Thursday, September 08, 2011

Escape the Box 2011


We have spent the past two weeks discussing questions surrounding identity. As part of those discussions, we you have read several stories, listened to music, performed poetry, written in journals, and created identity collages to express your own unique cultural identifiers. We have also discussed various examples of "the box," which is a metaphor for any obstacles or barriers that might isolate, frustrate, enclose, or sometimes protect someone from a larger world.

Think back over everything we have read so far for this unit ("Theme for English B," "High Yellow White Trash," "Sylvia's Story" from National Public Radio, "Phone Booth at the Corner"). Your task now is to write and post a comment in this forum in which you describe a connection between at least TWO of these works, focusing on the role of "the box." Think about how different characters face similar or different challenges. Think about similarities or differences in the kinds of disguises characters wear. Do you think these characters will escape from their boxes? What kinds of factors put characters and/or people in boxes? Are the "boxes" constructed by society (for example, by stereotypes), or do families and individuals create their own boxes?

When you have made a connection between at least two works, write a post describing that connection. Make sure to mention specific characters/narrators, and to be clear about how the "boxes" they experience are similar. Your post should be in the form of a well-developed paragraph with a topic sentence and evidence, examples, and text references. You should feel free to respond to your classmates' posts, as well as to ask your classmates questions.


*** Remember to use your first name and "Doyle period ___" when you sign your post. Also, if you choose to respond to what another classmate wrote, please do so in a respectful manner.

38 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that HYWT and Sylvia's Story are connected because Sylvia wants to escape the "box" that her family made for her, but her family doesn't want her to. Lisa Page from HYWT wants to be herself, but can't be herself in the "white" neighborhoods, or in the "black" neighborhoods. Lisa's "disguises" are a self made box that she has to be in all of the time. Sylvia is in a box that hispanic people made, and her family supports. They both want to be themselves, but society and families are preventing them from doing that. Their challenge is to escape the box.

Alex Doyle 6-7

4:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that "High Yellow White Trash" And "Sylivia's story" are two rather similar stories. For example both girls have two worlds seperated by race. Lisa Page has the "white" world of her mother and the "black" world of her father. Sylvia had the World of her family where she was responsible oldest girl and she had the world of her american teenage girl self. Also (at least in my opinion) neither girl really broke out of her box. She gained a through understanding and almost acceptance of her box but neither girl really broke out.

hazel period 6-7

4:33 PM  
Anonymous Simone said...

Both the grandfather in "Phone Booth at the Corner" and Sylvia from "Sylvia's Story" are in boxes. Their boxes are similar because no one understands Sylvia and no one understands the grandfather. No one understands Sylvia not because of a language difference but her opinions differ from her parents, siblings, and cousins. They want her to be like them, Sylvia has her own opinions and doesn't want to be like her cousins, or mother. Slyvia wants to get out of her box and make them understand but they're making it difficult. The grandfather on the other hand no one understands because he doesn't speak english, he is also trapped in his box. But unlike Sylvia he doesn't seem to be making much effort to get out. His grandson isn't helping him either. His grandson could've helped him get out of the phone booth, he spoke english and knew how to open the door, his grandfather didn't. Society and her family put Sylvia in her box, whilst the grandfather's box is kind of self-made. The grandfather might want to stay in his box.

Simone
Humanities Period 1-2

4:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ajay Period 1-2
One connection between that we have read is the connection between Sylvia's Story and "Crickets. I have made a connection between these stories because both characters are trying to escape "the box". Bill in crickets is trying to escape the Viatnamese box, and Sylvia is trying to escape the Mexican box. Both their parents want them to be in the box. They also both have things that they like from outside the box. Bill loves superheroes and Sylvia likes american music such as NIrvana and Metalica. Both their parents try to pull them back into the box. Ted tries to pull Bill back into the box by telling him about his childhood and Sylvia's mother tries to pull her in by not sending her to college. Neither attempt works in both stories. All Bill cares about are his new shoes and Sylvia still ends up going to college.

4:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think there is “box” connection between “Sylvia’s Story” and “Crickets”. I think the connection is both Sylvia’s family and Ted are in the same kind of box. Sylvia’s family and Ted have created their own boxes. They don’t want to except one of their family members for what they want to do or what they are interested in. In Sylvia’s case she wants to go to collage and get an education, but her family wants her to do what they did, which was have kids and marry early. In Ted’s case his son is not very interested in the crickets and to worried about his shoes, and Ted wants him to learn and be Vietnamese instead of American.

Criss Period 6-7

5:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that families do not make their own boxes but they use the boxes of the past generation into the next generation like into Sylvia’s family did. The main character of High Yellow White Trash seems to be stuck jumping from one box to the other to the point that a little bit of each box is part of her.
Nicky period 1-2 doyle

5:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In High Yellow White Trash and Theme for English B there is a connection because they are both stereotypes because, for theme for english B Langston Hughes was talking about how even though i'm not the same skin color as u we are the same and theres nothing separating us apart. For high Yellow white trash the stereotype is how the mom is to embarrassed or her child being Caucasian that when the family members come in town the mom says her daughter is indian to explain why her skin color is darker than the others. The stereotypes are that even though my skin color may be darker it doesn't mean that im any different than the u professor or i'm not any different than my mother. Families also create a "box" because in High Yellow White Trash the narrators mother was making a box between her and her daughter because her daughters skin color was darker and she was embarrassed of her family members knowing about her daughters real identity, because her mother wanted to keep it a secret. The difference between this to story is that Langston Hughes just comes right out about how it doesn't matter what skin color we are we are all the same, but in High Yellow White Trash the daughter has to put on two different disguises one with her mother and her friends that live near her mother called the "white" disguise and the "black"disguise with her father and her friends that live near her father. I think that eventually they will escape the box but for the daughter in High Yellow White Trash she will still have a part of her two disguises still in her.
-lauren per 1 and 2

5:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that the connection between Ted and the grandfather is a good one. They are in a box of language. Like when the grandfather could only speak Spanish and ted tiered to talk a different language to his son bill. I think that they are in the same box.

William period 6-7

6:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Phone Booth in the Corner relates to Theme for English B, The NPR news report and High Yellow White Trash, because in all of the stories, their cultural identity forces them into a box. In all of the stories because of their race or language, they are forced into a different box, then the surrounding America. In Phone Booth in the Corner the grandfather is forced into a box, because he can’t speak the same language as the rest of America. He tries to get out but is stopped almost immediately, when he can’t even communicate –or even open—a phone both. In Theme for English B the main character is forced into a box, because of his race. This box stops him from being educated well. Towards the end of that story, the main character tells the professor to stop treating him like he’s inside a box. In the Sylvia Story, because of her ethnicity, she is forced into a box to be like the rest of her family. She tries to escape, and aspires to work on movies, therefore trying to break out of the box. In High Yellow White Trash because of her race, her mother tries to put her into a “White” box. She however wants to be Black, and not white. She tries to escape this box by living part time in the “black” box, and admiring black women. In all of these stories, people are forced into a box because of their cultural identity, and they all try to break out of the box.
Akhil Period 1-2

6:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is a connection between Sylvia's Story and Theme for English B because in both those stories the person is trying to escape a box of some sort of discrimination. In Theme for English B the person is trying to escape the box of being black. And in Sylvia's Story Sylvia is trying to escape the box of being a "normal Mexican" because she wants to go to collage.

