...Jessica Hemauer’s essay “Farm Girl” is a true and remarkable story of a young girl struggling to understand why her father has her doing chores at 5:00 a.m. Jessica thinks to herself, “A typical ten-year-old child does not have to wake up at five in the morning to do chores!” ( Hemauer, 2011, p 83 ) She has to help her older brother and sisters to feed and milk the cows. Day after day the morning ritual was the same. Taking turns using the bathroom to wash up and brush their teeth. Jessica her sisters and brother head to the cellar where their work clothes are kept. The house rules are the clothes that are worn to do chores in are to be kept there, so the smell does not permeate through the house. Heading down the stairway their nostrils are hit by a horrific odor, stinky ole cows. Nothing is said as they get dressed. After Jessica completed her chores it was time for a quick breakfast, then off to school. “When I finally arrive at school, I have already been up for four hours doing chores on the farm in the bitter cold”. (Hemauer, 2011, p 84) When the other kids were thinking of things to do after school, Jessica knew she had more chores to do. This bothered Jessica, as she felt out of place compared to the other kids at school. School was her outlet. Jessica, badly wanted to get involved in school functions. When the other girls during lunch time would talk of clubs and sports she sat quietly longing to feel like the in crowd. It was during her eighth grade year that...
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...Summary and Personal Response – Draft Version Professor Afshin Hafizi ENG115 April 23, 2013 The purpose of Russell Baker’s “On Becoming a Writer” was to share his love of writing. Not only to share his love of writing, but to also shine light onto those who believe that their dreams are farfetched, or unobtainable. He does this by utilizing an autobiography of his youth. He wishes to convey his passion of writing on to others through his words of his own past. Directed towards a general audience, he uses wording which shows tenderness, commitment, love and passion for the art form of writing. Russell Baker came to be the accomplished writer he is today by overcoming the many different obstacles that were in his youth. Russell states in his autobiography, “the notion of becoming a writer had flickered off and on in my head since the Belleville days.” (Baker, 2011) When Russell says this it gives the reader a sense of purpose, and a commitment attached at a young age. He conveys to reader his hopes and aspirations at a young age of becoming a self-made author. Coming to realize that writing was not looking like the best career choice, he started to become bored of his English classes. Hopes and dreams start at a young age, and for Russell, his seems to be out of reach. He thought that writing was for the rich, that he would not be able to create a life for himself through his writing. He had not realized yet that, our words are the most powerful thing we have to offer...
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...Assignment 1.1: Summary and Personal Response - Draft Version Dr. Rachel De Luise English 115 April 22, 2012 Suki Kim’s memoir of her life changing experience when she moved with her family to the United States was interesting. She explains in her memoir the struggles she experienced at the abrupt transformation of her life after her father, to avoid jail due to bankruptcy, moved the family to New York. Having lost her former life, Kim embarked upon a journey that was forever life-changing. Early on, her transition from Korea to the United States was difficult at best. Proving most difficult was learning to face “poverty with a rich girl’s habits and memory” (Kim, 2004, p. 63). Learning English came in as the second most difficult. The difference she noticed between her old and new life ran the gamut from her change in social status and class to watching her “glamorous mother, not long ago a society lady who lunch, taking on a job as a fish filleter at a market” (Kim, 2004, p. 63). The difficulty she faced might seem trite to someone who never experienced financial security, but it seems quite devastating to Kim when she loses her domestic help and private tutors. It must have also been an assault to her ideas of respect seeing how different education was viewed by kids in the U.S. Seeing the students who held less respect for teachers and school evidenced by their dismissive behavior and graffiti blemished school walls was mind-boggling to her. How Kim interacted...
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...Summary and Personal Response By cause of unforeseen circumstances, Suki and her family are forced to give up their "fairy tale" life in South Korea. In her essay “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits,” Suki Kim (2011, p. 62) shares some of the struggles of fitting in that she endures after moving to America. Due to the financial collapse of her father’s businesses and the option of bankruptcy being out of the question, Suki and her family are forced to abandon their extravagant life in South Korea. After arriving in America, the family takes up residence in Queens, New York (Kim, 2011, p. 62). Suki’s new home is anything but glamorous. She describes it as “a crammed, ugly place” compared to the “hilltop mansion” where she grew up. For the first time in 13 years, she has to make her way through the day-to-day routines without the aid of the hired help. Aside from being stripped of her pampered lifestyle, Suki is now attempting to knock down the language and cultural barriers that separate her from her peers. In her new school, Suki is enrolled in an English as a Second Language class. With this class comes the opportunity for Suki to converse with fellow students in her native language. However, in the midst of these common bonds is also the obvious distinction of social status (Kim, 2011, p. 63). America is most often looked upon as a melting pot where all are welcome with the expectation of being treated equally. It doesn’t take long for Suki to realize that...
