We spent the first meeting introducing ourselves to one another, answering questions about the syllabus. I gave students my cell number, so if you left early make sure you ask me for it. Students also exchanged phone numbers with peers.
I gave students copies of the title story in the collection, The Dance Boots. We spoke for a bit about literature and how it's defined. We all agreed that it was an art form with various genres.
In the Portable Guide in the section on fiction, it speaks to ways to analyze or think about fiction. For homework, students were to write a 250 words analytical response summary looking at themes raised in the story along with characters, plot, scene, themes, etc.
If the story references a period in American history you are not familiar with, do some background research. If you have the book, read the author's preface. I forgot to give you a copy. Students can also skim the section on Writing about Fiction.
I am interested in how well students capture the author's intent in their writing. After you post your response, please respond to at least two student responses. Mention the students by name. These comments can be short (smile).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
28 comments:
Hillary Gilliam
“The Dance Boots” by Linda Lagarde Grover describes the psychological and moral maturation of the main character, Artense, a member of the Ojibwe tribe and the changes that occur in her life as a result of learning about her families legacy. Artense lives with her husband, Stan, and their two daughters in Mesabi, a town outside of the Mozhay Point Reservation in Minnesota. At the beginning of the story Artense describes her husband's critical attitude towards her, her efforts towards self improvement (jobs, college) and the drinking problem that hinders her personal growth. Her Aunt Shirley begins to share with her the story of her family's history during their nightly telephone conversations. The stories begin when Artense is a student in community college struggling to understand the history of her people based on the information she is being taught in the classroom and what is being shared with her by her aunt. One of the stories that Shirley shares with her involves Artense’s Grandmother Maggie and how she was forced to leave her home and family to go to an Indian boarding school in Canada due to the restrictions placed on Native Americans in the United States before the 1920‘s. As Shirley shares the stories of the hardships and obstacles that Artense's ancestors had to face Artense is inspired to be successful and to pass down her own story along with the stories passed down to her to her daughters Anjeni and Michelle. By the end of the story she has becomes the beautiful woman that she was destined to be and the woman her ancestors fought so hard for her to become.
Hillary Gilliam
“The Dance Boots” by Linda Lagarde Grover describes the psychological and moral maturation of the main character, Artense, a member of the Ojibwe tribe and the changes that occur in her life as a result of learning about her families legacy. Artense lives with her husband, Stan, and their two daughters in Mesabi, a town outside of the Mozhay Point Reservation in Minnesota. At the beginning of the story Artense describes her husband's critical attitude towards her, her efforts towards self improvement (jobs, college) and the drinking problem that hinders her personal growth. Her Aunt Shirley begins to share with her the story of her family's history during their nightly telephone conversations. The stories begin when Artense is a student in community college struggling to understand the history of her people based on the information she is being taught in the classroom and what is being shared with her by her aunt. One of the stories that Shirley shares with her involves Artense’s Grandmother Maggie and how she was forced to leave her home and family to go to an Indian boarding school in Canada due to the restrictions placed on Native Americans in the United States before the 1920‘s. As Shirley shares the stories of the hardships and obstacles that Artense's ancestors had to face Artense is inspired to be successful and to pass down her own story along with the stories passed down to her to her daughters Anjeni and Michelle. By the end of the story she has becomes the beautiful woman that she was destined to be and the woman her ancestors fought so hard for her to become.
“The Dance Boots” by Linda Legarde Grover is about the main character, Artense, and her understanding of her cultural identity through the stories of her family and how through those stories, she is inspired to do better and be better. Artense is a part of the Ojibwe tribe and at the beginning of the story she is actually learning about the history of her people in one of her community classes. One of the interesting things about learning that through a textbook is that there can be a lot of bias in it. Because there a lot of cases where textbooks in particular places like to bury or really shorten a lot of their more shameful acts and so it is particularly significant that Artense is learning about her history from a very personal point of view. She's learning about the struggles and hardships from someone who actually did go through that; the thing about history is that it really did happen and one really cannot erase it or forget about it and that it is hurtful when people try to make light of it or tell those people to get over it or to stop taking things so seriously. That should not be the case at all and those people have the right to feel the way they do about it because it is their history and their struggles and their anger at what happened. And through learning about those personal stories of her ancestors through her aunt Shirley, she knows it is also her job to pass down that history to her daughters and in hopes that her daughters pass it down and so on.
