Marxist theory applied to "A Rose for Emily"

The story "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner is a re-telling of the life a member of the prestigious Grierson family led. Emily Grierson was a woman who came from great wealth and even with family history of madness they manage to endulge in the finner things in the life. The Griersons had the money, popularity, and a different point of view when it came to the way things were suppose to be in the world, they say themselves different from everyone else because they were richer. Even Emily's father had thought no man to be good enough for his daughter in result Emily never married and due to money and a family fued of inheritance, she was left alone in her big house with a mind thst was slowly going mad. Without much family, husband or kids, and even a person to call friend. Having read the Marxist theory; marxist may agree with me when I say there are definetly some examples of Classisim which makes a path for capitlistic ideologies like competion, which is one of the many capitalistic ideas explored in the story. However before this story is explained from a marxist point of view we must first understand what is a marxist theory? The Marxist theory states "For according to Marxist theory each of these ideologies foster a socioeconomic hierarchy that grants enormous wealth and power to a relitivly small amount of people at the top of the socioeconomic ladder, prevents a large number of people from escaping the poverty in which they are trapped at the bottom of the ladder, and keeps those on the middle rungs---if there are any midde rungs---at the financial mercy of such financial occurrences as increased taxes and the rising costs of health care, education, and housing." (Tyson, pg.55)

1. The oppressive socioeconomic ideologies that influence the main character Emily Grierson's behavior are classism and competition. Classism is characterized to be "...the belief the our value as human beings is directly related to the social class to which we belong: the higher our social class, the higher our natural, or inborn , superiority." (Tyson, pg.56). The story shows signs of classism when it gives a brief re-telling of Ms. Emily Grierson's family history. The story states "...remembering how old lady Wyatt, her great-aunt, had gone completely crazy at last, believed that the Grierson's held themselves  little too high for what they really were, None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such." (Faulkner, pg. 254). Due to their class status in life the Grierson's believed they were different from everyone else so the behaved that way as if they were superior or even divine. The second socioeconomic ideology presented in the story was competitions, which is explained in the text to be " Capitalism believes that competition among individuals---competition for jobs, for pay raised, for customers, for loans for awards, and so forth---is the best way to promoat a strong society because competition ensures that the most capable, most intelligent people will rise to the top." (Tyson, pg.58). One example in the text that that displays signs of competition in the community was the total mind set that people had after Miss Emily's father died; it shows that their was a lot of competition going on, so after Miss Emily's main source of income was gone everyone was excited to see her on their level, they were expecting her to be just like them and they were glad for it. The story states "When her father died,it got bout that the house was all that was left to her; and in a way, people were glad. At last they could pity Miss Emily...she had become humanized. Now she too would know the old thrill and the old despair of a penny more or less" (Faulkner, pg. 254)
2. The capitalist beliefs that the Grierson's had really had a tole on Emily, because of their classism beliefs, that they were too good for society and Miss Emily's fathers belief that no man was good enough for his daughter, Miss Emily never got married. The story states "We did not think she was crazy then. We believed that she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will. (Faulkner, pg.254). Also due to their competing life styles after Emily's great-aunt died the family go separated, when they feuded over her inheritance, so Emily didn't really ever learn how to survive in the economic world because no one taught her. Plus she had little to no family around to support her during her time of grief after her father died. The story states "...the crazy woman, and there was no communication between the two families. They had not even been represented at the funeral." (Faulkner, pg.255).

 

Reading Response on "The Short Happy Life of Fancis Macomber"

 "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Ernest Hemingway is a great story with interesting characters whose motives for behaving the way they do in the story may not be exactly clear. However, their behavioral changes through out the story gives the reader a better understanding of why the character may act or feel a certain way.

Francis Macomber: One interesting character in the story is Francis Macomber, he may seem like an "average Joe", the wealthy married man who loves to do exciting death defining activities with his beautiful just so he can keep his marriage spontaneous. However, looking at him through a psychoanalytic lens gives the reader a different perspective on the character.

Core issue: Francis Macomber has a Fear of Intimacy, Fear of Intimacy is defined to be "...the unshakable and over powering feeling that that emotional closeness will seriously damage or destroy us and that we must, therefore, protect ourselves by remaining at an emotional distance from others." (Tyson, pg. 27). This type of core issue is mainly seem between Macomber and his wife.

