Blog #3

"The Lynching of Jube Benson" by Paul Laurence Dunbar is the story of a man named Jube Benson who is lynched after being accused of a crime he did not commit. Jube Benson was accused of raping seventeen year old Annie, the daughter of the man he worked for. When Annie was found, battered and helpless, she was asked who had beat and raped her. Her last words before her dying breath were "That Black---". Under the assumption that Jube fled from the scene, the crowd of worried neighbors automatically pinned him to this crime. In actuality Jube had simply gone out to see his lady Lucy. The infuriated crowd went off in search of Jube and found him while as he was making his way back to his boss's house. The group lynched Jube even after he pleaded his innocence with them. Right as Jube died, hanging, the man who commited the crime was found hiding in the barn. He was a white man named - "the worst white ruffian in the town". He was described by Annie as "The Black---" because he had blackened his face with dirt to imitate the complexion of a "Negro". Jube was lynched simply because of the color of his skin and Annie's vague description of her abusers complexion. Jube though innocent lost his life due to racism and false accusation.

"The Lynching of Jube Benson" by Paul Laurence Dunbar is comparable to his novel "Sport of the Gods". In "Sport of the Gods" Berry Hamilton, an emancipated black man is wrongly accused of stealing a large money from the Oakley residence in which he works as a butler. The money is actually misplaced by Francis Oakley, who was careless with the money and the key to the safe in which the large sum was in. Berry Hamilton was found guilty of theft and is sentenced to ten years of hard labor. Berry, similar to Jube, is falsely accused due to racism. He has ten years of his life taken from him for a crime he did not commit. 

There are many differences in these stories simply because of the length of each story. "The lynching of Jube Benson" is intense because of the crime and murder that occurs in such a short story. "Sport of the Gods" is a longer in length being that it is a novel, but it is still an intense story based on the hardships and realities faced when dealing with race related crimes such as the imprisonment of Berry Hamilton, who is not guilty of theft.

I would have guessed that these stories were written by the same author because of their similarity in themes. The main themes are racism, false accusations, and crime. 

Extra Credit Blog

Those students who were not able to attend the "You Can Do Anything With an English Major" even, missed out on a great panel of speakers who have obtained successful careers with their degrees in English literature studies.I was surprised to see the diversity in careers.

One woman's career was to read over essays students have entered for scholarships. She would then decide who deserves a scholarship and how much money is granted to each student receiving a scholarship. One of the men among the speakers seemed quite young in age, perhaps in his mid twenties. I was shocked to know he was a professor here at LaGuardia Community College. He attended community college and went on to study at Duke, where he finished his English Degree. His success came quickly due to his hard work and focus. His speech was motivational and encouraged me to keep pushing forward and also urged me to become more involved in school events. The speaker that intrigued me most was the young man who spoke about his career as a lawyer. It was interesting to know that he had started out as an English major and with his degree he went on to study law, something he seemed extremely passionate about. What was most intriguing was when he mentioned his favorite book "Lolita" and how he found music in the literature of the novel. I, myself, find books more enjoyable when the author plays with words and uses prose to create a subtle musical feel to their writing. This young lawyer also shared that he is a musician. For some reason I viewed lawyers as very structural and ordinary, however my view changed once I saw that this man shared a passion for English and was able to achieve all he has achieved with the start of being an English major.

I'm glad I attended this event. I was hoping to have won the raffle of a Barnes & Noble gift card!

Blog #2

The removal of slavery legally freed people of color however it failed to morally free the white man.

Tannenbaum raises a valid point in a few short words. I find this to be so significant because it explains the morals of white people in the South throughout history as people of color came closer and closer to freedom. It explains the hate crimes, Jim Crow laws and segregation that went on for decades after slaves had been legally freed. 

Because slavery had been practiced for so many years in the South and because the beliefs of why people of color were less than human were scientifically and religiously proven, white people were accustom to treating people of color as if they were animals. The freeing of slaves was not enough to convince those who have practiced the abusive ways of slavery, that people of color were equal.

