Short Summary

"stone girls" and "boys with branches for arms"

This indicates that God wanted gender roles to be the opposite as they are now. "stone" often refers to something strong, hard, and difficult to break.

On the other hand, "branches" are thought of as "twigs" or easy to break and snap. This is the opposite of "stone."

Men are often referred to as "bone", which is another symbol for "weak." Bone is often referred to people who have no muscle, or are weak or malnourished.

In relation to men being referred to as "weak", that also has a significance to the story of Adam and Eve.

A form of "weakness" can be "mental weakness" which would depict how easily Adam bended to Eve when she was trying to convince him to eat the apple.

In this case, the weakness would be a mental weakness against good and evil, or how easily someone is swayed from what is right

Clifton also gives the idea that God is tired of humans, and how easily they fold to temptations, or "evil."

Lastly, Clifton creates a connection between herself/humanity and God.

She writes her poem as if she was there seeing the entire situation unfold. This gives off the idea that she, like God, is an omniscient being.

Clifton also writes God in a way that is similar to humanity, rather than the all-knowing and all-forgiving being that God is depicted as.

God did not know that his creations would turn out the way that they had, he is not all-knowing. God became frustrated and tired at humans for not acting as he wanted them to, another very human feeling.

Short Summary

Concepts

During the poem, he breaks meter a few times. These instances are whenever there was a major importance towards the situation.

Two instances of this were "Birmingham" and "explosion." Both of these words held heavy significance to the mother and the child.

"Birmingham" was the home they lived in, that they did not feel safe in. It was the place they were being discriminated in, and the place where they marched for their freedom.

"Explosion" a major racial event where the black church was bombed by a racist group. This event signified that even churches, a place where children were supposed to be safe and close to God, isn't safe.

When their homes weren't safe from discrimination, they believed that the church would be the safest place. That belief was proved wrong with the bombing.

The explosion also held significance as it was where the child lost her life, and the mother lost her child.

There was also a reference to the child's death in the earlier parts of the poem, where she was being dressed for church.

"combed and brushed her night-dark hair"
"bathed rose petal sweet"
"drawn white gloves"
"white shoes on her feet"

All of these moments represent a corpse being dressed for their casket.

It can also be seen as an angel getting ready to ascend to heaven.

In his poem, Randall demonstrates just how horrid racial discrimination is

Concepts

Short Summary

Each line is repeated at least once in the poem. This repetition hints at the "story" the narrator is talking about has happened multiple times, almost in a ritualistic sense.

Nearly every repeated line is identical, hinting towards that "ritualistic" idea.

The narrator, while telling this story, seems desensitized to the story they are telling. This indicates that the event has happened more than once, enough times that it feels similar to "normal" for the narrator.

While the narrator is speaking of the story as if it is normal, it is clear to see that the narrator does not feel as if the event is normal. They continue to tell the story, because they know that it is not something that should be happening

But while the event should not be happening, no one is stepping up to help them. The narrator continues to tell the story to others to say that it happened, while knowing that no one is going to do anything about it.

The narrator continues to say: "nothing really happened."

But the reader can tell that is a lie. Something clearly did happen, and it was something that scared the narrator.

The reason why the narrator says that is because everyone else is telling them that. Because of their race, no one will take the event seriously. It was just some people messing around. No one was hurt, it doesn't matter.

Due to the continued invalidation and brushing off from other people, the narrator now states "nothing really happened" to show that nothing will happen if they tell anyone because according to others: nothing happened

There was also an aspect of religion.

The cultists dress in white, similar to how angels are depicted as in Catholicism. The narrator even says that the ones that burn into their yard were "white as angels" and "the angels have gathered."

Later, the narrator says that the cross that was burned was strung up like a Christmas tree.

Angels, Christmas, Cross: all of these words signify a religion. Specifically, Catholicism.

Along with the idea of religion, there is also an undertone of purges.

In the history of Catholicism, it has been said that angels are the warriors of God. Whenever God needs someone to fight or take care of another, he will call on his angels. There have been stories of angels purging other creatures such as demons.

This was another reference that Trethewey made. She referred to an image of racial discrimination, that blacks are not "holy" and need to be purged.

During the poem, everything relating to the narrator and their family was set in darkness, while the cultists were set in light.

The "darkened" house, the shades were drawn, the hiding family, the "trembling" wick. All of these indicate that the family is being hunted by the cultists and their purging flames.

Short Summary

Concepts

When Nezukumatahil writes, they depict the corpse flower as if it is female.

When the flower is being described, it is often personified in ways that are similar to how one would imagine a woman.

"Purple skirt" The farmer calls the flowers petals. Traditionally, a "skirt" is worn by a female. A skirt is also seen in a similar way to a dress, portraying innocence.

This can also be related to how flowers are often seen in relation to female genitalia and reproductive systems.

As the flower represents the female reproductive system, and the petals represent it's innocence, it is signifying virginity.

The farmer continues to refer to the flower as if it is entrancing him. This is also similar to how people justify continuing to see someone they are attracted to.

Another situation where this concept is used is in abusive relationships or stalkers. Similar to the idea of "she was coming onto me, not the other way around." It's a way to justify one's actions when they are not wanted.

In this case, it signifies that the flower does not want the farmer's attention, yet he ignores this. This can be seen in relation to gender roles, as in abusive relationships where the abuser or stalker will refuse to leave their victim alone.

