Martin Espada In Class Response

Many seek power, but some take advantage of the power that they have. The poems, “New Bathroom Policy”, by Martin Espada, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson”, and “Two Mexicanos” all share similar themes. They talk about race, and issues regarding respect but share one main theme. All three of these poems exemplify abuse of power.

In the the poem “The New Bathroom Policy,” abuse of power is shown through authority in the “professional” environment of a school. In this poem, the principal of “English High School” bans spanish from the bathroom after hearing his name in a conversation between two spanish speaking students. The principal was unable to comprehend what they were saying, and because of that he made assumptions that the kids were talking about him in a negative connotation. This shows that the insecurity brought out from what we don't know or understand in society otherwise known as fear of the unknown, can be an internal cause for power abuse, which in this case was shown through the principal banning the language he did not speak and understand.

Additionally, in the poem, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson,” power abuse is shown through a satisfactory power. The author, Martin Espada discusses his anger when a stranger mispronounces his name. He becomes infuriated, and the poem goes through a sequence of desires he feels when his name is mispronounced. For example, he mentions his want to “Hijack a busload of republican tourists from wisconsin” which most directly is aimed towards Americans. Through this anger, it becomes clear to the reader that specifically Americans have this satisfactory power against him. It builds up his fury in a way where it makes it seem that he is the one abusing power but shifting the perspective, it is easy to see that the mispronouncing of his name makes him feel lesser of a person because his name is the main source of his identity. This brings it into disrespecting him as a person, and the Americans abusing the power they have over him to do that.

Lastly, in the poem “Two Mexicanos,” the power of all of the white children is abused through the description of the photograph. The picture shows two Mexican men being lynched for non legal purposes, hence “Forty gringo vigilantes” and a group of white young kids standing in the background smiling, trying to be a part of the picture. They are all standing in happiness and celebratory smiles as if they had just done something worth memorializing. Their power abused is shown through taking pride in what they've done. I think the author wanted the reader to see this through disgust around this picture and its description.

In conclusion, power can be taken advantage of in many ways, and it can be shown through writing in many forms. It is important to understand the values in power, and not to take power for granted, or to use it to harm other people. Sometimes people are completely unaware of this harm because they are blinded by the rewards they are getting from their power and greed. And because of this, it is vital to everyones general well being to earn and responsibly and carefully use power.

Ashes Essay Response

Phoebe Donovan 808

Ashes Essay Ms. Cunningham

October 21, 2014                                           

Ashes

We all desire the warmth of feeling special and loved, especially from our parents, but at what point is our desire no longer a playful hope, and turns to a conflicting negotiation? Ashley, or Ashes as her father calls her, is the teenage protagonist in the short story “Ashes”, by Susan Beth Pfeffer. She is stuck between wanting to believe in her dad’s love for her and knowing deep down inside her self that she is being manipulated. Through the story, Ashes must decide whether to “borrow” her mother’s money, or to find her self in a spot where her integrity stops her from doing what she realizes is wrong. In the end she is forced to question the reliability of her own father who she begins to see as someone who is broken, and flawed. It is through this difficult realization that Ashes begins to understand that relationship complications and love play a large role in the decisions that we make, which shape our lives.

Figuring out the truth of her relationship with her dad and trying to feel secure in her relationship with her mom is at the center of Ashes world.   Her dad makes her feel wanted and loved, but then in the end uses that to his advantage to convince Ashes that she should  “borrow” money from her mother.  During their time together, her father talks about being a dreamer, while throwing a small negative detail about her mother and how she does not encourage Ashes like he does. He says, “They’ll try to tear you down. They’ll laugh at your dreams. Even your mother—and she’s a saint to have put up with me all those years—even she will discourage you from being all you can be. I hate to speak against her, but she’s not a dreamer, Ashes.” This shows that her father wants her to be all that she can be, but at the same time he is convincing her that her mother is not a type of person to support what she wants for herself. Additionally, as another compliment, her father brings up modeling. He tells her how beautiful she is and that she should take interest in modeling. This is another example of his “sweet manipulation’ for her. This makes Ashes feel in emotional debt to her father, and feel that she owes him something, for the way he makes her feel like she is a large part of not only his life but the world in general.   