1. Even though he and his wife have been married for eleven years he seems to engage in activities where they are kept apart
2. He knows about a filthy past of hers
3. It seems as if it hurts him to be romantic with her

Defense: Francis Macomber uses Avoidance to over look the fact that he has a fear of intimacy. Avoidance basically means to "...stay away from people, places, or situations that might stir up repressed experiences" (Tyson, pg. 25).

1. The first example from the text that shows that Macomber has a fear of intimacy is the fact that he is on a safari with his wife of eleven years however, excludes her from any of the hunting activity. This is seen in the text when it states

 "We're going after the buff in the morning," he told her.
"I'm coming," she said.
"No you're not."
"Oh, yes, I am. Mayn't I, Francis?"
"Why not stay in camp" (Hemingway, pg.4). This scene portrays the mentality of Macomber, it's not that he doesn't love his wife; its just, he would rather go with Wilson then with her because he does not want her to humiliate him by teasing him or making him feel less of a man the way she did when he was afraid to go after the lion. So he loves her but he doesn't enjoy being around her.

2) Macomber also knows that he can not love his wife because she at times behaves like a harlot, he realizes her filthy past but he avoids it by staying with her and pretending everything is okay when he knows it's not, and its killing him inside. This can be seen when Margret sleeps with Wilson the night before and pretends at breakfast the next morning as if nothing happened. She then ask her husband why is he so upset (even though she knows the real reason) and he says he just wants to kill the lion already. In this scene he is using a little bit of displacement which is "when we take out our negative feelings about one person on someone else so we can relieve our pain and anger without becoming aware of the real cause of the repressed feeling." (Tyson, pg.26). The text defends this claim when it states "Yes, there is," she said,
"What are you upset about?"
"Nothing," he said.
"Tell me," she looked at him. "Don't you feel well?"
"It's that damned roaring," she said. "It's been going on all night, you know."
"Why didn't you wake me, she said. I'd love to hear it.
"I've got to kill the damned thing," Macomber said, miserably." (Hemingway, pg.6).

3) Macomber is afraid to be emotionally intimate with his wife because he is afraid she will hurt him, it seems as if she has done it many times because the text states this after Macomber figures out that Margret slept with Wilson
 "There wasn't going to be any of that. You promised there wouldn't be."
"Well there is now," she said sweetly." (Hemingway, pg.12). He knows she is with him for his money and the fact that she also sleeps around, however he avoids it in order to repress the fact that he is afraid to be intimate with her. Another example was after the incident with the lion when they got back in the car, he grabbed her hand to hold for comfort but she pulled it away. It almost seems as if it hurts him to even try to be romantic with her because she is so cruel to him.

1st Person's narrative on language

While I was reading this article called "9 Ideas about language" by Harvey A. Daniels, the thought of language and it's development became clear to me. Language is something we speak every day but we never sit down to actually analyze the development and unique styles it has taken over the years. I couldn't help but think of my own developmental stages concerning my native language and how difficult it was for me to transition everything I have ever known from my native tongue to that of some one else’s. I was born in Ghana west Africa and over there the languages are like candy, different, interesting, and no one is like the other, however they can all be understood by the natives who live there. Just like how candy may be different we can all come to one conclusion about it once we taste it; which is it is sweet.

As a child my home was always filled with people, family, friends, strangers who will soon become friends of the family, and regardless of what language they spoke we all understood each other. Like Daniels mentioned in the article (pg.20) language is imitated by children, and the first place it's learned is at the place where they often are, which is the home. Having many people in my home made it very easy for me to speak, and learn different African dialects with out ever feeling over whelmed. However when I first came to this country I was faced with a new challenge, the challenges of learning verbs, adverbs, prefixes, suffixes, adjectives and much, much more.

It became very overwhelming, so much that I had to repeat a grade level in school. However the idea of a child learning or should I say imitating language in his or her home is definitely supported by me. With every chance I got my mother would turn on the home television (which had became my best friend) and I would watch educational television; doing so my english improved ten fold. Another idea or topic spoken about in the article was the importance of environment, Daniels used an example of Eskimos having different terminology for snow because they are surrounded by it.

However in Chicago the basic terms like sleet, snow, slush are used because it's not common out there to see that much snow(pg.31). Well the thing was, in Ghana where I grew up the weather was normally hot, so their were numerous terminologies for heat, however here in the United States their is summer, spring, and heat. This made things kind of difficult but I'm glad that I leared what I leared in this new language spoken world wide.

