Amanda Olszewski
Mrs. Winter Sumner
Textual Analysis
September 23, 2007
The Fourth of July
The story “The Fourth of July” was written about a young girl growing up and discovering the world around her. Audre Lorde is the author of her own story in which she tells about the summer of her eight grade graduation. Throughout this story, Audre uses very dramatic imagery to get various points across. Through her sustaining descriptions I felt as if I was sitting right next to her. Also in the story, irony plays an immense role in how everything links together. Little things that did not seem to have any reference together all of the sudden seemed to make the story even more interesting. The tone in the story also added a lot of personality to the text. From the beginning to the end of the story, the tone played a big role in getting me involved. I felt as if I knew how she felt the whole way through the story. The story starts out in the late 1940’s with Audre’s family making a trip to Washington DC for her and her sister’s graduation. Audre was extremely excited to go on this new adventure, but she did not know what she was about to open her eyes up to.
Throughout the story, Audre uses very vivid and rich words that painted a picture for me as the reader. She used phrases like the “brown bread, green pepper, and little violently yellow iced cakes” (Lorde 567) to help me see what she was looking at. She did this throughout the story to add some deep meaningful color to a time era where everything else seemed to be white and black. This story was written during the 1940’s when segregation was still a big problem in our country. Audre’s family was trying to make it as a black family when everything around them in America seemed to be white. In the story, white began to take on a bigger role than just a color; it began to signify power in the story. White was the color of the waitress who told them they had to leave, the color of the ice cream they could not eat, and the color of the stone monuments that blinded them with their brightness and hardness. White was the color that signified the summer of Audre’s eight grade year, the summer that opened her eyes.
That summer, Audre was shocked when she opened her eyes to the world around her. She learned many important things that trip that she never even knew existed because of her over protective parents. Her parents, up to that point, had her locked in a cage from the all the unpleasant people and things around her. The trip to Washington, D.C. was an exceptionally good learning experience for Audre especially because she went into the trip so positive and excited. Audre was anxious to leave for Washington, D.C. not only because she was going to see the capital of the United States, and all of its monuments, but also because she was going to get to ride on a train during the day. Riding on a train does not seem like a big deal to me, but she on the other hand, had never ridden on a train during the day. When Audre was younger, she rode on a milk train at night because her mom said it was cheaper but she later found out the real reason. Black people used to not be allowed to ride on dining cars during the day, but her mom did not tell her this because she her mom she did not want her to know about the segregation around her. Her mom did not like things she could not change, so she would not speak of them. The train situation has a very unique analogy to it though. The black people were only allowed to ride on trains when it was dark outside, while the white people were allowed to ride the trains during the day when it was bright outside. When I think of dark things, I think of the color black, as well as when I think of bright things, I think of the color white. This then goes back to how everything back then was about black and white.
Audre’s parents kept her behind the walls of their house because they wanted to protect her from the uncertainty of the people surrounding her. Her parents “protected their children by never giving them name, much less discussing their nature” (Lorde 568). This statement made by her parents is very ironic to a statement made later in the story. While they were at a monument, Audre states that their parents do not allow them to wear sunglasses. This makes for a very interesting case because it brings on to hide or to not hide. Her parents are trying to hide her from the bad going on around her, but they don’t allow her to hide behind sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sunlight. It is a very interesting topic that brings on many questions. Without the children wearing sunglasses, it causes them to squint to protect their eyes. When one squints, the black in the eyes begins to overtake the white. This again goes back to the issue of black vs. white.
From the beginning to the end of the story, the tone built adds a lot of personality. The story starts off with Audre very excited to go to Washington DC. She was a young girl with no worries going into the trip to Washington DC, but she left as a young woman trying to find her place in a society that seemed to not need her. This began to answer the question she had in the beginning of the book on how she was “supposed to stop being a child” (Lorde 567). She did not know what she was getting herself into when she left that summer day, but it changed her life forever. This might not have been the best graduation present, but it did teach her a lot of important things. Toward the end of the story Audre’s tone and attitude completely changed from the fun, playful little girl to a mad, young women trying to make a stand on what she believed in. Although her parents would not speak up about how they had been treated, Audre was not going to let anyone push her and her family around. She stopped being a kid and stood up for herself by writing a letter to the president.
