Lit 216 - Recitatif

Oh wow I really really really really loved this story. The whole time I was reading it I felt like I was in Twyla's shoes - I could smell everything she smelled, see everything she saw, feel everything she felt. I remember being a little kid at summer camp and being afraid of the "big girls" just like she was. I think this story was really progressive because the fact that their race doesn't seem to make a difference, they are on level ground. I like that she never tells me which girl is which race, because it doesn't really matter. Reading this story was like watching a heart-felt movie about best friends and just made me feel happy inside.

Lit 216 - Going to Meet the Man

This story was extremely unsettling in how Jesse mixed violence and hatred with sexual pleasure. The descriptions and analogies were beautiful but also disturbing; the words were beautiful but the image they portrayed was disgusting. Especially in his description of the man being lynched, with the way the author describe the blade as being so bright and almost brilliant. I felt kind of disgusted with myself when I felt sympathy for Jesse, after seeing how he was brought up and how a little boy had to watch such a horrific thing. Also, the political message that I got was one I've seen in many movies and read in many books. I was taken back to my 6th grade presentation on Martin Luther King and his non violent way of protesting. It really showed how if you don't give someone a reason to hate, a justification, they will hopefully start questioning their actions and generally feel like poop.