Essay 4

Kelsey Tucker

Lauren Servais

English 100

Essay 4

Should Kiyoshi and Toshio be responsible for their family’s debt? Should any child of a family be responsible for their family’s debt? Should children have to drop out of school and work for small amounts of pay; then just hand it over to their family and have their life controlled until the debt it paid off? 

This is the Japanese culture. It’s a tradition where as a young boy in the family, you work hard for your family so you can pay off the debt before moving on with your life and starting your own family. It’s normal to the Japanese but when us American people living in the United States hear this, it just seems crazy and very unfair.  I can’t imagine having to drop out of school if I was a young boy and having to work and work as hard as I could for years until I was able to pay off my family’s debt.  But… Traditions are traditions.  I do believe in traditions and I love to follow them but I don’t think I could follow this tradition if it came to my family and my kids, when I have them.   I really do not know what is right for the boys to do. Part of me feels that yeah they should go ahead and continue paying their family’s debt because back then, it was what they did.  I feel like if it was set in the current year and time we are in now, I don’t know if I would accept it or even consider making my children doing that even if I lived within the Japanese culture.

In the story, Toshio doesn’t think it is fair.  I feel the exact way and I understand why he doesn’t think it is their responsibility.  Why exactly do they have to give up their life? Everything? The more and more children they have, the more debt they are going to be in and the more their children are going to have to work. 

Kiyoshi takes thing differently.  He doesn’t express how he feels about working or doesn’t say a word to his parents. Kiyoshi is a good child and doesn’t talk back to his parents and he knows his parents need to help and he is willing to help them pay the debt.  He even gives his winning money from playing craps to his parents to pay off the debt.  Kiyoshi is seen as a filial son and he has respect for his parents.

Thinking back on the responsibilities I had as a child and seeing how my parents treated and talked to me about the things I did, there are some things I will never make my children do or talk to them the way my parents would to me.  I do see that the way parents are raised, influences how they raise there and children and it continues most of the time generation from generation.  I know I won’t raise my children the way my parents did but I did learn a lot about what I can do, and what I shouldn’t do in raising a child. But, being me, I would always talk back or say I didn’t like what my parents would try to tell me to do which probably wasn’t the best thing to do because I would just get in trouble.  I soon learned, that telling my parents how to do their job, wasn’t my place and if I kept doing it, I was just going to get into more trouble every time.  It isn’t the child’s place to tell their parents how to do their job or to talk back.

I believe Kiyoshi and Toshio should maybe change the tradition when it comes to them having children and not making them pay off their debt.  I believe that that is the parent’s responsibility and it’s not the child’s.  There are things children should do and then there are things that just cross the line.  Children shouldn’t be slaves to their parents.  Parents should help the child learn how to do things and not take the money they work so hard for.  

All I Asking For is My Body Part III

I think the title of the story relates to how Kiyoshi and Toshio didn't really have control of themselves and what they did. It seemed like their parents had them do everything and take responsibilities their parents shouldve. The boys were reminded all the time that their duty was Responsibilty and to pay of the families debt. The children were slaves on the plantation. It wasn't very pretty.
This led the boys to having no control of their life which was hard on them. The didnt make any decisions for themselves which is what the boys wanted and needed. I think the title means that the boys were feeling trapped and not in control of who they were and what they did.

All I Asking For is My Body: Part I

Makot is an older boy who likes to play with the younger boys.  All the older boys are mean to him and make fun of him for some reason. Makot seems to bribe the boys by buying them treats and taking them to movies.  In the begining the boys don't really want to do what Makot wants them to but he throws a fit and it makes the boys do what he wants.
Makot brings the boys to his house to come eat without his parents being home. Kiyoshi goes home and his parents try finding out where he had been and if he had eaten and he tells them that he was at Makots house and ate. Since he told his parents that Makots parents weren't home, they said he can't do it anymore because its disrespectful to eat another familes food without the parents permission. This brings Kiyoshis parents trying to explain to him that Makots family isn't good and they don't want Kiyoshi playing with him anymore.
I don't think I feel sorry for Makot. When Kiyoshi went over to tell him that his parents don't want him to play with him, when Makots mother opened the door, he seemed to get defensive and like he was embarassed his mother was talking to his "friend". But then when Kiyoshi told him he couldn't play with him because of his parents, Makot didn't make me feel like he really cared enough about it. I don't feel bad for him either because he doesn't seem to really treat the younger boys right and just tries to get what he needs from them.

Essay 3: Forgiveness

Kelsey Tucker

Lauren Servais

Online English 100

November 8, 2010

Forgiveness

            Sometimes forgiving someone who hurt you can be the hardest thing.  Some people have an easier time getting past those hurtful or disrespectful things done to them and others struggle with the hurt for longer time. There are also the people who never forgive the people who put them through hell because it’s too hard.

            In “Smoke Signals”, there is a young boy named Victor.  Growing up, he had an alcoholic dad, named Arnold, who also abused his wife and Victor.  Arnold soon figured out that he was hurting his family along with his actions and so he got up and left his family behind.  Throughout the coming years, Victor had to grow up on his own.  He had to teach himself to be a man since he didn’t have the help from a father figure. 