Christopher Doyle period 9

6:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

After the Harkniss, the whole box perpective is actually starting to come into play. It makes sense, how because of his language defect, he feels like he doesn't belong to that society of where the narrator I guess is from. I guess the box was turned into a literal meaning of being stuck in the phone booth, which I thought was clever!

ojus period 1-2

7:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am going to compare Crickets and Phone Booth at the corner. Crickets is about Mr. Theiu moving from Vietnam to America. He basically starts his life over again, working in a chemical factory and raising a family. He doesn't like being in America very much because people seem to do very different things than Vietnam. For example, American's are much larger, and Vietnamese people are much smaller. His co workers call him Ted, to fit in, but he doesn't like that very much. He has a son named Bill, who is a totally All American boy (going to school, watching television, playing with action figures) and really prefers America than Vietnam. But Ted feels like he wants his family to still feel that "international blood", and tries to get his son to fight crickets with him. He explains to Bill that there are two kinds of crickets: A charcoal one (which is bigger), and a Fire cricket (smaller cricket). They look for a long time trying to find the Fire cricket, but all they can find is the Charcoal cricket. So then Bill leaves him just standing there.
In Phone Booth at the Corner, A grandfather (who for the first time visits) and son go for a leisure walk to their local bar. when they get to the bar, the phone rings in the telephone booth and the grandfather goes to answer it. But he realizes that he only speaks spanish and can't talk to the other line. When trying to get out of the phone booth, he pushes the door, but it won't open. he and his grandson keep on pushes but nothing happens. After getting tired, the grandfather lets go of the door. The door opens. They both start laughing.
I think these two stories really relate to each other because first, they are both about two different people coming to America for the first time. One to live, One to visit (I think). In Crickets, Ted doesn't like how is coworkers call him "Ted" and that his son Bill doesn't want to feel like he is Vietnamese. So he feels disconnected from everything because he is from a different place. In Phone Booth at the Corner, When the phone rings, immediately the grandfather picks it up, but realizes he can't speak spanish and is helpless with that. Because he doesn't speak english, he is cut off from a lot of things which is really hard. In Crickets, Ted tries to engage his son in Cricket fighting, but only fails when they can't find any Fire crickets. It's kind of like he is trying too hard to impress and get his son to be into something Vietnamese, that he realizes that it will just fail. Ted remains in "the Box" at the end. In Phone Booth at the Corner, the Grandfather gets stuck in the phone booth and he and his son try to push but fail in opening the door. After the grandfather gets tired and stops, the door opens and they both begin to laugh. In this poem, the grandfather breaks out of the box, which is different from Crickets, but I still find the metaphorical storyline the same. They both go through trying to hard to open "their box", but in the end, the grandfather "lets go" and suddenly he's free. In Crickets, Ted doesn't have that chance. "He was gone at once and the side door slammed and I put the box on the grass. But I didn't go in."



Delnaz

Per 6-7

7:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is a connection between “Theme for English B” and Sylvia’s story. In both of those things the characters (or narrators) are being expected to have a certain personality because of their race and heritage they are expected to follow stereotypes. Sylvia is expected to be a typical Mexican girl, she is supposed to go to school just to get a boyfriend and to marry and get pregnant when she is 18 or 19. And the narrator is talking about he is not as free and the white instructor. He is given this assignment and the instructor says let this piece come out of you and then it will be true. And the instructor expects him to write differently than the white people in the class. And so both of those people are being downgraded because of their race and most importantly expected to follow stereotypes, because that’s what was believed to be back then.

Charlie Period 6-7

7:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In "Phone Booth at the Corner", the grandpa is stuck in "The Box". In "Crickets", Bill is stuck in the U.S.A. box. Both the grandpa and Bill are kind of in the same situation because, they are stuck in the U.S.A box. The grandpa tries coming to the U.S.A for a bit and he can not do it because he only speaks Spanish. Bill is becoming more American and the grandpa cannot get out of the phone booth. The grandpa could escape from the box by going back to his home country but Bill could escape the box if he really studies Vietnamese culture or if he just goes to live in Vietnam with his family. I think that the grandpa could escape from the box but Bill could in a harder way. Grandpa got into the box because he came to the U.S.A. Bill has gotten in the box because he came to live in the U.S.A. In these cases, families and individuals created their boxes.
These two characters from different texts have gotten in strong situations. They could escape them but one could do it in an easier way than the other can.

