Reading Notes W5: Moxon's Master, Part B

Disclaimer: The following sentences are direct quotes from Moxon's Master.

I do believe that a machine thinks about the work that it is doing.

Had it affected his mind? His reply to my question seemed to me then evidence that it had; perhaps I should think differently about it now. I was younger then, and among the blessings that are not denied to youth is ignorance.

Herbert Spencer's definition of 'Life': Life is a definite combination of heterogeneous changes, both simultaneous and successive, in correspondence with external co-existences and sequences.

Mills said, we know nothing of cause except as an antecedent--nothing of effect except as a consequent. Of certain phenomena, one never occurs without another, which is dissimilar: the first in point of time we call cause, the second, effect.

Do you happen to know that Consciousness is the creature of Rhythm?

Reading Notes W5: The Squatter and the Don, Part A

DISCLAIMER: The following sentences are direct quotes from Maria Burton's The Squatter and the Don.

There are some enactments so obviously intended to favor one class of citizens against another class, that to call them laws is an insult to law, but such as they are, we must submit to them.

There was, and still is, plenty of good government land, which any one can take. But no. The forbidden fruit is the sweetest.

Work Cited:

Hicks, Jack et al.  “From The Squatter and the Don” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 244-253.

Week 4: Project Planning

Compare and contrast elements of two different texts. For example, explore the similarities and differences between two characters in the texts, or examine how one theme is handled in similar and dissimilar ways in two different texts. You may choose from any of the readings we have done this semester including poetry, short fiction, and drama. You may also choose two texts from two different genres to write about.

I decided to continue working on this prompt, but I have changed the works I wanted to examine. I will still be writing about The Luck of Roaring Camp, but instead of About the House Girl, I will examine The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta.

These stories tackle about a theme that I found interesting, and that is change.

Change in The Luck of Roaring Camp

• Rough men acting more fatherly after the child was born
• Positive changes
• How the men view the world before and after the child was born

Changes in The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta

• From being xenocentric towards American to hating them
• Negative changes on Joaquin's behavior
• Positive changes on Joaquin's personality

I would also like to explore the similarities and differences between Kentuck and Joaquin.

Work Cited:

Harte, Francis Bret. The Luck of Roaring Camp, The Outcasts of Poker Flatand The Idyl of Red Gulch. Vol. X, Part 4. Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1917; Bartleby.com, 2000. www.bartleby.com/310/4/.

Hicks, Jack et al.  “From The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta the Celebrated California Bandit” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 163-170.

Week 4 Analysis: Close Reading of The Life of Joaquin Murieta

Joaquin Murieta's hope about the American Dream has been destroyed by the American people he so respected and adored.

In the beginning of the story the war between Mexico and America for California had ceased, and America won California. Joaquin was disgusted by his own countrymen for he had idolized the Americans. He moved to California, and got a job in mining. Until he saw the Americans for what they really were: lawless, abusive, greedy, and in the end, Joaquin became one of them, not because he was influenced by them, but because they have deprived him of what is his: freedom.

"They left him, but the soul of the young man was from that moment darkened (Hicks et.al. 165)." This description of Joaquin after his job was taken and his girlfriend was molested  is relevant to every Person of Color who had been cheated by this society, and the biased, tourist approach (stereotypical way of thinking about someone else’s surface culture) of the Americans toward the foreigners who emigrate or seek refuge here. As someone who has only been here for three years and a half, I share the same feeling as Joaquin. I lived in a middle class family in my country, and I had such big hopes coming here because of the American Dream way of thinking. It was disappointing that you left something so great and settled with something so little. Yet, just like Joaquin, we still search for the goodness of what lies in our future, and try not to avoid or ignore our past, but learn and flourish from it.

"His sky seemed clear and his prospects bright, but Fate was weaving her mysterious web around him, and fitting him to be by the forced of circumstances what nature never intended to make him (Hicks et.al. 166)." This passage piqued my interest because Ridge wrote it as if Joaquin was incapable of doing anything on his own free will, and that his happiness will always result to tragedy. It seems like Fate acts like the Americans who always have something against Joaquin, because they hated his nature--which is Joaquin’s blissful freedom. I think that Joaquin knew that he will always be robbed of his freedom, that is why he started to think like those people who takes away what’s his by seeking revenge. But in the end, he gathered people who experienced the same situations he had, formed an alliance, and became a hero for himself and his companions.

