[Prof. Masiello]

Please see the separate Docs about “Girl,” “Salvation,” and “Young Goodman Brown” and post your replies in this discussion board.

I suggest you write them down before posting since there are several questions.

Once you post, I think Grammarly — if you downloaded it — will show you corrections that your writing software may have missed.

[Jakia W]

The characters in “Girl” are a mother and a daughter. The narrator is the mother. The girl is in her teenage years. The mother is doing most of the talking. You know when the other person is talking when the words are italicized. I think Kincaid uses semicolons to excess to show how each sentence is connected to one another but to also take a pause in between sentences. This story is about what a woman is supposed to do to not become a “slut”, how she should do it, and why she should do it a certain way. I do identify with the girl. When I was younger, I was taught what to do and what to not do. Always keep ur legs close, how to wear things that were ladylike, always iron your clothes, wrinkle clothes are tacky, and etc. The irony in the last part about the baker is the girl received a whole lesson on what to do and how to do it and in the end, everything that was just taught doesn’t guarantee that the girl will not “become the slut she so bent on becoming”.

[Jakia W]

This story is a Langston Hughes story. Hughes is 12 in his narrative. I don’t have any experience in a similar/different house of worship. My family isn’t big on religion. On this particular day in Hughes’s church, the children are supposed to be saved by Jesus. The boy says he sees Jesus because he’s tired of sitting on the altar. Something I’ve said because I felt pressured by someone else was when I told one of my ex-boyfriends to leave me alone because we were trying to keep it a secret that we were dating but he was making it noticeable. So a friend of mine at the time was convincing me to tell him to leave me alone because she didn’t know about our secretive relationship. I didn’t want to tell him that but she wouldn’t let it go. I would define peer pressure as your friends pressuring you to do or say something by continuously being in your ear about it to the point you have to do it so they can leave you alone about it. My peers are my friends. You could be pressured to do something very good but I would consider it more motivation than pressure. The difference between connotation and denotation is connotation is an idea or a feeling a word carries with its literal meaning and denotation is the literal meaning of a word without the idea or feeling the word carries. I do remember seeing a particular visual in this essay. I made mental note of the old people kneeling around the children praying, and Hughes crying in his bed. The boy’s actual mistake regarding what his aunt told him is that he thought he was actually going to see Jesus come. A person as young as he can actually make such a decision in having faith because at that age he doesn’t understand religion as much so at that time he can say he doesn’t believe in God. It doesn’t mean he can’t change his mind when he gets older.

[Jakia W]

Salem, Massachusetts is known for its witch trials. What I found unusual about the character names where they aren’t typical names that authors would use. A story I read where the character’s names seemed appropriate and even symbolic is Beloved. The cap with pink ribbons is associated with his wife appearance. The pink is on symbolize her innocence. I would estimate Goodman and his wife to be in their late teens. The newlywed young man leave his nervous wife on this particular night to travel through the forest for one night. He was going to a ceremony because his father and grandfather walked the path before. I begin to sense that something odd was happening where he was walking when the traveler staff came to life. Other unusual things he saw was when the traveler touched the branch of maple and dried up immediately and the traveler vanishing. When he gets to his destination, the trees are on fire, the people that are there are singing and then someone pops up at the rock that’s on fire. When he sees that “wife object” he reacts by telling her to resist. The double meaning of “my faith is gone” is that she gone because she committed to the devil and she no longer has her innocence. The author and the characters have been narrating this story. The narrator ask if all this story was a dream because of the unrealistic parts of the story. For example, all the trees around the ceremony are on fire but the fire doesn’t spread to the rest of the trees. It doesn’t matter to me if the story was a dream or not. No, I can’t think of any stories that turned out to be just a dream. Finding out it was a dream just made me even more confused then I already was. I quickly forget my dreams. It depends on what the dream is about in order for me to be disappointed or relieved when I wake up from it. I feel that not all people are essentially bad. I feel that it depends on the person whether they are good or bad because you can’t judge everyone as a whole. Everyone is different in their own way.

