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, "Nekrosius," and your class period number when you sign your post (do NOT put your last name). Also, if you choose to respond to what another classmate wrote, please do so in a respectful manner.
37 comments:
I am going to compare "Sylvia's Story" and "Two Kinds". Sylvia's box is that her mom is trying to make her what she wants her to be. Sylvia wants better things for herself than what her mom's life has been like, and what her cousin's lives are turning out to be like. I think that is good, and her mom knows what she wants so sometimes she supports her. Jing Mei's box is pretty much the same thing. Jing Mei's mom wants her to be a prodigy, a genius, or just amount to something amazing in life. But it seems like Jing Mei just doesn't want to do/become what her mom wants her to do/become because she wants to do/become the opposite of what her mom wants her to do/become. (Sorry if that didn't make sense). Their "disguises" are a little bit the same. Sylvia sometimes pretends to be what her mom wants her to be. So does Jing Mei but then she stops trying. Sylvia also seems to stop being whats she's not. Neither mother really accepts that I think. I think that Sylvia is the better person in this case because she has let her mom know what she wants to become etc. But Jing Mei just hides her feelings, makes her mom feel bad and never tries to fix up this problem. I think that Sylvia will escape her box because she studies hard and strives for her dream (having a better life). I don't think that Jing Mei will ever escape her box. She has "left" her box because her mom has died and I think that her mom was the "box keeper" of her box. Her mom was making her do things she didn't want to do, that was her box. But since she hid her feelings and re-acted in a bad way, she was stuck in this conflict until her mom died. So then she left the box, but never escaped it. (I hope that made sense).
Sheridan Nekrosius 3-4
In HYWT the author is in a a family that does't want her out of the box. But in Black, White and Jewish the family not only lets her do her own thing. One because they don't know and two the will let her figure out if she likes her box or wants a new one.
Jackson Nekrosius 89
I think that Sylvia's Story is related to Black, White, and Jewish because both Sylvia and Sally are struggling with the way their people live. In Sylvia's case she is struggling with her family not wanting her to be American but wanting her to be more Spanish. While Sally wants to be Jewish but also doesn't want to be because she is afraid of what people will do to her if she is Jewish.
-Eleanor A Nekrosius 89
I think that Jing Mei in "Two Kinds" is in a similar box as Lisa Page in "HYWT" in that one of their parents, in fact, in both cases their mothers, want them to be something that they aren't/ don't want to be. No matter if it is being a prodigy or white, they are still being forced into behaving a certain way without any input in their lives. In both cases, they try to escape by purposely not doing what they are told. I would appreciate opinions on whether or not this (resisting parental instruction) is a good or bad thing.
Eliot Nekrosius 3-4
David Nekrosius 34
I think that HYWT is like sylvias story. Because they both have trrouble with ther mother. That dont except what they want to be and want them to be just like them and they want to be diffrent. THer mothers wont let them because ther both sort of stuck in a box of fear of the outside world. Both peapole some times hate ther mothers.
I think Sacred Hoops and Sylvia's story is in the same box, but is also very different.Swift Eagle (which is his nickname) and Sylvia do things that they want to do and wants to impress certain people, Sylvia is her mother and Swift Eagle is the people who enjoy or see basketball.
Alix Nekrosius 34
I am going to compare "Two Kinds" and "Sylvia's Story". These stories are very similar but very different at the same time. In "Sylvia's Story" Sylvia is about to turn 18. She is going to be an adult and she will be able to make her own decisions. Sylvia's mother pressures Sylvia to become a house wife. But Sylvia wants to become a computer affects designer. In "Two Kinds" the daughter is very pressured by her mother to become a child prodigy. The daughter does not want to listen to her mother. Jing-mei just wants to be a normal child. A child that doesn't really over work for something. In "Two Kinds" the story ends with Jing-mei looking back at the major fight with her mother. In the radio broadcast of "Sylvia's Stories" the story ends with the narrator saying that the problem is still unsolved. These stories are very similar and very different.
Lillian Nekrosius 3-4
andy nekrosius 34
I think the story high yellow white trash reminded me to not take things for granted. like the freedom to be whatever I want to be not whatever my parents want me to be.
