Here are the guidelines:
- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
These three essays evoked memories of school, road trips, and the beauty of accepting oneself in a small but powerful way. In “The Witching Hour” by Aimee Nezuhkumatahil, I realized the author used her own name in the story and that made it more personal for me. Not to mention, the story took me back to being in elementary and always feeling the freedom to express myself. Unlike how Mrs. Johnson completely shut down her drawing of the aswang and made her creativity feel “invisible”, as she mentioned. Through her use of descriptive imagery, I was able to feel like I was one of the twenty-five silent third graders watching the teacher shame Aimee. However, the feeling of winning first place and using Mrs. Johnson’s markers to draw all the aswangs she wanted was sure worth it all. On the other hand, “Late July, 4:40 a.m.” by Reg Saner brought his endless random thoughts that appeared while riding the “adrenaline rush of early hour euphoria”. I must say I found the story to be all over the place and hard to follow but nonetheless got a message from it. As he went from topic to topic, I noticed he had an overall theme of motion. In particular, he said “Motion as essence, as life’s very definition”. Not to mention, he ended the essay saying the world can only focus on the little things if they stop. Saner made an excellent point adding that like the road, the world does not stop, and he is completely right. Lastly, “Dreads” by Alice Walker, had a beautiful and empowering meaning that societal norms should not stop one from accepting their natural self. The growth from the narrator claiming to also be guilty of trying to force her hair to lie flat, to ultimately letting it be natural for over ten years is astonishing. Overall, I enjoyed all three essays and the manner that they went about describing their experience.
ReplyDelete-Natalia Martinez
In the beginning while reading “The Witching Hour” I did not get what the aswang was—but an animal. The author; Aimee N. was in elementary and felt very disconnected to her teacher and the project because of her foreign animal choice to draw. I searched up the aswang and I kind of get why the teacher did not like Aimee drawing that—it’s kind of creepy! Although, I felt Aimee had a right to draw it because she felt close to the aswang’s origin and folklore. Throughout the essay, she is very descriptive and does not stray the readers away to her main story line. However, the essay “Late July, 4:40 a.m.” the story is kind over the place. I believe the author Reg Saner is talking about traveling. They mention how “the road’s ongoing promise—endless, auspicious…” and how they enjoy the motion there is in traveling (230). In the end, Saner mentions how “the road’s motion won’t let me…” in which I believe that stopping is not a choice for him but to keep going and explore the world (231). In the last essay, “Dreads,” Alice Walker described her hair as a part of her identity. Bob Marley and Peter Rosh are an inspiration for her as having dreads is something to not hide but she feels, “in her faith in my desire to be natural was well deserved… I was, in a way, made happy forever (232).”
ReplyDelete-Karen Lamas
“The Witching Hour”, by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, is an inspiring story because it teaches you to let your imagination run wild and confide in yourself regardless of what happens. In this instance, a third grader named Aimee drew something called an aswang: described as a beautiful young woman that morphs into a creature of fantastic evil on page 227, according to her. I really like the description that was given of the aswang because it really helped me picture how it looked like. However, the teacher in the story did not approve of her drawing so she had her restart it from the beginning and tore the drawing apart. This is something that didn’t sit well with me because the teacher should have encouraged the drawing and shouldn’t have scolded her for it. Nonetheless, this story was one of my favorites that we have read so far. In “Late July, 4:40 a.m”, by Reg Saner, I really liked the imagery that he implemented into the story. For example, he’s describing what he sees on a plain in western Kansas by saying “a wheat field now stubble is still giving off the earth smells of night”, on page 229. The author helps you try to picture the smell of the wheat field. This is something I enjoyed because I associate everything with smell. Lastly, I instantly fell in love with the story “Dreads”, by Alice Walker, because she mentions Bob Marley and the influence he had on her. I really enjoyed when Alice mentioned that “Bob Marley is the person who taught me to trust the universe enough to respect my hair”, on page 231. Music artists can be very influential in positive ways, and I am glad he had that effect on her.
