Kevin Liu: http://liukevinapenglishlit2016.blogspot.com/
Prajwal Hegde: http://hegdeprajwalapenglishlit2016.blogspot.com/
Hello, Prajwal! I really enjoyed some of the points you brought up during your fishbowl discussion. I liked how you discussed the idea that power has a lot to do with the background. Background playing a significant role in what a character will do with power was especially important when you discussed how Joe Starks always wanted a "big voice" which is why he abused his "big voice" when he got the power from becoming the mayor of Eatonville. One thing that I would like to add on to this discussion is how a character's intentions may affect what they use their power with. Backgrounds and intentions discuss very similar ideas but I think intentions come from the background and more closely relate with the way the power and voice are expressed. For example, while Joe was going to Eatonville to become power and successful (as he explained to Janie), Janie wanted to go to Eatonville in search for freedom and love. Their varying intentions ultimately lead to Joe abusing Janie because he wanted to tower over others which results in Janie leaving Eatonville with Tea Cake in search of love and freedom. Overall, I think the significance of a character's background and intentions is crucial to how they will progress and you articulated that point very well. Good job with the presentation and discussion!
Areli Orozco: http://orozcoibarraareliapenglish2015blogspot.com/
Hi, Areli! You did very well today on both the food memoir and the fishbowl discussion. One comment/question you made that I found very interesting was how Janie's journey may have been different if she was not surrounded by the African American culture. I know that after the discussion, the class addressed the fact that Janie grew up around white kids until her grandmother moved her. I think asking what would have happened had the plot been slightly different is important in figuring out the significance of a particular series of events. I think the significance of having Janie start her life in a white culture but live most of her life in a black culture is to contrast Janie's attitude and identity with those of the African American culture as well as, in a way, to empower her to stand up for herself. In the literary criticism that I read called "The Death of Janie Crawford: Tragedy and the American Dream in Their Eyes Were Watching God", Hattenhauer discusses how Janie tends to carry an attitude very similar to that of the "dominant culture". I think this attitude is the reason that Janie is able to leave Logan, leave Joe, kill Tea Cake, and gain support in the trial. Overall, I really liked how you were able to draw attention to certain parts by questioning what would happen if things happened a little differently. Good job on the project!
James Zhu: http://zhujamesapenglish2016.blogspot.com/
Hi, Kevin! You had several insightful points during your fishbowl discussion on Friday. Something that I found particularly interesting was the idea that society's perception of a character can be powerful enough to destroy the character's identity. It was interesting to see how you connected it to "Orpheus" by discussing how society's perception of Eurydice as nothing more than Orpheus's shadow pushed her to the point where she would rather have her life taken away than have her voice suppressed by her husband. While I agree that,to a certain extent, society did destroy Eurydice's identity as a living person, I would argue that there society might have been the reason that she was able to develop her identity as well. While Eurydice ultimately dies by returning to the Underworld, the fact that she "chose" freedom over the suppression of her voice supports the fact that society pushed her to find her true identity. I think this concept can also be seen with Janie who, after society continuously tried to elevate her to a superior culture, chose to spend her time in the muck with Tea Cake. Because society "destroyed" her identity by pushing her to a breaking point, she found the strength to snap back and be more true to her identity. Overall, I think the concept of society destroying a culture is a very interesting and important part of a character finding his/her identity. Good job with your discussion and presentation!
Prajwal Hegde: http://hegdeprajwalapenglishlit2016.blogspot.com/
Hello, Prajwal! I really enjoyed some of the points you brought up during your fishbowl discussion. I liked how you discussed the idea that power has a lot to do with the background. Background playing a significant role in what a character will do with power was especially important when you discussed how Joe Starks always wanted a "big voice" which is why he abused his "big voice" when he got the power from becoming the mayor of Eatonville. One thing that I would like to add on to this discussion is how a character's intentions may affect what they use their power with. Backgrounds and intentions discuss very similar ideas but I think intentions come from the background and more closely relate with the way the power and voice are expressed. For example, while Joe was going to Eatonville to become power and successful (as he explained to Janie), Janie wanted to go to Eatonville in search for freedom and love. Their varying intentions ultimately lead to Joe abusing Janie because he wanted to tower over others which results in Janie leaving Eatonville with Tea Cake in search of love and freedom. Overall, I think the significance of a character's background and intentions is crucial to how they will progress and you articulated that point very well. Good job with the presentation and discussion!
Areli Orozco: http://orozcoibarraareliapenglish2015blogspot.com/
Hi, Areli! You did very well today on both the food memoir and the fishbowl discussion. One comment/question you made that I found very interesting was how Janie's journey may have been different if she was not surrounded by the African American culture. I know that after the discussion, the class addressed the fact that Janie grew up around white kids until her grandmother moved her. I think asking what would have happened had the plot been slightly different is important in figuring out the significance of a particular series of events. I think the significance of having Janie start her life in a white culture but live most of her life in a black culture is to contrast Janie's attitude and identity with those of the African American culture as well as, in a way, to empower her to stand up for herself. In the literary criticism that I read called "The Death of Janie Crawford: Tragedy and the American Dream in Their Eyes Were Watching God", Hattenhauer discusses how Janie tends to carry an attitude very similar to that of the "dominant culture". I think this attitude is the reason that Janie is able to leave Logan, leave Joe, kill Tea Cake, and gain support in the trial. Overall, I really liked how you were able to draw attention to certain parts by questioning what would happen if things happened a little differently. Good job on the project!
James Zhu: http://zhujamesapenglish2016.blogspot.com/
Hello, James! You did a very good job in the discussion and on the food memoir. One idea that you brought up that I found really interesting, was the idea that death can act as a catalyst for the process of self-actualization. I really liked how you brought up "Orpheus" and how it was Eurydice's death that led her to find her voice against male oppression. I also liked how you tied it to almost every stage of Janie's life and how it acted as a catalyst for her self-actualization. In Janie's marriage, death was a little hard to see because Logan didn't die. However, I wanted to add that during this time Nanny did die. This didn't result in an immediate shift in Janie's behavior but after Nanny's death, Janie did have a little more voice. Another aspect of death in this part of Janie's life is that she refers to her marriage to Logan as the death of her dream of finding love. Overall, very good job with during the discussion and the food memoir!
