Category: Journal 6 (Page 1 of 2)

Feston Joseph 

Eng1121 (Prof Scanlan)

4/21/20

                                                        Journal 6 

In New York Day Women the author shows how life is like for immigrants and how they adapt.It is about a Haitian mother and a haitian daughter and they have to adapt to American lifestyle.The mother keeps a lot of traits from her Haitian culture but the daughter is adapting quickly.This shows that the daughter is showing more effort to adapt but the mother is hesitant to adapt and she isn’t showing as much enthusiasm to adapt.A example of the mother keeping parts of Haitian culture is when she told the daughter yo give up her seat to a pregnant woman or a old woman.this shows that the daughter obeys the mother to show that she has respect for her.In the story the mother and the daughter have a relationship where they don’t see  eye to eye and they disagree about a lot of things but they have a relationship where they have a  understanding with each other.

The author wanted to show that when immigrants move to America they have to adapt to American lifestyle.It could be hard  for some of them but for other immigrants they put more effort to doing that.This also shows that the mother believes that keeping some aspects of Haitian culture is important and the daughter would respect her mother but wants to adapt to New York.This shows that they have a relationship where they understand each other and their relationship grows the more time they spend with each other.

SIYU WU

Journal 6

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

4/27/2020

The reading “New York Day Women” wrote by Edwidge Danticat is my favorite short story out of the 5. The reason I love it，it is because this remain me as an immigrant family，I never think about my the feeling and thought in this foreign soil about my family member，what are they doing when I did not see them，the only person I care is myself.

This short story happens in a Haiti immigrant family. Our narrator，the daughter of a Haiti mother，accidentally saw her mother，a person who never will shop outside of Brooklyn，now is strolling Manhattan，during her lunch time. The curiosity force narrator to follow her mother，and find out the unknown side of her mother.

The story is setting a stage in Manhattan，also mention narrator’s mother is a person who never shop outside of Brooklyn，as the stage in the story，Manhattan it not just a random place， it is a symbol which symbolize the hidden side of for mother and the Brooklyn is symbolize old impression. The story happen in Manhattan mean the old impression have to change，due to the narrator did not know everything to her mother.

There were 2 charters in this story the mother and daughter，an young generation and old generation，the story is based on the view point of narrator，we can see this is represent the point of view of the new generation to old generation，but the story overthrow the old impression，led to the theme of this story——the unknown side of things. Brooklyn and Manhattan，2 borough in the same city，but have a huge difference. If we compare ，Manhattan to Brooklyn, Brooklyn just like a Slumdog，the wealth in Manhattan，the poor in Brooklyn，but they are in the same New York city. Every things can have 2 side you have to know both sides to generate a none-bias  view to a thing or person, otherwise we will case a stereotype or misunderstanding.

Whitney Dale

ENG 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

Journal 6

04/26/2020

Reading “New York Day Women” by Edwidge Danticant the speaker tells a story that focus on a mother and daughter of a Haitian family. The family had moved to New York where the story token place at. Reading the story the daughter was shocked and surprised to catch her mother walking around Manhattan because her mother would never leaves Brooklyn. according to the narrator the mother was afraid to take the subway which then die Suzette worried. However, as she finds her mother in Manhattan she then followed her around and as she was doing it she started to remember the younger version of her mother.

For an example she remembered when her mother asked her “would you give up her seat for an old lady like her”. At the beginning of the story she says she would give up her seat sometimes but not all the time. Then in the end her response changed, due to the motivation, appreciation, and respect for her mother. To see the hard work she puts in daily and end up finding out that her own mother was also working hard without her knowing.

In the end I feel like the relationship between her and her mom will always be a growing relationship.

Zachary McCallum

Professor Scanlan

Journal 6

04/26/2020

In “New York Day Women” by Edwidge Danticat the speaker tells a short story of a Haitian family who moved to the U.S. It focuses on the mother and daughter of the family who are the main characters. The story takes place in New York and is spoken in present tense. The daughter catches her mother out and about in a place where she never pictured her mother to be. Her mother (according to the speaker) has never left Brooklyn. However, she finds her mother in Manhattan. She stealthily follows her mother around. While she follows her mother, she remembers advice and memories of her mother when she was younger.

For example, she recalls when her mother asked if she would give up her seat for and “old lady” like her. The speaker said that she would give up her seat sometimes but, not all the time. However, towards the end of the story she shows growth and says when she gets on the subway later that day, she will give up her seat for somebody her mother’s age. What motivates her to give up her seat is her newfound appreciation and respect for her mother and all women. While she followed her mother, she gained admiration for her mother to see the hard work she puts into a day to day basis. She ends up finding out that her mother babysits other people’s children along with other women.

The story shows how the speaker’s mother has assimilated into the new world. In the beginning, she remembers how her mother would have difficulty getting adjusted into American culture. Watching her interact easily with the vendors, bikers, and children showed the speaker that her mother was going to be okay. It a pleasant turnaround for her to see her mother adjust well into the new world.

