Brave New World
Pre-Write
I think that the overall message of BNW is maybe happiness. I think this because I believe that Huxley wanted people to understand that happiness is important in life and that people being happy or not can change everything. Just like how in the book that everyone was happy because they all thought that they had everything even though they were a slave or whatever.
Brave New World made me think of happiness is a strange way. I realized that happiness to them is completely different then what we think happiness is. They think that they are happy and that nothing is wrong with the world so everybody is happy. To us we think that happiness is achieved. Working hard to pay for something that makes you happy or getting an A on a hard test or essay makes us happy. I now think of happiness as how happy I am. I think of why I’m happy and I think of other people that aren’t happy. I think of why. I always think why I am happy now.
I think that what he means is that there needs to be something that makes them not happy. For example if we were happy all the time then the when we did something that should make us happy then we wouldn’t feel that real feeling of happy because we are always happy. He is saying that they need to not always be happy because then they would be able to feel what real happiness is.
I believe that our society is 75% comfort and 25% beauty and truth. I think this because we are lazy in a way. We like comfort and the more comfortable we are the less we care really about truth and beauty. We focus on comfort because being comfortable feels great rather than being uncomfortable.
Brave New World made me think of happiness is a strange way. I realized that happiness to them is completely different then what we think happiness is. They think that they are happy and that nothing is wrong with the world so everybody is happy. To us we think that happiness is achieved. Working hard to pay for something that makes you happy or getting an A on a hard test or essay makes us happy. I now think of happiness as how happy I am. I think of why I’m happy and I think of other people that aren’t happy. I think of why. I always think why I am happy now.
I think that what he means is that there needs to be something that makes them not happy. For example if we were happy all the time then the when we did something that should make us happy then we wouldn’t feel that real feeling of happy because we are always happy. He is saying that they need to not always be happy because then they would be able to feel what real happiness is.
I believe that our society is 75% comfort and 25% beauty and truth. I think this because we are lazy in a way. We like comfort and the more comfortable we are the less we care really about truth and beauty. We focus on comfort because being comfortable feels great rather than being uncomfortable.
Reflection
Reaction:
Someone said, “So there are two men. One who lives in a mansion and has to do nothing. The other one lives in a small cabin in the woods and has to do hard work everyday. But nether one knows about anything outside of their life, and they are both happy. The man who does hard work is happy because doesn’t know about anything outside of what he does.” I thought that this comment was really interesting because it was the kind of comment that you could picture and then you could start up a really good conversation.
Self-Evaluation:
I think that I have grown since the last seminar. I know that I talked more at this seminar compared to the MWB seminar. I think that I have a little bit of fun doing seminars now because I enjoy talking deeply about things. I think deeply about a lot of things and sometimes I think so deeply I can explain it but I also think that my comments were deep and meaningful.
Key Take-Away:
I think that my biggest take-away is what we talked about with happiness. I am going to remember when we talked about how to find meaning and happiness and why the people in the book thought that they were happy. I really like the concept of happiness because obviously I like being happy but also I just really enjoy thinking about how it happens, the concept behind it and why it is important.
Someone said, “So there are two men. One who lives in a mansion and has to do nothing. The other one lives in a small cabin in the woods and has to do hard work everyday. But nether one knows about anything outside of their life, and they are both happy. The man who does hard work is happy because doesn’t know about anything outside of what he does.” I thought that this comment was really interesting because it was the kind of comment that you could picture and then you could start up a really good conversation.
Self-Evaluation:
I think that I have grown since the last seminar. I know that I talked more at this seminar compared to the MWB seminar. I think that I have a little bit of fun doing seminars now because I enjoy talking deeply about things. I think deeply about a lot of things and sometimes I think so deeply I can explain it but I also think that my comments were deep and meaningful.
Key Take-Away:
I think that my biggest take-away is what we talked about with happiness. I am going to remember when we talked about how to find meaning and happiness and why the people in the book thought that they were happy. I really like the concept of happiness because obviously I like being happy but also I just really enjoy thinking about how it happens, the concept behind it and why it is important.
Mexican White Boy
Seminar notes
Section 1 and 2
Pages 1-39
· Theme is introducing all the main characters and to the story
· It gives the baseline masks for example: Uno is this cool, tough guy, Danny is this cool, chill, nice guy
· “Why did Uno’s brother get hit by the ball?”
· “My moms side is Mexican so I feel this”
· “Why did his mom leave him?”