Work Cited:

Hicks, Jack et al.  “From The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta the Celebrated California Bandit” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 163-170.

Reading Notes W4: Gibbs,Part B

DISCLAIMER: The following sentences are direct quotes from Shadow and Light by Mifflin Wistar Gibbs.

Getting something for nothing, or risking the smaller in hope of obtaining the greater, seems a passion inherent in human nature, requiring a calm survey of the probabilities, and oftimes the baneful effects to attain a moral resistance.

Never preach high moral rectitude or the possibilities of industry to a hungry man. First give him something to eat, then should there be a vulnerable spot to such admonition you will succeed. If not, he is incorrigible.

Never disclose your poverty until the last gleam of hope ha sunk beneath the horizon of your best efforts, remembering that invincible determination holds the key to success.

Do not hesitate when you are without choice to accept the most humble and menial employment.

For deep down in the heart of every man is a conception of right. He cannot extinguish it, or separate it from its comparative.

Gibbs' events:
-penniless
-carpenter
-clothing business
-partner to Lester & Gibbs shoes and boots store

California recognized citizenship and equality before the law for people of color due to the evolution of events and march of liberal ideas.

Lester & Gibbs Shoe Store event:
When one man said he wanted this shoes but didn't take it, his friend take it then. He became furious and beat Lester. Lester couldn't fight back because he may be shot or redressed. In the end, the shoes were returned to their store without so much a compensation.

Reading Notes W4: Yellow Bird, Part A

DISCLAIMER: The following 4 sentences are direct quotes from Yellow Bird's The Life of Joaquin Murieta.

A feeling was prevalent among this class of contempt for any and all Mexicans, whom they looked upon as no better than conquered subjects of the United States, having no rights which could stand before a haughtier and superior race.

They left him, but the soul of the young man was from that moment darkened.

Twice broken up in his honest pursuit of fortune, he resolved still to labor on with unflinching brow and with that true moral bravery, which throws redeeming light forward upon his subsequently dark and criminal career.

His sky seemed clear and his prospects bright, but Fate was weaving her mysterious web around him, and fitting him to be by the force of circumstances what nature never intended to make him.

Reasons for Joaquin Murieta to break his respect to Americans:
1. Deprived of his mining work at California, and his girlfriend was molested while they let him watch
2. His farm was seized
3. He was branded a theft, and his half-brother was murdered


Work Cited:

Hicks, Jack et al.  “From The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta the Celebrated California Bandit” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 163-170.

Feedback Strategies: Be a Mirror

"With a fixed mindset comes resistance to working hard and putting extra effort in because there is really no point. When it comes to developing ownership and independence, having a growth mindset is imperative in the learning process."

I realize that I've been giving feedback that starts with, "I really like what you said about..." and it's not very substantial because I can only give them what they want to hear. In a face-to-face conversation, I block out and give feedback like this. But in a virtual realm, knowing that I can digest and analyze their work and words deeply, giving this kind of feedback will be a disservice to them.

After reading the article Be a Mirror, I will try to follow the five qualities of a feedback as Goldberg shared: be specific, focus on what the reader is doing, focus on the process and the work the reader put in, make sure it can transfer, and take yourself out of the feedback.

I would like to be a catalyst for transformation and being a mirror allows me to have the outlet to change myself and help other flourish with the feedback I may give.

Project Research

Compare and contrast elements of two different texts. For example, explore the similarities and differences between two characters in the texts, or examine how one theme is handled in similar and dissimilar ways in two different texts. You may choose from any of the readings we have done this semester including poetry, short fiction, and drama. You may also choose two texts from two different genres to write about.

This is the prompt that I want to explore for my first literary project. Unfortunately, I failed to do the reading notes for week 3. I catch up with the reading even though I cannot declare it in Canvas. Right now, I would like to examine the following stories: About the House Girl and The Luck of Roaring Camp.

Both stories have a body of water in the story, more specifically: a river. In the About the House Girl, the river was used as a connecting bridge from Patapir's lonely existence to the party of life where he realizes his love for Ifapi. While in The Luck of Roaring Camp, the rising water from the river after a thunderstorm caused the tragic demise of The Luck and Kentuck.

