How to Tame a Wild Tongue

                     How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldúa  is a story I connected to, but in a different way. Unlike the protagonist, speaking my language at school was a welcomed change from mainly white high school. Actually most of the school was Russian speaking, so being able to talk in Urdu with a few students was comforting. My friend and I could talk about people and no one would know what we were talking about. People were not offended by it, actually they would ask us to teach them some words. It was almost always curses. 
                 It's interesting to see how people have evolved, becoming more accepting towards others. Not to say that there isn't criticism still today, but it's a lot better than before. Especially where I love right now, my family and I never had any problems . I sincerely believe as generations continue people are going to learn to be more accepting to others. 

No Name Woman

                No Name Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston is a very interesting story about a Chinese-American girl who gives us a glimpse into her culture. She tells the story of her disgraced "no named" aunt who committed suicided after giving birth to an illigetimate daughter. The protagonist father does not even acknowledge the fact that he had a sister. Her mother tells her this story saying "You must not tell anyone what I am about to tell you. In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well. We say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she was never born." (Pg 3). Her mother tells her this story in replacement of the sex talk. She tells her daughter to be careful so she would not be forgotten just like the aunt.
                This story really stuck out to me because protagonist explores different scenarios of how her aunt had became pregnant. But one line that stood out to me is on page six, "she obeyed him. She always did as she was told." Was this how all the girls in the village acted? We're they all too scared to talk to someone about what had happened to them? This story also sheds light on sexism. Even though both her aunt was raped, she was to blame. The perpetrator was never "unmasked". The protagonist even says "some man had commanded her to lie with home and be his secret evil. I wonder whether he masked himself when he joined the raid on her family" (pg 6). Because she was the one who carried the baby, she was the one who got caught. No one bothered to find the man who did this to her, instead the raided her house in hopes of bloodshed. Even though everyone claims equal rights for all, is that really the case?

Graphic novels

                 Are graphic novels, or more commonly known as comic books, only for children? Do they belong in college classroom? Before studying them in English that is what I thought. I believed comic books were for my ten year old brother who likes to read about superheroes and monsters. But they are not. Graphic novels actually show a lot of information that you could not get from the text alone. The pictures depict exactly how the author wants you to view their story.
                 When we read the Coraline, comparing the text version to the graphic novel, my idea of graphic novels changed. In the text when Coraline is talking to her dad, I thought that they were talking face to face, but when I saw the graphic novel I saw that is was different. Coraline's father wasn't really paying attention to her,  he was involved in his work and basically disregarded  what Coraline had to say. This reinforced the authors the vision of the book and made is easier for us, the reader,to understand the book.

Creation Story

                There are so many creation stories that are told. Some are scientific based, like the Big Bang theory, some are religion based, God created the world, and some are based on stories that were passed down.  No matter what type of creation story you believe in they all depict the same thing. how the world or other things around you came to be. One such story is the Coyote and the Pebbles by Deyton Edmonds, is a creation story if how the star came to be. Stories like these are very interesting because they explain the creation of the stars in such a simplistic manner that anyone would be able to understand. Creations stories like the Coyote and the Pebbles are probably aimed more at curious children but you don't have to be one to enjoy them.
                One creation story that stood out to me was told to me by my AP US History teacher. Everyone says that you can not be a scientist and be religious at the same time. Well, my teachers father was. He was a scientist and was a very religious man. He does not doubt the Big Bang theory but also believes that in order for the Big Bang to happen some type of external force gave that little push that cause the creation of our planets. And that is where God comes in to play. I really found this interesting, this story depicted the balance between science and religion. It showed that science and religion can co-exist.

Yunior and Oscar

          Oscar and Yuniors characters are polar opposites.  Yunior, the narrator of the book, is the quintessential Dominican male, el machismo. He sleeps around with many girls even when he was in a relationship with Oscars sister Lola. "At college you're not suppose about-you're supposed to fuck around" (pg 68). Throughout the book we see that Yunior was not a good person. We also see that Oscars death effects him and makes him change his ways, even if it was ten years later. By the end of the book he is a creative writing teacher and has a wife he thinks he does not deserve.

          Oscar, on the other hand, is the the total opposite. He likes writing stories and role playing. He falls in love with any girl that is nice to him, but always does something weird that pushes them away. He doesn't speak the way Yunior does, "geek" speak as Yunior would call it. He is prone to depression, because he fears that he is going to die a virgin. We see that Oscar dying pushed Yunior to a better path, making him clean up his act. "Took ten years to the day, went through more losy shit than you could imagine... Until finally I woke up next to somebody I didn't give two shits about, my upper lip covered in coke-snot and coke blood and I said OK, Wao, OK. You win."(pg 325)

Oscar Wao v. Culture

       Oscar Wao was not the "typical" Dominican male. He was fat, liked science fiction and role playing, and could not get a girl to like him. "Dude never had much luck with the females ( how un-Dominican of him)" (pg 12) Even the first page of the book starts off with the narrator depicting the un-Dominican-ness of Oscar. In fact, he spent his whole life wanting a girl that loves him for who he is. He did not want to be the typical Dominican male and sleep around with many girls.

      I can relate to Oscar in a way, because I am not a typical Pakistani girl. There are many expectations of girls. We are expected to know how to take care of the house and the family. The thing that is stressed more in my house is education, which does not happen in many other families. Just like Oscar, I do not mind knowing how to cook or take care of the house if I have to. But I also want to be independent and know that I can take care of myself first.