· These Hispanics don’t have high social class
· Poverty is big
Section 3 and 4
Page 40 to 82
· Main point is that danny and uno are meeting each other and developing a relationship they are talking about how they are trying to get to their dads
· Danny is supposed to be this white kid and uno is supposed to be this big tough black kid but he is not
· “Practice makes perfect to be good at sports”
· “I don’t know if I appreciate the underage smoking and drinking”
· “why would danny dig his nails into himself?”
· even though the author seems Mexican it doesn’t surprise me that there is underage drinking but it happens its not super rare
Section 5 and 6
Page 83 to 123
· Danny is becoming into the “group” and Danny and Uno are becoming friends and they are doing practice together a lot
· Uno is becoming the white person stereotype and Danny is staying the same basically
· “Why does Danny not think he is Mexican with his skin tone?”
· “they are bacically switching stereotypical roles: uno is becoming the stereotyped white person, ect.”
· “it seems that Uno is really nice, he is just acting cool and mean around his friends so he can be cool”
· They are both half Mexican but they act like they aren’t really half Mexican
section 7 and 8
127 to 163
· More about baseball like gambling and earning money so they can go see their dads
· They are trying to be tough and Uno is revealing more of his thoughts to Danny
· “I think he blew it with the scout because he is not doing good”
· “Even I’m getting discouraged by Danny progress because he thinking to much about playing”
· They are basically fighting the white kids from school and the white kids are acting like Danny and Uno are below them because they are colored
Section 9 and 10
Page 164 to 207
· Danny and uno they both want to leave national city and that’s being emphasized
· They both have their strong Mexican roots and they are acting like themselves not like how a Mexican or white or Hispanic are supposed to be.
· “I feel like a fake mexican’ That is what danny said it pops out and tells you what masks he is wearing pretty much”
· uno is impoverished in the place he lives because it is soo poverty and he wants to get out of there but he cant
section 11 and 12
Page 208 to 247
· danny is getting over the hit and run and danny is trying to go visit his dad
· danny is taking off his “white” mask and putting his “Mexican” mask on
·
· “that just ruined everything and that’s another stereotype”
· they are going back to how they were in the beginning of the book
Questions
· Why does Danny act like he is white when he is really Mexican?
· Why is Danny so hesitant to act Mexican and white?
· What does Danny think of his dad?
· How did this summer change him as a person?
· Do you think that Uno is mentally prepared to leave? Why or why not?
Pages 1-39
· Theme is introducing all the main characters and to the story
· It gives the baseline masks for example: Uno is this cool, tough guy, Danny is this cool, chill, nice guy
· “Why did Uno’s brother get hit by the ball?”
· “My moms side is Mexican so I feel this”
· “Why did his mom leave him?”
· These Hispanics don’t have high social class
· Poverty is big
Section 3 and 4
Page 40 to 82
· Main point is that danny and uno are meeting each other and developing a relationship they are talking about how they are trying to get to their dads
· Danny is supposed to be this white kid and uno is supposed to be this big tough black kid but he is not
· “Practice makes perfect to be good at sports”
· “I don’t know if I appreciate the underage smoking and drinking”
· “why would danny dig his nails into himself?”
· even though the author seems Mexican it doesn’t surprise me that there is underage drinking but it happens its not super rare
Section 5 and 6
Page 83 to 123
· Danny is becoming into the “group” and Danny and Uno are becoming friends and they are doing practice together a lot
· Uno is becoming the white person stereotype and Danny is staying the same basically
· “Why does Danny not think he is Mexican with his skin tone?”
· “they are bacically switching stereotypical roles: uno is becoming the stereotyped white person, ect.”
· “it seems that Uno is really nice, he is just acting cool and mean around his friends so he can be cool”
· They are both half Mexican but they act like they aren’t really half Mexican
section 7 and 8
127 to 163
· More about baseball like gambling and earning money so they can go see their dads
· They are trying to be tough and Uno is revealing more of his thoughts to Danny
· “I think he blew it with the scout because he is not doing good”
· “Even I’m getting discouraged by Danny progress because he thinking to much about playing”
· They are basically fighting the white kids from school and the white kids are acting like Danny and Uno are below them because they are colored
Section 9 and 10
Page 164 to 207
· Danny and uno they both want to leave national city and that’s being emphasized
· They both have their strong Mexican roots and they are acting like themselves not like how a Mexican or white or Hispanic are supposed to be.
· “I feel like a fake mexican’ That is what danny said it pops out and tells you what masks he is wearing pretty much”
· uno is impoverished in the place he lives because it is soo poverty and he wants to get out of there but he cant
section 11 and 12
Page 208 to 247
· danny is getting over the hit and run and danny is trying to go visit his dad
· danny is taking off his “white” mask and putting his “Mexican” mask on
·
· “that just ruined everything and that’s another stereotype”
· they are going back to how they were in the beginning of the book
Questions
· Why does Danny act like he is white when he is really Mexican?