This story was a very interesting story to me. The description and vivid words made me feel as if I was right there with the characters in the story. The more and more I read the story, the more information I began to pick up. The ironic statements made attention-grabbing points that I do not think I would have picked up on if I had not reread it. Lastly, the tone in the story really built up the internal emotions of the story. It taught me as the reader how Audre felt while she was going through a very drastic change at such a young age. The story was very enjoyable to read and I learned some valuable facts from it.
Work Cited
Lorde, Audre. "The Fourth of July." Eschholz, Paul, Alfred Rosa and Virginia Clark. Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers, 9th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's , 2005. 567-570.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Prime Directive
The story I read is a very interesting story. When I first read it, I had no idea what to think. There was so much going on that I did not know what the point was, or where the author was going with the story. It seemed to be jumping from subject to subject with no point, but after I sat and compared and contrasted pieces of the story, it all started to come together like a puzzle.
Throughout the story, there was a constant battle of how things should be compared to how they truly are, and this story describes many of them. Each character has a role in this story promoting a section of information that makes the story whole.
During the story, the author sees many things you too would see on a normal Halloween night or weekend. When I think of Halloween, many different thoughts come to mind, but the more I observed these thoughts, the more things in the story began to make sense. When I think of Halloween, I think of dark scary nights, with cute kids in costumes. I think of going to parties where everyone is dressed up having a good time, with decorations surrounding us trying to scare us, tombstones of R.I.P., and people talking of stories of the dead and the devil. And then there are the pranks. Are they scary or fun? Depends on what end of them you are on. Am I the one playing a prank on someone, or is someone setting me up to get scared and run away. After analyzing all the different aspects of Halloween, I was able to understand how things seem and how they are. Things may seem scary, when they are really fun, or vise versa, they may seem fun, when indeed they are truly scary. The ideas of how Halloween is tied the rest of the story together.
The story opens up with the author dressing up as Captain James T. Kirk for Halloween. In the beginning of the story, this seems to be extra detail, but in all reality, it sets the stage for the story. The simple Captain costume begins to carry a much deeper meaning throughout the story as I learned how much he despised a Captain, Captain Graner. Later in the story, an important quote comes up showing that how things are is not always how things should be. “I think of my enlisted cousin who, at my grandmother’s funeral, dressed in his Marine uniform, said that he couldn’t wait to bomb Iraq into the fucking Stone Age.” Usually, at a funeral, people do not talk about bombing a country and killing more people. It’s usually a time of sorrow, not a time to talk about killing more people.
Throughout the story many examples of this are used to tie things that happened that night, to things that have happened in the war. First, the author is continuously going from party to party, constantly traveling and moving. It did not seem that things changed from party to party, he was still unhappy, and bored. This is related to the war because during the war, the army is constantly moving from one location to another. Usually things don’t change a whole lot from one location to the next. There is not much different, they are still in the same war, trying to accomplish the same thing.
The moving part also coincides with his wife moving to Indiana. Many pieces in this story seem to flow together. When his wife moves away, he is left quite lonely, with pretty much nothing. His house has nothing left in it except a computer, six books, and a lamp. Because he is lonely he goes to his neighbor across the street, Mel, to pass out Halloween candy. Mel is described as a person who wakes up every morning asking “How can I help others today?” From a guy who wakes up every morning thinking this, you would not expect him to purposely scare little children on Halloween.
There are many examples in this story that prove that things aren’t always what they are made out to be. In this story, a lot of the things are actually the exact opposite of what you would think. Sometimes how I think should be are really not at all what they really are.
Throughout the story, there was a constant battle of how things should be compared to how they truly are, and this story describes many of them. Each character has a role in this story promoting a section of information that makes the story whole.
