Reflection

Dear AP Classmates and Mrs. Day,

Today I type this blog to say not a goodbye but an extended “see you later.” Several of us have been together for over 4 years and surprisingly I’m not tired at looking at you! (Lol) We have all grown to care for and support each other and I’m not just talking about the American Way gang but also the new comers like Shemar, Sterling, and Timiki. We have had many fun moments together; we have had many struggles together. Now, we will all be walking on that stage together. We formed a big family with a variety of personalities. We have Black, Hispanic, White, athletes, nerds, chess geeks, book worms, Goth (Racheal lol), dancers, cheerleaders, and lastly Michael. (There is no one word to describe his crazy twisted pessimism.) Yet, with all these diverse personas we all came together and created great moments in room 311.

I think we can all agree that senioritis hit us and it hit us hard late junior year. This blog speaks for itself. I’m posting this on May 17^th, which means we not even in school anymore and it’s probably not going to be graded. Regardless, I’m still posting it because I wanted to and because Mrs. Day attacked me asking for her book and my blog yesterday. Anyhow, I regret letting my procrastination get in the way of many teachable moments.

Oh Mrs. Day, I just want to say that I wish you would have taught us when we still had at least 45% of juice left. We wasted so much energy on teachers who didn’t even deserve our time. You’ve taught us the ways of Mr. Mark Twain; you’ve taught us the ways of life. Thank you for using the last bit of juice left in you these past 2 years on us. (Hopefully you recharge once you go to Nashville.)

Overall, taking AP courses was a heck of a challenge. Though I do not want to sound like a cliché but it is the truth. We were never really challenged in our “honors” classes, especially not in our regular classes. It was a real challenge trying to complete the work. It was a real challenge coming to classes. (I had to go up the stairs from the 1^st floor to the 3^rd. It was always a work out getting up there. lol) We even had AP drop outs by senior year. However, I stuck around and now I’m ending the class with a C. Though that my sound awful, it sounds like an accomplishment to me because I know I became increasingly lethargic. I am going to pray I change my habits by the time I get to college.

Now I just want to give thanks to all my classmates and Mrs. Day for being part of my high school experience. 

PS. Don't be surprised if I use some of this in my speech! heheheheh

This is a "Tragedy and the Common Man" Does Nothing About It!

Playwright and essayist, Arthur Miller discusses the real significance and purpose of tragedies in his essay "Tragedy and the Common Man." Miller begins his essay about how there are less and less tragedies being written. He believes the cause is that there are not much heroes left. Also because people have stop believing in heroes and are now full of skepticism because of science. He continues by saying that tragedies are just about "individuals attempting to gain his rightful position in [their] society." This means tragedies are created based on the consequences of the protagonist trying to find his rightful place. Miller goes on to talk about how tragedies are known for their sadistic and "unhappy" endings. However, he says that tragedies actually focus on the "possibility of victory." Meaning that tragedies are about the "hero" trying to reach his goal yet never succeeding at the end. Mr. Miller ends his essay by saying that tragedies will stay forever only in the "heart and spirit of the average man" because tragedies were written when heroes and kings were still part of our lives, now they are just part of history.

I would have to agree with Sir Miller on his point of view of tragedies. I believe that we have generalized tragedies into brutal and somber pieces of literature. For example, Antigone can be pin as a tragedy of of woman dying in honor for her brother. However, have we ever stopped and thought that maybe Creon is not much of fault here? This play talks about Creon's journey into becoming a powerful and respected king. However, his greed for power overpowered his thinking and caused the death of Antigone, his son, and his queen. I realized that Antigone is the antagonist of Creon. She has challenged Creon and  his ruling. Creon, as any king would do, could not possibly stand for someone to go against him. He is trying to not only establish but also maintain his role in his society as king. 

Can I do "An Interview August Wilson" Too?

David Savran rakes playwright, August Wilson's mind with questions about the meaning behind his play Fences. In this interview, Wilson begins by talking about how children will share the same morals and/or values such as their parents. He continues to say that children wouldn't be their parents’ children if they didn't share characteristics. Wilson then shifts the conversation and talks about how African Americans' "assimilation to white American society was a big mistake." He states that Blacks have victimized themselves. They believe that they belong in the projects and poverty. They believed that mistreatment and discrimination from whites is a part of life but once they realize that that is not true, they can start pushing themselves into society. Savran then goes on to ask Wilson about "hostility between father and son" and if "it's a healthy and a good thing." Wilson responses with a firm "Oh yeah;" he says that it is healthy because the father is just preparing his son for a tough world. He states that a father has a sense of satisfaction when a son challenges him because he is strengthening his son for when he steps into the real world. The interview closes with Wilson talking about how everyone gets institutionalized whether they realized or not. The institution can vary from penitentiary, mental hospital, and even a church.

One of the things that caught most of my attention was when Wilson talked about African Americans victimizing themselves. I have met several people with that mentally; the belief that African Americans have been victims of the whites and they are owed something. Yes, I agree that Africans were victims of much torture. However, today’s African Americans shouldn't blame their negativity on the past. I repeat myself several Africans Americans think this way, not all.