Rough draft

As far as my paper goes, i plan on exploring the characterizations of the two protagonists Jim and Mac. To make things interesting i will use my first impressions of them. Jim i looked down upon because he was an out of luck, poor, lost individual with no family, job, or future. I originally saw mac as a strong leader and i admired him for that. however, as the novel progressed, my opinions of them sort of switched. Jim transformed himself into the leader and took over for mac after mac lost control of himself. I despised mac for his tendency to dehumanize people as well as take advantage of any opportunity which presented itself to him. their psychologies fascinate me.

so here is my RD

Butron, Mariah

English 1B

December 4, 2011

Rough Draft

First impressions

           

            In American society, we acknowledge that we should never judge a new person from the first impression. Yet according to a study done by Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov, everyone makes their first judgments of a new acquaintance in the first 1/10 a second of meeting them. But first impressions are often the wrong impressions. This holds true for the characters in John Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle. Jim Nolan and Mac McLeod are highly different individuals who come together to fight the same cause. Yet, when the reader is first introduced to them, Mac comes off as a strong leader and Jim is depicted as a lost individual looking for his place in life. From this information, the impression of these characters has already been made. However, as the characters develop throughout the novel, they take on new light and the first impressions made are subject to change.

            Jim Nolan is the first character the reader is introduced to. He is seen leaving his apartment and bidding his landlady, Mrs. Meer, a farewell. It is evident Jim has no real ties to anywhere or anyone. Upon meeting party members, he reveals his reasons for joining the party. “‘In the jail there were some Party men. They talked to me…they were working toward something. I want to work toward something… I thought I might get alive again” (8). His father was beaten to death, his mother died while he was in prison, and his sister vanished from his life without a trace. Jim Nolan’s unfortunate circumstances contribute to his loss of identity; yet fuel his need to be part of a cause. Upon reading his background I was filled with a sense of pity for Jim. He was like a lost child, unsure of himself yet striving for something more. Despite first looking down on him, I did appreciate the fact he chose to strive for more than his desperate situation.

            Though immature and impressionable, Jim’s character is admirable because he chose to turn his life in a positive direction by looking for a cause. Knowing someone in a similar situation to Jim, I can honestly say that turning ones life around is not easily done. It is hard to find the motivation. My best friend growing up was Elisa Jessen. She had no father, her mother was in jail, and her sister was absent from her life. But unlike Jim Nolan, she allowed her problems to take control of her. At a time in her life where she should be a sophomore in college, have a part-time job, and entering the adult world, she remains to be at home while smoking large quantities of marijuana. In addition to this, she chain smokes cigarettes, drinks regularly and subjects herself to a crowd of friends that promote these self-destructive behaviors.

Elisa today is a far cry from the joyful child I met in elementary school. I acknowledge that the circumstances in her life attributed to her downfall, yet there comes a point in everyone’s life where he or she can better himself or herself, or he or she can continue on the path that was chosen for them. Jim Nolan chose to better himself by finding a cause. If Elisa Jessen had done this very thing, I believe she would have a brighter future. Unfortunately for my dear friend, her choices are molding her life into an unhealthy and short existence. Jim was able to avoid this downfall, and for that I hold respect for him.

            Shortly after Steinbeck introduces Jim Nolan, the secondary character, Mac Mcleod comes to the scene. He holds a very influential role within the party’s ranks. Harry Nelson introduced Jim to Mac and explains, “he knows more about field work than anybody in the state” (14). This statement suggests Mac is passionate and knowledgeable regarding the cause. From that moment, it was evident that Mac was going to be Jims mentor.

            Because Mac essentially took Jim under his wing, I was drawn to Macs character. The dynamics of Jim and Macs early relationship reminds me of my relationship with Elisa. Because of her self-destructive tendencies, I cannot help but watch over her. If she needs a place to sleep, I provide it. If she needs a crying shoulder, I offer mine. She is my oldest friend and I do not want to lose her to her depression. I have made countless attempts to find her the professional help she needs so that she can better her life, yet it is impossible to aid someone who doesn’t want the help. In a sense, I envied Mac because he was not only capable of helping Jim, Jim was willing to accept the help. Yet Mac’s seemingly admirable demeanor was subject to change.