During the story, the author sees many things you too would see on a normal Halloween night or weekend. When I think of Halloween, many different thoughts come to mind, but the more I observed these thoughts, the more things in the story began to make sense. When I think of Halloween, I think of dark scary nights, with cute kids in costumes. I think of going to parties where everyone is dressed up having a good time, with decorations surrounding us trying to scare us, tombstones of R.I.P., and people talking of stories of the dead and the devil. And then there are the pranks. Are they scary or fun? Depends on what end of them you are on. Am I the one playing a prank on someone, or is someone setting me up to get scared and run away. After analyzing all the different aspects of Halloween, I was able to understand how things seem and how they are. Things may seem scary, when they are really fun, or vise versa, they may seem fun, when indeed they are truly scary. The ideas of how Halloween is tied the rest of the story together.
The story opens up with the author dressing up as Captain James T. Kirk for Halloween. In the beginning of the story, this seems to be extra detail, but in all reality, it sets the stage for the story. The simple Captain costume begins to carry a much deeper meaning throughout the story as I learned how much he despised a Captain, Captain Graner. Later in the story, an important quote comes up showing that how things are is not always how things should be. “I think of my enlisted cousin who, at my grandmother’s funeral, dressed in his Marine uniform, said that he couldn’t wait to bomb Iraq into the fucking Stone Age.” Usually, at a funeral, people do not talk about bombing a country and killing more people. It’s usually a time of sorrow, not a time to talk about killing more people.
Throughout the story many examples of this are used to tie things that happened that night, to things that have happened in the war. First, the author is continuously going from party to party, constantly traveling and moving. It did not seem that things changed from party to party, he was still unhappy, and bored. This is related to the war because during the war, the army is constantly moving from one location to another. Usually things don’t change a whole lot from one location to the next. There is not much different, they are still in the same war, trying to accomplish the same thing.
The moving part also coincides with his wife moving to Indiana. Many pieces in this story seem to flow together. When his wife moves away, he is left quite lonely, with pretty much nothing. His house has nothing left in it except a computer, six books, and a lamp. Because he is lonely he goes to his neighbor across the street, Mel, to pass out Halloween candy. Mel is described as a person who wakes up every morning asking “How can I help others today?” From a guy who wakes up every morning thinking this, you would not expect him to purposely scare little children on Halloween.
There are many examples in this story that prove that things aren’t always what they are made out to be. In this story, a lot of the things are actually the exact opposite of what you would think. Sometimes how I think should be are really not at all what they really are.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Beliefs
Everyone has special things they believe in from time to time, but some things stick with people for life. I have three significant beliefs in my life that have and always will be with me. Up till doing this blog though, I had never noticed how close all three of them tie in with each other. Telling people you love them, family, and God are my three significant beliefs that all end up braiding together to make one.
At first, my “telling people you love them” is going to start out as a story, but it is a very important one to me. Going into the summer of my senior year, a bad accident happened. Well it was a combination of accident and sickness. One of our family’s good friend, Chris, was very sick. He had been battling cancer for years, ten to be exact, but he always seemed to beat it, and then it would come back. It was a Saturday night, the weekend after graduation, so I was off at a graduation party. On my way home that night I was going down the hill to my neighborhood when I saw tons of lights. As I got closer, a policeman stopped me and told me I needed to go home another way, that there had been an accident, so I turned around and called my mom to tell her what was going on, and that I was okay because she always gets nervous when she hears sirens. I finally made it home and was talking with my mom when our phone started to ring, it was Gina (Chris’s wife). I knew something was not right, Chris had passed away. The next morning everything started to piece together. The night before, Chris felt really sick and went unconscious, so they called the ambulance. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance was hit by another car (the accident I saw). It was a very sad time, but at his funeral, I learned an extremely important thing that I do everyday. Gina told me to tell my parents every night before I go to bed I love them because her children never got to says those last words to him before he was gone. Even though I am a college student who doesn’t have a whole lot of time, I call my parents every night to tell them I love them, which leads into my next significant belief, family.
