Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 180
“You may have seen me lately, in my usual beret camouflage of overexposure, “Latino” propaganda, and deconstructed flavor w/ and accent – these, as you know, have been my key strategies for simulating global satisfaction.”
To be honest I don’t feel I truly understand this quote. It is very interesting though. It seems Juan is talking about how ‘happiness’ or acceptance comes from a fake watered down culture. That reading fits with a lot of the reoccurring themes in the book.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 183
"Goddess: So, what do you say you do? Bobo: Write, eat, work, write, you know. Goddess: Write? Why? Bobo: So I can say something, come on, get with the program."
This quote was very interesting. Bobo is very short and literal with his responces and often seems to miss what Goddess is really asking. I particularly like the line above where he says he writes so he can say something. It is almost the opposite of why Juan writes. I partially wonder if Goddess represents Juan’s mother and Bobo is a young version of himself, oblivious to what his mother is really trying to say. It reminds me of the first Oyeme, Mamita entry.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Juan Felipe Herrera - The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler p. 152-174
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 155
“Hispanopoly: The upwardly mobile identity game show.”
This quote, as well as the whole entry, reflects a sort of irony. The title calls it an ‘upwardly mobile’ identity game, but it does next to nothing to support the ‘upwards’ movement of the culture it reflects. It shows how many ‘Hispanic and Chicano orientated’ programs do more to put mock then support. In the long run people are undermining their own progress.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 163
"For all hard-core Chicano lawyers who have never admitted to anyone that they are ex-alter boys."
I just really liked this quote. It was interesting because it implied the ‘hardcore Chicano lawyers’ were embarrassed by their heritage. That conflicts with a lot of what is shown earlier in the book. Juan is vary loyal to and proud of his hard past, yet this implies that once you are away frorm you past you must give it up
Page: 155
“Hispanopoly: The upwardly mobile identity game show.”
This quote, as well as the whole entry, reflects a sort of irony. The title calls it an ‘upwardly mobile’ identity game, but it does next to nothing to support the ‘upwards’ movement of the culture it reflects. It shows how many ‘Hispanic and Chicano orientated’ programs do more to put mock then support. In the long run people are undermining their own progress.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 163
"For all hard-core Chicano lawyers who have never admitted to anyone that they are ex-alter boys."
I just really liked this quote. It was interesting because it implied the ‘hardcore Chicano lawyers’ were embarrassed by their heritage. That conflicts with a lot of what is shown earlier in the book. Juan is vary loyal to and proud of his hard past, yet this implies that once you are away frorm you past you must give it up
Monday, May 21, 2007
Juan Felipe Herrera - The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler p. 131-151
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 136
“All that is over too. Tortilla Flats is out of cash for the homeless, the lonely, the lost and abandoned sons and daughters of these ragged misshapen streets. Ask the governor.”
This quote reflects the feelings of those society chooses to forget. It is easy for a governor to cut funding for welfare. People easily turn a blind eye if it means lower taxes. Besides it is their own flat they are poor right, or so society often tells itself. The point Juan makes is that it is not just funds, money, numbers it is lives. It is a little bit of good in hard difficult lives.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 144
Oyeme, Mamita - I Am That Paper
“I am that paper, I am those words now...”
In my option this quote is Juan talking about his mother’s “address book”. Not just this line, but the whole entry. He is saying that he is what she wrote. As a writer Juan identifies himself through his writing, and now after finding her journal he writes like she does. He has become her writing- he has become her.
Page: 136
“All that is over too. Tortilla Flats is out of cash for the homeless, the lonely, the lost and abandoned sons and daughters of these ragged misshapen streets. Ask the governor.”
This quote reflects the feelings of those society chooses to forget. It is easy for a governor to cut funding for welfare. People easily turn a blind eye if it means lower taxes. Besides it is their own flat they are poor right, or so society often tells itself. The point Juan makes is that it is not just funds, money, numbers it is lives. It is a little bit of good in hard difficult lives.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 144
Oyeme, Mamita - I Am That Paper
“I am that paper, I am those words now...”
In my option this quote is Juan talking about his mother’s “address book”. Not just this line, but the whole entry. He is saying that he is what she wrote. As a writer Juan identifies himself through his writing, and now after finding her journal he writes like she does. He has become her writing- he has become her.
Juan Felipe Herrera - The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler p. 106-130
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 109
“Hominy & peanut butter burritos Sanwishes de sardines con ketchup.”
