Blog Post #7:
In my last blog, I discussed what was going on in my book so far. Now, I would like to summarize the rest of the novel since I have completed my reading. Throughout the course of the book, you learn that Stella's father (Mr.Mills) has strong feelings against black discrimination in his community, as well as many other black members in his church. There was a family potluck one night that stirred up the emotions of black men in the neighborhood about voting in the upcoming presidential election of 1932. Stella's father, Stella's friends father, and their pastor all went the next day to the voting office. They encountered a white man that treated them with disrespect and made them take a test on the U.S. government to be able to vote. However, when white men entered the office they were respected and did not have to take a test. Stella, who was with her father, listened to the white men in the office and heard them say that they were a part of the KKK. This frightened Stella, and no wonder, the next day one of the black men's house was burned down by the KKK. Stella even encountered some of the men involved, and later connected the dots as to some people who were part of the KKK. The whole neighborhood helped to put out the fire, and even some white folks came. Also, one of the family's children went missing, and Stella saved her. Then, as the "fire family" is recovering, Stella and one of her other friends Tony went uptown to the general store. Jojo, Stella's younger brother, was sick and needed medicine from the store, so one of Stella's "chores" was to retrieve it for him. As Tony and Stella walked back home, the two white men that were at the voting office days ago started to attack Tony. He was violently hurt and ended up in horrible condition. Stella, on the other hand, went back home to get more help, which ultimately saved Tony from becoming even more hurt. A few days later, Stella's mom gets bitten my a snake. It was a horrifying experience for Stella, for her mother was on the verge of death. Tony's father was the "colored doctor" of Bumblebee, NC, but he was in Raleigh at this time period. Stella tried to ask the "white doctor" if her could cure her mom, but he scolded her and told her that he could'nt care less if her mom died or not. The white doctors name was Dr. Packard, and he was the man that everyone in town suspected as a KKK member. Stella's mom ended up being fine, for some white women drove to get the "colored doctor" from Raleigh, NC in their automobile to save her. Later that evening, Stella saved a girl from drowning in a lake. That girl happened to be Paulette Packhard, the daughter of the "white doctor". After Stella saved her, Paulette explained how cruel her father is to her, how he actually is a KKK member, and how she craves attention from him. Stella exploded with anger, and Paulette and Stella agteed that they should tell. However, the book never described what happened next, for that was how the book ended. So what? This book matters to me and to others for many reasons. To me, this book matters because I believe in equality, or no (racial) discrimination. This book has to do a lot with segregation, and it really taught me about how black people were so horribly treated back then. This book matters to other people too because this issue of discrimination is still very common today. Organizations like Black Lives Matter protest rights for blacks, for racial discrimination still sometimes occurs in our society still. Also, recently there have been discrimination issues over gender, religion, and more that people can connect to by reading this book about racial discrimination. There is a huge takeaway message that this book has to offer. I believe that this book was trying to display to the reader that we should all treat others equally and with respect, as well as love our neighbors as ourselves. We should help others no matter our differences when they are in desperate need. I was led to believe this due to multiple quotes in the novel. Mr. Mills told Stella,"Never be afraid to be honest and stand up for what is right...'Just remember to balence your courage with wisdom(26)." This deals with helping others and being respectful and truthful. This next quote was also said by Stella after she saved the life of Paulette, a white child. "Paulette would have died if I had not been out there. I almost died too. That water didn't care what color we were (305)." This deals with the message of not discriminating against others, and to help them when in need.
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Blog Post #6:
Stella by Starlight, my literature circle novel, discusses many occasions of racial inequality in her 1932 society in Bumblebee, NC. The book begins with Stella (the African american 11 year old main character) and her little brother Jojo secretly watched a KKK meeting. They alerted their neighborhood, for they are very powerful and target black people. Their neighborhood was terrified and very cautious of the KKK as the book progressed. The novel then explains how the lives of black people in Bumblebee, NC were unequal compared to white people. Black children and white children had to go to separate schools, and all black civilians were not allowed to vote in elections. Stella also tells her perspective of how she wishes to be able to have the same rights as white people in her neighborhood. On April 15, 2017, Black Lives Matter, an organization that protests for equal rights for black people (because many black Americans still feel unequal in our society today), held a protest in Seattle for equality. There was also another demonstration going on at the same time that was initiated to protest the unfair tax burdens laid on low-income Americans. This movement ties in with the Black Lives Matter movement well because low-income Americans are disproportionately black and Hispanic people. Additionally, both of these movements tie in very well with the novel Stella by Starlight because the BLM movement is protesting racial inequality, a common theme in the novel. The tax refund movement also deals with the novel because people are suffering under the government which is how Stella's family was treated in the novel. Blog Post #5:
My literature circle book, Stella by Starlight, is a novel about an African american girl living in a segregated society located in Bumblebee, North Carolina during 1932. In this book, Stella explains how segregation is a community norm in her society. Racial segregation, as you most likely already know, was a huge problem in American history. In the novel, also Stella explains how white children and black children went to separate schools. White students didn't very much associate themselves with black children, and Stella even had to work up the nerve to talk to a white student at a candy shop. According to an article from http://ic.galegroup.com about school education in the 1930's they state, "American education was racially segregated in the 1930's precisely because of the white presumption that blacks were inherently incapable of learning at an advanced level. Segregating white schoolchildren from black schoolchildren meant that white pupils presumably would not be 'held back' in the classroom by less-capable black pupils." This is how historical events such as racial segregation are compared to events in the book. People in America during the 1930's had mixed opinions on this issue. Most blacks wanted equality, whereas most white citizens wanted inequality or did not want to do something about the issue. In the book, Stella and her fellow friends seem to want equality, for they all admire white children in their community. The novel says, " They couldn't help, every single day, staring at the perfect-looking brick building with the perfect-looking grass in the front. Mountain View School. The school for white children." This novel also discusses the KKK, in which Stella and her little brother Jojo encounter a KKK meeting. This ties into historical events because the children/ town was terrified of this group of individuals, just like real historical people were as well in that time period. Overall, my novel, Stella by Starlight, contains many events/ elements that connect to American history. Blog Post #4:
