AP English Absolutely True Diary of A Part-time Indian: Home

Julianna Cooper, Ben Soukup, Bianca Salazar

Lange, Dorothea. The Migrant Mother, Destitute Pea Pickers in California.    Mother of Seven Children. Age Thirty-two. Nipomo, California. 1936 Feb.    or Mar. 1 negative : nitrate ; 4 x 5 in. Library of Congress, Washington    D.C. 
     

   Photographer Dorothea Lange was employed by the Farm Security Administration to record the Dust Bowl exodus when drought and hard times forced thousands of farm families to move west in search of work. This photograph, "The Migrant Mother" was taken of Florence Owens Thompson and her children. Dorothea's intention for her photography, including the collection from which this piece came from, was to bring people's suffering to public attention and inspire others to help. In an interview with the magazine "Popular Photography", Lange said "I was following instinct, not reason; I drove into that wet and soggy camp and parked my car like a homing pigeon. I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet." Her natural sense of obligation to shed light on the terrors the photographed family faced was her motive to compose the picture. The photograph since then has become major piece of American History as well as a symbol of the Great Depression and poverty and suffering as a whole. The photo itself offers a distinct and cutting image of fear, helplessness and a mother's passion for her children.
   "The Migrant Mother" connects to "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by illuminating Junior and the Native American's home lives and struggles with poverty. In the novel, Junior and his tribe are so accustomed to poverty that they are almost numb to it. "My day began as it usually did. I got out of my bed at dark-thirty, and rummaged around the kitchen for anything to eat. All I could find was a package of orange fruit drink mix, so I made a gallon of that, and drank it all down"(70). The photograph compliments the severity of the situations characters face in the novel. The agony on Florence Owens Thompson's face in "The Migrant Mother" expresses how much of a tragedy poverty really is; it helps illustrate the pain of poverty while the characters in "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" do not express it in such a way, due their poverty having become such a standard part of life. From another perspective, the photo brings out the theme of a parent's devotion to their children. "She was freaking out... She'd lost her... daughter.... Who ever recovers from a thing like that?... she'd always be broken. 'Don't you ever drink,' my mother said to me.... She slapped me HARD"(208). In both works, a mother's dedication and irrevocable love for her children is an accentuated theme. The picture's and the novel's roots in deep pain and love give them an edge and element of genuine humility.

Bianca Salazar Chávez, Julianna Cooper, Ben Soukup (Group 1)

Preston, Julia. "Young Immigrants Say It’s Obama’s Time to Act." The New York Times [New Haven] 30 Nov. 2012, U.S.: n. pag. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/us/dream-act-gives-young-immigrants-a-political-voice.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

When writing the article “Young Immigrants Say It’s Obama’s Time to Act”, the author Julia Preston was not only hitting the political aspects of the Dream Act but also approaching it as a reality by giving testimonies of first hand dreamers, that as of right now are still dreaming and fighting to make a change. Written for a variety of audiences including politicians, Dreamers, and any American that reads the New York Times, the article emphasizes the struggle and need for a Dream Act across the nation. It’s also letting the audience know what has been done, for example President Obama passing an executive order for the Differed Action Plan and what is still left to accomplish including legalizing those 11 million of immigrants living in the United States. With anecdotes of several activists, the public can see the impact these decision have on those who could be our next door neighbors and closest friends. However the question still remains, will President Obama keep his word? When will the reform be passed? And will the republicans, once again, stand against it?

            This article connects to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by conveying the idea of struggle and inequality of opportunities, which were major topic though out the story. In the book Junior and the kids in the reservation are used to being treated as less than those outside of the reservation. In the article, Preston mentions the students who have to let go, or postpone their dreams of a better future the same way Mary did in the book, “Had she been hanging on to her dream of being a writer, but only barely hanging on, and something made her let go?” (39). In The Diary of a Part-Time Indian, there is always an obstacle that Arnold must face, but in the end confronts it coming our successful; the same occurs with the Dreamers, they won’t back down until there is a significant change, and they know that one day, everything will just seem as an obstacle that they had to encounter and managed to benefit from it.  

