"They did not wait until the wee hours of the morning to retaliate. The first fire broke out on Tuesday evening long before midnight, but we did not stand gazing into darkenss as we had done before. These flames were visible, too high, and too close."
This passage from page 280 shows how violence starts, from retaliation. "They did not wait until the wee hours of the morning to retaliate." This quote shows how quick people are to want revenge. Maybe it is because if their actions are for revenge people feel justified in hurting someone. Often even after retaliating people don't feel better about themselves but only feel better because they can see the other people feel worse. If everyone didn't always have this need to have revenge there would be a lot less violence and war in this world. In The Darkest Child it seems that many of people's actions are based on revenge.
I can relate to this passage because I know that I have done many things out of spite. In middle school and high school there isn't much physical retaliation but there is definitely verbal retaliation. In middle school my friends sometimes felt that if someone gossiped or was mean to one of our friends it was our duty to be mean back. I know that this was not the right way to think no matter how horrible our friend was being treated. I like to think now that I have learned from middle school experiences and now don't get involved in the drama of gossip and backstabbing. I've learned that its always better to ignore it.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
5: The Darkest Child 198-249
"Can't y'all see she just a child?" Becky asked
"They 're niggers," one of the young men said, "and they've got three seconds to get out of our yard."
"They ain't niggers, Kirk Griggs," Becky protested. "They human beings just like you."
In this quote the attitude of the ignorant people towards African Americans of the town is quite apparent. A member of the town says, "'They're niggers'" as a reason for harrasing Tangy Mae. This shows how easy it is for a white person in this town to classify people as "niggers" and look down on them because of it. The white people think that because black people are different than them they somehow aren't human beings which Becky protests by saying, "They human beings just like you". A lot of people just assume that different is bad and the results in a lot of the problems we have with race discrimination today. In fact scientists say that race is in fact all political and not biological at all. We think of different colored people as almost different species when in fact they are almost exactly alike besides their coloring.
I being white have not received much discrimination because of my race. But I do often feel discriminated against because of my age. Sometimes when I was smaller my brother would jokingly refer to me as "not a human being". This is how I feel often in how adults feel towards teens and children. Teenagers and children are usually not trusted with much responsibility and can't do as many things as adults can. For example you are not allowed to get your license till you are sixteen when someone younger than that could be more capable of driving than someone over sixteen.
"They 're niggers," one of the young men said, "and they've got three seconds to get out of our yard."
"They ain't niggers, Kirk Griggs," Becky protested. "They human beings just like you."
In this quote the attitude of the ignorant people towards African Americans of the town is quite apparent. A member of the town says, "'They're niggers'" as a reason for harrasing Tangy Mae. This shows how easy it is for a white person in this town to classify people as "niggers" and look down on them because of it. The white people think that because black people are different than them they somehow aren't human beings which Becky protests by saying, "They human beings just like you". A lot of people just assume that different is bad and the results in a lot of the problems we have with race discrimination today. In fact scientists say that race is in fact all political and not biological at all. We think of different colored people as almost different species when in fact they are almost exactly alike besides their coloring.
I being white have not received much discrimination because of my race. But I do often feel discriminated against because of my age. Sometimes when I was smaller my brother would jokingly refer to me as "not a human being". This is how I feel often in how adults feel towards teens and children. Teenagers and children are usually not trusted with much responsibility and can't do as many things as adults can. For example you are not allowed to get your license till you are sixteen when someone younger than that could be more capable of driving than someone over sixteen.
Friday, October 24, 2008
4: The Darkest Child 148-197
"I don't really know," Mama answered, and began to sob in her rehearsed refined manner. " I was playing wit my baby right here on the porch. You know how you do. I was swinging her out, trying to get her to laugh. I don't know what happened. I swung her out that one time and she musta kicked or something 'cause the next thing I knew she was falling. Wadn't nothing I could do"
"She was convincing. I thought for a moment that maybe I was mistaken in what I thought had happened. I thought she had thrown Judy from the porch but no mother could do that, not even mine. Could she?"
This passage is from after Tangy-Mae's mother throws Judy off the porch and tells the sheriff about how Judy died. She lies and Tangy-Mae notices her fake crying, "and began to sob in her rehearsed, refined manner". As I'm reading this book I'm starting to believe that this mother has a serious mental disorder. She seems to have no compassion for her own children and does not feel guilty about either killing her daughter or lying about it. Tangy-Mae notices this but she actually questions her own story instead of realizing how horrible her mother is, "I thought for a moment that maybe I was mistaken in what I thought had happened". Maybe Tangy-Mae sub-consciously knows what happened but would like to believe otherwise to ease her mind.
I chose this passage because Tangy-Mae's feeling of suddenly not being sure what the truth often happens to me. Sometimes in life everyone has a different story of what happened and suddenly you are not sure what the real story is even if you saw it happen. This happens to me a lot when I play tennis. If I have an argument with my opponent about score or a line call I often just give in. Sometimes even if previously I was sure of myself I start to question my story because their story can start to feel like my memory. This feeling of uncertainty is hard to explain but it is frequent in my life in and out of tennis.