Nezhukumatahil also goes into the idea of one's personal identity and sense of self.

At the end of her poem, the corpse flower was named by the villagers. When they named it, the flower was no longer referred to by it's own name (if it had one), and it's entirety is now related to the name that it was given.

The flower has lost it's identity and forced to take on a new one. This can be related to when the Mayflower came to America, and the people that came from England forced the native Americans to completely change their customs.

By naming something, it does exactly that. It forces someone to be something else.

Short Summary

Concepts

McKay makes a connection between his race and their oppressors by a comparison in nature. He relates his own race to pigs, and his oppressors as dogs.

This comparison gives the readers a clear image or reference to how McKay and those of dark skin feel.

The relationship between pig and dog is one of prey and predator. Dogs will hunt and kill pigs for food, and pigs have no way to fight back.

This demonstrates the differences between the two races, white and black, and how oppressed those of colored skin feel against those of white skin.

The relationship between humans and pigs is one of livestock and consumer. Humans tend to pigs only for the purpose of being able to eat them, while pigs can do nothing against them. This also demonstrates the oppression that blacks face at the hands of whites.

When McKay makes the reference between pigs and dogs, he is referring to the "kill or be killed" concept in the wild. This indicates that their oppressors, whites, are not humans. In reality, they are just ravage dogs and beasts without any sense of humility.

When McKay ends his poem, he ends it by calling his race "humans" instead of "hogs" (pigs). In this case, he is telling his race to not act like livestock and to stand up against the "law of the land." Now, he is calling his race the ones with humility, and their oppressors as "cowards."

Concepts

Short Summary

Wheatley references a few words mainly by italicizing them: virtue, wisdom, chasity, greateness, and goodness

Out of these five words, only wisdom is not italicized. This is used to symbolize that everything but wisdom can be reached.

The other four words are needed to come close to "wisdom" but one can never actually reach it.

There is also a religious undertone for these five words. Each have a relation to Catholicism.

Wisdom is something that only God can reach, and in extension, the priests that speak his word. Someone who is not a priest or not God, cannot attain Wisdom.

Virtue, the act of worshiping God, is the closest that someone can come to Wisdom.

Chastity is something that a person must pledge if they wish to become a member of the church: such as a priest or a nun.

Greatness and Goodness are ways to refer to the holy trinity, and to God.

Throughout the poem, Wheatley uses many words that also tend to only be used in religious texts or readings.

"Thou"
"Thine"
"Thee"

All of these words signify that she is talking about religion and God.

Concepts

Blanco depicts the cultural differences that a child of immigrant parents feels. During his school years, he would always hear about the cultural holidays of his classmates: specifically Thanksgiving and Christmas.

While these holidays are celebrated at his school, and the environment around him, it is not the holiday that his family celebrates.

Already, there is a disconnect of cultures. Blanco is living in a completely different culture from his family, and he wants to assimilate into that culture.

Children of immigrant parents often feel that they don't belong with the people around them, because their culture is different from their family culture.

Blanco depicts this concept through the child narrator as they consistently ask to celebrate Thanksgiving, or at least have turkey during the celebration.

As the narrator and his family are living in different cultures, the mother attempts to compromise, serving some American dishes during the celebration.

Blanco depicts that the family is not fond of this change as "faces fell" in response to the pie and that the turkey was passed like "a game of Russian Roulette"

As these foods are not part of their culture, they are not too fond of it. There is also the feeling that if they accept these foods into their celebrations, then they will be loosing their own culture

Throughout his entire poem, Blanco depicts the challenges that an immigrant family faces when their children grow up with a different culture. And the struggles a family goes through to try and hold on to their own culture in a foreign place.

Concepts

Short Summary

Anzaldua formats her piece as if it is a letter. At the beginning of each of her excerpts is a "Dear...." line and the date that it was written

As Anzaldua does this, she gives off the impression that she is writing directly to the reader.

A letter is commonly seen as a very personal way to communicate information, working as a telephone call or a text would in our current society.

Nowadays, letters are specifically seen as a special way to communicate to someone.

As Anzaldua is using a letter, she is connecting to the reader in a very personal way. She intentionally writes in a letter format to show that she is sharing personal information and thoughts to the reader.

It also gives the reader the idea that everything she writes, is just for them specifically.

Anzaldua speaks about race and gender, and speaks to people who understand her. While others can read her piece, they are not the main focus of her writing. All of her attention is solely on those of her own group. "Muheres de color."

Anzaldua wants to inspire her readers into writing about their experiences.

To convince her readers of doing this, she uses her letter format to share her own personal thoughts and feelings, as if she had never shared them before.

She explains about how writing about her struggles and the discrimination she has faced takes a toll on her, but it will always be worth it. Through this, she inspires her readers to want to feel the same "power" that Anzaldua feels from writing about her life.

She gives the feeling, through her letter, that people want to hear her reader's voices and struggles. And even if no one will read their struggles, their work will always exist and give meaning to everyone who feels the same way.

Anzaldua also speaks directly about things that her readers will understand and relate with. One such thing would be how she mentioned not being allowed to speak or learn her own language in school.

This connects to all of the readers that have also experienced this, being alienated from something as personal as their language, and compels them to lean more towards Anzaldua.

A second would be how she was "discouraged" from writing about her own struggles as they were not "accurate".

Anzaldua pulls at all the emotions that her readers have towards their own status and standing in society, as well as all the discrimination they have faced, to show that they are not alone.