The short story “The Dance Boots,” by Linda Legarde Grover, depicts how a Native American woman named Artense learns and appreciates what it means to be Native American. Early on in the story the reader can get a sense that there is prejudice towards Native Americans through the statements and stories that Artense and her aunt Shirley present. Artense points out that as a young child, children made fun of Native Americans through jokes of scalping and through imitation of an Indian. Shirley tells Artense that during her days in school, the nuns who took care of them picked on them and also had the children pick on them to. She also mentions that Artense’s grandparents had it worse than her. While Shirley points out the prejudice that has happened, she states that the prejudice actions have never stopped them from moving forward because of the strength and perseverance that they have. Soon after this story is told to Artense, she begins to appreciate the struggles and the perseverance that her family and the Native American as a whole have to being able to provide people like her with a better life. Not only is there a sense of strength in Native Americans that this story presents but also that there is a strong sense of value in family and culture that Native Americans have which Artense learns to appreciate. The whole story “The Dance Boots” occurs over multiple years in which Shirley is passing on stories to Artense. She also passes on her pair of dance boots to Artense which shows the strong bond between Artense and Shirley. Artense then wears the dance boots at a dance event where she reflects and sends her prayer to her god, thanking the god for the people who are and have been in her life. Thus through the stories, events that occur, and the values learned, Artense understands and appreciates her life for who she is.
In response to Hillary Gilliam:
I agree that in the end she becomes the person she is suppose to be. She learns about all the hardships her family had to face and appreciates all their efforts to giving her the chance become who she was destined to be.
In response to June Yee:
I didn't mention anything about legacy in my post but I agree on what you said. With everything she has learned it would be her job to pass on the lessons learned to her children.
Responding to Hillary Gilliam:
I like what you said about how in the end that through hearing those personal stories she became the woman her ancestors worked hard to become. It's not something I mentioned in my response but I find it to be very true.
Responding to Alexander Jung:
I liked that you brought up the significance of when Artense wore the dance boots, which is the namesake of the story we read and how that was also a very significant and turning point for her.
"The Dance Boots" by Linda Lagarde Grover shows the burden that Artense, the main character, carries. Apparently,she comes from a background that finds it acceptable to take care of two children, manage the house, and to pursue personal goals which in Artense's case is to do well in her community college classes. I found Artense's situation to be unpleasant, and admire her determination to work hard and pursue her goals. I don't think I would be able to carry out the same duties as her if I was in her position. I found it amazing that instead of being depressed by her past, Artense thinks it is important to carry on the history to people around her. At the beginning of the story however, I felt that Artense is trying to prove herself. It seemed as if her family had high expectations and she had to prove herself in order to be not considered “stupid”, especially because she was a woman. It also showed the responsibilities she had as a woman.
Overall, I think the story is about rising above the past and to find hope. It also is about working hard to achieve a goal no matter how tough the situation is. The author is pretty descriptive with the writing. Readers can imagine the scenarios pretty well and understand Artense's tradition.
Response to Alexander Jung:
I agree with what you said about “strong sense of value in family and culture that Native Americans have.” I think this point is very important because it helps us understand Artense's culture better.
Response to June Yee:
Yes you are right about the significance of Artense's aunt telling her the history. It is more truthful and unbiased. And I admire how Artense is not ashamed of her past and rises above it.