"Every day Uses " Psychoanalyzing

The story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker introduces the reader to three main characters who have specific traits that make each of them unique and very different from one another. However, when these characters are looked at through a psychoanalytic lens the motive that drives each characters behavior in the story becomes clear. This allows one to see that, even though they may be different in personality, they actually share many similarities psychologically.

 

The three main characters are:

1.      Mama

2.      Maggie

3.      Dee (Wangero)

Maggie

Core Issue: Maggie's core issues are, first she has low self-esteem and second she is insecure or has unstable sense of self. The reason these are Maggie’s cores issues are...

1.      She has burned skin which was caused by the fire in the old house.

2.      Maggie hasn't acquired any of the things her sister has accomplished.

3.      Maggie's body image.

Defenses: Maggie’s primary defense is Avoidance, Maggie takes all her insecurities, she represses them and then she avoids people as if her low self-esteem does not exist. Maggie represses her low self-esteem because she hasn't dealt with it. She allows her sister to get away with everything, even though Maggie is a member of the family it seems as if whatever her sister (Dee) says goes. Mama does whatever it takes to make sure Dee is happy, and even wants to share a bond with her however, Maggie is the one with injuries, and she is the one with the bad eye sight and burned skin from the fire. Instead of Mama making her happy she goes after Dee and Maggie’s just sits back and allows it.

During the end of the story when Dee tried to take Maggie’s inheritance, which were some old quilts given to her by her grandmother. Maggie once again was willing to allow her to do so, the passage stated "She can have them, Mama," she said, like nobody used to never winning anything, or having anything reserved for her. "I can 'member Grandma Dee without the quilts." (Walker 281). The tone in her voice sounds like someone who is use to situations like this, loosing without putting up a fight, she has made her repression and low self-esteem her new normal. She avoids people before they can point it out.

Maggie is always trying to avoid people in the story, she is always hiding, trying to avoid eye contact and any sort of interaction with anyone who doesn't, in a way, remind her of herself, Hence the reason her and Mama get along so well.

Maggie and Family: The first connection that can be made between Maggie's family and her core issues is found from her mother. I previously stated that Maggie does not interact well with people who don’t remind her of herself, however, her relationship between her and her mother, at certain times seem to flourish. First let's consider the setting, it's somewhere in the south in a rual community and it's either early or mid-1900's. Second let's take the first family member Mama; looking at her character we can tell that Mama experience slavery times or racial discrimination at a certain point because the text explains her reactions clearly when she was having her day dream about having a reunion with Dee on the Johnny Carson show. She could not believe it could happen because it's not like her to look white men in the eye. She stated "who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? It seems to me I have talked to them always with one foot raised in flight, with my head turned in whichever way is futheresst from them." (Walker, pg. 275).

This proves a lot, because this behavior is what Mama grew up with, even though Maggie has low self-esteem she also looks down on the ground when she walks just like Mama. Just because a person has low self-esteem does not mean they have disregard having eye contact, this could be something Maggie picked up from Mama by watching her. They practically do the same thing, maybe that’s why they get along so well. The second family member is Dee, while reading the book I noticed that Dee and Maggie are completely opposite to one another. Dee is pretty, confident and educated however Maggie has scars, low self-esteem, and stubbles upon words when she tries to read to Mama (Walker, pg. 276).

The text states "Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes; she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that "no" is a word the world never learned to say to her". (Walker, pg. 274). I can see that Dee's trait makes Maggie unsure of herself, she feels inferior to her sister, so much that she is nervous around her own sister until she leaves the home. Dee's talents and accomplishments creates uncertainty in Maggie’s mind, she is not certain if she is good enough because she hasn't accomplish anything close to what Dee has accomplished, education wise, she is insecure because she does not look as pretty and is not as confident.

In conclusion even though Maggie has low self-esteem and is insecure or has unstable sense of self, the burning of the fire may have been the foundation to low self-esteem however, Mama's old habits help build on to her low self-esteem and even made it seem normal. Then Dee's beauty, brains, and dominant personality helped build Maggie’s insecurities.

