Reflection Journal

Phenomenal Woman   By Maya Angelou Admiration. Proud. Happiness.  With these words, I can describe how this incredible poem made me feel. Maya Angelou in the poem is not talking like a proud or presumptuous woman, she is just telling the reader what makes her a phenomenal woman, and I can perceive she is really proud of herself and does not envy what other women have because she is happy the way she is. She feels like an amazing and unique woman and that is exactly what she projects to others. They show herself a strong and beautiful woman. And for me, it is nice to see how she feels phenomenal so others see her as a phenomenal woman too.

                          The Negro Speaks of Rivers By Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks of Rivers is a poem by Langston Hughes in which he emphasizes how it is to be African American. I think he tried to project the history of the race starting in Africa, coming to America and finally getting their freedom.  I consider that in this poem represents African American history in a really good way, and everything is represented by ancient rivers. Starting in the Euphrates, then the Congo, the Nile and finally the Mississippi River. Also, rivers mean movement and the human race is in constant movement. I really enjoyed how Langston Hughes tells African American history with those rivers, rivers that have been present in since ancient human history, even before the color of skin matters to society. 

 If I Laid Them End to End By:  Kimberly Blaeser  Apprenticed to Justice 2007 This poem was written by  Kimberly Blaeser. I consider that this poem is a collection of memories not only of the author but the memories are from different people, Indians. She tells the reader about different situations she and her people went through. Two of the most remarkable problems are hunger and alcoholism. In one of the stanzas, she mentions that the night her mother baked biscuits they went to bed with some food on their stomach; however, if we think about it a biscuit is a really small snack, h ow can someone feel full with a biscuit? In that line, she says "[...] took the wrinkle out of out bellies that night " If I analyze that, I can understand that some nights before they were starving when they went to bed.  Also, she mentioned a common problem we can observe in Indians,  alcoholism. I consider this problem is mentioned a lot by different auth...

Title: How to Write the Great American Indian Novel Author: Sherman Alexie From: The Summer of Black Widows Date: 1996 Characters: Indian Men, Indian Women, and White people. Sherman Alexie wr ote this poem making a contrast between the Indians and white people. He used negative vocabulary in the poem, for example, he used the word "tragic" at the beginning of the poem. this referring to the Indians. Also, he described Indians' life as a tragic one: "There must be one murder, one suicide, one attempted rape. Alcohol should be consumed. Cars must be driven at high speeds." Additionally, this part of the poem is a reference to one of the short stories he published "Indian Education," where he mentioned all those tragedies. For me, this poem is very stereotyped, he said that for example, Indian men should not cry in public and he should be a warrior, and they are described as savages. I really enjoy reading this poem. I think...

 Every Little Hurricane By Sherman Alexie Setting: 1976, New Year's Eve, Spokane Indian Reservation Every Little Hurricane takes place in Spokane Indian Reservation, in a New Year's Eve party. It is about little Victor's family and how a "hurricane" passed through his house and his family. Characters: 1) Victor: It is the main character of the story. Victor is nine years old, for him, his family is important, despite all the problems they may have. 2) Victor's Parents: They were hosting a New Year's Eve party. They were so drunk that they passed out on their bed. Victor loves them and feels safe with them no matter what. 3) Victor's Uncles:  Adolph and Arnold are Victor's uncles, they started a fight, they used to fight all the time; however, when the fight stopped they continued with the party. Every Little Hurricane is a story that reflects many of the social problems Indians have in reservations. From this story, I ...