ReplyDelete-Gilbert Sanchez
In The Witching Hour, I admire how Nezhukumatathil defends her cultural folklore stories with comparing them to American folklore stories and how they are normalized and accepted while hers are not. (pg.228) I love how she embraces her cultures stories, rather than a kid who is ashamed by them and tries to push them away. She loves her mother’s stories and they make her happy. (pg.229) At the end of the essay, even though she was shamed by Mrs. Johnson the last time about her drawing, she didn’t care and kept drawing the aswang because she knows she shouldn’t feel ashamed just because she is embracing her cultures folklore. (pg.229) In Late July, 4:40 a.m., the imagery Saner creates is incredible, it makes me feel as if I am sitting beside him in the passenger’s seat of his truck. Particularly, in page 230, I like how he shows us his train-of-thought and what he sees/thinks. However, at the end of the essay, I felt confused. Did it turn political or did he just view these billboards by chance? Lastly, in the essay Dreads, Walker (like Nezhukumatathil) is embracing her true self and identity. (pg.231) She says she used to change her hair like her friends/family, yet after noticing her icons embrace their hair, it made her want to do the same. At the end of her essay, she compares African textured hair to a wonder of the universe. Thus, explaining why she now wears her dreads with pride and honor. Overall, these three essays were a fantastic read and the writers did a wonderful job in describing and creating a vivid picture for the reader to imagine.
ReplyDelete-Jasmine Hinojosa
My favorite short story would have to be “The Witching Hour” because right away it caught my attention, I assumed it would be a very mythical short story based on the title itself. I can see how this short story fits perfectly into creative nonfiction, because although she is telling an actual nonfiction story based on her own life, she also manages to incorporate the creativeness of the Aswang. It’s shocking to me that the teacher was so shaken and upset at the fact that she drew the Aswang, especially because she wasn’t super clear as to what the rules were only that the animal needed to be an endangered species. So to her best ability she drew something she knew endangered. It’s also very hypocritical of the teacher to rip her picture and make her start over. My favorite part was that the narrator didn't get mad, she did as she was told and did a fantastic job that she even won first prize. In the end she still manages to show the best of her work of the aswang that she wanted to show and the irony of her using the teachers markers she won made it that much better.
ReplyDelete-Michelle Rodriguez
I really enjoyed reading “The Withcing Hour” and “Dreads” only because they were straight to the point and it had dialogue. In “The Witching Hour” the author recalled her experience with a teacher who didn’t understand the significance of storytelling and legends from the Philippines. We’ve all experienced this type of ignorance at some point of our lives, which is exactly why I can relate to Nezhukumatathil’s narrative piece. Walker’s story “Dreads” had a very playful and sarcastic tone to it. I think that her hair and the dreads on her hair are like a metaphor to life. Perhaps having dreads was a way for her to stay in control of her own life and be happy. She mentioned Bob Marley a few times, and to me, Bob Marley is the literal definition of ‘happy, positive vibes.’ So, I don’t think the focal point of the story was just about having dreads and making it a trend. It has to do more with living life the way you want and being different and accepting of yourself. Living a healthy and happy lifestyle. “Late July, 4:40 a.m.” by Reg Saner was a bit complicated to understand. I know it had something to do with the environment, but that’s all I took from the story. I didn’t really come up with anything pertaining to the reading.
ReplyDelete-Bethzaida Ayala
I feel that just about everyone can relate to the experiences detailed in the first essay, “The Witching Hour” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. As I read it I couldn’t help but recall my own childhood and the different myths, legends, and other stories that I had been interested in at the time, especially those of the creepy variety. I also found myself relating to her experience with being scolded by her teacher over a simple misunderstanding. In particular though I really love how she described her connection to the myth and why something that seemed so disturbing to someone who didn’t understand felt comforting and familiar to her.
ReplyDeleteAs I read the essay “Late July, 4:40 a.m.” I found myself thinking back to the few road-trips I have taken myself, mostly being reminded of the long drive through nowhere that is the route from Edinburg Texas to Albany Louisiana. When I was younger my mom, my brother, and I would make the drive almost every summer and I had become very familiar with entertaining myself with the random buildings, signs, and towns we passed along the way just as Reg Segner had done on his trip.
Even if I could not entirely relate to the third essay myself, I absolutely loved it. The way Alice Walker talks about her experience with exploring this texture and style of her hair really drove home the sense of empowerment she must have felt when she finally embraced the beauty of this natural style. Hair is something that’s so easy to just overlook but it really does make an impact on a person, be it an effect on their self-esteem, their way of self-expression, or something else entirely. It really does make a world of difference.