Ben Soukup, Julianna Cooper, Bianca Salazar         

Alexie, Sherman. "Analog." Sherman Alexie. Sherman Alexie, n.d. Web. 5 Mar.

     2013. http://www.fallsapart.com/analog_a_short_story/.

Sherman Alexie, the author of this short story, illustrated a minor yet major aspect of his life in this text. This passage takes the audience into his life and it shows what kind of person he is. It illuminates how he has basic standards, but he cherishes them with all his heart. He still has a simple answering machine from the 80’s; he even prefers it over a cellphone, however, those messages mean the world to him. “I’m waiting for you. I’m keeping count. We’re all in this together.”(line 22-23) The audience he is trying to connect to is pretty much anyone with problems in their life or need someone to talk to. As he said, his phone is always on. Throughout life, people need help, assistance, advice, Sherman Alexie wants to person in people’s lives giving them guidance.

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior has many emotions flow through him in his young life. He cherishes the friendship he has with Rowdy especially, he would do anything to keep it perfect, and when it went wrong, you could tell it ripped a major part of his life away from him. The same is true with Alexie, “I record my friend’s voices. I like to play their messages a dozen times before I erase them to make room for more.”(line 14-15). Alexie demonstrates how he gives his heart to his friends and wants to keep them in his life as long as he can. In my personal life I have been in the situation where my best friend and I just split apart. In 7^th grade I was all ready for a new school year with my really close friend; however, his family made a last minute decision and moved to Colorado. I felt as if I had lost a part of me, just like Junior did. The theme of friendship was extremely relevant in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, as well as in this short story. It is safe to say that friendship is very important to Sherman Alexie.

Emily Jensen, Evy Olsen, Quinton K.

Michelle. "How will I get over the loss of my best friend?" Partners to the

Bridge. Michelle, 16 July 2012. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. http://partnerstothebridge.com/

how-will-i-get-over-the-loss-of-my-best-friend/>

   In the article, "How will I get over the loss of my best friend?" demonstrated some very intriguing information. The author talks abou getting over the loss of a best friend. In the book, Junior deals witht the loss of a bestfriend and never truly gets over it. The article states, "You don't get OVER a loss, you get THROUGH it." (P3) The author demonstrates different things you could do to recover from the loss of someone close to you. She says that you must maintain your routine in order to continue to be your well-functioning self. Also, you need to surround yourself with unconditionally supportive people.

In the article, it talks about different things you could do to get through this hard time. It says different ideas like, "Eat right, Sleep well, exercise, and seek moments to center yourself." and "Distill your life down to component parts and decide what is important to continue." (Pg2.)

   This article relates to the book by how it is dealing with the same situation that happens in the text. In the book, Junior loses his best friend. The article demonstrates numerous ways of trying to get over losing a best friend. This article could of helped Junior throughout the book because Junior tried contacting Rowdy and kept reminiscing about the past. Also, If Junior would of had someone there for him, he may of gotten through that hard time in his life.But, Rowdy and Junior become friends again by the end of the book.  

Trez’von Miers, Liz, Carrisa(Group 2)

The article “Gang Violence Grows on an Indian Reservation” was written because of the growing violence of guns, drugs, suicide, and gang wars within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The gangs show a case of loss of identity within the community, “They’re into the subculture of African-Americans and Latinos. But they are Lakota, and they have a lot to be proud of.”  Said Melvyn Young Bear the tribe’s appointed cultural liaison. Erik Eckholm believes that there is still hope as Mr. Wilson a 24 old gang member starts to seriously think about his future “I still get drunk and hang with my homeboys, but not like I used to,” this shows he is questioning if his life would just be this. He end this interview leaving us with a few but powerful words “Ever since birth I been waitin’ for death…”

This article connects with The True Diary of An Part-Time Indian because it shows the cycle of the reservation that is killing the people on the Rez. It creates one of those moments that bring up what if questions like for example what if Arnold never left the Reservation? The article give the book a more serious feel to it. It showed just about everything the book talked about drugs, beer, fighting, and death.