[Brianna]

The characters are the mother and daughter.The narrator is the mother.The girl is in her teenage years.The mother is doing most of the talking.I know when another person is talking because the author italicizes the words.I think Kincaid uses semicolon to separate the advice. This story is about a mother giving practical advice on the how-to’s of life from everyday tasks such as how to do household chores,sweeping,cooking,washing,sewing,ironing,and setting the table.Yes I identify with the girl.My mother taught me a-lot growing up and she still do to this day.She taught me at a young age so that it would be instilled in me.The irony about the baker in the last part when her mother says ”you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of women who the baker won’t let near the bread?” she is talking about the sort of women the baker won’t let touch the bread with the sort of women she warned her daughter about becoming, a”slut”

[Brianna]

The author is Langston Hughes.He is 12 in his narrative. Yes I have similar experience in a house of worship.My church had a revival before for about a week where they was also praying,preaching,and shouting. Many children were brought to Jesus including children.On this particular day a meeting was held for children to bring them to Jesus.Children was brought to Jesus. Langston and Westly was the only two left sitting on the bench surrounded by praying sisters and deacons.I feel pressured to curse around my friends back then.The boy says he see Jesus because he got tired of sitting on the bench.Peer pressure can be define as influence on people by their peers in a negative or positive way.Peer pressure isn’t wrong all the time.If an individual is around peers who influence them to do something positive such as studying more to get good grades like their peers.Connotation is an additional meaning for a word or phrase.Denotation is it’s literal meaning.For example blue is a color,but also a word to describe a feeling of sadness and in ”shes feeling blue”.The boy’s actual mistake is that he thought he was gonna actually see Jesus.A person as young as he is can make a decision in having faith.I feel like having faith does not have a age as long as the person knows Jesus and believes in him they can have faith.

[Jaida Clouden]

“Girl”
1.The characters are a girl and a woman. The Girl is the daughter of the women who is her mother.
2.The narrator is the mother giving advice to her daughter on how to be woman.
3.The girl is becoming a young woman which makes her a teenager.
4.The mother is doing most of the talking because she is describing what and what not to do in life.
5.You know when the other person is talking when they include the word “I”. That tells you that the person is talking about themselves.
6.I think that Kincaid uses semicolons to excess because it helps give more depth and ideas into the writing.
7.The story is about a mother telling her daughter the things that she should and should not be doing since she is a “woman”.
8.I think that everyone identifies with the girl because when we were younger, we were taught good and bad. We know what to do and how to do certain things. Learning at a young age is what helped us become mature.
9.The irony in the last part about the baker, is that the girl gave an answer to her mother where it defied everything that she was just taught. The mother’s advice was washed out from the girl.

[Makai]

The Characters in the story ‘Girl’ are the Mother and the Daughter and the narrator is the Daughter doing her daily routine. The vibe the story gives off makes me believe that the girl is a preteen or a teenager. The mother does most of the talking because she’s trying to guide her daughter on what to do and what not to do. You can tell when someone else is talking when you see the I. I believe that Kincaid uses semicolons to excess a deeper understanding of the story or dialogue that’s happening. The story is a mother telling her daughter how to act since she is becoming a young woman. I relate because my mother always showed me how to be respectful and a good young man. The Irony is of the baker part is that the mother just taught her daughter everything she needs to know but the daughter still questions her motives.

[Jaida Clouden]

“Salvation”
1.The story is written by Langston Hughes.
2. Langston was going on the age of 13 in his narrative.
3. I’ve experienced this when I was younger. In church, it wasn’t as religious as the church Langston was in, but I did have to do certain things to clear away my sins and to ask for forgiveness.
4.The children are brought to the front rows of the church to be saved from their sins and to be saved from Jesus.
5.Langston says that he sees Jesus because he was embarrassed for waiting so long to see Jesus. He was the last one sitting and he didn’t want to cause “further trouble,” so he lied saying that Jesus came to him.
6. I can’t really think of a time where I was peer pressured to do something very good. I do it already, but I wasn’t peer pressured.
7.Peer pressure to me is when someone forced you to do something that you don’t want to do. Peers are like your friends or acquaintances.
8.Most of the time, peer pressure is bad and wrong. Being forceful isn’t right so I can say that peer pressure is wrong, even if it’s meant for something good.
9.Connotation is the idea or feeling that a word gives off including it’s original meaning. Denotation is the literal meaning of a word in contrast to the feeling or idea of that word. Our five senses are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Smell is easier to appeal in words because your mind imagines the smell. Our mind is the key to our senses which is how we know what written things can represent to us. I remember seeing the word “light” in the essay. I envisioned a light in my mind.
10. The boy’s actual mistake regarding what his aunt told him is that Jesus was going to come and save him. Jesus didn’t show up that day.
11.I think that a person as young as he was can actually make such a decision in faith because it’s his belief. When he didn’t see the truth, it knocked him off course and made Langston not believe in God. You need to see it to believe it.

