Isabella Torres

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

24 March 2019

Unity Within a Community

The difference of opinions are everywhere and there will be disagreements with every topic. Sometimes, they can be talked over and solved, but other times these opinions can escalate to new levels. In the novel, The Lord of The Flies written by William Golding, a group of young british boys crash on an island and they divide between two groups. One was civilized and they followed moral rules, while the other group was savage and did murderous things, the group as a whole was not on the same page. The separation of a unity of people will cause havoc for everyone involved.

When the boys first started to set up camp, only Ralph and Simon were making their huts on the beach and they felt like the only ones who were responsible. Everyone else was having fun and playing games and no one was helping out Simon and Ralph build huts. Ralph exclaimed to Simon, “‘The older ones aren’t much better. D’you see? All day I’ve been working with Simon. No one else. They’re off bathing, or eating, or playing.”” (50). From the beginning of the novel, the boys were disagreeing and they were not all there to help one another out. Ralph was voted chief of all the boys and Jack, the other candidate, didn’t agree with Ralph being leader. At this point in the book, all the boys are still together but Jack and his choir boys separated themselves from Ralph’s small party. Slowly but surely, tensions between Jack’s group and Ralph’s group began to grow. Jack and his group were more focused on having fun rather than being practical and help build shelters with Ralph. They had different agendas on what they planned to do on the island. when there is opposition within the group of boys, the bonds start to break and issue start to form.

The Founding Fathers of the US government had some disagreements with how the government ran and who had the most power overall. Some of the founders wanted congress to have the most power while others preferred if the other central branches had more power.  On umbc.edu, they say “A debate thus ensued, between the Federalist side, led by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, and the Anti Federalists, led by Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, over exactly how much power and authority to give Congress and the other central branches of the new government.” They did not know how to make their decision. Soon after, the small disagreement the Founding Fathers came up with a solution that they agreed on, which resulted in our Bill of Rights and our Constitution. To this day, the American government is still run on this agreement made 200 years ago. Some disagreements work out for the best, while some result for the worse. Unfortunately, within the novel, the clashing of different ideas did not result in the well being of everyone on the island. Disagreements are very common and can either end peacefully or can end with even more bickering.

Towards the end of their time on the island, Jack decided to split himself from the main group because he disagreed with Ralph’s priorities. Ralph was not focused on killing another pig while that was the only thing Jack cared about. Jack said, “I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too” (127). Jack was focused on killing the beast the boys claimed to see the night before on the mountains. Jack wanted to officially kill the beast so the boys could be safe and have nothing to worry about. Jack did not want to negotiate with Ralph and try to help the whole group out. Instead, Jack wanted to focus on himself and his goal to kill the pig.

In 1787, the founding fathers were deciding who would have the most power within the US government. Scholastic.com says the first ever political groups in America, “Hamilton and other leaders who wanted a strong central government banded together to put over their policies…. they began calling themselves the Federalists. This was the first United States political party… Anti-Federalists gathered … members of Jefferson's group called themselves Democratic-Republicans.” Some experts say that these extreme parties are not helping anyone and leave the entire country in a grip. Thehill.com says, “ Each side is more extreme, and each bases their political agenda on demonizing the other side” and the boys on the island do the same thing. Jack is reluctant to try and meet in the middle with Ralph, which turns Jack to go extremely savage and further from being civilized. Both of their situations would have ended drastically if things were different.

Splitting into separate idea groups can interfere with the unity of the whole community. Just as Jack went to the extremes of being in the wild, the political parties become extreme opposite ends of the spectrum. Sometimes groups don’t always hold and not everyone has the same goal in the end. They either pull through and have a common ground, or they fall apart and all humanity is lost.

Works Cited Page

Flanders, Stephen. "The Origins and Functions of Political Parties." Scholastic. 2007. 25 Mar. 2019 <https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/origins-and-functions-political-parties/>.

Berg, Sean. "Founding Fathers Essays (Examples)." Founding Fathers Essays: Examples, Topics, Titles, & Outlines. 25 Mar. 2019 <https://www.paperdue.com/topic/founding-fathers-essays>.