I am going to compare "Two kinds" and " Black, White , Jewish." I think these stories are alike because they both involve mothers that want their child to be want THEY want to be and the daughters don't want to. " Tow Kinds" is about a girl who's mother wants to live her life and her mother makes her play the piano although she doesn't put forth the effort to even try. She is forced to do something she doesn't want to do. "BWK" is about a girl that doesn't know what she wants to because she is mixed and whites see her as ugly and blacks see her as beautiful and nice. when she is around her father she acts white and when she is with her mother she acts black.
These two stories are alike because they talk about children who won't come to their parents for their problems and it is effecting their true identity
Andre Nekrosius 34
I think that Sylvia's story is related to Two Kinds because in both stories there is a mother interacting with her daughter. In Two Kinds the mom says that she wants her daughter not to be a prodigy but to be her best an to always do her best. In Two kinds the mother left everything in China to come to America. This is related to Sylvia's Story. In Sylvia's story her grandmother came to America to have something more. In both stories the mothers are in a way not aware that they are doing this to there daughters. ("This" being trying to make them do things that they not necessarily want to do. In both stories the daughters want to be something different than what there mom wants to be. Both daughters are trapped inside a box. In both of these stories they have to escape from there boxes and try to do what they want to do. In Sylvia's story she wants to be different in her family. She doesn't want to be like her cousins who get pregnant she want to be someone different from her mom or anyone in her family. Sylvia wants to be different from her family members but also be a part of her family. Jing Mei's struggle is trying to tell her mom that she wants to be herself and not keep trying to be a prodigy or something that her mom wants to be. Jing Mei knows this and she tells herself this all the time but she still struggles with getting the picture across to her mom in a non-harmful way and in the end it is little more harmful then what she thought.
-Katie Nekrosius 3-4
I'm going to compare "Sylvia's Story" to "Alone and Altogether".In both these stories a character is having an issue with there race. In "Sylvia's Story" Sylvia is dealing with her race at home. In "Alone and Altogether" Libby is having issues with the whole world. Sylvia is dealing with a more personal thing. Libby is dealing with something that involves more people.
Max Nekrosius 89
Comparing "HYWT" and "Two Kinds", I think that both of their mother's are trying to make them something they don't want to or can not be. In other words, the mother's are trying to keep them in a box of perfection. But this is because they don't want their children to lose and regret what they have chosen, just like the parents have, this is what the children don't understand. What the mothers don't understand is that all people need to decide for themselves. And learn to make choices. Keeping their children in little perfectionist saftey boxes takes that privledge away from them.
Emily Nekrosius 89
I am comparing Sylvia's Story and Two Kinds. both stories have a mother and daughter (aka. Sylvia and Jing Mei), and the mothers both want to get the daughter to be or do something they don't want to be/do. I think that both Sylvia and Jing Mei will get out of their boxes because they both seem to have a lot of etermanation.
Max Nekrosius 34
In 'Sylvia's story' her mom is keeping Sylvia in a little box, way to small for someone with great thing going for them to live in. She is very educational for a girl and is not what her mother wanted her to be. And also didn't exactly do what her mom wanted her to do because she knew she had more in her than that. In Mexico, girls just went to school to get a boyfriend, or so her grandfather said. Sylvia pointed out during the interview that whenever she tries to poke a whole in the box, her mother seals it right up. And whenever she tries to escape the box her mother is always watching and standing right in front of the 'door', I think it was something like that.
In 'Two kinds' her mother sort of want to get Jing-mei out of her own little box and into her box (sorry if confusing). I thought that Jing-mei's mom wants to have the fame for both of them, reading the story from Jing-mei's view. It gives you the thought that her mother was the bad guy, not Jing-mei. But after discussing it in class, I noticed that Jing-mei was the bad guy to herself. Trying to stay in her box. And not escaping it, because it was comforting. Her mom was just trying to do the best she could for her, but Jing-mei didn't notice it at the time. And when her mom died, she learned what she had had going for her but never gave herself the chance. She had failed her mom in everything except in being stubborn. In the end she doesn't escape her box but she leaves it and sort of re-enters the world from a new perspective, without being too stubborn.