[Makai]

The Author of the story ‘Salvation’ is Langston Hughes. In the narrative, he is 13. I have had experience in a house of worship because I used to go to church every Sunday for like 2 years. On that particular day, the children are brought up to the front rows of the church so they can be cleansed of their sins and be saved by Jesus. The boy said he can see Jesus because he was embarrassed that he couldn’t see Jesus like everyone else so he lied in order to prevent causing trouble. I’m not really peer pressured because I already do things anyways, if someone told me to do a backflip into a pool off a roof or something like that I would do it because I know I could. I would define peer pressure a being forced to do something that you don’t wanna do. Peers are either friends or people you just know. Peer pressure isn’t always bad because I was peer pressured to finish high school and go to college. The connotation is the feeling or vibe that a word gives off from its original meaning. Denotation is the meaning of the word or the feeling of it, for example, is I use the word touch our mind would put us in a scenario where we would be able to feel what the story is describing. The boy’s biggest mistake is when he told his aunt that he saw Jesus even when Jesus didn’t show up that day. I believe that a person no matter how young or old can make a decision like that, people want to see something to believe it. If they don’t see god then they won’t believe in a god

[Jaida Clouden]

“Young Goodman Brown”
1.What I know about Salem Massachusetts is that it’s the home ground where witchcraft was the norm and many witch trials were executed.
2.I find that the names represent who the characters are. Goodman Brown and Faith both represent purity.
3.I can’t think of any stories where the character’s names are symbolic. I can only think of character names from TV shows.
4.Pink Ribbons is the object that is associated with his wife’s appearance. It symbolizes her youth.
5.The approximate age I would estimate Goodman and his wife to be is maybe around 17-19. They got married young.
6.The newlywed man left his nervous wife on this particular night because he had to go into the Forrest. He met up with an elder traveler.
7.I sensed a few odd points when I was reading. The elder traveler plucked a branch of maple to make a walking stick and once he touched it, it dried up instantly.
8.Another thing I saw was that the traveler threw the maple stick in the air, and he completely vanished.
9.When he got to hid destination, there were multiple voices coming from the distance. He hears his wife’s familiar voice and called out for her.
10.When he sees the “wife’s object,” the pink ribbon, he cried out “My faith is gone.”
11.The double meaning behind “My faith is gone,” is that his wife was taken away from him by the devil, and his faith that he had for himself was gone as well. His wife gave her innocence away.
12.The characters had been narrating the story, especially the main character. The author asks if this was a dream because some parts of the story was fiction like. All the weird things that had occurred represented a dream like state.
13.It doesn’t matter to me that the story had been a dream or not because it interests me in finding out the answer. I know of some stories where characters have dreams and it turns out to be like a prophecy. It’s exhilarating to find out whether or not if it’s a dream.
14.I have been influenced by a dream to take some action. I have dreams often and I always find it cool that my mind makes up different scenarios. I am usually disappointed when I wake up from a dream because I can never fully finish it. I would like to know what would happen next.
15.I feel that second chances should always be given. Even if someone are essentially bad, if they try to act good then that means that they are trying to become a better person. People are neutral at first, but once they do something either good or bad, then that is what represents who they will be in their life.

[Makai]

The thing that I know about Salem Massachusetts is that witchcraft was the normal thing over there and they had people executed that were deemed as witches. The character’s names represent who they are like faith. I can’t think of any names that are symbolic or have a deeper meaning. The Pink Ribbons associates his wife’s appearance, it symbolizes youth. I would say that that Goodman and his wife would be around 18-19 since they got married young. The newlywed left his nervous wife because he had to go into the Forrest where he met and elder traveler. Some odd things that I saw were how the elder traveler plucked the branch of maple dried up instantly after he touched it. The other thing I saw is when he threw it up in the air it completely disappears. When he gets to his destination he hears voices from a distance and he thinks he hears his wife’s voice. He cries out his faith is gone when he saw the pink ribbon. There’s a double meaning to my faith is gone as in he doesn’t believe in God and that the devil took over.
The main character is the one narrating the story the narrator asks if its a dream because things seem fiction-like. It doesn’t matter to me if the story is a dream or not because It makes the story 10 times more interesting to me. I’ve been influenced by a dream to do something that would benefit me and I would be mad when I wake up and it wasn’t a reality. I believe people can be good and bad depending on how their mindset is because I don’t see myself as a bad person.

