Explanation of The Galeano Project

Eduardo Galeano is a Uruguayan writer. He's a poet. He's an historian. He's a man who loves words. He writes history as a poet, as a writer who makes beautiful things from the words he loves. His history is a history of the world but it is not a history you might find in a history book. In his new book Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone, he re-writes/writes history with an eye toward beauty. For instance, here is his piece on the history of modern art.


Origin of modern art

West African sculptors have always sung while they worked. And they do not stop singing until their sculptures are finished. That way the music gets inside the carvings and keeps on singing. In 1910, Leo Frobenius found ancient sculptures on the Slave Coast that made his eyes bulge.

Their beauty was such that the German explorer believed they were Greek, brought from Athens, or perhaps from the lost Atlantis. His colleagues agreed: Africa, daughter of scorn, mother of slaves, could not have produced such marvels.

It did, though. Those music-filled effigies had been sculpted a few centuries previous in the belly button of the world, in Ife, the sacred place where the Yoruba gods gave birth to women and men. Africa turned out to be an unending wellspring of art worth celebrating. And worth stealing.

It seems Paul Gaugin, a rather absentminded fellow, put his name on a couple of sculptures from the Congo. The error was contagious. From then on Picasso, Modigliani, Klee, Giacometti, Ernst, Moore, and many other European artists made the same mistake, and did so with alarming frequency.

Pillaged by its colonial masters, Africa would never know how responsible it was for the most astonishing achievements in twentieth century European painting and sculpture.

Here is a video of Mr. Galeano.




I asked my students, who are now reading INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison, to name elements of the novel. Some of the "elements" they came up with: Whiskey, The Golden Day, Internal Racism, Shackles. Each of them had to choose one of these elements and then write his/her own Galeano-esque piece on that topic.

Here is what they came up with.

THE GALEANO PROJECT: INVISIBLE MAN

THE GALEANO PROJECT: INVISIBLE MAN


WHISKY (WARNING MAY CAUSE WIFE TO LEAVE)

As John takes a big gulp from the Jack Daniel’s bottle hidden under his kitchen sink, his crappy day slowly fades away. The electrical bill needs to be payed, his wife is about to leave him, and his dead end job is slowly making him go insane, but yet, with the bottle of whisky in his hands, life is good. As he takes another big gulp, he starts to dance to his own music. He feels as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. As he takes a few more sips, he starts to feel invincible, that no one can bring him down from his giddy state. He keeps chugging until the bottle his a drop left. It falls to the ground and breaks into a thousand pieces Suddenly, he drops to the rusty wooden floor in the middle of the kitchen and goes into a deep sleep. The next morning he wakes up covered in scrapes from the broken glass with the electrical bill on his stomach and a note from his wife saying that she left him and took the kids. Maybe he should stop drinking.

BY MELISSA CARP



Clouds When We Looked to the Sky

I was the evening’s entertainment; my skin color was really a show, I assume. I guess my tint made a unique impression compared to their sugarcane pigment, so they decided that I would be show-cased that night. Putting me in the ring, I was accompanied by my fellow brothers; a little rough housing with each other was not suggested but required; that was the entertainment for the clouds when we looked to the sky: entertainment for the white people. The show went on and as it did, my body turned from black to red, with a couple hints of black mixed with blue. Stepping out of the ring, we were rewarded for putting on such a show with gold coins. Reaching for a few like requested, a vibration of heat struck through me, just like the sound of the ringing of the ring: we really must have been liked for being such a good act of entertainment.

-Meg Gegler

SIGHT

I was blind. Sightless. Helpless. Devoid of hope. I was lost. The vengeful God had sent me defective eyes. What could I have done wrong? Infection had ravaged my eyes, taking away the sense that matters most in the world. Sight. I cannot live without the aid of the Seeing. I stumbled through life, grabbing unknown hands for support, leaning on bodies whose faces I would never see. It was torture, you know, having had the pleasure of sight and then have it torn away from you. Trapped inside my own head, I think I went a little crazy. But I started hearing voices. Voices that gave me hope, voices that told me to rise up and spread my pain and oppression. But also to give hope to those who have none. Because I had realized that the blindness is not the end, it was far from it. True sight can only be obtained by those who don’t have it. Only the blind can truly see.

-Amanda Saker


DRINK THE WORLD AWAY

You hold the clear bottle in your hand, looking into it in a deep thought. You have been working all day in that goddamn office with those goddamn people with all their goddamn problems. You had sat in your 6 by 6, lifeless cubicle, wondering, how did your life get oh so gray? You wanted more out of life. Paris. China. A wife and 3 kids. Maybe a dog. You sigh into the glass, your breath creating a thin fog on the surface. You put the bottle to your lips. The fiery liquid slides down your throat and you are immersed in whiskey. Is this the third time this week you have sat here and drank and drank until you could stand no more? Or the fourth? Maybe the fifth? You have lost track, and you don’t care. The heat spreads throughout your body almost instantaneously and creates a temporary escape from the numbness you always seem to feel. Here on the rickety back porch surrounded by whiskey and the smell of man, you don’t feel so alone anymore. Somehow, the drink can make it all okay, all so painless. You drink and drink until you start laughing, laughing at nothing at all. Soon that laughing turns to crying, crying turns to sobbing, sobbing at everything wrong in the world. And time passes, of course. 8:00 turns to 9:00, which turns to 10:00. Soon it is 4:00 in the morning and the drunken high is fading. You know the pain will come back full force quite soon. And, as usual, you will have to face it alone.

