My reflection upon the reading of the 2nd Chap. (House Made of Dawn)

It was so awful to imagine poor Abel walking around disoriented with broken bones all over his body. The description of the broken fingers and the black blood on his hands were horrifying. I thought it was creative of the author to give us Abel's thoughts while he was passed out and then go back to the present. It seem like he really loved Milly because her name was repeated in the book numerous times. I am still wondering why Abel is all messed up with broken bones all over and next to the beach. My opinion is that he was in a bar fight and was dropped off in the beach to get rid of him. Milly is a woman to admire because she went through a lot of struggle such as going out to school by herself, loosing a husband, and loosing a baby. Even through all this she still manages to keep on living. Another thing that I am confused about is why the priest is part of the story. I am trying to wonder if Abel use to attend the masses of the priest's.

A True Hero

I found uncle Ralph from "The Warriors" to be someone to admire. Someone that is true a character and knows who he is. He was proud of his culture and did not ever change his ways. He wanted to express culture by singing Pawnee songs and teaching others philosophies of how his people were created. However, is was this pride that killed him. Even though it was a good thing for him to keep his culture alive it was bad for him at the same time because knowing that his culture was going away made him depressed. However, he fought through this struggle of his and lived his beautiful life for as long as he could. It was sad to see him turn into a hobo something that his nieces looked down upon. I loved the ending when the sister tells her sister that they already gone to the moon since they were children of the stars which their uncle taught. As one can see, his legacy lived on through his nieces and other people he taught about the ways of the Pawnee so that the Pawnee culture could always live on which is what Uncle Ralph wanted.

Discussing the poem "I Am Not Your Princess"

I feel the pain the American Indian Chrystos is expressing. She just feels depressed and hurt for all she has encountered for being an American Indian. She is tired of people's pity and tired of people trying to comfort her. She just wants to be alone and gain back what little she has remaining of her heritage.She does not want to be bothered, she just wants to live her life. I also felt her anguish, she is sick and tired of being treated as the inferior. I think the fry bread is something meaningful to her which is one of the last things that no one can take away from her. As a result, the repeats the recipe of the fry bread to emphasize her culture. It is disgusting to see how people jugde other races because of what they have seen in the cinema. They are sometimes so ignorant. However, it is not their fault it's the media's fault since that is what most people grow up watching. I am proud of writers such as Chrystos who put these types of poems out there for people to get educated.

My thoughts on the "Slaying the Monsters"

The part of the "Slaying the Monsters" was something else. It had action scenes, philosophy, happiness, sadness, hope, and acts of bravery all in one. The thing that stuck out to me the most was role of the sun. At times he was seen as a good guy but in other occassions he was the bad guy. For instance, he would try to play tricks on his children and would only help them if he got something in return. However, at the same he did help them on killing off the monsters. My favorite character was the wind because he would give the boys advice when they were in tight spots and would go out his way to make sure that the boys were safe even though there was nothing in it for him. In addition, I love the stories that the monsters played because they explained why creatures behave the way they do or why the earth does the crazy things it does such as having harsh winters and giving humans old-age. It was fascinating how the monsters played a huge role of why things are the way they are even though at first they were villains. Laslty, what I got out of the story is that everyone can be forgiven and that sometimes the best thing to do is to leave things the way they are.

My Thoughts about the reading "Uprising"

I enjoyed this piece because it shows a man's courage to stand up for his heritage and what he believes is right. I liked how he said that he would not write another man's language but instead orally express his own language. I respect all those people who take their culture seriously and are proud of who they are. Culture is what makes us unique and makes inordinary.

The Meaning of Jaguar

The reason I chose my title to be Jaguar is because I admire the Jaguar for everything that it is. A Jaguar is an animal that I would love to be if I had a second life. The thing about jaguars is that they are fearless and mysterious animals. They are very bright, sneaky, and clever; and as a result use that to their advantage to survive in the wild. I also praise their bright orange/yellow and spotted coats that they wear proudly to roam the jungle. I also like the fact that people fear them and do not approach them closely. Instead they are isolated and are rare to see for the ordinary man living in New York. These animals to me are a sacred and unique species that has always caught my attention.