Here are the guidelines:
- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
All three readings were meaningful in some way or form. In "The Witching Hour," Aimee Nezhukumatathil writes about her inability to express herself in the classroom due to her teacher’s indifference. Nezhukumatathil also mentions her compassionate relationship with her mother. Furthermore, In "Late July, 4:40 am.," Reg Saner writes about the possibilities of a better life. Finally, in "Dreads," Alice Walker focuses on the beauty of dreads and how they associate to freedom.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I enjoyed about the readings was how meaningfully written they were. Upon further reading, I noticed that every essay had a personal approach to it. This notion is gradually shown in "The Witching Hour" by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, when she asserts that “She took her time during these moments and for me that meant that even if those stories and warnings were not at all true, that at the very least I should pay attention” (229). Throughout these lines, Nezhukumatathil is implying that it didn’t matter whether her mother’s stories were true or not, but that the stories meant something to her, and that was a good enough reason to give her undivided attention. Furthermore, another thing that I enjoyed about the readings was how Alice Walker brought in the well know artist, Bob Markey into her writing. In her essay, Walker makes it well known that Bob Marley was her inspiration for her dreads when she asserts, “because the songs they were singing meant the ropes had to be hair, natural hair to which nothing was added, not even a brushing” (Dreads,231). Walker associates Bob Marley with authenticity and freedom.
Julissa Balderas
Each of the assigned readings offered an artistic and personal approach to their morals of the story. In Aimee Netzhukumatahil's "The Witching Hour," she expresses her attachment to aswang, as it exemplifies her relationship with her mother. Despite the aswang possessing a negative connotation, she associates it with her mother;s soft and tender storytelling, that left the author filled with a warm calm. Author Reg Saner depicts the endless road that leads to a greater life and comparing the need for progress by comparing it to the bleakness of dull small town cities. "Motion as essence, as life's very definition," there is more to life than stopping to see the world's largest prairie dog. Never settle. Alice Walker's "Dreads" discusses the author's fascination with dreads as she compares her wonder and awe to the many curiosities of the world. She grew fascinated by something that was out of this world for her, which she spend countless times wondering about the smell and texture of hair. If she was able to grow curious about hair, imagine the infinite wonders of the Universe.
ReplyDeleteKayla Garza
After reading all three stories “The Witching Hour” called my attention the most. Aimee Nezhukumatathil had a very busy mom and rushing throughout the day to get things done but at night when it was time for bed Aimee’s mother would tell her bedtime stories and it was the only part of day that was not rushed. Aimee appreciated that. When Aimee shares a fictional character known as the Aswang as an assignment, her teacher forbids her to speak of it again and tears up her poster. At the end, Aimee continues to draw the Aswang and the teacher says nothing, kind of accepting it. This reminded me of “Dreads” by Alice Walker because the moral of the story was to find freedom and passion with what you do. Walker had dreads for over a decade and they had not been combed either. Walker mentions that she was inspired by Bob Marley, the way he performed unbothered by his hair, looking so free. Walker describes her hair as making her feel “made happy forever.” In the reading “Late July, 4:40 AM” You can imagine someone driving or possibly on a road trip and they describe the setting as being a poor, not very fortunate area. There are billboards that highlight their poverty, starvation and they blame the government.
ReplyDeleteMarissa Sanchez
“The Witching Hour” by Aimee Nezhukumatahil was a perfect use of vivid images and creates a sense of mystery. The author references a monster which she refers to as Aswang which she battles. Connecting to hoe many people battle how the relate to their own identity. I think that a lot of people can relate to this because although they belong to their culture they can’t help but feel unattached or as if they did not belong. While reading “Late July, 4:40 a.m “ by Reg Saner I was not very interested in this reading because of the very slow tone as the setting was based on a road trip. What I mostly understood from this reading was that all roads have endless possibilities and opportunities. As I was reading “Dreads” by Alice Walker I found it very interesting because it was a reflection on hair and identity. This hairstyle is more than just that it has a connection with their culture which hold true value. My favorite was the first and last readings because they held true meaning to me because it was more on a personal level. As it related to our own culture and identity and allowing us to embrace it and fall out of the norm. Reassuring the reader that it is completely fine to not feel average.
