Art Spiegelman “Prisoner on the Hell Planet: A Case History” and “Mein Kampf” & Lynda Barry “Common Scents”

Unlike many of the other kinds of stories read, these three narratives are portrayed much differently. Spiegelman illustrates his story by telling of his memories from his lifetime. Spiegelman first looks back on his innocence he had during his childhood (as seen in “Mein Kampf), then jumps into a later time in his life when he suffered his most traumatic experience (as seen in “Prisoner on the Hell Planet: A Case History”). In his first illustration, Artie remembers his own happy childhood and his pride for his son and daughter. It is seen thorough these pictures that he has a close bond with his son, Dash, as he indicates that his “parents died before I had any kids” (98). The story then jumps to “Prisoner on the Hell Planet: A Case History”. After being in a mental hospital for three months, he returns with the news that his mother committed suicide. The guilt that he was the reason she killed herself begins to haunt him. Throughout the grieving of his mother, his father was the one to collapse rather than himself, saying, “I was expected to comfort HIM!” (101). Artie’s relationship with both his parents seemed to not be that strong, due to the guilt and isolation he feels between both of them. It is possible that due to the fact that he was in an insane institution for months, this strained his relationship with his parents. It is also possible that they are the reason that he ended up in the institution.

In Lynda Barry’s “Common Scents”, took a more humorous and unique twist into it’s own illustrations compared to Spiegelman’s. Instead of dwelling on a darkened past, Barry reminiscences on her past with contentment and happiness. Barry’s relationship with her family is expressed throughout the short story. Barry takes note of the differences in other people’s houses and wonders what “smell” her house has that is different. In a sense, Barry was trying to send out the message that even though every house has it’s own “scent”, it defines what makes that house their “home”. Just as Barry notices the little things that makes her family who they are, she notices the same in others’ households. Even though they are all different, the little things that are in a household make up their own homes. 

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Martin Luther King Jr. during his time incarcerated for the nonviolent protests against segregation.  The Letter is written as a rebuttal to a public statement that was released by eight white religious leaders of the south. Kings letter is extremely long but has main points throughout which relate directly to human relationships between the white man and the African-American man. "We have waited for more than three hundred and forty years for our God-given and constitutional rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward the goal of political independence, and we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say "wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society;...". This quote right here is the main focus of why King writes this letter. He describes complete social injustice being struck down upon his  people by viscous lynchings  to inequality economically that have resulted in his people being poor and in the cycle of poverty. Clearly this is social and legal injustice as he claims it to be in his letter. But the beginning of the quote is about how other nations such as Africa and Asia are on a faster pace schedule to than the United States is to remove segregation and injustice to African Americans. It is almost unthinkable to be able to put my self back into this time period and be able to comprehend how normal it was to witness lynches of women and children just because of their race. This is not normal in todays modern thinking and accepting society because interacting with other humans has a moral code without color in the present day thanks to the work accomplished by King. I believe the most powerful line in the entire letter is the second to last. In it King says ,"If I have said anything in this letter that is an understatement of the truth and is indicative of an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me.If I have said anything in this letter that is an overstatement of the truth and is indicative of my having a patience that makes me patient with anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me." This shows that even though King is fighting for what he believes in and ended up in jail for it, as well as watched thousands of people suffer under the racial injustice of the law written by the white government of the U.S, he still asks for forgiveness from the white men reading the letter and from god if he said anything that wasn't true. This shows how he interacts with people and with how he handles human relationships and interactions, which is with peace. 
- Sam 

 

 

The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch was written by Richard Wright.  In this short story, Richard tells us of the hardships he faced and witnessed when living in the south as a black person.  He tells us stories of his brutal experiences with white people and the racism he encountered.  He first tells us of a fight him and his gang got into with white boys when he was young. He tells us how a broken glass milk bottle was thrown at him and gashed open behind his ear.  Both his friends and mother did nothing to help him.  His friends just ran away and when he showed his mother all she had to say was "How come yuh didnt hide?" and "How come yuh awways fightin?".  She then proceeded to drag him home, stripped him naked, and beat him until he had a fever of 102.  I was extremely shocked that his mother was not there for him when he needed her. I expected her to be upset by what happened and make sure he was okay.  He also tells us his experience when working as a hall boy in a hotel where the rooms were occupied by prostitutes.  He was often called to assist them and was trained to not even notice the naked women and men.  He tells us how one of the bell boys was caught in bed with a white prostitute and was castrated for it.  The black staff was told that the boy who had been castrated was a "mighty, mighty lucky bastard".  I feel that was an overly extreme punishment.  If the worker had been white there would not have been a consequence at all or at most he would have been fired.

Every relationship Richard had with a white person was negative.  Whether it be his employer, a cop, or a random person driving by him, each white person discriminated against him for being black. I feel that he has every right to not want to be near white people. I found his stories shocking and some hard to read.  In today's society racism is frowned upon.  How could Richard ever have a good or loving relationship with a white person after having all of the bad experiences he had?

Precious Life Stories

       The section titled Life Stories in Precious was very heart-warming and actually brought a tear to my eye. Precious, Rita, Rhonda, and Jermaine all talk about their journals they have been working on in Ms. Rain's class. They call it there Class Book. In this section, you can clearly see how much improvement Precious has made and how she is constantly trying to better her future. "I do have lungs take in air, I can see, I can read" (176). 

