| Christina |
he doesn't understand why someone does not want to be a part of him
when he, himself, is a part of others |
| lyndsey |
Type HEREi think that he is telling us that an american is an american
no matter what color your skin is....so i agree |
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| MelissaG. |
i agree also |
| Christina |
that's right |
| Danielle |
i agree |
| Jen |
i agree |
| Leyna |
me too |
| Grace |
ditto |
| Kelly |
i agree |
| MelissaG. |
but he's saying that his white instructor may not want to be a part of
him....as he (hughes) doesn't always want to be a part of his instructor
either |
| Rachael |
I think that he is saying that we all know that we're different but
that shouldn't stop us from writing what we feel |
| MikeK |
He says that "Nor do I want to be a part of you" |
| MelissaG. |
but that they are both american ... |
| Christina |
i feel bad for him because he is going to college like everyone else
and he gets treated differently just because of his skin color, that is
not fair |
| Danielle |
i agree |
| lyndsey |
he is happy with who he is and thus he is saying that you, the reader
should be too |
| Kelly |
i think he is trying to covey tha just bc he is black dosent mean he
is any different from anyone else & is just ur average american |
| Rachael |
yes but it is almost like he is ok with that only if the prof treats
him fairly |
| Christina |
good point |
| Jen |
true |
| Sarah |
I don't think the point of the poem is to feel bad for him, I think he
is ultimately saying that we are all american, we are all in this
country together, and because of that we are inevitably a part of each
other, like it or not, and we should just face it and live with it, and
make the best of it |
| MelissaG. |
well i like the last 3 lines....." i guess you learn form me....alrhtough
you're older...and white....and somewhat more free" |
| Grace |
hey, well put |
| lyndsey |
is he saying that he is going to school in new york, or does he miss
his home where he fit in better? |
| Jen |
i think he is trying to say that they are connected by both being an
american but that he doesnt want to be part of them often bc of the way
they view colored |
| Jen |
he goes to school in harlem |
| lyndsey |
ok |
| MikeK |
they are also connected through his paper to the instructor |
| Sarah |
he is going to school in New York, hi was born in Winston-Salem |
| Rachael |
yeah because they both learn off of each other |
| MikeK |
hes says that his paper will not be white but it will be a part of you |
| Christina |
he is the only black student in this class, i think he wants everyone
to see that he is just like them and i think that is his only intention |
| Rachael |
but in a way he doesn't want to be just like them |
| MelissaG. |
exactly |
| Sarah |
right |
| Jen |
right |
| lyndsey |
i think that you are right christina, but it also gets deeper then
that |
| Christina |
but he is like them...in the sense that everything he does is what
americans do...that is what i am saying |
| lyndsey |
yeagh |
| Jen |
he wants he's own individual status in the world and not be classified
in a catgory |
| MelissaG. |
i agree with lyndsey |
| Grace |
Overall, i think he did a good job of putting himself into words |
| MelissaG. |
that it's deeper |
| Sarah |
yeah and that's right, what we do and how we live is what
characterizes us as americans |
| MelissaG. |
so do i |
| lyndsey |
yes, he did |
| Grace |
he "colored" his writing.. the same, yet different from the
rest |
| MikeK |
what do you mean by "colored his writting?? |
| MelissaG. |
"you are white. yet a part of me, as i am a part of you. That's
American". ...what do you think he meant there, other than how it's
written |
| Rachael |
this poem is interesting b/c everyone interprets it in a different
way.....some may feel bad, good, whatever....either way it makes you
think |
| Jen |
bc an american is an american no matter what color so that is how they
are a part of each other |
| Christina |
the only thing that i see different at this point is his skin color,
quite frankly if you were of another race, would you want to stand out
as being different? even though you are, you don't want to be labeled as
an outcast, of someone who can't like the same things that you can |
| Leyna |
he is saying that he is the same as everyone else even if they cant
see it |
| lyndsey |
he just wants to be what he is, an american.....he probablly has to do
better in school because he gets prejudged so if you think about it, he
is talking to his teacher. when his teacher reads a paper, he is reading
a black person's paper, where as if he was reading a white person's
paper, he might not grade it as harshly. |
| Sarah |
right leyna |
| Jen |
i think through this paper he is trying to show his prof that he is
the same as them in many aspects of life and he just wants to be treated