1.      The reason Maggie has low self-esteem is because she was burned by the fire which left ugly scars on her skin, but she has allowed those scars to become her identity. She has now become someone with insecurities and uncertainties about herself; she is so use to it that she doesn't even realize it when she is showing a sign of low self-esteem or insecurities until someone points it out. The scene that best portray this is in the text when Maggie asks her mother how she looks in her outfit but she does not display enough of herself for Mama to see, she hide but she still seeks someone's opinion on her looks. She has become so accustomed to hiding she even does it at a time when she is seeking for someone to look at her, the text states "how do I look Mama?' Maggie says, showing just enough of her thin body enveloped in pink skirt and red blouse for me to know she's there, almost hidden by the door. "Come out into the yard", I say." (Walker, pg.275).

2.      Another thing that builds on to Maggie's low self-esteem and or, insecurities is the fact that Dee Maggie’s sister has acquired much knowledge which has made her very popular amongst different people and given her loads of confidence. Maggie may be feeling as if she is not good enough because where she started off in life is where she still is, at home helping out with Mama, while Dee goes to school and travels. The text states "Sometimes Maggie reads to me. She stumbles along good naturedly but can't see well. She knows she is not bright. Like good looks and money, quickness passed her by." (Walker, pg. 276).

Later on in the story we get an even better understanding of Maggie's insecurities because later in the story we can how serious Maggie’s condition is. Even when she knows something she has no confidence in her to speak out boldly, the scene that best depicts this behavior is stated to say "uh huh", she said happily. "And I want the dasher, too."

"Uncle Buddy whittle that, too?" asked the barber.

Dee (Wangero) looked up at me.

"Aunt Dee's first husband whittled the dash," said Maggie so low you almost couldn't hear her." (Walker pg. 279). This part shows us even when Maggie knows she is right she lacks the confidence to speak up for people to hear.

3. Maggie's body image is also very important in understanding the kind of person portrayed in this text. The best scene where we can find this is during the middle of the story when Dee returns home. Even before Maggie saw her sister she was rushing to hind in the house before Dee stepped out the car. The story states "Maggie attempts to make a dash for the house, in her shuffling way, but I stay her with my hand. “Come back her," I say. And she stops and tries to dig a well in the sand with her toes." (Walker, pg. 227).

Maggie's avoidance can also be tied back to the core issues. She avoids people because she does not have pride in herself worth. This could primarily be because of herself image. During the beginning of the story Mama describes her daughter Maggie's in some very unattractive words, she states "Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That's how my Maggie walks. She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house down." (Walker, pg. 275).

Mama

Core Issue: Mama's core issue is insecure or unstable sense of self. This is evident especially when Mama expresses herself throughout the narration of the story, which is directed towards the reader and not the people who need to hear her the most, her family.

1.      Mama's description of herself

2.      The way she has allowed her past to hold her back from being the woman and mother she wishes to be.

3.      Mama's inability to change anything in her life, she does not progress she just stays the way she is in the same situation she is in.

Defense: Mama's main defense mechanism is Avoidance because she tends to avoid many things in her life, the things that she can clearly see are going wrong but she does not intercede, she avoids having conversation about them with the other characters. However, when she speaks like a narrator it's like the reader is getting a chance to read Mama's brain because she exposes everything she wishes she could do, or the things she regret not doing because she was too busy avoiding them. Two examples of when she did this in the story is first, when she meets Hakim a. Barber and she avoids asking her daughter Dee the questions an average mother would ask her child who has been away at school for years and comes home with a stranger. The text states "(They didn't tell me, and I didn't ask, whether Wangero (Dee) had really gone and married him.)" (Walker, pg. 279). Even though Dee is her daughter Mama seems to be unsure of herself when it comes to speaking up, she doesn't tell her own daughter how she feels so in the end she avoids the whole thing.

Another example of Mama using this defense mechanism is seen again with her daughter Dee however, it's at an earlier part of the story when Dee is young and the first house was burning down. Her focus on the flames lead Mama to infer that Dee was happy to see that house in flames however she held back her questions towards Dee. The passages states "...her face as she watched the last dingy gray board of the house fall in towards the red-hot brick chimney. Why don't you do a dance around the ashes? I'd wanted to ask her. She had hated the house that much." (Walker, pg. 276). Mama has an urge to understand her daughter, she wants to speak and have a better relationship with her however, and she gets insecure about her questions and just ends up avoiding them.

