The House on Mango Street Post 1

     The House on Mango Street,  by Sandra Cisneros, is a collection of vignettes told through the eyes of an adolescent girl. There is a lot of symbolism in this book including windows, which are very symbolic. In this book, windows mean being trapped. When ever windows are mentioned it is referring to the person being trapped. “She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow.”(page 11) In this quote, Esperanza is describing the life of her grandmother, who she shares a name with. I think that Esperanza thinks that her grandmother looked out the window her whole life and had no time to go out and explore the world. I think that Esperanza is scared that she might be subject to the same fate of a life that doesn't get to do anything. This seems like a horrible way to spend a life, especially constantly being taunted by whatever you might see out of the window.

    Another person in the story who has an experience with windows is Mamacita, one of Esperanza’s many neighbors. Mamacita is someone who doesn't speak English and just sits around in her room all day. “ She sits all day by the window and plays the spanish radio show and sings all the homesick songs about her country in a voice that sounds like a seagull.” (77) I think that she is trapped by the language barrier that separated her from the rest of society. Since she couldnt communicate with the rest of the neighborhood, she just sat and sang sad songs that reminded her of her home country and made her even sadder because she can never go back or leave her window perch.

    Rafaela is another one of Esperanza’s neighbors. She is married and is contained by the windows, just like many of the other characters. “And then Rafaela, who is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much, gets locked indoor because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at.” (79)  This quote explains that Rafaela is trapped in her own house looking out the window, but she cant go anywhere because she is confined to her house by her husband, who doesnt want to lose her. The symbolic window makes many appearances in  The House on Mango Street.

The Color Purple: Compare and Contrast

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a epistolary novel about two sisters. Both of them have very similar experiences but in different situations due to the fact that they live thousands of miles apart. Celie lives in the United States and Nettie lives as a missionary for the majority of her life. They have very different ideas about religion. They have also had similar experiences in gender and racial inequality.

Celie and Nettie are very different in their religious beliefs throughout the novel. Celie doesn't really believe in God, as explains she to Nettie here, “I didn't write to God no more. I write to you. Who that? I say... What God for me?”.(page 192)  Celie explains that she doesn't believe  in God because she has no proof he exists and he hasn't done anything for her. On the other hand, Nettie is very serious in her religious beliefs, so much so that she goes as a missionary to Africa and tries to teach the Olinka people to be Christian  . Celie may believe in spirits if she doesn't believe in God, this is shown here, “Dear stars, dear trees, dear sky, dear people. Dear Everything.”(page 285) I think that this shows that Celie’s relationship with God affects how he life is doing at the time. For instance, this quote happens right when Nettie comes home with Celie's children. Nettie is really loyal to God, especially when she shows so much sorrow after the church is destroyed.

Celie and Nettie have both experienced gender inequality throughout their very different lives. Celie would be much more appreciated in Nettie`s life because she is a hard worker and she doesn't have enough confidence to speak up for herself and resist the oppression applied by men. Nettie would be more appreciated in Celie`s life because she is educated and opinionated. To the modern society, it is important for all women to be educated. To the Olinka, women are just used for working, not anything intellectual. Africa only values women that don’t question the superiority of men. Celie has had very negative experiences with men, such as when her “father” (who turns out to not actually be her father) rapes her and when she is married off at a very young age, to an abusive husband. In Nettie’s case, she has had an O.K. experience with men. This is shown when she gets to choose her own husband, something that Celie wasn't fortunate enough to do. Nettie marries her old friend Samuel, who treates her much better than Mr. treates Celie. Near the end of the book, Celie is finally able to stand up to Mr. and get her “freedom”. Nettie, on the other hand, can’t overcome gender inequality because of the primitive African culture, which says that women can’t have rights or an opinion.

Celie experiences racial inequality a lot more than Nettie. Celie lives in a time and place where there is racism everywhere. She cannot overcome racial inequality because white oppression is too strong. The story of Sofia is a good example of white oppression of black people. I Sofia is more or less “enslaved” by the mayor’s wife as shown:

     “All of your children so clean, she say,     would you like to work for me, be my maid?
     Sofia say, Hell no.       Mayor look at Sofia, push his wife out the way. Stick out his chest.            Girl,what you say to Miss Millie?
     Sofia say, Hell no.
     He slap her.”

Sadly, after this part in this book, Sofia is forced to become a maid or rot in jail. It is sad that one group has so much power over another, enough, that someone of the superior group can just demand that a person work for them. That is the brutality of the racism that Celie constantly experiences. Nettie is lucky enough not to have experienced that much racism in her life in Africa. This is because in Africa everyone is black so there is no difference in race and there cannot be any racism. The only racism I noticed in Nettie’s life was on the ship ride home. She saw an old lady traveling with a little black boy who she described as her grandchild. Every person on the ship gave the couple weird looks throughout the trip.

