Think back over everything we have read so far for this unit ("Theme for English B," "High Yellow White Trash," "Black, White, and Jewish," "Those Who Don't," "Sylvia's Story" from National Public Radio, "Alone and All Together," and "Two Kinds"). your task now is to write and post a comment in this forum in which you describe a connection between TWO of these works, focusing on the role of "the box." Think about how different characters face similar or different challenges. Think about similarities or differences in the kinds of disguises characters wear. Do you think these characters will escape from their boxes?
When you have made a connection between two works, write a post describing that connection. Make sure to mention specific characters/narrators, and to be clear about how the "boxes" they experience are similar. Your post does not have to be long; three or four sentences is plenty. You should feel free to respond to your classmates' posts, as well as to ask your classmates questions.
*** Remember to use your first name and last initial when you sign your post. Also, if you choose to respond to what another classmate wrote, please do so in a respectful manner.
50 comments:
I think that there is a link between High Yellow White Trash and Black White and Jewish. In the stories both of the girls are trying to decide whether or not to be black . In the end of High Yellow White Trash the narrator doesn't come out of the box. but in Black White and Jewish the narrator decides to be black and gets out of the box.
Ellie R.
I think there is a link between Two Kinds and Sylvia's story. Both of their parents are pushing them really hard to be something that they dont want. With Sylvia's box it is that shes stuck in her culture trying to get free and be American. And the other girl( i forgot her name) in Two kinds doesn't want to be a child prodigy. Just wants to be a normal girl that her mom is proud of.
- Amelia M.
I think there is a link between Sylvia's story and High Yellow White Trash. In Sylvia's life there are two sides, the part of her that wants to be American, but she is pushed towards being Mexican. In High Yellow White Trash, Lisa has two sides. She starts acting "black," and her mom starts getting mad and pushes her to be "white." They both have two boxes. In the end, they both become an individual person, probably with visits to both boxes.
Julie S.
I believe that in Black White and Jewish and in Two Kinds both narrators are trying to become something. The narrator in Two Kinds is trying to become a prodigy; one of the amazing children. In Black White and Jewish, the narrator is desperately trying to act white to impress the boy that she likes. Both narrators are trying to make other people accept them more by changing the way they are.
I think there is a connection between Black, White and Jewish and High Yellow White Trash. Both of the girls in the stories don't know how to act. They don't know if they should act white or black, they're hiding behind a disguise of who they really aren't. In High yellow white trash, the girl is stuck in a box. She's between two worlds. At the end of the story she gets out of her box because the girl says that she has to be herself and just except that she's white and black. The last sentance of the story says, "It's part of negotiating the world divided, of maintaining a balance and being myself." In Black, White and Jewish, the girl is trying to be a not black girl, but then she relizes that she is proud to be black and gets out of her box. So both of the girls end up getting out of their boxes.
I think there is a link between Sylvia's Story and Two Kinds. In Two Kinds the mom wants the daughter to be a prodigy, but the daughter really just wants to be herself. In Sylvia's Story, Sylvia's mother wants Sylvia to be a regular Mexican woman. Sylvia just wants to have a job. In the end the narrator in Two Kinds comes out of the box and tells her mom she won't continue with her piano lessons. In Sylvia's Story Sylvia comes also out of her box and decides to go to college.
Willa G.
I think in Two Kinds and Sylvia's Story there is a link. In Two Kinds the mother wants the daughter to be a prodigy, and the girl just wants to be as special as she is. In Sylvia's Story the mother wants her daughter to be a regular Mexican girl. While Sylvia wants to have a job. In the end of Two Kinds the narrator comes out of her box by telling her mom that she dose not want to continue her piano lessons. In the end of Sylvia's Story Sylvia comes out of her box by going to college.
Willa G.
I think the two kinds and Sylvia's story are alike because they both have a foreign girl trying to break out of the box. Yes i think they will get out of their box eventually. They also wanted to be American as well.
Ben M.