In both stories, the theme is love. It's amusing how these stories showed two different kind of love: romantic love and parental love. In the About the House Girl, Patapir exhibits his resilience in pursuing Ifapi even when her aunt continues to pretend that Ifapi is sick, denying her of love. While in The Luck of Roaring Camp, Kentuck continues to show his paternal love for The Luck although he was not the one who adopted the baby. He changed his way of life for The Luck, and he said at his last breath, "he's a taking me with him, I've got the Luck with me now." Patapir and Kentuck are willing to change their way of life to express the love they feel for someone.

Work Cited:

Harte, Francis Bret. The Luck of Roaring Camp, The Outcasts of Poker Flatand The Idyl of Red Gulch. Vol. X, Part 4. Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1917; Bartleby.com, 2000. www.bartleby.com/310/4/. 

Hicks, Jack et al.  “About the House Girl.” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 40-50.

Feedback Thoughts

Receiving feedback in a virtual realm can be deciphered differently because the receiver cannot observe the non-verbal cues the sender is expressing, so the receiver’s best choice is to guess. I had completed a Business Communications class last semester, and learned about feedback that is given to a person in a face-to-face situation. I think the guidelines for a feedback received in a face-to-face encounter can also be applied online. I have notes on that lesson, and I would like to share them here.

DISCLAIMER: The numbered guidelines are verbatim, while the “explanations” are my thoughts related to receiving feedback online.

Guidelines for Receiving Feedback

1. Understand What Was Said

Read the feedback several times before reacting to it. If the feedback sounds offensive, take a 10-minute break and come back after calming yourself. Read it again, and if your feelings do not waver, sleep it through. Read it with fresh eyes the next day. If your feelings still do not waver, ask for clarifications.

2. Be Open Rather Than Defensive

Sometimes feedbacks are based on the other person’s experiences, and the verdict might seem harsh but that’s a piece of their own truth. We have different experiences and reacts to them in different ways. So,  instead of trying to prove that your experience is more cruel or more benevolent than others, try putting yourself in the feedback sender’s shoes. Read the feedback on their perspective. The differences and nuances of your conflicting opinions/experiences will surprise you.

3. Separate Yourself from Your Behavior

How do you see yourself upon reading the feedback the first time? What emotions did you feel? Then, look into a mirror, who do you see? Is the problem with the feedback sender, or is the problem with you? If the sender gave you another feedback that expresses the same negative energy, then politely ask them to assess themselves. If your reaction is the cause of the commotion, adjust how you interact with them.

4. Check the “Fit”

Think of this guideline as if you are able to do astral projection. Look into yourself. Did you need to adjust your behavior? If so, did you see positive results? If not, did the feedback sender accepted your analysis/feedback to them? Continue to adjust your behavior based on the feedbacks you receive, and you will learn that this guideline encompasses the Growth Mindset Theory.

Also, please avoid using the preposition "but" because it erases the positive things that you have just said. For example,

Your story is nice, but. . .

or No offense, but . . .

Topic Brainstorm

Choice 1: Compare and contrast elements of two different texts. For example, explore the similarities and differences between two characters in the texts, or examine how one theme is handled in similar and dissimilar ways in two different texts. You may choose from any of the readings we have done this semester including poetry, short fiction, and drama. You may also choose two texts from two different genres to write about (a poem and a short story, for example). 

This topic is interesting because it allows us to dig deep to the context of the writings. For example, a short story could reveal that marginalized groups were subjects of the double standard principle, or a poem could prove otherwise--that marginalized groups lived in harmony before colonization occurred (I’m basing this assumption to what I’ve seen in Disney’s Pocahontas and Mulan). I completed two Creative Writing classes here in LMC, and I want to immerse myself in different elements and literary devices. I would like to assess my strengths in analyzing literature. I graduated high school in a different country, and the texts of literature that we studied were from our local writers. I want to immerse myself in Western literature, too.

Choice 2: From a piece of fiction (short story, section of novel, or a play) choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project that discusses some of the following questions: 
• What is the author’s attitude towards her? (how can you tell?)
• What is your attitude towards her? 
• How do (at least 2) other characters view her? 
• How does she view herself? 

I was taught to learn about the protagonists in the stories that I read, and frankly, most protagonists are male characters. There are very little credit given to female characters especially if she was not related to the male character, or if she was not given any romantic interests in the story. I believe that every minor character plays her/his role to help the major characters attain development. If the two giddy women in the story “About the House Girl” weren’t there, Patapir might not be able to overcome his shyness towards women, and he might not be able to see Ifapi in the dance and realize that she’s the one he ought to marry. I want to learn more about the roles of women in history, and how they were represented. As a female myself, I think I would be able to provide insights involving female emotions.