I am the type of person who likes to party and make other people happy. I would describe myself as being a jokester and bubbly person, who is a definite extravert. I can be quiet at times, but when I'm around my friends and family I tend to be very energetic. I believe that my friends and family also would agree that I am a funny, bubbly person. In fact, two weeks ago when I was in the mountains I couldn't stop laughing with my friends Abby and Ella ( we weren't even laughing at anything). My dad always calls me his little bird because I just "chirp" and laugh all day. I am definitely an extrovert. Blog Post #3:
For many in today's world, a pet is another family member that is loved and cared for. However, many people abuse animals in horrible, disrightful ways. I hear of many stories on Raleigh, NC's local news about animal cruelty, like this: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9961240/ . According to North Carolina laws, illegal animal cruelty contains wounding, injuring, tormenting, killing, or depriving an animal of necessary nourishment. I believe that this a big issue, for I have a pet at home that I love very, very much and protect. I would not want my pet to be abused, nor anyone else's. I also have great sympathy for the animals, for they are innocent yet they face deathly surroundings. People are affected by this issue because many animals that are abused used to be sheltered by a pet owner. As I said before, many pet owners treat their animal(s) as members of the family, so the suffer greatly from loosing their pet. As a community, I believe that everyone should care about this horrible issue (in my mind) in order to support Innocent animals that suffer from cruelty. The SPCA of Wake County, NC (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is an animal shelter that has a goal of creating a more humane community and finding a home for all adoptable animals. It shelters homeless animals, as well as animal victims of abuse and more. I feel, in order to make a difference about this issue, that I and others should volunteer physically or financially at this shelter (or other ones) in order to help the lives of animals that are abandoned and/or abused. Thank you for reading this blog post and please help save the animals! For more info go to: http://spcawake.org/about-us/ Blog Post #2: As you may know, starvation is major problem throughout the entire globe. This particular issue is very hard to fix, which is why I would like to discuss this topic today. I was glimpsing through articles and one happened to catch my eye. This certain article was talking about a major food desert in southeast Raleigh and how many people suffer from living far from a grocery/ convenient store. This shocked me, for I take for granted my location around many grocery stores. This food desert is also located in part of my city, yet I was unaware of it. Many residents in southeast Raleigh do not have much money, which is terrible because they already suffer from living in a food desert. Many people are affected by is issue. These people have to walk far distances to get to these stores (since many do not have enough income to buy a car), and they have to carry many bags back home which is very tiring if you ask me. Since people do not have much money to spend on food, they will buy the cheapest food in the store which almost always junk food. This leads to obesity which is not good for any human being.The article also mentioned how some people in food deserts are forced to go to convenient stores that only sell things such as tobacco and alcohol which is very unhealthy. I feel that other people should care about this issue because it can lead to obesity or starvation based on their low finances. These are two terrible and unhealthy things. To help out, I believe that we as a community should give healthy snacks and food to people in southeast Raleigh. We could hand things out ate recreational places which are easy to access with many people around. I ultimately want help others, whether it be one person or 100 people. For more info go to: http://raleighpublicrecord.org/news/2010/10/25/the-food-desert-of-southeast-raleigh/ Blog Post #1: In my opinion, America is a wonderful country to live in. This country contains laws that protect individuality and freedom through documents such as the Constitution, which is one of the many reasons why some immigrants relocate to America. A multitude of different cultures are also displayed due to the different types of people who have immigrated to America. Immigrants during the industrial revolution came through Ellis Island, a place that caused many immigrants to struggle in many ways. People in today's society have immigrated to the U.S. for many different reasons, and they still face hardships once they settle into the country.
Asya, a nine year old girl, lived in the Ukraine before immigrating to America. Her father won a green card and wanted to immigrate here to the U.S. which was why she left the Ukraine to became an American citizen at a very young age. Asya enjoys America very much, for she wants to be successful in life just like other American citizens. However, she faces the hardship of missing her dear grandmother in the Ukraine. Many immigrants in America (and around the world) struggle with this hardship of leaving family. This is very heartbreaking in my eyes, for I would not want to leave any family member of mine in another country. Gabriella, a thirteen year old girl, is also a child that immigrated to America. She drove from Coahuila, Mexico to Austin, Texas. According to a Scholastic article, she and her family moved to America to learn English. However, she was scared to immigrate to another country because she was unamiliar with her fellow surroundings. She had to leave the life she loved in Mexico. Many immigrants do not speak English when they move to America which is a definite struggle and hardship. They are surrounded by many others who sound like they are speaking gibberish. If I were an immigrant such as Gabriella, I would be nervous to switch countries as well, for it's very hard to learn another language. However, Gabriella's family felt they needed to learn English which is why they moved. Gabriella wants to be wealthy as she ages, which is what many citizens long for in our American society. As you can see, immigrants today come to America for different reasons and they face many hardships once arriving. My heart yearns for all immigrants, for the are faced with new challenges, environments, cultures, and people. Immigrants have struggled with many hardships ever since Ellis island. I feel that as an American society we should all treat immigrants well and support them in what ever way possible. I want to welcome them into our society rather then have them be outcasts. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post about reasons people immigrate to America and the hardships immigrants face after moving! |