Magda Nekrosius 8/9
I will compare "Two Kinds" and Sylvia's Story". In "Two Kinds",Jing-Mei is faced with a person-vs.-person conflict between her and her mother. Her mother wants her to be a young and huge success in America, and will stop at nothing to do it. She wants her daughter to be a child prodigy, but Jing-Mei justs wants to be herself, not what her mother wants her to be. So, her mother basically puts her in a box of her expectations, and won't let Jing-Mei escape. Jing-Mei eventually finds a way to break out of the box slightly,and not be forced to do things that her mother wants. But she does still see and feel her mother's constant disappointment with her in life.
Sylvia in "Sylvia's Story" has a similar issue. She wants to get a good education, go to college, and then work as an electronic programmer person. She wants to make something of her life. Her mother wants her to be like her cousins, and get pregnant at an early age, drop out of school, stay at home and do daily around-the-house chores, and basically have a boring life where there is a routine every day. In a way she also puts Sylvia in a box of her expoectations. Sylvia, however, is able to break out of it easily, and follow her own dreams. Well, I guess I wouldn't say "easily", but she does break free, and ends up getting a college interview. Neither girl will let their mothers take control of thier lives.
- Alexandra Nekrosius 34
I am comparing "two kinds" to "sylvia an her radio story."
Two kinda and sylvias story are very much so the same and very different. They are the same because they both are about parents forcing them to be thing and do things that they don't want to do. In both stories the mom's are trying to show that they love their daughters but the daughters don't understand why they want to do this in a way they don't like.
because in sylvia's story her mother is protecting her and loving her by telling her why and how should do certain things because that is how she did them, And that is how she wants her daughter to live because that is how she lived and that is how her mom lived ect. Where in "Two kinds" the mother is wanting something for her daughter that she could not have. Because the mother lived in china she thought that she did not have as much freedom as her daughter has because her and her daughter now live in america and apperently in america you can be what ever you want to be.
so as you can see they both want something different then what there mothers wanted but there mothers thought differently from each other where one wanted the same thing as herse;f and one wanted a different life then her own
Natalie Nekrosius 8-9
In "Two Kinds", Jing-Mei's mother wants to change a pattern. She wants to get Jing-Mei in a new kind of box in America;one where she becomes prodigous with something. In "High Yellow White Trash, the divorced parents have different views of black and white relationships and each parent is trying to get rid of each other's box, so the girl is stuck in two boxes for the mean time.
Vivek Nekrosius 8-9
I am going to compare HYWT and Sylvia's story. I think these stories are similar because there both dealing with there mom's wanting them to do something that they don't want. In HYWT her mom want's her to be more "white" in Sylvia's story her mom want's her to be a typical Mexican girl. And also they both are the black sheep in the family.Sylvia because she is not a typical Mexican girl and wants to have a job,Lisa because she is part African-American. But unlike HYWT Sylvia is the black sheep because she wants something different,Lisa is the black sheep because she was different by race.
Maud Nekrosius 34
I am going to compare "Two Kinds" and "Sylvia's Story". In Sylvia's story her mother want's her to be the traditional Mexican woman. Mexican woman being a servant to men almost. In this family men are better than woman, for example Sylvia's mom gives her brother what he wants and not give Sylvia what she wants. Sylvia wants to be free and do what she wants to do. *Not* get married/pregnant in her late teens she wants to thrive. Her box is being held over her head by her family and she can't find the soft spot to break out of.
Jing Mei is in a very similar box. Her mother is holding the box over her. The only things in the box are Jing Mei and her piano. Jing Mei wants to try something else, not let her mother control her life she wants to be free. Her mom wants her to be the obedient child and not the disobedient child. But by being obedient it's not what Jing Mei wants to be she only wants to be her. She embarrasses herself and her mother at the concert. embarrasses never really finds her true self. But escapes the box once her mother dies, since she can no longer hold it.
The stories are similar because they both have a mother telling them what to do and telling them how to do it. They both want to be free and do what they want to in life.