Choice 3:  Choose a reading selection, and write an argument in response to it answering:
How are class differences presented in the work? Are characters aware or unaware of the economic and social forces that affect their lives? 

Since my five siblings and I were enrolled in a private Catholic school from first grade to senior high school, I didn’t realize that my family was poor until I got bullied for having hand-me-downs: uniforms, shoes, books, and backpacks, and recycling materials for art projects. This topic shakes my heart, and I want to delve into it, not because of bitterness, but because I want to learn how the people of upper classes discriminate people of lower classes, and how it is historically relevant. I believe that a child wouldn’t be so mean towards another child if he/she wasn’t taught of their privileges as part of the upper classes. So, is in nature or is it the way they are nurtured that made them discriminate against the “untouchables” (based on the Indian caste system).

Choice 4: Think about a theme you see running through your life (failure is the best lesson, love is eternal, etc). Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme (even if it reaches different conclusions about it). Explore connections between how the theme plays out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading.

Right now, all I can say is that I am overwhelmed by a six-year long grief. I am forcing myself that time heals wound, but my heart is still bleeding. This might not be a solution, yet I learned to immerse myself in literature - especially about finding your true self. I think the best I could do in this topic is a reflection that may reveal how deep I am into this mourning. I am not sure if I have a strength to bring here, but I will put my best foot forward, and I will keep on moving.

Week 2 Analysis: Literary Analysis of Coyote Cooks His Daughter

The story revolves around the Coyote who is so overwhelmed by starvation, he kills, skins, and attempts to eat his own daughter. His daughter’s ghost emerges and informs her mother that her killer is her father. The mother, then, avenges her daughter by burning their house and kills her husband, the Coyote. (This is a summary).

It amuses me that this story, Coyote Cooks His Daughter, is opposite to what we generally know about protagonists and antagonists. We are used to accepting that the protagonists are always the good guys. Although the Coyote was the protagonist here, he is also the bad guy! In the Indian Beginnings: Introduction we understand that, “Indians and non-Indians have long enjoyed Coyote as he luxuriates in his appetites and gleefully destroys taboos (Hicks et al., 19). That being said, the writer of the story wants us to know that Coyote continues to prove to us that he is a self-absorbed, power-hungry, and a bigot. The writer also wants us to understand that Coyote is not a figure to be admired and/or adored. Coyote is the character that everyone should be afraid of becoming.

The themes of the story are gluttony and love. Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins and Coyote showed us that he had committed the most forbidden act of gluttony which is eating your own kind -- flesh and blood. On the other hand, it teaches us of love, specifically, a mother’s love for her child. Although this love resulted to a morbid decision that was based on the principle: an eye for an eye, the story still tells us that maternal love is paramount to romantic love. In this theme, we realize that even during the early Indian life, matriarchy is regarded, and should still be regarded as the highest power in a family setting and perhaps the society.

Work Cited:

Hicks, Jack et al.  “Indian Beginnings: Introduction.” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, p. 19.

Hicks, Jack et al.  “Coyote Cooks His Daughter.” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 52–55.

Reading Notes W2: Coyote Cooks His Daughter, Part B

The Coyote was starving for no food were laid out for them.

He set out to hunt and brought his daughter with him.

His daughter was running slowly behind him, and at some point he became delirious because of hunger. He tried to reason himself. He was restless and panicky.

He wasn't able to hunt a different animal, and the thought of his wife gathering grass to cook something for him clouded his mind. He seem disgusted of eating grass, after all he is a carnivore, not a herbivore.

Killing his daughter for meal calmed him down. So he skinned his daughter so that his wife wouldn't know. He was so happy and excited because he's going to eat meat.

But then the water he's boiling his daughter in becomes green, as if saying that it was basically a poison.

The ghost of her emerged. She lets her mother know that her father had killed her, and desired to devour her.

The coyote mother, like every mother, protected and honored her child--even against her husband. So she burnt the house together with him.

Work Cited:

Hicks, Jack et al.  “Coyote Cooks His Daughter.” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 52–55.

Reading Notes W2: General Introduction, Part A

California has been perceived as a place apart: linked by air and rail and asphalt to the rest of North America, yet somehow a separate region, with its own mystique and climate and economic history, its own legend—ever tied to that first tumultuous era of settlement—and crossroads culture that grows increasingly complex (Hicks et al., 1).