This quote was interesting because it represented a culture clash. It shows how confusing it can be to grow up the child of an immigrant. Constantly being faced by a hybrid culture unsure of where you belong.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 118
“Mom’s notes speak of arrivals and departures. Things about me having a cold or in an office waiting for a welfare check.”
In this quote, and journal entry, Juan discuses finding a journal of his mother’s. It is interesting because he always said she was the writer that influenced him the most, but until that point he did not know she actually wrote. It is also interesting because she wrote in snippets and short pictures – much the way the book is written. The question this presents is would Juan write the way he does if he had not ever found the journal?
Page: 109
“Hominy & peanut butter burritos Sanwishes de sardines con ketchup.”
This quote was interesting because it represented a culture clash. It shows how confusing it can be to grow up the child of an immigrant. Constantly being faced by a hybrid culture unsure of where you belong.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 118
“Mom’s notes speak of arrivals and departures. Things about me having a cold or in an office waiting for a welfare check.”
In this quote, and journal entry, Juan discuses finding a journal of his mother’s. It is interesting because he always said she was the writer that influenced him the most, but until that point he did not know she actually wrote. It is also interesting because she wrote in snippets and short pictures – much the way the book is written. The question this presents is would Juan write the way he does if he had not ever found the journal?
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Juan Felipe Herrera - The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler p. 81-105
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 84
“I always lose it when I get Romantic.”
This quote was interesting because it seemed to have two meanings. It could have been a reference to emotionally losing it. That would generally make sense, but the poem itself had lost a bit of it usual flow right before Juan said that. Creating the impression that maybe he “lost it” (his style his writing) when he diverged from usual topics.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 99
“In this country, the group does not exist, since we are merely individuals, thick with individual meanings, prowess, accumulation, direction- ambition. And the group – and interest aside.”
In this quote, and poem, Juan challenges the ideals of the country. He tries to make the reader look at his or her self. He questions what is right and what drive the actions of individuals in the country. He states that everything is about what is best for the individual based on power and control of power – but there is not really any power at all.
Page: 84
“I always lose it when I get Romantic.”
This quote was interesting because it seemed to have two meanings. It could have been a reference to emotionally losing it. That would generally make sense, but the poem itself had lost a bit of it usual flow right before Juan said that. Creating the impression that maybe he “lost it” (his style his writing) when he diverged from usual topics.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 99
“In this country, the group does not exist, since we are merely individuals, thick with individual meanings, prowess, accumulation, direction- ambition. And the group – and interest aside.”
In this quote, and poem, Juan challenges the ideals of the country. He tries to make the reader look at his or her self. He questions what is right and what drive the actions of individuals in the country. He states that everything is about what is best for the individual based on power and control of power – but there is not really any power at all.
Juan Felipe Herrera - The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler p.56-80
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 57
“… features soccer and boxing, the necessary Mexican mythology of Men in power for men in powerless positions scattered through Tortilla Flats, the Mission, and on all those way to Mexico City...”
This quote was very interesting. It comes back to what was discussed in the last class. Man goes woman. Juan talks about the cultures need to reaffirm manliness.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 69
“A woman asked me what writers influenced me, who did I read? I said, my mother. Lucha Quintana. Have you heard of that writer? The woman's neck twisted. No, she wanted to know "what writers"! She wanted to ask the usual worn phrase. Ginsberg, Anrtaud, Nervo, Lorca, Neruda, Popa, Hikmet, Rodnati, Walker. These are the shadows”
In this quote Juan challenges the stereotypes of being a writer. He sticks to his claim that his mother above all others is what influences him. The standard influences mean nothing because everyone claims to be influences by them, so those authors are nothing – mean nothing. It is only the actual influences in life that truly effect writing.
Page: 57
“… features soccer and boxing, the necessary Mexican mythology of Men in power for men in powerless positions scattered through Tortilla Flats, the Mission, and on all those way to Mexico City...”
This quote was very interesting. It comes back to what was discussed in the last class. Man goes woman. Juan talks about the cultures need to reaffirm manliness.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 69
“A woman asked me what writers influenced me, who did I read? I said, my mother. Lucha Quintana. Have you heard of that writer? The woman's neck twisted. No, she wanted to know "what writers"! She wanted to ask the usual worn phrase. Ginsberg, Anrtaud, Nervo, Lorca, Neruda, Popa, Hikmet, Rodnati, Walker. These are the shadows”
In this quote Juan challenges the stereotypes of being a writer. He sticks to his claim that his mother above all others is what influences him. The standard influences mean nothing because everyone claims to be influences by them, so those authors are nothing – mean nothing. It is only the actual influences in life that truly effect writing.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Juan Felipe Herrera - The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler p.30-55
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 32
“The concept is provocative, Vic, archaic, the whole things about rising from the ashes, dressed in campesino shorts, working off a molcajet, the good ol’Indio Chicano stone moral ans pestle, mixing divers elements, mashing them into pulp and juice, into new blood force.”