Could I ask you a question? Was it true? Are the rumors I have been hearing true? I just need you to be honest with me my love.

Oh, so it is true? Why? How could you do this? After all I have done for you, you couldn’t stay away from him?

What do you mean I never showed you love? I gave you my heart and soul! And you’re just going to throw that away!? I love you and you can’t see that? I tell you everyday that you’re the love of my life and that you’re beautiful just as the day I met you.

How does he show his love? He hasn’t supported you and this family. He doesn’t pay the bills. He doesn’t cook dinner. He doesn’t work overtime at the job he hates. But yeah sure Jasmine, He loves you more than me.

When did you start seeing him, how long ago did you guys start hooking up? FIVE MONTHS! Are you kidding me? SO you’re just going to throw 7 years of our marriage DOWN THE DRAIN!? Is that why you had to invite him to our kids 6th birthday? You’re INSANE, how come I have never seen this before…

Why is it that everyone has chosen him over me, my whole life. Mom and dad gave him a car on his 16th birthday while I still took the bus. The girls would always approach me and ask me about him! He always excelled in school. Always on honor roll, and he would be the one on the football team to carry the team into championships.

But Liam, he’s my brother… how could he… he always said that he would take care of me when I needed it. I- I am in disbelief- my own brother.

I remember when my dog passed away, she was so old. But Liam comforted me, and the next day he showed up with a puppy. He said “I know no other dog can replace Macy, but here’s Roxie. I was in the animal shelter and I knew you would love her.” That was the most sentimental thing anyone ever did for me.

And we would go to parties and he would introduce me to his friends. He BROUGHT ME TO YOU! I knew it was too good to be true, I KNew it. I am such an idiot.. But my blood doesn’t even love me, so that’s down the drain.

But I thought you were different. I thought you truly loved me deep down in your heart-

DON’T GIVE ME THAT BS! I can’t even look at you right now. What are we supposed to do about Jason, huh? Did you even think about him? He’s only SIX YEARS OLD, he can’t comprehend what his mom ever did. He’s going to be confused as to why his mommy and dad-

*whispers*

what? What do you mean?

Jason ISN’T MY SON? WHAT DO YOU MEAN!

Jasmine, how is that even possible?

“It was just one night” my ass. When was this night? ARE YOU KIDDING ME JASMINE? THE DAY BEFORE OUR WEDDING!

Oh so because you had cold feet that means you slEEP WITH LIAM?!  

I was there when you gave birth to him and I was there for you the whole time, and you never thought to tell me this?

Of course I would find out sooner or later! I am not a complete IDIOT.

I NEED AN EXPLAINA-

Don’t walk away from me! Jasmine! No! Wait, don’t leave plea-

*on the verge of tears and a break down*

I don’t understand what I did. Why did this have to happen to me. The universe hates me, HATES ME. I hate me…

I could’ve been better. If I didn’t put all my love into this marriage so quickly, and realized that this was too good to be true, maybe I wouldn’t be here right now, talking to myself alone in my living room.

She left me. She left me alone in the house I built for our beautiful family. How could she leave me? If anything I have the right to leave, not my skank wife.

What’s even the point of living and breathing anymore. Everything good in my life has just vanished.

Monologue Reading-

I peered out of the window as we sped past the fluffy clouds. The island was beautiful. So lush and  green; the sea so clear and blue. I smiled thinking of my Grandmother. The last time I saw her I was only a toddler, and I’ve only seen pictures and heard stories about her. I couldn’t wait to see my Father’s childhood house that my Grandfather built. I couldn’t wait to meet my great tios and tias. I was so eager to explore the island I’ve only heard stories about and seen a few pictures of. But deep within all of this excitement, I was in distress. I was in Puerto Rico for the worst situation I could ever fathom; my Grandfather’s funeral.

The majority of my Dad’s elders live in Puerto Rico, including his parents. When my Dad first heard that my Grandfather was sick, he went down to the island immediately. He was there a few weeks before my Mom, Brother and I came down. I remember the day I heard the grave news like it was yesterday.