In "The Dance Boots" Artense, the main character, goes through mental change due to her aunt's stories. In the beginning of the this short story Artense seems to be "americanised" and less in touch with her roots. As you read the story it is apparent Artense goes through mental changes because her aunt tells her stories of her ancestors. In these stories Aunt Shirley informs Artense of hardships her family endures due to racism. It becomes apparent Artense is affected by the stories and matures when says "Drained by the tale and honored with the burden, i lay awake for hours, knowing how hard it was going to be to get up in the morning to get ready for work." (9). As the story continues Shirley becomes ill and is on the verge of dying. With lung cancer Shirley gets closer and closer to losing her life because of this Artense and her family visit shirley at her home. During Artense's visit Shirley gives Artense a pair of suad boots that was mentioned in the beginning of the story. Shortly after the visit aunt Shirley dies. The story ends with Artense participating in a powwow circle. This story has a lot of detailed sentences giving readers a good sense of whats happening. The message behind the story is the importance of the past and although the past should not lay out your future, you must know your history in order to have a better future. This point is hard to notice in the beginning of the story were Artense is depicted as an average person doing daily errand, but is more apparent when you reach the end were Artense is participating in a traditional ritual.
@June i like when you said cultural identity because it seems like the main point of the story wish i though of that when i was writing.
@Alexander The emphasis on the prejudism in your writing is very important
The title story, “The Dance Boots” in Linda LeGarde Grover’s collection of stirring short stories, portrays the struggles Native Americans faced in Indian boarding schools through the development of the main character, Artense. A member of the Ojibwe tribe, Artense begins her narrative describing her life when her Aunt Shirley first began telling her the story of her people. Living in Mesabi with her husband, Stan, and her daughters, Anjeni and Michelle, Artense was insecure and ashamed. She describes those years of her life as the years when “Stan thought I was the stupidest woman in the world” (Grover 1). She made efforts to “show him that I wasn’t a complete zero,” by working a series of jobs, taking classes at a community college and decreasing her drinking. Her self-consciousness and insecurities hindered her to the extent that she refused to take her Aunt Shirley’s leggings because she was embarrassed that she didn’t know how to dance. Artense’s embarrassment and insecurity creates a direct parallel to the struggles that the Native Americans faced in the 1910s through the 1930s when Native Americans were forced to attend boarding schools where they suffered homesickness, cruelty and racism. Just as Artense was ashamed of herself, especially in the face of Stan’s criticism, the elder generation of Native Americans were ashamed of their education; it was “a topic to be avoided, a source of secrecy and loss, with an undercurrent of shame” (Grover 7). As Aunt Shirley unfolds her many stories about the struggles Native Americans faced, Artense begins to mature and realize the sacrifices her ancestors made for her. With that knowledge, Artense begins to immerse herself in her culture, and along with gaining pride for her culture and traditions, she also gains self-confidence and assurance as a woman. At the end of her narrative, she has successfully taught the stories of her people to her children and her grandchildren, thus passing on her culture and traditions to the next generation, as well as gaining her confidence as a woman.
In response to Hillary Gilliam:
I agree that Artense matures dramatically through the course of the story. She is definitely a dynamic character and as she grows to understand her culture, she becomes the woman she was always meant to be and in doing so, she pays homage to her ancestors who fought so hard for her luxuries.
In response to June Yee:
I agree that textbooks are bias and often in an effort to erase unpleasant bits of history, students lose the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past. It is often more enriching to learn history from sources other than textbooks.