(312 words)

Brendan Gonzalez 

Professor Scanlan 

Journal 6 

April 26, 2020 

“Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” by Tony Parsons is a short story about an immigration officer in the UK named Jaswinder  Smith but she goes by the name Jazz in the story. Jazz interacts with people traveling to the UK and reasons for their travels making sure it’s legit and with the right intentions and if the intentions aren’t right she holds them and they get asked to move to the side.  Out the five short stories I decided to pick this story because it caught my attention a little more than the others and the one main reason why is because I enjoy airports and traveling around. The main character is Jazz this story is mainly wrapped around her and her gut feelings on people that come up to her and  making the right decisions on permitting them into the UK and it’s also about how she interacts with everyone in certain situations Jazz shows sympathy for example with the girl Megan, Jazz sent her back but Jazz wasn’t rude she guy the girl hope because she was down “ just trust me on this one if he loves you, and if it’s meant to be, then he’ll wait okay?”. Jazz showed feelings towards her and I feel it’s a big part of her job dealing with people in certain situations and what vibe to give off with different people. Jazz had another situation when she had to use some type of force with a man bigger than her and actually took him down so knowing the type of attitude to give is a huge part of Jazz and her daily duty’s on the job of being a immigration officer for the UK.  

Raysi Perez

Journal 6

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

April 26, 2020

“A Good Fall” by Ha Jin

The short story that I chose is “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin. The Narrator talks in the third person about a man named Ganchin who lived in New York and lost his job as a kung fu teacher because his visa couldn’t get renewed. He asked Master Zong if he could give him his salary, but Zong said that he doesn’t owe him anything. He had no money so he had to stay at his friend’s Fanku’s house since he didn’t have a place to stay at. Another one of her friends offered her place but he decided not to take it. One-day Fanku lied to Ganchin saying that the superintendent was going to the house but it was actually Master Zong taking him to the airport since he was an immigrant. While they were at the airport Ganchin managed to escape and went to a restaurant. He spoke to a man who he called Uncle about him wanting to end his life. Uncle gave him food and tried to convince him not to kill himself. After finishing his food, Ganchin went to the top of a building and decided to jump. He landed on his feet and injured himself badly. After the incident, everyone heard about his story. They heard how Zong didn’t give him his money so Ganchin got a good lawyer to sue the temple. He was also trying to find a way to not get deported. The characters in this short story are Ganchin, Master Zong, Cindy, Fanku, Uncle, Amy, and Jon. (Amy and Jon are the two lawyers). I approve of Cindy who tried to help ganchin with his living situation and Uncle for trying to convince ganchin to not kill himself. I do not approve of Fanku for lying and betraying him and master Zong for not giving him his money and trying to force him to leave. The theme of this story is good and evil. Ganchin was good and Master Zong was bad.

(Word Count: 332)

Andy zhang

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

Journal 6

April 26, 2020

Say hello wave goodbye by Tony Parsons, was my favorite story among the five stories I’ve read. The short story starts off with the narrator introducing a united kingdom border agency Jaswinder ‘Jazz’ Smith that works at the united kingdom airport. As a UK border agency, Jazz’s everyday duty was to examine passenger’s passports and question their visits to the united kingdom. There is a great chance that Jazz is affected by the setting and the role that she plays as a border agency. 

The setting plays a huge role in the short story, where the narrator manipulates the reader sympathy through Jazz’s role as a border agency. The narrator latently implies the symbolism of justice, protection, and security to the character under the duty that it serves as a border agency. This causes readers to side with the actions that the character performs and the point of view of the character. From the setting, we can connect to the topic of politics and society because it must have been very beneficial in living in the united kingdom from the indication that people are so eager that they even try to use a fake passport to enter the united kingdom. Another connection to the setting is economic. In the story, when Jazz deals with the man in black, shes perfectly performs her knowledge of psychology through her experience as a border agency and her analysis of the result being caught as drug smugglers. Where Jazz sharp sense and feelings also helped out a lot while examining different passengers. This event of the drug smuggler may indicate that the united kingdom is also a victim of drugs and may also signify that there is a stable source where the drug is safely transported and sold. Through these events, drug, and stowaway are some of the common main conflicts that greatly affect a stable place. 

The story is told only from Jazz’s point of view, which is third-person limited. Which also adds to the chance of the reader siding with the character. The most interesting part of the story was where at the beginning of the story the bride informs Jazz that she is marrying Prince Harry, and at the end of the story, it also ends by discovering that Megan’s English boyfriend is also called Prince Harry. I really wonder whether it’s the same “Prince Harry” or whether it’s just an excuse for the bride to pass the examination.

