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Artist Statement

When writing my memoir Vignette I chose to write about my 6th-grade experience because it was a key event in my life that made me the person I am today, similar to how Trever Noah wrote about his education and how that also affected his life in Born a Crime. Some examples of this are in Chapter 10: A Young Man’s Long, Awkward, Occasionally Tragic, and Frequently, Humiliating Education in Affairs of the Heart, Part I: Valentine’s Day, Chapter 11: Outsider, Chapter 12: A Young Man’s Long, Awkward, Occasionally Tragic, and Frequently, Humiliating Education in Affairs of the Heart, Part II: The Crush, Chapter 13: Colorblind, Chapter 14: A Young Man’s Long, Awkward, Occasionally Tragic, and Frequently, and Humiliating Education in Affairs of the Heart, Part III: The Dance. The Sixth Grade experience, though painful, molded me to be the person I am today. I discovered that I am a pretty cool person regardless of what others think about me. I developed compassion for the downtrodden and rejected in society because isolation and rejection is an unpleasant experience. Not only that, but I realized that in life, shallow people exist and there is nothing you can do to impress them that will cause them to change their attitudes and impressions about you. They are self-conscious people and are consumed tremendously by how others view them. This experience prepared me for the Science Leadership Academy. I learned to be bold in new environments and to not try to adapt to who I was to fit in the environment. As Winston Churchill stated, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” I had a lot of failures that 6th-grade year, however, my failures were not fatal. In fact, my courage to continue made me a stronger person, therefore, leading me to future successes.

After reading “ Born a Crime” I was heavily inspired by Trevor turning embarrassing or sad memories into humor, and the way he used sarcasm like he was speaking directly to the reader. I loved the way he really opened up and wasn’t afraid to tell so many different parts of his childhood, I wish more people opened up like that in their writing. I think a lot of the deeper stories and the way he really shared his emotions stuck with me. I tried my best to explain my culture as if I was talking to an outsider, but it was so hard to do and made me appreciate Trevor Noah’s writing even more. I also tried to have a deep reflection like Trevor, which also proved difficult, how he wrapped his identity into every small story he told really inspired me too. So I tried to incorporate my chosen culture into as many parts of the story as possible. One of my favorite parts to read were the many chapters where he talked about his school and love life. I could really see him as a social floater, not really in any specific friend group. He was always an outsider and showed how he knew that he was, even in high school and embraced it. He used it to his advantage and even realized that his love life would sadly never work out because of it. “For me, trying to get a girl would upset the natural order of things. Part of my success as the tuck shop guy was that I was welcome everywhere, and I was welcomed everywhere because I was nobody.” page 102. This self reflection was different because it was an at the moment kind of thing, and It inspired me to include how I felt when the events in my vignette actually occurred. Because I really enjoyed this writing style I tried my best to incorporate it into my story, with subtle sarcasm and humor, openness and my real reflections when the event actually happened. While I slightly encapsulated some style, I definitely didn’t pull it off as well as Trevor, I will be sure to incorporate some of the styles I learned from “Born a Crime” into my further writing.

The idea that heavily influenced me when choosing my topic and writing about it, was Trevor’s connection and appreciation to his mother, and also Patricia’s way of living. In Born a Crime, we often see or hear about Trevor admiring his mother for her ways, and that inspired me. If Patricia could be strong and brave (which she’s not supposed to be) during such a bad time, I can too and I wanted to explore that. Trevor explored his own sense of identity in many different ways, but most of the time, it was his racial identity. He did this by feeling around to see where he felt comfortable, where he relates most, and most importantly, just not fitting in anywhere and finding peace and acceptance in that. In chapters 4-6, Trevor has a moment where he believes he fits in most with the black kids at school, because he could unapologetically be himself. Later in the book, he talks about how some black kids don’t accept him, same with the white kids, so he fits in with the “colored” kids, even if that’s not truly who he is, it was just easier. Very close to the end, Trevor goes to jail and decides to stick with the white people because they “look harmless”. It’s like a never-ending cycle for Trevor, and he just usually goes with what he feels that day. A part or quote of Born a Crime that I resonate the most with is “I was blessed with another trait I inherited from my mother: her ability to forget the pain in life. I remember the thing that caused the trauma, but I don’t hold on to the trauma. I never let the memory of something painful prevent me from trying something new.” I relate with this the most because I’ve had terrible things happen to me, but I don’t let it affect my current life. I had terrible social anxiety, still do, but it’s toned down a bit because of the people around me. Trevor’s writing style inspired me a lot, and I tried to copy him in a way. Trevor spaces his paragraphs more often than me, so I tried to space my paragraphs a bit more. Trevor also writes like he’s talking to someone who has no context of anything, which is also something I tried to do. I stayed on the serious side instead of being humorous, which differs from Trevor’s storytelling techniques. I wanted the reader to understand that I do take this subject seriously, and I would hope they would too. My vignette addresses the question of how our cultures influence our identity.