-Emily Levesque


MY “BLINDNESS”


People always judge me for what I am, blind. It is true that I cannot literally see the world with my big brown eyes, but my other senses have been able to replace my eyes. I have seen the world before. I was not born blind. When I was younger, I was able to see the cruel world with my eyes, able to see the colors and the emptiness. I was seeing the world, but I was not living in it. Now that I am blind, my experiences are different. People always hate being blind, but I love it. Being blind is not a disability for me, in fact, my blindness guides me through finding myself based on what I feel its right, rather then what the world presents to me.
Now that I am twenty years old and blind, I realize that the world has so much more to give to you and that it is better being blind and being able to feel rather than having vision and not being able to feel. I believe that blindness is more than just loosing your vision. Others classify me as blind, but blindness is not being able to accept or see the truth. Although others make excuses and protest about being blind, I, on the other hand, appreciate everyday that God has given me the opportunity to see through people and to see through myself. With my disability, others treat me indifferently, but those that are not blind, that are true to me, they love me for me.
- Ivanna Mejia, 11


SHACKLES

My future has been rigged, taken from me by a bunch of tricksters whose only job is to interfere with the series of ropes and pulleys that is my life. They took my future so quickly from me, in the time it takes an eye to open and close in between blinks. And my shackles see me the same way, rubbing against the raw skin on the inside of my wrists, ripping off my skin cell by cell. I wonder if my blood flowed freely, like cargo escaped from a Ship’s gyves, that they might see that I am not the skin I’m in. That I have red and pink and even white to contrast the black I feel in my stomach and the black they reflect in their eyes. All I can do is hug this wall that holds me so close, cradle the shackles that cradle me, and wait for the day that they do see my blood, and I see no more.

--Brielle Butler


BOY

As I entered the social club I herd a speech was going to get made by a black man. I don’t offend go to this social club but tonight I was alone and had nothing to do. Many of my friends from middle school go almost every weekend but I am no longer in contact with them and barely talk to them when I see them there. Most nights it is just men talking about their work and how their day went but tonight there was going to be a right between a few black men. I started to see the black men nervously waiting in a back of the social club. Some were crying and some stood there quietly ready to kill. All the white men gathered around the area the black men were going to fight. I started hearing one word a lot, “Boy” is what the white men were yelling. All the white men hitting the ground with their foot, Bang Bang Bang. Cheering for the black men but in a different way then you would usually see at a football game or at a soccer game. I looked around and realized the men were acting like the Romans did watching a Gladiator fight. The black men started to fight each other knowing the only way to get out was to be the last one standing. Again and again the white men were yelling “Go get them Boy”, “Come on Boy”. But not only to one black man but they were referring to all the black men as “Boys”. It was like they were not really humans. Did not matter if they looked different or acted different they were still classified as “Boy”. As the Boys fought and the racist names were being called out I saw almost no reaction from the black men of what they were being called. When the fight ended the white men started throwing coins into the ring and the Black men threw their bodies on the ground. These men were brutally beat up, bleeding everywhere, Limping all around the ring but when they herd the coins hit the ground, Tic, Tic, Tic, Tack. All their pains went away. Again I heard the white men say “Come on Boy grab those coins” laughing as they were being shocked from the electricity in the rug. I left the Social club at that moment still hearing the word “BOY” until I left the social club. As I walked in the street I heard another white man calling a black man “Boy” but the black man just kept walking minding his own business.

--Valerian Planche


Racism


For many years racism was endured by my people
I am a black man who even till this day experiences racism
Racism started to discriminate towards those who are different
Unlike the all powerful whites
I say thankyou christopher columbus for finding america and colonizing
but your a douche for taking over land that was already preoccupied
But racism started earlier than we can even comprehend
No not men or humans but among all life
Do you think all dinosaurs got along and everything was peachy
Thats like saying if i walked into an all white country club in the 1950s and saying i wouldnt stand out
Its the nature of life for us to be racist and to discriminate
Do you think that with dinosaurs the herbivores like the carnivores, no because the carnivores are a threat and thats how life works
If your a threat to something they arent going to like you and they will most likely try to get rid of you.
Racism a never ending cycle
Because we can never change our true animalistic instincs and nature
Racism will never end
And WE MUST LIVE WITH THAT

--Anthony Richardson


LOUIS ARMSTRONG

As I was walking on this dark night of Friday, I heard a sound that came from a night club. It was not just any ordinary sound either, it was the sound of a trumpet and it sounded like Heaven on Earth.
So I stepped in to the club and I was shocked. A black man playing the instrument that lifted up the sound of positiveness. His name was Louis Armstrong.
Everybody loved listening to this man at a night club. I was so close to this man that I could feel the saliva when he hits a high note on the trumpet. Everybody would applause for him when he hits the note and I acted like I was his number one fan.
Then the last note made the whole room go havoc because that specific note was the best note he has ever played that whole night. After, he left the place and the night was over. That was Louis Armstrong.

Sean Daly


THE TWO BOYS OF TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY

A Black University in Tuskegee, Alabama founded on July 4, 1881, started with a class of thirty adults taught by Booker T. Washington. A 19 year old boy attended in 1933 to study music and left to New York in 1936. Later another boy would follow in his footsteps, he would attend full of excitement and hope on a scholarship that he would endure excruciating pain for; he thought it was worth it. A bright black boy given the task to drive around a old white man, Mr. Norton, who was a great supporter of the school. An important yet simple task would end his time at the school of his dreams. One wrong street, one crazy cabin, one man who raped his daughter, one long search for whiskey led to one boy who lost his chance at his dream of education. A black man with power similar to a white man, punished him for his unintentional mistake, he sent him to New York.
A tale within a tale, a man’s years at Tuskegee University would lead to another boys written tale at Tuskegee University. They’re path continued as they both went on to New York. A student that attended Tuskegee University, would later write a book about a boy who he would send to the same school.