Quinton Kelley, Evy, Emily

Williams, Timothy. "At Tribe's Door, a Hub of Beer and Heartache" The New York Times, n.d. Web 5 March 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/us/next-to-tribe-with-alcohol-ban-a-hub-of-beer.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>

The article "At Tribes Door, a Hub of Beer and Heartache" is about the alcohol problems on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Alcohol had lead to many fatal drunken driving accidents and drunken related murders. Oglala Sioux filed a lawsuit against the stores and large brewing companies accusing them of all the problems. The rad in has many people who are drunk or have passed out in front of buildings.the Sheridan Country sheriff's office says it has to few of resources to go out and patrol the town that is 19 miles away from the office. John Yellow Bird Steele, the tribal president, says 90 percent of the problems on the reservation goes back to alcohol.

This Article relates to the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" because Junior's reservation is just like this one in having problems with alcohol. His dad's best friend Eugine was killed by a drunk man. Also his grandmother was run over by a drunk driver. His dad runs away around Christmas to get drunk. A lot of people on this reservation get drunk. The article and this book show the power of drinking and how it will negatively affect you.

Trix Saaveda, Chave P., Jake H., tristan

Alexie, Sherman. "Superman and Me." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 1998. Web. 04 Mar. 2013. <http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/19/books/bk-42979>.

   This is another one of Alexie's work, related to the same topic that his book was about. In "Superman and Me", this is Alexie explaining the struggles and experiences that he faced as a young boy due to stereo-types about Indians. His audience is anyone who has ever felt like they've been judged because of a stereo-type. I believe the purpose of Alexie here is to inform us using ethos and pathos. He uses ethos by discussing honest and intelligent things about how he felt, what he saw, and what he was told. He strongly and excessively uses pathos by connecting his hardships to the hardships of other young Indians going through the same things he did many  years ago. This emotionally connects to the audience reading because it gives us a sense of hope that there are people willing to try and break themselves free from the chain of stereo-types that all people hold against others in all of society. He discusses the "facts" that were lived by: "As Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian world. Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians." (Alexie). As an Indian, failing was acceptable and nothing new. Alexie tells about how determined he was to break through the stereo-types. He is clearly demonstrating that despite all the things Indians were expected to become, he broke out of them and succeeds. He wanted to be free.

   Alexie's "Superman and Me" is strikingly similar to his book, "Part Time Indian"; yet very different point of views as well. In "Superman and Me", Alexie is discussing his own experiences as a young boy, and also including his current life as a writer. In '"Part Time Indian", Sherman is in a sense speaking as himself, yet portraying DIFFERENT and TRUE experiences that Indian boys go through today. This helped me understand Alexie's book much better because of the fact that anyone could have easily connected his experiences and traditions with the ones in the book, seeing how it is the same culture. It also helped me because Alexie uses a little boy with disabilities, who somehow still has hope or himself. Not only does Junior have hope for himself, but he sets out to seize his chance at being the best he can be; which is exactly what Alexie did on his own with learning how to read. Relating "Superman and Me" with "Part Time Indian" made it much simpler to understand the true and deep meanings behind what an Indian really feels when he has no hope, finds hope, loses hope, and then discovers who he really is.

Tristan Anguiano, Jake H., Chave P., Trix S.

 
Alexie, Sherman. "Analog." Sherman's Stories. Sherman's Stories, 3 Mar. 2013 http://www.fallsapart.com/analog_a_short_story/.