I had just walked into the front door of my family’s house and walked through our kitchen. My mom was sitting at the kitchen table with the laptop open and all the daily newspapers surrounding her. I was tired and my body ached, but I greeted her happily. She smiled and I went to my room to put my bookbag down. When I came back out, her mood shifted; the atmosphere changed in the room; my stomach lurched.

“I have to tell you something Isabella.” Those words hung heavily in the air. My body became stiff.

“What?” I asked her reluctantly, I didn’t want to hear what came after those words. She started to speak but my body couldn’t wait. My face scrunched up and tears started to fall from my eyes, down my cheeks. My mom said the words I never thought I would hear. I ran into my room, closed the door behind me and buried myself under my blankets. I fell asleep crying.

I was angry and in denial that my Grandfather passed. I didn’t want to believe this is was the result. No one in my family thought he was that sick, no one expected this was going to be the outcome. We all believed my Grandfather was strong enough to pull through this. The whole family was in shock and we didn’t understand why.

I never met my Grandfather at a time when I could remember; I was just a baby. Everyone in my family talked highly of my Grandfather. They would say he was funny, witty, and such a loving person. I have always wanted to meet my Grandfather and I’m sure he always wanted to meet his granddaughter when she was all grown up. But now I’ll never meet him. I’ll never get to hear his laugh or laugh at one of his jokes. I’ll never even get to hug my Grandfather. I was frustrated and I struggled with this thought for months after Puerto Rico. I would randomly burst into tears just thinking about never seeing my Grandfather. It even got to the point where I blamed my parents for not taking me to Puerto Rico sooner.

As the months went on, I began changing how I went about the situation. I didn’t resent my parents anymore, I didn’t have sudden mood swings, and I began to look at what happened in a different light. I thought more positively to help me cope with the circumstances. I believed that my Grandfather was in a better place. I know he wasn’t in anymore pain and that he wasn’t suffering. I also trusted that one day I was going to see him in a better place; he would be healthy and he would look better than he ever did before.

Do not get me wrong, I still do have those moments where I wish I had met my Grandfather. I do still get emotional when I think about him, but now I have faith that I will see him. It’s having my faith that keeps me going and helps me gets through the dark times in life.

The element I made a print for Francium. Francium’s atomic number is 87. Francium is a super rare element that was discovered by Marguerite Perey. Francium was discovered by Marguerite Perey, a French Physicist. She was working with the radioactive decay of actinium and when it decays it turns into another element. She was putting multiple series of reactions, and soon discovered something she did not recognize. She did some research and realized that it was one of the missing elements on the periodic table, number 87. She named the element “Francium” after her hometown, France.

Francium is a radioactive metal,  also known as an alkali metal because it has one valence electron.  And if you didn’t know, Alkali Metals are super reactive to water. If Francium were to touch water, it would cause a huge explosion. The explosion would be so dangerous and would be fatal. So for my image, I made an explosion. We don’t use francium for anything because it’s so dangerous, the only choice I had was an explosion.

The process to make the print was pretty simple. We first drew a rough sketch of our drawing and after that we had to make a final copy. Next we take thin wax paper and trace it on the wax paper. After that we get a plate (which is a thin piece of foam) and turn the wax paper so it’s backwards on the plate. It had to be backwards because if not, the final plate would be revered and wrong. I then carved into the plate by tracing the lines on the wax paper. The carving transferred and now it was time for paint. There was a paint station. Each color of paint had a roller that makes it easier to paint the print. After you cover the plate with paint, you put a clean piece of paper over the wet paint and you press over the plate. If you do this correctly, you’ll get the image transferred onto the clean piece of paper. You let that dry.

After it’s completely dry, you take a ruler and put it on the edge of the image. You then rip the excess paper off. You continue this for all of the edges. After you have the completed print, you take a construction paper and make a 1 inch border around the print. That’s how you make a print! You repeat these steps until you are satisfied with the paint coverage. The more you practice, the more you improve, the better the image transfers and comes out.

If I were to change anything different with my process, I would listen the first time and not cut my print out. I would also not put too much pressure when transferring the image with the spoon, I made some indentations which you could see in later versions of my prints. Even though I made some mistakes, I really enjoyed the whole process. My favorite part was painting the carving. I was so satisfying and relaxing to do. I would definitely do this project again!