    In their lives, Celie and Nettie have both experienced gender and racial inequality. Their religious views can be compared because they are similar and different. I think Alice Walker wrote this book to convey the difference between African and American culture. She did this by writing about two sisters that have very different lives but experience many of the same problems.

Rebutting Cristians Post

Im rebutting, my honorable friend Cristian’s opening statement of his proponent views on Wikileaks. His quote “thesis statement” is poorly worded with bad grammar.

“There purpose is to benefit society by doing this, not harm it.”

In this thesis statement, he lazily misspells a simple 2nd reading level word. I think that mistakes like this should be carefully looked for before trying to persuade anyone to agree with their view. Another thing that Cristian could do to be more persuasive is to capitalize the word Wikileaks to show that he thinks it is proper.

    Cristian also says makes a point but does nothing to back it up, therefore it isnt very persuasive.
“Our government does things in our nations name that we might not be proud of.”

He says this, but then gives no proof whatsoever to show that our country does thing that we aren't proud of. If I was reading this with an unbiased opinion, I would not be even slightly convinced that Cristian’s views should be my views too.

Cristian defines the word “democracy” by using a cheesy dictionary.com definition. If he was going to be more professional, then he should use a more credible source, such as Webster's Dictionary. Webster’s Dictionary is a widely known resource that can be more trustworthy that “dictionary.com”.

Another flaw in Cristian’s opening statement is that he doesn't even explain his topic, Wikileaks, until the very last paragraph and to be honest, he doesn't do a very good job at it.

In this quote, Cristian makes the highlight of his whole post.

“In Tunisia, the President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, has been ruling Tunisia with an "iron fist" claims New York Times and The Atlantic.  However the news of this has been sort of shut off to the rest of the world, if i read this correctly, and that, since wikileaks leaked this, the President was driven out to exile. This is, of course is a good thing because he was basically a dictator and censorship-leader.”

I think that he makes a good point when he quotes an actual source and takes a current event  to make a valid point.

Should parents be allowed to manipulate their children's DNA?

Alex Noble

I think gene the manipulation of DNA is wrong, because it isn't fair for the kids that are being manipulated.

    I am against the manipulation of DNA for several reasons. One of them is that there can be mistakes made that can ruin the baby. If the DNA isn’t changed correctly, then serious consequences will happen.
“There is no guarantee that the viral enzyme that is responsible for this step will be able to introduce the correct gene at the specific point in the host chromosome. In case, there is an error in this process, it would result in error in the genetic makeup of the cell and can result in serious disorders.”(full article)
This means that the enzyme the genetic engineers are inserting could be placed in the wrong section of the chromosome, that could cause genetic mutations and possibly cancer. That is a risk I would not want to take with my body or someones that couldn't consent.
    Another reason that gene therapy is a bad idea is that your bodies natural instinct is to reject the inserted DNA when it divides.
“Then there are problems with introducing therapeutic DNA and the rapidly dividing nature of certain cells that are hurdles in gene therapy providing long term benefits to patients. Due to this reason a patient may need to undergo multiple gene therapy treatments. But with this again comes the problem of the immune system. Once the immune system is triggered by a foreign body, it attacks the foreign body more aggressively when it invades the body next time.”
Would you really want to put something in your body that even your body knows is wrong? I think any rational person would know not to use gene therapy. Personally, I think it is a very bad choice.
A parent should think about the child’s feelings before attempting gene therapy. When the child grows up, the parents will eventually have to tell the kid about the procedure. It would make a kid feel like they were inadequate because their parents felt the need to change their body even before they knew each other.

My Resume

This is a free post, so I thought I would do something interesting and post a Resume of me.