Christos "Doyle periods 1-2"

7:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's almost as though the stories kind of go up on a scale of metaphor-ness... starting with Theme for English B, which was subtle even covering the fact that he was dealing with a stereotype at all (or maybe it just took us a while to find the idea because it was our first try), going up to Phone Booth at the Corner, in which the grandfather is literally stuck in a box. Sylvia's Story comes in a close second, as she mentions a box but isn't physically stuck in one. A box was never mentioned in High Yellow White Trash, but it was apparent that she was caught in one. In terms of challenges and which characters face them, ages vary as well. Starting from the top of the metaphor list, we never figured out how old the boy was-- but the grandfather had to be at least sixty, as said in the poem. One of the main points in Sylvia’s Story is that around the age of fourteen she began to like more American music, and the tape was recorded right before she turned 18. In terms of High Yellow White Trash, the narrator was grown up, speaking about the past. And Theme for English B was from the point of view of a 22-year-old college student. Because of that, they all obviously face different issues because their cultural identifiers vary-- for example, the narrator of Theme for English B faced that fact that, in the early fifties, he was the only African-American in his class. In High Yellow White Trash, however, it was from the point of view of a girl who had two different personas. Some distinct issues she had to deal with included the fact that she was built differently than the rest of her white classmates in ballet. But both of these people spoke fluent English, as far as we know. The grandfather in Phone Booth at the Corner couldn’t even do that. Someone who was more relatable to him would be Sylvia, who had to translate things for her parents, and would sometimes have to be the voice of authority whether she wanted to be or not.

7:45 PM  
Blogger Benjiwitt9 said...

"High Yellow White Trash" and "Sylvia's Story"

Benji
Period 6-7
Doyle

It think that High Yellow White Trash and Sylvia's Story are similar because both main characters want to be different that what they really are. Theresa does not want to be white and Sylvia does not want to be Mexican. Theresa started using slang in front of her mom and her other white relatives Which shows disrespect and that she does not really want to be white. They both are stuck between too worlds/costumes.
Theresa always used a disguise in front of white people whereas Sylvia's disguise is mostly in front of everyone.

8:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I see a connection between Theme for English B and “Sylvia’s Story”. In “Sylvia’s Story” Sylvia is a girl who wants to be a regular American girl, who goes to school, and gets a job. She is fighting with her mother about having a traditional Mexican life where the girls do housework instead of getting a job. In Theme from English B, the man writing the poem wants to be like any other white citizen in the U.S. the time. He is colored so white people treat him differently than they would treat a normal white person. He likes the same things as white people do, but he is colored so they can not accept him in to society as a normal person. They are both fighting the same thing; race. Sylvia is fighting a Mexican tradition that says she has to be the person all of the women of the family were. In Theme for English B he is fighting racial injustice that does not allow him to be the person that he wants to be, which is basically white.
Both characters do not have a disguise; they are stating who they are in the poem and in the interview. Sylvia does not even try to be like a traditional Mexican girl, she does not like to do her chores, or cook. She listens to American music tells her mother over and over again that she wants to be an American girl. In Theme for English B he is telling his instructor that white and black are similar. He also says, that he likes things similar to what white people like such as, music, presents, and going to one of the best schools in America
The factors that put these characters in the box that they are in are race. The boxes these characters are put in are by their race, Sylvia by Mexican family tradition, and the man in Theme for English B by race. I think Sylvia will escape the box because she is driven to be an American girl. In Theme for English B he is determined to be like a white person, but most of the white part of the country at the time is determined not to let that happen. In Sylvia’s case she is put in a box by her mother, but in Theme for English B he is put in a box by society because he is colored.




Andrew period 6-7

8:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sylvia (“Sylvia’s Story”) and Lisa (“High Yellow White Trash”) are both girls being “tugged” or pulled from one box to another, back and forth by their hearts and by their families. They both want to get out of their boxes and be more true to themselves but they also feel reluctant because they love their family and don’t want to upset their parents. Both girls feel pressure to conform to the expectations of their parents.

