Journal 4

OHMYGOODNESS. There was some sex jokes in the book! Wow. That is...different. I mean I always saw the characters to be not very mature but "WOW!" I think this is like a thing that should be payed attention to. It's very important that the reader notices a character's most immature side. For we all know, this piece of the story could be foreshadowing a future event that features lame pickup lines, or something.
I like how they get Lymon all snazzy and dressed up. That could mean something... I mean, like, how he's not super smart or charming or anything like that, but they can still get him to look like a million dollars.
Boy Willie likes to cheat people out of money. He's always asking to borrow money or sell people things.

I commented on Tawnie's Blog:
"I also noticed how Wining boy always tries to cheat people out of their money. Perhaps Boy Willie will learn from Wining Boy?"

Journal 3

Bernice and Boy Willie are super rude to each other. All they do is bicker and it puts a fast paced, loud mood into the text.
Sutter's ghost is gonna add a lot to the story I think. At first when it came into play I thought that Bernice was just crazy or psycho or on drugs or something. But now I realize it's actually legit.
Lymon is a sly devil. I'm pretty sure he's up to no good. I think that's why he seems to keep quiet mostly. He never talks about his own life, really, just comments on what others say, and talks about other people. And the thing with the truck, that could be foreshadowing.

Piano Lesson, Journal 2

They use the N-word a lot. Im slightly appauled by it. It makes me uncomfortable.
And also, they like to argue so much. There's almost no agreeing.
I'd like to ask, is it weird that the spent that long at the uncle's house?
And also, were watermelons like not very common then because nowadays they are super cheap, and they're EVERYWHERE.

I commented "I like how you pointed out that the grammar was wrong haha." on Shelby Marquez's blog.

One Un-Named Character- "The Girl"

The un-named character I have chosen for this entry is "the girl", Absalom's wife. I believe that Alan Paton has chosen not to name her to sort of set a distance between her and the reader, as a character in the book would feel. It seems like the women have a sense about them that they are not quite looked down upon, but known to be lesser than the men. It also almost feels like the male character's have a bit more depth and are more emphasized than the female characters. Males seem to have more developed characteristics, while women are kind of blunt. By calling Absalom's wife "the girl", Paton generalizes the young female demographic into one person.

OPRESSION

1. Okay. This video is disgusting. It's violent and nasty but it gets the point across VERY well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4&feature=player_embedded

2. I'm a huge believer and activist for gay rights, and I am part of the GSA at Tigard high. So this naturally means a lot to me.
 http://www.socialistalternative.org/news/article18.php?id=1159

CTBC: Gender Characterization

FEMALES- Usually referred to as "she", "her", etc. rather than their names. (ex. "I am anxious to hear about my sister.")
BOTH- Spoken to with much respect.
MALES- Names are usually mentioned. (ex. "Perhaps it is my brother John.")
SIGNIFICANCY- Sets the audience further apart from the story. Leaves a sense of mystery. Lets us know about prejudice and segregation. Informs us about culture.

p.s. Who ever named the valley of Lufafa is my new favorite.

Cry, The Beloved Country: 4 Passages

1: SETTING- The entire first chapter tells about the setting. The mood shifts from nice and calm at the beginning to sad, almost urgent at the end. We are told about how the land is grassy and lush and beautiful, until the hills swoop down into a canyon that is infertile and dry and coarse. It makes us think of a frightening place surrounded by beautiful land.
2: LANGUAGE- The characters use use quite a lot of dialogue on the first page of chapter two. They address each other a lot, "I bring a letter, umfundisi" ... "Where did you get it, my child?" ... "The store, umfundisi." ... "Go well, small one". "You might be hungry, small one"... "Not very hungry, umfundisi" ... "a little hungry, umfundisi" ... "thank you, umfundisi". Could this be telling us that people in this land are very respectful to eachother?
3: NARRATIVE- The style of writing when characters are talking is a little bit different and seems to set distance between the reader and the characters. I notice this when newly named Stephen and his wife begin to look at the letter. Quotation marks are not used. It particularly made me think in this sentence: "She mustered up her courage, and said, is it not from our son.". Quotation marks are not placed where they should be, and a question mark is not used at the end of her question. Yet some how the un-grammatically-correct-ness of it has a bit of brilliance.
4: CHARACTER- Stephen is introduced in chapter two. The fact that the author didn't introduce him to the second chapter gives an ominous feel. I like the word umfundisi. Perhaps Stephen is a large man, since the little girl  is referred to many times as a small child.Or maybe the girl is just really tiny. I'm thinking that the fact that the girl is not referred to as a "girl" but as "child" in the first few pages of chapter two has some relevance (even though they use the word "she").