True Grit

True Grit is a western and follows some of the pattern of wild west stories that weren't ever really historically accurate. Even though True Grit does have several of the cliche western story in it it also depicts a more realistic side that could initially be more accurate to what actually took place and what the people actually struggled with. It shows the typical justice seeking story that most westerns do but gives a valid reason to feel the need to seek justice/revenge.

This book depicts human nature as violent, with it's bad guy hustling/killing the poor folk and heroes seeking revenge kind of theme. I enjoyed the book and even though I don't necessarily love westerns I would definitely read another book that was compared to this one.

Mattie is a stubborn hardheaded girl who is determined to be treated equal and not taken advantage of. As she is seeking her fathers killer she meets Rooster, who in some weird way I feel that he kind of stepped in as her father figure. Before the duo heads out Leboeuf shows up to join the party with his shifty personality and condesending attitude. I personally wasn't a fan of him.

typical questions

For Week 6 assignment we are asked to read Dew Breaker  and write about typical questions that are asked by readers who come from a feminist critical position.

I read The Book of the Dead.

 In this short story you are being told the story of how Ka's dad destroyed, and why, the statue she had made of him while they were delivering it, from Ka's viewpoint. In this story what constitutes masculinity and femininity to me is the fact that her dad was apparently this brutal police officer/murder in Haiti, but changed for a woman, who is represented as reserved and well behaved. 

I enjoyed that there are several different portrayals of women, such as the actress who is waiting to receive the sculptor is shown as strong, but also kind of bitchy, especially when she got the news of the statue being destroyed. Her personality seems almost as over bearing. On the other side of the spectrum we have Ka's mom, who is reserved and avoids confronting things she is not confident with like when she is dealing with non- Haitian customers she doesn't like to carry a conversation with them and etc. 

Ka is seen as struggling to understand what is going on in her family and who she really is. She seems fairly strong and hard headed at times. Being slow to anger when she finds out her father has destroyed her statue, but still annoys enough and going out of her way to let him know that he disappointed her.

Prologue and Initial Class Post

      I was raised in the Coosa Valley area of north east Alabama, nuzzled snuggly in-between the foot hills of the Appalachian Mountains. Living in two separate places as a child, my parents are divorced, with my dad living in deep country on a farm and my mom living in a small town called Attalla that consisted of maybe 3 stop lights.
I didn't have many friends as a child mostly because I preferred the company of the animals my dad kept. Growing up I was more interested in playing outside in the woods and I didn't care much about dolls and how I dressed.
Going into middle school is when things began to change. I was teased for the way I dressed and figured out fairly quickly that appearance is something that everyone wants to uphold. I hated it. It made me realize my flaws, which I'm sure everyone struggles with.
I've always loved art and how emotionally art can have an impact on you. I didn't realize that art was my passion until my junior year in high school when I met my art teacher. He taught me the basics and made me fall in love with the many different forms of art.