-Ani Keshishian


Power

It was September 13, 2009 Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The VMA’s honor the best music video’s from the previous years. Russel Brand hosted this event for the second year in a row and nine million people were viewing this award show. Artist like Green Day, Beyonce, Lady GaGa, and Jay-Z, lit up the stage with live performances. Michael Jackson died a few months earlier and the VMA’s honored him with a speech and a live performance by his sister Janet Jackson. It was overall a great and very exciting night.

One award that was presented that night was, best female video. The candidates were Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Pink, Katty Perry, Kelly Clarkson, and Taylor Swift. Beyonce was the favorite to win most awards with her smash hit song and video, “Single Ladies”. Taylor Lautner announced the award and Ms. Swift was victorious. She shocked the music world. She walked on stage to receive her award but was rudely interrupted by Kanye West. Kanye West took the microphone from her and announced to the crowd beyonce should have won. Taylor Swift was embarrassed and very upset.

Kanye West has been known to be cocky. At that point he had have four big selling albums and large engrossing tours. He was a household name and one of the most popular artist and rappers of our time. All of this has got to his head. He has many quotes that prove his cockiness; he once referred to himself of the artist of our generation. He says he is not cocky but confident. He believes he has much power due to the fact that he is one of the most popular artists of the 2000’s. He believed he was so powerful that he can just say what ever he wants. In September 2009, he felt the power and nerve to get on stage and rip the microphone away for Ms. Swift. He was highly criticized for the follow months. He apologized many times to the media and made many appearances on late night shows. All three of his last singles have been about the incident. One is singles is called “Monster”; he is referring to how he is a monster for what he did. Another single is called “Power” and he quotes in that song, “no one man should have all that power”. His last song is called “Run Away”, which was performed live at the 2010 VMA’s. The song was an apology to Taylor for what he did.

MATTHEW MCCLURE

THEMES

Themes for Invisible Man

One important theme is becoming invisible. Being invisible isnt the normal invisibility, where you cant physically see something. This is an invisibility where you obliterate yourself and you cannot see yourself. When you conversing with a human being it is our nature to converse with the intention of talking about themselves. It needs to reach the point where your intentions are genuine and they cant see you.
Another theme of Invisible Man is to remember where you came from and dont forget your roots, and forgeting yourself. In the book he is trying to become someone he is not and want to become like the white college guy whos name i forget. In his quest he eventually realizes who he is and becomes invisible.

Themes of Invisible Man

Theme 1: Betrayal of ones self
The protagonist is constantly trying to be someone that he’s not. He wants to be white and is persistently distancing himself from his own people. He is ashamed of what his people do and act like. The protaganist in this book is also constantly struggling with himself. In his betrayal of himself, he also starts to find himself. He is trying to be a different person but loses what he identified himself as and gains a slight insight into what hes aiming to be.
Theme 2: Invisibility
The main character believes himself to be invisible. This all stems from his grandfather saying that one needs to keep their head down in order to succeed with white people. The theme of invisibility also says that in general, whites don’t see blacks as individuals. They see them as just another black and therefore the main character can be invisible and melt into the crowd.

Invisible Man Themes

One major theme of Invisible Man is dishonor. Dishonor is a major theme in the book because during the course of the book, the main character is often dishonoring himself and his community. In the beginning of the book, he dishonors himself by being the white men’s source of entertainment. He is forced to fight someone until he is in immense amounts of pain, and then after that he is picking up gold off the floor like a mad man while being continuously shocked. The white men are basically rolling on the floor of laughter at his point. During this whole part, he is definitely dishonoring himself. He also dishonors his people. After Mr. Norton dies, he is ashamed to be black. He wanted to be like Mr. Norton, and the only way he feels that he can accomplish that is by leaving his people. He doesn’t want to stay in his all black college anymore, but he knows that if he leaves, he will not be getting the education that his father wanted and that he wanted too.
Another major theme of Invisible Man is racism and stereotypes. Racism is a ongoing issue throughout the entire book. The protagonist has to deal with it on a day to day basis. The white men that gave him his scholarship were completely racist. When he was fighting, the white men were constantly yelling racial slurs. They continue yelling those words when the black kids are scrambling on the ground trying to pick up gold. Mr. Norton, the head of the school, is definitely very stereotypical. When he is explaining to the invisible man why he founded the school, it seemed like he was trying to say that he wanted to help black people because all of them are struggling and none of them have an education.

Two Invisible Man Themes

Ani Keshishian
9/28/10
1) Invisibility is an obvious major theme in the book because the protagonist discusses his experiences that all end up leading to his realization and life as an invisible man. The book starts off with his experience and life when he is aware that he is invisible. The story constantly leads back to how his transformation to becoming invisible and is what the book is all about.

2) Betrayal is a key theme in the book because on the protagonist’s grandfather’s deathbed, the grandfather makes a speech to his son discussing how he had betrayed his race by obeying the white people and being submissive. The protagonist is constantly betraying his race because he wants to be white in a sense especially when he is at the church and Barbee is making his moving speech and while everyone is moved, he wants to get as far away from the black people, his people, as much as possible and be more like the white people. He is constantly betraying his race by obeying the white people and not wanting to be with his people, but rather with the white people.

Invisible Man Themes

Meg Gegler
Lippman
9/28/10
Themes

Racism- For obvious reasons, the idea of black and white are two different concepts mentioned throughout the book; almost like two different worlds. At the beginning when the protagonist speaks at his high school, to chapter 5, African-Americans are not treated as people. (Page 102, quote [Damn what he wants…])

Acceptance- The protagonist struggles as a black man to accept himself in society and feels like most things that he does are betrayal or that anything he does is not right; therefore he fears being expelled from the school. He sees himself as invisible to everyone; therefore others are not willing to see him for who and what he is. Acceptance relates into the other main theme of invisibly; where the protagonist struggles to be seen by others and most importantly, himself.