normally |
| Christina |
i don't believe that b/c he is of a different race that he will
receive a lower grade |
| Leyna |
neither do I |
| Sarah |
I like how he says that he doesn't know himself yet, at the age of 22 |
| MelissaG. |
well this is 1951....it could very well happen |
| MelissaG. |
and i'm sure it did |
| Christina |
that is a good point sarah |
| Kelly |
yeah i dont think prof's grade on basis of race |
| Jen |
i beleive that bc he is black he will have to prove himself more |
| MelissaG. |
he's in a relatively white college |
| Jen |
it is the 1951 |
| lyndsey |
not nescessarily but that is an example of what might be happening. |
| MelissaG. |
i agree w/ you jen |
| Rachael |
either way he trying to tell us that he is okay with that just as long
as he teaches the prof something |
| lyndsey |
what jen just said is what i mean |
| Christina |
right rachael |
| MelissaG. |
well i don't think he's okay....this isn't 2002, it's 1951 |
| Sarah |
in 1951, the color of your skin had alot to do with how you were
treated, but i think this paper has more to do with other things, than
just with the grade |
| Christina |
maybe after the prof reads this, 1951 or not, the prof will have a new
found respect for him b/c he is black |
| Christina |
you never know |
| Christina |
we were not there |
| Sarah |
right, you never know |
| MelissaG. |
well yeah we don't know |
| Jen |
it has to do with showing the prof that there is more to him then is
color and he is like every1 else |
| lyndsey |
the grade was an example of a bigger problem of racism |
| Danielle |
i agree with Jen |
| Leyna |
I think that he wrote this paper to prove to his prof that he can do
the same things that the white students can |
| Christina |
i agree with leyna |
| Sarah |
I also think it was interesting that he lived at the Y, why didn't he
live on campus??? |
| lyndsey |
it is the same thing as if a black person gets turned down for a job |
| Kelly |
me too this was just a way of making it clear to the professor if it
already wasnt |
| Grace |
Words on paper are all the same, but he colored them, made them
different..of himself.. but at the same time equally balanced with the
rest |
| Christina |
but it is not always b/c of skin color....maybe they are just not
qualified as much as the next guy |
| Sarah |
right grace |
| Jen |
maybe this paper has more to with showing other people and not so much
is teacher...maybeits bigger then what we are looking at |
| lyndsey |
because they are judged differently, and not given as much of a
chance. |
| MikeK |
thanks |
| lyndsey |
i think so and that is what i am trying to say too |
| Kelly |
i think tha in 1951 there might have been racism in teh workplace but
in 2002 i dont feel its as big of an issue |
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| Christina |
i agree with kelly |
| MelissaG. |
no not as big of an issue, but it's def. still an issue |
| Leyna |
me too |
| lyndsey |
there will always be racism |
| lyndsey |
everywhere |
| ship |
so how are you guys doing? |
| MelissaG. |
right lyndsey |
| MelissaG. |
good |
| Sarah |
good |
| Leyna |
i think it might be the opposite now |
| Christina |
good |
| lyndsey |
just not as much as in 1950 |
| Kelly |
good |
| Rachael |
great |
| Danielle |
I agree with Melissa it is still and issue |
| MikeK |
opposite how? |
| Jen |
i think racism is still an issue not as much but its still there |
| Danielle |
i agree |
| Kelly |
i thnk it is still an issuue but we have come a long way in thems of
racism |
| MelissaG. |
yeeah it'll never go away |
| Grace |
yeah, as long as there's races there will be racism |
| Christina |
i think it is still an issue also, but it could change |
| Christina |
slightly at least |
| Grace |
in some form |
| lyndsey |
it could change, but it will always lay behind the fine lines |
| Jen |
i think racism is a taught thing....people pick it up from other
people |
| Christina |
it kind of depends on how we act in the future...when we get the
corporate jobs, every company needs diversity |
| Danielle |
We shouldn't have to even come along way, they should have been
accepted from the start |
| lyndsey |
i hope it gets better |
| lyndsey |
i agree 100% |
| Leyna |
me too |
| ship |
Okay, I am not sure how far you have gotten with the poem, but I want
you to tell me why I had you read this poem....simply post a short
response on the bulletin board...and you're free to go... |
| Rachael |
i think that it's interesting how he brings Harlem into the
poem.....it's like they are writing the page together... |
| MelissaG. |
so it seems mostly everyone has decided that hughes is trying to
'prove' to his professor that he is the same as everyone else...and that
they are one, but in the same sense different.is that what every one
thinks? |
| Kelly |
i agree they should have been treated equal from the beginning |