      The short story written by Sherman Alexia titled, "Analog" really connects with the inner feeling of him as an author and how he repsects his own ways. Right off the bat Alexie explains to the audience how he doesnt use his comapany's voice mail sytem, he uses his own recording machine from the 80's. I feel Sherman Alexie is wanting the audience to realize that eh doesnt let other people's feelings on his actions affect him. With that, Sherman Alexie does use a metahaphor describing the tapes that he has with all of his friends voice recordings on as ghosts that haunt him in somewhat of a good way (Line 7). Theyre always there to remind him that he stands as himself and doesnt care what people think of him because he uses the vintage tape recorder. He wants his audiece to infer that he is happy with who he is and that he respects his ways even if the majority of the modern society finds it silly. This really intertwines with the further meaning behind The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

      Throughout the whole book Sherman Alexie provides the audience with examples of how the main character needs to find himself, and not let others affect him. A continuous discussion question was will Junior ever have a breaking point in regards to being stereotyped constantly. This question constantly sparked discussion throuhgout our group because Junior was always facing struggles with peers because of the person he was. Sherman Alexie is essentially writing a response to the novel with this short story, Analog. He explains at the end of this short story how he wants people to bring on the continuous voice recordings of his friends giving him grief about having such a goofy voice mail system. He's not afraid of who he is. He's not nervous about who he is. He's proud of who he is

Jake Trix Tristan Chave

 Konigsberg, Eric. "In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders."
           New York Times. New York Times Company, 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.

    This is an article written by Eric Konigsberg that talks to Sherman Alexie and finds out why he wrote  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  He finds out that this book is actually really close to the events that occured in Sherman's life. He also finds out that Alexie turned down people offering to make a movie about his "diary" book because he did not think they could find a good Indian actor that was good enough at basketball to play his part.  He feels that basketball is more important to him rather than getting his "Indianness" correct.  Alexie also believes that if a 15 year old reader does not enjoy his books, then nobody will.  This really helps me understand why he wrote The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

      Throughout this article it made me think back to the part of the book when Arnold played against his best friend Rowdy and blocks his shot and dribbles down to the other side and shoots a three right in his face. In the article he talks about how much he likes basketball and how much it means to him, that is why i connected these two things to eachother.  The article really helps me understand the book better bcause i understand how important the game of basketball is to him, and why he added so much detail and triumph when talking about the games. 

Ian Jones

Konigsberg, Eric. "In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders." New York Times. N.p.,

     20 Oct. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/books/

     21alexie.html?_r=0>.

               Eric Konisberg when writing the article, “In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders”, described Alexie’s relaxed attitude towards his success.  Alexie explained to Konisberg, who then conveyed to the curious audience of the Native-American author fans, his process is unique, and he doesn’t just take what he can get.  In fact, he turned down selling movie rights to one of his most successful literary works, in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  Konisberg sought out to show the way that Alexie operates as a writer, successfully releasing hits while doing so in a calm manner.  The article also addresses how being a Native American has added an extra bit of responsibility on Alexie’s shoulders and how he communicates with the public what that’s like.  I feel like Konisberg had enough knowledge to write over Alexie and correctly elaborate on who he really is. 

               Konisberg was able to let Sherman Alexie’s strong tone found in several of his works, take over his article.  Such as using the sarcastic tone found in many of Alexie’s works.  Especially when he included how the former basketball-playing author was afraid that if a movie was made, the actor wouldn’t be as good as him.  The author of the article uses ethos to develop credibility in Alexie’s writing, so that the article he wrote had some as well.  Konisberg made sure his audience knew of the award-winning author’s prior success.  Then, explained that Alexie, as a Native American, upheld the responsibility to keep the image of the Native American community as pure and accurate as possible.  I think that Konisberg correctly evaluated and portrayed Alexie’s style of writing, his method, and the overall message that he likes to include in his work.

Tanner Hawkins

Axelrod, Julie. "The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief." PsychCentral. N.p., n.d. Web.
     5 Mar. 2013. <http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/
     the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/>.

The 5 stages of loss & grief is one of those concepts that has left the bounds of psychology and into fiction. Axelrod describes it as "universal and expirenced from all walks of life." The 5 stages are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While the universality of the phenomena may be contested, the 5 stages have persisted in the minds of fiction-writers.

I believe Alexie wrote the funeral of Junior's grandmother with at least an awareness of the 5 stages. After Ted left the scene, the tribe suddenly became much more joyous, and they were also able to cope with the loss suddenly. It's almost as if they had been elivated from depression and into acceptance.