In Born a crime a few things connected with my writing that influenced the story. A few examples would be when Trevor Noah had a close friend named Teddy, and when Trevor Noah had wanted to switch classes when he liked being in class B better than class A. In both of these stories they have something in common, both Teddy and class B accepted him for who he was. Both of the people accepted Trevor Noah for who he is and made him feel part of a place where he isn’t judged. That is the same with my friendship group, they accept me for who I am regardless of my flaws. One of my favorite quotes in Born a Crime was in chapter 11 on page 99 “Since I belonged to no group I learned to move seamlessly between groups. I floated. I was a chameleon, still, a cultural chameleon.” This quote did connect to me, this connected with being because growing up I was also the same way. I was part of multiple groups but it didn’t feel like I was part of it. I was there from time to time but I never stayed for too long. My friend group and the habits aren’t the easiest to understand, sometimes we can’t even understand each other but that is a rare occasion. I tried to explain the characteristic traits of my friends the best I could to make sure they understand the way our group works. My friend group can get chaotic sometimes and when we are having a serious conversation about things that are affecting us we have each other’s backs. Identity and belonging haven’t always been the easiest thing growing up. I never really had many true friends, they were more of acquaintances. Growing up, we all kind of just lacked friends. So eventually we all became friends even though most of us attend different schools. The story connects with my identity because my friends influence how I am towards other people. While writing the book Trevor Noah’s very impactful writing style, it’s unique in many ways. His writing style had lots of humorous moments which also makes me want to add a lot of humor into my writing style. I am attempting to give my story a comedic effect.. I also want to make it as entertaining as possible. I adore humor, first because I like making things funny and laid back. I don’t like making my writing stiff, I like to have my personality intertwined with the writing.

Written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1953, “Fahrenheit 451” tells the story of Guy Montag, a fireman whose job is to collect and burn books in a society where any feelings of discomfort from existential crises to mourning loved ones have been outlawed and the priority is happiness by any means necessary.

This podcast we will be discussing the characters, struggles, and world-building of “Fahrenheit 451” through a Marxist lens; with a focus on consumerism and the constant consumption of product, both material and mental.

Presented by the Fire 451 Squad: Zoe Kwas, Tayah Brunson, Isabella Torres, Hawa Diakite, and Cameryn Roach

Tale of Two Tribes: The Podcast “Episode Two”

CoHosts: Jakob Cantor, Ami Doumbia, Londyn Edwards, Justine Koffi, Maysa Wright

In Episode Two of “Tale of Two Tribes”, Jakob, Ami, Londyn, Justine, and Maysa discuss their second reading of the novel Homegoing by Ghanian-American author Yaa Gyasi. This time, the five cohosts talk literary lenses (Marxist, Feminist, and New Historical) and what they mean to the overall understanding and plot of the story.

Run Time:

Text to Text Connection:

-4:10: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985, later adapted into tv series of the same namesake in 2017), is a book that takes place in the Republic of Gilead where main character Offred serves as a handmaid whose only job is to bear a child for the Commander and his wife. (To read more, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale)

Book References:

-4:48: Chapter James, pg 101

-5:11: Chapter H, pg 157-158

-7:26: Chapter Kojo, pg 120

-12:25: Chapter Kojo, pg 131

-13:47: Chapter H, pg 167

-18:25: Chapter Kojo, pg 124

Jasir Chavis, Jueni Austin, Lyss Williams, Phoenix Satterfield

In this episode, we look at the next few chapters through a feminist lens. Both of the parents of the main character, Pecola, have their own chapters, with the mother’s chapter (Pauline) first and the father’s chapter (Cholly) second. We explore the gender structures present in their childhoods and their marriage.

In the first episode of Tiger Talk, we discussed the literal and figurative meaning of the prominent theme of lightness vs darkness present in the novel, alongside other narrative symbols that we’ve encountered throughout reading.

In this second rendition of Tiger Talk, we explored the novel through the view of the Marxist lens, analyzing the novel’s discussions around class and wealth. The book’s central metaphor of “The Rooster Coop” alongside the debate between decisions between morally right or not fuel the main topics of this week’s episode.

Tune in to our dynamic group taking down the White Tiger one section at a time, with renowned English students Peter Keo, Michal Czapla, Indiya Johnson, Miranda Sosa and Jacob Prunes serving as the hosts.

Authors: Fionn Hyland, Lucas Capitolo, Michaela Berger

Welcome to the second episode of “Here Here!” This week, we discuss the events of the book through the Marxist Lens, which examines the financial scenarios in the novel. Since we have been able to learn more about each character, we work to analyze each character, their relationships, and their financial situations. We hope you enjoy!