ReplyDeleteMarlen Garcia
The short stories the authors detail a part of their culture through art, not necessary paper and color, but in the form of style. In the essay, “ The Witching Hour,” the author explains what the aswang is and how much it contributes in her life. The response her teacher had and how it affected her on that day. How she had to change her whole drawing to impress her teacher. To her the story of the aswang was important because not only did her mother told her tale, but the other kids talked about their form of myth and she wanted to share the one she knew through her drawing. In the essay by Alice Walker, she talks about how she shows off her culture by the way she styles her hair. She talks about how Bob Marley sparked that kind of interest when he danced and the dreads moved to the rhythm of the beat. The thoughts of what others might think of the hair style didn’t bother her as much as the thoughts of how it would feel planted on her head, how would it make it feel. Once she finally committed and managed to grow into the dreads the surprise of how happy she was once the decision was made. Shocking people as she constantly tells them she hasn’t washed her hair in ten years.
ReplyDeleteIngrid Cano
I felt very different about each one of these essays. What I understood from “The Witching Hour” was that despite other people telling us what is possible “right and wrong” we should not lose our own ability to decide what we want to believe in. Even though the professor didn’t allow her to draw the aswang for the context, she never stopped believing the stories, and ended up drawing a more vivid representation of it with the new markers that she won instead of the pizza. “Late July 4:40am, I enjoyed reading. I felt like I was there, sharing the open road with him as we drove with “a full moon low in the west” in what was an open road. Despite how beautiful some of the drive was, he had to cross the Colorado starvation ranch, which was not as pleasant as the other sights that were shared. In a way that is how life works. Even though we might be “driving” through beautiful places nothing guarantees us that there won’t be others which might have us struggling or that in general we won’t like what we see, or how we feel about them. In fact I can add the last couple of lines to this “As of Colorado Starvation Ranch…Which is something the road never does.” Life won’t stop for either good or bad situations, it keeps ongoing, we just learn to live and react to it as we may. As far as the last essay “ Dreads” I found it very weird. I understand the inspiration behind her not wanting to wash her hair, mostly because of Bob Marley, but I still wonder what exactly inspired her to go through with it. Also Alice seems to find it fascinating to explore other wonders that we might not have yet experienced that could potentially have the power to change our whole life perspective.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Videgaray
After reading the three essays, I was drawn to Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s essay “The Witching Hour” the most. As a teacher, and having a lot experience with children, I realize how our actions can linger in a student’s life for so long. What we do, or what we say can hold a strong impact in our student’s life, and Aimee could capture this instance so beautifully. I could literally feel her emotion and betrayal through her writing after her teacher shamed her picture when all she was seeking was for her approval of something she held close to her heart. On the other hand, Alice Walker does a great job in taking something so simple, like dreads, and creating a meaning that goes far beyond what it actually is. Being true to yourself, and appreciating the beauty of what life is, Lastly, Reg Saner was able to capture the idea of the road, but taking it to a level of being liberated and freed. In his last paragraph, when he mentions that in “Colorado Starvation Ranch, slow adversity can occur only if we stop, settle down. Which is something the road never does”, I take it as the notion that if we settle and stop moving forward, that eventually we will hit rock bottom and our life will become null.
ReplyDeleteAna T. Flores
Through the readings, identity and belonging found in culture was a huge theme. In Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s “The Witching Hour,” the narrator finds solace in the stories told by her mother that connect not only the two of them, but provide a connection to the Philippines. In the overwhelmingly eurocentric culture, the quiet, slow, and personal moments of storytelling is honey to the soul. While reading, I loved the concept of the aswang progressing from this misunderstood creature to being drawn reading a book by the narrator. Not only was the aswang misunderstood, but the very culture of the narrator was misunderstood and criticized by her peers and teacher. This misunderstanding of culture also ties in with “Dreads” by Alice Walker, who explores a beautiful yet misunderstood aspect of African American identity. While relaxers were what was in, Walker decided to take the road less traveled and allow the Universe to fully blossom its gift of natural,kinky hair. The author was able to embrace a part of her identity and advance in her journey of self-discovery. Which, speaking of a journey, leads to the final piece, “Late July 4:40 A.M.” by Reg Saner. The roads and drive discussed in this essay definitely ties to the concepts of the two other pieces of self-discovery and identity, both without the guarantee of always having pleasant “scenery” as one drives through life.