This point Tannenbaum made speaks for the events that have shaped society throughout American history.

Another interesting point I had found was that slavery in Brazil granted slaves more human rights where as Anglo-English slavery gave absolutely no rights to slaves. A slave in Brazil was able to buy their freedom and once they were freed they were able to function as normal civilians in society. Slaves under Anglo-English slavery were hardly ever granted freedom and most of the time escaping was the only way out. Also, even after emancipation, people of color were still denied equality. They were still enslaved to the white men because white men were still morally enslaved as mentioned earlier.

Blog Assignment #8: Final Workshop Reflection

As this course is coming to an end I am realizing how much I have grown as a creative writer. This class has came with more than a few challenges with each assignment. By overcoming each challenge and using every writing technique required for each piece I received grades no less then an A-. Though there were many challenges the feeling of accomplishment after receiving each paper was great. I feel I can fully take on whatever writing challenge comes my way with hard work. In a way I am thankful for the challenges of this course. They have made me more conscious of my writing and of how the reader will perceive my writing. I have also learned new techniques of writing papers just a few pages in length. I've learned how to incorporate dialogue, strong details with a bit of emotional distance and how to create a sense of place into my writing. These are key components to great writing that I will take with me on my journey in the creative writing field.

The reading I enjoyed most was Frank McCourt’s excerpt from Angela’s Ashes. I find this piece so amazing because it is from the author’s point of view as a young child yet his memory and sense of character and place was so ripe. This piece taught me how important setting is in a memoir. This piece also showed me how I don’t have to write a memoir from a ‘looking back on life’ perspective.

“You never forget your first hallucination. Those that indulge in a little acid here and there know this is true and possibly those who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Nevertheless, hallucinations are no joke. Your mind takes you into a different world where everything is so tactile and intense. Inanimate objects take strange form, familiar people become unfamiliar in every sense except appearance, and noises of all kinds cloud your ears. Strangely enough every hallucination I have experienced was tactile to its fullest capacity, which means all five of my senses were being manipulated by my mind.

               

To avoid any confusion I’ll clear up a few things. First off, I swear, I’m not crazy. Second off, I’ve hallucinated hundreds of times and sometimes I get a kick out of it. And lastly, I am not a fan of acid or LSD. Moving on.”

This is my favorite piece I've written throughout this course. This is an excerpt from my experimental piece titled "I Swear, I'm not Crazy". I had the most fun with this piece because I had more freedom than the rest and I was able to show a more loosened and fun side of me. My other pieces seemed to have a more serious tone and the 'description of a place' piece was a made up romance. In this piece I share a sleep disorder that I struggle with and make is a somewhat fun topic and intriguing topic. I found it enjoyable to kind of trick the reader into thinking I do some weird heavy drug pretty often. 

Blog Assignment #7: Author's Note on Memoir

 "I walked downstairs and there he was dressed in his uniform with his bags packed. Sergeant Esquilin, my father, was being deployed overseas to Iraq. Though I had spent my entire life with him, living in the same home, eating the same dinner and watching the same shows from the same television, this day made me feel like fifteen years was not enough time. I felt angry that he was such a workaholic and even angrier at the fact that I was angry at someone who I could possibly lose forever. Feelings of hopelessness and depression overwhelmed my heart."

Right when I received this memoir assignment the first thing I thought to write about was my father being deployed to Iraq. At first I felt that this was a typical tragedy for a memoir until I sought out reasons on why my story in particular is special. My nephew was born two weeks before his due date on the same day my father was deployed overseas. It was truly a miracle and this was the motivation behind writing about this event in my life. 

I have about three journals with writings on random pages about my fathers departure and my everyday life while he was in Iraq. They are dear to me and they are always hard to read all the way through. For this assignment I figured I would use this event because it shaped so much of who I am today.

