Author Archives: Christine

Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan

Leave a reply

Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan Response

Christine Mitchell

 

When reading Mother Tongue by Amy Tan the story really stood out to me, people probably never really realized how many people come from families where they speak broken English.  Amy Tan describes a girl whose family is from china and speaks broken English, English that’s always been normal to her. She also goes on to describes some of the struggles her mother faced due to her English being limited. I think many people who come from a different country definitely can relate to this story; I myself can relate growing up in a home where my mother first language was Spanish, at times it was difficult for my mom to express herself in English.

One thing that stood out to me was when the author stated “my mother’s expressive command  of English belies how much she actually understand,” even though her mother is unable to express herself well in English does not mean that she does not understand English well. My mother who is a Spanish woman at times her English does not come out to well, but that doesn’t mean her understanding of English is crippled by lack of communication. She’s able to understand what the news reporter are saying and is perfectly able to pick up a news paper or magazine and read it with no hesitation. I think that’s why when she heard people or even when she would refer to her mother’s English as “broken” or “fractured” she would cringe.

Something else that caught my attention is that due to the lack of her mothers English she would at times struggle in department stores or in restaurants and wouldn’t get the proper service. The author goes on to say “my mother has long realized the limitation of her English as well,” due to her mother limited English speaking at times she was force to make phone calls her mother was unable to make. I myself still do this till this very day for my mother, I still call credit card companies, or accompany my mom to doctors appointment and make sure she understands everything and she receive the proper service and care.

I think the author propose was to show the struggle that people face who are not from the U.S. when it comes to speaking English. Also to show people that you do not have to be ashamed of your way of speaking English there’s always room to expand your language.

Superman and Me response

Leave a reply

Superman and Me Response

By Christine Mitchell

 

Like so many people before us struggling to fight against the stereotype people may have of you when living in a certain environment, to prove them differently. People naturally assume because you are from poverty that you will never amount to anything, that you have no future. When reading superman and me Sherman Alexie describes the story of an Indian boy who found the love of reading and realized reading was the key to put aside the stereotype and expectations his people had to fail. When reading this story I was able to relate insistently, someone that’s battling to prove to myself as well as to others that just because you grew up in a certain neighborhood doesn’t mean you have to be a product of your environment.

Growing up in a spoken Indian reservation in the eastern Washington state, living poor and pay to pay check expected to be stupid and have no strive for better. The author  describes an Indian boy who seen the love his father had for reading and being that he loved his father dearly he decided to share that same love. With a growing love for reading, the boy thought to himself some would call him a prodigy if he wasn’t some Indian boy growing up in the reservation. Living in the reservation being a smart Indian boy was frowned upon, which lead to many fights on a daily basis with his classmates, but that didn’t stop him. He continued on to broaden his love for books and reading, and went on to become a writer.

One part that stood out to me was when he said “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant”, just because his people felt the need not to do/ be better themselves, why shouldn’t he. Why should he just become another Indian boy who has no hope for the future before him?  I love how even though his community may not have had that same motivation he still tries to instilled it within them. He didn’t forget where he came, he took that knowledge he has learned, and went back and took it to his people. I feel the purpose the Arthur had for this story is no matter where you come from, no matter what people expect of you always strive for the best. The only person that can stop your future is you.

“I have a dream” response by Christine Mitchell

Leave a reply

We all have dreams in where society could be one, hatred and violence will be put to a stop. Where blacks have equal rights, and not are abused by what is called the law. In “I have a dream” speech Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described his dream for his people. On  August 28, 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not only speak for himself, but for so many blacks who followed him. Till this very day his words are carried on to the hearts of those who are still working for that same dream. This speech is dear to me, because of the message it sends.

In 1863 Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation, in which Negros who were enslaved were to be set free. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated “it came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity”, an end to all slavery. But did slavery really ended that day? As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. goes on to say “one hundred years later the Negro is still not free”, “one hundred years later the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and chains of discrimination”, we are now enslaved by the color of our skin. Since your skin is that of a black person you are not allowed the same rights to that of a white person. Decades have past and we are still enslaved by poverty with no hope, so are we really free.

No, Negro may have been free from captivity, but Negro was still very much enslaved by society. As the speech stated “America has given Negro people a bad check”, “a check which has come back marked insufficient funds”. America failed to honor their promise where blacks would have rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But even when Negro is let down, they still do not give up hope.  They still hope that justice will prevail. “Nineteen sixty three is not an end, but a beginning”, a beginning for change. In the pursuit to change we must not stoop to the act of violence the very thing we stand against. In our pursuit for change we must stand side by side one another and fight with our faith and soul.

In the speech something that stood out to me was the line where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated “we can never be satisfied as long as Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality”. This which is disgusting and unfortunate to say still is something that blacks face to this very day; for example the killing of black men brought on by people who are sworn to protect us. As a result of the killing of Sean Bell, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Cameron Tillman, Eric Garner to name a few, we are still putting up a fight to end police brutality. As a mother of a soon to be young black man, the prejudices my son may face due to the color of his skin based on ideologies originated long before him scares me.

I commend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his bravery and empowering words that will continue to ring in the ears of so many black people still to come. His message to end discrimination, his message that we shall all be counted as equals despite what the color of your skin may be. I hope that his message is resonated by those of power who are able to bring a change to the society. Never stop dreaming, stick by your dream, fight for it and believe in it.