IRP: Prompt #9 - Intriguing Questions

1. - Should illegal immigrants be deported?

2. - Are Mexican-Americans treated fairly?

3. - Do all people get the same freedoms and rights to further their lives?

4. - How do you find your place in society?

5. - Do you deserve a second chance?

These are just a few of the questions that I came up with while reading, Parrot in the Oven. On the prompt list it states to attempt to answer any question you created. My dilemna is this, these are such personal and difficult questions that I can't formulate solid answers. I have opinions for both sides of each arguement and feel it's best if left up to interpretation. That also presents the beauty of this book, which, in essence, trys to answer these questions thoroughly and I think it does... go read it!

IRP: Prompt #18 - Titles

I never came to a solid conclusion concering the title of my novel. The subtitle, Mi vida, is quite self-explanatory which in Spanish means my life. From that you can assume the title concerns Manny's life in general. Although, I still cannot decide why it is titled the way it is.

But I like to assume that Manny constantly feels under pressure, or, under heat and that he is continually being "grilled" or "baked". The struggles he is presented with may "cook" him inside, and for that reason he looks at himself as the "Parrot in the Oven".

If I was going to create a title it would be, "Manny being Manny". Because he is simply trying to find his spot in society and the only way that he will achieve this is by becoming a man and being himself, "Manny being Manny".

IRP: Prompt #4 - Surprise Steal

What surprised me the most occured towards the end of the novel, as Manny participates in the stealing of the old woman's purse. After reading the beginning portions of the book I thought that Manny was better than a "gang-banger" who lives to steal and whatnot. I had a lot of respect for him, thought he was a good guy just trying to succeed in hard times without much direction. The fact that he actually went through with the action really surprised me. I was not expecting him to carry out the robbery, rather, learn his lesson before it was too late. The whole sequence of events was surprising including when Manny gets left off the hook by the cops. Overall, it was an intruiging portion of the book that can only be described as "surprising".

IRP: Prompt #16 - Class Connection

Parrot in the Oven is a "coming of age" novel that basically concerns a young boy, "finding himself". Throughout our class discussions, essays, books and work we have been constantly asking oursleves, "who are we?" and "what impact do we have on this world?". These main questions tie in directly with the novel I read. The issues are not necessarily the same, but the overall goal and meaning of the book is understood.

By the main character being constantly tested whether it be by gangs, violence or just overall hard economic times this book asks, who do we want to become and what lessons can we learn from this boy's experiences? And that is essentially what we have been focusing on all year.

IRP: Prompt #15

GANGS/GANG INITIATIONS

A major turning point in the novel is when Manny is being intiated into a gang. I thought this image was a good representation of the trouble created by gangs and the horrible things that come with the committment. Specifically in the novel Manny is met with the challenge of assisting in the stealing of an old women's purse. He actually carries out this venture and feels the consequences when the police take him in for questioning. Overall, I thought this photo of the "crips" illustrates that scene and portion of the book.

IRP: Prompt #12

I think the author added a lot of these stories to this novel because of personal experiences. He wanted to portray tough times for a young Latino boy without creating an autobiography. I have come to the conclusion that most of these events the Manny goes through are very similar to things the author, Victor Martinez, may have gone through as well as a young boy. Such things as: gang initiaion, welfare, gun violence, immigration, were all prominent things for a Mexican-American and I think it was necessary for Martinez to include all these things. Essentially, the author wants to help teach lessons he learned growing up and that's why he included all of these specific events.

I don't think there is necessarily anything that if I was writing the book I would have added or left out. Because I was never in a situation such as Manny's it's hard for me to even fathom what stories I would and would not have included. On the otherhand, I think the author did a fine job of describing a wide array of events that really painted the picture of a Latino boy's life in the time period.

VICTOR MARTINEZ:

IRP: Prompt #14 - (Chapter 2)

Key quote:

"Dad believed weasely guys already owned the world, and anything you could do to get over on them was useless. He believed people were like money. If you were a million-dollar person, you had a grip on things, a big house maybe, and a crowd of suckers you could push around. You could be a thousand-dollar person or a hundred-dollar person--even a ten-, five-, or one-dollar person. Below that, everybody was just nickels and dimes. To my dad, we were pennies." (pg. 26)

This quote shows the life that Manny had to live. To his dad, he was nothing until he earned enough money to show for it. His dad was very materialistic and this created problems within the household. Also, the recent layoff of Manny's father created shame within the family. The dad felt that welfare was not an option and was too proud to beg. In essence, this created tough times for Manny and this quote was key in showing that.

