SSRJ#2 - Straight

Since my career focus is in law enforcement, I rather enjoyed this piece. What stood out to me was the fact that Claire had to constantly justify why she was working in the youth authority. The point when this became clear that that is what she was doing was when she was talking to Tika. Tika kept asking Claire how she can stand working in the youth authority. Claires response isn’t that she can stand it because she wants to try to help kids, instead her response is “I work seven to three. Im home when the kids gets off the bus. I have bennies.” Which are all statements about how the job makes her life and the life of her kids better.

I would have to say that character was the main literary element used in the story. To me, almost every character had a meaning behind them. Claires nephew represents the gangster lifestyle, the lifestyle that she is trying to keep her son out of. Tika to me represents the idea that it’s the governments fault that young kids commit crime, this can be seen when Tika tells Claire, “They’re determined to put everyone of color behind a wall.” Her son would either be innocence or hope, since he has not shown any signs of wanting to enter the gangster lifestyle. Claire feels that Ray getting her sons head shaved threatens that because that look is part of that lifestyle, which is why she gets so upset by the whole thing. Claire represents the role of the protector. She takes a dangerous job working at the youth authority because it will benefit her family. Because of the job she is home when the kids get home from school, she can afford to get the piano her son wants, piano lessons, and she has benefits. She is essentially working in the prison in hopes that one day her son wont end up there.

SSRJ#1 - Godwin

This piece at first made me uncomfortable. What made me uncomfortable was the second sentence that said, “the sight of them made her so sad and sick she did not want to see them ever again.” When I read that I pictured my wife looking at me and someday our kids want wanting to never see us again.

I would have to say that the author was attempting to show the conflict that the main character had with herself. The woman obviously no longer wished for the role that she was in, but felt like she should. I say she felt like she should because to me it appeared she was having some sort of cognitive dissidence, she wanted to be something else but knew should want to take care of her family. Throughout the story she also struggled to find things that made her happy. She brushed her hair in the sun and tried to write poetry, but when the idea of being able to write whatever she wanted popped in her head she, “put down the pen on top of the pad”. This fear only further pushes her into isolation, not only from her family but also from society, this is shown by her sitting in her window and watching the passerby’s live. Only at the end did she give in and do the things she felt like she should have been doing all along.

I really only had one question for this story and that’s about the end. While I was reading I felt like maybe the woman was terminally ill, but when there was no mention of it other than the description at some points describes her as being frail, almost sick. At the end, it sounds like the father was checking the womans vitals and when he realized she was dead he put his head on her hair. This made me think that maybe she infact was terminally ill and that was making her sad, or did she become so depressed she ended her own life?

Introduction

Hi, my name is Joe, I am 25 years old and I live in Roseville. Currently I am a student and Heald college, I will be graduating with my Associates of Applied Science in April. The reason I am taking English 1B is because I need this class to satisfy the upper division requirements for Sac State and I was unable to get the class at my current college. I dont really have a favorite author as I am not much of a reader, I enjoy reading when I do do it, it is just something that has never appealed to me.