Blog #4

          “In Darkness and Confusion” , the communities start a Harlem riot because they think it is unfair for the protagonist, William Jones, whose son, Sam, has been shot and imprisoned for 20 years. From the title, William represents his “darkness” in his skin and in not knowing about what happened to Sam until late in that day. He really does not know why Annie May, who used to be a “nice little girl” has unacceptable behaviors. William even does not know what to write to Sam when Sam is away as a soldier. The neighborhood where William stays is bad, and he knows “” we gotta move this time for sure.”, but he cannot afford it. “ Darkness” is presented in describing the hallway “ so dark that he knew if he wasn’t careful he’d walk over a step”. However, William knows a big truth “ Sam’ s being in the army wasn’t so bad. It was in Georgia that was bad, They didn’t treat colored people right down there.”

           We can see that no matter poor and troubled human beings are, they can dream, not for themselves but for a better life for their children. William did not want Sam to work his job, And for me, the reason is so moved-“ It did not pay enough for a man to live on decently". As a human being. everybody needs decency. He does not aim too high; he simply wants Sam “ to have a job where he could make enough to have good clothes and a nice home”. He will earn it “wearing a starched collar . . . shined shoes and a crease in his pants.” Inspired by his employer, William decides that being “ druggist” or a pharmacist would be a suitable career for Sam.    

           The violence along both sides of the Twenty-Fifth Street caused from the riot demonstrated by black Americans does not surprised readers, who agree that William deserves the sense of power he has-“The violent, explosive sound fed the sense of power in him. Readers feels proud of Pink the same as William does.-“ Pink had started this. He was proud of her.” With Sam's imprisonment, his dream dies- “The words “twenty years” reechoed in his mind. I’ll be an old man, he thought. I may be dead before Sam gets out of prison”. I think it is painful and cruel to kill a man’s dream, especially when he is a black American with disadvantages.

Blog #3

             Both Miss Lonelyhearts and Our Daily Bread focus on the suffering, spiritually, of the Great Depression of America. The actual economic situation during the Great Depression in New York City is described through many of the problems. It was time when people were desperate, living without any purposes. Besides, the pain of the people could not be lessened or relieved by any sector in society. Beginning from suffering, things turned out worsened because of wrong visions of the characters. They were weak, and their weakness went worse. People in the time of the Great Depression turned to movies, novels, or jigsaw puzzles. They did not confront with their illusion. Betty, the girlfriend of Miss Lonelyhearts is innocent but superficial. She brings failure to the farm. Shrike, who has a cynical feeling of distrust, is not any help at all when he denies ways out of suffering. Miss Lonelyhearts has some ideas about religion, but it fails as it cannot communicate with his correspondents as the language does not have the power to tell the truth. It is ironic when Miss Lonelihrats is shot at the time when he thinks he has converted religion.

              The film Our Daily Bread is somewhat socialist, but it depicts the drive to go back to nature. It shows that people are just tiny cogs in the complicated world. A co-op is created, and the characters build the system of barter. The film shows a solution to the hopelessness of the Great Depression in America while  Miss Lonelihearts fails to find a better ending or the problem-solving.

Blog#2

                     Whether white people have the rights to lynch black people was, is, and will be questioned as long as American history and American literature have been studied. According to the Red Record, black people were lynched due to such crimes as arson, murder, rape, robbery, assaults, burglary, and theft, as well as attempted and alleged ones. The terrible injustice was done to the colored people, men and women, who were put to death without form of law.  The victims were not given opportunity to defend themselves lawfully. In the film, Within Our Gates, the cruelty to black people is depicted. It is ironic when it turns out that Sylvia is white when Gridlestone's son comes to rape and probably murder Sylvia during the lynching, he finds a scar on her chest that reveals her as his long lost sister . We learn that in the past Sylvia's family was lynched by a southern mob bent on punishing her father for an accused murder of a leading white plantation owner, Phillip Gridlestone. In reality, Gridlestone was shot by an angry white worker. This is not fair at all.
Historically, Reconstruction was aimed to enhance better equal rights. However, it is considered as failure because the South thought they were treated harshly. The results must have been changed if Lincoln’s assassination had not been successful. It may have been better welcomed by the North, but in fact, the North did not really understand the South. They did not really help their “brothers”. There have never been real equal rights.

Introduction

           Hello My name is Watit Porndumrongkit and my nickname is Billy. I come from the land of smile which is known as Thailand. My family has 5 people  who are my mom,dad,two sisters and me. Now, I'm studying at La Guardia Community College in Liberal Arts Soc/Sci major. My short term goal is to graduate 4 years college.  My long term goal is to get a decent high paying career. Since, my family already has some business in Thailand I think I can help them to expand it further. According to my career future, I can imagine of my career future to be a business owner such as apartments rental,condominiums, or parking owner because I want to follow my parents' path. In my free time, I like playing the internet, listening to music, and playing sports. Another hobby that I like doing in Thailand is playing with my dogs. Due of my condition in the U.S. , I can't effort to have a pet because it's so expensive in here. Plus, I do not think I will have enough time to spend with my dog because I am a full time student. Finally, the reason I'm taking ENN 195 because I love history. Personally, I used to be a shy and a quiet person but as I've grown up. I change my self to be an outgoing person. I believe it's very interesting to be able to understand other people's background from different circumstances because I think each person has their own good and unique .