Suelen's Trunk of Memories

My Life as Suelen English 201, Winter 2018 Hello, fellow bloggers! Let's start with some basics about myself. I was born in a sunny June day in Mexico. I grew up with a tender family who gave me everything I needed to become a responsible young adult. When I was fifteen, my family and I got an important appointment. That appointment in the American consulate would determine whether we could move to the United States and begin a kind of new life. We were nervous but hopeful. Fortunately, everything went well, and we gained permission to live our American dream. We moved to California, and I started high school as a sophomore. The transition was bittersweet. I was glad I had the opportunity to attend school in one of the greatest countries, but I missed my old house and my friends back home. Because I did not let my fears be bigger than my dreams, I learned English and graduated from high school with honors. I am now currently a freshman in college majoring in Biochemist...

The Analysis of Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave      In  12 Years a Slave , Northup battles against what many slaves face. He is chasing his beloved freedom. At the same time, he is fighting against the cruelty of the institution of slavery.      Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the main character, Solomon Northup, in the historical film  12 Years a Slave . Northup was a decent and kind African-American man living during the 1840s and 1850s. He was a free man with a family and a job in New York. Thus, he would be clean and nicely dressed. Since he is an educated individual, he speaks formal English. Physically, he is strong and healthy. Unfortunately, his life changes one day when two men supposedly offer him work as a fiddle player in a successful circus in Washington. However, it was just a plan to get him kidnapped and sold into slavery in the pre-Civil-War South.      For twelve years, he survived the cruelty of his white ma...

Act 1, Scene 13 "Are you my Butterfly? In this scene, the play includes a turning point. In scene 12, Gallimard has not seen Song for about eight weeks and is told that he will be promoted to vice-counsel, so he believes it is because of Song. He had not wanted to call or write her in order to see whether she truly had an interest in him. Therefore, he goes to Song's flat and asks her directly whether she is his "butterfly." This is a clear reference to the opera Song performed the day Gallimard and her met, Madame Butterfly. In the opera, the Oriental girl, Cio-Cio San, kills herself when she finds out that her American husband, Pinkerton, has married an American woman and will therefore not come back to her. At first Song refuses to admit it, but Gallimard keeps on asking her because he wants to hear her say it. Song’s Western side may be telling her to refuse, but her Oriental and loving side tells her that she must speak the truth about how she really feels...

Who is in Control? Act 2, Scene 6 Towards the end of Scene 6, Gallimard is mad at Toulon and calls him a coward because Toulon puts all the responsibility of the decisions they have taken on Gallimard's shoulders. Toulon states that it is only Gallimard's opinions the ones written on the report, not his, so if something went wrong, Gallimard would be negatively affected. As a result, he wants revenge and a place to contain the extreme humiliation he is experiencing. Thus, even though he has not seen Butterfly for several weeks, he heads for their apartment. He tells Song that he wants to see her completely naked, for that is the only barrier that is left between them; however, the true reason is to relieve his shame by showing his abusive attitude toward her. That is his way of restoring his sense of control even though that means treating Song badly. He wants to prove that he can get Song to do whatever he pleases, so he asks Song for one of her most precious virtue...

Act 3, Scene 1 Rules  Rule One When Song declares that men always believe what they want to hear, he is saying it before a judge and before the whole courthouse in Paris. He responds this when the judge asks him what secret knowledge Song knew about Western men. Song had previously stated that his mom shared that information with him because she was a prostitute and was able to learn some secrets. Song’s attitude seems irritated and aggressive because after explaining that guys will believe whatever they want to hear—no matter how silly or senseless it might be—he asks the judge whether he himself has heard those phrases in his life. This rule directly applies to the relationship between Rene and Song because after twenty years of living together, Rene should have suspected that Song was a man; however, because he wanted to live in a fantasy—in a perfect lie as he says is—he refused to see reality. Therefore, if Song said he was a woman, Gallimard believed it. That was the ...

Quote Sandwich: An Introduction to Slavery Since the emancipation of slaves after the end of the Civil War, African Americans have faced the negative aftermath of the institution of slavery. Even nowadays African Americans are at a disadvantage both culturally and economically; in fact, the economic inequalities between blacks and whites is persistent, and they can be seen in the ever-increasing level of poverty in the African-American community. According to Ron Daniels, "This country [US] has never fully accepted moral responsibility for either its role in slavery or the devastating effects of slavery on African Americans." The author conveys that in order for justice to be achieved, black Americans need to be paid reparations. The United States has to take responsibility for that dark period of time and the consequences of it. The wounds of slavery have not healed yet since African Americans face economic hardships even today as well as certain cultural discriminati...

A Movie Poster Analysis: 12 Years a Slave The picture shows the main character, Solomon Northup, of the film 12 Years a Slave. His face expresses seriousness and courage as though he is willing to fight in order to protect what he loves—his freedom. He seems determined to do whatever it takes to remain a free man. The left side of the poster has light, and Solomon is well-dressed. On the right side, however, the darkness of a room can be seen. The mood is tense since the character seems to show defiance when it comes to protecting his rights. There are no captions. The creator wants to intrigue viewers and make them watch the film in order to find out whether Solomon will be able to escape slavery and be set free or remain slaved. The message the author is trying to communicate is that a determined man can achieve what he wants. The intended audience is for the general public—whoever is interested in learning about the life of a slave during a time when the United St...

A Book Out of My Past: The Grapes of Wrath The title of the book is  The Grapes of Wrath  by John Steinbeck. I read this book the summer after my sophomore year because I was taking summer school at Southwest High School. It was an online English course I had to take in order to complete the English requirements upon high school graduation. For the last unit of the class, I was assigned to read this book and analyze it.  The Grapes of Wrath  is about the time when America was in crisis because of the Great Depression in the 1930s. The structure of book fascinated me because of its alternate chapters. One chapter would be about the likely events families suffered during this time, and the next chapter would be about a fictitious family, the Joad. Thus, the reader could be really into the Joad family's story, and then it would switch to a description of the Great Depression. It would make the reader keep turning page after page in order to find ...

My Two Truths and My One Lie           1. I love learning new things. When I was fifteen years old, I told my parents I wanted to move to the United States to learn English and get my high school education. I was really nervous since people say that it becomes harder to learn a new language as they grow older, but I was also excited to move to a different city and discover a new culture. I put a lot of effort and time and was able to read a write in English in a little over six months. That made me realize that anyone can learn anything if the individual is committed to succeed.                  2. I have a weird phobia. I have been fainting whenever I see blood since I was a little girl. I used to count all the times I had fainted, but I lost track a few years back. The most embarrassing time was then I fainted junior year during my Health class. We were watching a video, and a doctor was talking about ...