The Latino community has so many different skin colors, hair textures, and traditions. In my first post I did research on other Latinos’ experience with colorism and discrimination with other Latinos. Some of their confrontations were with their family members, friends, and even random people on the streets. I also talked about how there isn’t much representation in the media of dark skinned Latinos or Latinos with kinky curly hair. In my second blog post I did my own research because I wanted to hear different experiences of colorism or if they had even heard of colorism in my community. I sent out a survey to get my information, and I didn’t get the results I was expecting. I was expecting the darker Latinos to be more discriminated against for their color, but my responses were the opposite. The lighter skinned Latinos were being denied as being Latino. People were telling them that they were “too light” to be like us.

The next step I had to take for this project was how was I going to make difference for this issue in my community. I wasn’t sure at all what I wanted to do. I knew I couldn’t fix everything and change other people’s minds easily. The least I could do was bring awareness and educate others of this issue or at least bring up the conversation because “we, as a community, need to start having the conversation about colorism and anti-blackness within our circles. We need to better educate each other about Afro-Latino identity and how Afro-Latinos are just as great a part of our community as anyone else.” To spread this word around,  I thought a video would be a great way to reach people. There would be different Latinos in the video with different looks, expressing they are proud of who they are. I emailed some Latinos at my school and they agreed to be in the video, and I also had some people at my church say that they would love to help me out. In the video you see Latinos of different ages, shapes, sizes, skin colors, and nationalities. This is how I chose to display a glimpse of our diversity.

In the video you see Deliah, who is Afro Latina and standing next to her are her two children. She and her family are darker skinned with curly coily hair. Deliah and her family never shy away from who they are and celebrate their culture just as much as anyone else. Also in the video you see Carol who is Mexican American and is so proud to be who she is. Some people might say that she is “not the typical looking Mexican” but what does that mean? How could one culture all look the same? Just because Carol isn’t slightly darker or have pin straight black hair makes her less Mexican American as anyone else who is Mexican American. Those comments have never stopped her from embracing her culture and her beautiful features. The last person you see in the video is Luz, 93. She is Puerto Rican and says something that speaks volume. “I feel just like anyone else. What vary between culture is the costumes and behavior. We are all human beings.” Luz is right, we are all human beings. So what does it matter if someone doesn’t look like you? Or if their hair has different texture? Or if their skin is a different shade?

After the making of the video, I showed it to some of the people who were featured in the video. They said it was “quick and to the point” which is exactly what I wanted this video to be. My goal was bringing awareness so people can ask questions and bring acceptance to the diversity within my community. My mom uploaded my video to her Facebook and I got so many comments! One person said “Isabella is right, there is so much tension within our own community and people don’t even talk about it.” Another said “Isabella is so young to even know about this division in the community. When I found out about all the colorism, I was an adult in college! She did a lovely job at making this video.” I got many comments complimenting me, cheering me on, and encouraging me. Seeing all of the positivity really put a smile on my face and they inspire me to do more for my cause.

The countless hours I have done researching, gathering, and documenting information for this project has inspired me to move forward. Information given to me by the Facebook viewers have also inspired me to continue spreading acceptance and awareness against colorism within my community. I wish I had more time to be able to let you know everything I have learned but through this method is simply not possible. I think this project has taught me a lot about myself and people in my community.  This has been a cool project for me and something that I have become more passionate about. Because I am 15 and Puerto Rican and proud of me and my curly kinky hair.

ANN BIB!

Negative space is the part of the picture that surrounds the “main focus” or the object in the picture. This is also called the background. The subject of the picture is the main thing you can see and has the “biggest” part in a picture. This artwork basically points out the negative and the positive space within the picture.

I found negative space in my cut out by seeing that there are two parts in the simple bird picture. I looked at the contrast between the two colors and saw that the negative space and the “positive” space can be opposite on both sides. I then cut the two papers accordingly to get my end result.

This helps see an artist in negative space because there are no details. It’s only solid pieces and two colors. You can still see what the image is without all the details. Also, since it’s like a mirror image and the colors are reverse, you can see how one part could be either negative or positive no matter how you switch it up.