After Lisa’s parents get their divorce she is torn between being in her mother’s “white box” or being in her father’s “black box”. Lisa seems to prefer her dad’s box. Part of Lisa wants to be black because they are “more loose and relaxed, they talk faster and have more than one language etc.” . But she loves her mom very much and her mom puts Lisa in a “white box”. Her mother wants her to take ballet, read classic books, listen to classical music, speak properly and basically act like a white girl. Lisa is a girl who is not quite sure which box to be in and maybe she does not even want to be in either.

Sylvia knows that she does not want to be your “typical Mexican girl”. She does not want to be a house wife and have a family at a young age. She wants to go to college and live the “American life” but her mother is standing in the way. Sylvia feels forced to be in the “mexican girl” box. Her mother wants her to cook and take care of the home and to have children at a young age and live the “mexican girl” life.

Lisa and Sylvia are both put in boxes by one of the cultural identifiers. For Lisa it is race and for Sylvia it is ethnicity. For everyone their box is made from their cultural identifiers. Some people feel more comfortable in a box than others. Lisa is definitely not comfortable in her white box, but she is reluctant to stay in the black box even though she likes it there. Same with Sylvia, she is not comfortable in her “Mexican girl box”.


I think that Sylvia will get out because she seems driven to live the “American life”. I also think that evenyually her mother will accept the fact that she wants to follow her own path. I think Lisa Page, as she says in the story, will be in the “grays”. Not the whites, or the blacks, somewhere in-between. In the place, not the box, where her parents where when they were married. I think that there may be periodic tension between the daughters and their parents even after the girls become adults because of their differences.


Lucy, Doyle period 6-7

8:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I found a connection between "Crickets" and "The Phone Booth On The Corner." In "Crickets" the dad is trying to find a way to make his son Bill interested in Vietnamese things and wants to bond with him. In "The Phone Booth On The Corner" The Grandpa is trying to bond with his grandson by going to the local bar and hanging out there.

My second connection is Between "Crickets" and Sylvia's story in "Crickets" the dad tries to Bond with his son by teaching him about cricket fighting. Bill wants to grow up to be american and Ted wants bill to grow up Vietnamese. In Sylvia's story sylvia wants to grow up like a normal american kid and get an education and go to collage. Her mom wants her to grow up like she would in mexico and not go to collage.

Nick Period 6-7

9:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I feel a connection between the grandpa and Sylvia. The Grandpa stuck in the phone booth, Sylvia by her family. Although in different boxes, they both have to deal with stereotypes, both are trying their best to fit in, but neither will ever be a true American, in the American box, living the American life. Eventually they realize that if they stop pushing so hard, it will present itself. Although Sylvia speaks English better than the grandpa, her family restrains her. It ends up being the same.

Jonathan Period 1-2

9:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In Silvia's story Silvia faces her family as a challenge because her family doesn't think her ideas should be put to action. Silvia believes that she can make her own decisions and not have to be told what and what not to do in her life. Silvia's story relates to "Phone Booth at the Corner" because the grandfather struggles with opening the door of the phone booth which is similar to the situation of Silvia and her family. I think these people will escape their boxes because when people actually try they can succeed. The fact that Silvia's family disagrees with her decisions already puts her in a box and while the grandfather doesn't speak English makes him struggle and when he can't get out of the phone booth he struggles even more because he doesn't know what to do.

Tiffany Doyle 6-7

9:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that "Theme for English B" and HYWT are connected because in both stories, the author is trying to escape their "box" and describe the stereotypes and expectations of others unwillingly force them into "boxes". In one case, the author is telling his teacher it's wrong to judge based on the color of ones skin, and in the other, the same message just in a different way.

Payton Doyle 6-7

10:08 PM  
Anonymous Kyle Adlaka per 6-7 said...