Evy Olsen, Emily Jensen, Quinton Kelley

            ABC News. Denise Martinez-Ramundo, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013.

     <http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/10/

     first-alcoholic-drink-at-age-5-reservation-counselor-says-its-happening/>.

            In this article Denise Martinez-Ramundo, talks about what she saw on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She talks about how much and how severe the alcohol abuse is on the reservation. She says that children as young as five or six years old have had alcoholic drinks. She also gives us the staggering statistic that 80-90% of adults on the Reservation have severe alcohol abuse problems. Lining the streets of the Pine Ridge Reservation there are signs urging people to drive safe. There are also signs remembering all of the lives lost to drunk driving accidents. Last year there were seven-thousand alcohol related arrests. Pine Ridge is currently in the process of trying to get out of this crisis and end the alcohol abuse on the reservation.

            This article is very relatable to “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”. In the book the Reservation that Junior lives on has the exact same issue with alcohol. So many of the adults in this novel have alcohol addictions. In the book, almost all of the deaths that occurred were due to alcohol in some way. First there was Grandma who died from a drunk driving accident, then there was Eugene who was shot by a drunk man, and then Mary who was burnt to death because she was so drunk she couldn’t feel herself burning. The Pine Ridge Reservation is going through the same problems. It is such a sad thing and I really hope that this can end in the future. 

Nick Thurber, Abbey, Lauren, Carly (Sorry for any misspellings *please change if need be)

Konigsberg, Eric. "In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders."
     The New York Times. N.p., 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 6 Feb. 2013.
     <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/books/21alexie.html?ref=shermanalexie>.

            The author of the text “In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders.” is Eric Konigsburg. I believe the purpose of Konigsburg was to portray Alexie in a selfish, arrogant light, which I did not approve of. Ever since you hear the first sentence; “The author Sherman Alexie doesn’t believe there is such a thing as selling out.”, you know Konigsburg isn’t very fond of Sherman Alexie. Konigsburg then goes into a description of how Alexie doesn’t care about the success of his books, but still will not sell the movie rights to his most popular book, Part-Time Indian. It ends with direct quotes making Alexie sound very chillaxed about his writing ethics. I felt a very strong sense of the twisting of Sherman Alexie’s words in this article and a prime example of modern bias reporting. I believe if you truly must form an opinion about an author you should read his/her books and form your own conclusions.

              In this article the author, Eric Konigsburg, says one of the primary themes is “‘Get off the rez. Be nomadic.’”. I disagree. I have a feeling this guy never even read the novel. I believe one of the primary themes of Part-Time Indian is overcoming diversity in order to find hope. This article is more focusing on stereotyping and using logos to demonstrating the true personality of Sherman Alexie. Konigsburg uses a lot of direct quotes and lines from Alexie’s novels to persuade the audience to believe what he wants them to believe. In fact, the whole of Part-Time Indian is one big persuasive essay using all three rhetorical devices, but primarily logos. By stating facts from his live the main character, Junior, is able to express to the audience how he overcame the difficulties in his life and how he found hope. I bet Konigsburg didn’t think he would be using the same tools as Sherman Alexie when he wrote his article.                                                               

Carly Richter, Nick, Abby, Lauren

Scott Herrera, Shelby Tibke, Sam Brown, Noah Hogberg

Konigsberg, Eric. "In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders."
           New York Times. New York Times Company, 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.
           <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/books/21alexie.html?_r=0>.

            Eric Konigsberg wrote an article about Sherman Alexie and the reasons behind why he chose to write The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  After talking to Alexie, Konigsberg was able to find out that the main reason that Alexie chose to write the book was because his life heavily relates to it, and some of his other texts that he wrote.  He describes it as the book almost being a re-run of the experiences that he encountered as a child growing up on the reservation.  He says the main connection that he was able to relate with the book was his love for basketball and how it was able to help him throughout his childhood.  The purpose that the author was trying to make by publishing this article was to let everyone know of Sherman Alexie’s reasons for writing the book.  The audience would anyone who is curious as to why Alexie chose to write about such graphic events and awful experiences.  