She compels the readers to want to write more and more to share their story, so that others, like them, will not feel alone.

Concepts

Short Summary

One of the main formatting choices that Hong uses is a small collage of excerpts.

During her story, she writes excerpts about how people would discourage her from speaking up against the injustices she has faced. Often, she was told that it was just a "small event" and not something to get worked up over.

Hong tells multiple short instances of events, all of which, if it was just one, would often get brushed off for being a "small thing" As she tells so many excerpts, she is displaying that it is not a small thing, and this kind of injustice is happening everywhere and to thousands.

Hong does not just use her own experiences, she writes about the experiences of others, such as Praageeta Sharma and David Dao.

The more people that Hong writes about, facing these injustices and discrimination, the more it makes her readers see that these events are everywhere and constant.

Hong brings a large amount of attention to how her people are discouraged from speaking up or making a deal out of discrimination

But, through her repeated short stories, Hong is showing that these acts of violence continue no matter how much someone speaks up against it.

Her stories also display an incredulous feeling to the reader in certain situations, such as when Hong wanted to write about her societal standing for a paper, and her professor had denied it as it wasn't "accurate."

Another incredulous situation was when Hong was talking to a gallery manager, who denies everything she says about her own race by saying: "My racial awareness mediator teaches this race stuff all the time--why should I believe you?" When neither he, nor his racial awareness teacher is of her race.

Another thing to mention is the title of her collage: "United"

This title has multiple meanings, the first being that everyone she speaks a story about is "united" in some way. That way being that they faced an injustice or discrimination, and that they are all from the same racial standing.

The second meaning is that everyone a story is told about is "united" not just from their racial standing and the faced discrimination, but because they all stand together, and are facing a common enemy.

Concepts

Short Summary

Lee portrays how an immigrant parent is impacted while living in a society that does not follow the same culture.

In the text, the narrator's mother was always cooking something. Lee showed that what she cooked always had something to do with her culture.

For the narrator's mother, cooking was her way of staying connected to her home and her culture while she living in a different country.

Lee demonstrates how all immigrants struggle with the culture that they bring from their homeland, into a completely different land. The sense of belonging that they use to have is now gone, and they try to do whatever they can to remain connected to it. In the narrator's mothers case, her way to remain connected was cooking.

Lee also demonstrates how having an immigrant parent and a child born in that new country can cause a strain on their familial relationships

In the story, the narrator is surrounded by America's culture ever since they were born, they were not exposed to the same culture that their mother had grown up in.

This causes an innate disconnect, as the things that they have been taught are different. Everything that is privy to the mother's culture, like holidays, are not represented in America. And everything in America is not celebrated in the mother's homeland.

While the mother is trying to stay connected to her homeland and her own culture, her child is trying to bring a new culture into the house. This conflict in cultures, and refusal to accept one culture will cause a disconnect and problem between the two.

This has also been seen in the past, where when two tribes of different culture live in the same area, there will be fights and wars to make one the dominant culture and norm.

For the mother and son, neither want to give up their own culture; and if they accept the culture of the other person, it would be doing exactly that. And if they don't accept their own culture, they will either be outcasted from others or feel as though they are giving up a part of themselves.

Lee is portraying just how often this happens with immigrant families with children that go through the education system.

Concepts

Short Summary

Morrison portrays how racial discrimination can affect a person's relationship

Morrison shows two characters: Twyla and Roberta. One of them is white and one is black. Both of them experience different hardships, and cannot understand what the other is going through.

Through Morrison's writing, the reader sees just how much society's racial discrimination affects ones relationships. Twyla and Roberta, while they were extremely close during their childhood, face back and forth hostility and amicability with each other.

When Roberta and Twyla meet at Twyla's workplace, Roberta wants nothing to do with her. Morrison depicts, here, that when someone faces societal pressure from those around them, they will tend to cave into what society wants. While Roberta truly cares for Twyla, she does not want to face the same discrimination that she was referenced to in the past, so she breaks off her relationship with Twyla.

Twyla and Roberta become like sisters to each other during their time at the orphanage.

They formed a connection from their similar circumstances, being left at the orphanage because their mothers couldn't care for them.

This is an accurate representation of how people can connect to each other in real life, and have. People tend to gravitate towards others who have experienced the same thing as them, like for support groups.

Morrison also questions the reader's own thoughts about race.

Not once has Morrison said what color each girl is, only that one is black and one is white. While the reader is trying to figure out the girls skin colors, she is making the reader come to realize their own internal racism.

For every small detail, like "ratty jeans" or "smelly" or "leaving food on their plate" it causes the reader to think: "which race would do this?"

Every time the reader makes a conclusion on what girl is what race, another detail is thrown in that is normally associated with a different race, causing the reader to rethink their impressions.

Through this entire process, Morrison is forcing the reader to acknowledge that they do hold racist stereotypes in their head, whether they intend to or not.

Concepts

Short Summary

Anzaldua creates the idea that racism against a group will cause that group to have racist views about themselves.

In the story, Anzaldua wrote multiple things from the mother onto her daughter:

"Don't go out in the sun...If you get any darker they'll mistake you for an Indian."
"Don't get dirt on your clothes. You don't want people to say you're a dirty Mexican."