My family means the world to me. Being the oldest of five kids is not always the easiest thing, but I will definitely say it has made me who I am today. Growing up in such a close family has been the best thing in my life and I am so appreciative for being given that chance. In this point in time, it seems that a lot of families are not close, or are not even together anymore, but my family is inseparable. Leaving to come to college 500 miles away from them was very hard, but we have made it work. Thank goodness for free cell phone minutes from sprint to sprint because if not we would have an extremely large phone bill. Most people's goodnight calls home last about two minutes, mine on the other hand last about 30 minutes. Everynight I try to talk to everyone in my family, whether it be online or on the phone. I have been a role model for my siblings since I was little so I feel it is very important to stay in good contact with them. For as much as I have taught them, they have taught me. Being in a big, close family is very rewarding. My parents and siblings have pushed me to be the best person I can be. There have been many times I have been confused on what decision to make and I asked myself how my family would think if I did this or that. I would never want to let them down, so that strives me to do the right things. Not only am I close with my immediate family, but also with my aunts, uncles, grandpa, and all of my second cousins. During the year, our WHOLE family gets together at least four times which is really nice.
My last important thing is God. Without him, none of the things I mentioned above could happen or even be part of my life. Through and good bad he will always be there for me. He might not be able to be seen, but he is always there. The extra push you need to get past a hard time, or the smile you need to cheer you up. Sometimes the littlest things are the best things that can be done. It doesn't take a million dollars to make me happy. Just knowing someone cares and is always there for me puts a smile on my face. There are days when I wake up just thinking of everything I need to do, but I know with his help I will get through my day. It might not be easy or enjoyable, but I will survive.
Throughout my life, I have been through many good and bad times. I have done many things wrong, but more importantly I have learned from those experiences. No matter what happens to me, where ever I end up, my beliefs will always stay with me.
At first, my “telling people you love them” is going to start out as a story, but it is a very important one to me. Going into the summer of my senior year, a bad accident happened. Well it was a combination of accident and sickness. One of our family’s good friend, Chris, was very sick. He had been battling cancer for years, ten to be exact, but he always seemed to beat it, and then it would come back. It was a Saturday night, the weekend after graduation, so I was off at a graduation party. On my way home that night I was going down the hill to my neighborhood when I saw tons of lights. As I got closer, a policeman stopped me and told me I needed to go home another way, that there had been an accident, so I turned around and called my mom to tell her what was going on, and that I was okay because she always gets nervous when she hears sirens. I finally made it home and was talking with my mom when our phone started to ring, it was Gina (Chris’s wife). I knew something was not right, Chris had passed away. The next morning everything started to piece together. The night before, Chris felt really sick and went unconscious, so they called the ambulance. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance was hit by another car (the accident I saw). It was a very sad time, but at his funeral, I learned an extremely important thing that I do everyday. Gina told me to tell my parents every night before I go to bed I love them because her children never got to says those last words to him before he was gone. Even though I am a college student who doesn’t have a whole lot of time, I call my parents every night to tell them I love them, which leads into my next significant belief, family.
My family means the world to me. Being the oldest of five kids is not always the easiest thing, but I will definitely say it has made me who I am today. Growing up in such a close family has been the best thing in my life and I am so appreciative for being given that chance. In this point in time, it seems that a lot of families are not close, or are not even together anymore, but my family is inseparable. Leaving to come to college 500 miles away from them was very hard, but we have made it work. Thank goodness for free cell phone minutes from sprint to sprint because if not we would have an extremely large phone bill. Most people's goodnight calls home last about two minutes, mine on the other hand last about 30 minutes. Everynight I try to talk to everyone in my family, whether it be online or on the phone. I have been a role model for my siblings since I was little so I feel it is very important to stay in good contact with them. For as much as I have taught them, they have taught me. Being in a big, close family is very rewarding. My parents and siblings have pushed me to be the best person I can be. There have been many times I have been confused on what decision to make and I asked myself how my family would think if I did this or that. I would never want to let them down, so that strives me to do the right things. Not only am I close with my immediate family, but also with my aunts, uncles, grandpa, and all of my second cousins. During the year, our WHOLE family gets together at least four times which is really nice.