Najib Seruyombya
In the novel The Dance Boots by Linda Legards Grovier, the character Shirley is a Native American woman. Who has survived through racial times where her people were killed and oppressed. She has the strength of a warrior. Her passion and fight runs deep in her blood. She was given the role of a true leader just by listening to her family stories over the years and also through experience. Shirley has chosen to past the torch of wisdom and knowledge to her niece Artense as Artense is beginning to grow into her shoes as a woman. “My Aunt Shirley was to remember by heart and teach by rote” (1)
Shirley understands the importance of her knowledge; and with storytelling she passes the torch of information to the protagonist Artense. Shirley is the bridge to the past and future for Artense. She opens up a world to Artense that Artense had no knowledge of; a world about her people history and their struggle. Shirley’s storytelling allows Artense to understand and respect who she is and where she has come from. Shirley character begins to share information about her Native American history as Artense is beginning to reform her life. “Shirley begin to call me long distance from Duluth ……this was during the years that Stan thought I was the stupidest woman in the world….and started to take classes at the community college too.” (1, 2)
Nick M
“The Dance Boots” follows Artense, a woman of Native-American heritage and a mother of two daughters. At the beginning of the story, Artense is in her thirties and driven by her husband’s criticism to go to school and quit drinking alcohol. She frequently speaks on the telephone to her aunt Shirley, who quickly becomes an invaluable source of knowledge to Artense. Aunt Shirley shares the story of her family and her shared heritage with Artense during the final years of her life. In their final visit together, in which Artense travels to her home accompanied by her dad, Shirley gives Artense her cherished dance boots. Soon afterwards Aunt Shirley succumbs to her advanced lung cancer. In the final scene, Artense attends a traditional Native-American powwow with her family, dancing in Aunt Shirley’s dance boots.
This story was written to demonstrate the cultural identity that transcends generations. The dance boots, which Shirley gives to Artense at the end of the story, are the physical embodiment of the knowledge and cultural identity that Shirley bestows upon Artense. When Artense began speaking to Shirley over the phone, she did not know much about her family’s history and she admits that she does not know how to dance. Along with this, it did not seem like Artense partook in any Native-American traditions. At the end of the story Shirley divulges the complete family history, which enlightens Artense to her cultural identity. Analogously, we see Artense receiving the boots and actually participating in a traditional Native-American ceremony.
Joe Quattrocchi
In this riveting novel, Linda LeGarde Grover plays on the importance of maintaining cultural traditions in a world that is constantly changing. Through the cross-generational dialogue between the two protagonists, Artense and Aunt Shirley, the reader is drawn in to the heart-wrenching story of the difficulties faced by the Native Americans in the 20th century.
The author creates a story plot based on the balance of Aunt Shirley and Artense’s relationship. Shirley aims to enlighten Artense on what it means to be of Native American descent through the recollection of history, but this proves to be a tedious task, one that requires proper timing and maturity to understand completely. The topics discussed in the conversations between the two regard the major factors that played into the tough lives of the Native American people in the early 20th century: the Indian Reorganization Act, discrimination of youth in reform school, cruelty of the white supremacists, and the lost hope of many Indians as a result of such oppression.
It takes years for Artense to adequately comprehend the strength of her people. The pivotal moment occurs as she juxtaposes the life of her grandmother and daughter. This recognition that her daughter is able to live a better life because of the sacrifices of her ancestors makes Artense proud to be Indian. The lives of her ancestors and their traditional values have provided current generations with more opportunities, and therefore can not be left unheard of. Artense has now become an educator with a personal duty to spread knowledge of the Native American people. This transition is symbolized by Aunt Shirley gifting the dance boots to Artense, who will use the dancing boots to carry on the traditions of her people.
This emotional journey sheds light on the values of ancestry, oppression & prejudice, and the valuation of culture to endure hardship. Through the recollection of Aunt Shirley’s memories and her own personal experiences, Artense is able to surmount the divide between learning by heart and learning by rote.
Jacqueline Diulio
In the short story, “The Dance Boots," by Linda Legarde Grover, the main character, Artense, inherits the stories of her ancestors from her Aunt Shirley. Artense is an American Indian of the Ojibwe tribe who lived in Mesabi with her husband, Stan, and their two daughters. In the beginning of the story Artense doesn’t know who she is or where she came from. Artense says, “This was during the years that Stan thought I was the stupidest woman in the world, and so I worked a series of jobs…”(1) Artense believes she must prove to her husband who she is by working multiple jobs. What she doesn’t realize is working these jobs and going to school at her local community college will not help her find the gift or talent she posses and is supposed to find within herself.
