Newton and Pecola

In this video blog I analyzed “A Huey P. Newton Story” directed by Spike Lee and compared it to Pecola in “The Bluest Eye.” I focused specifically on how family and education shaped the path of both Pecola and Newton.

Here's the Link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEf1G97X6V8

Review for Exam

Rhetorical Fallacies

Basically a fallacy is something that is presented as a true statement when in fact it is well wrong.

We use fallacies every day in day to day conversations and let’s not even get into the art of debate and persuasion.

Any way here’s a basic APLang review for the most common ones.

Ad Hominem Argument

Argument that is pointing out or addressing a specific individual or person.

Key word is “Hominem” which in Latin means to the man.

Kids tend to use this fallacy the most because it’s an easy way to defend or attack a person for example “You can't believe Jack when he says there isn't any God because he doesn't even have a job.”

False Authority

We tend to agree with the writers ideas or claims because of his or her authority. Usually when the writers are well known or famous in any way they end up having a big influence.

Example:

“This is the best foreign movie that had hit the box offices this week- it’s bounf to win an Oscar nomination.”- Andressa

“This is the best foreign movie that had hit the box offices this week- it’s bounf to win an Oscar nomination.”- Steven Speilberg

Ok so let’s be honest after listening to both of us I’m guessing Spielberg will have  a bigger influence when it comes to making a decision of buying the movie or not.

Appeal to Ignorance

Assumption that whatever has not been proven false must be true and vice-versa. Almost like the basic human right that states that were innocent till proven guilty. This is something that will surely help me remember.

Example:

“No one has been able to disprove the theory that mermaids exist; therefore mermaids do exist.”

Begging the Question

Form of argument where someone assumes that everything  a person says are proven facts.

Example: "The belief in God is universal. After all, everyone believes in God."

It would be logical that this person first try to prove to you that God exists before making such a conclusion.

Hasty Generalizations

A conclusion that is based on insufficient evidence to support its validity.

Example: “ The AP Language exam is the hardest AP exam of all. Last year my two best friends got a 1 as their final score.”

In this case it could be that my friend was taking the course as an obligation and guessed on the multiple choice. There is not enough evidence about the content to convince me that it is a hard exam.

Non Sequitor

 A statement that does not relate to what comes after it.

Example: “I lived in a house without a basement. That house flooded. Houses without basements will definitely flood.”

There is no logical connection between floods and houses without a basement.

Slippery Slope

I take it as the phrase “Well that escalated quickly”

Example:

“ If we stop enforcing the school uniform on the student next thing we know they are all coming to class in pajamas.”

The Classroom Wall

Wrathful: full of fierce and anger.

Nuance: a subtle difference in color, meaning, tone, etc.; a shade or graduation

Analogy: Similarity between the features of two things, on which a comparison can be made.

Bellicose: Warlike or hostile temperament.

Syllogism: Deductive reasoning.

Who Else is a Black Star

The Master had said to the Breedlove’s “You are ugly people”, and just like that they believed black was much more than race, it was a curse. If only Pecola had the chance to play “ Black Star” by Astronomy. Only then would she feel a sense of acceptance, self-actualization, and most importantly pride.

In the first chorus, Astronomy presents a question that is not very easy to answer because at the end it is meaningless.

“Against the canvas of the night 
Appears a curious celestial phenomena 
Called black star, but what is it? “

What is black? What is race?

“It is commonplace and different”

Astronomy believes that there is no fixed definition. It is so personal and at the same time controversial that its mere existence is a fallacy. If there is something I’ve learned is that race does not exist and being black does not mean the loss of aesthetics, on the contrary, Black means Beautiful.

“Black like my baby girl's stare Black like the cheeks that are roadways for tears.“

Pecola can only think of a blue-eyed baby girl doll whose skin symbolizes something more than just beauty, survival. But the second verse gives her the best possible advice when they say “Black like the planet that they fear, why they scared? “ The way they are able to intensify and humanize the smallest details of “blacks” awakens a shift from shame to pride in the voices of the artists. They don’t see cheeks as a just colored skin on a face, but rather a path for tears that mean strength and not weakness. They don’t see a pair of defeated dark eyes that are craving for color, but rather a strong stare that comes innate in every individual.

Another great song that was part of the strong black pride movement in the 70's is " We're a Winner" by Curtis Mayfield.

check it out!

VLOG: The Woe of Child's Reality

"The Bluest Eye"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoImEpn6eRg&feature=youtu.be

 Hello!! In this blog we filmed ourselves commenting on a statement said be Claudia in page 74.

Only My Eyes are Left

Morrison triggers certain feelings as I read every passage. At first, he described Claudia’s self-image so well that I understood her desperation to dismember the blue-eyed doll. Then she lets me stand by the kitchen dinner table and dodge Cholly as he catapults into a stove, feeling every blow to my face and wishing his death just like Sammy did. I feel the cold climb up my spine as I too nag about the lack of coal in this household, because at some point we are all just going to freeze. And now, I want to disappear with Pecola but my eyes are the only thing that keeps me from vanishing. I’m always so close.

Her use of detail and shift in narration, allows me to experience every emotion and feel every stimuli that bounces off the walls of the household. It becomes so detailed that I feel the floor thud as Mrs. Breedlove limps into her room. This is the kind of reaction that every author should achieve through dialogue, exposition, or narration.

We Lost It

Never have I ever encountered so much hatred in a couple of paragraphs. From flesh to flesh, and words to screams, Cholly and Mrs. Breedlove pour out the sum of their articulated fury. Of course every bad relationship starts with our dearest friend alcohol because when you wish somebody dead, it’s probably because they are close to death anyways, “strike that bastard down from his pea-knuckle of a pride”(42). And if that isn’t enough and Jesus is not answering your prayers well them go ahead and trip him into the red-hot stove, “ get him, Jesus! Get him!”(44). That’ll do the job!

But wait I forgot to introduce these characters. It might come as a surprise or it might sound familiar, but they are husband and wife. Makes you want to consider divorce, yet in my case it makes me curious as to how this couple met. How long ago was it when they fell for love at first sight? How would they describe their tender feeling towards each other before reality struck and ripped them away from their placid relationship? I yearn to read about the times when they went out on dates and gushed over their embarrassments as they vowed for true love. But this seems miles away from where they stand now and I can’t help but feel nostalgic for something I hope was real. They are killing themselves inside and they are killing the entire household as they fill it up with hatred. It won’t be long when it bursts.

A Story by Definition

Given the fact that the first chapters are actually told by a child, in this case Claudia, the vocabulary is well…childlike. The words are simplistic and even self-explanatory, but when their definitions are put together they tell a story of their own.

Martydrom: A display of feigned or exaggerated suffering

Schemata: A representation of a plan or theory in the form of an outline or model.

Debris: Scattered fragments, typically of something wrecked or destroyed.

Zest: Great enthusiasm and energy.

Hollyhocks: A tall Eurasian plant (Alcea rosea) of the mallow family, widely cultivated for its large showy flowers

Starch: Stiffen (fabric or clothing) with starch

The family is clearly suffering and the children are mirror images of who they are supposed to be, except that they are shattered wrecked and destroyed. They have been born into an outline of their lives. The way they despise their roots, the way they curse poverty, and the way they accept the fact that they were born into misery is merely proof of the zest they were deprived from since the beginning of their existence. Like Hollyhocks, the minds of the adults are thin, narrow, and still, but the children seem to breakthrough those limitations as long as they stay innocent and naïve when it comes to reality. They are shielded by creation, imagination, and most importantly their ability to question.