My last important thing is God. Without him, none of the things I mentioned above could happen or even be part of my life. Through and good bad he will always be there for me. He might not be able to be seen, but he is always there. The extra push you need to get past a hard time, or the smile you need to cheer you up. Sometimes the littlest things are the best things that can be done. It doesn't take a million dollars to make me happy. Just knowing someone cares and is always there for me puts a smile on my face. There are days when I wake up just thinking of everything I need to do, but I know with his help I will get through my day. It might not be easy or enjoyable, but I will survive.
Throughout my life, I have been through many good and bad times. I have done many things wrong, but more importantly I have learned from those experiences. No matter what happens to me, where ever I end up, my beliefs will always stay with me.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Beliefs
"Tell people you love them"
The beginning of summer is always a great time of year. School letting out, graduation, and graduation parties! Our first weekend out of school all of my friends and I went to a graduation party. We had a great time swimming and hanging out with everyone...
As I drove home from the graduation/pool party something felt very ackward, but I figured I was just tired from my long day. As I started down the hill to my neighborhood I went around the curve and was blinded with all of the flashing lights. Seconds later a police officer stopped me and told me I needed to turn around and go home another way...
Panicked, I called my mom immediately to tell her what was going on and make sure she was at home safe and sound.
When I arrived home my mom were talking about the parties and all the days festivities when the phone rang. Both of our hearts dropped. It was one of my mom's good friends, Gina, on the phone. As I starred into her eyes, I knew something was not right...
"God"
Through and good bad someone will always be there for you. You might not be able to see him, but he is always there. The extra push you need to get past a hard time, or the smile you need to cheer you up.
Sometimes the littlest things are the best things that can be done. It doesn't take a million dollars to make me happy. Just knowing someone cares and is always there for me puts a smile on my face.
There are days when I wake up just thinking of everything I need to do, but I know with his help I will get through my day. It might not be easy or enjoyable, but I will survive.
"Loving Family"
My family means the world to me. Being the oldest of five kids is not always the easiest thing, but I will definitely say it has made me who I am today. Growing up in such a close family has been the best thing in my life and I am so appreciative for being given that chance. Now a days it seems that a lot of families are not close, or are not even together anymore, but my family is inseparable.
Leaving to come to college 500 miles away from them was very hard, but we have made it work. Thank goodness for free cell phone minutes from sprint to sprint because if not we would have an extremely large phone bill. Most people's goodnight calls home last about two minutes, mine on the other hand last about 30 minutes. Everynight I try to talk to everyone in my family, whether it be online or on the phone.
I have been a role model for my siblings since I was little so I feel it is very important to stay in good contact with them. For as much as I have taught them, they have taught me. Being in a big, close family is very rewarding.
The beginning of summer is always a great time of year. School letting out, graduation, and graduation parties! Our first weekend out of school all of my friends and I went to a graduation party. We had a great time swimming and hanging out with everyone...
As I drove home from the graduation/pool party something felt very ackward, but I figured I was just tired from my long day. As I started down the hill to my neighborhood I went around the curve and was blinded with all of the flashing lights. Seconds later a police officer stopped me and told me I needed to turn around and go home another way...
Panicked, I called my mom immediately to tell her what was going on and make sure she was at home safe and sound.
When I arrived home my mom were talking about the parties and all the days festivities when the phone rang. Both of our hearts dropped. It was one of my mom's good friends, Gina, on the phone. As I starred into her eyes, I knew something was not right...
"God"
Through and good bad someone will always be there for you. You might not be able to see him, but he is always there. The extra push you need to get past a hard time, or the smile you need to cheer you up.
Sometimes the littlest things are the best things that can be done. It doesn't take a million dollars to make me happy. Just knowing someone cares and is always there for me puts a smile on my face.
There are days when I wake up just thinking of everything I need to do, but I know with his help I will get through my day. It might not be easy or enjoyable, but I will survive.
"Loving Family"
My family means the world to me. Being the oldest of five kids is not always the easiest thing, but I will definitely say it has made me who I am today. Growing up in such a close family has been the best thing in my life and I am so appreciative for being given that chance. Now a days it seems that a lot of families are not close, or are not even together anymore, but my family is inseparable.