            There is one scene in particular which is the perfect embodiment of Mac’s true character. This scene occurs when Mac and Jim join a workers camp. Here, the hear word that a young woman is due to deliver her first child within moments of their arrival. Undisclosed to the two men is that fact that this girl happens to be the daughter on law of the groups unofficial leader, London. Seeing this moment as an ideal opportunity to gain London’s trust, and unite the men, Mac falsely claims to have experience in the child delivery field. He deceives everyone in the situation, including Jim, by impersonating a doctor.

            Mac is an opportunist who disregards human life as long as it helps the Party’s cause. London’s daughter-in-law, Lisa, was nothing more than a tool to Mac. Upon revealing to Jim the truth about his lack of any medical experience, he distastefully admits “’…it as nice to help the girl, but hell, even if it killed her—we’ve got to use anything’” (48). At this point I found myself sickened by Mac’s actions. He dehumanized this poor woman and used her misfortunate situation to benefit his cause. The fact that he was willing to sacrifice an innocent life without a moment’s hesitation is reason enough to alter my perception of his character.

            Despite his more than questionable methods for advancing the Party, Mac is highly successful. According to the center for Steinbeck studies, the desire for collective action can be used for either great good or great evil.  His leadership during the delivery scene was never intended to help poor Lisa, it was meant to rally the men together as a unit. As he ordered the men to work together, the atmosphere around the camp changed. “The apathy was gone from the men, sleepers were awakened and told, and added themselves to the group. A current excitement filled the jungle, but a kind of joyful excitement” (46). Though the results of the men working together did help safely deliver Lisa’s innocent child into the world, it was done with the wrong  intentions. Because Mac did not care whether or not the girl and her baby died, the delivery scene left a very negative impression upon me, the reader.

In addition to Mac’s selfish opportunistic ways, he also proves to be ill tempered. We first see this when he is discussing his hatred for soldiers with Jim shortly after their first meeting. “I don’t like the ex-soldiers with gold hats. They were good, honest, stupid cattle.” The tone in Macs voice is severe which embarrasses him. “I got hot, didn’t I, Jim?” (21). When Mac gets ‘hot’ he is no longer in control of his actions. Later in the novel, Mac loses his composure with Jim after Jim questions his decision to let Sam go. “You’re lucky I don’t knock your can off, not because you’re wrong but because you’re right…I know I get mad; I cant help it” (208). He insults Jim despite knowing Jim’s stance on the matter is correct. Mac’s reaction further instills a sense of disappointment with his character.

Like Mac’s character, my perspective of Jim’s character also altered, and this has everything to do with Mac. Mac’s tendency to be highly manipulative, dehumanizing and opportunistic rubbed off on Jim in the most negative of ways. Mac successfully took Jims naïve personality, and morphed it into a stronger reflection of him. This was most evident when Mac’s temper drives him to beat a boy within an inch of his life. Mac goes on to say “‘I couldn’t of done it if you weren’t here, Jim.  Oh Jesus, you’re hard-boiled. You just looked. You didn’t give a damn.’” (279). Mac infected Jim with his lack of humanity. Now Jim possesses the ability to dehumanize people as well. When asked if he cared about the kid, make replied, “No, he’s not a kid, he’s an example” (278). From a lost down-on-his-luck man to an opportunistic leader, Mac transformed Jim.

First impressions seldom show people in their true light. John Steinbeck’s protagonists, Mac and Jim, were no exception to this. Jim held himself in a very sheep-like manner at the novels opening. He had no ties to anyone, and left his heart and mind completely open to the ways of the Party.  His open mentality gave Mac the opportunity to infect Jim’s once naïve nature with his own deceiving attributes. By the novels conclusion, Mac’s leadership diminished while Jim assumed Mac’s former position. This role switch concludes that my first impressions of Mac and Jim were not accurate readings of the two. 