The racist story of the “White Man History” (4) is a one sided tale of the exploration of the Americas. The tale gives no justice to the American Indian people who were forced from their homes. As Artense begins to realize the hardship and struggles her ancestors went through, she beings to appreciate all they endured for her freedom. Artense states, “I began to appreciate more the struggles and tenacity of my family as well as of all Indian people, whose valuing of family and tribal culture made it possible for people like me to live with our own families and have our children experience an education that is in so many ways so different from that of our grandparents” (9). At the end of the story, Artense finally discovers whom she really is and what she is supposed to find within herself. As she realizes her true self, her husband, Stan, comes to the same realization that she is a beautiful American Indian meant to pass down the wonderful traditions of the Ojibwe tribe. As Artense enters into the powwow as a traditional dancer her husband stars at her “stunned by her beauty, looking so different from the young woman in jeans and a sweatshirt who went into the women’s dressing room.” (19).
The short story “The Dance Boots,” by Linda Legarde Grover
Linda Legarde Grover’s The Dance Boots is a powerful yet subtle short story where the author takes great care to reveal the protagonist’s (Artense) journey toward connecting with her Ojibwe heritage and understanding the significance of how her elders grew-up.
The Creator had given Artense’s Aunt Shirley the gift to embrace and hold dear to her heart the family’s history as she herself lived it. She chose to communicate her stories to Artense in a methodical, matter of fact manner, without attempting to influence Artense’s emotions. Never-the-less, Artense was deprived of sleep due to the thoughts she was flooded with of the significance of the journey her ancestors endured.
It took many years for Artense to learn to retell the story as facts. Eventually she was able to memorize the feelings by heart enabling her tell their history without the disturbances in her heart interfering with the story. She was able to accomplish this because Aunt Shirley had engraved in her that they were “strong people”.
The dance boots that Aunt Shirley cherished Artense treasured and was a reminder of the history of her people and she would pass on to the next generation.
Jacqueline Diulio
In response to Tia Gangopadhyay: I really liked how you compared her feelings to the hardship and struggles the Native Americans faced thorugh 1910 to the 1930’s. I agree with the fact that she becomes proud of her culture at the end of the story and even has more self-confidence.
In response to Jordan LI: I agree on the fact that Artense does seem to be a little more “americanised” then the rest of her family. However I do believe Artense recognizes the importance of the stories and traditions, and feels honored to be the one to pass them down to the next generation.
I recently read "The Dance Boots", by Linda Legarde Grover. The story is about a young woman, Artense, and a brief glimpse of what it's like to "walk in her shoes." She talks about many things rather sparatically.
She first tells a very vague story about people from her childhood. She mentions her aunt, a few neighbors who lived near by, and her mother. Her mother is now deceased. Artense seems to remember a few specific memories of her mother, including putting beer down the intravenous feeding tube for her mother and the story of how she got her dancing shoes.
Artense has cancer, which is a terminal disease. Based on the story, and her brief description of the X-Ray showing her Cancer cells, Artense is blissfully unaware that anything is wrong. She just goes out dancing and smiling like nothing is amiss. I did not really understand the story very well. In my opinion her story was more like an excerpt out of a diary than a story. The story was very depressing, and difficult to read because of the amount of stressful memories the author chooses to narrate. The theme of the story "The Dance Boots" is that even if there are more sad moments than happy ones, there's always something that can replace the sad memories.
Ade Adewale
Professor Sabir “My response to dance boots”
English 1b TTH 9-10:50
29 Aug 2011
In this short and very brief response paper I shall discuss the topics of “Dance Boots” that stood out to me the most. Furthermore, I will talk about the significance of racism in the story and what it said about having high self esteem to get you through anything. As well, I am going to cover what I feel to be the most imperative as well influential subject matter of the story, which in my humble opinion was the boots. I will also give a conclusion in the end to finish off my final thoughts as well.