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...Summary and Personal Response Kelvin Peacock English Composition Professor Wandra Polk 01.31.2013 Summary and Personal Response Se Habla Espanol by Tanya Barrientos was about a Latina girl who struggled with her identity. She was born in Guatemala but has lived in America since she was three years old. In the beginning she was somewhat embarrassed by her Hispanic heritage. Tanya felt inferior to the white people because of how she looked and because of her last name. The tone of the essay was a serious and desperate cry for help. It seemed she was speaking to anyone who could listen and relate to her. Tanya wrote from her point of view and how she felt like a “gringa” trapped in a Latina girl’s body. Tone Tanya had been through the whole situation of taking tutoring to help her develop her Spanish speaking a half dozen times already. She had become frustrated and did not know where she belonged in society. She viewed herself inferior to the others in her class and wanted others to pretend she was a white girl wanting to learn Spanish. She was struggling with her identity and spent a lot of time and money trying to find her true self. You can’t blame her for feeling that way. She saw the type of treatment her parents received when she was a child enrolling in school. All she wanted was a place in society. Audience The primary audience Tanya was speaking to would be anyone...
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...Assignment 1.2: Summary and Personal Response In “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits,” (Kim, 2004) the author, Suki Kim, writes about the struggles she faced as an impoverished, South Korean, immigrant teen in the 1980’s. Suddenly Kim’s world is turned upside down and she must find a way to survive in a foreign land. She writes emotionally about trying to find a place to fit in with other teens like herself while learning a new language and culture. The writer’s purpose is to tell the story of her difficult transition from rich to poor in a foreign country. She wrote her story in the form of a memoir to reach others like her, immigrants starting over in foreign countries, but also, to anyone who may have ever felt alone and lost in new surroundings. She used a reflective tone as she emotionally described the experiences she went through. Kim starts her story by telling readers about how her life changed in the blink of an eye. Her wealthy family suddenly lost everything when her father lost his businesses and, to avoid prison time, left their beautiful estate in South Korea, fleeing to America with nothing. They settled in Queens, New York in the upstairs of a small house. Things were very different from that to which she was accustomed. She no longer had the luxuries from her rich life; riding the bus instead of being driven, washing her own clothes, and cleaning up her own messes, no governess to help with homework. In school, she joined the English as...
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...Agamemnon- Personal Response Agamemnon is a play that takes place in the city of Argos while tying in places such as Troy. The three main characters of the play Agamemnon are Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and Cassandra. Agamemnon is the tragic hero of the play, while Clytemnestra is the villainess, and Cassandra is the innocent. The play is encompassed by hubris, revenge and power. Hubris is associated with Agamemnon, power is linked with Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and finally Clytemnestra displays acts of revenge towards her husband. Clytemnestra displays acts of revenge towards him and Cassandra is the innocent war-prize Agamemnon claims after he defeats Troy. Agamemnon is the main character of this play. Agamemnon’s tragic flaw is his hunger for power. When he is back from war the entire city is at his palace’s doorstep to celebrate his home-coming but his wife is not. He gives in too soon into the script-writing of Clytemnestra. Although he allows himself to run through what is happening around him, he does not give it enough time to make the correct decisions. His head is held up too high not thinking of what exactly he is getting into. It is utter ignorance. Agamemnon giving up their daughter Iphengeia as sacrifice to god Apollo sticks with Clytemnestra and builds up as revenge towards Agamemnon. Agamemnon keeps his head held high and displays hubris through some of his actions which is illegal in the city of Argos. Agamemnon is the tragic hero of the play. When he was about...
