CR Readings

How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie
This story was pretty vulgar. It focused on stereotypes, whether racial or social or even sexual. There are several clues that confuse the reader about what ethnicity the narrator is. Calling his aunt "tia" makes him appear Hispanic. However, referring to his afro makes him appear African American. This story was actually a cluster of directions. The directions lead the follower to "hopefully" make sexual contact with the girl. The narrator instructs to pay attention and pretend to be interested in what the girl is saying in order to get her approval. It appears that the narrator is so focused on this girl and hopefully "getting something from her" in order to forget about what is going on in his life. There is government cheese, and the entire family lives in an apartment in a bad part of the town. This leads one to believe that the narrator's life is not ideal.

No Name Woman
This story represents a culture more than the first story. So many instances are a part of only the Chinese culture. It's interesting that village would make sure a man was married before leaving for work. This would ensure that he would "responsibly come home." The villagers were ashamed of the narrator's aunt for having a child outside of wedlock. I got the feeling that some wore masks because they were also ashamed of their own behavior of raiding the house. I was shocked to realize the traumatic story was told just so the children would be scared to have sex. The incident is so personal that I felt this way of bringing it up was awful. The culture is shown again when Necessity is capitalized on page 149. It is actually a name of a guiding river, but the literal translation is true in American culture as well. I felt sympathy for the children in the story. They felt guilty for having any sort of happiness. The action always required energy, which left their parents exhausted. The traditions of how the Chinese eat in silence is interesting. The narrator's line "They want me to participate in her punishment. I have.." is shocking. This implies that the mother told her children the story so that they would also feel shame for their aunt's actions. The last line of this story, which refers to the drowned woman with wet hair hanging, reminds me of the movie The Ring. I was not aware that the idea of the movie was actually a Chinese superstition.

Becky
This story appears to play with the idea of karma. The town treats a single woman poorly. They send her out away from the town. Everybody remembered her though. People were scared of her ghost. The actual setup of the story is visually stimulating; it drew in my attention. Why was the father's identity such a secret? There seems to be such a divide between the whites and the blacks, which shows the culture of this time period. However, the two cultures come together in unity to cast out Becky. The idea of not accepting a woman who has a child out of wedlock appears to run in many different cultures.

Battle Royal
The title is humorous, because the battle between races is a royal battle. It has been going on for years and years. I read this story in high school and also did not understand it all that well then. The main character seems to be going through several different struggles. He is overcoming the race boundary by giving the speech to a crowd of white men. He is struggling with his family's expectations. He is struggling with himself. He is trying to find himself, while trying to live up to his family's standards. I would say that at the end of the story he has overcome quite a bit.

America
This is a different way to look at one's culture. It seems to be a sort of analysis of US culture. The narrator here has a love-hate relationship with the United States. He finds that many parts of the culture have been hard on him. The US is so big and vast that there are many different opportunities. One part of the culture motivates him and gives him the strength to be able to handle the parts of the culture that are not ideal. This culture will be as diverse as it is now for quite a while in the future. The narrator claims to see into the future and predicts that things will remain.

If We Must Die
Saying if they must die sounds like people are settling for a less than ideal circumstance. Not wanting to be like hogs means that they want to keep some dignity. The mad and hungry dogs are a metaphor for people who ridicule the narrator. I think this poem is a reference to a person who did something different, such as created unsusual artwork or believed in a new religion, and stood by what they believed in. Surrounding people are afraid and worried because this drastically new idea could threaten what exists currently. The narrator refers to being honored after death. This happens to people who are truly great. The narrator obviously has confidence and believes in himself. He wants to die nobly so that no precious blood is shed. He believes in himself and what he stands for.