Study guide!

Hello all!

I think that since I don’t have access to EdLine that it would be good to start a WikiSpace for the class. So, click on the link below to take you to that page where you will find the answers to the study guide and some helpful hints to get you through the quiz!! Good luck!!

Click me for study guide answers!

2/24 — I haven’t heard from any of you, so either you have no questions or you don’t know my e-mail address (it’s on the WikiSpace, fyi)!!  In case you need it, it’s teshimat@student.gvsu.edu

Odd man out.

It’s very odd when you feel out of place in your own family. I’m not very close to my father’s side of the family, largely due to the fact that they live in the greater Chicago area, and I grew up in northing Michigan. When I do get to see them, it’s always very strange.

This side of the family is my Japaneses side of the family. Their expectations of what makes a person a good, successful are rather “demanding,” and when someone doesn’t fit into that mold, they almost immediately disapprove. For instance, they are very close to their heritage, and most of them speak the language fluently. Additionally, many of them are able to write Japanese characters and abide by many Japanese traditions. I don’t do any of the above. In fact, the only other language I speak is French, and that doesn’t quite count. Because my other is Polish, I grew up with Polish traditions, and when I see my dad’s side of the family, they always think it odd that I have absolutely no idea what it is that they are saying (in Japanese) and are appalled by my apathy to the new year (apparently it’s a big deal). This side of the family is also wealthy with geniuses. Any relative that has attended college has gone to a prestigious university. IN fact, one of my cousins is currently attending Harvard for graduate school, and her younger brother is attending Brown University. I, on the other hand, attended Grand Valley State University, a four year university in Allendale, Michigan. I loved (and continue to love) this institution, but in my family’s eyes, it pales in comparison to Harvard. To top it off, every person on this side of the family has (by their standards, of course) some sort of “successful” job. My grandfather was an optometrist, my dad’s cousin is an editor at the Chicago Tribune, and my cousin is a cellular biologist. When they discovered that I was going to be a teacher, thoughts of summer vacations, play-time, and 8-3 work days crept into their minds and were displayed as disapproving looks and sighs of disappointment. On this side of the family, I truly was quite the disgrace.

It used to make me feel really terrible about myself — like there was something wrong with me. Why couldn’t I fit in with everyone else? Then, I realized I didn’t have to. What was wrong with speaking French? And why was a state college such a bad thing? The fact of the matter that there wasn’t anything wrong with any of this, and that it was just their misconceptions of what makes a person successful and happy. So, this experience has made me a better person. I’ve learned that we all are who we are, and disapproving looks can’t take that away from us. I love my life and the decisions I’ve made, and nothing can change that.

Modernity and me.

If one thinks about it, tradition is everywhere, hidden in the most common of situations.  How many times have your parents said to you, “When I was your age…[fill in blank].”  That in itself points to instances of tradition.  Outside of parent/child relationships, tradition is quite common as well.  For instance, why do we have summer vacations from school?  Traditionally, students were let out during the summer so that they were free to help their family on their farms.  In the modern age, this really isn’t necessary, but much to the happiness of students across the country, summer vacation still exists.  However, tradition only becomes a problem when it truly clashes with modernity.

When I was in college, I lived very close to a very religious town.  On Sundays, nothing was open.  No gas stations were open, no restaurants were open…absolutely NOTHING was open EVER!  One afternoon, my friends and I were driving through this town and one of us needed to…how do you say…”use the facilities.”  However, since nothing was open, no bathrooms were available for miles.  I ended up practically flying back to my apartment in order to help my poor, unfortunate friend.  While this does seem like a silly situation, it certainly exemplifies the problem between tradition and modernity.

Ding, ding, ding! Things I learned today!

When I first started studying the Middle East, Arab world, and the Muslim world, I was surprised to learn that the three were distinct.  I always blurred the three different areas, and considered them to be of the same grouping.  However, there are huge differences between the Arab world, Muslim world, and Middle East, which is why I chose to share this information with you all during this unit.  In addition, I was surprised to learn that Arab-Israeli conflict began within the past century.  Growing up, my father often told me that the conflict between the two groups had been going on for centuries.  Little did he know (and little did I know, for that matter) that the conflict only arose after WWII.   This was probably the greatest piece of information I gained in my studies, which is also why I chose to share this with you.

When I first started reading Arab literature, I was nervous that the story-lines were going to be difficult to follow.  Because I had grown up in a small town in northern Michigan, I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to relate to the story, as I had no idea what life in the Middle East/Arab world/Muslim world was like.  However, I soon realized that a lot of experiences are universal, as you all will soon find out as well. 

