Peer review

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been a controversial since it was written. Ongoing debate about Huckleberry Finn asks many questions about the book’s meaning, it language, and is the book right to be taught in schools. Many people find that the book is offensive because of the numerous times the N-word is used. They find the book racist and degrading to the African Americans. Others view the book as the completely opposite to a racist degrading text. They find the book is a story about equality and the book shows that slavery is bad. In the essay by Jonathan Arac, he makes the argument it doesn’t matter what the meaning of the book is. The book should not be read because it continues the use of a word that is degrading and hurtful towards African Americans. The book still brings up feeling to its readers that should not be there and it is hurt to many African Americans who read it. I agree with Arac points, the book should not be read in schools because it perpetuates the use of a derogatory word which is still hurtful to many people. Students at a young age are not developed enough to understand the word and its context in the book. A book with hurtful language but with good intentions is still a hurtful book.

Arac goes over the pain that the N-word still makes many people feel. He uses evidence to show that the N-word is one of worst words in the English language and the simple use of the word has the power to bring about violent, aggression, and hate. The N-word was used by white people to refer to African Americans who were slave, people who where not treated as human beings but as property. It was used as a term for a black person, to point out that African Americans were different, were lower. The word was used to point out how many white people thought they were superior to African Americans. The N-word was used in a time where hate and violence was common practice against African Americans, a time Every time someone says the N-word it brings people back to that time when African Americans had no rights and no say in anything. Arac uses an example from the O.J. Simpson trial, stating that the prosecuting attorney in the case tried to use the N-word to get a new location for the trial. The prosecutor tried to make the claim the N-word was the vilest, crudest, most malicious word in the English language. Any jury member who is African American on the jury would be blinded by the arresting officer’s use of the word when referring to O.J. Simpson. Arac also asserted many news giants like CNN and USA Today censored the word because it was too obscene. If the word can’t be shown to a national audience of adults, why should it be shown to kids in schools who can’t fully understand the word’s meaning. The book, even though its intentions may be good, has a negative effect on students. It is seen everywhere the N-word used in the same context as in the book, has the potential to bring about violence, hate, and hurt.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has become so popular and idolized; it has been placed on a pedestal and can never be taken off. Arac says the book was introduced into schools, shortly after the decision in Brown vs. Board of education, as a symbol of integration and cooperation. In reality the book just gave more chances for the white students to say the word without repercussions. Hearing the word in schools, read out of a book made Africans feel the same way any other time they heard the N-word. The pain this book causes should not be allowed in school, but there are always people defending it. Every time the debate starts up again about how the book is offensive it is stopped by experts on the book who say it is not offensive. They ignore the feeling of the people who are actually hurt by the book. They don’t look at why people are hurt by the book’s language and context. A book should not be kept being read in schools just because scholars find it a good story. The fact is the N-word is a derogatory word used to degrade African Americans and since the word is used so much there is no doubt the book will hurt almost all African Americans who read it.

Blog 10

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been a controversial since it was written. Ongoing debate about Huckleberry Finn asks many questions about the book’s meaning, it language, and is the book right to be taught in schools. Many people find that the book is offensive because of the numerous times the N word is used. They find the book racist and degrading to the African Americans. Others view the book as the completely opposite to a racist degrading text. They find the book is a story about equality and the book shows that slavery is bad. In the essay by Jonathan Arac, he makes the argument it doesn’t matter what the meaning of the book is. The book should not be read because it continues the use of a word that is degrading and hurtful towards African Americans. The book still brings up feeling to its readers that should not be their and it is hurt to many African Americans who read it. I agree with Arac points, the book should not be read in schools because it perpetuates the use of a derogatory word which is still hurtful to many people. A hurtful book with good intentions is still a hurtful book.