IRP: Prompt #10 - (Chapter 1) "The Baseball Glove"

The first Chapter is entitled, "The Baseball Glove". Throughout the chapter you learn that Manny (the main character) is determined to raise enough money to buy himself an outfielder's glove. Manny, on more than one occurence, mentions baseball and visualizes the game fantasizing about succeeding on the field. This was an obvious connection for myself. As a boy his age, and sometimes still now, I dream about that perfect catch, perfect hit, the winning run or buying that special glove. His determination and will to get his new equipment reminded me of myself and my passion for the game of baseball. This kind of connection makes a book easier to read and forms a relationship with the character. I appreciate Manny's love of the game of baseball and fully understand where he is coming from.

IRP: Prompt #5 (Chapter 1) - Immigration Encounter

In Chapter 1, Manny and Nardo are picking chilis in the field for some fast cash. As they are going about their work they have an encounter with immigration officials. Before their eyes numerous vans and buses pull up to the field and start taking away workers. Luckily, Manny and Nardo are U.S. citizens, but, the immigration officials go looking for the "wetbacks" as they said. Just normal people doing their best to make a living get hauled off unexpectedly right before these young boy's eyes. This was a scene in the book which I thought was moving. It showed me what I take for granted each day and there are people here in this country that must go about their daily lives in fear of just this type of instance with immigration police.

IRP: Prompt #1 - (Chapter 1)

In Chapter 1 I really enoyed the characterization that Victor Martinez used. After reading just a few short pages I felt like I already knew a lot about Manny and Nardo (the main characters), and that I had been reading about them for a long time. It's easy to understand what kind of character the author is trying to create and this fact enhances the reading.

I also like the setting and time period. Mexican immigrants is not really something I have read a lot about before and this makes it even more interesting and inticing. Their perspective in the United States is a lot different than ours and it's worthwhile to get their viewpoint and see both sides of the story.

The first chapter has me excited to read the rest of the book and learn more about Manny and Nardo.

Independent Reading Project

Announcement:

For the next week I will be making periodic posts concerning a book I'm reading independently, Parrot in the Oven by Victor Martinez. I will be assessing the novel in various prompts and assignments to analyze the story effectively. I will most likely post one or two per night until I reach my 10 required posts. These posts will be detail oriented and contain specific references to the novel to provide solid analysis and summarization.



Enjoy....

Thesis Practice

Do Now - 3/12

Che: Thesis -

Despite Che's glorification on a t-shirt, the man that he wanted to become was the exact opposite. Che Guevara wanted more to reform Latin America than to get public recognition, simply wanting to impact our world positively rather than having himself labeled.

Your Own Do Now ...

Please Do Now -

Describe in a paragraph why you think that Che was so interested and absorbed in the topic of Cuzco and if you think there is any significance of his writings.

I chose this because I think it was important how much time he spent describing Cuzco and it was the only location or place that he focused on that much.

Do Now - 3/9

Che's Essential Questions:

1. Who did Che want to become?

This is a tough question to answer because there may not be one definitive conclusion. I don't think Che was necessarily interested in becoming "someone". What I'm trying to get at is, he was so interested in Socialism and those ideals that I think he was more concerned about affecting the world than becoming a merely a figure. Because of the way Socialism is set up, I don't see how Che could have wanted to have an image.

2. What impact did Che have on the world around him?

I think Che wanted to simply create a "better" world. One that was functional and simplistic in which each and every person helped and played their role. He was very interested in Socialism and I think he wanted to be the man to make it succeed and work effectively in Latin America and eventually the world. I don't think he wanted to be that "superstar" and most popular guy, I just believe he wanted to be viewed as a man that stood up for his beliefs and made a change in this world.

Do Now - 3/5

Chilean 6-word Memoir:

Ribbon-like country, rich South American culture.