            This article has really helped me understand the point of view that the novel is written in.  Obviously I was aware that it was in first person, but the article was able to help me understand the emotions and the emotions that Alexie had to have been feeling as he was writing this book.  After I read this article and did a role work assignment for it, it made me think of the book in a different way as I was reading it.  It also made me go back to the beginning of the book and made me relate to the scene where his dog died, to the time in my life where my dog died.  It gave me a sense of how Alexie must of felt as he was writing the book and being able to relate to most of the problems he was writing about.

Sam B.  Scott H. Shelby T. Noah H. 

Parents at the Antioch school believe that this book should get banned because it is vulgar and their freshmen aren’t ready. The author wrote this because she wanted readers to be aware of the different perspectives of this book, written by Sherman Alexie. Since it's so controversial, it affects how others see it, how others read it, and how it is taught. The content of the article mainly reflects the parents because they don't understand how it is appropriate for their 13-14 year old. It basically covers the topic about the parents not the teens. Once teens get to high school, we put in their head that they can make their own decisions but they aren't even letting them. 

    After reading and evaluating the article it is easy to understand that parents aren't putting the book into other perspectives like Romeo and Juliet's suicide, or other factors like drugs in other books. If parents constantly complain about a little inappropriateness and not focus on the context of the book, then their children won't be exposed to things like this. Also, it isn't like kids their age don't talk to their friends like that.  It's literary because parents are just looking at the text they aren't looking at the true meaning or inferring truly what Sherman Alexie meant. I believe this article is significant because it proves and helps this book become better, because it is doubted and makes me want to read it more. (If I hadn't already read it.)

Shelby Tibke, Scott Herrera, Sam Brown, and Noah Hogberg

Alexie, Sherman. "Without Reservation 'Blasphemy'" Ny Times. Ny Times, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/books/review/blasphemy-by-sherman-alexie.html?ref=shermanalexie&_r=0

Sherman Alexie has become a well known author because of his creative works of literature about Native American life and culture.  He throughout his career has written mulitple stories about how Native Americans are different then white people, they are treated differently and are viewed differently.  In this article the author brings up the fact that in all other Indian stories and books the authentisity of the characters and events are not as sereal as those in all of Sherman Alexies publishings. The perspective of the books help the audience better understand what reservation life was like and other things that Native Americans have to go through such as alcoholism and absent fathers.

 After looking over the article and thoroughly trying to understand the opinion of the peice, it is easy to see that Alexie is an authentic author.  he is different from other authors in the ways of his writing because he puts his own experiences into the stories.  when putting the author's own experiences in, it really captures the true meaning of the scenes and body of the stories that other books don't capture as well.  Reading this article helped me better understand the meaning of his writing and why Alexie adds such descriptive and sometimes harsh things in his writing, because it all happened, each story has a bit of truth in it.

EmiLeigh Maloof, Robert , Jacob, and Tayliah

Row, Jess. "Without Reservation." NY Times [New York City] 21 Nov. 2012: n. pag. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/books/review/blasphemy-by-sherman-alexie.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&ref=shermanalexie>.

   The article called, "Without Reservation" was written by Jess Row. Who was writing about Alexie's "blasphemy" used throughout his text. The purpose that Row had behind this was to show what makes Alexie's stories so powerful. His use of pathos and imagery help the reader who may be a dreamer or someone who is realistic with true reality. What makes the stories so good is because of his passion and his truth that he speaks from his own personal experience. Which is what Row wants to portray in her article. This text is about Alexie and his way of writing to his audience to convey his ideas. His stories are told in a casual "storyteller" way that makes it very easy to follow, yet the true meaning behind the text is more complex then what is at the surface.

   This article helped prove my theory of why Alexie's writing is so easy to follow. Because from knowing that he writes with a storyteller point of view, makes his art of language very easy and laid back. His voice is conveyed throughout his characters he bases on fictional yet real life characters that could be applied to someone on a reservation. His use of pathos is incredible, because of the deep emotional connection made throughout his works, he uses simple words to have a complex meaning. His stories may seem like they are only to be humorous yet hidden behind these words one must dissect to read the true meaning of what has been his true moral of the story all along.