· Why is Danny so hesitant to act Mexican and white?
· What does Danny think of his dad?
· How did this summer change him as a person?
· Do you think that Uno is mentally prepared to leave? Why or why not?
Seminar Pre-Write
Uno and Danny both wear many different masks. Danny is a half Mexican half white boy that went away to stay with his cousin for the summer. Uno is also a half Mexican half white boy but is more Mexican. Uno wears a mask in the beginning that shows him being a tough, cool, strong, no emotion, and chill. Danny wears a mask that shows him being a shy, nice, lonely, emotional kind of guy. Throughout the book these two get to know each other and become close friends and Danny realizes that Uno isn’t really the way he was acting, he was a lot nicer.
Mexican white boy is a very stereotypical book. It is about a half Mexican going away for the summer to his cousin who lives in a neighborhood were there are lots of half Mexicans and even full Mexicans. When you think of Mexican you think of colored and that they might live somewhere gross and beat down. In this book that is were the story takes place mostly. There is a boy named Uno who acts tough, strong, shows no emotion besides anger, and acts cool. But really he is just acting this way because that’s how he had to be to fit in with all his friends in order to be cool.
I feel like I gained knowing how some people may feel for real under the way they act. Like Uno and Danny were two completely different people in the beginning and then at the end they both were really the same on the inside. I realize that some people may act this way but on the inside they are way different maybe because the don’t want to be bullied or to show their emotions. I feel that this book showed a lot of stereotyping towards colored people for example on time in the book Danny was acting like he was a white person although he is half Mexican. This shows that even if you are Mexican or whatever you should still be able to act the way you really wanted to be.
Mexican white boy is a very stereotypical book. It is about a half Mexican going away for the summer to his cousin who lives in a neighborhood were there are lots of half Mexicans and even full Mexicans. When you think of Mexican you think of colored and that they might live somewhere gross and beat down. In this book that is were the story takes place mostly. There is a boy named Uno who acts tough, strong, shows no emotion besides anger, and acts cool. But really he is just acting this way because that’s how he had to be to fit in with all his friends in order to be cool.
I feel like I gained knowing how some people may feel for real under the way they act. Like Uno and Danny were two completely different people in the beginning and then at the end they both were really the same on the inside. I realize that some people may act this way but on the inside they are way different maybe because the don’t want to be bullied or to show their emotions. I feel that this book showed a lot of stereotyping towards colored people for example on time in the book Danny was acting like he was a white person although he is half Mexican. This shows that even if you are Mexican or whatever you should still be able to act the way you really wanted to be.
Seminar Reflection
Reaction:
In the seminar someone brought up money and how there is that group of poor people and that group of rich people and when you are in one of those groups that it is hard to get out of it. I thought that this was a really interesting topic because it is so true. The world is exactly like that. I thought that I could’ve talked about that for a long time because I really like that topic because money is so wanted and needed in the world that people would kill for it.
Connections:
In some movies the people are like “ I will give you one million dollars to kill Jim bob by tonight.” And then they would do it too because its for money. I know that it is a movie but it still may be real sometimes.
Self-Evaluation:
I feel like I did a good job on giving examples and asking questions. I feel like I need to work on referencing the text more and use more evidence because I feel like I could’ve used more than what I had.
Most Beautiful line:
My favorite line from the book was when Danny said, “ I feel like a fake Mexican.” This is my favorite line because it means so much and it show sort of the mask that he has on because he is acting like a full Mexican although he isn’t a full Mexican. I just feel like it is so important to the book because it also explains so much of the book too.
In the seminar someone brought up money and how there is that group of poor people and that group of rich people and when you are in one of those groups that it is hard to get out of it. I thought that this was a really interesting topic because it is so true. The world is exactly like that. I thought that I could’ve talked about that for a long time because I really like that topic because money is so wanted and needed in the world that people would kill for it.
Connections:
In some movies the people are like “ I will give you one million dollars to kill Jim bob by tonight.” And then they would do it too because its for money. I know that it is a movie but it still may be real sometimes.
Self-Evaluation:
I feel like I did a good job on giving examples and asking questions. I feel like I need to work on referencing the text more and use more evidence because I feel like I could’ve used more than what I had.
Most Beautiful line:
My favorite line from the book was when Danny said, “ I feel like a fake Mexican.” This is my favorite line because it means so much and it show sort of the mask that he has on because he is acting like a full Mexican although he isn’t a full Mexican. I just feel like it is so important to the book because it also explains so much of the book too.