This feeling of being in debt to her father becomes a reality when towards the end of the story he brings up money. At the large conflict point of the story in the café, he mentions that he needs the money from her mother, and that he wants her to retrieve it. At this point, Ashes begins to question her trust, and confidence in him as a cleaned up and stable person. This is a painful moment for Ashes because she knows he is struggling and wants to help him find that happy place around the corner. However, she must deal with a pull of guilt and what will be best for her father, and at the same time is protective of her mother and herself. This brings stability into the story because she begins to realize that her mother’s stability is something she might start valuing more than her father’s talk about dreams.

By the end of the story Ashes begins to see her father in a new light as she thinks of all his broken promises to her.  She says, “ He never quite followed through with that, just like every other promise he made.” This shows how he’s very irresponsible and he cannot keep a promise he makes, no matter the size or the importance of it. This re-enters her conscience as she realizes the fantasies, because with them she is pulled into this web of promises and secrets, which have been proved to her to never be kept by her father.

Through Ashes’ upsetting but reflective story, the writer shows us the painful confusion of how the trust and love we desire from our parents may be used against us because of their own flaws. This contributes to the overall concepts and complexities of relationships and how sometimes we feel we owe it to someone for making us feel wanted and special. As we use these complexities to shape our lives, many also have trouble drawing a line between the costs it will take to go through with a decision that your gut feeling may argue, or agree with. Everybody wants to be valued and wants to feel like they've done good, which makes some decisions we make tougher than others because they involve the conflict between knowing the truth of a situation that may hurt us, and helping those who are very large in our lives.

Phoebe Donovan                                                                                                         ELA Blog Post #1
September 17,2014                                                                                              RR (summer reading)

                                                                     Everyday

        Everyday by David Leviathan is a fascinating and heartwarming fictional story reflecting on the life of "A", a boy who wakes up in a different body every morning. With whatever risks he takes, he must keep the lives of those he spends one day as, normal. This is because balance of time and space reflects on how he acts each day. Most days are easy, and as a teenager, A has learned his limits on each life, as has learned to sink in with each life. He then learns more about himself inside everyday, even though he doesn't have a set "outside." Although this story is fictional, the author is able to hook the reader in with young adult troubles and difficulties he faces. Throughout the book, A faces realizations and dilemmas related to love, family, and realizing who his inner self really is.

        From start to finish, A faces troubles regarding love, and to that extent, he could practically travel the world for them. In the beginning of the book, A encounters a life where he meets a girl named Rihannon and immediately falls in love. In Chapter 20, A says, “I want love to conquer all. But love can't conquer anything. It can't do anything on it's own. It relies on us to do the conquering on its behalf.” This is an incredible saying because it shows his troubles within a few sentences. This shows that A is struggling to get over the fence of love. He feels that it can't accept him, if he doesn't let it in first. The term conquer refers to the power of the emotion. As explained, love has a very large effect on everyone who, "falls into its trap" as the book goes on, A has more desire to see Rihannon because the pull between his feelings and the natural logic fighting him back, gets weaker. This causes A to go out of boundaries to explain and pursue his love. Additionally, through time, he begins to connect the pull of love to the difference and importance of his families, even though they only last a day. Within every chapter, A describes how the #1 way that he can estimate the persons life style, is the way they treat their family. This shows how he is realizing its importance. As a minor, A and every other, is majorly effected by his parents and the people who surround him. For example, kids who are abused, tend to stay and live within  a shell of fear, and feel the need to not push to be an outgoing or unique person. This is because their parents make them feel small, and as the elders who brought you life, one may believe something their parent discusses to them more than a friend, or most likely a stranger, even an adult. Lastly A struggles to find his real inner self. as the book progresses, he starts to believe and convince himself more and more that although he wakes up in a different body every morning, he still has a real soul and personality individually. As he begins to find more urges in troubles with love, he starts to realize that no matter how many bodies he travels to, he will still be in love with the same girl.  This shows that he is a very devoted person. He is complicating strangers lives every day just to see her, which shows the strength and belief he has in love, in her, and in himself.

        In conclusion, although we may not wake up in a different body every morning, we can understand his desires and pains in a way where his body swaps may represent events in our lives. Certain things in our daily lives may act as a cinder block, a hurricane, or a blizzard. But over all, the things we hold onto through those thick walls of difficulty, are the things that make us up as people, and the things that are truly important to self completion. Our daily discoveries include obstacles with love, and the everyday drag of strength that it takes to wake up, and to be happy.