What I have Learned

This class has exposed me to many interesting works. Each piece has taught me much about the world we live in. for example, Persepolis by Marjane Strape revealed the horrors of the islamic regime from the perspective of a young child. This graphic novel had such an impact on my perspective of iraq, but i never would have discovered it if it wasnt for this class. I also learned much about our own local history through John Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle. Though this novel is fiction, it still opened my mind to San Jose history as well as the farm works movement. through reading this book, i was better able to understand the various movements that are occurring today, such as the occupy wallstreet movement. everything we covered in this class has been relevant to todays society.
in addition to that, my writing abilities have expanded. throughout school, i have been taught never to use my personal experiences as evidence within a paper. but because i am a college student taking higher levels of writing, i now know it is acceptable to add in my experiences. this is called reader response, and i enjoy writing in this style. i now will use my this reader response theory as a tool to improve papers if it is appropriate.
This class has left a positive impression on my life. through the works we covered, and the different critical theories we learned, i have improved myself as a writer, and as a person.

Jim's Character

Thoughout John Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle, Jim Nolan undergoes a major change in his character. at the beginning of the novel, Jim is introduced to us as a lost individual looking for a purpose. His father was beaten to death, his mother died while Jim was in jail, and his sister vanished without a trace. Jim's lack of family left him with nowhere to turn to. in addition to this, he is broke. It while Jim was in jail that he realized he wanted something more to do with his life. His father was a member of 'The Party' and while Jim was in jail, he talked to members of the party. However, it doesnt join because of the cause, he just wants to be a part of something.
it isnt until later where we see Jim adopt the red parties ideals.
now that i am short on time ill just answer it. jim nolan becomes like the growers in his ideas. he wants things to be fair and is willing to fight to get them that way.

DIfficulty

So far, the greatest difficulty presented to me by this book is just finding the time to read it. as ive posted about before, i have a very busy schedule. juggling 6 classes, work, and new found family drama does not leave much time for reading. when i get home from work, around 10 at night, i lay in bed and read until i fall asleep. unfortunately sleep comes quickly after a long day, and i typically only get 3 pages in at a time. the weekends hold the most amount of time. i am very grateful for this three day weekend because i am able to catch up on everything. reading, blogging, and other homeworks are slowly being checked off of my list :D
Other than finding time to read the book, In Dubious Battle is also difficult in context. though the book does take place in San Jose (the city i have lived in for all 19 years of my life) there is a time barrier which makes the city very foreign. It is very hard to imagine San Jose as anything other than a busy city with endless miles of sidewalks and housing. when reading, i picture the book taking place in selma. (a small farming town about 3 hours from san jose) this is easy to do because the book never really says it takes place in SJ.
to get a better understanding for the time period, i often ask my parents and grandma about their younger days, back when orchards were the norm. my family has lived within this cities limits for two generations, so i am very lucky to have primary sources. My grandmother especially has been a big help. she was born in the 30s and witnessed 70 years of local history. hearing her stories has put the books setting into a more realistic perspective. this is largely because i can picture the older generations of my own family dealing with similar circumstances that Jim and Mac are facing.

Reader Response

Out of all the things Mac and Jim have done on their journey so far, one act in particular remains to be the boldest. This is when the pair help deliver London's daughter-in-law's baby. Here, Mac convinces everyone, including Jim, that he is a trained medical professional who is qualified to deliver babies. Mac is so successful with his actions, that he establishes his authority, gains total trust from London, and unifies the men, all in one night. Mac later reveals his lack of education in medicine. he has never had any training and has never participated in a birth before.
Mac proves to be a highly intelligent and tactful individual. he is bold enough to impersonate a doctor, smart enough to execute his plan smoothly, and observant enough to recognize this opportunity in the first place. He tells Jim that it is highly important to take advantage of any opportunity which will promote their party's cause.

UFW Brainstorm

When i think of Farm Workers Rights and US labor Movement, the first person who comes to mind is Cesar Chaves. I did a project on him back in 8th grade, but my knowledge is very limited. i know that he was the leader of the National Farm Workers Association. The United Farm Workers of America was a result of the NFWA being merged with Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee.

This image is of the UFW flag. The leaders of the UFW movement wanted to establish colors to go along with the cause. they wanted their symbol to be relatable. Picking the eagle on the mexican flag was the best choice. they then simplified it so it could be reproduced quickly. 

Ongoing struggle  

I think this image represents the ongoing struggle in the US. This person is standing strong, yet has a worn look on his face. The sign he holds reads huelga, with the symbol of UFW above it. Huelga means strike in spanish. this photo has a very desperate and persistent mood to it. it looks as if this protest has been going on for a while. and that certainly reflects the reality of the situation. 