Arac goes over the pain that the N-word still makes many people feel. He uses evidence to show that the N-word is one of the vilest words and the simple use of the word has the power to bring about violent, aggression, and hate. The pain this book causes should not be allowed in school, but there are always people defending it. “When a school board or library attempts to act in response to this pain, out come the authorities to defend the book. The standard pattern is for journalists to draw authority from scholars to dump on parents and children” (Arac 440). Every time the debate starts up again about how the book is offensive it is stopped by experts on the book who say it is not offensive. They ignore the feeling of the people who are actually hurt by the book. They don’t look at why people are hurt by the book’s language and context. A book should not be kept being read in schools just because scholars find it a good story. The fact is the N-word is a derogatory word used to degrade African Americans and since the word is used so much there is no doubt the book will hurt almost all African Americans who read it.

Blog #9

Initially when we talked about it in class I though he might be trying to make some commentary about society. But after I say the picture and heard more about the council member I found it offensive and wrong. Why did he have to change the color of his face to keep it funky? Why did he have to point out another race. He is saying only African Americans silence to Funk music. He is stereotyping African Americans by saying they all act in a certain way. Why couldn't he have just dressed up as himself?

Rough Draft

My response to Huck is that he is a poor child living in white society as kind of an outcast. He goes through the process of being reformed, but he is reluctant to change. Since he has not grown up knowing the "normal" rules of white society in the South, he doesn't understand or accept many of the things his reformers teach him. He sees many things in society he dislikes, along with his father’s behavior, and decides to run away.  He escapes from society, which has treated him so poorly in the passed.   Huck has a perspective which is free of many of the prejudices and biases of the South, but he is only a child and can sometimes be influenced and persuaded by outside sources. Huck’s upbringing, and the fact he has been an outcast most of his life, gives him a unique way of looking at the world, but he still has to deal with white society and its rules.  Huck, on his journey, must wrestle with his own views and what he thinks white society wants him to do.  His perspective gives him a chance to question white society and think for himself.  Huck struggles with the pressures of white society, but he usually finds that society’s rules don’t make any sense and he cast them aside.  

In the beginning Huck sees Jim as just another slave.  This is something that was taught to him by society not something he truly believes in.  Everything in society says to turn in a runaway slave.  Huck listens to Jim’s story and can see why Jim escaped from enslavement.  He sees no real reason to turn Jim in except for the fact white society demands it.    Huck comes close, a couple times, to turning Jim in but something stops him.  He thinks he has been mean to Miss Watson by helping Jim, so he decides to turn him in.  Jim starts to talk about freedom and freeing his family, and Huck begins to feel bad about that too. He sees Jim is a real person with real emotions and he can’t go back on his word to Jim that he wouldn’t tell.  He was not brought up in proper society so his true feelings outweigh what he thinks everyone else would want him to do.  On numerous occasions Huck goes against what he thinks society would want him to do in order to save Jim.  In Huck’s mind he betrays Miss Watson, gives up being a respectable person, has to go to hell and lies to respectable people all to help Jim.  Once he gets to know Jim he makes up his own mind.  Huck eventually starts thinking of Jim as a friend.  Huck’s perspective allows him to have a special relationship with Jim.  A slave being a friend of a white person would have been something unheard of at that time. 

Blog#8 Huck

My response to Huck is that he is a poor child living in white society as kind of an outcast. He goes through the process of being reformed, but he is reluctant to change. Since he has grown up not knowing the "normal" rules of the white society in the South, he doesn't understand or accept many of the things his reformers teach him. He sees many things in society he dislikes, along with his fathers behavior, and decides to run away. Huck is a character that challenges stereotypes by thinking for himself and casting aside many rules of white society in the South. But he is also not without his fault, which included having some wrong ideas about race and slavery, which were taught to him by society.

Blog #7

I think it is not only the police officer's fault but society's fault as a whole. I think people make assumptions about people because of stereotypes. This is why the police officer in Dallas acted the way he did. These stereotypes are taught to us from every where in society. They are in our movies, in our television, all of our media. They are taught to us by our parents and by our friends. Maybe not directly but indirectly we all recieve these messages that create our stereotypes. He was acting on a stereotype he had picked up over the years and then abused his power as a police officer because of this stereotype. Society needs to change so that there are less stereotypes. More people need to accept everyone as a true individual with their own story and their own life. They shouldn't be put into groups because of other people's stereotypes.