The dance boots story talked about the racism that Native Americans experienced in the past and how each generation experienced far less than the previous generation did. In the story they covered the topic of going to Indian jokes versus non Indian schools and how both were needed for their enrichment as a people. Moreover, this particular story documents generational changes in the experiences of the people that were discriminated against. In addition, the matter of having high self esteem and high self worth also played a huge part in this story because the teacher would always tell the pupil to never stop because they were strong.
The main character in the story was the pupil of her aunt which was the teacher and the whole spot of the story was the exchange of knowledge from one person to another and the ensuring of traditions that would never die. The goal of this story from my perspective was to show us that as long as traditions are passed down from generation to generation the person that they are being passed on to begins to embody the person that passed it on them. The boots symbolized the passing of knowledge from person to another and how even at death rebirth occurs.
In conclusion, I have learned that knowledge can live on forever if it is passed on to the right individual and that people never really die because they merely live on through others. My favorite memory of the story is ending because the main character is gigging at a powwow and she finally understands all that it was that her aunt was trying to teacher her, which was now it’s your turn to pass on the knowledge to somebody, that you deem worthy to have it. Finally, the thing that I most enjoyed about the story was the getting a piece of the Native American experience.
By Ade Adewale
The first 20 pages of The Dance Boots is told from the perspective of Artense, an Indian woman, native American Indian, and the story focus on her aunt Shirley passing on the oral history of their family. That history mainly focuses around the abusive education and culture destroying policies of the ‘white mans’ government at the turn of the 1900s. But that isn’t wholly the focus. There are sub issues around the importance of family in the Indian culture and the dance.
The setting of the story is in the greater Duluth region of the United States near the boarder of Canada. Most of the story so far takes place in either Artense’s home or Aunt Shirley’s, or by telephone. Interesting how the outside environment, the elements so to speak have played no roll in the story. But I suppose this story is focused on Indian families, dance, education, and the importance of oral history, so the environment might not be a character.
The actual main human characters, Artense and her Aunt Shirley, are both strong women who value family and education. They aren’t strong in the since that they are the head of the homes, or warrior like characters, but that they will preserver against the odds and struggles that native American Indians find themselves surrounded by and haunted by in the a 19th century white mans America.
Besides the three major themes at the beginning of the story, education, family, oral history, a fourth theme on dancing comes in near the end of the chapter. Even though it isn’t spelled out, one can easily see that the dance or powwow represents the lost culture of the Indians. Something the white mans education policy of sending Indian children to boarding schools far away from their own homes and families, wasn’t able to destroy. This is because it persist today, and it being taught and leaned by root and by doing, not by reading about it.
Style wise the author uses a lot of commas and it can be difficult to understand what exactly is going on. For example, it can be hard to know who a certain character is talking to at that certain moment. The author doesn’t use - Bill said to Tom – “Go get that newspaper” they other just says – Bill shrugged and said “go get me that news paper’. So it can be a bit difficult to follow along at times.
Ade Adewale
Professor Sabir
English 1b
30 Aug 2011
The group that i was apart of had some really great reflections to present to the class because they found a really cool way to link the beginning with the end. One of my group mates brought the classes's attention to the idea that the main character Aretense began as the student, but she ultimately clearly became the teacher in the end. i would also like to add that although my group mates and i may have primarily worked alone all of our thoughts and reflections about the story were fundamentally the same.
Joe Quattrocchi
Peer response to Dance Boots Analysis
Hsiaolin
I also found it interesting the author used very little imagery to describe the physical environment on the reservation. I enjoy Hsiaolin’s reference to Aunt Shirley and Artense as the preserver of Native American culture. There is a line in the reading that describes the boarding schools as an experiment by the white man to break the indian culture by educating its youth, and Hsiaolin does a great job explaining that the whites were unable to take away their history which lives on through NA traditions.
