"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

When I read this story, I guessed from the beginning that Connie was going to get herself into trouble. I think there are a lot of clues that point to the ending of the story. However, I was confused as to why she felt so overpowered by Arnold Friend that she could not call the police. It seems to me that due to the awkward way his boots fit and the fact that he did not rush at her when she went for the phone, Connie should have continued dialing. "911" is not a very long phone number, and even if she was assaulted by Arnold soon after dialing, she could have screamed into the phone for help. On the other hand, I wondered what the roaring was that came from the phone. Did Arnold and Ellie manage to disconnect or damage it?
In any case, I appreciated this story a lot. It reminded me of my own naivete as a younger girl. When it came to boys, we all wanted to look our best and attract attention, and many times I seem to recall disregarding the age of the boys whom I wanted to notice me. Did I ever approach an older boy or allow them to approach me? No. I was just a silly girl. But I do remember feeling as Connie does at the drive-in when she catches Arnold's eye: flattered. It is scary to think that the situation with Arnold could happen to anyone, and that it does more often than it should. Facebook, Myspace, and online blogs seem to have opened an entirely new way for those whom we do not want in our lives to gain access. I guess this story hit home even more for me because I have always been afraid, even today, of staying home alone, although the solid wooden door of my house provides much more protection than Connie's screen door.
I hope that we discuss in class some possible reasons behind Connie's decision to surrender to Arnold. I understand that he threatened her family, but she seemed to give in to him quite easily in the end, and this confused me.
Lastly, I do have to say that I wondered if the entire ending of Joyce Carol Oates' story was a dream, since Connie closed her eyes in the lawn chair, and since it was warm, she could have easily fallen asleep. If her encounter with Arnold was a dream, I would say that she would surely be more careful from that day on pertaining to how she dressed and which types of men she tried to attract.

Tunnel of Oppression

I visited the Tunnel of Oppression on Tuesday night, and I can say that I learned many things from it. I was actually expecting more professional-looking displays instead of posters covered in bad grammar and spelling, but the overall impression was still extremely effective.
The section concerning mental illness was eerie to me because of the taped voices. I thought that it was one of the most impacting rooms because it helped me experience what a mentally ill person might go through on a constant basis. I was frustrated and spooked by the time we went to the next room, so I cannot imagine what a schizophrenic person must go through day to day.
Next, I have to say that although the room with the graphic pictures was effective in drawing the most sympathy from everyone in my group, I cannot now remember what cause this room advocated. I remember only that the pictures were horrifying and sad and that I could only look at them for so long.
The issue of the last room perplexed me. I did not sign the petition for DREAM because I do not support illegal immigration or the Supreme Court case of Plyler vs. Doe, which states that the US cannot deny free public education to children who are in the US illegally. However, one of my best friends is Canadian and each of his family members are now American citizens. Because the government made a glitch in his paperwork, my friend is unable to obtain citizenship. He has lived in America almost all of his life, but he has yet to be able to obtain a driver's license or job. He is returning to Canada to finish college in the fall because he cannot receive financial aid here. Obviously I should have raced to sign the DREAM petition on behalf of people like my friend, yet I was unsure of the "fine print" that I might accidentally overlook. I voiced my concern at the debriefing at the end of the tunnel, and they encouraged me to do more research.
Lastly, I have to conclude by saying that the room that impacted me the most was the section on sex trafficking. The use of "decorations" in the room was powerful and horrifying. This room contained more of the professionalism or "wow effect" that I guess I expected to find throughout the entire tunnel. As a side note, one girl I was with did not seem to recognize what the latex objects were that hung from the ceiling, so the room did not effect her as much. I do not really think that anything should have been done differently to make it more obvious what they represented, but it did make me laugh after the fact.

"This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona"

To start off, I have to say that I am confused by this story's title. Maybe I missed something in the story or a comment that was made in class to explain it, but the title just seems odd to me. I understand the significance of Phoenix, I just would have expected a title referring to the father or to broken relationships instead. However, I did not write the story!
As I read this story, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed it, overall. It did not wow me like some of our previous stories have, but I was also able to stay awake as I read. I thought that the estrangement between Victor and his father was sad, but I was heartened to see that at least Victor and Thomas were able to rekindle a bit of their relationship because of it.
I grew to truly appreciate Thomas' strange and quirky character, just as much as I understood Victor's frustrations with his old friend. I think we have all probably been in a situation before where we felt like we should reach out and befriend someone because no one else would, but the fact of the matter remained that we too were annoyed by that person. We all have to make choices about who we befriend, and I see Victor's struggle in this story as one common at least for me, and I would suspect for others as well.
I would also like to say that I am posting this blog after viewing the first half of the film "Smoke Signals." Oh boy. First of all, in the film, Victor is rude and hateful for no reason. Thomas is portrayed as the most annoying person I have ever seen, and his accent is ridiculous. Also, I felt that the original story contained an appropriate amount of anti-white-man or anti-America sentiments to be effective and give the reader pause, but the movie seems over the top with hatred and bitterness for "cowboys." I do not know who thought up the storyline for this movie, but so far, it has skewed my initial perceptions of Sherman Alexie's story, and not for the better.