"She was convincing. I thought for a moment that maybe I was mistaken in what I thought had happened. I thought she had thrown Judy from the porch but no mother could do that, not even mine. Could she?"
This passage is from after Tangy-Mae's mother throws Judy off the porch and tells the sheriff about how Judy died. She lies and Tangy-Mae notices her fake crying, "and began to sob in her rehearsed, refined manner". As I'm reading this book I'm starting to believe that this mother has a serious mental disorder. She seems to have no compassion for her own children and does not feel guilty about either killing her daughter or lying about it. Tangy-Mae notices this but she actually questions her own story instead of realizing how horrible her mother is, "I thought for a moment that maybe I was mistaken in what I thought had happened". Maybe Tangy-Mae sub-consciously knows what happened but would like to believe otherwise to ease her mind.
I chose this passage because Tangy-Mae's feeling of suddenly not being sure what the truth often happens to me. Sometimes in life everyone has a different story of what happened and suddenly you are not sure what the real story is even if you saw it happen. This happens to me a lot when I play tennis. If I have an argument with my opponent about score or a line call I often just give in. Sometimes even if previously I was sure of myself I start to question my story because their story can start to feel like my memory. This feeling of uncertainty is hard to explain but it is frequent in my life in and out of tennis.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
3: The Darkest Child 103-147
"Never in my life had I heard such rage under one roof as I heard that night. Sam wailed like a strong, full-grown man-the worst sound in the world. Grief and anger wrapped around his chest and sputtered and hissed with his every wail. It seemed to suck the air from his lungs and the blood from his heart. My mother enfolded him in her arms, and together they slumped to the kitchen floor. Sam clutched her shoulders and clung to her as though something inside of her could give him relief."
"'They didn't have to kill him, Mama,' Sam cried. 'They didn't have to kill him. I went and seen how they left him hanging from that tree, and they didn't have to do that. Junior never hurt nobody.'"
This passage comes at the end of the 21st chapter on page 146. It takes place after Sam's good friend, Junior is lynched. Sam is overcome with grief and does not hide it, "Sam wailed like a strong, full-grown man." Sam being a "full-grown man" would probably usually keep his emotions to himself but now they are too strong to keep to himself. He uses his mother as an anchor to hold on to and make him feel better. Luckily for once she is there when she is needed most. When someone dies the people close to them have many emotions. They obviously feel grief but also they are angry. Sam cannot understand why Junior was targeted. He is frustrated with the rest of the world, "They didn't have to kill him, Mama,". In many books I have read about death the people affected by it feel like somehow they are cursed and that god or some other higher being is targeting them.
I haven't experienced much death in my life. My family members that have passed away were distant or not a large part of my life. Both of my grandfathers died before I could know them and my grandma was incapable of moving or talking for many years before she died. I'm ashamed to say that the most pain I've felt is when my guinea pig died. I felt guilt, sorrow and anger. I'm also ashamed to say that most of my sorrow about death has been selfish. I usually feel sad because I will never get to see this person/animal again. When my guinea pig died I felt guilty because I felt like I had neglected him when he was close to death. Although I was not fully aware that he was close to death I must have sensed it in some way. I think that even if you don't feel close to the person who has died you will feel some negative emotion.
"'They didn't have to kill him, Mama,' Sam cried. 'They didn't have to kill him. I went and seen how they left him hanging from that tree, and they didn't have to do that. Junior never hurt nobody.'"
This passage comes at the end of the 21st chapter on page 146. It takes place after Sam's good friend, Junior is lynched. Sam is overcome with grief and does not hide it, "Sam wailed like a strong, full-grown man." Sam being a "full-grown man" would probably usually keep his emotions to himself but now they are too strong to keep to himself. He uses his mother as an anchor to hold on to and make him feel better. Luckily for once she is there when she is needed most. When someone dies the people close to them have many emotions. They obviously feel grief but also they are angry. Sam cannot understand why Junior was targeted. He is frustrated with the rest of the world, "They didn't have to kill him, Mama,". In many books I have read about death the people affected by it feel like somehow they are cursed and that god or some other higher being is targeting them.
I haven't experienced much death in my life. My family members that have passed away were distant or not a large part of my life. Both of my grandfathers died before I could know them and my grandma was incapable of moving or talking for many years before she died. I'm ashamed to say that the most pain I've felt is when my guinea pig died. I felt guilt, sorrow and anger. I'm also ashamed to say that most of my sorrow about death has been selfish. I usually feel sad because I will never get to see this person/animal again. When my guinea pig died I felt guilty because I felt like I had neglected him when he was close to death. Although I was not fully aware that he was close to death I must have sensed it in some way. I think that even if you don't feel close to the person who has died you will feel some negative emotion.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
2: The Darkest Child 48-102
"See, Harvey, you just climb on them trucks and go wherever they take you. I can't do that no mo'," Sam said. "I know I make it hard for myself, but, hell, Max can tell y'all some of the things we been through. We went out wit' Mr. Butterfield one time. I asked him before I got on his truck, and he told me he needed cotton pickers at three-and-a-half cents a pound. I sweat my way through a hundred and fifty pounds of cotton. It was dark when we finished, and he gave us seventy-five cents apiece. Said we had done put rocks in our sacks."