Leaving to come to college 500 miles away from them was very hard, but we have made it work. Thank goodness for free cell phone minutes from sprint to sprint because if not we would have an extremely large phone bill. Most people's goodnight calls home last about two minutes, mine on the other hand last about 30 minutes. Everynight I try to talk to everyone in my family, whether it be online or on the phone.
I have been a role model for my siblings since I was little so I feel it is very important to stay in good contact with them. For as much as I have taught them, they have taught me. Being in a big, close family is very rewarding.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
High and Low
I read the article “High and Low,” by Anthony Lane, in the magazine The New Yorker. During the beginning of the article I was very unsure of what the writer was trying to get across to me as the reader. Although the article started very slow, it all began to run together and I learned some very interesting facts about how cheap it is to fly in Europe. Flights to Trieste, if purchased in advanced, would only cost $17.50 and the return flight would only cost $1.40.
Throughout the article, the author used a few different versions of structure. The article started off as a story that did not give much reference to what the upcoming text would be about. Anthony Lane started telling about his adventure to Vitoria- Gasteiz, a city located in Spain. The authors tone showed that he was very confused and lost when he first ventured to the unknown city with him stating, “My destination was Vitoria-Gasteiz, a placed I had never hear of, whose grid reference, climate, cuisine, night life, fauna, and geological foundation I had made no attempt to discover.”
As the article continues on, the voice of the article becomes very objective with sarcastic remarks thrown in to add more personality to the text. To help do this, Anthony Lane changed the structure of the article to short paragraphs listing important information. The author went into great detail on a variety of topics including pricing of flights, different airline carriers, and some of the leading complaints by flyers. To increase the value of the text and humor the reader, he added in sarcastic tone which helped entertain the reader on a rather plain article. Some comments made like, “There is another, more thoughtful response to the charge of planetary indifference: sell your car and walk,” helped add a dry sense of humor to the article.
The authors diction in the article really helped develop the tone. He used high class vocabulary during important spots in the article to set a serious mood. He also used some very catchy lines like “avaricious eyes,” and “succumb to thirst” to catch the readers attention. Lastly, as the reader I was able to paint pictures in my head while reading this story with his great description. Lines like “A chipper, salty-haired fellow in jeans and sneakers…,”and “rickety stones shook the bones…” made me feel like I was part of the story.
During the beginning of this story I was very uninterested, but as the story progressed I learned many interesting facts about flying in Europe.
Throughout the article, the author used a few different versions of structure. The article started off as a story that did not give much reference to what the upcoming text would be about. Anthony Lane started telling about his adventure to Vitoria- Gasteiz, a city located in Spain. The authors tone showed that he was very confused and lost when he first ventured to the unknown city with him stating, “My destination was Vitoria-Gasteiz, a placed I had never hear of, whose grid reference, climate, cuisine, night life, fauna, and geological foundation I had made no attempt to discover.”
As the article continues on, the voice of the article becomes very objective with sarcastic remarks thrown in to add more personality to the text. To help do this, Anthony Lane changed the structure of the article to short paragraphs listing important information. The author went into great detail on a variety of topics including pricing of flights, different airline carriers, and some of the leading complaints by flyers. To increase the value of the text and humor the reader, he added in sarcastic tone which helped entertain the reader on a rather plain article. Some comments made like, “There is another, more thoughtful response to the charge of planetary indifference: sell your car and walk,” helped add a dry sense of humor to the article.
The authors diction in the article really helped develop the tone. He used high class vocabulary during important spots in the article to set a serious mood. He also used some very catchy lines like “avaricious eyes,” and “succumb to thirst” to catch the readers attention. Lastly, as the reader I was able to paint pictures in my head while reading this story with his great description. Lines like “A chipper, salty-haired fellow in jeans and sneakers…,”and “rickety stones shook the bones…” made me feel like I was part of the story.
During the beginning of this story I was very uninterested, but as the story progressed I learned many interesting facts about flying in Europe.
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