Mama and Family: When it comes to family impacting your life and building on to your core issues and defense mechanisms there is one main advocate who does that for Mama and that person is Dee. Maggie has low self-esteem so she doesn't really challenge Mama. Maggie and Mama are kind of the same because they don't speak up about how they feel because they are insecure, even though Maggie's condition is a bit more severe then Mama's. However, Dee is completely opposite to Mama, she is the one that gets Mama to think about the things she wishes she could do, she is the one that Mama wishes she could be more like. There is a scene in the story where Mama is describing herself and does a comparison between Dee and herself and it sounds as if she wishes to be more like Dee. The Passage states "Who can imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? It seems to me I have talked to them always with one foot raised in flight, with my head turned in whichever way is furthest from them. Dee, though. She would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature." (Walker, pg. 274). Mama likes the fact that Dee has confidence, something she wishes she could have obtained, however, when it comes to telling her daughter how she feels she feels unsure about herself and avoids the whole conversation.

1.      Mama's description of herself really gives the reader a first-hand account about the person Mama is. In the story Mama describes herself as the woman she wishes she could be then her insecurities kick in and she tells the readers who she is however her tone is very negative. She starts of by day dreaming herself and Dee on the Johnny Carson show embracing each other, and then she states "In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. ...I am the way my daughter wants me to be: a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake. My hair glistens in the hot bright lights. Johnny Carson has much to keep up with my quick and witty tongue." (Walker, pg. 275). This description is full of insecurities however, Mama keeps it covered by avoiding such thoughts especially when she states "But that is a mistake. I know even before I wake up." (Walker, pg. 275)

2.      Due to the fact that Mama grew up in a time where African Americans could not look whites in the eye she has been left with that impression and still looks down when she talks. Another thing is the old house that burnt down looks like the new houses they live in. Even after the years that Dee went away to school Mama's living conditions and life has not changed. She is still living the same way she did for years. The text states "I have deliberately turned my back on the house like the one that burned, except the roof is tin; they don't make shingle roofs any more...No doubt when Dee sees it she will want to tear it down" (Walker, pg.276). Mama seems to have a personality that does not want to progress, it wants to keep its old ways, so her feeling inferior to whites and staying in her poor condition just adds on to how insecure she is about herself, even to a point where change has become nonexistent in her life.

Dee

Core issue: Dee's core issue is, she is insecure or unstable of sense of self. The reason this is her core issue is because throughout the story we see Dee changing herself so she will not be like Mama and Maggie. She dresses well, is educated, and loves being outside of her comfort zone. However, near the end of the story Dee comes back from school and she is dressed differently, she is dressed in a way that embraces the African Culture, she goes as far as changing her name so she can be "closer to her roots" but in the end the reader is left asking themselves "who is Dee?" Is she the self-proclaimed intellectual who wants to be better than Mama and modernize with the rest of the world or is she just another so called "advocate" for African Americans and their heritage.

1.      How she is described by Mama in the beginning of the story

2.      How she is in the end

 

Defenses: Projection, Dee has a problem with self-identification, she does not know who is wants to be but she blames Mama for not knowing or understanding who she is and where she comes from. At the end of the text when Mama finally stands up for Maggie and gives her the inheritance that Dee was trying to take because she said that Maggie won’t understand the meaning of the beautiful handmade quilts, Dee gets upset. However instead of going after something else that will remind her of her heritage she gets in a car with her friend and puts on sunglasses that cover her face. This is kind of symbolic to her personality because it's saying I'm still hiding behind materialistic items which mean nothing. The text states "What don't I understand?" I wanted to know.

"Your heritage," she said. And then turned to Maggie, kissed her, and said "You ought to try to make something out of yourself, too, Maggie. It's really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you'd never know it." She put on some sunglasses that hid everything above the tip of her nose to her chin. (Walker, pg. 281).

Dee and family

In this story Dee may perceive to be a complex character however, if the reader really analyzes her they may come to discover that Dee may just be a person who was looking for acceptance. Dee is the only one in her family who in a sense if different. Different meaning she tries to stand out from Mama and Maggie not because she doesn't love them but she thinks they need to grasp the opportunities that the world is giving them. Even though they live in a poor rural area Dee in the text is mentioned to "...wanted nice things. A yellow dress to wear to her graduation from high school; black pumps to match a green suit she'd made from an old suit somebody gave me. She was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts." (Walker, pg. 276).