2 themes of the invisible man

2 Major Themes of The Invisible Man

Ancestry: where you come from/who you come from Race even though he is black he sometimes wants to get away from his own people
Who you really are: the invisible man is always trying to really figure out who he is. he sometimes struggles with wanting to be somebody other than who he is

2 themes of the invisible man

2 Major Themes of The Invisible Man

Ancestry: where you come from/who you come from Race even though he is black he sometimes wants to get away from his own people
Who you really are: the invisible man is always trying to really figure out who he is. he sometimes struggles with wanting to be somebody other than who he is

Themes of Invisible Man

One of the major themes in invisible man is betrayal. In the book, the main character is feeling torn between black and white. He wants to be educated, which the white people can offer him, but feels like a traitor to his people when he acts submissive, or ‘invisible’, towards the white people. However, it’s not just the notion of betrayal. It is also of the main character finding where he belongs, where he wants to be. He has his goals and he knows what he wants to be. He wants to be educated and respected in his community. But in trying to achieve his goals, he feels the need to be reserved and submissive around the white people. He feels that by acting this way, he is not only betraying his people and going against his grandfathers wishes, but he is also becoming invisible.

Major Themes in Invisible Man

Identity:

A major theme in this novel is clearly identity. The protagonist struggles with this concept of finding himself throughout the story, but being a black man is kind of a hindrance to his own journey of finding himself. In Invisible Man, he realizes that he is truly invisible and that he is perceived as invisible by others because he is a black man living in a white man's world and because of the circumstances that were in place for black people at the time period. He is not necessarily held back by society, but he decides to place himself in that position were he is invisible to himself and to his black society, rather than being strong and defensive towards his culture, which is the theme of invisibility and whether or not the protagonist is truly invisible, or he decides to be. He is told by others who he should be or what he should do and is confused when it comes to making a decision on his own to self-define himself.

Betrayal:

Another major theme in Invisible Man which goes with the theme of identity and invisibility is betrayal. There is this concept of betrayal to his society and betrayal to himself. Similar to identity, since he is not able to find himself and struggles with it, he ends up betraying himself by pushing away from his people throughout the novel. He also betrays his people by wanting to be like the white people and choosing Mr. Norton over his own kind. There is a lot of betrayal occurring in this novel.

Themes of The Invisible Man

Racism/ identity- The narrator is having a tough time living in a racist society. The narrator is having a hard time finding himself and being black is making it harder for him. He is living in a society that is telling him what he can and can’t do. He understands that society is holding him back but yet he still can’t define himself. He does not know who he exactly is. His life goal is to figure out how to define himself. He wants the racism to end and to be equal. He does not like being unequal.

Guilt

The narrator feels guilty for a number of reasons. I think he feels guilt for the situation he put Norton through in the previous chapter and I think he also feels guilty because Barbee is blind. I think he might also feel guilty because of his lack of belief. "This time it was music sincerely felt, not rendered for the guests, but for themselves; a song of hope and exaltation. I wanted to rush from the building, but didn't dare." He is surrounded by Barbee's faith and hope, but he himself feels neither even though he feels as if he should.

Guilt in Invisible Man

The Invisible Man feels guilty because he used to dislike Dr. Bledsoe. Now however, he realizes that Barbee is right and that Dr. Bledsoe, being the founder of the college was somewhat similar to Moses. Not in such a black and white way, but he has founded and kept the college going. The Invisible Man then accepts this guilt because I assume he has realized that he has misjudged somebody. Judging people in the wrong way will be a big part of the Invisible Man's life.

He feels his guilt because he feels like he almost undermined a huge scheme. A plan to let the people be free and to deceive the white man. By showing the white man the truth about the black community he has almost ruined everything they have worked for. The truth that many blacks hate white people. That they dont truly believe they are helping them. That they dotn really regard them as equals.

Invisible Man Chapter 5

Why does our protagonist feel his guilt and accepts it? I believe it is because that, although the protagonist had had his share of trials and tribulations, he has not suffered nearly as much as the Founder, and is therefore not entitled to an education. But there is also a moment where he cannot bare to look into the eyes of Mr. Norton, probably because of what he represents, which is the white force he is serving and being submissive to. This would mean he is doing the exact opposite of following the advice his grandfather gave him, and although he is creating an identity for himself, one that will make him an esteemed member of society someday, he is doing it under the white man's thumb.

Invisible Man Chapter 5

He feels guilty because of his mother and Grandfather's beliefs that he learnt and now is going against them by working for Mr. Bledsoe. What Barbee said struck a cord in him and he feels guilty for almost turning his back on his grandfather and his own pride. He felt guilty for forgetting who he was raised to be by his family.

Invisible Man Chap. 5

The protagonist feels guilty for many reasons but mainly because of the power of the words Barbee used. His speech was talking about how much the founder of the college went through to be in the position he is currently in. The use of the word treason was for the betrayal because the protagonist had challenged the idea of the dream that went along with the education. He feels guilty because he diminished this larger idea of success and fighting the power of the white man with education and success. He put down the very concept that someone else worked so hard to create that should benefit him.

Invisible man Chp 5-Ikey

The Preacher speaks about the founder of the college and the life and hardship that the founder had to endure. Our protagonist feels a certain amount of acceptance and guilt. The protagonist feels the acceptance because he is thankful that founder went through such a journey to achieve such greatness. He also feels guilt because he wonders why he is not doing more with his life. He asks why he has not broken shackles and taken freedom by the horns.

Invisible man chapter 5

The protagonist feels guilt for his lack of hardship in attempting to gain the prestigious level he strives for. During the sermon, Barbie talked about how the founder had gone through hell to become such a powerful and successful man. The protagonist has the same goal as the founder but, has not gone through as much hardship and did not think he had too. In learning the founders story he realizes that he has been cheating his dream and accepts his guilt. He guilt comes from secretly knowing he has been trying to achieve greatness doing nothing and, accepting it because he knows its true.