Both of these quotes refer to racism towards other races. If one is dark, they are Indian, if one is dirty, they are Mexican. It brings into question how people can internalize the racist comments they hear around them, or towards themselves. It also leads to a decrease in self-worth, as they would always see themselves in the way that others see them.

This also causes people to lash out towards those they care about, just like the mother is doing to her child, because they don't want them to face that discrimination. In this case, normally parents would discourage their children from doing anything that is seen as a relation to their race, because of the comments of the outside society.

These are all examples of the "looking glass" theory.

Another thing that Anzaldua shows is how people struggle with sharing their story about racial discrimination, because it can put themselves and those they care about in a bad light as well.

In "La Prieta", the narrator writes that they are:

"terrified because in writing this I must be hard on people of color who are the oppressed victims."
"terrified of making my mother the villain in my life rather than showing how she has been a victim."

Both of these instances refer to reasons why people do not share their story. To the readers, they will only see the negative actions of those around the narrator. Like how the mother is being intentionally racist towards her child. In this story, the narrator needs to specifically say that the mother is a victim of discrimination too, and this is why she is acting this way.

Concepts

Short Summary

From the very beginning, the narrator establishes their standing in the story.

"Please use the following voices: Me:...forgettable; a women, the same."

This indicates the idea that women are unimportant. The word "forgettable" often means something is not important enough to become ingrained in your mind. If the narrator is "forgettable" then it means that they are not important.

The narrator relates this lack of importance to being a women, which leads to the idea that women are a subclass, and unimportant. This idea is continued further when every male has a specific voice laid out for them, but all women have the same voice. The voice of the narrator.

Along with being "forgettable", a women's voice is also that of "a child". This is a very important phrase, because it brings in the topic of being a women equal to that of being a child. A child is unable to make decisions for themselves, and rely completely on their guardian to make all decisions for them.

Gender roles is a constant throughout the story.

From the beginning, there is a constant sense of the man knowing what's best, and the women needing to please him. Constantly, the man would say "I need..." or "I want..." Never does he consider what the woman wants. This is because what the woman wants is not important, as she is a woman. Whenever the woman wants something, she never says it out loud, and whenever she thinks it, it's always accompanied by "I shouldn't." This furthers the idea that women are not allowed to want anything for themselves.

The man also constantly does whatever he wants, never what the woman wants. This furthers the idea of women not having any importance, as they are not respected in their basic rights. One of these basic rights is the right to her own body. That is owned by the man as well, as the doctor did not once listen to the women when he went through the procedure to change her own body for her husband (at her husband's wishes, not her own.)

Concepts

Short Summary

Lahiri depicts how a persons sense of self and identity is impacted by other people.

As the narrator, Lilia, continues to meet Mr. Pirzada, he becomes a part of her life, functioning as an uncle or another father figure.

Lilia is aware that Mr. Pirzada is bringing her candy and talking with her all the time because she reminds him of the family he is missing.

Mr. Pirzada became so important to Lilia over the course of her time with him, that she loses a sense of herself when he leaves. While she loves the candies, she cannot eat them anymore because they remind her of Mr. Pirzada. While she prayed every day for his family to be safe, she can no longer do that because they are back home now. While she loved talking and eating dinner with Mr. Pirzada, she no longer can anymore as he has his real daughter back now.

After losing Mr. Pirazada, Lilia lost a huge portion of her life, leaving her not knowing how to act. She lost a part of herself from him leaving

Mr. Pirazada seems to be the reverse of Lilia.

After he lost his wife and child, he lost a huge portion of his own identity. This caused him to need to fill that void in his heart, and he used Lilia as a substitute for his wife and daughter. He continues to visit her and her family because it gives his life meaning.

But once his real family comes home, he has no reason for a substitute anymore. Lilia was never his daughter, she was only holding the place until he came back.

Lahiri depicts how someone's personal identity can change the way they act.

Both when a person gains and looses a part of what makes them them, they will act differently because there is either something new or missing from their heart.

They display just how loneliness and depression can cause someone to change their actions.

Concepts

Short Summary

Nguyen depicts a story where the narrator and her family has immigrated from a different country, and in the process, lost her brother.

Nguyen represents the survivors guilt that both the narrator and the mother feel towards their lost family member.

Both the mother and the narrator continue to see him as a ghost, years later. It is clear that this is not actually him, only a manifestation of their minds. This indicates that even though he had past over twenty years ago, his death still haunts the two.

"Tell me, why did I live and you die?"

Both still feel guilty for his death, and they feel that even his ghost will disappear as well. This was shown when the mother said "Never turn your back on a ghost."

This idea of survivals guilt is not only represented with the mother and daughter, but Victor Devoto as well.

Devoto is the man that the narrator is writing a ghost story for. Devoto is the sole survivor of a plane crash, losing his family and everyone else that was on that plane.

When Devato talks about the crash with the narrator, they say:

"I've tried to forget." - Devado
"But you haven't." -narrator
"I can't." -
Devado

This depicts just how survivors guilt is. No matter how much time passes, one cannot forget about those who died while they survived. Especially if it was someone that they loved and cared for.

From those deaths, every character has lost a part of themselves and their identities

The narrator has lost the part of them that was a sister. They can no longer act as they had before, as the person that they acted that way with is dead.

The mother no longer has a son, she lost the part of her that could talk about certain things. This was shown through how the mother constantly compares the narrator to her late brother: "Your brother would have known what to do. That's what sons are for."