"Red Convertible"

I waited a few days to blog about this story because I had mixed feelings, and I hoped they would change. However, they have not.
I was touched by this story about post traumatic stress syndrome from the Vietnam War probably just as much as everyone else. However, I guess my reactions were quite different. Not only was I saddened by the ending and heartbroken for Lyman, who watches his own brother die, but I was angry as well. In this class, it feels like half of the stories that we read only serve to leave a bitter taste in my mouth about our country. Not only have we read about slavery, but we have touched on multiple stories about Native Americans where little sly comments against "white people" have been slipped into the writing. To clarify, I am the last person to say that white people are above all others or that America has no problems, but it feels like every time I leave our class recently, I am disappointed in our society as a whole, whereas before class I felt confident that we were at least making something of a difference for other countries and providing a good place for our children to be educated.
Concerning this story, I am aware of the effects of post traumatic stress disorder or syndrome. I have done more research on it than probably most of the people in our class. My best friend is a cadet at Westpoint and my boyfriend is a Private First Class Marine. I have grown up around military men since my uncle was a Marine and my grandfather fought in WWII, and I have attended his WWII reunions every summer and have loved getting to know these wonderful veterans. Sadly, I feel like I am probably one of the only supporters in our class of the things that our military is sent out to do. I will never say that war is glamorous or that I think people should be killed. I HATE the concept of war. I hate that our men are dying and that many were drafted into Vietnam when they did not want to go. However, sometimes I am more fed up with the fact that in college, we read the most depressing stories of their experiences fighting for our country, such as this one. Where are the stories of patriotism and victory? Why do we not read about how grateful Vietnamese children were when they saw American troops coming to save them from the Viet Cong?
I guess I will end by saying that I am NOT a proponent of war. I am as much for world peace as the next person. But in the meantime, our country needs protection, and sometimes other countries need our help. Our men have signed up to defend us, and I hate to think that all I have learned in my classes in college thus far is that there are no positive outcomes of war, that all soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen regret their experiences, and that we do not provide them with support when they return home, which is no longer true. I guess I just wish there could be a positive spin on all of these negative situations from our stories, but I'm only one person in the class expressing my opinion.

"Yellow Woman"

This story intrigued me. In the beginning, I allowed myself to be romanced by the mystery of Silva and his almost supernatural hold on the Yellow Woman. However, by the end, I wanted the main character to escape from her captor.
First of all, I have to point out that I think what the man or "spirit" does is wrong. All of it. He not only seduces a woman that he must know is married if he is truly some sort of higher being, but he holds her against her will and rapes her in his home. It does not matter to me if a man thinks he has used his charm to overcome a woman's denials. Saying, "You will do what I want," and using body strength to overpower someone is wrong.
Secondly, to address the issue of whether or not Silva is the spirit he claims to be, I think it should be pointed out that not only does he need things like money and food to survive, but he uses a gun to defend himself. If he were a spirit, could he not find a better and more peaceful means to escape from the white man? I believe that Silva is simply a hermit (to reference our last story) who uses the romantic and mysterious myth of the ka’tsina spirit to lure women into his arms. He then uses his charm to keep them locked under his control, and they begin to fantasize about never returning to their normally stressful lives. Not only do they feel special to be chosen by one who may be a spirit, but in Silva’s world, there seems to exist only the calm of the river, the beauty of the pine trees, the tranquility of sleep, and the passion within his eyes.
This story is sugarcoated by the idea that this man may truly be a spirit, but to me this notion cannot cloud Silva's manipulation of the Yellow Woman. As I read, I was reminded of the classic stories of Greek gods who stole women from their homes and had their ways with them. There will always be a mystical and romantic quality to these tales, yet the fact still remains that wrongs are being committed. If Silva is meant by Leslie Marmon Silko to truly be a spirit, then I suppose I cannot judge him any more than I can judge the fictitious Greek gods. However, if he is simply the Navajo man that I suspect him to be, then he is nothing but a seductor, rapist, cattle rustler, and murderer. I find it interesting that the Yellow Woman still desires to return to him after everything he does to and in front of her. I cannot help but wonder if he would be able to achieve the same perplexing control over this woman were it not for his insistence that he is the ka’tsina spirit. What kind of man could make a woman desert her husband and baby after only two nights together?

"The Hermit's Story"

This story put me to sleep. However, it was not in a bad way. Usually, I enjoy action-adventure, horror, mystery, or romantic stories, but every once in a while I like to sit down with a story like this one and just let it lull me into a calmness akin to sleep. With his use of vivid description of the landscape of Canada, Rick Bass's story reminds me of J.R.R. Tolkien's descriptive passages in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. (Oh no, I just exposed my nerdiness).
I enjoyed Bass's connection between Ann and her dogs, and I liked that by the end of the story, Ann feels as if she has experienced the world through her dogs' eyes. I'm not sure that I've ever heard anyone else claim to have had an experience such as hers, so it made her claims even more unique to me. As I was reading, the vividness of the landscape and the underground lake became so clear and captivating that I wished I could step out of my dorm room and into Ann's frozen world. Bass succeeds in capturing my complete attention and drawing me completely into his mysterious blue setting.
The only problem I have with this story occurs when Ann describes the scene of Gray Owl's plunge through the ice. She watches him fall, regrets that if he drowns she will have to retrieve his pack, and worries more that his dogs will follow him to death rather than Gray Owl's own demise. At this moment, I was actually drawn out of the story as I grew angry at Ann's coldness, and it took me a page or two to begin to relate to her again.