Black Boy Themes

1. Love
2. Pride
3. Hunger
4. Isolation
5. Youth 
6. Education
7. Ignorance 
8. Resilience 

• Justice 
• Authority Figures
• Identity
• Racism 
• Gender Roles 
• Religion/Faith 
• Coming of Age 
• Journey 

In Black Boy by Richard Wright I learned that sometimes you think things are best for someone else when they really are not.  In parts of the memoir Richard goes to a private catholic school where his Aunt is his teacher and his authority figure.  He tries his gardest to behave but in the back of his mind he does not truly beleive in what the school is teaching him.  He tries to keep his faith as his family pushes to continue at the religious school.  After a time where Richard is blamed by his aunt for something he did not do and gets betten he has had enough and says he will no longer go to the school.

In Black Boy by Richard Wright I learned that Identity plays a big part in the way that you are looked at by other people.  For example, When richard is out with his grandmother they get wierd stares because he is a young black boy and from where people can see she is an older white woman.  What they do not know is that his grandmother is part black and that she is whith her grandson.  

My thoughts on the book are that the education and authority figures in Richard Wright's life were not in a positive place in his life at the moment.  He often disagreed with the religion and education being taught at his school and just as often questioned all of the authority figures in his life.

Literary Analysis

T- tone/mood; the emotional of the author or the reader
W- word choice; metaphors
I- imagery; paints a picture in a readers mind (5 senses, especially sound)
S- style; punctuation, syntax, ect.
T- theme; what you are going to start with, main idea, central meaning


"There was the breathlessly anxious fun of chasing and catching flitting fireflies on drowsy summer nights" pg. 45 mid-way

T- sad but hopeful; wants freedom away from his family
W- uses describing words to say what he hopes for in the future, personification (drowsy summer night)
I- "breathlessly anxious"
S-  blank statement, does not use much punctuation
T- While going through difficult times is better to stay hopeful and wanting a better future; throughout the memoir he goes through a lot of difficult moments but he still has the hope to resolve to a better future

A to Z Literary Devices

A
allusion; reference to history
alliteration; words together with the same first letter
allegory; an extended meaning or metaphor
analogy; comparing two things
antithesis; comapring with two opposites
anaphora; "there was" statements

B


C
connotation; beyond the literal level
characterization; the personality of a character
conflict; the thing conflicting with other things throughout the story
D
diolouge; words between characters
denotaion; a literal meaning of a word
E

F
first-person; where the author writes about themselves using I
foreshadowing; something in the text that predicts something that happens in the future part of the book
flashback; a part of the story that brings back a story from the past

G
genere; the type of book

H
hyperbole; exaggerated statements not to be taken literally
haiku; a type of poem using 5,7,5
I
irony; the opposite of what was expected
imagery; using your 5 senses to descirbe something
J

K

L

M
metaphor; comparing two things without using like or as
motif; a repeating symbol or idea
mood; the emotion of the reader
monolouge; a paragraph where a character is talking to themselves
N

O
oxymoron; ex- jumbo shrimp
otomotopia; a word that defines a sound

P
paradox; a situation that contradicts itself
personification; giving a non-human thing a human quality
plot; the line of the story
pun; a play on words
perspective; the way a charcter sees things about situations

Q

R
rhyming; rhyme
repetition; using a word or idea more than once
rhythm; the beat of the line

S
simile; comparing things using like or as
satire; making fun of a bigger thing
sarcasm; harsh or mean satire
symbol; something in the story that represents something
soliloquy; where the character is talking to themselves
T
third-perosn; where the author writes about themselves using their name or they
theme; a central idea throughout the story
tone; the authors style while writting

U

V
voice; the voice of a character

W

X

Y

Z

My Most Vivid Childhood Memories

When I was 5 years old my dad, mom, younger brother, and I moved to the Czech Republic from Chicago for my dads job and I specifically remeber the day we rode the plane to Prauge.  it was early in the morning and we had all of out things packed in boxes outside our house except for a few things we were bringing with us on the plane.  The big truck came to take our things where it would later send them to us.  Our family friend named Salvador drove us all to the airport but before we left my uncle and my grandparents were all at our house to say goodbye.  After goodbyes we got in the car and were dropped off at the airport.  I remember getting to the airport and me and my brother had matching outfits so we would not get sepperated or lost. Later we got on the plane and...

Blog 102214 and 102314

10/22

For the next 30 min. I plan to complete the two notecards that I finished yesterday and fins one more resource. It is specific becuase i plainly state what I plan to do.  It is measurable because I can measurei it within the next 30 minutes.  It is action oriented because it is part of the steps that I need to complete for the passion project.  It is realistic because i can finish this goal in the next 30 min.  It is tangible because I will be able to see my finish product.

yes I completed my goal and I was successful

10/23

My goal for today was to complete writing my 3 emails and send the drafts to mr.cheng by the end of class today.

I did not finish my goal but I did complete most of it.  I found 3 people I can write emails to and I am almost done with my second email. When I am done writing all of them I will send them to mr. cheng and then ask for feedback. After that I will fix what needs to be fixed from the feedback and send them to the people I need to send the emails to and copy mr.cheng.

Blog 101514

Notes on Night/Boy in the Striped Pajamas compare-contrast discussion:

• What is the author trying to show rather than what are the characters showing 
• Similarities and diferences- go deeper into that the authors are thinking 
• Yes they are similar stories but are they significantly more similar or different 
• Innocent or choosing to be ignorant-  what the authors want the readers to get from the story 
• What are the readers understanding
• What are the characters understanding 
• What is the goal of the author and how is the author manipulating the reader 
• How the author communicates their points 
• A holocaust takes away someone's hummanity/loss of innocence 

Writting Prompt: What's important about the two books-- in YOU opinion, as you understand what the authors (Wiesel and Boyne) are trying to express or teach you. 

Blog 100614

I think that these two texts were very similar because not  only did the characters have very emotional coming of age stories but at the end of both stories they come to conclusions of their emotional pasts.  At the end of The Perks of Being a Wallflower Charlie gets the help he needs after his Aunt changed his life so many years ago and at the end of The Girl Who Fell From The Sky Rachel faces the conclusion of what really happened up on the roof up with her mom and siblings.  I think that everyone gets older and matures more as they go through changes but sometimes even things that happened to you as a young kid will stay with you forever.

I think that I have experienced many things that will stay with me for the rest of my life but the biggest life changing event in my life was when my parents got divorced.  It is actually very common for ids to have divorced but what people do not know is that it really does change your life forever.  It changes your everyday things like where you sleep and even what you have to eat or wear.  I think it is important to have something that changes your life because it is important to have something that makes you look at things in a different way than other people.