She didn't want to look or be poor she wanted something better for herself and believe it or not, for her family as well. Mama in the text assumed that Dee hated their old house and may have been happy to see it burnt down and because the new house resembled the old one. Mama assumed she will want to tear it down, the text states "No doubt when Dee sees it she will want to tear it down." (Walker, pg. 276). Mama and Maggie don't dress the way Dee does or act the way she does either, so Dee may think that Mama and Maggie has allowed poverty to drag them down but Dee on the other had was not going to allow that to happen to her, and she really wanted to change them as well. The text states "She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know." (Walker, pg. 276). I believe that Maggie and Mama's current situation influenced Dee to try harder to break free from that poverty stricken community.

1.      Dee is described to be a very beautiful young woman who wants to stand out, and is very ambitious to break free from her current poor living situation and make something out of her life. Even Mama in the beginning of the story is day dreaming of a time when she and Dee will be on television and she will be embracing her talented daughter while Dee is loving and thanking her for all the wonderful things Mama has done for her. The text states "Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a tv program of this sort...Then we are on the stage and Dee is embracing me with tears in her eyes." (Walker, pg. 275). Trying to live up to these qualities that Mama has seen and admires can sometimes bring pressure on the person. At times it can make the person insecure; however Dee portrays a strong sense of self, which is how she covers up her insecurities.

2.      At the end of the story when Dee returns back home with a new male friend she has changed completely in image and in mind. She use to want to break free from the so called things that held her back like her home, presentation of her family, and farm like life style that Mama and Maggie lived. However, when she comes back she is dressed differently with vibrant colors and is now trying to cherish everything that has to do with their home and Mama and Maggie’s life style because now she calls it her heritage. Also her male friend also encourages her on her search to find things in Mama and Maggie's home that symbolize the heritage Dee has recently realized she had. The text goes on to say "Oh, Mama!" she cried. Then turned to Hakim -a-barber. "I never knew how lovely these benches are. You can feel the rump prints, she said, running her hands underneath her and along the bench. Then she gave a sigh..." (Walker, pg. 279). In this scene the reader can tell that Dee need assurance before she can touch the benches but not from the people that own them, she needs it from her male friend Hakim -a-barber, she looks at him before she gets all dramatic with the benches.

 

Fist person Narrative on my own experiences with language

I was seven years old when I first came to the United states, I remember walking through the air port with my hand tightly gripping my mother hand. Seeing all these bright signs and letters, some of them I could read and other I could bearly see because of how bright the lights made the letters look. When I was in Ghana I was being promoted to the second grade however, when I came here the teacher thought it would be suitable for me if I were to repeat the 1st grade all over again and learn some proper english. I remember feeling isolated and ridiculed because I was different and most of all I could not speak  english as well as the other children. I was teased, bullied, and shamed.

 I began to hate myself because I hated being different, so I began to abandon some of my own culture and adopt the American culture. I never complained when they pronounced my name wrong, in fact I began to see myself differently, I wanted to be the perfect American girl. However, over the years I began to realize how important my own traditions and cultures were because while I was busy trying to be American, they were trying to be like me. Some people hated me because of their own ignorant beliefs however, the right people accepted me for all that I was. Reading the text "Talking in the New Land" by Edite Cunha  made me realize and understand that many people of all races experienced the same changes and endured the same challenges that I went through.

 Like the main character, my name has some biblical references to it, Keziah is one of jobs daughters, the bible verse was Job 42:14 and my mother never let me for get it. My traditional name comes from my mothers close relative, just like Maria adopted her godmothers name, I adopted a family members name as well. I also understand the frustrations that come with translation, even till this day. Every now and again my mother will call me from the other room to speak on the phone for her because she does not want people to hear her accent and take advantage of her. Just like Maria's dad, even though he was afraid of being tricked.

 That fear of someone taking advantage of you because you can not speak like they do is still relevant, my parents live it every day, however when they see me and my sister and how well we speak this native language of America it's like a new day has begun, so I try not to get so frustrated even when they yell at me for not saying what they want to hear.

About Me

My name is Keziah Tutu I am originally from Ghana west Africa, I'm 19 years old and one of my favorite things to do is write. Writing has become essential in my daily life because every day something occurs that blows my mind, however my mind can only hold so much information so writing has become my camera. Just like a photographer takes pictures to capture a memory my writing does the same for me. I can write about anything but my genre of choice is realistic fiction. Also the fact that I am of different Afican cultures I love to interperate it in my writing it makes it much more interesting. However I believe that writing, no matter how much I ador it, may not play such a great and dramatic role in my future, but I really hope I'm wrong.