Devado lost his entire identity when his family died, now he just stays in his house because he has no purpose or meaning in his life, besides to continue living because he was the only one who did.

As Nguyen tells his story, he is bringing to attention how Americans view refugees.

He explains that it is "un-American" to be a refugee because a refugee refers to someone who "embodies fear, failure, and flight." While Nguyen says this, he brings to attention the irony of those who say this. America is the land of the freedom and liberty; the American dream. By putting these two sentences together, he brings up the hypocrisy of American thoughts. Why are refugees seen as un-American because they left their home country? America is meant to be liberty for all, not discrimination against those who come there.

Nguyen also tackles the concept that people can have more than one personal standing.

According to many, a "refugee, an American, and a human being" cannot be roles that all belong to one person.

Nguyen calls to attention that people do not just have one identity, there is much more to someone than meets the eye. A person can have whatever identity they want, and they do not have to alter their identity to match another person's views.

Osman displays what it is like to feel like you never have a true home.

Osman's family was from Somali, a place that collapsed before they were born, causing their parents to immigrate to a different country. As Osman has never been to the place their parents considered home, they do not know what exactly their home is.

This was displayed through Osman's comparison of themselves and the salmon they raised. The salmon have a home to go back to, and they are able to. This comparison shows that Osman considers Somali home, but are unable to go ever go there. This feeling leads to an innate sense of loss whenever they speak or think about their home.

If a place does not feel like home in someone's heart, then they will never quite belong.

This was shown when Osman was asked where their home was. When they were first asked, they thought of the home they had in their heart, "Portland?" The word is repeated twice to signify that this is extremely important to Osman. There was also a different emphasis for each use of the question. The first use signifies that this is the first place that comes to mind, an unconscious thought. The second use signifies Osman's heart, and the feelings behind it. Their desire to go to this place that their mind considers home.

Whenever Osman is asked, later, about their home they will not answer or even think of Portland again. This signifies the idea that if Osman thinks about it, then they will continue to desire it and react negatively towards the question.

This also relates to a loss of self as, even though Osman has never personally been to the place they call home, they still feel as if they lost a part of themself when they are unable to go there.

Concepts

Short Summary

Kimmerer relates nature to one's sense of being and peace.

When Kimmerer speaks about peace and happiness, it is always in relation to sweetgrass or the Earth. This leads to the idea that nature is a sense of healing for people, and that it naturally calms one's state of mind.

"People and land are good medicine for each other."

Though, this story is told with a wistful tone. This leads to the idea that people and nature used to have this relationship, yet do not anymore. Kimmerer feels wistful because of this, as they miss the time where nature and people healed each other, and wishes for them to do so again.

Kimmerer writing also leads the reader to believe that they are making a relation to childhood.

Kimmerer relates weaving sweetgrass to braiding hair, which is more commonly done with children than any other age group. They also bring up the idea of braiding each other's hair, or two people working on the same braid. This leads into the idea of childhood, as the most common time that girls braid each other's hair is in elementary school.

Due to this relation from nature to childhood, Kimmerer is stating that everyone wishes for their childhood back, but that can no longer happen as they are older now. The world is older, and the relationships from their past have changed as well. Just as the relationships between people and Earth.

There is also a reference to marriage and romantic relationships

Marriage is sometimes referred to as "tying the knot" which can be a reference towards braiding. Braiding is also "sweeter" with two people, just as marriage can only occur with two people.

Kimmerer makes comparisons of their life to the story of the Skywoman, an old folktale that was told in their family.

The Skywoman is a story about how a woman falls for an eternity until she sees an ocean. The birds fly up to break her fall, and the animals help her as she helps them.

Kimmerer was raised with the belief of the Skywoman, that nature and people are meant to be with each other and nothing is sweeter than a relationship with nature.

This causes an innate disconnect between Kinnerer and the other students at their university. The other students likely do not know the story of the Skywoman, and all they know is how people use nature, not how nature and people coexist.

Kinnerer gives off the impression that they have more understanding of the world than the other students and the people around them. This is because they feel as if the story of the Skywoman's depiction of nature is something like a Bible. A text that only a few people know.

Kinnerer relates this to the story of Adam and Eve, themself in the place of Eve.

"But for tasting its fruit, she was banished from the garden and the gates clanged shut behind her."

This refers to how Kinnerer feels as if they bit that apple to have the knowledge of the Skywoman, and all the other students remain ignorant to her as they have not bitten into that apple and been banished from Eden. The gates clanging shut indicate the disconnect and the wall between Kinnerer and their classmates.

Each poem has a different format.

Poems that involved texting and whispering were all done by just writing the speaker and what they said. For when Aman spoke, it was "A:" followed by what he said. This was the same for every character that had this kind of interaction.

The poems that were about a final draft were written in formal writing, with a name, date, professor, and proper essay formatting. This only happened for the three final drafts that Xiomara wrote.

Poems about church tended to have repetition. Such as repeated words and phrases. This signifies that it was something that Xiomara heard often, and that there was rarely anything new. Xiomara also tends to zone out frequently at church, but would come back at a repeating phrase.

Whenever the formatting for the essay changed, it altered how the poem felt. The essays that were formal felt stifled, showing that she was hiding her real thoughts while writing. The poems about texting and note passing give a child-like element to the poems, reminding us that Xiomara is a child. And the regular formatting gave the reader thoughts on how Xiomara felt with each of her relationships and internalized thoughts--towards herself, church, her mother, her brother, and the world around her.