I don’t think seeing negative space “enhances” drawings. It doesn’t show off the details, if anything it eliminates the details. It almost makes the picture “solid” because you’re only using two colors. You old see the object of the picture and the background (negative space). If anything, negative space makes the picture much more simple.

In my first blog post, I talked about how there is colorism within the Latino community. I talked about how the media only shows a specific “type” of Latino. They show the ones with light skin and straight hair. While they don’t show the ones with dark skin and kinky curly hair. I also talked about the common phrase “mejorar la raza” or “fix the race.” I got most of my information from the internet and from my family’s experiences with discrimination. As I was researching, I wasn’t completely satisfied with the information I got. I knew that there was more to learn and understand. So, I did my own research to get more information on people’s personal experiences.

At first, I wasn’t sure how I was going to do this. I couldn’t exactly interview one specific person about this issue because I wanted multiple experiences that people have dealt with discrimination. I came up with doing an online survey and they would fill out with questions I had for them. I made the survey on google forms so it would be accessible to them. I started brainstorming questions for my survey. I knew I didn’t want them to be yes or no questions. They needed to explain their experiences and make it personal. These are the questions I came up with:

• Have you ever been discriminated against because of how you look by other Latinos? If so, how?

• Have you been discriminated or “made fun of” because of your looks by family members? If so, how? What did they say? What were they talking about?

• Have you ever seen anyone be treated differently because of their skin color/looks? Latino to Latino? What happened, where were you, and how did both parties react or respond? (quick summary).

• Have you ever realized that there was colorism within the community? Do you remember the first time you noticed colorism? Explain your experiences.

• Have you ever heard of the phrase “mejorar la raza” or “fix the race?” If so, by who, where, and why did they say that, and to who did they say that too? Please explain.

Pie chart showing that everyone who took the survey is Latino

I needed to get my survey out to Latinos of all different backgrounds and ages. I sent it out to kids in my school, outside of school, and a few family members. I got 10 responses, which is a good amount considering the specific group of people I needed to send it to (Latinos). When I got my results back, I was expecting for them to understand where I was getting that and know about the Colorism in our community. I was also expecting for them to say that they have been looked down upon for their dark skin. My expectations were based on articles I read. The one article I read was about how the one Latina’s group of friends would treat someone in their own community, who would also be Latina, different because their skin would be darker. I only heard about  discrimination within the community towards the darker skinned Latinos. This one video I watched was about darker skinned people talk about experiences where they have been discriminated against. The one Dominican woman talked about the phrase “mejorando la raza.” Which means to “advance the race” or to marry someone and have kids with someone who is lighter to make the race “better” because they are lighter.  My survey didn’t exactly reflect this.

As I looked over the responses I received, they didn’t align with all the articles I read and the videos I watched. It was the opposite. Someone responded to the question “Have you ever been discriminated against because of how you look by other Latinos? If so, how?” They responded with “Yes, I have been told I was too white.” While another responded with “I'm a pale Puerto Rican. My Latino peers sometimes never take me seriously because of it. Some think I'm lying and others think I'm so out of touch with my culture because I pass as a "gringa.” They were being teased and looked down upon for their lighter skin. With my previous knowledge and research, they only talked about discrimination to darker Latinos. These peoples’ experiences are telling me that they aren’t dark enough or “Latino” enough.

Responses to the first question on the survey

How would I change this issue within the Latino community? What would be my agent of change? I don’t have an answer or a definite way to change this problem but I have been brainstorming. I am going to inform people. We need to right our wrongs. Members of our community must change how we speak and talk about others. We should all embrace one another for our differences. That’s what makes us all special and unique.

Annotated Bibliography

There is an unspoken issue in the Latino Community. We put others down for their skin color. Some of us do not see others as equal with the next Latino. The issue is Colorism! I have heard of the saying  “Mejorar la raza.” This means to “improve the race.” The elders are basically saying to “fix the rac.” What they mean is to marry lighter people so their kids can come out lighter. These beauty standards fit more into the European standards; blonde hair, blue eyes, light skin, and straight hair. Their goal seems to be to whitewash or to blanqueamiento our culture and to make the next generations of Latinos “prettier’’ , AKA lighter.  One of the first thoughts I had was - Why? Why aren’t we accepting our people? Why aren’t we embracing how different we all are? We have the kinky hair, straight hair, wavy hair, light skin, dark skin, light eyes and dark eye. Why can’t we all love and accept each other for our variety?