-Raven Quintanilla
While reading these essays I felt that I could relate to The Witching Hour by Aimee Nezhukumatahil. I felt that the author was trying to give out two different messages within her essay. She depicted how her teacher didn’t care how she wanted to express what she felt; which is something most of us can relate to. I also think this essay had more meaning than just telling a story about an aswang. Aimee didn’t believe in the aswang, but she appreciated the myth because her mother told it to her as a bedtime story. She loved every moment spent with her mom knowing that her mother had work to do she still made her daughter a priority. Late July, 4: 40 am by Reg Saner was weird. I felt like there was no organization in this essay it was just everywhere, it frustrated me but I think it was talking about pollution I’m not too sure. I did notice that there was a lot of imagery since the very beginning. In Dreads by Alice Walker I felt the essay was about embracing who you are and not being ashamed of it. Who cares what people think of you. This essay reminded me of Dr. Seuss’s quote, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out.” I loved the sarcasm that was used when explaining how the lady showered.
ReplyDelete-Maria Ramos
I absolutely loved the first story, “The Witching Hour.” By the very beginning the author, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, grabbed my attention. I quickly assumed the story was going to be about witches as I searched up the word “aswang.” Which the definition I found for it was, “a monster usually possessing a combination of the traits of either a vampire, a ghoul, a witch…” and related it the title. But as I continued to read the more I just felt for the writer. I do not like kids at all, but for a teacher to do that to any student, ESPECIALLY a young child, is just awful. I loved when she won the competition and chose to keep the markers and then draw what she wanted to draw in the first place. Like a huge middle finger to the teacher. The second story to me seemed like a diary entry for a guy that was on the road and documenting what he saw and witnessed. It didn’t interest me too much, to say the least. As for the third story, it really was a wonderfully written story into the mind of a person with dreads. Hair is one of the most important aspects of appearance. If you are not comfortable in your hair, you won’t be happy with how you look. And I believe the author really connected with her hair and with how she talked about when people looked at her weird, she really felt self-conscious when it comes to it.
ReplyDelete-Miguel Garcia
In The Witching Hour, I liked the writer in her actions despite being treated badly by her teacher she still drew her favorite folktale with the teacher’s markers. I didn’t quite like the actions of the teacher because it seems very bad to tell a 3rd grader to not be creative. I also like the story because it was very detailed even when it was many years back. I like the dialogue and the mentions of the other students’ reactions to what she did to her. The second story was very detailed which I liked, I don’t personally like those types of stories because I like it to be an actual story where the main point comes across. I definitely felt like I was also on the drive because he talked about all the signs and such. Dreads were a very different type of essay, I liked the self-love vibe it gives. The way she used different types of examples of how it was back then with certain hairstyles and also how Bob Marley and Peter Tosh helped people embrace that part of themselves. She expressed how she really felt, she crossed boundaries a bit because she was honest on how she felt on the subject and even talked about making love which not many writers do because they don’t want to be seen a certain way.
ReplyDelete- Yaretzi Diaz
The witching hour written by Aimee Nezhukumatahil was an essay that reminded me of my elementary years. The prizes, the coloring, the word line leader, and recess all took me back to when I was a young boy with no worries in life. All I had to do was do my work and follow instructions. Unlike Aimee who chose not to draw an endangered animal instead she chose to draw an aswang. A nonexistent mythical creature that she is obsessed with due to bedtime stories that her mother would tell her. Then she cries because her teacher ripped up her drawing because it was not a real animal, so she draws some eagle instead. I do not understand why she would draw the aswang if she knew it was not a real animal. Late July, 4:40 am written by Reg Saner got my attention from the beginning due to its specific imagery. I really thought I was going to enjoy this essay but after the first paragraph I had no idea what was going on due to it being so unorganized. After reading it I believe it was about pollution and that we must save the planet because it is so beautiful. Dreads by Alice Walker was an interesting essay. I never thought I would read about hair, but as I read I realized it was more than just hair it was about accepting yourself for who you truly are.
ReplyDelete-Noe Ramos
Alice Walkers writes Dreads very intriguing not only because of the specific scenerio but also the how relatable the story is. I find it astonishing how everyone faces their own securities but people can also be fairly evil and try and mold people to their liking. I personally hate knowing people are trying to alter their appearance based off of others thoughts on it. Even though I dont have dreads, those whom don't Im sure can still relate to this in someway. I also love when writers aren't so descriptive because it allows you to take what you want from the story. Basically painting a picture in your head and filling in the missing points with your personal ideas and experiences. Walker writing about this issue is different because its about afican american hair but it still on a basis of an insecurity beyond your hands. In "The Witching Hour" Aimee also face backlash when she chooses to draw something her teacher doesn't 100% agree with. She tries to express her connection to the aswang but it seems to be disruptive to her teacher. Now being at such a young age and being shut down on what you could write about just adds to the difficuties young students face as beginners in writing. I find it so mesmerizing how everyone writes to unique when given a topic that is much more broad rather than a specific topic that narrows what you are capable of writing.