I had my doubts writing this piece because it took me almost two weeks to fully connect to it. I edited this paper about five times, over the course of three days, before submitting it and I still felt my words were not enough to express this heart breaking yet miraculous day of my life. I sat in front of my computer with Microsoft Word open for some time changing around words, editing dialogue and trying to find the perfect words. Surprisingly, I got an A on this paper and it was such a good feeling. I think this paper is perfect how it is, for the final portfolio. 

Blog Assignment #6: Planning an Interview for a 'Personal Profile'

I was able to finish my interview the day after this assignment was given to us. At first I was stumped on who to interview that would be interesting enough to write a paper on. That was until I had gotten an unexpected visit from my dear aunt Carmen. She is the most thrifty woman I know that enjoys the smaller things in life. She came over with some pizza and Pepsi and we started to catch up. She told me all about her volunteer work for Sandy victims who just so happened to be some of her closest friends. As she told her story I sat there in silence listening and thinking of how amazing of a story this was and how I had to write about it, whether it was a free write for my journal or writing for a class paper. After she told her story I had asked to conduct an interview with her and she was more than happy to. The interview was emotional and definitely hits the heart. She is a free woman and newly-wed lesbian that enjoys long walks, spending quality time with her loved ones and helping those in need. I think she is the perfect interviewee for this 'Personal Profile' assignment. 

I am thinking of writing this paper based on what it truly means to live free from my aunt’s point of view. I don’t want to just list the interview and write a very journalistic personal profile. Just some thoughts..

Blog Assignment #5: Responding to a Personal Memoir

Abradabra by Sharon Solwitz 

"Dialogue Between Two Halves of a Brain

X: I can't think straight. I want to die. It's like I'm already dead.
Y: Oh shut up. By it's nature, self is in bondage to death. Find a purpose apart from your desire to "feel better".

• This quote shows a strong sense of metaphor in Sharon's writing. This shows the humane thoughts of depression when dealing with loss, from one side of your mind. It then shows the other half rationing as to why it's alright to feel this way. In a broader sense, Sharon is writing with two opposing parts of her brain throughout this entire piece. Half the time she is teaching how to write effectively with distance and disconnect (without getting to personal) and half the time she is drawn into her heavy emotional feelings and reflects her free-associated thoughts into her writing. 

“Oh, Jesse

I want other people to miss him, to be affected, hurt, overwhelmed by the loss of him. Nick cries in his room, Meesouk’s grades have gone down, my friend Sheryl has upped her Zoloft. Good. Good, good, good.”

• This quote is incredibly real. This quote is effective to me as a reader because I find myself sympathizing with Sharon and her story as she shows a very vulnerable and realistic part of herself. This is an example of Sharon's personal feelings seeping into her work.

"Advice

Write what you can't remember"

• This is a clear quote that shows Sharon's attempt to stay on topic with the central theme of this piece which is how to write effectively. This quote is also effective because it is great advice for any non-fiction creative writer.. It is a reminder of how important and useful details can be in any piece. It also shows that details that are hard to remember or to heavy to remember, can be the most effective. 

Sharon Solwitz wins my attention in this piece with her inability to stay on topic in her piece. Her mind is always clouded with thoughts of the beloved child she had lost. I feel a sense of true self whenever she opens up to her overwhelming feelings. I can feel her longing to have her child back throughout the entire piece. Sharon also has a lot of literary pointers in this piece that I have learned from. Her contrast in her personal story and her actual lesson in writing is what kept me reading. I eagerly wanted to know more about each subject as the piece went on.

I think this memoir was published because it is a relate-able piece that shows it is okay to include personal heart wrenching details in one's work. This was a successful read because of the contrast and metaphor throughout the piece that I had mentioned earlier. This is a realistic fight between emotion, clarity and distance all at once. The author does a good job in balancing her emotions with the theme of teaching how to write effectively. Even when she is a little too drawn into her self, the reader is drawn in as well. I think this would be a best-seller because it shows the natural struggle of a person trying to regulate the natural feelings of depression and trying to function as normal as possible while dealing with the loss of a loved one. This piece is universally relate able on many levels and also is a piece with lots to learn from.