Finals are always one stressful week. I was thinking that it's kind of ironic that I've been in school for a long time and each year finals makes me nervous. When I read "American History" by Judith Ortiz Cofer and was told to analyze I felt a bit relaxed. I like to read. I like to imagine what it would be like to be standing next to a character or to be one in it. The story is about a young girl named Elena who struggles to accept the mixtures of both American and Puerto Rican cultures. Elena is in this world where she is the only who matters and everything else, like the assassination of President Kennedy, does not matter. The only thing that does matter to Elena is a blond, blue-eyed class mate named Eugene that she thinks is the most beautiful boy in the world. As school progressed, Elena gets invited to Eugene's house to study for a History exam and she gets shut down by his mother as soon as she sets foot on their door.
As a review for our final, I pretty much had this story in the bag. I understood it clearly. While sharing what each of our class found individually, I was shocked to see what I had missed! I missed simple things like tone, mood, and significance of the title. In my reflection paper, I wrote that it wasn't that I didn't know how to identify them, it was just that I was so deep into that story that I forgot to look for them. The tone of the story was one of recognition, of acceptance. The mood was an egocentric one as she cared only about herself. Lastly the title fits in with the story in multiple dimensions. Not only was does the title refer to both historical events, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Immigration, but also relates to the plot since she was after all going to Eugene's house to study for a history test.
Jose.
As a review for our final, I pretty much had this story in the bag. I understood it clearly. While sharing what each of our class found individually, I was shocked to see what I had missed! I missed simple things like tone, mood, and significance of the title. In my reflection paper, I wrote that it wasn't that I didn't know how to identify them, it was just that I was so deep into that story that I forgot to look for them. The tone of the story was one of recognition, of acceptance. The mood was an egocentric one as she cared only about herself. Lastly the title fits in with the story in multiple dimensions. Not only was does the title refer to both historical events, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Immigration, but also relates to the plot since she was after all going to Eugene's house to study for a history test.
Jose.
RSS Feed