Invisible Man Chapter 5

The narrator feels guilt at the end of chapter five and after hearing Barbee speak because he feels that by looking bad to Mr.Norton he's betraying what the school stands for since Mr.Norton is so closely connected to the founder of the school.

Invisible Man Chapter 5

The narrator feels guilt about what happened that day with Mr Nortan. Barbee had made him see that by endangering his relationship with Mr Nortan, he was endangering his relationship with the entire school. His dream is to get through college and be a successful black man in a white world. Anything he does that is bad for the school, is betraying that dream. Therefore it is an act of treason against his own dreams.

Invisible Man Chapter 5

The Narrator feels guilt in disrupting the dream because he saw how hard the founder had worked to create this university. The founder had been enslaved and gone through hardship. Through education the founder freed himself from bondage and was able to free others through knowledge. The Narrators grandfather had the same idea to be totally free, and the Narrator feels as if he broke after listening to the sermon.

Hip-Hop Speaks to Children

Today, Mr. Neal began the class discussion of Invisible Man with a question/statement:
- "I'm interested in your reaction about the book" - Mr. Neal (1:40 PM)

There were many responses throughout the class, and varying opinions.
- "Confusing..."
- "I'm really getting into the book!" - Bruna Gomes
- "...great adjectives."
The class then moved onto talk about Invisible Man beginning with the statue on the school campus:

Statue: Lifting the Veil of Ignorance
The class had different ideas of what the statue represented: Standing man has open hand, offering help, opening the other man's eyes. This discussion led to the point that Ellison is being purposefully ambiguous in his description of the statue. We can't quite tell if the standing figure is helping or hurting the kneeling figure...this image highlights the conflicting themes in the chapter.The statue is the standing man is the founder of Tuskegee, Booker T. Washington.
- "In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the five fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress." - Booker T. Washington

The statue is integrated in Invisible Man as shown on Page 36:
"Then in my mind's eye I see the bronze statue of college Founder, the cold Father symbol, his hands outstretched... I am standing puzzled, unable to decide whether the veil is really being lifted, or lowered more firmly..."

Talk about the White Community immersed with the Black Community
- Jordan Tucker talks about subtle racism sometimes present in situations similar to those at University, where white men try to help in a poor area. At times people feel, "It's like a Shepherd leading sheep" (2:06 PM)
- "Norton's character is finding justification in all those atrocities people like the Truebloods commit." - David Jaquet (2:09 PM)

Hip-Hop Speaks to Children
- We listened to "From the Creation" by Val Gray Ward to hear the cadence of a sermon in a Southern Baptist church of the time. We pointed out that Ellison is satirically describing such a sermon on p. 113, highlighting a "new slavery" created by institutes such as Tuskegee (at least in his opinion).

Jordan Tucker shall be the next scribe

"This is Not Just a Book it's literature, it's art"

Today in class we discussed the book Invisible Man and the many events within the book. We came to realize that “ the book is hard to follow and it is very challenging trying to decipher all the events and their symbols”. We discussed the many cultural reference in the book which are done in a dream like state. We spoke in great depth about Mr.Norton visiting Jim Trueblood’s house and the connotations behind the visit, along with the notion of this “animal experiment on blacks”. We see that Mr.Norton is this affluent white man who is in support of social justice and equality for all. It is implied that Jim Trueblood is only kept around because he is the only man in town who has done something like this to his daughter. Having discovered this, Mr.Norton also wants to question Mr.Trueblood and see what really happened. Because of all this questioning we see possibly there is this "experiment" going on with all the African Americans.

Continuing on from the cultural reference we analyzed the message and purpose behind the statue that is at Tuskegee University. While discussing the significance and purpose behind the statue the question we grappled with the most was “ What is the veil of ignorance?”.

While getting past the notion of the veil of ignorance, along with cultural references to African Americans we spoke much about the influence that the South Baptist Church has on this book. We highlighted page 113 in the book as major example of the Southern Baptist Church influence. While in class Mr.Neal showed us what a Baptist sermon might sound like through Nikki Giovanni’s interpretation of “The Creation”.

And the next scribe is..... Imo. :)

Scribe post David Jacquet Neal Descriptive writing

Descriptive writing

Question: Come to Jesus moment- Did you actually read the three readings in the Norton reader, not read them/ understand them, or was  it time management?
Most of answers were that it was just really dense writing and was hard to stay focused on it.

Plays The moth pod cast on NPR












What elements of story telling is she using in the podcast?

1. Humour
2. Song
3. Change in tone
4. Conflict
5. Dips into her darker past
6. Helps us imagine the story/ imagery 
7. Similes
8. Uses an accent 
9. Unique modifiers
1. especially when describing the field

Whats the story about?
The story was a strong story that many people in the class had comments upon.  These are those answers that came up.

1. Faith
2. the reaction to the loss of the father
3. a bad thing can turn good
4. Coincidences
5. Karma and/or luck

Graduation
There were many comments stated about this writing.  The main character had lots of anger during this and on pg 18 were she goes on a rant about all races and how they all should be destroyed. "As a specious we were an abomination. All of us."  But also there were parts were it was extremely happy and meaning full such as when they sing the anthem.











The next post will be by ASA

The Grass is Green

You are my lover because you are the one who is like me. You are the one who gets who I am; my hidden messages spark your interest while giving you insight. Because year from now you will remember this moment, me, and the words we exchanged. You are me lover because you will look back on this day, with slight mystery, but greater understanding. Because you that kind that pushes past your first feelings to explore those hidden deep inside of you. Because you are the kind that searchers for answers not just insight.