Blog #6

I don't know is Jim is a minstrel or not. Jim can be interpreted as be a minstrel of as being a realistic interpretation of an African American at that time in history in that region. I see shades of both in Jim. Sometimes the way he is written about makes it seem like he is ignorant and overly superstitious. It seems like Twain is making up a fictional charater based on how many people viewed African Americans at that time. Drawing upon prejudices he and other people had at that time. Twain could also be trying to show realistically how Jim would have been because of the poor education and the poor conditions for African Americans at that time. I think Jim is a reflection of how people in white society viewed African Americans at the time. I am leaning in the direction that Jim is suppose to be a more accurate depiction on an African American in the South And mark Twain is not trying to poke fun at African Americans.

Blog #5

I still believe that there are many people that still have prejudices against people of different races. I think now it is not as accepted in society so people who are prejudice are more private about it or they just try and hide it more. Because the majority of people would not accept someone who was outright racist in public. Now I think prejudice and racism are things people bottle up inside and only act them out when they know no one will know about it. I have seen examples of this in my life. Not over spring break but many times when I'm with my father who is Native American and has his hair grown out long I see people look at him. When we are at a store they look at him. They don't look at him like they look at everyone else. You know the way that you look at people in a big crowd how you just glance over everyone not really settling your eyes on a specific person. They focus and stare at him, looking at him like he is going to do something that just because he looks different he is going to act out. This is why I think racism is still around. People still look at my father different and they treat him differently from everyoone else.

Essay#3

Cody Otero
5 March 2009
Do You Perceive Me?
People all perceive others differently. One person might see me and think something entirely different from someone else. People see what they want to see in life. People can think I’m a tall young man who seems nice enough, or they can see a giant ogre of a man who seems menacingly quiet. In life, people get what they want to get. If someone sees and treats another person like an ogre that is probably what they are going to get. People base their perception of me on their past experience and their perception of people who are like me. As a whole people perceive me as a big tall white male. This perception, in my opinion, is fair, but they should not associate me with a certain group or person who has similar features. I am an individual, so a person’s perception of me should be of me as an individual. The problem with perception is when people see others they automatically draw comparisons. They find similarities between the person they see and someone else they have seen or had past experiences with.

People perceive me as being big and strong. This perception has negatives and positives. One positive I found was I never got picked on growing up in school. The main reason for this is the perception that I was so much bigger and stronger than the other kids at school. A bully looks for a person who they perceive as being the least threatening. If they perceived me as being big and strong they would avoid me and find others to pick on. When I was younger I wasn’t aware of how big I was compared to the other kids. I was probably bigger and stronger than the bullies, but their perception that I a threat was false. As a kid I never would have used my size against someone. As I got older I found the same perception which had gotten me out of conflicts was now getting me into them. Especially in sports, kids would use unnecessary force in order to show they were as tough as me. In many situations kids would act aggressive towards me purely based on my size. Based on their own thoughts they decided that I was going to be tough because I was big. They thought they had to be extra tough because I was going to be. They took action against me solely based of their perception of other big people, not on me as an individual. Another negative with being perceived as being big and strong may be considered to be petty or juvenile, but having to lift heavy furniture is not my idea of a fun time. Why I am the families designated washing machine mover?

I am also seen, by almost everyone, as a white male. I hate I am perceived as a white male. I hate I am perceived differently from someone else, solely based on the fact my skin is white. I hate race is even a thought when people see each other. Society teaches a person to separate others into groups based on his or her perceptions. Isn’t it odd there are statistics about the percent of a certain race in a country? Why would anyone ever need to know those statistics? The only reason they would group large numbers of people like this together would be to make a general statement about those people as a group. I am a percentage. I have to always be associated with white people and the things they have done. I have to be separated from my fellow man because people see my skin color. A person who perceives me as a white male is not truly seeing me. They are seeing every stereotypical thing they can think of about the white race. It is not fair to anyone of any race, to be put into a group because of perceptions about race. No one can see me, they see my skin and think they know, but they can’t see me.