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...Strayer university | Summary and Personal Response | “Farm Girl” by Jessica Hemauer | | Tim Mahoney Debora J Aubuchon, M.A.ENG115 English Composition | 10/29/2012 | Jessica Hemauer wrote “Farm Girl” as an autobiographical non-fiction essay, describing her life growing up on a farm, and its subsequent effect on her life and personality. She is speaking of events in her past, and trying to influence the listener to understand that hard work has benefits, and that what you want may not be what you expected when you get it. In this story, Ms. Hemauer is trying to make the point of how adversity and obstacles, when worked through with support from those around you, not only can be overcome, but can also make you a better person. She is not pleased with her life as a Farm Girl, and she voices her displeasure often throughout the first three quarters of the essay. “I think to myself, ‘A typical ten-year-old child does not have to wake up at five in the morning to do chores!’” (Hemauer, 2011) However, once she realizes the quality of person she has become, she makes an educated and reasoned conclusion that it is due to the work she did helping with chores on her father’s farm. “Though I hated it growing up, working on the farm has taught me many lessons about life, and it has shaped me into the individual I am today.” (Hemauer, 2011) Another point she tries to make as well is that life on a working farm is difficult. She opens with a description of performing her...
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...The story I chose to summarize is “Farm Girl” by Jessica Hemauer; which she writes as a narrative essay. I believe that Hemauer told her story to let the reader know how she grew up as a child on a farm; that while it was hard work, it does pay off in the end. She realized that hard work can teach responsibility, time management, and can be used in every aspect of life. I believe her audience for the paper was youth; someone who could take away that while life is hard you can learn from it and be successful. At first, it seemed like such a difficult life for a young person to have. But by the end of the story I had changed how I felt. She did have a hard life at a young age, but she learned from it and used it in every step of life. While most people her age were still struggling to manage their lives, she learned early what she needed to do to manage her own. Jessica and her siblings had a very strict upbringing. Although “there was no sense complaining,” (Hemauer, 2011) the farm was the most important thing and the everyday routine was something that had to be done. Having to wake up at five in the morning and complete farm chores with her siblings before school while her peers are still sleeping in their warm beds. Not being able to have a social life within the school or with her peers. The cows had to be fed; however, the equipment used to milk the cows had to be sterilized before every use. The one thing that Jessica enjoyed the most was feeding the newborn calves...
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...defining the inexplicable. Today, these terms are thrown around to describe the outcome of a personal decision, and it needs to be understood that the decisions we make for ourselves, whether we think it little or large, create the path we follow in life. Individual Choices rooted in greed, overconfidence, and pure personal benefit, will result in a negative impact upon one’s life. In Macbeth, the protagonist identifies his goal relatively early in the play, that is, to become king. However, the way in which he decides to do so, is what leads to his inevitable downfall. His strong lust for this power leads him to the decision that the only way to become king, is to atrociously murder the current king. This king, King Duncan, had already named his son Malcolm as rightful heir, but after the murder, he flees from Scotland. This is a common occurrence, portrayed in the modern day Disney film, The Lion King. Scar, in the role of Macbeth, aims to take the Pride Lands from Mufasa, parallel to King Duncan. After murdering Mufasa, Scar convinces Simba that if he stays, everyone will hate him for killing his father. In Macbeth, after Malcolm leaves Scotland, many people accuse him of murdering his father to take the throne. Furthermore, Scar’s personal decision and planning into how to obtain leadership, is similar to that of Macbeth in that they both decide to murder the predecessor, a personal decision that eventually leads to both of their downfalls. An individual’s choice determines...
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...If I could recall the fondest and most memorable period of my life in great detail, the first image that would pop into my mind would be the first few years I spent in Canada, when I was still in elementary school. At that time, my family and I lived in a tiny and rustic row house in Edmonton where all the neighbourhood kids lived within ear shot of one another. Because of this, I had many close friends—literally. We didn’t have a lot of money to spend on things like computers and video games, so most of my time was spent fooling around and playing outside with my friends, and every day was a day to explore the great outdoors. Life was great, and if things continued this way forever, I would’ve been perfectly happy—or so I thought. I still remember the disbelief and excitement that I felt when I saw a glimpse of it peeking out from under the Christmas-themed wrapping paper, my first ever video game console—the shiny, silver edition of the Nintendo Gameboy Advanced. When I held the machine in my hands for the first time, a wave of intense gratitude, curiosity, and overwhelming happiness flowed through me. It was the very first electronic device I had ever owned, and it was life-changing. From that day on, I couldn’t stop playing it, and since several of my friends had a Gameboy of their own, we would play video games together all day, every day. It felt like we were injected with a wonderful and addictive drug, and we never wanted to stop or do anything else. The days spent...