Jacqueline Diulio
Jacqueline makes a very interesting point that in the beginning of the story Artense is trying to make a statement by working multiple jobs and attending community college, but that she is still unable to find what makes her who she is. This response is written well and cites the text to reinforce her argument that Artense grows into a proud Indian women by the end of the short story.
The Dance Boots by Linda Legarde Grover
Angela Stokes
This story takes place over a course of decades and follows a Native American woman named Artense. In the beginning Artense is very unsure of herself. Here she is in her thirties, a mother of two young daughters and married to a man who thought she was the “stupidest women in the world.” She’s had a string of jobs that has gone nowhere and on top of that she’s an alcoholic. I believe Artense chose community college to find herself, and to prove to her husband and probably herself; that she wasn’t a “nobody”. Through regular telephone conversations with her aunt Shirley, Artense is distracted; she’s folding laundry, clipping coupons and living in a fog. During one particular conversation Artense is having with her aunt about her biology and history classes. Aunt Shirley asks “White Man history, right?” That was probably a turning point in Aunt Shirley’s life and when the stories started for her niece.
“We are strong” is a phrase repeated between Artense and Aunt Shirley, Artense needed to hear the real stories of her family. The stories of her grandmother; how she suffered at school, the racism that existed but not talked about. The Reorganization Act that provided money as incentives to admit Indian children which should have been abolished, as it lent a hand in Indian children being verbally abused by teachers and allowed to be abused by other children. Artense at this time in the story telling phase, was “drained by the tale and honored with the burden.” She listened because she felt she had to.
Aunt Shirley started the stories while Artense was in community college, when cancer took Shirley; Artense was a grandmother. At the end of this story, Artense has a greater appreciation for her family lineage, the struggles they had to overcome in order to survive and how proud she should be.
. ...."Artense seems to remember a few specific memories of her mother, including putting beer down the intravenous feeding tube for her mother and the story of how.."
In response to Michael -I don't believe it was Artense's mother putting beer in a feeding tube but her aunt Shirley giving her mother beer. Please anyone correct me if I'm wrong.
Also for Igor(sp?)who has yet to post, I love your comment in class, you said, "Artense wasn't prepared for life" I completely agree with you.
Angela Stokes
In response to Hsiaolin:
Hsiaolin's essay is well written and I was easily able to understand her perspective on many points. It's interesting because she wrote to points I read but did not quite grasp the significance until reading her essay and the comments made in Tuesdays group discussion.
One particular point that stuck out to me is Hsiaolin's comments regarding Aunt Shirley and Artense being strong women. "They aren’t strong in the sense that they are the head of the homes, or warrior like characters, but that they will persevere against the odds and struggles. . ." I knew they were strong women but did not take the time to ask myself in what ways.
Another point Hsiaolin articulated is the manner the story flowed. I too found it difficult to read. Often, I had to reread sentences to work out the choppiness and without the customary quotation marks determine who was speaking.
Tien Hardin
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B Tuesday/Thursday 9-10:50 AM
31 August 2011
Reflection on August 29, 2011 Group Discussion on "The Dance Boots"
My group contained only one other person (whose name I did not write down). This person was not familiar with the story and therefore, unable to contribute much. I found other groups' accounts and observations very helpful.
Points of the story that escaped me as I read were discussed and turned on light bulbs for me. Prof. Sabir commented on the connection between the characters drinking and their practice of not discussing the unpleasant upbringings they endured.
Another interesting point was how all the other groups agreed that Stan's comment of Artense being the "stupidest woman in the world" affected Artense so considerably. My feeling was more of Artense blowing him off knowing that she would succeed in her education. I fell this because she makes no other mention of Stan treating her unkindly in any other way.
Post a Comment