            Going back to the beginning of the movie, there is a house fire and Arnold saves a baby boy named Thomas. Victor and Thomas grew up being childhood friends.  Thomas, as he got older, always had good things to say about Arnold and creative stories to tell and Victor didn’t like it.  The only thoughts Victor carried with him were bad thoughts; thoughts of being abused by his father and his father’s addiction to alcohol.  Victor didn’t believe his father could be a good person after getting up and walking away from his family. 

            Throughout the film, Victor has flashbacks of his memories with his father.  Victor seems to angry about his father and let the past bother him for so long that he never got any time with his father years later.  There is a part of me that feels like he regretted this and like he missed out on a bond.  Because of everything that happened with his father, Victor lets it shape the way he thinks of everything because he didn’t get the feeling of love or someone caring for him.

            Arnold was soon to be found dead in his trailer and Victor got the call.  Victor and Thomas both went together to pick up the remains of the body.  Going to Arnolds home, he met his neighbor Suzy.  She let them inside the trailer where the body was found.  Inside, Victor found his dads belongings.  Inside his father’s wallet he found pictures and a picture of his family with the word “home” written on it.  Suzy then told them what Arnold had told her.  He was planning on coming back to Victor and his mother.  She said how proud Arnold was of his son and that he always had stories to tell about him.  Come to find out, Arnold admitted to Suzy that he was the one who started the fire that took the lives of Thomas’ parents. She said the guilt he felt made the drinking worse and soon to leave the reservation which meant leaving his family. Arnold had quit drinking once he left.  After talking with Suzy and being told information that he was never aware of, Victor finally comes to realize that it wasn’t him or his mother that made his father leave and that he loved them dearly.

            After the boys’ journey to get Arnolds ashes, Victor soon learned to forgive his father for leaving.  Victor forgiving his father would soon mean he could get on with his life and not think so negatively about it.  Meaning he could find happiness and live a good life.  There really is no excuse to leave your family behind and that can’t be easy for someone to be able to forgive that person who left.  Because Victor hadn’t forgiven his dad for leaving, he wasn’t happy with himself or in general. Victor realized that his dad was a good person and he needed to let go of the past.  I think that when Victor went to dump his father’s ashes out in the river, it helped him let go of all the anger and hurt he had inside of him for years because of his father leaving.

            Smoke Signals is a great movie and it teaches viewers about life and some of the struggles that come a long with it.  It shows relationships and how you really shouldn’t let something that was good for someone and bad for the other get between you and the other person.  In order for a person to be happy with who they are, sometimes they need to forgive the people or person who hurt them most so they can move past that experience and get on with their life.

This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona Dialogue

I didnt see a real connection between Thomas and Victor in the story. There isn't anything in the short story about how Victors dad saved Thomas. There wasn't anything about his father leaving either. The film makes the story a lot more interesting and makes everything come together. Also, The story makes Thomas a storyteller who no one cares to listen to but in the film, the girls seem to really like his stories.
Another part that caught my attention was how Victor wants to be a warrior but in the story, Victor wants to know the ways of being a true Indian.
The character have different personalities it seems in both stories and like I mentioned before, they don't have a connection as much to me in the story as they did in the film without mentioning the fire and Thomas being saved by Victors dad. I enjoyed watching the movie a lot more then I did reading this short story.

Rules for Writers Chapter 16

Chapter 16 is about wordy sentences. How do you know if its too wordy? Try taking out words you may not need and if the sentence still has the same meaning and is understanding, then you previously had a wordy sentence. Repeating words over again in a sentence can make it word, and redundancies. Words and phrases you should try to avoid are is, are, was, there is, there are, etc. and phrases like "I think that..", "It seems that...", etc.

The reason I chose to write about this chapter is because I tend to make my sentences too wordy. I always find myself repeating words just so I can fill up space or because at the time I thought it sounded smarter. But now looking back, it doesn't sound smarter and half the time it makes no sense. Avoiding using words like are, is was, there is..and etc, is really hard. I've tried it once as an assignment in high school to edit an essay we had to write and get rid of those types of words and I found it impossible. It's not impossible though, you just have to think about it really well to figure it out. I also tend to use the phrases "I think that..." and so on. I never found anything wrong with them but after reading this chapter I guess I need to stop using them..

Smoke Signals: Victor and Thomas' Relationship

Victor and Thomas' relationship reminds me of my boyfriend and his nephew. My boyfriend is mean to his little nephew because he is older, just like Victor is mean to Thomas. Victor is Thomas' role model and he looks up to him. You can tell Victor is trying to help him just like he is trying to teach him to be a good indian and what they look like.
I do understand why Victor and Thomas have their disagreements. Thomas is thankful for Arnold because he saved him from the fire, but Victor doesn't like his father because he left them and was violent. For awhile they have their differences and I think it's because of how Arnold helped Thomas but then left Victor. Thomas and Victor both care a lot for eachother even though Victor doesn't act like it for awhile. But it was all worth it in the end, because they couldn't be closer.