I think the narrators from High Yellow White Trash and from Black, White and Jewish are very similar, both feel they are part of two boxes, but throughout both stories, they lean to different boxes. In Black, White and Jewish she says "I make a big fuss in front of school so that he [Bryon Katon] will see that I am related to not black girls," the narrator tries to get out of the “black box” but she then realizes she is part of both boxes. In High Yellow White trash Lisa Page says, “In my mind, he [her father] became the bright side of the family tree,” she wants to leave the “white box.” At the end, when Lisa is an adult, she seems to be part of both boxes as well.
Hannah R.
I think there is a connection between "Those Who Don't" and "Alone and All Together". The Muslin girl in "Alone and All Together" is upset because she doesn't want people judging muslim people for what happened in 9/11. In "Those Who Don't", the same racial differences are going on because the white people that go in their neighborhood are afraid of them. The white people don't even know them, but they are judging them by their looks.
I think that there is a link between "Alone and All Together" and "Sylvia's Story." in "Sylvia's Story," Sylvia is stuck inside of her mom's box. Or at least, her mom is trying to get her into the box. She "has" to be like her cousins, not getting an education, doing nothing but cook and clean, and get pregnant around 15. In "Alone and All Together," Libby is stuck in a very different box. Arabs had just crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. She wants very much to be Arabic, and observe Arabic traditions and learn Arabic and things like that, but she is forced to live in fear of people wanting to harm or kill her, just because she is Arabic. For example, if she was found coming out of her Arabic school, she could be shot dead.
---Steven G.
I think there is a link between "Two Kinds" and "Sylvia's Story". (Like Amelia said) In both of the stories the girl wants to do one thing and her mother wants her to do another. In "Two Kinds" the girl wants to be more laid back and not be the genius her mother wants her to be. In one part of the story, it says she even quits college. In "Sylvia's Story" it is basically the opposite. Sylvia wants to go to college and get well educated, just like all of the other Americans she knows, but her mother wants her to be less serious and more like the character in "Two Kinds". Sylvia’s mother prefers she doesn’t worry so much about education, and just follow the traditions. In these two stories both girls rebel against their mother and fight for what they want.
Liana M.
In my opinion there is a connection between "Two Kinds" and "Sylvia's Story". Each of there mothers are trying to make them, something their not. For example in Two Kinds Ni kan's mother tries to see if she is a prodigy.It is an external conflict between Ni kan and her mother. In Sylvia's story her mother is forcing her to be a true traditional mexican.This is also an external conflict. These are two examples of how these stories are connected.
-Tara S.
I believe there is a connection between Silvia's story and Theme for English B, by Langston Hughes. This connection isn't very obvious, but if you look closely, there are certain similarities. Both of them feel alone and excluded from the group, which creates a box. In Theme for English B, the narrator talks about the professor and himself being a part of each other, even though they are different. Silvia also feels part of her culture and family, even though she wants to break away. However, Silvia is still part of her own group, rather than in the poem, where the narrator is different than the group.
-Natalia G.
i think taht there ia a link with syliviyas story and two kinds,becasue bot the mothers want there children to do something they don't want to do. in two kinds the amy's mom wants her to be a prodigi and she does not she wants to be regular.in sylvias story her mom wants her to be a average mexican and get maried when she is 18 and have a kid when she is 16, she just wants to be american.
-Brandon M.
I think that there is a connection between Two Kinds and High yellow white trash, because in both stories there mothers are pushing their kids so be something that they don't want to be. In high yellow white trash the child is mixed and she wants her black side to show more then her white side, and her mom feels angry and hurt that she's starting to act differently then how the mother wants her to. And in two kinds the mom is pushing her child to be a prodigy and play piano perfectly and the daughter doesn't want to be a perfect piano player. And in both situations the parents wants are not fulfilled.
-Emanuela F
I see a connection between "Two Kinds" By Amy Tan, and "Sylvia's Story." In each story, the parents, or more specifically the mother, is pushing the daughter to be someone else, and Sylvia and the narrator in Two Kinds just want to be themselves.