Feedback

The peer editing on Friday really helped me with my paper. As far as revisions go, I'm going to add a few personal experiences to my work. i truly dislike putting my own experiences in a paper. i just find using 'I' and talking about myself in an academic writing to be unprofessional. unless of course the prompt calls for a personal narrative or what not. im only now begging to understand that relating myself to a text really emphasizes my understanding of said text. plus, as a reader, i do enjoy learning about other peoples experiences. so why wouldnt others enjoy reading about mine?
Id like to thank David B. for his suggestions on my paper. little things like making my transitions more smooth really improved my work.

Rough draft

Butron, Mariah

English 1B

Ms. Knapp

October 16, 2011

A tarnished innocents

            War, death, divided social classes, and social injustice. This kind of environment is not suitable for raising a child. Exposure to these adult issues at an early age can highly influence a young mind and cause them to stray from their once innocent existence. This was the case for young Marjane Satrapi. From the ages of six until fourteen years old, Marjane undergoes many adult situations that morph her self-image from an innocent child, who believed in her king and her God, to a rebellious young woman who must leave her home country to escape the dangers of being a rebel. In her graphic novel, Persepolis, Marjane depicts her childhood through vivid illustrations and meaningful dialog. It is in these childlike depictions that her audience learns of her past, and how her experiences dramatically changed her identity.

            Knowing who Marjane is now, it is hard to believe she once wanted to be a prophet for God. At age six she established this to be her position. Marjane explains, “I was born with religion… I was already sure I was the last prophet” (6).  Despite her youth, she has formed a deep connection with God. She illustrates scenes in which her and God are having intimate conversations in her bedroom. She discusses with him her desires, such as wanting to be “justice, love and the wrath of God all in one” (9). It is evident that she feels deeply for her religion, and because of this, she proves to be an innocent child. When I was a young girl, I too had a strong sense of faith. My family raised me under the practice of Wicca. This earth based practice predates Christianity by hundreds of years. Under its influence, I believed that every living creature was a part of the goddess, and that each person had total control over their lives. Putting positive energies out into the world was essential to receive positive energies in return. But like young Marjane, my faith had the potential to falter.

            Marjane’s faith was first shaken during the Islamic revolution. Her parents had exposed her to many books in order to educate their daughter on the rising tensions between the people and their government. Marjane found that she was particularly fond of a comic book called Dialectic Materialism. To her young mind, Karl Marx was in close resemblance to God. She expresses this by comparing the two in an illustration and stating, “It was funny to see how much Marx and God looked like each other. Though Marx’s hair was a bit curlier” (13). In comparing Marx to God, she provides evidence to suggest that she holds Marx to be a very important figure. His influence contributed to her rebellious transition.

            In addition to the books she read, her faith was called into question after the massacre, which occurred in the Rex cinema. Previously, she believed that the Shah was chosen by God to rule the country. She comes to this belief because of the teachings at her school. Her parents have to explain to her how the Shah really came to power. Her father explains, “He [the Shah] was an illerate, low ranking officer… God has nothing whatsoever to do with this story” (20-21). The massacre brought on by the Shah resulted in 400 theatergoer’s deaths . Tragedy is often the precursor to losing faith. For me, tragedy began when my mother was diagnosed with wet macular degeneration. This malformation of the eye causes the retina to detach and causes the eyeball to elongate. Mom had to undergo a painful surgery that drove the family into dept, despair, and depression. What of these positive energies the goddess was supposed to return? It seemed the harder my family tried to capture the light, the dimmer our situation got. My faith was questioned daily after this event. And like me, Marjane’s faith was in question as well. This is shown when Marjane is lying in bed after asking her parents if she could go demonstrate against the Shah. She questions, “God, where are you?”, and answers her question by stating, “That night He didn’t come.” (17). Now that her faith is shaken, and God is a less dependable figure in her life, she abandons the idea of being a prophet.