This picture shows three generations of a family. The grandmother is black, the daughter is mulatta, and the grandchild is fair skin. Showing three generations of racial hypergamy.

As a member of the Latino community I want everyone to be united, especially in my culture group. This doesn’t seem like a big problem, but it is. Afro Latinos are growing up, thinking that they aren’t beautiful because their skin isn’t light or their hair isn’t straight. Imagine growing up watching Spanish TV, seeing all the similar looking Latinos, realizing that you don’t look like any of them them.  You don’t seem to  identify with anyone you are supposed to look up to or want to be like. The media doesn’t represent dark skinned Latinos with kinky curly hair. They seem to only show the ones with light skin, light eyes, and straight no-frizz hair.

Not only is the media a big part of this problem, it’s an epidemic in our own families. Family members praise one child for their light skin while the ones who don’t have light skin are being mocked. Lifting up one person for being something they have no control over, and overlooking the next, doesn’t make any sense. The one who is praised sees themselves as superior. While shame can consume the “undesirable.”  Having that type of mindset is causing racism and hatred among our people.  “Children aren’t born racist, they learn racist behaviors as they grow. We have to be mindful of how language describes us, how we talk about others, and what we teach our children. We perpetuate the stereotypes that diminish the unmeasurable value of our multicultural ethnicity — we shouldn’t be glorifying one race over the other.”

Children aren’t born racist.

Having light skin tones does not make you better than anyone. Having darker skin tones does not make you inferior than anyone. They are equally beautiful and we must realize that. But how can they realize that if  the subject is taboo and no one wants to talk about it? We must change how we talk about and to each other. It starts with this generation.  It starts with ME. Loving our kinky curly hair and dark caramel skin begins with me.  Our abuelos and abuelas had it wrong.  Social media, novelas, and Spanish TV need to learn how to represent us. We have textured hair, colorful skin and I love it.

ANN BIB

When I first  showed my slide to my group, the really enjoyed it. They liked how it was “tumblr vibes,” which was my goal for the aesthetic of the slide. They liked the layout because it was easy to see and you eyes could move around the page easily. They said the slide was straightforward and flowed well together. They also mentioned there were some minor issues with how it looked. My name “isabella” was black, and the background was black and white marble, so it was a little hard to see. They recommended to change the color for it to “pop.” The other small issue was the top picture. They said it didn’t exactly go with the other picture, so I got rid of it as a whole.

I then centered my now colored name in the center and I put the bottom picture directly under it. I read somewhere that if there are similar colors or the same color in a picture, there would be some type of cohesion all around. I knew I needed to change the color of my name to make it pop and I changed it to the color of my shirt in the picture I kept. I centered my name so your eye would easily see the point of the slide and the photo under it was centered also.

Other research I read was that open space isn’t a bad thing. I didn’t fill up the whole slide because it could get distracting and annoying looking at all the different things. I kept it simple and easy to see. I also based my design off of the ikea sign article. They said to hang a big picture or image of something and very little words. I did just that. I followed these articles because I wanted my slide to be simple and easy to understand. I personally think I did a good job on this project and I learned a lot from what I read.

My goal for this slide was for it to be simple, clean, and straightforward. I wanted it to have “2015 tumblr vibes” and I think I accomplished that. I know I wanted have a simple, pretty background that wasn’t white, but I also wanted the pictures to be the main point of focus (obviously). So I chose white marble as my background. At first I didn’t know what I wanted to be my focal point. I wanted it to be something most people remember me by when they look at me, my big curly hair. I chose photos that show my defined curls. I angled the photos more to the right side so I could I could have some negative space, and where I can put my heading. For the heading, there’s no need for me to put a whole paragraph because who has time to read that? I put my name, it’s straightforward and what people call me.