Sylvia is trying to get out of the box, and so is the narrator of the other story. The narrator's life was sort of broken up into two parts. "Pleading Child" was when she was in the box, and "Perfectly Connected" was when she broke free. We don't really know if Sylvia broke free or not, but I think/hope she did.
-Monica C.
I think there is a link between Black, White, and Jewish and Alone and All Together. In both of the stories, the girls are being affected because of where they are from. They are being affected by society and people are discriminating against them. They both are a little bit afraid and ashamed of their nationality at the beginning, and accept it in the end.
Stefania G.
Whoops! I forgot to relate my comment to the box. In Black, White, and Jewish, the main characters box is that she wants to be more of a white girl than a black girl. In the end, she gets out of it because she realizes that being herself is better than being someone who pleases other people. In Alone and All together, Libby's box is that she is a little bit afraid of being who she is because of her nationality. In the end she breaks free from it because she realizes that she isn't alone and she doesn't have to be afraid. She can be brave with everyone else who thinks they are alone.
Stefania G
I think there is a connection between "Alone and all Together" and "Sylvia's Story". In both stories, there are two cultures "mashing" together, and they both have to "overcome" that culture to, what they think, become and American.
Rachel B.
I think in the end, all of the stories tie together. All of the narrators are at one point stuck in a box (whether they get out of the box or not), and all of them have conflicts (internal or external) dealing with their identity.
-Helen C.
I think that there is a link between "Two Kinds" and "Black, White, and Jewish". In both stories the girls try to be something they're not, which in this case for "Two Kinds would be a prodigy. Jing-mei tries to prove to her mom that she can't be anything but herself and in the end she realizes that she could have been a famous pianist but instead chose to go her own way. For "Black, White, and Jewish" the girl wants to be white just because she wants a boy to like her, but she like the other girl in "Two Kinds" also in the end realizes the best she can be is to be herself.
-Beverly L.
I think that the "Sylvia's Story" and "Two Kinds" are very alike because the box in both of the stories are about trying to be some one different than your mom wants you to be. Like in "Sylvia's Story" her mother wants her to be like her older cousins and to stay at home and not go to college and be just like her when she grows up, but Sylvia doesn't want to. In "Two Kinds" her mother wants her daughter to be a prodigy and be a whiz at the piano, but she doesn't want to. The similarity in these stories are that the box is both trying to break away from your family and be some one different.
I think that there is a connection between Theme for English B and Alone and All Together. In Theme for English B, the narrator is fighting against racism. He is the only African-American in the class. He's alone, different. In Alone and Altogher, Libby deals with seeing people she knows, and some she doesn't, be the victims of horrible, horrible racism. Like Jamila, and Ahmed, and the Moraccan gas station ttendent. She looks so different then the other Arabs, so the insults aren't centered around her. But she still stands up for what she believes in.
Jeane Em D.
i think there is a connection between high yellow white trash and sylvia story i think that there are 2 kinds of boxses in sylvia story one is to be her self do her dreams, and the second box is that she wants to stay with her family. and then in high yellow white trash she wants to be black but the mom wants her to be white
Joey P.
I think that there's a connection between Silvia's story and Two Kinds, because in both stories the parents are pushing the child to be something that they aren't or don't want to be. In Silvia's story, Silvia was living in a box that was the normal mexican girl's life. In Two Kinds, the girl was living in a box of being a child prodigy. In both stories the girls are trying to get out of boxes that there parents have created for them.
Sarah C.
I think that the connection between 'High Yellow White Trash' and Sylvia's story (the radio broadcast,) are almost the same. In 'High Yellow White Trash', Lisa is trying to figure who she is, while her mother is upset that she isn't trying to be just like her, and is trying to be like her father. Lisa is trying to get out of her own box, which in her case I think it her mother. In the Radio Broadcast, Sylvia is trying to get out of her own box, which is also her parents. Sylvia is trying to go out and find who she is, whereas her parents are trying to get her to be just like the rest of her family. They both want to get out of their boxes, but their parents are pulling them both back.