            Marjane’s view about religion and God were not the only ideas she began to question. Her stance on social classes became developed due to how their housemaid was treated by her parents. Early in the book, Marjane points out that their maid was not allowed to dine with the family. From the start, she determined this to be wrong when she explained, “I wanted to be a prophet because our maid did not eat with us” (6). Later, she becomes more involved on the matter when Marjane’s father disowned Mehri, the maid. He had outed Mehri’s social status to the upper class boy she was infatuated with. For Marjane, it was unfair that Mehri’s love for this boy was impossible simply because of her class. Marjane questions in frustration, “but is it her fault she was born where she was born???” (37). This understanding of social justice is rare to find in a child, yet Marjane understood the matter so well she decided to demonstrate against social classes with Mehri. Unfortunately for the pair, Marjane's mother horded a distaste for their actions. As a result, the two were punished with a slap to the face.

            So far we’ve seen only slight changes in young Marjane. The major turning point from religious child to rebellious teen begins with the death of her beloved uncle, Anoosh. Marjane regarded her uncle as a hero because of the sacrifices he made during the revolution. To instill a sense of how close Marjane and Uncle Anoosh were, Marjane tells her readers that she was the one person Anoosh wanted to see after his arrest. When my grandfather was weathering away on his lonely hospital bed, he often requested visits from his grandchildren. My brother and I, young as we were, did not understand why Grandpa was so sick or why the beds at the hospital were any different from the beds at home. I remember smiling and being cheerful despite the situation because I still believed that these positive energies would find their way into my grandfather’s body and fight against the sickness. Again I was disappointed. The cancer took his life and my faith. My reaction to my grandfather’s death was the same reaction that Marjane had with Uncle Anoosh’s execution. When God presented himself to Marjane after Anoosh’s demise, Marjane stood up on her bed in defiance and screamed, “Shut up you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again! Get out!” (70). No longer was God her salvation. No longer was she His profit. And no longer was she the innocent child who demonstrated faith in the authority around her. 

           

week 4

What was going in my life at age 14? like most other 14 year olds, i had begun my first year of high school. The transition from childhood to adulthood had begun. i would consider that particular year to be one of the most difficult because ones lifestyle changes significantly. the pressure at school takes a jump to new extremes, there are more responsibilities associated with home life, hormones are forever raging conflicts within the mind and body. However, Marjane had to endure much more than just a new school and the exaggerated conflicts brought on by simply being a teenager; her conflicts were very real.

As far as her situation goes, Marjane's parents send her away to attend school in Austria.They do this to keep her safe from prison. "judging by the situation here, you'll be better off somewhere else" (148). At that point Marjane realizes that, though her parents said they would, they arent coming with her.
Marjane maybe very young, but she has demonstrated certain qualities and strengths that lead me to believe she will be fine on her own. she shows great independence and is very head-strong. this is a quality most 14 year old do not possess. I would assume that Marjane will first find it stressful in Austria. but as the time passes, she will blossom into a stronger person than she already is. and without the stress of imprisonment upon her young mind, she will reach her true potential.
like i said before, i believe that 14 is a very stressful age. I honeslty find it hard to put myself in Marjanes shoes. to have so much responsibility at that age is hard to fathom. yet, people tend to rise to the occasion and they do what they must to get by. You dont know how strong you are until you have to be.

Group work

Hill, Amanda
Bethune David,
Barrera Maria
Butron, Mariah

English 1B

Ms. Knapp

September 22, 2001

Group One T.E.A.

            As a group we came to the conclusion that the biggest adjustment we had to make when reading the graphic novel Persepolis, as oppose to a traditional novel, is the lack of imagination needed to interpret the work. We found some of the heavier subject matter to be taken more lightly when they were accompanied by cartoon style illustrations.

We have four main examples for this.

     First, Marjane depicts a torture scene in which her parents friends were victims of the prisons. Ahmadi is seen being brutally tortured. He is whipped, burned by an iron, and ultimately cut into pieces as punishment for his crime (51-52). if this were a traditional novel, the torture scene would have been open to the individual's own interpretation. 

      The second example we have is when Marjane and her family learn about the fate of the young boys who have the plastic gold keys around their necks. these keys grant the boys passage into paradise (102). this scene in the book requires very little dialog and if it were in a traditional novel it my lose its impact on the reader. 

     Another example would be when Marjane describes her grandfather. She gives the reader a very specific image of him on an elephant, looking very powerful. the reader is given such specific information about this person, any of their own interpretations would not have been accurate.