        Rita's journal touched my heart the most. She loved the house she used to live in with her mami and father. She even remembered exactly how it looked. "Our house, which was an apartment, was full of beautiful stuff-velvet couch, lace curtain, virgin statues, candles, and chandeliers" (146). Rita also looked up to her mother in every way possible, she loved her. This is very important because this is the first character in the book that we can truly say experienced the feeling of love. Imagine seeing someone you love, like your mother, die right in front of you? "And me pull gun from his pants, shoot Mami-bang bang bang. Her brains fly out her head her mouth open blood blood blood everywhere, it look like one olive is hanging out her head like a man off a cliff. She never speak nothing, fall out chair, go gurgle sound, more blood fall out her mouth. Her dress, hair, the carpet is red"(149). After this happened to Rita, it is kind of expected that she would have a long rocky road ahead of her for the rest of her life, especially because she didn't have any healthy relationships or friendships to help get her through this hard time. 

        Rhonda's story can relate to Precious' story in which they both got raped by a family member. Precious raped by her father and Rhonda by her brother, Kimberton. Each "rapist"also told each young girl that they both enjoyed it and to stop lying that they didn't. For example, Kimberton says to Rhonda "You wanted it as much as I did!"(162). Jermaine's story was also very touching. Jermaine expresses in her journal that she has found love with Mary-Mae. She wants to be in a relationship with her but their parents always get in the way. At the end of her journal, Jermaine even states, "It's not over yet!"(174). Jermaine is still waiting for her happy ending.

        Each story in the journal is touching in it's own way. I felt like I was living their life while reading this. I am happy each of them found a place they can go to be happy and to most of all, learn. As Rhonda states at the end of her journal, "It's at rooming place I meet Rita Romero, who is in class, who tell me about school which is how I get in this book. the end, no the BEGINNING" (163). This line put a huge smile on my face because Each One Teach One school is a new beginning for Precious, Jermaine, Rita, and Rhonda. They each are getting a second chance to live their lives. Do you ever wish you could get a second chance at something?

-Alexa Faiella

Precious Chapter 4

               Precious grows both emotionally and mentally through chapter four of the novel. She begins by writing journal entries about everything in her life, and it’s evident that her reading and writing skills have improved since her start at Each One Teach One. I think she was truly inspired by Ms. Rain and the girls at school. She never had this persistent support from teachers and classmates at her old school, and it’s clear she needed this “push” to initiate her self-confidence.

                Her friends at school play a huge role in Precious’s life now. Ever since she was diagnosed as HIV positive, they have had her back. Precious was concerned at one point about the people she was compared to who are also HIV positive, and “Rita kiss [her] forehead, hold each [her] cheeks with her hands, look [her] in [her] eyes…” (p. 108). As the reader, I can see that Precious has become closer with her classmates, and now they have all become caring friends. Precious now has a source of affection and love in her life, which is vital for every human being.

                Precious attends helpful meetings now for people who are HIV positive and Survivors of Incest Anonymous. At first, she’s somewhat skeptical to go to these meetings because she feels that there won’t be anyone like her attending. She says, “We are going to Tuesday night Survivors of Incest Anonymous. I never been here before. Ms. Rain, Rita, Rhonda, and Jermaine and house mom, all say GO. So I am good to go!” (p. 128). It’s apparent that Precious has a huge support group behind her, and she takes their advice into great consideration.

                Precious’s love for her son has also grown. She wants to be a better mother than her mother was to her. She reads to him each day because she wants a better life for him, where he can read and write at the “normal” level. Precious loves Abdul, and having this love in her life seems like it could be the start of a better relationship-filled existence for Precious Jones.

What other type of steps will Precious take to create a better life for herself and Abdul?

-April Cust

Precious (Chapter 3)

Birth represents a beginning of a new. For some, it’s growing and developing into something whole. It can, for others, be a second chance to make things better. When Abdul entered Precious’s picture, his birth gave her the determination she needed to go forth with her education. She says, “Now instead of life for me I got Abdul. But I love Abdul. I want go school love Abdul… (69)”. Precious never had anybody to fight for. Realizing that she now as Abdul to care for herself, she knows she must also go and give herself that it chance for herself and Abdul. Precious’s desire to be a “good mom” expresses her willpower to go to school and make something out of herself for the love of her son.

Throughout her hardships in life, she never had that one source to turn to for comfort. I cannot imagine how isolated Precious feels throughout her entire life. But everyone has the need to be loved and accepted, even if it’s only one person. Throughout chapter 3, Ms. Rain turns into a form of a “motherly figure” for Precious by giving her advice and the encouragement to continue school. Precious has never had someone in her life to look out for her. Trust is critical for forming any relationships with anybody. For Precious to talk to Ms. Rain about her father raping her, she is finally opening up to others and learning to trust.

When Precious leaves home, she turns to Ms. Rain for support. I believe that this moment was one of the most difficult for Precious. Turning to someone for help requires great humility and for Precious, she never had an opportunity to be humble. Accepting the help from Ms. Rain shows that she is accepting care and acceptance from her.  Precious says about her mother, “If she ever said a kind word to me I don’t remember it (85)”. So for Precious to get kindness from Ms. Rain, she is shocked and welcomes it.

As Precious becomes closer with her classmates when she tells them she has AIDS. She then starts to refer to them as “friends”, marking that she is finally making relationships with people around her and knowing she is not alone in the world. With this newfound confidence, and now with friends to back her up, she could approach new problems with the assurance that she is loved. But will these new feelings and people become too much for her? Will she learn how to love in return?