ReplyDeleteNick Torres
All these stories deal with identity and expressing yourself in some way or another. My favorite of the three is "The Witching Hour" by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. I chose this because I know deep down that I would have done the same thing in the end. That's just the kind of person I am. Another great story was "Dreads" by Alice Walker, and I think it's refreshing. It deals with your body and your identity. You shouldn't be scrutinized for the way that you look. If you decide to get dreads or tattoos is not anyone's business. Lastly, “Late July 4:40 A.M.” by Reg Saner, is about going through life and finding yourself without getting lost. To just take life in as it is, good or bad, and in stride. Life won't stop for you, so why should you stop. Overall with the theme of identity and expression, people should be free to express themselves. Anyone getting in the way of that is only hurting themselves and the ones around them.
ReplyDeleteNicolas Ortiz
The Witching hour I know by the title of the story means about witches being active at a certain time at night. Based on Amiee Nexhukumatathils’s story she opens up by explaining what an Aswang is to the audience basically a beautiful woman who morphs herself into fantastic evil. You can see that the little girl is in Awe with this belief of the Aswang as she even makes a connection with her mother having the same long silky black hair. Although I felt a little sad when the teacher ripped her drawing in class because I think there could’ve been other ways the teacher could’ve addressed the situation. At the end Amiee still has the story legend in her mind when she continues to draw the aswang despite her teacher stating she should never repeat these “lies”. For the Second Story “Late July 4:40” Saner portrays a lot of imagery as we audience can feel they are in the car with them as well, “Oncoming billboards loom, growing in size like imperatives three miles from the largest prairie dog in the world”, describing the signs that we would normally see when we take road trips, other than that I’m pretty sure the story has a better meaning to it but I didn’t seem to catch it. Lastly “Dreads” by Alice Walker, I believe is a story about someone’s identity through their hair, the character becomes in Awe with dreads and explains beauty of culture based off of dreads. The character mentions Bob Marley by stating “if anyone ever loved us it was bob Marley” meaning that his as an artist he stood up for himself with certain beliefs that helped his audience not feel alone, his hair also being a signature thing for him as he never cut it. At the end I’m guessing she went ahead and got dreads and has never felt so happy being natural not knowing hair can make a big change.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Duque
In the “The Witching Hour,” I found it interesting that this memory is when Aimee Nezhukumatahil was younger in Elementary school, yet she describes her art using vivid imagery that makes her younger self sound sophisticated. When she states “full of her delicious memories, folktales and legends” it reminds me of the stories my grandma tells me about stories the Llorona or the Chupacabra. I remember that when I was younger, the stories my grandma would tell me I would have vivid dreams about them. I loved that I was able to make that connection to this piece. On the other hand, I found “Late July, 4:40 am” confusing because of the words Reg Sanner uses such as auspicious as well as the way it seems his story is all over the place. However, I liked the way he used the similes such as “great double-trailer rigs high as the Wall of China.” I learned that even though this is creative non-fiction you can give exaggerate a little with comparisons while still maintaining truth. In “Dread” by Alice Walker, I found it strangely interesting the way she says “It must be like the mating of lions, I thought. Aroused.” Walker goes very intimate in sharing that piece of though even though its not necessary, but it also makes us know more about herself as a person.
ReplyDeleteKevin Esparza
Having grown up with busy parents myself, Aimee Nezhukumatathil's "The Witching Hour" pained me in a very personal way. I am a very expressive person, and not having that voice is disheartening to me, and the fact that she wasn't able to do so with her absent minded teacher around was very unfortunate, as it may have stifled her personal voice at such a young age. But the saving grace of her mother being around to tell her anecdotes that were to motivate her was very nice to read about, as sometimes, compassion is all that we need in a less than compassionate world. "Late July, 4:40 am" by Reg Sanner is a wonderful title for a story, as it immediately reads as a memory. The whole idea of a drive being "beautiful" as an allegory for life and all the beautiful moments we have really struck me in a very wonderful way, as life can often be beautiful in the moments where nothing is happening and you can just enjoy the ride. "Dreads" by Alice Walker also affected me, as not being able to express your culture through your style was something I experienced as well. Not only are dreads a cultural marker, but it was her identity as well, and that pride in identity is what I find so human, as we often fight for our rights to own our individualism.
ReplyDeletePadini Paolo Santiago