EmiLeigh Maloof, Robert , Jacob, and Taylia

Barcott, Bruce. "Off the Rez" NY times [New York City] 11 Nov. 2007: n. pag. web. 5 Mar. 2013.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/books/review/Barcott3-t.html?ref=shermanalexie>

   The article "Off the Rez" was written by Bruce Barcott, and in this article he talks about Sherman Alexie as a poet and a comedian. He also gives a brief summary of the book, which also proves the point of his article which is that living off of the Reservation for Sherman Alexie was a huge challenge; Probably the most challenging thing he has ever faced. Sherman Alexie is a cartoonist, comedian, and a poet, all in one. In his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian he clearly shows all of these skills as he uses imagery, comedy, formal language, and most of all pathos, to portray specific feelings in the book. He organizes his book in a way in which something good happens, then something bad happens, and then it repeats. I'm not exactly sure why he does this, as many people could view this in a different way. But the way I view it, is that everything happens for a reason and he is trying to show the good things in life we have that we take for granted. Throughout his book he uses very formal and easy-to-understand language which may seem simple, but in reality has a complex meaning which, depending on the reader, can have a huge affect. There were many parts where I can relate to him, like when he talks about how he absolutely loved his dog but his dog had to be put down. Bruce Barcott uses lots of quotes from Sherman Alexie to prove his point as a formal, yet poetical writer. "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods," he says, "and my cartoons are like tiny little lifeboats."

   This article helps me understand even further the significance of Sherman Alexie's use of formal language makes such a complex meaning behind it, even if the words are simple. He uses characters like Rowdy (his best friend), his dog, Gordy, his sister, etc.. to portray how everything that happened affected him. The thing I found most interesting was how when he told his story in his story telling tone, is that frequently in the story he reviews his past and even questions some moments, like when he says "I think Rowdy might be the most important person in my life. Maybe more important than my family. Can your best friend be more important than your family? I think so. I mean, after all, I spend a lot more time with Rowdy than I do with anyone else." This is just one of many examples that help us understand that Sherman Alexie really reviews his passed, asks questions, and thinks of perhaps another way to view it. Sherman Alexie also uses pictures to convey his meaning, as he states that words are too "unpredictable" and that if you show someone from am different country a word, they might not understand, but if you show them a picture, they will understand a lot more. He uses comedy in these pictures and uses comedy in words, not only to make the story humurous, but to portray a deep meaning.

 ROBERT SULLIVAN

MLA Citation: Angelou, Maya. "Still I Rise." Poem Hunter. Maya Angelou, 4 Apr. 1928. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/still-i-rise/>.

I love this poem because of the swagger it has to it. She talks like there is no one who can touch her and no one who can tell her anything. She is completely at piece and has s much confidence in herself that she sways and moves with no sense of doubt. This poem makes one feel empowered and proud to be an African American to have been through so much but to still have that type of personality and spirit to rise up through it all. She portrays the “slave” from the time to be a person who is beat up and put down but still can find time to smile.

This poem to me means a person who can become a champion without a team or build an empire with the bricks someone through at him/her. Just as the slaves did back in the 1800’s at the very end of the slave trade, to keep the pain at bay and continue to fend off the worst of times, they rose. I saw a couple of schemes such as a simile, “because I dance like I have diamonds at the meeting of my thighs.” This means that she sways and holds herself up and dances like she holds all the cards or something that you want. I also saw the rhetorical device called amplification were you expand on detail to clarify a point. She stated, “I am the dream, and hope of the slave, I rise, I rise, I rise. She stated this in the poem and at the end to keep the mind focused on the point of the poem. She stressed this to clarify the meaning of main idea.

Victoria, William, Kristina, ASha

"Los Angeles Times." Los Angeles Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 1998.

     <http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/19/books/bk-42979>.