ReplyDeleteNatashia Mata
“The Witching Hour” was an interesting read. I couldn’t help but assume that the essay was going to be about witchcraft and spells. I really like the fact that Aimee Nezhukumathil was speaking about her folklore and the importance of storytelling I couldn’t help but remember all the times my grandmother would try and use scary folklore legends to scare/trick me into behaving. It’s refreshing to see that every culture has different meanings behind their stories. I also felt for Aimee when she mentions the ignorance her teacher had for her and her beliefs. As a future teacher I believe you should always make sure your students can trust you enough to be able to talk about how they feel so it’s really crazy to me that a teacher would do this and to such a young child! I get that not everyone will understand your culture but they should respect it. I also really liked the fact that the story was short and straight to the point!
ReplyDelete-Daniela Rios
I felt as if these stories follow a chronological sequence ranging through various phases of an individual’s life. In the first story, Aimee Nezhukumatathil reflects upon a childhood memory associated to her love for drawing. More so, she connects her personal experience by using giving her first name to her protagonist. Moreover, she allows readers to reflect on personal experiences where they may have encountered discredit of a personal sample by their former educator. Saner, uses phrases and a mantra to underline the theme of “growing up, moving forward”. Chronologically, the stories have now progressed from a child onto the prime of adolescents. Walker, shares self identity by finding interest of “self-love and affirmation” she does this by providing background information towards the symbolization of dreads. This now enters a phase of adulthood, finding motives to fulfill happiness in personal growth and identity.
ReplyDeleteLate July 4:40 did not have me engaged until the ending of the story. I didn’t like the authors approach by providing many detailed descriptions because he highlights the moral of the story in the last two paragraphs. Dreads was straightforward, and allowed me to make connections to a similar interest I obsessed over in making a trade mark of my identity.
-Antoinette Villanueva
The essay “The Witching Hour” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil was about the author’s experience with a teacher that made her feel invisible and humiliated. “But I still felt invisible… everyone freely talked about Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, or Zeus and the gang, as if they lived right there in Phoenix.” In my opinion, I do believe that the teacher did tell her that she is not allowed to talk about the aswang in class and that would make the author feel like her culture folklore doesn’t matter compared to everyone else’s. I liked how at the end instead of the pizza she decided to get the brand-new colored marker set and she used those markers to draw all sorts of aswangs doing various things like reading, sleeping, etc. “Late July, 4:40 a.m.” by Reg Saner was about him taking us with him on his road trip while showing us that there is always a constant motion. “slow adversity can occur only if we stop, settle down. Which is something the road never does.” The essay “Dreads” by Alice Walker is about the author explaining why she stopped pouring cancer chemicals and decided to go natural. “I felt my faith in my desire to be natural was so well deserved… made me happy forever.”
ReplyDelete-Melissa Garcia
So, "The Witching Hour" by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, I was very intrigued with this essay because of how Aimee decides to express herself in a school project and then is penalized for the drawing znd for the idea not being "Real" in her teacher's eye. I felt like in a way I made a connection to how plenty people view creative writing in school, where there will be various people that will not agree with It being a type of writing at all due to english writing not needing to be used In a creative way for that matter. An "Aswang", a Filipino folklore fictional creature known For it being an evil-shape shifting demon often known in various myths, arts and even films. She then tries to redeem her project after it was destroyed by her teacher,telling her that she needed to be a bit more realistic with her project. She wins 1st place in her grade class and yet still feels in a way that she is "invisible" because of how her idea is not viewed as a good presentation. Despite this story, I enjoyed reading it due to the relation someone could make with it in experience as a younger child. As for "Late July, 4:40 a.m." by Reg Saner, I strongly felt like the story was a very unorganized one it was actually quite difficult for me to follow. It gave me a sort of diary/ documetary vibes due to it being a simple "day to day" essay. I understood it mostly as it trying to tell the reader to live their lives to the fullest and to stop and smell the flowers in a sort of way. Lastly, for "Dreads" by Alice Walker, I really loved reading this essay not only because there were several references to Bob Marley, but because it enhanced the message on it being about self love. I really liked how it made the story about something that most people do not find the time to really appreciate all of the time, our hair. Learning that this essay wanted the reader to understand that it isn't about looks or anything else but it could be about the very minimalistic feature that many may not see as something pretty other than girls loving their own.