Finally, Marjane illustrates the massacre which occurred in a theater. 400 people lost their lives because of the shah (15). Again, we see the authors interpretation of the event. This is going to be inherent in any graphic novel as opposed to the traditional novel. 

Reading Habits

I credit myself as a workaholic. This semester I am taking 18 units. On top of this I am working 30 hours a week. When it comes down to it, I have very little free time to do anything besides get from one place to the next. This makes it difficult to read. Growing up, I was an avid reader. Even at a young age I enjoyed reading challenging novels, such as Rebbecca by Daphne du Maurie, which i read when i was 11. But reading does take up a considerable amount of time. I have a pile of books at home i want to read, but simply dont have the time to do so. I am thankful that the workload for this English class is limited to the occasional blog and some reading. Its not nearly as hectic as English 1C was. But then again I did take 1C during winter intersession.

Just so you can have an idea of my daily life, here is my schedule for this semester

monday and wednesdays: school from 7:40-2 with a 1 hour break in between classes. This is followed by work at 3

tuesdays and thursdays: school from 9-3 with work at 4

fridays: school from 9-12 with work at 4

saturdays: school from 9-3

As far as the reading for this class goes, i find time on the weekends. There is about a three-hour gap between English 1B and work. This is where I finish up my weekly reading for Persepolis. I am very happy that Persepolis is a graphic novel, or else finding time for it would be more complicated. Most of the remaining free time goes to my 5 other classes. Yeah i know, i chose this therefore i deserve the suffering. lol no worries though. 

In my ideal world, Sundays would be reserved for sleeping and sleeping alone. But alas, this is not the case. Any work I need to catch up on before the week starts up again, is done on Sunday. Like this blog for instance =]

I honestly don’t know how I find the time to do it all. I wish there were more hours in the day

Prompt 3 choice 2

I found that the only scene I relate to in this book is on pages 70 and 71. Here, Marji is so upset at the loss of her uncle, she losses faith in god to a certain extent. “Shut up, you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!” (70).

I was raised under a pagan faith. It’s comparable to Native American worshippers who held the earth as sacred. Pagans also believe in a goddess. Now this made sense to me because it was women who created life, not men.  I’d like to point out that both of my parents were raised catholic yet converted. They decided that this pagan faith suited them more.

I was about 11 when my grandpa Jimmy died of cancer.  His death was followed by my grandpa Wills death only a month later. At this point I had sat and pondered about death, the afterlife, and if there really was an after life. I never was religious, but I had an idea about what happened after death. My mother explained to me that our lives are like a drop of water and when we die we return to the ocean. The circle of life comes to mind. “We are all a part of the great circle of life.” Says Mufasa from Disney’s The Lion King. But the remorse brought upon our family from these deaths caused me to loss what little faith I had. I didn’t want to think about the pagan gods and goddesses, I didn’t want to think about if there was a Christian heaven, none of that mattered because it didn’t exist to me.

I still don’t believe in God. This isn’t due to a death in the family or any unfortunate circumstances. Its just the more I learn about our world and how it works, there is less and less need for a god to exist. If you are religious I don’t mean to offend your faith. Faith is a beautiful thing to have. It’s just not my thing.

Now, I think the author placed this scene in her book to really emphasize how impacting the death of her uncle was to her. Before this happened, she wanted to be a prophet for God. She had established a personal relationship with him. This is evident because she depicts herself holding conversations with him in her room. There is a huge contrast between her wanting to be a prophet and her telling God to shut up and get out of her life. The scene impacts the novel because it shows a change in her attitude. She is only a young girl, yet has to deal with very adult situations.

My two reactions were vastly different. When I bring my own reaction and background into the text, it distracts me from what the author was telling me about herself. I think it is important for a reader to think about a work objectively before putting his or her own emotions into it. 

Persepolis, page 37

After reading the first 53 pages of Persepolis, The Letter, starting on page 33 stood out the most to me. In this section, Marjane goes into detail about the family maid. The maid is only ten years Marjane’s senior. The maids name is Mahri and when she was eight she was sent away from her family to work for Marjane’s parents. Naturally, the two girls took to each other and it was commonplace for Mahri to refer to Marjane as her own sister. What stood out about this was the difference in social class. Though Mahri thought of Marjane as a younger sibling, Marjane was still of a higher, or respectable class.

