How Do You Find Your Personal Identity

Their Eyes Were Watching God
      As mentioned before I began reading Their Eyes Were Watching God, the dialogue is often difficult to read initially. I think the way Hurston writes is improper. She doesn't care about how she is writing, the way she talks or hears is what she writes. She doesn't want to take the character dialogue of place of who or where they are from. She keeps the way the characters actually talk so the reader gets a feeling of the character or the setting. It keeps the context of the novel good.

The Search for Personal Identity
      The title of Module 6 is The Search for Personal Identity. Evidence from the text, Their Eyes Were Watching God so far that fits this theme is in chapter 3 when Janie is talking to her Nanny. Janie was telling her Nanny about how she didn't want to be with her husband. The reason was not because he had done something wrong. It was that she didn't have feelings for him. This shows that she doesn't know what she wants. She thought she loved and had feelings for this man she called her husband, but she has to find what she wants.

Harlem Renaissance
      I've learned from the group presentations that the Harlem Renaissance was a focus on African American art. African Americans in Harlem, New York focused on music, poetry, African American stories. The Harlem Renaissance started after the World War I. African Americans were now free from being slaves and wanted to identify themselves. They used art to do so.

Background and Historical Context
      Our first two lessons in this module have focused greatly on understanding the author's background and the historical context. This is helping me gain deeper meaning to the text by understanding the setting. It helps put and understanding of why this or that is happening during the text. It puts a better content of the book together.

Class period on Tuesday
      We had intense class period on Tuesday, with many people sharing personal stories of events that have significantly changed their perspective of life in general. Although this was unplanned, I feel it was a good use of our time. I think because most of the people telling their stories, as you can see was keeping that all bottled in. It was a great opportunity for people to let it all out. Ms. Bianchi gave the scholars a chance to speak about it. They had a chance to let go. Mostly everyone cried and they were being comforted by other scholars. And maybe that's all what most of the scholars needed was to have a shoulder to cry on and someone to listen to them.

What It Takes to Have Your American Dream... ?

Harlem Renaissance:
      The Harlem Renaissance was during the 1900's in Harlem, New York City. Renaissance means rebirth. After the war African Americans were free, so they had to find their identities. Many African Americans started using art; such as poems, essays, music, drama and etc.

Mama's Plant in A Raisin in the Sun
      In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Mama's plant symbolizes Mama's hope for life and their future. Mama takes care of that plant and nurtures it like it is one of her children. She wants the plant to go with the family to the new house. She thinks it will survive with its poor soil and will become better soil. At the end of the play the family moves into a beautiful house. So Mama believes it was the plant, it was her hope.

The American Dream
      The theme the American Dream relates to A Raisin in the Sun because in the story many of the characters had different American Dreams they wanted to achieve. Things in the beginning were falling a part and weren't going as planned. They had to go through some struggles and obstacles but in the end the ended up with their American Dream. They moved into a better house together as a family. Another text that relates to the American Dream is Of Mice and Men. The two main characters Lennie and George American Dream is to own their own land and have their own farm. During that process they had some struggles, conflicts with others and some deaths. They had to do things they didn't want to, but they wanted to own their own so they stuck by it. By the end even though one of the characters, Lennie was caught in some mess and was killed. George continued with what he needed to do for the both of them, even though he was dead.

Short Term Goal
      One short term goal I can set myself up by the end of this marking period is to pick up my school work slack. I want to get my grades up so I am able to be one honor roll or higher again.