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...As a child, I became very accustomed to spending certain time periods with my parents. During these periods work was always set aside. My father and I frequently read the newspaper or other materials together, and my mother and I frequently played with my dolls and other feminine things. My father and I were very close to one another. The times we spent together were exceptionally important to me. One of the most special thing my father and I did together was the learning I did with him. He taught me to play sports, to enjoy nature, and to enjoy the art of discovery. I was enthralled by my mother’s role in my life as well because we did things that were typical of other females my age, but those things simply didn’t seem as fun or enjoyable as the things my father and I did when we spent time together. I thoroughly enjoyed playing softball, football, and basketball. I also enjoy hiking, camping, and swimming at the lake. There was nothing as important to me as being outside and doing traditional male activities because they came natural to me. Furthermore, my mother seemed to be trying too hard to capture my interest in things such as dolls, dress-up, and other female things that simply were a bore to me. I merely enjoyed my time with her because it was her way of trying to bond with me, but my real enjoyment came when I could be outside doing some activity. There was never a chance that I would be bored outside. I clearly remember as a child the first time my father taught me...
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...Describe any personal or economic hardships or barriers you have had to overcome and explain how they affected your education. Be specific about when you encountered these hardships and how long they lasted. From kindergarten to graduation I attended a private school operated by devout Latter Day Saints. While they did their best to teach from a neutral standpoint, there were subjects that were in direct conflict with their religious views. Science education was extremely limited due to limited resources and conflict with personal ideology. Subjects such as biology and history were covered, but without any depth. Consequently, my math education was a casualty. Early on I heard phrases such as, “It’s okay so long as you understand the concept, you’re artistic.” I took these statements to heart. I loved the arts, and outside of school, it was what I pursued. As math became more difficult, my tenuous grasp on the basics failed me. Rather than pushing me to learn, my teachers merely reassured me that as an artistic person, I would not need to know advanced math. By high school I not only feared math, but believed that I wasn’t smart enough to understand it. This made choosing a major a difficult task. I would consider a field, look up the requirements, and if there were math courses I would automatically reject it as a possibility. A year after graduation I finally chose to enroll in Edmonds Community College’s Hospitality and Tourism program. It was through this program that I...
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...The article that I chose to summarize is “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits” by Suki Kim. I feel as though the main point in this essay would be the difficulty in transitioning from a rich girl in Korea with limos, maids and a governess, to living in the U.S poor. Not speaking the language and having to do everything for themselves. In Korea the Kim family had wealth and all of the luxuries that came with it and we forced to flee to the U.S when the father went bankrupt because bankruptcy was punishable by jail time. The author took public transportation for the first time at 13 years old. This was strange for her because before she was driven to school. She also had difficulties understanding some of the terms used here such as “fresh off the boat” when she had in fact flown to the U.S. In her English as a second language (E.S.L) class she now has to interact with kids that she would have little to no contact with in Korea. The class division is even more pronounced because she knows that the wealthier Korean immigrants migrated to Westchester or Manhattan whereas she and her family were in Queens. Suki Kim stated that she was a part of the 1.5 generation. She stated that “Many of us came to America in our teens, already rooted in Korean ways and language” Kim, S. Facing rich poverty with a rich girls habits. In The interpreter. This generation clashed with first generation immigrants who barely spoke the language they also clash with second generation who were more...
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...Personal Response on Sexuality Identity Jonathan Scroggins Psychology of Human Sexuality/PSY265 April 4, 2015 Kimberly Sampson Personal Response on Sexuality Identity Personal Response on Sexuality Identity My personal response regarding my sexuality and identity are laced with religious beliefs, above all else. I believe that my attitude to the diversity of sexual orientation and identity is very open-minded. There are many things that I have learned, regarding sexuality, since first starting this class, and there are other things that have merely been confirmed or solidified in determining my personal sexuality identity. Growing up, I was influenced heavily by religious beliefs. As far back as I can remember, there has always been the church in my life. It was a strict code of rules and was void a relationship that so many Christians refer to as a fundamental basis of their faith. Sex was never discussed except for the “lustful” thoughts, acts, or implications. Sin was always associated with sex (or lust). Hardly ever were there any “good” sermons, counsel, or guidance regarding sex, sexual identity, or sexual orientation. It was a rather close-minded idea of how a person should act. Like many others, as I became an adult, I began to think on my own. It was not until I started college that I understood the concept of critical thinking. Since then, I have been able to evaluate my stand as a Christian and its relevance to sexual identity. My attitude towards sexual...
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