There was a lot of contrast between parental relationships. Both Ms. Galiano and Mami play the role of "mother" to Xiomara, as they are the only female adults in her social network. On the other hand, both Papi and Father Sean play the role of "father" to Xiomara, as they are the only males in her social network. Ms, Galiano and Father Sean seem to be Xiomara's ideal parents.

Whenever Xiomara talked about Mami, she said that her mother seemed to want to make Xiomara into the nun that Mami could never be, This seems to be all that Mami cares about when Xiomara talks about her, aside from before Xiomara hit puberty. Xiomara feels as though she needs to hide everything from Mami, because she knows that her mother would not approve of it. On the other hand, we have Ms. Galiano, who encourages Xiomara to do the things that she is passionate about, like her poetry. While Xiomara tries, in her first drafts, to share her personal feelings with Ms. Galiano, she backs out during the final draft. This seems like she doesn't want to share her feelings with Ms. Galiano, in fear that her teacher will act the same way that Mami does when her mother found about her period. She doesn't want Ms, Galiano to turn on her as well.

Whenever Xiomara talks about Father Sean, he is the first person that Xiomara writes about verbally speaking against the church. Everything prior to that was done internally or in her poetry journal, but she criticized the Bible and Genesis directly to the Father. There was a pseudo-father relationship with Father Sean, as he never criticized her for speaking up against the church, even encouraging her to question her own thoughts. This was different than Xiomara's portrayals of Mami and Papi, as Mami would never have allowed her to question the church, and Papi would portrayed to not have cared (as he was shown as just there but never doing anything)

There is a constant portrayal of Mami's shadow over Xiomara. At the beginning of the collage, it was constant. Every time she did something against Mami's rules, Xiomara would think "I shouldn't."

Near the middle of the collage, Xiomara was less conscious of her mother finding out or seeing her, but she still remained continuously conscious of the rules she was breaking.

At the end of the collage, Xiomara's only thoughts towards the rules was about how Mami had made her kneel in rice, punishing her for breaking them.

While the thought of Mami had diminished the longer Xiomara was with Aman, she still continued to have feelings of guilt, shame, and fear. Not once was she with Aman and didn't have the feeling of "I'm doing something wrong", "someone could see us", or the "temptation" from the Bible. Mami's actions have conditioned Xiomara and made it into something that Xiomara will always have on her mind.

This section seemed to contrast the second section a lot. The second section held Xiomara in constant fear of her actions and Mami's reactions towards it. Yet in the third section, Xiomara was coming to terms with herself and her own feelings. She was separating Mami from her thoughts, when Mami used to consume her entire life.

In Xiomara's final draft, she shared more about herself than she ever had in her previous three final drafts. In those drafts, she always avoided the topic of her own life entirely. She would refer to other people and talk about the stories of famous actors or musicians. Yet when she talked about freedom, Xiomara specifically talked about her own freedom. Instead of drifting away from herself, she wrote that her own freedom was like a skyscraper that she could not climb. As in, she couldn't have freedom.

This was the first time that Xiomara ever wrote something honestly into an assignment with Ms. Galiano. This indicates that Xiomara feels more comfortable with her own identity, and sharing her thoughts with others.

Xiomara also tends to use the words "I" and "my" after she starts poetry club. This indicates that she has started to own her own thoughts and belongings now.

This is another indicator that Xiomara is coming to terms with herself. She is more confident and comforted in her own skin. And she is displaying that her thoughts belong to her, and no one else. No one can take those thoughts. This is also a reference to later in the collage, where Mami burns Xiomara's journal. While the journal held all of Xiomara's thoughts, they were still in her mind.

"'Burn it! Burn it. This is where the poems are.' I say, thumping a fist against my chest."

All of her poems are her own words and her own thoughts. No one can take that from her.

During "Every Day after English Class" Xiomara said:

"To slow down, to breathe, to pace myself, to show emotion."

This was a heavy contrast to other sections because Xiomara was always doing the opposite, distancing herself from her writing and putting up walls to hide her feelings. Before, she knew her words did matter so she always resorted to violence in environments that weren't her home. Instead of referring to her coping mechanism to protect herself, she is allowing herself to be who she wants to be and let herself be heard. To show emotion.

In "My Mother Tries to Grab Me" Xiomara portrays a different in her brother and father's actions. In every other instance where Mami gets angry and comes down on Xiomara, Papi is never there (or does not do anything) and Twin does not intervene.

In this instance, both Twin and Papi come to her aid as Mami is setting Xiomara's notebook on fire. Not only does Papi cement himself as a presence that stands between Xiomara and Mami, Twin also physically stops Mami from getting close to Xiomara. She was physically protected against Mami for the first time.

Not only was she physically protected, she was emotionally protected as well. Twin, knowing how important Xiomara's journal was to her, had attempted to get it back from Mami by physically lunging for it.

Xiomara now has support. Support that accepts her and helps her. This contrast from the first and second parts, the second ending where she closed herself off from everyone and anyone, believing it was the only way to protect herself. "I know I am not alone / And I finally know who might / help"

Concepts

Short Summary

In the short, Kimmerer uses nature to relate to their homeland.

Kimmerer talks about pecans, a nut that was native to their homeland. These pecans were a symbol of Kimmerer's homeland because they were one of the only things left.