I think that Lisa Paige does the right thing by not trying to escape the "box" but improvising. I admire how she disguises herself in the different communities.She deals with the so called "box" very well in the story. Sylvia on the other hand needs her family to support her but also wants to escape them and the stereotypical Mexican "box". I think Sylvia should countinue to stay in connection with her family but continue to escape the "box".

10:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I found a connection between High Yellow White Trash and Sylvia’s Story. Both Lisa Paige from HYWT and Sylvia are put into cultural boxes. In Sylvia’s life she was born into and raised in a traditional Mexican box built by her family. Sylvia tries to escape the box and become more like an American girl but her mom blocks her way. Sylvia’s mom wants her to become a typical Mexican girl like her cousins. While Sylvia wants to follow her dreams and go to school. Lisa from HYWT was born in a biracial box and when her parents divorced she had to go into different disguises depending on who she was with, a white box for her mother and a black box for her father, “It was split right down the middle: the white world of my mother and the black world of my father.” Lisa’s boxes are different though, her black box is that she can fit in when she is with her dad and her black friends. Around her black friends Lisa uses slang and talks loudly. Lisa’s white box is used so she fits in around her white friends but her white box is mainly driven by her mom who thinks Lisa should use proper grammar, act more “white” and basically stop doing anything related to black culture. Personally I think Lisa is more black than white but she isn’t fully black, no one is. “It’s much easier to see things literally in black and white. But our lives are made up of gray areas that are not so easy to define.”So the connection I found between these two stories is both girls want to be something that they weren’t born into. And both girls are being held back by their moms to do the things they want to do.

Katherine Doyle 6-7

10:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that HYWT and Sylvia's story are alike because they both want to be their own person, but not forget their roots. Like how in HYWT she says that HYWT sums up that "your black but aware of your white heritage".In Sylvia's story she says she wants to be apart of her family but she doesn't want to be like her cousins or her mother.
JULIA
PD 1-2

10:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I found HYWT and Sylvia's Stories alike because the box that Sylvia's parents made for her, she is trying to get out of, but of course her parents don't want her to get out of that box. Lisa's family from HYWT want her to stay in their box also. The reason i think they are alike is because they both want to escape the box that their families want them to be in.

Marcellus
Doyle 6-7

11:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I found a distinct connection between Sylvia's story and Crickets. I think that the way Sylvia is trying to escape the Mexican traditional box is very similar to the way Bill, from Crickets, is trying to break out of his father's Vietnamese box. Both show signs of wanting to get a decent schooling, and be a 100% American girl/boy. For example, in Crickets part of Bill's American disguise is caring more about his Reeboks, which symbolize all that is
American in him, than about his relationship with his father. Sylvia does not like the Mexican traditions because she does not want to be regarded as ineffectual, and married off at a young age. I think the similarities between the two are not surprising, as their stories follow the same lines. Their parents both immigrated to the USA, seeking a better life, but have found themselves reminiscing, and trying to do just the same things that they were doing in their homeland. Now the children, who both sets of parents want to raise to be just like them, and remember a country which they've never even been to.
Isabella Period 1/2

Sorry Ms Doyle don't publish the first comment, I forgot my name

6:54 AM  
Blogger TaylorNicole said...

In Sylvia's story she was put in her box by her family, by society, and by tradition. If her brother wanted anything the mom wasn't even hesitate to do it. Sylia did not like the box and was fighting an uphill battle to get out. She didn't want to be like her 16 yr old preganant cousin. She wanted to wait till she was married, out of college, and settled down. Sylvia what would seem like a long war with her mother and society about being sexsist.
In "Theme for English B" the young color adult was placed in a much larger box than Syvia but he fought his battle probably all through his life. In "TEB" he is from a small town and comes to large city to be in an ivy league school. He is taken out of his enviroment and put in a box. One he didnt choose for himself and although he was the only colored student in the class, his teacher was white, his peers were white. He might not be able to aford a dorm at night but that should seperate him from the rest of the university and nor should the color of his skin.
Sylvia and the man have one thing in common and that is that they didn't choose their boxes. Society did.

6:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Sylvia's story and HYWT are connected because the main characters moms are both creating boxes for their daughters to live in. Sylvia's mom wants her to be a typical Mexican girl and Lisa's mom wants her to be a typical white girl. they are both trying to escape.
Nigel Doyle 6-7

7:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that “Theme for English B” and “The Phone Booth at the Corner” is similar. I think their similar in the main characters feel the same way, as they are the only ones of their kind. In “Theme for English B” the text reference is on page 24 line 10 “ I am the only colored person in my class”. In “The Phone Booth at the Corner” the text reference on page 7 paragraphs 3 line 3 “forgetting he only knew Spanish”. Also another way they are similar is they really put them self in the box and knew that they was a place outside side the box were they fit in. But they chose to be in the box. Which makes me think their brave.

Eleanor Period 6-7

8:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think there is a connection between High Yellow White Trash (HYWT) and Sylvia’s story. There is a connection in that both characters want to be something there parents (or in HYWT parent) wants then not to be. Like in Sylvia story she wants to break out of the Mexican Box and be in the American box but here parents are very unhappy about that and so are very protective about her Mexican heritage. And in HYWT she wants to break out of this stereotypical white box and wants to be in the stereotypical black box. But her Mom has not interest what so ever of her doing that and so she has to but on her white person disguise.
Bailey period 1-2

6:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hyder Doyle 6-7
I think that HYWT and "Sylivia's story" are sendng the same message. in "Sylivia's story" they talk about escaping the box, and in HYWT the main character talks about being different and not fitting in, witch is the same concept. So in all i think that they are trapped and they reliase that and thats what shows simularity.

6:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that they are connected because both of them want to escape the box that other people put them in, but there family is sort of against it, but the kids dont really care what the family thinks sylvia's in a hispanic box and lisa's in a half white half black box they are trying to escape the box but their parents keep on pushing them in it

Jameel Doyle 1-2

3:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hyder Doyle 6-7
I think HYWT is like Sylvia's story because they both talk about escaping the box and they know they are in a box, They both are struggling toward the lid of the box and trying to tear it apart. there purpose in life is to fit in and just stop being held back because of culture and family history and expectations. They both want to be themselves, but there background is doing everything in its power to stop them.

12:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that HYWT and Slyvia's Story are similar because Lisa Page and Slyvia are both trying to escape the "box" that there parents have created for them. And both of them are feeling out of place in the "box". But there parents will not let them out even though they want something different for there futures and for themselves.

Mica
Doyle 1-2

9:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that HYWT and Sylvia's story are connected because In both of them, they face having two deal with two different worlds. I HYWT, the girl is struggling because she lived in two worlds, and she could be her self in either of them. In Sylvia, Sylvia has two deal with her families stereotype of a woman, but she wants to go to collage and get an education. In both of the stories, characters deal with two different worlds, and have a lot of trouble trying to fit in.

Clyde period 6-7

7:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that Sylvia's Story and Crickets are connected. Bobby and Sylvia are both first generation Americans. Both Sylvia and Bobby want to be all American children. Their parents, on the other hand, want them to stay true to their original culture. The last connection between Bobby and Sylvia is that they are both more comfortable in American society then their parents.

Elena Doyle 1/2

9:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is an abstract connection between "Sylvia's Story" and "Phone Booth at the Corner". Sylvia is in an invisible box bounded by her parent's culture and rules while Grandpa is bounded by a physical box, the phone booth. Sylvia's mom always wants Sylvia to be a typical Mexican girl like her cousins, and that is not she wants to be. Sylvia wants to go to college and do digital effects for movies. Grandpa was trapped inside the phone booth because he could not speak and read English and do not know how the phone booth door works. Both stories are about being trapped, one with cultural expectations and the other with physical device. Sylvia's box is created by her family and Grandpa's box is created by his language barrier. Both characters show their unhappiness and frustration with the traps.

Becky Doyle 1-2

11:33 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home