The Grass is Green

You are my lover because you are no one. You are invisible. You aren't you. There is no you, you see, for you to be- so you are whoever I want you to be. And the only person I want is my boyfriend in the room over from yours; you are nobody, so to me, you are him. Or at least, you're an extension of him. I don't mean any of this in the way you would think. I do not mean that I think you, physically, are him... I just mean that until he can hear my message, you will have to be him. The grass is green, and it seems like you could use someone to love you, to help you realize that you are not just extensions of other people, but a person yourself. Visible, and worth seeing.

The Grass is Green

You are my lover because right now that's effectively the role you are playing. By taking my message to Jack, you are letting me speak through you. I am telling you that the grass is green, and therefore you are my lover. I have trusted you with a secret of mine, a secret I only share with my lovers. Right now, whether you love me or not, you are my lover.

The Grass Is Green

Your are my lover because, even though I may not know I feel like you and I have a bond that cannot be described through words. I may not know your story but I know how the second act should be written. You are my lover because the pain you may endure no will never be equal to the pain you may cause me if you left. Your are my lover because even though I maybe under the spell of another you give me the power to expel the walls that hold me away from you. You are my lover because even if you walked away right now I would still feel loved because I was able to see it in your eyes.

The Grass is Green

You are my lover because I do not know you, and I do not see you, but I feel you. I look at my boyfriend Jack, and all I saw is you. My lover, I have heard what you are up against. I have ease dropped into the conversation of the whites, and when I say that the grass is green. He will know what I mean. The grass is green, it is greener on the other side. You my lover, for whom I do not even know the name is the other side. Be touched, be shocked, yet I know you will never hear this again. For I know your future, I know your invisibility. I must leave now, never show my face again, however you are my lover and please know that the grass is green.
Adieu my friend.

The Grass Is Green

You are my lover because when I saw you and you talked to me, I felt as though I knew you. I tried to talk to you as though I knew you. I am alone in this world. No husband to go home to, no pets or children to claim as my own. Family that lives out of the state takes a burden on me. Someday I wish to be taken over by two or three children; watching them grow, watching them play, and watching them struggle so I can guide them through troubled times so that when I am old and I am burdened with crippling age, they will do for me as I did for them. But I dream. At this moment, anyone will suffice, even you. I can see your shadowed face which is covered by something. Something that I am yet to understand. But for now, the fact that I feel comfortable exchanging the briefest of words with you, is just enough for me.

The Grass Is Green

You are my lover because...

You just did me pretty kind favor. I have never been shown a lot of kindness, so I appreciate whatever comes my way with the utmost sincerity. I could probably return the favor with sex, if you like. Just tap on my door at 3 am, tell me the grass is green, and I'll gladly be taken by the hand to your room. Or the courtyard. Wherever it is the kids are doing it these days. And in my fantasy, you'll push me down and not care what I get out of it. Then, in the days after, I'll see you around, only us knowing about our little tryst. Intercourse will have become something we have monopolized, only us having claim over it. At least, that's how I view it-- it becoming our own sacred act.

On the other hand, I call almost every handsome man I see lover. So often I've forgotten my true intentions. Is it out of kindness of habit? Either way, just don't read too much into it. Last thing I want is to be left alone again, and you can't be left alone without being left.

The Grass is Green

You are my lover because you are a good person helping me to talk to my boyfriend. Im calling you lover because you are helping me out. You are my lover because in this moment we are close, a confidant with information that no one else is privy too. You are my love because we have connected from this moment.

The Grass is Green

You are my lover because you gave me the feeling usually absent from my life, of control. You blindly accepted what the task I'd given you and asked few questions. You've done what I could not have done alone and therefore you are my lover. In agreeing to do this one small thing you've become the best friend I never had, the childhood pet that's always by my side no matter what and most importantly my lover.

The Grass is Green

you are my lover because if it was not for you I would have no love. you are my messenger, the outside connection to my boyfriend. The lover in my life, the invisible man, who unknown to all has a deeper connection to me than anyone else. I have let you in on my secret, my code, and in turn we now share information secret to all except you, my boyfriend, and I. My boyfriend does not know about you nor anyone else. It is a bond only you and I share, a secret romantic connection. you are my lover.

English Class 9-20-10

The overall theme of today's class was figuring out what tools we can use to create an outstanding personal narrative. We listened to a story from the NPR segment "The Moth" called "All-Star Game" by Michela Murphy. Although the story was spoken, and not written, there were plenty of techniques that taken from it.

We found that unusual modifiers, and unique verb choice captivate the reader, or in this case, the listener. She used specific details to create an even more accurate image of what is going on. Most imoprtantly To me, I felt as if I was watching TV, and listening to a person talking. She used enough of these techniques to have a strong effect on the reader, but not enough to cause an "overkill" feeling. Also, the way that Murphy incorperated humor into the story made it so much more enjoyable to listen to. She used clever lines to keep the reader entertained and rivited.

So what we can take away from this experience is that, using descriptive language techniques and adding humor is crucial!

and the next scribe is... ALEXYS!

http://castroller.com/podcasts/TheMothPodcast/1708966-Michaela%20Murphy%20All-Star%20Game

^^here is the link to the podcast

English class 9/17/10 Invisible Man and "The Knife" descriptive language

Website

On Friday in class we started by discussing descriptive language and how it can be used to give more complete details about what is happening in the writing. The list of examples of descriptive writing techniques is as follows:

• Verb choice is unique (buttering)

• Personification

• Unique modifiers (adj./adv.)

• Figurative Language

• Simile/metaphor

• Oxymoron

• Symbol

• Personification

• Allusion=indirect reference to a famous story/image

• Concrete specific detail

Mr. Neal also mentioned that descriptive writing is like pepper, it is good but only in the right amount too little and you don't notice it or too much and it's all you can notice.

And the next scribe will be...

...