[Brianna]

”Young Goodman Brown”
Salem Massachusetts is known for it’s history of witchcraft allegations.There is nothing unusual about the characters names if anything they are symboIic. I can’t think of any stories I have read where the character’s name were symbolic.The pink ribbon was associated with his wife’s appearance it represents purity.I would estimate Goodman and his wife to be about 20.This newlywed young man left his wife to go into the forest to meet the devil with an elder traveler.While Goodman was walking, something odd I sensed was when the elder traveler picked a branch to make a walking stick and once he touched it, it dried right away.Eventually he gets to his destination and hears many voices coming from the ceremony and thinks he recognizes Faith’s voice.He sees her pink ribbon and screams her name.At one point he screams out ”my faith is gone” not only is he talking about his wife named Faith but he is also talking about his faith from Christianity which were both gone.The characters have been narrating the story.It doesn’t matter to me that the story was a dream. I have never been influenced by a dream to take action probably because I forget them quickly. Sometimes I am disappointed when I wake up from a good dream, never been relieved. People are not always bad,even if they try to act good.Everyone makes mistakes and if they try to act good they want to change.

[Ashley Adhar]

The characters in the short story “Girl” is a mother and her young daughter. The narrator of the short story is the mother of the girl. The girl is probably in her teenage age as her mother/ the narrator is telling her what to do and what not. Most of the talking is done by the mother. You can tell when the other person is talking based on the way the text is formatted. When the narrator/ the mother is speaking, it is regular and the word “you” is constantly used. When the speaker changes, the font becomes italicized and “I’ is often said. Kincaid, the writer uses semicolons to excess ideas or points that the mother is trying to explain to the daughter. The semi colon adds emphasis and more meaning/depth to what she is saying. The story is about a mother teaching her young daughter basic manners and the way a “girl” should act or behave in society. For example, the mother states, “this is how to behave in the presence of men…” The mother is basically teaching her how to fall into the basic norms of society and how to be a girl society approves of. I can relate to a few of the things that the girl was taught. Growing up, my mom taught me how to behave in front of guests, how to act, and how to do basic household chores. She also taught me to how to attend to guest. Some of the things in the story I cannot relate to because times have changed and the way we do or learn things now are different. It is surprising and ironic in the last part about the baker because throughout the short story the mother is instilling manners and lessons to the daughter. At the end, the daughter questions whether or not the baker will allow her to touch the bread which makes the mother question everything she was teaching the girl.

[Ashley Adhar]

The story is written by Langston Hughes. In his narrative, he is around the age of thirteen. You can tell because it states “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen.” I do not have much experience compared to what Langston described. When I would go to the temple, I would always hear people say “this is the way to remove your sins and ask for forgiveness. On this particular day at church, the children are being “saved” from Jesus and are being forgiven for any sins they have committed. The boy says he sees Jesus because he does not want to feel embarrassed. Everyone else around him claimed to see Jesus but him so he lied to not seem like he was an outcast or different. I feel like I have been pressured many times without even realizing. For example, at times I may be pressured to try new foods I have never tried before just because my friends tell me how good it is. To me, peer pressure is giving into something because someone tells you about it or makes you feel that you should do it. I do not think it necessarily has to do with force; I feel it has more to do with creating the idea in one’s mind that they should do it because someone else is. My peers would be my friends, some family members and acquaintances. I do not necessarily think that peer pressure is wrong all the time. Sometimes, one can be pressured to do something good or improve upon them. It does have a negative connotation often because most parents always say “do not give into peer pressure or your friends” or associate it with the pressure of drinking or smoking. However, peer pressure can simply mean to be pressurized by someone to do something good like get a job because everyone around you is employed. Connotation is the idea or feeling that a word gives off in addition to its primary meaning. Denotation is the primary meaning of word in contrast to the feeling of that word. Our five senses are sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. Words are used to evoke those senses. For example, looking at an ad for a perfume, you cannot actually smell it. The words that are used have to appeal to the viewer first. The boy’s actual mistake was that he lied about seeing Jesus and actually thought it would appear in front of him. In the end, the boy implied that he does not believe. I feel that there is no set age to make a decision in having faith. At a young age, it is a hard concept to grasp on. However, at times some people can comprehend the true meaning in regards to faith.