Kimmerer displays the feelings that a person gets when they are forced out of their homeland. They will look for things that remind them of home, and (if it is an object) continue to search for them. (If it is a place) they will continue to search for that place.

Kimmerer shows this as they continue to search for pecans, the only thing native to their land.

Kimmerer shows how nature means in their sense of home. They tell stories about how their grandfather would try to get food for supper, fish if he could. Kimmerer brings a note of fondness to pecans, as that food always brought joy to their grandfather when he found it -- because pecans were a source of food, and a large one.

Kimmerer's connection to pecans does not just come from it being part of their homeland, but also the historical connection it has with their family. Pecans were a common source of food in their family history. Due to this, pecans are one of the main reasons that their family has survived as long as they did, and in addition, Kimmerer as well.

Lorde's words represent the feelings of all of those who are oppressed by racism, specifically women.

She uses her own experiences to speak to her readers in hopes that they will understand her feelings and change.

Her targeted audience is specifically women of color, the people that are the same as her. This is as she continues to say "Your fear" or "Your anger" when she talks to her readers. She is justifying their anger and fear, but saying that those emotions will not help them.

As Lorde is using her own experiences, she is connecting to her readers to show that they are not alone. That many of others have experienced and felt the same thing, including her.

While the story is geared towards her own race, she is also calling out her oppressors.

She does this by writing small excerpts of different injustices she and others have faced. Each of these excerpts is depicted by a bullet point, which signifies the concept of "Here's another reason", "Here's another instance." Lists are also typically only used for short items for each bullet point, rather than a long paragraph (as Lorde did)

Lorde specifically uses a list format to display these stories because she is copying the thoughts that others hold towards these racist incidents. They are just "a small thing" they don't require an actual story. She is emulating those thoughts by using a list. She also contrasting them by showing: these are not small incidents; as she writes long excerpts for each bullet point.

Concepts

Short Summary

Lorde's speech is an urge towards her listeners to change their mindsets.

"Without community there is no liberation."

Lorde wants her listeners to connect with each other and to acknowledge that they should not discriminate against each other based on their oppressors. If they do not all rally together and create a community, then they will remain oppressed forever and live without "liberty"

Lorde connects to her readers personally. She brings to attention certain discriminatory acts and feelings that her readers have likely experienced themselves.

"As women, we have been taught either to ignore our differences, or to view them as causes for separation rather than as forces for change."

Lorde refers to how the discrimination of the outer society can cause internal discrimination in a race. The "separation" she speaks about is a reference towards how people of the same race discriminate against each other, based on the discrimination they faced. Lorde brings up the idea of the oppressors, the "masters", wanting their victims to internalize these racist comments and turn against each other so that they cannot rally against the masters.

Lorde brings attention to the discrimination against race and gender even in places that are said to be non-discriminatory.

She references the conference itself, that she is using to tell her speech. The oppressors in this place have said that they are not discriminatory, but Lorde punches wholes through their reasoning in the first few sentences. "What does it mean in personal and political terms when even the two Black women who did present here were literally found at the last hour?"

Lorde brings to attention how the conference, and the world, is not non-discriminatory, instead it is tolerating. Tolerating them to be there and present, but not accepting their words or their importance.

Lorde is urging her readers to not accept "tolerance" and fight for a change.

"Advocating mere tolerance of difference between women is the grossest reformism. It is a total denial of the creative function of difference in our lives."

Just tolerating someone or something will not change the discrimination they face.

Lorde brings mention to the methods that their oppressors use to keep them from fighting for change. She calls these the "master's tools."

The master's tools is the discrimination that the oppressors use against them, and how the victims internalize these beliefs.

"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house."

As long as Black women continue to hold that internalize racism and act upon it, they will never be able to bring about a change. As long as they continue to refer to themselves in the same degrading terms of their oppressors, no change will happen in society.

Blanco demonstrates how an immigrant can feel in a country where their culture is not represented.

Blanco shows two places that people can buy their food, La Caridad and Winn-Dixie. La Caridad is the store that Blanco's family goes to, and Winn-Dixie is an "Amercian" store.

Blanco displays how different the two stores as a way of relating it to their cultural differences.

La Caridad:
"The linoleum tiles were dingy, the metal shelves were streaked with rusty scratches, and the store reeked of grease."

Winn-Dixie:
"The air-conditioned air smelled as crisp and clean as Lysol...Instead of the warped squares of linoleum, polished terrazzo floors gleamed and soft violin music rained from the speakers in the ceiling."

The contrast between the two stores shows how run down the Cuban store is. There is also only one checkout, indicating that not many people will visit or buy from the store. In contrast, the Winn-Dixie has multiple checkout lines and is clean, organized, and put together.

This also gives off the impression that there are not enough Cubans to make a clean store, or society does not care enough about Cubans to do so.

Blanco displays how immigrants do not want to let go of their own culture, and how they feel disconnected from the other cultures around them.

"I tried to teach her about the father of our country...but it was useless. 'Ay mi'jo, they're all americanos feos. I don't care who they are."

Everyone in the family wants nothing to do with Americans and their culture. Abela, while she loves teaching Blanco about Cuban culture, disliked (at the start) talking about Americans.

"But surprisingly, no one--not even Abuela--blamed the turkey."

After Blanco's San's Giving Day, when every member of the family was sick from food poisoning, everyone in the family blamed an American food. It was as if they believed that the cause of their illness had to have been the American food, as they were Cubans and were not meant to eat American food.