In this excerpt from page 61, Sam, Tangy Mae's older brother, describes his frustration to a group of his friends who share this feeling. Many white people took advantage of the African Americans because the whites were more powerful than the blacks. In this case Mr. Butterfield cheats them out of their money, "It was dark when we finished and he gave us seventy-five cents apiece. Said we had done put rocks in our sacks." Some of the men, like Harvey don't want to start any trouble. Some, like Hambone want to rebel with violence. Junior, the most educated of them all would like protest peacefully without starting too much trouble. It is apparant from history that Junior was right. Protesting with violence just confirmed the white peoples beliefs that the African Americans were inferior to them. Only when they protested peacefully were the white people forced to listen to them (although they still tried not to). Although the blacks had every right to act violently they could not because it would only start more trouble.
I can relate to this passage because I often get extremely frustrated with the authorities in my school and home. Just like this situation there is really no way to resist because the authorities in my life will mostly side with each other. Teacher's and parents alike always assume that they are right and will never believe their children and students even if they are outnumbered. I recently was in a situation at tennis where my coach would not believe me and all of my teamates that we had done what he had asked. Even though we were all positive that we had not broken any rules or cut any corners he still punished us. It was very frustrating because there was nothing we could do.
In this excerpt from page 61, Sam, Tangy Mae's older brother, describes his frustration to a group of his friends who share this feeling. Many white people took advantage of the African Americans because the whites were more powerful than the blacks. In this case Mr. Butterfield cheats them out of their money, "It was dark when we finished and he gave us seventy-five cents apiece. Said we had done put rocks in our sacks." Some of the men, like Harvey don't want to start any trouble. Some, like Hambone want to rebel with violence. Junior, the most educated of them all would like protest peacefully without starting too much trouble. It is apparant from history that Junior was right. Protesting with violence just confirmed the white peoples beliefs that the African Americans were inferior to them. Only when they protested peacefully were the white people forced to listen to them (although they still tried not to). Although the blacks had every right to act violently they could not because it would only start more trouble.
I can relate to this passage because I often get extremely frustrated with the authorities in my school and home. Just like this situation there is really no way to resist because the authorities in my life will mostly side with each other. Teacher's and parents alike always assume that they are right and will never believe their children and students even if they are outnumbered. I recently was in a situation at tennis where my coach would not believe me and all of my teamates that we had done what he had asked. Even though we were all positive that we had not broken any rules or cut any corners he still punished us. It was very frustrating because there was nothing we could do.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
1: The Darkest Child 1-47
"I wondered, too. Sometimes I even prayed there had been a mistake, and that somebody would come along, take my hand, and say,"Rozzelle Quinn, I believe this child belongs to me." Mama would push me into the arms of the stranger and say, "You're right. I know all along that she was your child, but I loved her so I just couldn't bear to let her go. You take her, though, because she rightfully belongs to you." I would go off to my new house where there would be a bed from the Griggs Furniture Store, a dress for every day of the week, a change of underpants and two pairs of shoes and good hard-bottom soles. I would have an electric light to read by, and rows and rows of all sorts of great books."
This exerpt of the book is from page 10. I think this passage is interesting because for one Tangy Mae (the girl narrating) wishes she could have a different life where she would be rich and life would be easy. She says, "I would go off to my new house where there would be a bed from the Griggs Furniture Store, a dress for every day of the week ... ". She wishes she a had a life that she wouldn't be ashamed of. But also at the same time she wishes her mom would be reluctnant to give her up. She wishes her mom would say, "but I loved her so I just couldn't bear to let her go." Right now in the book it is difficult to tell whether her mom does really love her children.
I can relate to this girl because a lot of times I wish I could be someone different. Of course I wasn't born into poverty so the feeling is less extreme. But sometimes I wish I had a more exciting life or was born in the past or future. I guess no one is ever completely satasfied with their lives because then they wouldn't do anything to try and improve it. I guess dissatisfaction is what causes progress in our society. Tangy Mae is obviously intelligent since she skipped 8th grade with so little help from her family so perhaps she will be able to break free from her mother and improve her life.
This exerpt of the book is from page 10. I think this passage is interesting because for one Tangy Mae (the girl narrating) wishes she could have a different life where she would be rich and life would be easy. She says, "I would go off to my new house where there would be a bed from the Griggs Furniture Store, a dress for every day of the week ... ". She wishes she a had a life that she wouldn't be ashamed of. But also at the same time she wishes her mom would be reluctnant to give her up. She wishes her mom would say, "but I loved her so I just couldn't bear to let her go." Right now in the book it is difficult to tell whether her mom does really love her children.
I can relate to this girl because a lot of times I wish I could be someone different. Of course I wasn't born into poverty so the feeling is less extreme. But sometimes I wish I had a more exciting life or was born in the past or future. I guess no one is ever completely satasfied with their lives because then they wouldn't do anything to try and improve it. I guess dissatisfaction is what causes progress in our society. Tangy Mae is obviously intelligent since she skipped 8th grade with so little help from her family so perhaps she will be able to break free from her mother and improve her life.
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