Ava

English class 9/17/10 Invisible Man and "knife" descriptive language

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Today in class we discussed the first chapter of Invisible Man and "The Knife". In Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Jordan and Asa said society caused his behavior, because in this period of time whites have a higher status than blacks. He is ashamed of his grandparents being slaves and feels guilty.

Mr. Neal's wall of English terms:

Verb Choice is unique (buttering)

Personification: when something that is not animate is given human characteristics

Unique modifiers (adj./adv.)

Figurative language - simile/metaphor

- oxymoron

- symbol

- Personification

Allusion = Indirect reference to a famous story/image

Concrete (specific details)

Class discussion

"knife"

Contains descriptive language about limbs and different body parts being knifed apart.

Blood chases the knife (personification)

Concrete evidence is seen in the beginning of the story on pg. 40

Invisible Man

Symbol: American flag tattoo on girl who looks like kewpie doll represents the corruption of the American Dream

The next scribe post is from David not kobe Jacquet

Invisible Man Discussion

Today in class we discussed persona in relation to the prologue of Invisible Man. Ralph Ellison introduces a peculiar character to us in the prologue, unlike any other character any of us had read about before. He's an oddball, full of anger, and so unusual it's very hard to relate to him. We found through discussion that Ellison intentionally created this distance between the reader and the character to give him creative flexibility as to what he makes the character do. This way, there is no predictability in the story. Imogene also suggested that Ellison could be using this character as a way to show the effect of an abuse on a human being. Throughout the prologue, Ellison enforces the idea of invisibility in relation to the estranged character. In doing so he's setting up and allegory or symbol that will become a recurring theme throughout the rest of the book.

The next Scribe is...... (BIG BUILD-UP)

GET READY!

The infamous TAUS!

Invisible Man Discussion 9/16/10

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/inman.jpg

Today we discussed the book Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.  We discussed the Prologue and our reactions to it. Bruna:  So obsessed with himself that he doesn't see himself. Many found the man to be a weird person.  Jake said that he was mentally unstable.  Character whines and complains that he is invisible.

Observations of Persona:
The character wants up to feel bad for him that he is invisible.  The book relates to Borges and I.  He is also impulsive.

Weird moments of the Prologue:
Almost kills a man when he bumps into him
Smokes some marijuana and finds story in music:  He talks to a slave woman who fell in love with her master and had three sons with her.  Sons threaten to beat him.

Amazing quote of the day:

"In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the five fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress." Booker T. Washington

Ideas for persona:
Persona is understood person --> awkward.  Oppressed to the point that he feels invisible.

WOW MOMENT NUMBER TWO:

Jake Carrol 11:39 a.m: His invisibility is not a result of his craziness, his craziness is a result of his invisibility.

I tell you, this kid is on a roll!

And the next scribe is...


wait for it...


Karan Bakshi.

Shooting an Elephant and Invisible Man Prologue

In class we discussed Shooting an Elephant and the prologue of Invisible Man. We talked about the transformative moment, themes, and whether George Orwell was trying to be implicit or explicit. On p. 515   there is a transformative moment when he realizes he is going to shoot the elephant when he wasn't going to be before, he is forcing himself to do it. "And it was at this moment, as I stood there with a rifle in my hands, that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man’s in the East.” (515) He knew he couldn't let the elephant kill him so he felt his only alternative was to kill the elephant. Then on p. 517 there is a transformative moment in tone and mood when he starts to regret is decision.

WOW Moment of class--Jake Carroll, 10:29am 9/15/10--When discussing the theme of "Shooting an Elephant":

When you oppress others you are oppressing yourself.

Then we talked about the prologue of Invisible Man. The symbol of invisible in the text is about race, class and society. Groups of people aren’t recognized because they do not have the ability and they have no voice. We also talked about the persona of the invisible man and how crazy he is. He lives in the ground and puts lights all over the ceiling and ground. But he does not think he is crazy and has an altered perspective.


AND THE NEXT SCRIBE IS... NOAH!!

Symbolism and Elephants

Today’s class was mainly about symbols and persona. The class decided that the definition of persona was “The way the author wishes to be viewed for the purposes of the story”. In Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell’s persona was purposely negative. He is racist, low in power, and would do anything for attention. This is partly because he wants the reader to believe him. It takes a while for anyone to tell you about their flaws. The elephant that he shoots is a symbol. It could be of many things, power, fears, himself. The symbol that seems most likely is Imperialism. Saying that Imperialism is as ludicrous as shooting an elephant. The persona was an imperialist who was helping control a country, and it is a reoccurring theme that Imperialism was a flawed system.

And the next Scribe is Slaw.

Why Do I Shoot Elephants?

In class, we discussed our reading for homework: "Why I Shot an Elephant" by George Orwell. We talked about why exactly our feeling were from the text.

The (true) story, in a nut shell, describes how a man working for the British police in Burma is "forced"/pressured into killing an elephant that was loose in the village.

I quickly related it to last years reading of "The Lottery" and the idea behind mob mentality. There is this idea of peer pressure because the minute the towns people see him with a gun, they want to see if he will commit to murdering the defenseless animal. He is influenced by the group surrounding him and acts accordingly.

There are also points in which the author seems detached from the piece. He is looking from an above perspective. The author also seems to have a good moral conscious and could be using this text as a way to justify his actions.

A very interesting point was made in the class: In the beginning, the elephant was viewed as the "evil" or "bad" thing while the villagers were the "innocent" ones. By the end of the story, the roles are reversed since the elephant has calmed down while the villagers are now riled up, hoping to see the elephant shot. This shows a sense of irony in the end.

The most important thing we discussed in class was what persona the author was trying to portray. The author makes this "I" a very bigoted, weak character that has a parochial view on life that is done for a specific reason.The author himself is a very political writer: He wrote both "Animal Farm" and "1984". Why did he make such a dislike-able character? Why did he chose to show such a bad side of himself? We were not able to go into much dept in class--In fact, class was over. But it will be continued in tomorrows class.