During the actual Giving Day, there was also a hostility of the family members (sans Abuela and Blanco) towards the Thanksgiving foods. Making fun of the foods and comparing it to their own cultural foods.

Blanco also describes the disconnect that he, himself, feels.

Blanco grew up with both cultures, Cuban and American, but he is more exposed to the American culture around him from school. This leaves him wanting to feel less like an outcast to his schoolmates and friends (leading him to try to integrate American culture into his home)

This is a common feeling that children of immigrants feel. It is an innate disconnect between their family and their society.

"You, americano? Ha--you're cubano, even though you weren't born in Cuba."

Even from this statement his family is denying half of Blanco's identity, the part of him that has grown up and integrated into America. They are denying a part of his identity.

From the beginning, Acevedo portrays what it is like to live with discrimination around you.

Xiomara, having had her period extremely early, has faced discrimination from all of her peers. This discrimination comes in the form of words.

"Church girls are all freaks."
"Whale"
"Ask me to send them pictures of myself in a thong."
"Other girls call me conceited."
"Ho. Thot. Fat."

All of these words are internalized in Xiomara, the discrimination that she faced based on her gender and religious standing.

Acevedo portrays the idea that Black women will face discrimination all the way from their birth.

She does this by naming her main character "Xiomara", which means "ready for war." This saying indicates that Xiomara is going to have to face a lot of hardships, a war, over the course of her life.

This thought is also furthered as Xiomara physically fights others to protect Twin. She doesn't just fight and question discrimination and racism through her words, like a "quarrel", but she physically fights, a "war".

During the poem "The First Words", Xiomara says that her father's first words to her were "You sure ain't an easy one." This also references to her name meaning war. She is not easy to fold and she will continue fighting.

Gender Discrimination was also heavily mentioned during religion.

Xiomara's mother constantly told Xiomara to stay away from boys because they would all want to have sex with her. This feeling only seems to increase as Xiomara goes to church and religious classes. Saying that: "sometimes it feels / all I'm worth is under my skirt."

These lines indicate how Xiomara is not able to speak up against others. Her words and thoughts hold no importance to her mother or the church. Whenever the classes talk about women, it's about their chastity, their virginity. This leads to the impression that the only importance of a women is for sex and childbearing.

"grown-ass men--talk t me however they want, think they can grab themselves or rub against me."

Acevedo also demonstrates hardships that girls specifically have to go through in society. Instances like being talked down to by others, constantly sexually joked about, and constantly touched by others.

This concept is mentioned heavily in "After." Xiomara says that it "happens all the time" and "It simply never stops." She is depicting here that girls will always be sexualized no matter what they do. If they are wearing something "revealing" or not.

Small Summary

This text holds a lot of racial significance. It shows how the people of the city were left for dead after one race evacuated the city.

It holds the significance that this race was not "worthy" or "important" enough to be told of the evacuation signals. It also holds the idea of racial discrimination as the soldiers did whatever they wanted with the other race, only to let them all die once they were done with them.

The poem is told through a song that is used to represent celebration and new beginnings.

The "celebration" could be a hint towards the soldiers celebrating the death of the city. And the "new beginning" could be a reference into how everyone in that city is now starting a new beginning and life with God in heaven.

Concepts

Short Summary

This poem brings to attention the innate fear that people have in their lives. The fear of the inevitable, of things that are bound to happen, of things that seem normal.

This holds a racial significance as those who are discriminated against have an innate fear of the things around them. Fear of what will come next and fear of things that are considered "normal" to those who are not oppressed.

There is also a significance in parenting and families. Those who have experienced discrimination and suffering do not want their children to go through the same.

Parents give up their own dreams and wishes for a chance of their children being able to attain their own wishes.

Concepts

Short Summary

Short Summary

Short Summary

Week: 4, Wednesday
Text Type: Poem

There are heavy religious undertones to the poem.

Clifton uses words like "our lord" and "amen" that are often associated with religion. It seems like Clifton is relating what's holy to non-material things that humans recognize. In a way, it's like she is bringing these holy spiritual aspects down into something more human, rather than associated with a god.

The section starts out with testifying to "our lord," symbolizing that they are going to speak of something related to Him, and yet they mention a "room." Rooms did not exist until humans made them with their own hands, rather than something that God made.

They once again go back to God, talking about "light" and then relating to a "voice", another human aspect.

The comparisons between God and human continue through the poem. There is also a comparison between Clifton and God, as He is often seen as someone who is alone, watching over everyone; and at the end of her poem, Clifton says "I / alone / in a room."

When the Clifton says that she is alone, she is relating back to how God is perceived to be alone.

Concepts

Short Summary

There was a sense of "reclaiming oneself" throughout the poem.

When the speaker was younger, they were more uncomfortable and burdened by their Korean name in a non-Korean country. The speaker did not want to feel different from their peers.

Something as vital as their name was something that they no longer felt comfortable, happy, and safe with in their current "home." It leads to a sense of loss of identity.

As they got older their thinking starts to change.

No longer does the speaker hate their Korean name. They do not abandon their birth name for their American name, instead, embracing it.

It brings about this sense of comfortability in themself and who they are, not feeling like they have to change their identity to fit within the norm of an outside society. The minority does not need to bend to the will of the minority.

Concepts

Short Summary

Short Summary

Short Summary