New Year, New Reading

The New Year is a time to make resolutions and positive change in your life. I have my own resolutions, personal as well as academic, that I will hopefully achieve by the end of the year. A specific kind of goal I have made for myself, are reading goals. My first reading goal for 2017, is to read books that I would not normally pick up. Most of the books that I tend to read on my own are usually centered around the same repeated topics, but now I would rather read various genres of books. As my interests in the world expand, my taste in books should also. Books about politics and the criminal justice system have always interested me, but I continued to read the same old types of books. This year I would like to change that and broaden the topics of books that I read. I also tend to only read books with a 300 page limit but there are so many great books that exceed that page number so I end up limiting myself. My second goal for reading, is to actually enjoy reading again. I have not read a good book independently in years. Reading has become something painful and wholly academic for me and I want to change that and return to the times where I would read all day just for fun. I need to make time to go to my local library to actually start reading again. Also I could incorporate my first goal and check out books that I would not normally read. 2017 should be a great year for reading as I will actually make time to accomplish my reading goals.

Powerless

Book one of Native Son is full of revelations that show the mental complexity of living as a black man in the 1930’s through the weary perspective of Bigger Thomas. Bigger is a man with a callous outer appearance, but in reality his brain is racked with immense fear of many things he cannot control. Living in destitute conditions with his brother, sister and nagging mother, Bigger desensitizes himself to his family’s living situation for the belief that “he would be swept out of himself with fear and despair.”(12) Bigger is afraid that he cannot live up to expectation that he thinks his family has set for him. I think that this is the reason that he acts indifferent and even obnoxious towards his family. If he acts badly to his family, then their expectations would drop and he would not have to worry about disappointing them.

As well as Bigger’s fear of many things, his violent tendencies are very prevalent in book one also. In the opening scene of the novel, his mother orders him to kill a rat in their apartment. After he completes the job, Bigger commences to beat the dead rat’s head in. His overkill and aggression on a measly rat shows Bigger’s rage, most likely towards his life. He is emotionally unstable and has no emotional medium or gray area, for Bigger it is either disinterest or being livid. His excess rage is most likely due to the fear he encounters in his everyday life. One of Bigger’s greatest fears is being powerless in life but being a black man in the 1930’s practically requires him to be powerless which enrages him. As a result of his fear and anger, Bigger becomes violent to anything or anyone in sight. Another of fear of Bigger’s that leads him to a more disastrous situation because of his rage, is his fear and distrust of white people. When in the interview with Mr. Dalton, Bigger was polite but Mr. Dalton (in vain) tried to make him more ‘comfortable’ by saying that he understood Bigger’s situation since he was a boy once. Since Bigger does not trust white people he feels like Mr. Dalton is being condescending and this angers him. Along with this instance with Mr. Dalton, when Bigger meets Mary Dalton’s friend Jan he also becomes angered because of his fear of white people. Bigger’s mind begins to race with annoyed questions, “was she laughing about him? Were they making fun of him? Why didn’t they leave him alone? […] He was something he hated, the badge of shame which he knew was attached to a black skin”(84) Being around white people makes Bigger painfully aware of the negativity of being black in a dominant white society. He feels immense hatred and shame towards himself and to Jan and Mary who made him feel that way. Bigger’s fear of white people stems from feeling inferior, something that he cannot control, in their presence. With Mr. Dalton, Mary and Jan, Bigger felt uncomfortable in his black skin because none of them actually understand what it’s like.

My prediction for book two, is Bigger’s fear of being powerless to be more exploited as he continues to work for the Daltons. He may continue to act out violently and the truth about Mary could be exposed.

Literary Merit

  The phrase ‘literary merit' to College board refers to a work of literature that withstands time and appeals to a vast variety of audiences. Works of literary merit have relatable qualities and relative concepts, not only to the time period it had been published in but also throughout time. These kinds novels also have in-depth and insightful qualities that go beyond the words printed on the page. To me, these elements greatly contribute to the definition of a work of  literary merit, a work of literary merit also has engaging characters that the readers can be sympathetic to. With the understanding of this definition, the novel The House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros falls into the category of a work of literary merit. Reading works of literary merit would be beneficial to anyone because it would expose them to insightful novels that will always be relevant. The novel House on Mango a rare kind of book that immediately resonated with me and most likely other readers in this way as well.
  The novel The House on Mango street is relatively short but has a quite relatable nature. In the novel, the Chicana (Mexican-American) protagonist, Esperanza whose name means ‘hope' in Spanish, recounts her days as an adolescent to maturity with struggles along the way. The novel begins with Esperanza and her large family moving into a new house that is an improvement from their previous apartment. Esperanza does not particularly like the house because it is not what she as nice as she dreamed of but she makes do. She matures quickly within the first year of living in the new house. Further down the line, Esperanza endures hardships and begins writing as an escape from the situation and the neighborhood. This in itself is relatable to a wide range of readers. The common and relatable theme of growing up and maturing is something we all experience and people have experienced over time. This specific theme of the novel has and will always withstand time and resonate with readers. While reading the book, I remember a time of my life when I was like Esperanza. I was young and wanted to be grown up in some aspects but not in others, just like Esperanza. I am confident that all readers of The House on Mango Street have encountered or are currently facing. The difficulties the readers may face in life may not measure up to the misfortunes that Esperanza encountered, but the fact that we all, in our adolescence, experienced tribulations creates a sense of sympathy with Esperanza.
  Sandra Cisneros does a good job writing a novel of literary merit that is insightful and in which aspects can be compared to our own lives. The story is told in brief chapters, but Cisneros shows the readers that a novel does not have to have over 200 pages to be considered a work of literary merit. This relatable factor throughout time is what qualifies this novel as a work of literary merit in the definition by College Board and my own.

What Kind of Reader am I?

My AP Literature and Composition class had an assignment where I read a list of book titles and marked whether I knew the book well and could write a coherent essay on it, if I sort of knew the book, and book that I wanted to read independently. With this activity, I marked about 5 books on the AP book list that I know for sure, 3 books that I read that I maybe know and about 11 that I want to read independently. The books that I know for sure were ones that I had read in previous English classes. Since I read these books in school, I understood them on a deeper level and had been thinking about symbols and themes of the books. Also I particularly liked these books because I understood them better. The books I could maybe write a decent essay on were books that I read in school that didn't particularly resonate with me. These books weren't captivating to me in any way so I was likely to forget them. The books that I marked for independent reading were books that were recommended by teachers and they seemed to have interesting plots. The conclusions that I can draw from this, it that I'm more likely to remember and enjoy a book when there is a more in depth plot and meaning. When I analyze and notice that there's more to the novel than the words on the page, I'm more apt to like it. I'd rather read a novel that leaves so much room for interpretation than one that has no apparent deeper meaning. One goal I have set for myself for this year is to read more books that challenge me intellectually. I tend to read books (on my own) that are less intellectual because I sometimes assume that it means that the book may be boring. Reading these types of books will get me ready sooner for the college level books. My second goal is to actively search for deeper meanings when I’m reading independently. This will make analyzing books second nature for me and will greatly benefit my college reading and beyond. It’s important to achieve these goals and develop better reading habits to help me succeed in AP Literature and Composition and subsequently college.