This is a reflection of the marginal voices Juan writes about. He is writing about something that does not get much written about it. He is talking about the people caught in the middle of two cultures and how they cannot really live up the expectations placed upon them.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 42
“Have you seen the young ones… talking about stone idols, ring up workshop poetics quote Archibald MacLeish, Marianne Moore, Berryman, then “Chicano power” and Quetzalcoatl” one more time? And the gallon of hand-me-down nationalist sewage?”
This quote shows one example of how Juan uses contradicting voices in his writing. He seems to contradict a lot of what he has already said. He appears annoyed by something he previously supported – his own
Page: 32
“The concept is provocative, Vic, archaic, the whole things about rising from the ashes, dressed in campesino shorts, working off a molcajet, the good ol’Indio Chicano stone moral ans pestle, mixing divers elements, mashing them into pulp and juice, into new blood force.”
This is a reflection of the marginal voices Juan writes about. He is writing about something that does not get much written about it. He is talking about the people caught in the middle of two cultures and how they cannot really live up the expectations placed upon them.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 42
“Have you seen the young ones… talking about stone idols, ring up workshop poetics quote Archibald MacLeish, Marianne Moore, Berryman, then “Chicano power” and Quetzalcoatl” one more time? And the gallon of hand-me-down nationalist sewage?”
This quote shows one example of how Juan uses contradicting voices in his writing. He seems to contradict a lot of what he has already said. He appears annoyed by something he previously supported – his own
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Juan Felipe Herrera - The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 17
“All my illusions of being a poet shrank, the wings of the eagle-writer that sees all twittered into the shadow of sparrow, a wavy blot of cold ink on yellow legal pad.”
This is interesting because a few words shattered him so completely. Most likely the person who did it was not even aware of the power behind the statement, but for as a poet words easily take on a lot of meaning.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 24
“If New York pizza happens, go with it. / Keep breathing, especially in times of stillness. / A donut has meaning. / Destroy meaning as often as you can.”
I really enjoyed this poem as a whole. I picked these lines to quote because I feel like many people would not follow the logic of them, but to me it makes perfect sense. The way his mind moves from one thing to the other reminds me of myself in many ways.
Page: 17
“All my illusions of being a poet shrank, the wings of the eagle-writer that sees all twittered into the shadow of sparrow, a wavy blot of cold ink on yellow legal pad.”
This is interesting because a few words shattered him so completely. Most likely the person who did it was not even aware of the power behind the statement, but for as a poet words easily take on a lot of meaning.
Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 24
“If New York pizza happens, go with it. / Keep breathing, especially in times of stillness. / A donut has meaning. / Destroy meaning as often as you can.”
I really enjoyed this poem as a whole. I picked these lines to quote because I feel like many people would not follow the logic of them, but to me it makes perfect sense. The way his mind moves from one thing to the other reminds me of myself in many ways.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
CCC interview
These are parliminary questions for my interview.
I have multiple emails out looking for and interviewy, but I have yet to hear from anyone. I am hoping Tom is able to connect me with someone as well.
How did you get involved in this life?
Did you have a more experienced friend to show you the ropes?
How long did you spend hoping freights, or are you still?
When you talk about riding, how do the majority of people react? Interested? Disapproving? Shocked?
Obviously things have changed since the peak of the “hobo” lifestyle, how do you think the changes have effected your experience?
Have you ever had an encounter with a Bull? How did that go?
Would you say riding changed you? If so how?
Supposable there are a lot more “professionals” such as lawyers and businessmen who have taken to hoping freights, why do you think that is?
Has riding revealed any aspect of American culture that you think most people do not see?
Is there a tight knit community or individualistic thing?
What is your opinion of the romanticized idea’s that surrounds hobos and freights?
I have multiple emails out looking for and interviewy, but I have yet to hear from anyone. I am hoping Tom is able to connect me with someone as well.
How did you get involved in this life?
Did you have a more experienced friend to show you the ropes?
How long did you spend hoping freights, or are you still?
When you talk about riding, how do the majority of people react? Interested? Disapproving? Shocked?
Obviously things have changed since the peak of the “hobo” lifestyle, how do you think the changes have effected your experience?
Have you ever had an encounter with a Bull? How did that go?
Would you say riding changed you? If so how?