What then does it tell us, this vision of Montalvo’s? It tells us California is an island. It tells us it is filled with gold. It also tells us the dream came first .The place came later. His novel was a concoction that actually fed the hopes of the region’s earliest explorers (Hicks el al., 3).

This twin legends from the early years of settlement tell us the Land of Promise is really a Land of Two Promises, where fertile possibilities and the potential for disaster coexist in the elements themselves. . . the Donner Party saga gets bleached out by the blinding light of the boom times so many prefer to remember, the great example of the dream coming true. It continues to be news when things go wrong in the Golden State, for many who lived here, as well as for many who regard it from afar (Hicks et al., 4).

Some say California is the final haven of the ancestor of all legends, the great American Dream. . . High expectations can move people to try things they might not otherwise try, and sometimes achieve things they might not otherwise achieve. At the same time, large hopes can lead to particularly sharp, often crippling disappointment (Hicks et al., 6)

About Asian-American writers: For them—or their forebear—this is not the end of the line. It is the point of arrival in the new world (Hicks et al., 8).

The Donner Party - https://css.history.com/topics/donner-party

Works Cited:

Hicks, Jack et al.  “General Introduction.” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 1–13.

History.com Staff. “Donner Party.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, css.history.com/topics/donner-party. Accessed on 6 February, 2019.

Time Strategies

I always have trouble managing my time. I would buy a planner for this particular year and the dates that I’ve marked are the birthdays of my family and friends, so the planner stays untouched until the next year.

This year, I am experimenting on a new style of managing my time.  I have bought a 2019 planner and marked it with the schedule of my classes, due dates of papers, homeworks, projects, and exams. I even used colored ink pens to distinguish which class needs immediate response. I have 4 classes and I used red for my Business Law class, green for my California Literature class, orange for my LGBTQ+ Literature class, and purple for my Japanese class.

I am a slow reader, and I made a mistake of enrolling in 2 literature classes and a law course with heavy readings, so I’m experimenting on giving one hour of study time in each class per day. However, sometimes I go over one hour especially when I on a zone, so there’s still a room for improvement in my time management.

Technology

I have taken online classes in LMC before so when I saw that this class will be on Blogger, I was frustrated. Shifting websites and following multiple links confuse me, so I tend to delay my work until I get carried away to doing nothing. However, after completing the Growth Mindset Theory activity, I challenged myself through the various websites and tools we are to use in this class.

I am acquainted to blogging because I attempted to use wordpress.com as my virtual journal. I am familiar with Google Docs and the applications Google offers, but I am yet to use Diigo.

My concern is that the announcements in this class are also published in a blog post. For a moment I was worried that Ms. H has not seen my blog. But now that I have bookmarked the online classroom blogspot, I’m relieved. I am excited about learning the history of California, especially because I am fairly new in this environment.

Thank you, Ms. H, for the challenges you give us in order to improve.

Growth Mindset

When I was in 4^th grade, my math teacher had implied that I was stupid for I can’t solve “easy” arithmetic problems in my head. It made me cry, and from that day I swore to myself that math was an enemy. I continued to believe that I was weak in math and there is nothing I can do to alter that. I resigned to believing that I cannot improve in math. I copied my friends’ answers in our assignments and cheated on my math tests in college. Until I moved here in the US. I didn’t know anybody, and I'm not very good at making friends. I took the placement test in math in LMC, and I was embarrassed for scoring 20% in math. I decided to start anew, so I enrolled in Math 12 (Pre-algebra). I was surprised that I got an A in the first quiz. For the first time I saw a progress in my math abilities, so I embraced it. I enrolled in Algebra and Statistics. My professor, Mr. Diwa Ramos, wrote notes like “Excellent!”, “Well documented. Keep up the good work!” on my lab assignments which motivated and encouraged me to do my absolute best.

This experience makes me believe that I am in the growth-mindset spectrum. After watching the presentation of Carol Dweck about the Growth Mindset Theory and the Power of Yet, I realize that I have so much room for improvement, and that my mindset differs in situations. I excel in school because my professors are helpful and encouraging. I am yet to reconnect with my friends who I left in the Philippines and have not talked with although social media applications had made communication accessible. There are innumerable circumstances that I have pinned in the “yet” board of my life, so I will start with myself and hopefully, work rapidly on others.