Nobody KNows The Trouble I've Seen

THE BLACKNESS OF MY BLACKNESS

The sickled shape cells of my body accumulate each day,

The cells behind my caramel colored skin,

The cells behind my dark brown eyes,

The cells that provide an option to think,

The cells that carry my head high

The cells that help me stand tall,

They all accumulate one after the other,

Pile on top of each other.

The circumferential, full, bountiful, perfect cells of my body push to get through.

Perfect cells push to be seen

Push to help inhabit a normal routine of that epitome of serene

Yet they struggle as the sickles take over.

Sickness takes over.

The blackness of my blackness does not come from my blackness

Upon my skins surface.

But the redness within,

Redness of the sickled cells that shape my body’s red anger

And puts all my

Hopes

Dreams

Aspirations

In danger.

Blue Yodel No. 9

THE BLACKNESS OF MY BLACKNESS

I imagine my blackness to be the part of me that is the most terrible, that trait that no one wants to encounter but is always there. Most of all, it obscures people’s perceptions of me, except I cannot say for myself what it is. That is up to you. When you look at me, what is the thing about me that you most despise? Is it the darkness of my hair, the complexion of my skin, or the unpronouncibility of my name? Or is it something more than just skin deep that you resent me for, like the fact that you can never have me? Either way, it is something that is always there, and if you want me by your side it is something you have to learn to deal with—and something I have to learn to control. I still don’t know what “blackness” means…

Hello Dolly

THE BLACKNESS OF MY BLACKNESS

The blackness of my blackness, is the evil of my evil. The worst part of my worst characteristic. The deepest part of the most hateful section of my soul. The part of me that has no good intentions and is full of greed and anger. The part of me that I am working tirelessly to silence. It is the most evil part of the evil within me. The blackness of my blackness.

THE BLACKNESS OF MY BLACKNESS

THE BLACKNESS OF MY BLACKNESS

The blackness of my blackness is the parts of my body, mind, and spirit that I will never reach. It’s as if I’m trying to reach the bottom of my bottom. It’s so invisible, that it is clearly laid upon me. I find this blackness of blackness when I reach the unattainable. My blackness of blackness will be reveled when it is the most hidden. I will never be able to answer because there is not a question being asked. The blackness of my blackness contradicts everything I do not know.

When the Saints go Marching in

THE BLACKNESS OF MY BLACKNESS

There's always something behind my anger that let's me let go as fast as possible. It can take as little as a minute. But there's always another part of me that tells me to stay angry on the outside, to keep up my act until I'm certain to other side of the anger gets the picture. The blackness of my blackness is the blackness within my blackness that let's me go to a friends house the next second like nothing ever happened. It let's me turn what I was angry about into a joke when speaking to a different part of a person knowing that they will laugh but the anger is still there for me. Beneath the worst of my anger there's always something more that tells me that none of it will matter in a few days or that this will matter for the rest of my life. It's the rationality behind my rage and it's my Jiminy Cricket leading my down what seems to be the right path. It's what stays true to who I am no matter the mood or situation and is stuck there, I'd never think of trying to remove it.

blackness of my blackness

The darkest of my darkness. Feeling the loneliness of lonely. Knowing that nobody is there for you. I have felt the feeling of having no one there cause they have died or been takin by a needle or a pipe that knows no bound. The points where I feel no escape where I see the drugs that almost took my uncle’s life or the noose that took my cousin’s. Walking through the garage where you wish only bugs would go to die. You wish you could say what makes them turn from evil or you wish you had a cure to the disease. You wish you could tell someone there is light at the end of the tunnel and that happiness is not only for movies. Telling them this is not the way, having the tears run down your face because you wish you could say the right thing. Seeing the ones almost lost or seeing the ones lost makes you recede into the darkness. For me seeing those fortunate enough to live brings me a ray of sun but seeing the face of a loved one lost bring about the blackness of my blackness.

La Vie En Rose

THE BLACKNESS OF BLACKNESS

The blackness of blackness.

The essence of the self.

I’m not quite sure my self has an essence anymore.

Some people, they have music

It is something that they know will always be a part of them

Even when they aren’t here anymore

Some people have words, or paint or hammers and nails

I don’t have music or words or hammers and nails

My self is lacking an essence

I’m missing a blackness of my blackness

If I don’t have blackness, do I really exist?

Who am I, if I have no essence?

Am I simply an empty shell, waiting to find an essence to fill it?

Am I really anyone

Without blackness?

What a Wonderful World

THE BLACKNESS OF MY BLACKNESS

The blackness of my blackness

My inner most private thoughts

The harsh reality of the world and everyone in it

The things I long for

The things I hate

My clearest thoughts before the world fades away

Who I am

What I am

What I want to be

What I should be

What is right

What is wrong

All of these are

The blackness of my blackness

By: Annie Mangone

All of Me

Blackness of my Blackness is an inner word
The depths of being summed up in a word
Surrounded by light my blackness of blackness is plain, simple
My blackness sums me up
The blackness is many things, but above all, it is mine
The depths are unseen, and clarity could only be found in death
But is that it? death? is that what makes me, me?
I only that blackness is nothing good or bad,
There is no rhyme nor reason to its character or nature,
Whether I define it or it defines me is unknown
In the end of thought a decision remains, I don't want to know the word.

THE BLACKNESS OF MY BLACKNESS
The Blackness inside me, inside everyone
The side of oneself only some choose to show
The weight of it crushing your shoulders every second of every day
Yet it is at home here
The Blackness of my Blackness that lives inside me
However it is not to say that the light is not within everyone as well
for where there is blackness there is always light