Blog #4

I don't think this ad is effective because it gives out to many messages. I think it is suppose to be sending out the message children should not sit around and watch tv or eat junk food because it is unhealthy. Their are also other messages in the ad. Messages like, being fat is bad, you have to be perfect, do everything you can so you don't look like this. Messages like this are too confusing. Instead of dealing with obesity in children it could make a kid feel like they have to be perfect. Kids need to know what they should do to be health. They shouldn't be shown what healthy looks like or should be. Being healthy is not all about weight. Ultimately the responsiblity should be put on the parents of the children. They are the ones who provide the food for their children and pick what activities they can and can't do. Parents need to buy healthy food and limit the amount of time their children can be connected to things like the tv, computer, or video games.

Blog #3

By choosing the radiohead song for the video, the filmmakers are trying to draw a comparison between the song lyrics and the children who work to make shoes. People don't think of what goes into making the products that they consume. The video is making the argument, there is more than just a material cost for people to get their products. Their is a human cost which is shown in the video. Should the children in the video have to live in such poor conditions? Why can't they have a better quality of life? People who live in poor countries are exploited because they need money to survive. Companies pay them almost nothing and the workers have to live with poor conditions because they need the money. If the workers demand more money the company just moves somewhere else where the people need the money more.
The video makes the argument that we should not allow people in any country to live in such poor conditions for the sake of getting a cheap product.

Television and Families

Cody Otero
Television has become such a big part American Culture, the question of if television is good for people or for families has gone away completely. It has become so highly integrated in people's home lives that it can't be seen as even having potential to be a problem. Television is the easiest thing that a person can do in their house it takes no energy, no interaction, and no communication. Winn argues that the major problem that a family has stems from watching too much television. Winn describes television as a drug. Drawing this comparison points out televisions addictive qualities, and how it can slowly take over your life and relationships. Winn acknowledges that television is not the only problem families face but is a major contributor. Watching television is negative because it separates families by taking away its meaningful relationships and bonds.
Watching television while with another person is the same as ignoring the person. Television puts a person in a trance-like state, where they become totally taken over by the program they are watching. It negates any interacting you would otherwise have with your family. Instead of talking with one another people sit and watch television. It seems like when watching television, everyone is in their own world.
The television separates families by dividing them into different groups. By separating shows into different time slots, genres, and targeted audiences the television puts each member of the family into their own category different from the rest. The variety of programming has further brought families apart. In my family we have three televisions. So if anyone doesn’t like what someone is watching in one room then they can just go into a completely different room. This has so much potential to become a problem for families. Even when we try to spend time together by watching television it doesn’t workout. One member of the family disagrees on what to watch, so the whole family either gets into an argument or goes to separate rooms. What qualities does a television have that a family should be fighting over it?
In some ways people can put the television before their families.

Obama T-Shirt

Students have the right to express themselves to a certain point. As long as what they say or wear does not interrupt the learning environment for students around them. Outside of school they can say what ever they want. Freedom of speech is different in schools because something you do or say could interrupt the learning process, children in schools can't go around saying or doing anything they want. It is a privilege to be able go to school, not a right, so if something is disruptive to the who school it should not be allowed. I don't view the Obama shirt or the redneck shirt as something that could cause so much disruption the learning environment would be unsuitable for the students. I think if an Obama shirt causes a disruption in a school, freedom of speech is not the biggest problem.

Favorite Song

There are many songs that I could probably call my favorite, but if I had to choose one it would probably be “Don’t Let Me Down” by the Beatles. There is something about this song I have connected with from the first time I heard it. The Beatles performed this song in a roof top concert any they were having so much funny. Something about how John Lennon yells the line, don’t let me down, he has so much passion and heart but he was still smiling. They were laughing and dancing on the roof top. This is what I think of when I hear this song. The reason I like the Beatles and this song so much is because they seem to always be having fun. Even when singing a more serious song they can still smile and have fun. I think that people take life to seriously, it’s ok to be silly, it’s ok to smile at a stranger, or laugh out loud.