-Anastasia D.
I agree with Helen that all of the storys link together and they all either get out or stay in.
Ben M
i think there is a connection between high yellow white trash. Both girls are trying to find out if they're white or black and in the end the who decides to be black feels good and the one who tries to be more white feels bad at the end
Sam L.
I think there is a connection between Two Kinds and Sylvia's Story. Amy Tan's mom is pushing Amy to be a child prodigy. Her mom at the beginning, had all these hopes of Amy becoming a child prodigy (The box amy's mom is putting Amy in), but when Amy tries to be bored and not interested (She's trying to get out of the box) , her mom gives up and makes her play the piano like all the other chinese kids. Amy just wants to be regular, not a prodigy. Sylvia's mom is pushing Sylvia to be like regular Mexican people (the box). Getting pregnant at age 18, not going to college, getting married at 20, etc. But Sylvia just wants to be like American girls. She wants to go to college, wait to get married and have kids (She's trying to get out of the box).
-Catherine Z.
I think there is a link between "Two Kinds" and Sylvia's story. In both of the stories the kid has parents who are pushing them to do something they don't want to. Sylvia is "stuck in the box" because her mom is pushing her to stay in her culture when she wants to be Americain. With Amy Tan her mom wants her to be a child prodigy. She doesn't want to be a prodigy she just wants to be a regular kid and be appreciated for what she can do.
Amartya D.
I also think that there is a link between two kinds and sylvias story.
Ben M
PS don't ask why my post name is bagelman.
I think there is a link between High Yellow White Trash and Black White and Jewish. Both girls are trying to be a race tht they are not. They think that they will be better as another race.
- Eric P.
I think there is a connection between Sylvia's story and Two Kind, because both of there mothers are pushing them to do things they don't want to do. In Sylvia's case her box is her mom tryng to push her to be more like her culture when she does't want to. And in Two Kind Amy's box is her mother wants her to be something special and Amy just wants to be a normal girl.
-Ryan s.
oops i forgot to give my reasoning.
becase they both have parents trying to mold the kid. the daugther dose not want to.
i think ther is a connection between high yellow white trash and Black white and Jewish. They both start out in the box of being black and white and then they both have to decide to be white and which box to go into.
Daniel. A
I am responding to "Sylvia's Story" and "High Yellow White Trash."
In Sylvia's story her mother is trying to push her to be like everyone else in her family. But Sylvia has a different idea.
It is the same thing in "High Yellow White Trash," after her parents divorced the mother was trying to make her daughter like her, and her family. But the daughter also thinks different.
In both ways there is a box the mother's are trying to push their daughters in to them so they can be like everyone else they know.
-Caroline M
I think that there is a connection between "High Yellow White Trash" and "Black White and Jewish" (I think that was the title). The reason I think there is a connection between these 2 stories is because in both of them, the narrator is both white and black. But in one story the narrator wants to have her "white disguise" on and in one story, the narrator was more comfortable with putting on her "black disguise". Also, in "High Yellow White Trash" getting out of the box disappointed her mom, and in "Black White and Jewish" her mom wanted her to stay in the box.In the end the narrator of "Black White and Jewish" she gets out of the box and she feels really bad about it, and in "High Yellow White Trash" she gets out of the box and feels as if she belongs out of the box.
-Homum A.
I think that there is a connection between "High Yellow White Trash" and "Black, White, and Jewish". In "Black, White, and Jewish" the narrotor was having an internal conflict. she couldn't decide to be a "not black girl" or a "black girl." in the end of the story the narrator decides to be a "black girl."In "High Yellow White Trash" The narrator is also unsure on weither to be "black" or "white." Both of these characters are in "a box." at the end of "High Yellow White Trash" the narrator decides to be "black", and in the end of "Black, White, and Jewish" the character also decides to be "black."
Adam K.
