Grace Burrough 808


      Identity. It is you name, language and culture. In the poems, "The New Bathroom Policy at English High School", "Revolutionary Spanish Lesson" and "Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877" by Martin Espada. It is amazing how your name, language and culture can be taken away so fast. How you spell or pronounce you name can be mad fun of or always mispronounced. Your culture, skin tone or language can be hated on. 

     In the first poem, "The New Bathroom Policy at English High School" by Martin Espada, the principal hear kids speaking in Spanish in the bathrooms and  all the principal could understand was his name being said. Then the principal banned Spanish from the bathrooms at English High School. This poem helps connects the idea of identity and how something as speaking Spanish can be taken away. The boys in the bathroom spoke Spanish because it was part of their culture, their language, it was part of their identity. The principal took that away from them because he did not understand what they were saying. Just because the boys said his name does not mean it meant something bad. The principal took their language away because he could not speak Spanish to understand the boys.

      Your name. Some people's names come from loved ones that might have died and some names are from your culture. The second poem, "Revolutionary Spanish Lesson" by Martin Espada, is about a person and every time someone mispronounces the speakers name they want to turn in to Che Guevara. The meaning of this poems is to show the speaks culture and background is represented through the speaker name. The speak hates how some people mispronounce their name on purpose, the speak turns into Che Guevara, a Argentine Marxist revolutionary. He was a major figure of the Cuban Revolution.Your name is what most people call you, its how people know you; your identity.

     What is your culture? Where is your family from? What is you skin tone? Poem three,
"Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877" by Martin Espada, is about forty gringo vigilantes' lynching two Mexicans.  The whit folks killed the Mexicans because they took the law into their own hands, or what they thought was right into their own hands. The Mexicans were not given a trial or anything. They might not have even done anything wrong, the gringo vigilantes could have just lynched them because of their culture, skin tone or lagnuage.

     These three poems by Martin Espada describes how your identity, things that make you who you are, such as you name, culture, skin tone and lagnuage can be make fun of, taken away or even make people want to kill you.










 
    

Book Clubs

GRACE BURROUGH        

Book Clubs:

                                                                                                                     

“We accept the love we think we deserve”

            Have you ever wondered why you are dating someone? Does that person really love you? A lot of people are in relationships with those who don’t appreciate them because they don’t believe they deserve better. Sometimes the people they are dating are jerks or mean to them and others, but they don’t leave because they fear being alone. Everybody wants to love and be loved, but they don’t always choose someone who understands their value. In “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” Charlie’s friend Sam is dating an older guy named Craig. Even though Craig doesn’t treat her well, Sam wants to be loved and believes Craig is the best she can do. As Charlie’s English teacher says in the book, “We accept the love we think we deserve.”  Unfortunately, I believe this is often true in real life.

            Dating or being in a relationship with someone can be wonderful, but sometimes people are in a relationship even though they don’t really like each other that much. Sometimes the person you are dating behaves meanly to you or others, such as your friends or family. I dated one boy who was a jerk to all my friends and sometimes not very nice to me. I wanted to have a boyfriend because my friends did and I didn’t want to feel left out. But I learned that even if I wanted a boyfriend, this boy was not someone I should be dating.  I broke up with him because I didn’t like how he treated me or my friends.

            Everyone wants to love and be loved, but the desire of some people to be loved is so great that they don’t notice the person they are dating isn’t right for them. They don’t ask themselves if their boyfriends or girlfriends are respectful and nice to them. They don’t see when the people they are dating are being rude to their friends and family. They don’t ask whether their boyfriend or girlfriend cares about what they do in life. Some people don’t see if the personalities of the people they are dating are changing in horrible ways. I thought about these things when I was dating the boy. To really love and be loved by someone who cares about you, you need to question if the relationship is right. Don’t jump into dating just to be with someone. Take time to know her/him a little better.

            In “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” Sam, a senior in high school, is a dating a college guy named Craig. Sam thought she deserved somebody to love and to be loved by. Sam, who is pretty and smart, did deserve love, but she picked the wrong person. Sam didn’t know that Craig was cheating on her with many different girls. Craig didn’t want to go to any of the dances with Sam. Sam didn’t speak up when Craig was rude to her sometimes and didn’t want to do that many things with her. Sam accepted the “love” that Craig gave her because she thought it was real. Sam just wanted to be happy with a boyfriend and didn’t break it off until everyone knew about Craig’s bad behavior.

            There are many reasons people get into a bad relationship. They might feel peer pressure to have a boyfriend or girlfriend or have low-self-esteem about their looks or their personality. They might be afraid of being alone. Sometimes it can be more harmful to be with someone who treats you poorly than to be alone. It takes a strong person to say no when someone is treating them badly. Many people accept the love they think they deserve, but they should fight for the love that is worthy of them.