                                                                Alexander Edwin Noble
                                                                  Alameda,CA
    Education
2007-Present                           Lincoln Middle School, Alameda, CA
                •    Cumulative Grade Point Average: 3.224
                •    Expected date of graduation: June 14, 2010
                •    Emphasis on: Short Stop Motion Film Making           
Experience
 2007-Present            Historian, Lincoln Middle School, Alameda, CA
                •    Researched the art of Egyptian mummy making and devised a 12 page report depicting the fascinating process of mummification and the lore associated with ancient Egyptian culture 
                 •    Constructed 26 artifacts with well-researched summaries relating to all of the ancient cultures studied in Medieval and Early Modern Times
2007-Present            Writer, Lincoln Middle School, Alameda, CA
                •    Penned 27 essays that ranged from “How to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich” to “Out My Bedroom Window;” all essays demanded creativity and interest in the subject
                •    Compiled all essays into a storybook format that showcased every essay written in 7th  grade
2007-Present            Scientist, Lincoln Middle School, Alameda, CA
                •    Utilized the Scientific Method during the Egg Drop experiment by hypothesizing about the outcome and then designing a pod to protect the egg and to ensure its survival
                •    Endured the monotony of studying a slow developing biosphere filled with various flora and fauna
Activities        
2005-Present            Football Player, Alameda Pirates, Alameda, CA
                •    Awarded most improved player by going from a novice player to a seasoned veteran
                •    Contributed to two undefeated regular seasons and triumphed in the championship two years in a row
                •    Advanced from 3rd string all the way to 1st string by learning the basics of football and succeeding
                •    Applied the lifeskills of perseverance and commitment by participating in every practice of the year
 2006-Present            Short Film Maker, 1534 Eastshore Drive Alameda, CA
                •    Obtained a Cannon Cybershottm  to film stop motion movies
                •    Filmed and directed over 20 stop-action movies that contained different plots such as a remake of the “Blob” and a short western about a saloon
                •     Molded clay characters using clay and wire for the frame to star in the movies along with Lego characters
                •    Computed with Windows Movie Maker to edit and add special effects
2007-Present            Lincoln Band Member, Lincoln Middle School Band, Alameda, CA
                •    Acquired the skills to survive the grueling heat of the summer in the 3½ mile long trek known as the Alameda 4th of July Parade
                •    Performed western songs such as “Howdy Pardner,” “Wild Wild West” and “Blazing Saddles”
                •    Developed patience while reading and memorizing elaborate music

Response to Billys Post on Global Warming

I found a post on google reader about global warming and the environment by Billy Lau and I thought it was very interesting. I liked that he used actual evidence in his post because it made it a lot more persuasive. In Billy’s post, he described ways that global warming happens and ways to address it. I think it is a good idea to educate youth about this topic because it can help prevent it and stop it from getting worse. I also think educating the younger generations can inspire them to save the earth and think of new ideas and ways of conserving natural resources.

Scientists think that the Earth is getting warmer because of green-house gas. People need to change their ways and stop polluting the air and to save more electricity. Twenty percent of scientists say that global warming is just another natural occurrence. In the past, there were some Ice age and other times the Earth has gotten hot ,so people think it is normal. However, many scientist opposed this because they say that the Earth has gotten hotter than ever and the Co2 in the atmosphere has increased dramatically. Scientist have found ways to solve this problem and one of them is to use fuel efficient cars. Most pollution in the air are caused by trucks and cars because we use them everyday. The burning of fossil fuels or coals in big companies and industries also affect the Earth. It is hard to stop these companies because they are making Big Bucks. The Earth is dying because we don’t solve our own problems of letting gases in the air. As a nation together we can stop global warming by a huge percentage and save the next generations of our kids.”

I think that Billy gives good points in this essay explaining the reasons of global warming and getting in to the science of it.  I think billy did a good job persuading people to be good to the environment because he used fun facts that made sense and were interesting.

Does it matter where you go to college? A 7-way Debate Response

Out of all these responses, I thought that the What You Do vs. Where You Go response was the most persuasive out of all them because it made the most sense to me and I agreed with the points made. One of the points that I thought was very persuasive was the summary of of an event at a high school run by the guidance councilors.

“They hold posters featuring the names and faces of famous people while their peers and parents shout out with confidence the names of elite colleges they assume the celebrities attended. The key to success in college and beyond has more to do with what students do with their time in college than where they choose to attend. The “oohs” and “aahs” follow as the audience learns that Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates dropped out of college, that Oprah Winfrey is an alumna of Tennessee State and that Ken Burns graduated from Hampshire College.” (O'Connell paragraph 1).

I think that this quote perfectly illustrates the point that is attempted to be made in this debate response because it shows that people that are celebrities that are worth millions of dollars didn't even go to “elite colleges” and they are still some of the most successful people of today.

One of the least persuasive responses in my opinion is Skip the Admissions Game by Kevin Carey. I think that he gives an arrogant aura when he writes things like: “They're nice places to hang out for four years and you'll probably learn a few things. Even if you don't, you'll still get a piece of paper signifying that you were smart enough to get in and rich enough to pay for it. People care about stuff like that. “

I think that if he was a little bit more polite and less “know-it-allish” then I would be more willing to listen and consider his idea and point of view. I find it hard to read and process papers when they have a hard to understand sense of humor.