing as David. (At the time of this post I am beginning Part Three) He doesn't know whether to put it in the back of his mind or deal with it forwardly. In the book, when he visits his grandparents, David goes out hunting and sees his father and Uncle Frank arguing. He says he could have shot Frank then and there (I definitely would not have gone to this extreme, nor even thought about it), but when he sees Wes and Frank shaking hands and walking off together, he abandons the thought.

(Just a little fun fact-Bentrock is fictional. Recently figured this out. Don't remember if they explained in the book; hope nobody knew this already, hehe) Here's a picture of real Indian Reservations in Montana-

Propaganda 2011

Propaganda
–noun

1.

information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc. (dictionary.com)

When I think propaganda, I almost instantly think back the World History class I took at my old high school. Around April or May we began to talk about Europe and World War 2. In the textbook there were all kinds of pictures aiming to influence people to back for a certain country or whether or not to let women fight in the war. A common picture-

 

Dictionary.com's second definition of propaganda-

 –noun

2.

the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc.

Keyword- "RUMORS"!

I couldn't find any obvious propaganda on Google images that I knew was CERTAINLY false, and i didn't want to put anything that I wasn't sure about, then get targeted by the police or something, so I chose not to.


As for propaganda in 2011, Election Day is Tuesday, and we are seeing all kinds of mayoral "propaganda". An important question someone might ask is "Do you think propaganda now and then is still pretty much the same?" And my answer to that would be Somewhat yes. I think some quality things about the posters, radio advertisements, and now T.V. commercials have changed, but the main point of the actual things has stayed exactly the same.

Another Famous picture-

Black Boy Review

At the time of this posting, we are currently through the end of Chapter 4 of one of Richard Wright's books, "Black Boy". Having read the book last year, I know what happens throughout the rest of the novel. Many people would take this as an opportunity to do nothing for the time we are reading it, but I would never. Our recent class discussions have dealt a great deal about getting attention, having it being stolen mostly from his sick grandmother and his now-sick mother.

Richard is often moving from place to place, living with various family members including his mother, aunts, and uncles. He is trying his hardest to adapt to his current living space, when all of a sudden he has to move again. Personally, I don't know of anyone who has moved from place to place or is in and out of foster care, etc., but if I did, I would definitely feel their pain. He is trying to grow up to become as successful and respectful as he can, but the racial tension in this time period set him back a little.

King Still King?

Ahhh... Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most important people in the history of America, for his issues with equal rights, integration, and freedom. Of course, we all know that he dealt mostly with the freedom rights of African-Americans, but many people do not know he also fought for other minorities and religious groups that were not treated fairly.

King Still King?

Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Definitely.

Just think- if MLK was born exactly one year later, the world might be an entirely different place right now. One year younger means one more year until college, which means he may have chosen a different path, like science or medicine instead of politics and civil rights. Which means--

Possibly no integration.

Think about it.

Interesting Fact- Martin Luther King Jr. led a march in 1966 in Marquette Park, which is literally a block away from my house.

Comments on the First Week or Readings

Children of the Sea- This one is probably my favorite so far. I liked how it was an epistolary,  a story composed of letters. Since they didn't know they were writing to each other, each passage was almost like a journal entry. The story displays the struggles back in Haiti and on the boat.

We are Ugly, but We are Here- the story of the murdered Queen Anacaona and the generations after. The murders, rapes, and imprisonments are heartbreaking. The story of Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was sad because it shows how desperate children and families were.

Young, Gifted, and Black- I have many similarities with Hansberry as told in the story. I like riding the train, I live on the south side of Chicago, and also that I have a big age difference between my oldest sister and I.

I Hear America Singing- This story shows how many different people and various different job areas can get through tough times by singing wherever they are. I liked the line, "Each singing what belongs to him or her and to no one else..."

This Sacred Soil- Written by Chief Seattle, "This Sacred Soil" mostly dwells on the idea of the Indian's gods and the "white man's" God, saying that "Your God loves your people and hates mine." and "Our God, the Great Spirit, seems to have forsaken us. Your God makes your people strong every day." and "The white man's God cannot love our people or He would protect them."

So, in conclusion, I liked the first week's passages for the most part. I hope this week's will be better.

Music Review

I have to say, it was REALLY hard to think of a song that I liked, and when I did, I always thought of another one that was better.

Simple Solution- Pick an Artist.

One of my favorite bands (well, person) is Bonobo. I say person because there is only one person, a British DJ by the name of Simon Green, but his stage name is Bonobo.

Bonobo's music is mostly instumental. Except a few songs on one of his albums. I first learned about him through a soundtrack on a snowboarding video game on Gamecube.

His first album, Animal Magic, was released in 2000...



... and the best songs would have to be "Shadowtricks", "Sleepy Seven", and "Terrapin".

His second album, Dial "M" for Monkey...

...would definitely be my favorite. Best songs from the album--- "Flutter", "Pick Up", and "Something for Windy".

Not too much of a fan of the third album, Days to Come...

 

...because of the frequent songs with singing, but nonetheless, I like "Nightlite", "Transmission 94", and "On Your Marks".

So yeah, I guess that's...

What? He has another album?

Yup, recently found out that Black Sands



was released in March 2010. I haven't had a chance to listen to any of the songs yet, but I definitely will soon.

Ok, that's it. I HIGHLY recommend at least trying to listen to his music, but if you don't, or if you don't like it, I don't care.

Really.

Nick and Jay (and Daisy)

Tsk, tsk, tsk, a love triangle... (kinda)
  
I must say, I was REALLY surprised in chapter 4 when I read that Daisy and Gatsby were lovers a while back. I would have never expected it, but hey, that's the magic of reading, right?

Right?

Jay is CLEARLY very nervous of whether Nick agrees to invite Daisy over to Gatsby's mansion, so he does all these things for Nick, such as take him to Coney Island, and for a swim in his pool, and even hiring someone to cut Nick's grass for him. I feel that Jay is kind of using Nick as a calming effect... or whatever. I don't really know how to explain it, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that Jay often feels better if anything he does, concerning Daisy, is okay-ed or approved by Nick.

Having read chapter 4, I knew that Jay had some feelings for her, but now, it's like he's CRAZY for her, like he malfunctions and the sound of her name. Jeez!