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The narrator compared the Bingo wheel to his life. The unlucky cards would be the uneven or unlucky days, the wheels speed increases and pulls in the narrator with its power, and "this is God", according to the narrator. The wheel is his fate and fortune. If it lands on the double zero, he will then be able to pay for his love, Laura's, health care because she is sick. At the end of the story, he is getting pulled away from the bingo wheel by two large men, and is inevitably knocked out.

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 5:22 AM 0 comments

A tragic here is one who cannot win and is doomed to fail, although he or she has the potential for greatness. However, an anti-hero lives by the guidance of their own flawed morality and completely rejects traditional values or sees morality as irrelevant. Macbeth is an example of an anti-hero. He was originally manipulated by his wife, Lady Macbeth, but then used his own incorrect judgement to justify him killing the king and killing his friend, Banquo. His mind has been changed by his wife and incorrect values and now he has changed from a loyal and good man into a flawed man, with no potential for greatness.

(Sorry for not posting this earlier. Blogger would not post this blog. I tried all week)

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 7:31 PM 0 comments

Harriet Tubman, a very ambitious and determined woman, led approximately 300 slaves out of slavery by means of the undergroud railroad. She was known as a "conductor" on the railroad and made 19 trips back and forth to the south to help other slaves escape. Her whole life she had worked as a female slave, doing house work, or farming. Finally, she decided that she had had enough and during the night made plans with the other slaves to escape. At the time, most of the other African American slaves regarded her as a ruthless, go-getting role model to the others, however some felt that she was in way over her head. Of course the white population during her time considered her crazy and a terrible menace; there did exist the few who supported her bravery and courage to take on such a major task though. Today, she is regarded as an amazing woman who helped initiate the freedom of slaves and led to the fight that finally ended slavery. Harriet Tubman is honored all over the world for her determined, brave heart which helped her people out of slavery.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 9:00 PM 1 comments

Thesis: Why is HIV/AIDS the leading cause of the death of African-American women?

Organization:
a) Facts of HIV/AIDS
b) Facts of the HIV/AIDS affecting women
c) The affect on women
d) Why it is the leading cause of death

Reason for choice: I am an African-American woman and HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death in the United States. THerefore, this topic interests me.

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 12:03 PM 0 comments

Harper Lee titled the novel To Kill a Mockingbird because it relates to the racism occuring during that time period, as well as the internal struggles among people in the little town of Maycomb, Alabama. The trial of Mr. Tom Robinson was biased and racist because the jury was all white and the facts obviously pointed to Mayella not being raped by Tom, but her father beating her, yet the verdict for Tom, an African-American, was guilty. Tom was sentenced to the electric chair, but was killed earliar when trying to escape. The mockingbird relates to Tom because it is known as only a helpful creature, that "sings their hearts out for us." Tom would go to Mayella's house to help her with jobs she could not do herself, such as moving furnature. He never hurt Mayella and the mockingbird does not hurt any human. Therefore it is a sin to kill a mockingbird and it was a sin when Tom Robinson was accused and sentenced for the rape of Mayella. In addition, Boo Radley can be connected to the mockingbird. Boo is known as a torment and a creature to be scared of in the town of Maycomb, yet he did not do anything to the children except for leaving them pressents in the tree, and later saving their lives. He has been hunted down and looked down upon by the townspeople of Maycomb for as long as he has lived there, yet he has in no way done anything wrong. The mockingbird is just a creature, and sings to make music for our pleasure. Boo hasn't hurt anyone, and even gave the children gifts. Therefore, both Tom Robinson and Boo Radley can relate to the mockingbird and the title of the book seems fit since throughout the two main plots of the story, the characters can be compared to mockingbirds. Atticus is trying to teach the children, though making this statement, that people who are accused should not automatically be sentenced or looked down upon on account of past stories or because of race. You must not judge. In the end, the children finally learn this lesson. Although they believed that Boo was a terror and thought he was something to be frightened of, they found that he was only a caring person who has never hurt them, but gave them gifts and saved their lives and they learned that their past opinions on him were wrong. They also learned that racism is not an acceptable practice and that people should not be judged on account of race. The children were horrified when they learned of the injustices occuring because of race and past influences, and they therefore understood why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 7:08 PM 0 comments

Maycomb is a town in Alabama which is very hot, esecially when it rains. Because of the heat, "Men’s stiff collars wilted [...] [and] Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall [smelled] [...] of sweat and sweet talcum". Maycomb also seems to be a town in which everyone either knows or knows of everyone else. It is a very discreet, not well known, and quite town. "There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County." F.D.R. once said, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself." It is the allusion in this passage. There are some dangers within Maycomb but this allusion was used to help the civilians of the town not be afraid. The diction that Scout uses is very mature for her, being a 10-year old girl. "and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum". This is the simile that Scout used to describe the women of Maycomb. She has such a great mind and uses it well when speaking and describing.

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 4:33 PM 0 comments

“It is a melancholy object […] when they see the streets, the roads and cabin doors crowded with beggars of the female sex […]”. This is the truest statement I read throughout the whole, “A Modest Proposal”, by Jonathan Swift. In this proposal, the speaker tells us about the hardships experienced throughout Ireland, mainly in the female population and their soon to be beggar children. The speaker tells of his ideas to make sure that after the age of one, when a child can no longer live on his mother’s breast milk, the children will be taken care of, by the government or by special needs supporters. The author/speaker is possibly a middle class or upper class member of Ireland’s society because although he wants to start this program for the poor of Ireland, he also stated that he doesn’t have any particular or personal feelings toward the situation and is only doing it for the “public good of my country”. This proposal appeared to be not serious when the speaker started telling about how cannibalism was accepted and the poor people and children were delicious meals and great gifts. My initial response was sincere and understanding of the situation in Ireland, and it still is. But my positive feelings towards the article started to decline as I continued further into the proposal. Although many of the points were necessary in peoples’ understanding, support and care towards the situation, it could have been said in less wording and some of the repetition was not essential in the understanding. I feel that this proposal was aiming at the middle but mainly upper class to take charge, because the lower class had no rights and could not take care of themselves, and their population. The lower class was the minority and had minimal rights compared to the middle and upper classes. They needed those upper groups to help them and their families.

posted by Yasmine Scott @ 2:17 PM 1 comments