Sherman Alexies purpose in Superman and Me is to save the Indian children and to inspire them to not give up on their selves when society does. We as the audience can relate to this because we have the knowledge to understand what its like to not be accepted by your own community. Sherman Alexie visits schools to teach creative writing to Indian children. Indians were not expected to write well. The author speaks of his childhood and father inspiring him to read and his teachers and classmates never giving him a chance to shine. He wanted to give back the Indian children the education and attention he wished to have growing up. Sherman Alexie is a great author and an inspiring spoken Indian.

In Diary Of A Part Time Indian, the central argument is to find yourself, accept your roots and follow your dream. Even though the teachers give up on their Indian students, everyone says NO you keep on going, that is what Alexie is saying. Junior gets caught up in his lies while trying to be someone he’s not because he isn’t accepted at his home nor his new school. He soon realizes he doesn’t belong to just the reservation, he belongs to many other “tribes” and accepts himself.

Victoria Jordan

" Borderlands. '' Worth A Thousands Words ''

http://archive.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2008/jul08_hunt.asp

This article was basically about how writing and pictures are both a form of reading.In fact most people look at the pictures in the article or book before even reading the words.They stated that pictures tell a story sometimes better than the words can.The article stated that more teens in fact will read a book that has pictures in it. The picture books demands that readers use their powers to inference to determine what is happening, wheter it is really an eerily tense dystopian vision or simply the product of a deranged mind. Picture books lead the conversation without even using words. The article also stated that the pictures can retelling or recreate something that happened in  the passed like a wedding or you going to see your favorite team play.

This relates to Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian because on page 5 junior made a very good point about why he draw more than write.'' I draw because words are too unpredictable.'' '' I draw because words are too limited'' ''If you speak English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning.'' ''But when you draw a picture,everybody can understand it.'' ''If i draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, '' that's a flower'' This is a very good and strong point because many people speak a lot of different lanuages and by using a picture everyone can look at it and tell that its a flower.

Annotated Bibliography

Definitions

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "references" or "works cited" depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation.

Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following:

·         Summarize: Summarize the text using its rhetorical situation. Who is the author, what is its purpose? Who is the audience? What is the context/exigence? What are the main arguments? What is the point of this story or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this text is about, what would you say? This should be a paragraph in length.

·         Evaluate: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. How does it illuminate to the novel you read? Identify and explain the significance of at least one connection. Connections can be rhetorical, poetic, thematic, historical, stylistic, political, and/or relate to your experiences. This should be one paragraph in length.

Click on "edit" in the upper right hand corner to add text.

Write the first name of each group member. Place your name in bold.

Be sure to spell check.  There is a spell checker in this program or you can type in word first.

Greg, Marsha, Jan, Cindy

Cabera, Nolan L., and Amado M. Padilla. “Entering and Succeeding in the Culture of College: The Story of Two Mexican Heritage

         Students.” Hispanic Journal of BehavioralSciences 26.2 (May 2004): 152-169. Academic Search   Elite (Ebsco). Web.    

         7  February 2009.

         Cabera and Padilla discuss the academic resilience of two Stanford Latino students using

in-depth interviews. Intended for an academic audience from both higher education and social work, the article provides insight into the common struggles faced by many first-time college students who rely on emotional support of families and academic support from faculty and staff at institutions of higher education. Cabera and Padilla evaluate various services available to students at crucial points in a college career and the strategies that assist in the efforts for academic success. The authors argue that without intervention many first-time college students, regardless of race or gender, would fail to be successful. Furthermore, those students must adopt an expanded sense of self in order to see themselves as successful in a college setting.

            Cabera and Padilla’s study illuminates Sherman Alexie’s central argument, that students who are economically disadvantaged and from a culture other than the dominant culture must redefine themselves in order to succeed, in Diary. Although the students highlighted in the study receive support from friends and family within their identified cultural context, they are forced to redefine themselves as members of the dominant culture associated with their institution. Junior, while maintaining his identity on the reservation, adopts an expanded version of self when he enters Reardon. Thus, the crux of the story focuses on Junior’s ability to reconcile his two selves.