Leviza Murtazayeva

Prof.Scanlan – ENG 1121

Journal 6- Assimilation (short story)

     I chose a story named Assimilation by Doctorow as my favorite story out of all because of its interesting plot. The short story began by introducing a loud and crowded area in a  restaurant that is owned by a character of a story, Borislav.  As well as introducing us to the main character who is named Ramon.  Ramon was working as a dishwasher before he was “upgraded” to a busboy, which made him feel a lot more important as a person. The owner and his friends are seemed to be Slavic with the given explanations and the names of owners. Soon, later, Borislav began to ask for Ramons; documentations, and offering him to flee to Europe and marry his relative so that she can become a legal resident in the United States. Her name was Jelena, and she was about to be Ramon’s wife. The setting of the story alternates between Europe and America, the restaurant, and the houses they live in. The mood or the tone of the main character changed when he begins to ” wrap Borislav” around his finger to make income out the life-risking or lawbreaking favor.

               The plot is set the way that we read the story from a third-person view, it seems as if the author is telling us the story and he is the narrator. The historical theme of this short story is that there were and still many situations like his that occur, where people pretend to love someone and marry them for legal residency, and after that, they divorce. One of the people in the involvement gets a profit out of this. Even though the main character was aimed to pretend to love the woman, after finding out about Jelena, Roman began to fall in love, and it was a real feeling at that time and for sure. The story includes a title as a symbol of getting adjected to something new, especially when you move to a new country, get promoted, or be in charge of something very risky such as law. The reader’s sympathies are manipulated by the way the author described the characters, sometimes the reader will have a growing connection towards Ramon’s actions and sometimes the other characters in the story, by maneuvering the tone and situations or mood of the character. This way the reader may express more sympathy or grow an emotional connection to those characters such as Jelena and Ramon who are struggling thought out.

Joyce Wu 

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

Journal 6

April 26, 2020

“New York Day Women”

I chose “New York Day Women,” by Edwidge Danticat as my favorite. A background given was that she was born in Haiti and moved to the United States at the age of twelve. The narrator mentioned a few people throughout the story, but the story focuses on two characters, Suzette and the mother. In the beginning, Suzette was having a normal day until she caught sight of the mother. She was astonished at the fact that she even leaves her house. Because from Suzette’s knowledge she never sees her anywhere beside Brooklyn. The narrator said that his mother was afraid to take the subway. This issue got Suzette worried, so she decided to follow her. The setting here is Manhattan, New York. For example,“She has never seen the advertising office where I work.” The way this narrator outlines quotes before each paragraph begins is so unique. I’ve never read anything like this. The fact it’s also in bold means the significance to Suzette. These were what her mother had said to her. For instance,“Would you get up and give an old lady like me your subway seat?” This response gave her a recall that her mother is right in some cases it really depends on how pregnant the woman is. 

When the mother was standing in front of Carnegie Hall and a taxi driver yelled at her for being in the way and said “what do you think this is, a dance floor?” This person gave Suzette a flashback call because growing up in Haiti their lifestyle was more rough. The narrator said, “In Haiti when you get hit by a car, the owner of the car gets out and kicks you for getting blood on his bumpers.” Just from reading that description, I think it’s so brutal. I can’t believe there are places that can do such a thing. 

In the end of the story, Suzette had a realization that her mother never went to any of the parent-teacher conferences. But I think the point of this story shows that each family’s relationship is not perfect. It just depends on heritage, and the way someone interprets it. 

Word count: 381

“Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” by Tony Parsons is written from a third-person limited point of view which the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of Jaswinder ‘Jazz’ Smith, who have been working as an immigration officer of the UK Border Agency. In this short story, the narrator talks about Jazz’s life at work. After every long-haul flight landing, she is presented with passengers that are to be examined. It is their job to alert and forbid passengers who come to the United Kingdom for the wrong purposes. With her new partner, who’s a young officer, Norm who been working mostly Customs, she was able to show her growth and superior as the story goes on.

The setting takes place in modern times UK airport where people on the queues with odd cases, were asked to sit in the Not-Ok Corral until further notice. Jazz have possibly met countless dodgy characters during her nine-hour shift when she asked for their purpose of visiting, like the Korean bride she encounters who said she was going to marry Prince Harry, Donald Harrison who said President Obama planted a microchip in his brain, Megan with Prince Harry again, a young man in black with drugs who forged his passport, and more. She seems to have got used to it after hearing it from other travelers as well.

Her days at the airport are quite repetitive but aren’t dull. Although she been working for some time at the airport there were still surprising things to see. Like the time she went with Norm to prevent someone from destroying their passport. She has a perception of how passengers who keep coming to the UK and pretends to be someone else would destroy their passports like leaving it on the plane, but she was impressed with the person she was waiting for outside the aircraft who started stuffing his passport just when the plane door opened. When Norm mess up and lost sight of the passport-muncher, Jazz as his senior went and caught him back.

Throughout the short story, the narrator points out the frustration Jazz has with people when they try to deceive her. But she doesn’t mind if they lie to themselves. Why is that? Towards the end where Jazz settles down and further investigates with the passengers in the Not-Ok Corral, something about Megan made her clicks with Jazz. Megan was given a piece of advice about relationships and love. Jazz is shown to be brazen with impostors but is also reasonable. The ending was quite funny when Jazz curiously asks Megan who her lover’s name was. Who could have thought that Megan’s lover would Prince Harry. Where do they get their “purposes of visiting” from?