After reading Two Kinds I was thinking about Sylvias story alot because, they were almost exact opposites towards the end. On the Radio show Sylvia wanted to succeed and she wanted to have a carreer and get married when she was ready and she wanted to have kids when she was ready, but her parents were against that. They didn't care if she got an education they wanted her to get married at 19 and have kids. In the story Two Kinds the girl after being pushed so hard to do her best, she got disinterested. She didn't get a good job and she dropped out of collage. What I realized though was that the stories were similar in the way that both girls did against what their parents wanted them to do. They both came out of the box.
i think there was a link between two kinds and high yellow white trash. In high yellow white trash, her mom was trapping her in a box by trying to make her act white and force her into the white community. In two kinds her mom is basicaly trying to force feed her talents that she just doesnt want. i think that she was a bad parent in encouraging the daughter not to be herself.
-Charlie C.
I think there is a connection between High Yellow white trash and ALone and all Together. the connection is that the both charectors in the story felt ashamed because of their race and skin color.
Tommy V.
I think that there is a connection between 'Two Kinds' and 'Sylvia's story'. In each story they are being pushed to be something that there aren't and don't want to be. In Two Kinds Jing-mei doesn't want to be a child prodigy or the Chinese Shirley Temple, she just wantsto be normal And in Sylvia's story Sylvia's mother wants her to be like her cousins getting marrried at 18,19 and having a child and just being a Women and doing house work like cleaning, cooking. Sylvia just wants to get ot to the box and do something with her life.
Kira F.
High Yellow White Trash is related to From Black, White and Jewish because there are race problems. In both stories a black person and a white person get married. Both families lose a part of their identity because of this. They are in the box because they are different from everyone around them. The parents divorced to get out of the box. Both families have children who are mixed. The children get treated differently this problem gets really hard on the family and the children feels like they do not belong. The children are stuck in the box because it is much harder to change who they are. I think for these children to escape their boxes is to embrace their differences.
~Ellen M.
I think there is a connection between black white and jewish and two kinds because they are both fighting external conflicts. In jing-mei's case she has to change to her mothers desire and in the charector inside black white and jewish has to change to bryan katons desire.
Chumin W.
I think there's a connection between Sylvia's Story andTwo Kinds. In Sylvia's Story, Sylvia doesn't want to live the life of what her parents think is right. She wants to live the way she thinks is right, to do something with her life. In Two Kinds, Jind Mei's mother was pushing her to play the piano. But Jing Mei thought that was a really bad idea. She didn't want to play. At this point both people are stuck in the box. At the same time, they are building their own identity that are different from what their parents expect. It isn't clear wether or not Sylvia got out of the box. Jing Mei get's out of her box when she realizes why her mother had told her to play the piano for her own benefit.
Danny Z.
I think that there is a connection between Sylvia's story and Two Kinds. In Sylvia's story, Sylvia's mom pushes her to be like any other Mexican girl but Sylvia wants to be an American girl. In Two Kinds, Jing-Mei's mom pushes her to be a prodigy but Jing-Mei just wants to be a normal girl. In the end both I think that both girls become who they want to be.
Laura A.
In sylvia's story and High Yellow White Trash there is simularity. They both want to be something they aren't. They both end up being what they were in first place.
-Tony Shaw
I really believe there is a connection between "High Yellow White Trash" and "All Alone and Together" mainly because it deals with someone just a little bit different. In HYWT it seems like she's not just black but she's something different that many people haven't seen before. And in AA&T she's muslin which is a race many people weren't familiar and in both situation they resent them for that fact
"Two Kinds" and "Sylvia's Radio Story":
In both "Sylvia's Radio Story" and "Two Kinds" each mother is pushing there dauters to be somthing there not. The difference is that Jing-Mei's(Two Kinds)mother is trying to push her out her box. Sylvia's mom is trying to stuff her back into her box. Another difference between these dauters is they're in different settings, which could very well be the reason they have sircumstancily different situations.
Mutiat A., Nekrosius, 8-9th period
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