Supposable there are a lot more “professionals” such as lawyers and businessmen who have taken to hoping freights, why do you think that is?
Has riding revealed any aspect of American culture that you think most people do not see?
Is there a tight knit community or individualistic thing?
What is your opinion of the romanticized idea’s that surrounds hobos and freights?
Sandra Cisneros - The House on Mango Street
Sandra Cisneros The House on Mango Street
Page: 747
“The house on Mango Street is ours, and we don’t have to pay rent to anybody, or share the yard with the people downstairs, or be careful not to make too much noise, and there isn’t a landlord banging on the ceiling with a t broom. But even so, it’s not the house we’d thought we’d get.”
They owned their own house for the fist time. It was free of the annoyances of renting; yet it did not live up to the standard of what she had dreamed of. It was not perfect when compared to what others had.
Sandra Cisneros The House on Mango Street
Page: 748
“You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing. There. I lived there. I nodded.”
This was interesting because most people have had the same experience. A simple shift in the tone of voice can make you feel ashamed of something you never thought to be ashamed of. It is a lot harder the make that shame go away then it is to inspire it. It is practically hard on a child to see your life from an outside perspective for the first time.
Page: 747
“The house on Mango Street is ours, and we don’t have to pay rent to anybody, or share the yard with the people downstairs, or be careful not to make too much noise, and there isn’t a landlord banging on the ceiling with a t broom. But even so, it’s not the house we’d thought we’d get.”
They owned their own house for the fist time. It was free of the annoyances of renting; yet it did not live up to the standard of what she had dreamed of. It was not perfect when compared to what others had.
Sandra Cisneros The House on Mango Street
Page: 748
“You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing. There. I lived there. I nodded.”
This was interesting because most people have had the same experience. A simple shift in the tone of voice can make you feel ashamed of something you never thought to be ashamed of. It is a lot harder the make that shame go away then it is to inspire it. It is practically hard on a child to see your life from an outside perspective for the first time.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Annie Dillard - Seeing Part 2
Annie Dillard Seeing
Page: 702
“While he was blind he was indifferent to objects unless they were edible; now, ‘a siring of values sets in … his thoughts and wishes are mightily stirred and some few of the patients a thereby led to dissimulations, envy, theft, and fraud.”
This quote is so interesting because reminds the reader how much we base value off of appearance. It is interesting to think that color and light are so appealing that they can cause someone to completely change as they did in this incident. It raises the question, what would society be like if it was not influenced my sight and images?
Annie Dillard Seeing
Page: 703
“I’m told I reached for the moon; many babies do. But the color-patches of infancy swelled as meaning filled them… The moon rocketed away.”
This idea that the world is full of infant possibilities and we are limited only by ourselves is not new. This however made it much more real to me. It is true that before we give light a meaning, the world is dazzling a beautiful and nothing is out of reach. As we get older however, we become accustomed to the dazzle, and we tell ourselves what is impossible
Page: 702
“While he was blind he was indifferent to objects unless they were edible; now, ‘a siring of values sets in … his thoughts and wishes are mightily stirred and some few of the patients a thereby led to dissimulations, envy, theft, and fraud.”
This quote is so interesting because reminds the reader how much we base value off of appearance. It is interesting to think that color and light are so appealing that they can cause someone to completely change as they did in this incident. It raises the question, what would society be like if it was not influenced my sight and images?
Annie Dillard Seeing
Page: 703
“I’m told I reached for the moon; many babies do. But the color-patches of infancy swelled as meaning filled them… The moon rocketed away.”
This idea that the world is full of infant possibilities and we are limited only by ourselves is not new. This however made it much more real to me. It is true that before we give light a meaning, the world is dazzling a beautiful and nothing is out of reach. As we get older however, we become accustomed to the dazzle, and we tell ourselves what is impossible
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Annie Dillard - Seeing part 1
Annie Dillard Seeing
Page: 693
“…[C]ultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. ”
This quote is so interesting because if you read it once, you want to read it over again. You do not do this because it is unclear, but instead you read it because it is clear descriptive and abstract. I personally like the last phrase the best with the irony if buying with poverty. And, especially how she simply says days instead of specifying something more precise it is merely a lifetime of days.
Annie Dillard Seeing
Page: 694
“But I don’t see what the specialist sees, and so I cut myself off, not only from the total picture, but from the various forms of happiness.”
This idea of people cutting themselves off from what they do not specialize n is very true. It can be seen in many everyday aspects of people’s lives. They chose to ignore what is not their “thing” out of fear of being wrong or ignorance. In doing so they miss out on a great many remarkable aspects of life.
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