It was shocking to note that Mahri was illiterate despite being older. At the age of sixteen, she took a liking to a neighborhood boy. Due to her inability to write, she asked Marjane to read and write letters to the boy as a favor. Unfortunately news of her affection was passed along to Marjanes father. Because of the social situation he decided he must confront the boy about Mahri. He then revealed that she was a mere maid and not his daughter. The boy lost interest for her.

Now, when I think of social classes my mind wonders back to high school history lectures about ancient monarchies. These strict social classes divided the country into different worlds of people. Its not something I associate with modern day, especially because I grew up in America. In America one has the opportunity to rise above the class they were born into, at least in theory. Though I am aware that this is incredibly hard to do despite our “equal rights” I have seen it done. Reading about Mahri was just a reality check. Mahri’s situation is not something that would have happened in modern day America, and for that I am thankful.

“but is it her fault that she was born where she was born???” (37)

It was evident to young Marjane that social classes shouldn’t be a life sentence because one cannot control the conditions in which they were brought into this world.

I guess the reason why I was so interested in this particular issue was because it is hard for me to understand the mindset behind set social classes. it really only benefits the few set of families on top. It guarantees their own kin wealth. For the entire population, however, it’s only restricting. Like Mahir, the bottom classes would stay uneducated workers. That’s an entire set of people who cannot reach their intellectual potential, so they cant contribute to positive development. Its all very limiting.

I believe a person worth should not be defined by where they came from. I know its cliché but people should be measured by what they do with their lives.

Both Mahir and Marane decided to go protest. They were met with opposition by Marjanes mother. This illustrated how difficult change is to achieve. When your society supports the status quo, and when society is made up of your neighbors, leaders, and own family, the status quo will remain the same. It is an unfair cycle that is reality for many. 

I Am

First of all, I've never blogged before. This experience is comparable the first time I was introduced to MySpace in middle school. Then again when facebook became popular during my high school years. It’s new, confusing, and i don’t want to do it. But like the previous social networking sites mentioned above, i will probably find myself enjoying the process and become addicted to it. With that said, i will tell you a little about who i am

My name is Mariah. I blew out my 19th candle on the seventh of July, 2011. My favorite color is purple. I am half Native American and half Portuguese. I live with my mom, dad, and 17-year-old brother. By house is currently overrun with cats. 4 to be exact, though two of those animals refuse to go into the house. a fun fact about the kitties is how they came into my family’s possession. it all started with my little brothers cat,

Princess. (my brother named her) she was taken to the human society in order to be properly spade. three months passed after said surgery when we noticed her belly becoming distended. fearing for her life, my parents took her back to the hospital. the vets performed an ultrasound and discovered, not tumors, but 8 baby kitties inside. Needless to say, we were not very pleased with the Humane Society. after Princess' delivery, we managed to find homes five of the cats. My brother and i refused to part with the remaining three. Yeah, when i grow up, im going to be that one old lady with all the cats.

On another note, I am an accomplished martial artist. I earned my first degree black belt in tae kwon do at age 13. I tested for second degree at 15, and last year i graduated to third degree. I have been teaching martial arts for four years. Currently, I work at the Ernie Reyes West Coast school in Santa Clara. I love what i do despite the low pay. The kids are amazing and my coworkers inspire me. I mean really? What can be better than teaching kids how to kick butt? Beats flipping burgers any day. as far as the actual athletic aspect goes, one might assume that i have good balance. i cant skate, roller blade, inline blade, or ride a bike with skinny wheels. It’s pathetic. the picture below is my third degree graduating class. they are my second family =]

In my spare time i draw. I didnt know i had an ability to do so during my younger days. it wasnt until i was forced into an art contest my freshman year of high school that I discovered drawing came completely naturally to me. I ended up winning said contest and selling the piece for a small sum of money. I have been drawing ever sense. 

My senior year of high school I actually taught an art 1 class, despite never having taken a formal art class myself. It was a great experience that I am happy to put onto my resume. My favorite things to draw are people. Im fascinated with the human body and how it moves. I also enjoy custom painting shoes. I made my first pair this year as a birthday gift for my friend. Shes into the show Dr. Who. So I came up with a simple design and I am very happy to report that it came out rather nice

At this point, I have run out of things to say. 

Thank you for reading my blog!