What I know, and what I don’t know…

There are a few things that I know about the Arab/Muslim/Middle Eastern world. I know that the three of them are separate, but overlap.  I know the basic foundations of Islam, but I’m not sure of the more intricate details of it. I am also familiar with the Arab-Israeli conflict.  While it is one of the things that I feel very passionate about, we won’t be able to touch on it very much during this unit.  However, this shouldn’t stop you from encouraging your social studies teacher from teaching you about it. 

There are a few things that I know about the Arab/Muslim/Middle Eastern world. I know that the three of them are separate, but overlap.  I know the basic foundations of Islam, but I’m not sure of the more intricate details of it.  I would also like to know more about the literature that is produced in the Arab world, Muslim world, and Middle East.  I’m familiar with what novels, stories, and poems are popular in Western culture, but what kinds of things make up “canonical” Arab literature?   Finally, I would like to know more about the current issues in the Arab world, Muslim world, and Middle East, especially in Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan.

What happened to Esperanza?

We moved to a house on the corner of Eight Street and Maple Avenue, many miles away from Mango Street. It was smaller than our house on Mango Street and there were no inside stairs and no basement and only one bathroom and it was yellow, but it was sturdy like tortoise shell. I was happy to have left Mango Street.  My mother made me go to a school down the block from where we lived. The teachers there yap-yap-yap and make us write things down all the time which I don’t mind most of the time.  I like to write though and I don’t like going to school very much so writing in school makes me excited.

One day one of the yap-yap-yap teachers sent a letter home to my parents.  I thought I was in trouble, but from the look on my mother’s face I knew I wasn’t.

The teacher says you write very well.
I shrug my shoulders.
Your teacher sent me home some of your stories.  They are very good, Esperanza.  You are just like me, a smart cookie.
My mother sat and read the stories one by one and when my father walked in, he grabbed one of the stories my mother had already read and looked at the page.  After scanning the lines for a moment he looked up at me with flames shooting from his eyes and walked to the garbage can that sat in the corner of our kitchen and let the piece of loose leaf paper fall into it like a kite floating to the ground when its string is broken by the wind.

My father who

My father who wears a tie like a knot
and asks who left the kitchen light on
who is golf and whiskey
who is a mustache and glasses
whose smile is made of yellowed pearls
is too work-worn to go for a walk today
who tells me jokingly of the things he used to do
who tells me seriously of the things he longs to do
whose eyes glimmer with the shine of days long past
wants to get away
but goes to work for another day
who used to be free, and loving, and anti-conformity
is sold-out
is a bird locked up in a cage
is irritated when he comes home
doesn’t want to answer the phone
is doing bills at the kitchen table
who watches tacky movies on cable
is regret and a uniform and a mortgage
who mows the lawn back and forth back and forth back and forth
is the tie around his neck that knots his throat
asking who left the kitchen light on
who?

Gender roles: a theme.

One theme that I take particular interest in is the them of gender roles. Throughout the novel, Esperanza talks about how “the Mexicans don’t like their women strong.” We are shown examples of how strong women are held back in the vignettes featuring Esperanza’s great-grandmother (“My Name”), Alicia in “Alicia Who Sees Mice,” and Esperanza’s mother in “A Smart Cookie” (we haven’t quite gotten there yet, but we will eventually). The role of women in Esperanza’s society is to be the homemakers, the wives, and the mothers. There is no room for education or writing. I think Cisneros wants us to know that this isn’t fair, and that the way in which this society does not sit well with Esperanza. One motif that really helps this theme along is that of women sitting by windows. A symbol that is significant is the “red-balloon” tied down in an earlier part of the book.

Both of my parents are open-minded about gender roles. My grandparents on my dad’s side are a little different though. They don’t necessarily think that women shouldn’t be educated or that they should just stay at home and raise children, but there isn’t very much encouragement if a female family member decides to go to college or maintain a career. I think it’s more influenced by age and not so much culture, as many female members of my family are very successful. However, I can sympathize with Esperanza’s want to break free from the constraints of her gender.

“Where do you live?”

Over the past three years, I have lived in four different places. I have lived in a dorm that was the size of my bedroom at my parents house, a bug and mold infested apartment, a barely-insulated townhouse, and now a three-story “apartment” with two other people (we each get our own floor?). While I’ve skipped around housing several times, many things always stay the same. My neighbors are always noisy, and I always find odd things outside of my front door on Saturday mornings. The parking lots are always crowded, and people are constantly fighting for the front-row spot. More than anything, though, the smell is always the same. Allendale probably has at least two cows for every person, and no matter where I have lived in this tiny town, the smell of manure lingers in the air every morning. Gross.

What makes each one of them very special to me, though, is that all of them have been my own. Each of them represent various stages of my independence, and have been (and still are) my own private sanctuaries. So while the world may tell me what to do while I’m outside the confines of my house(s), I get to decide what goes on while I’m inside.