The tension socially between those who either abide by the law or enforce the law, and those who commit crimes and are considered to disrupt society are present throughout the entire text. When Wendell Bolden is being questioned by the prosecutor, Petrocelli, Myers uses one of the statements Bolden makes to create a connection between illegal activity, lower-class neighborhoods and hidden motives corresponding with the lower class and cigarettes. “Bolden: I got some cigarettes from a guy who told me he was in on a drugstore robbery up on Malcolm X Boulevard. I knew a dude got killed, and I was thinking of trading what I knew for some slack.” p. 48 The first thing to correspond with the cigarettes in these two sentences is the illegal activity, the robbery. Bolden also states that he is aware of the more serious crime, the murder. The next thing to tie the lower class with the negative notions is the mention of the low income neighborhood, Malcolm X Boulevard, immediately after mentioning the robbery. What should also be noted is that Myers decided to go with Malcolm X Boulevard, a neighborhood named after one of the most historically powerful people in the African American community. The use of Malcolm X’s name in this moment forces rotten perception towards black people. Furthermore, Bolden admits that his reason for testifying that he had been sold the cigarettes is merely for his own benefit, potential “slack” on an assault charge.
My Hero Academia /E.C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOqBnr4mllI
One of my favorite shows right now is the key play to benign underdog and having to face obstacles , just like we talked in class. Izuku , the main character wants to be a hero so bad , but unfortunately he doesn’t have a quirk and everyone has denied him of the possibility of becoming a hero. But eventually due to his bravery he was inherited a quirk which he is now learning how to use. Izuku is making his way to being the best hero to ever exist. The obstacles and victories make him notably the character that inspires all and gives hope.
Childish Gambino / E.C
“Funny the day you born that’s really your death sentence”
Childish Gambino , makes this statement in his song ” Life: The Biggest Troll (Andrew Auernheimer). Saying how the day you’re born is really your death sentence goes to show someone play on life.How one defines how others live and the way they view it. To say when you’re born starts down the countdown of your death sentence , is the same insisted to whereas Jefferson is in the cell not knowing exactly when he will face death till they tell him.
extra credit! song about “truly” living
“I Lived” by One Republic
This catchy and heart-warming song begs in its lyrics for you to live a life where “when the water rises, you [build] a wall… when the crowd screams out, they’re screaming your name… when everybody runs, you choose to stay.” The chorus rings, “I did it all, I did it all. I owned every second that this world could give; saw so many places–the things that I did; and with every broken bone, I swear I lived.” The message is simple–you should live life to its fullest and only those who do (live life to its “fullest”) can say they have truly lived. What about the people who don’t have crowds cheering their name? Who don’t ever get to leave their hometown? Who do the same things, every day, for forty years? Have they not lived? If they have not lived, then mustn’t it follow that they’ve been dead their entire lives?
extra credit! characters that singularly overcome obstacles
“Scarface”
In Oliver Stone’s classic, Al Pacino’s character is a Cuban immigrant who pulls himself out of poverty and achieves the American Dream, overcoming obstacles that are, likely, in reality, insurmountable. Tony Montana becomes somewhat of a gangster hero in American pop culture, a phenomenon that is indicative of the widespread ideology of individual ambition and hard work, of one “pulling himself up by his bootstraps.”
Extra Credit- Lyric.
2PAC has a song called Runnin’ ( Dying to Live). One lyric line in particular is “Why am I dying to live, if I’m just living to die?”. Which bring me to the idea of being alive versus being dead. Reminds me of A Lesson Before Dying where Grant refers to Jefferson as already being dead, even though its clear that he’s alive. What’s the point of continuing to live if he is going to die anyway and is already on his way to death.
Final Check In. Group C. Mindy, Luis, Yahkiney
American Born Transgendered
Rough Outline of Project/ To-Do list
- 3 stories/incidents of Transgendered persecution to be placed in between personal stories
- Expected Completion (5/11)
- 3 personal stories on transitioning (with pictures)
- 1story depicting an individual who has undergone full transition)
- 1 adolescent story
- 1 young adult
- Expected Completion (5/13)
- Compilation of Stories and Completion of Digitial Book
- Expected Completion (5/14)
Rudolph the Underdog
Rudolph the red nose reindeer is the story of an underdog who is ostracized be the others in his group for his difference. Their hopes eventually ride Rudolph as his glowing nose is the only thing that can guide them through the storm.
Final Check in Group D: Jeleah, Shatavia, Angel, Kye
“The Last Supper of the Spring Semester” will be an event where we fellowship, eat, discuss the book, and present our representation of A Lesson Before Dying in the form of the scrapbook we created. The event will take place on May 16th at 4:30 P.M in the English Department Lounge.
The scrapbook includes characters from the book that we have brought to life in our own way. We each chose a celebrity or a famous individual that we imagined each character to be in our own way. Each character page will contain a photo of the celebrity that we have chosen, a quote we feel represents them the best from the book, and different photos, objects, sayings from the internet magazines or a creative source. It’s all about what we feel defines our character.
For example, Grant is going to be Denzel Washington and Miss Emma is going to be Cecily Tyson and the list of characters will be revealed in our scrapbook.
As for the recipe pages, we will each be making two dishes each that come up in the book or symbolize a part of the book. The recipe page will include the recipe of course, why we chose to use this food, and a fun fact/history fact about the food in relation to Louisiana.
For example, one of us will be making gumbo and gumbo is one of the oldest dishes in Louisiana. In addition, the dish is a cultural symbol of Louisiana as jazz or the bayou.
Below is a picture of the scrapbook and some of the stuff we will be using to create it !
Born to Die by Lana Del Rey- Extra Credit Post
“Come take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane,
So choose your last words, this is the last time
Cause you and I, we were born to die”
Death is not the intent of birth. While death is eventual, the purpose of a a life granted is to live a full and meaningful life.