Liv Nekrosius 89
I can see a connection between Two Kinds and HYWT. Both Jeng Mei and the narrator in HYWT (who is Lisa Page herself if I remember correctly.) When they were kids they we both wishing for a normal life, in Lisa's case, she wanted her parents to get along, in Two Kinds, Jeng Mei wanted to have her mother let her be normal, instead of trying to make her a prodigy. Both had trouble with their mothers trying to change them or so it seemed. Both didn't want to be changed by their mothers, but ended up changing from trying not to be changed. There's some irony in them, and I think that the character's noticed that at the end of both their stories.
Will Nekrosius 89
i see that most all of the stories have that someone is being some that they aren't. in high yellow,white trash she has her black and white disguise, and in alone and all together she has her arab and american sides
Eric Nekrosius 34
I think that "HYWT" is alot like to "Two Kinds" In both stories the narrator's mother wants to be something they are not. in "HYWT" her mother wanters her to be more white. In "Two Kinds" Jing Mei mother ants her to be a genous at somethin but Jing Mei wants to just be her self.
Alexandra Nekrosius 8-9
In the "Two Kinds" and "Sylvia's Story," Jing Mei and Sylvia are both 'boxed' in by their parents but for different reasons. Sylvia is 'boxed' in because her mother keeps pushing her to be something Jing Mei feels she's not.
Eleanor B. Nekrosius 7-8
I think that "High Yellow White Trash" is kind of similar to "Sophie's Story." Both of them are confused about their culture and identity, and they both wear disguises. However, in Silvia's case, it's being American vs being Mexican, while in Lisa's situation, it's white vs black, or mother vs father. But their boxes are somewhat similar- not knowing how to act around different people, and who they really are. Both are being limited by their parents, and they care about how they are perceived by their separate crowds- their families, school, friends. Lisa grows out of the box as time progresses, but Sylvia is trying very hard to rebel in simple gestures- her music, her friends, and things like that. I think the general points are the same from the two stories.
Julie Nekrosius 3/4
I'm going to compare "Sylvia's Story" to "High Yellow White Trash". The two stories are similar because they are both about racial and family related "boxes". In "Sylvia's Story", Sylvia has to overcome the box that her mother has created her, because her mother wants Sylvia's life to be like all the other girls in her family, but Sylvia has more hope for her life. Her mother believes there are rules that Mexican women should follow, like cooking, cleaning, and having children. In "High Yellow White Trash", Lisa Page also has racial boxes that she is given. But, her box is different because she has to follow not one but two races. Lisa and Silvia's mothers both want them to be like them. Silvia is rebelling, and Lisa is withdrawing herself. Lisa feels more comfortable being her black side, but if you think about it having two sides that you have to be are boxes themselves.
Leah Nekrosius 8-9
I am going to compare Sylvia's story and HYWT. I think that HYWT is similar to Sylvia's story because both of the mothers are giving both of them a lot of pressure on what to be. For example, Sylvia's mom wants Sylvia to act more like a mexican women. In HYWT, the mother puts pressure on Lisa since she is biracial and the mother can't stand the fact of her daughter calling herself black. So she always tells her to act like a white girl. So thats my connection with both of the stories.
Sam Nekrosius 3-4
I would like to compare the story "Two Kinds" with "Sylvia's Story" from the radio. The characters Jing-mei and Sylvia are in similar situations. Sylvia is being boxed in by her mother, who is putting a lot of pressure on Sylvia to follow through with what she is supposed to do according to her Mexican heritage. Jing-mei is also being pressured by her mother to do something that she doesn't want to do, playing the piano. Both mothers are trying to protect their daughters and help them to a good life. The difference, though, is that Jing-mei's mother wants a life different from their Chinese culture, while Sylvia's mother wants Sylvia to stick to Mexican culture. Jing-mei eventually got out of her box when her mother offered her forgiveness in the form of the piano. Sylvia has the choice of what she wants to do when she is 18, but either way I don't think she will have escaped her mother's box.