ReplyDelete-Ana Silvia Mears
"The Witching Hour" tells the tale of a child wanting to represent their culture's folklore through art, but is shot down due to them not truly understanding the differences between reality and fiction. The narrator wants to draw the aswang because their mother would always bring in so much love and care whenever she told her child these stories, no matter the situation. So in an attempt to share this wonderful feeling, the narrator draws this character to show to the rest of the class. Unfortunately, the teacher does not hold back on what the narrator did wrong and destroys their feelings. This can be a very sensitive scenario of young artists because as a child, we do not understand criticism and may give up on our dreams altogether if we are pushed down hard enough. Me being an artist see this not only as a sign of hurt for their art, but also for their culture due to them asking why some fairy tales are allowed but their's is "inappropriate." "Late July, 4:40 A.M." is essentially about the narrator giving a highly detailed experience of a truck stop in the middle of a road trip. In my opinion, I have never really processed the environment whenever I would go on road trips, but adore the aesthetic when it is portrayed in art. These rare settings have a sense of peace, freedom, and distance that nobody can live with on a daily basis. So when we look back at the experience, it could be a warm feeling of care that comes once in a blue moon. "Dreads" displays the amazement some people can have with hair. The narrator wants to have their hair be a natural, non-tampered with look based on their love of Bob Marley. They are amazed again when a colleague has just as amazing hair, but does not follow the same rules that Bob Marley did. I can find some appeal to this story because I too have wondered what I can do with my hair. I have just recently started to experiment in styling my hair and other forms of change; even on the thought of growing my hair out to the point I can wrap it in a small bun. I have my whole life ahead of me so maybe one day I can get out of my comfort zone and do something I never would have thought would be a great experience for my hair.
ReplyDelete-Raul Salazar
In the essay the “witching hour” By Aimee Nezhukumatathil, I was very curious as to why did Aimee want to draw such a hideous creature for a animal project. I understand that she wanted to express herself but that is pretty creepy for a little kid. I’m assuming maybe she was in elementary at the time, but I would understand why her teacher freaked out on her. I would honestly freak out as well. I think what this story is trying to portray is for us the readers or the teacher to not judge so quickly to admire the ways of creative writing even though it can be a little dark sometimes. I love how she ends up drawing the “aswang” again which I believe is a representation of her not giving up on her creative works. In the essay Late July, 4:40 AM by Reg Saner is about a dream that is happening in West Kansas but to me was very confusing but I did notice a word that made it a little more clear which I think that the author is having some sort of experience that is a nightmare by the word Phantasmagoria od phallic silos which is something scary. I believe that the writer is trying to make it very descriptive to the readers but is very unorganized and confusing to me. In the last essay Dreads by Alice Walker Is about someone that is obsessed by dreads( or hair in general, wanting to keep the hair natural and is made fun of because of that then they mention bob Marley which is someone who I really don’t know about but I know that he has dreads and made music, I honestly don’t think of him as someone great. I sort of got the point which is to appreciate your hair and learn to admire and to appreciate the natural hair. “It was a moment of satisfying , when I felt my faith in my desire to be natural was so well deserved, that it was not an exaggeration to say I was, in a way, made happy forever”(page 232)
ReplyDelete-Max Garcia
In The Witching Hour, I appreciate how Nezhukumatathil guards her social old stories with contrasting them with American old stories and how they are standardized and acknowledged while hers are most certainly not. (pg.228) (pg.229) At the finish of the paper, despite the fact that she was disgraced by Mrs. Johnson the last time about her drawing, she couldn't have cared less and continued drawing the aswang in light of the fact that she realizes she shouldn't feel embarrassed on the grounds that she is grasping her societies legends. (pg.229) In Late July, 4:40 a.m., the symbolism Saner makes is amazing, it causes me to feel as though I am sitting alongside him in the traveler's seat of his truck. Be that as it may, toward the finish of the exposition, I felt befuddled. Did it turn political or did he simply see these bulletins by some coincidence? Ultimately, in the article Dreads, Walker (like Nezhukumatathil) is grasping her actual self and personality. (pg.231) She says she used to change her hair like her companions/family, yet in the wake of seeing her symbols grasp their hair, it made her need to do likewise. Toward the finish of her article, she analyzes African finished hair to a miracle of the universe. Accordingly, clarifying why she currently wears her fears with satisfaction and respect. By and large, these three papers were an incredible perused and the journalists made a brilliant showing in depicting and making a striking picture for the peruser to envision.
ReplyDelete-julian marroquin