Lizzie Nekrosius 8-9
I think that High Yellow White Trash is very much related to Black, White and Jewish. The reason i think this is because in High Yellow, Lisa Page is trapped in the box of a false identity. She is becoming someone she isn't just for the benefit of other people. She thinks that she has to be either black or white when all she has to do is be herself. I think that if she can realize that she doesn't need to be anything she can free herself from the box and become a better person. I think that the girl in Black, White and Jewish is trapped in her own box because she is trying to be everything she can (including not being black) to make Bryan Katon like her. Like Lisa, she is in the box of false identity but in the end, I think she escapes it. She realizes that she shouldn't have pretended to be someone else and realizes that her black family is what matters most. All in all, I think that these are two very interesting and similar stories.
Ethan Nekrosius 3-4
I think Sylvia is in a box because her mom is forcing her to be latina, while Jing-Mei's box is being forced to be something she isn't and doesn't want to become. Prodigy's are born, not created. Parents should be a large influence on their children but they should encourage them to take whatever fork in the road they choose. People are always right when they take the fork in the road that they want to take because they chose that fork.
Boon Nekrosius 8/9
I am going to compare "Two Kinds" and "Sylvia's Story".Both of the story's have a conflict between the mother and the daughter. Sylvia's mom is forcing her to be somone who she doesn't want to be. So Sylvia is making her mom happy by pretending to be the person that she wants her to be.In "Two Kinds" the situation is the same, the mom is forcing Jei-Ming to be a prodigy, to know everything, or just all of a sudden have an amazing thing happen to her.When Jing Mei wants just the opposite. She wants to be a normal child and live a normal life. I think that they both will escape from their box. I say that because if they can convince their moms to let them be who they want to be then that will make their mom's approve of what they want to do in life even if it is not what they wanted them to do.
Hannah Nekrosius 3-4
I am comparing "Alone and All Together" and "Black, White and Jewish". Both stories have the child telling the story and both children are from divorced parents. But the main connection is that both children are concerned about what could happen to them because of their race.
Dante Nekrosius 3-4
I think that in "Theme for English B" he is really outside the box. Which is just the opposite of "Sylvia's story". Langston Hughes is outside hes box because he gets to do more things and go more places. Sylvia doesn't get many choices, but she is also younger. They both feel behind, Sylvia feels behind because her parents don't understand her, and her mom wants her to be someone she doesn't want to be. and Langston Huges feels behind because he is black but he wants to be part of his instructor at the same time.
I think that many of the boxes are similar but I will compare Sylvia's Story and Alone and All Together. In both of them they are struggling not only against their families but also the stereotypes of other others. In Sylvia's story she is struggling against her mother who thinks that Sylvia needs to be a normal Mexican woman but Sylvia doesn't want to. In AAT it is less about family but more about what people are blaming and abusing Muslims for. She gets it more indirectly though because it's mostly witnessing it happen rather then having it happen
I am going to talk about HYWT to
In one of the stories, the charecter is caught between being more black or more white. Her mother and father are divorced and she is devastated. So then she has to make a choice. She choses to be more like her father (black) so her mother is also devastated. I think that this was a good story because she choses for herself instead of for her mother.
Chris
I think that in "Theme for English B" he is really outside the box. Which is just the opposite of "Sylvia's story". Langston Hughes is outside his box because he gets to do more things and go more places. Sylvia doesn't get many choices, but she is also younger. They both feel behind, Sylvia feels behind because her parents don't understand her, and her mom wants her to be someone she doesn't want to be. and Langston Huges feels behind because he is black but he wants to be part of his instructor at the same time.
Jiji Nekrosius 7-8
In HYWT, Lisa Page, has a family of two different races. Her mother doesn't want her out of the box she has formed around her daughter. The box she is in is to make her a white girl. In Black, White and Jewish the family let's her be herself. Her mother will let her make the choice to like her box she lives in or if she would want to make a box for herself. Unfortunately in Black, White and Jewish, Rebbeca Walker took a gamble she could not afford to lose made the wrong choice, and lost her bet.
What she was betting was her family and harbored life-style just for a guy she had an infatuation on.
Niko Nekrosius 8-9
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