"The Sandman"

It’s easy to say I loved this text automatically for the fact that it was a comic strip and also because it was about a classic. The Sandman is a very well known and loved story. However, I found myself getting a bit confused sometimes while I was reading. There’s no doubt about it that I enjoyed it, but towards the end of the section we were reading, I started to become a little lost in the sense where I felt like the story was hopping from one subject to another without any type of smooth transition or bigger explanation just to give me an idea of what’s going on. For the parts that I did comprehend, I enjoyed it very much. I think the sandman is about a serious topic even though it’s expressed through a comic. I believe it’s about facing nightmares in real life and your dreams becoming a reality but not in the way you’d want them too. And then in the story line, the sandman makes those people fall asleep for the rest of their lives. Now I could be completely wrong here trying to understand this, but I don’t think those actions are all that terrible. Of course it’s bad for someone to end up fall asleep and never waking up, but when they were awake, those certain people were suffering. So the sandman’s intentions may be bad, but I don’t believe his actions would be considered the worst thing that could happen. I guess it all comes down to perspective and the way you look at things. Regardless of my confused moments, I really enjoyed reading this text and I’m looking forward to trying to comprehend the rest of it.

"Latino USA: A Cartoon HIstory"

When it came to this reading, it’s somewhat difficult to explain how I felt about it. Personally, I did not like it at all. There’s no disagreement that Stavans definitely had a good standing point and very interesting topic to write about. However, I don’t think he addressed it very well. I found the writing to be very confusing and didn’t make much sense. He was jumping from one topic to another and got quickly sidetracked changing the subject constantly. I felt that if he had more of a structure and he addressed topics one by one, it would’ve been a lot more understandable. It was a strong subject to write about and he definitely made great points. But it just needed a little more organization. However, when it came to the comic strips, I really enjoyed it. It was entertaining and informing at the same time. All comic strips are meant to be funny and most of them are very goofy and not serious. But this one dealt with serious issues and was still able to remain amusing. Overall, I would say I enjoyed the subject of the text as a whole. My only problem was the organization of the text, but regardless it was still interesting. 

"Graphic Memoirs Come of Age"

Although this reading was fairly long and a little complicated, I can say that I understood it and definitely liked it. I get what Bradley is saying when it comes to classifying such different types of reading into the same category. But I disagree with him in the sense where it seems as if he thinks it’s a bad thing. It came off to me that Bradley sided with the idea of actual novels and memoirs rather than using comic strips to explain one’s life. I admit to say I can definitely be wrong but it felt like he didn’t think comic strips could serve as the same purpose, and that they were more useful for funny stories or jokes. However, I believe they can be used for just as strong as a purpose that novels and memoirs go far. When it comes to writing, I think of it as a form of art. And when it comes to art, there is no one specific way to express it. Every single person has a unique way that applies to them as an individual. So if someone wanted to express their life experiences through comic strips, why not? It’s true that everyone has their opinions but no one should be limited to have to express yourself “by the rules.” If Bradley doesn’t agree with it, then he can stick to his type of writing while letting others write the way they want too. Even though I didn’t agree with everything Bradley stated, I can definitely say that he addressed great points in his text that can start up strong feelings about the different types of writing.

"The Woman Warrior"

After reading the chapter “White Tigers” in the story “The Woman Warrior” by Maxine Hong Kingston, and the critical analysis of the text “Empowerment through Mythological Imaginings in Woman Warrior” by Sue Ann Johnston, I realized that although it wasn't anything too complicated, there was much more to the story than I thought there was. In “White Tigers” the story that Kingston lived through was very similar to the myth of Mulan. She was trained to become a fighting warrior and then fought in the army to protect loved ones. Although this story was written as a memoir of Kingston, Johnston questions in her analysis whether this was written and fiction or non-fiction. I agree just for the fact that at times it does seem as if this really happened to Kingston in her past but then it also seems like it could never have happened just due to modern times. Johnston also see’s this story as poetic in a sense and I also agree with that. Although it wasn’t written in any type of poetic form, it flows throughout the story like a poem would. It’s telling a story but in a very organized and deep sense. “White Tigers” was obviously a very interesting text to read, but Johnston’s critical analysis of the story was so on point it was just as good.

“American Indian Myths”

I can honestly say the myths in “American Indian Myths” by Richard Erdoes & Alfonso Ortiz, were so incredible and different from a lot of the other ones I’ve ever read, and it definitely has something to do with the fact that they come from Native Americans because they’re so connected to nature. Because of that, all of the legends somewhat explained the creation of their world and lives. However, the best myth in this reading to me was the one that explained the way the Indians were created as people, “When Grizzlies Walked Upright.” Some of the time, certain myths and legends don’t make sense to me or even thoroughly explain the point of them in general. But this one was very understandable and just amazed me. The whole concept of a grizzly and a human falling in love tied in perfectly to the idea of the creation of the first Native American ancestors. It was even amazing how this myth still affects the present day Native American regardless of how long it has been. They still do not kill grizzlies just because of this story. I enjoyed reading all of the myths except one. “How the People Got Arrowheads” wasn’t anything special. I may be wrong, but I felt like the moral of it was to not trust anyone so easily because it could all just be a trick. Whether my thought is on point or not, I’m almost certain it’s something like that. And since it is, I have to say that that lesson is way too cliché. It’s such a basic lesson to never trust someone quick because they can be deceiving no matter how innocent they may seem. Although it was a smart way to teach the lesson, it was somewhat boring and way too basic. Overall, I love the myths that come from Native Americans, not just for what they teach, but because they’re explained in stories that make complete sense and are still able to entertain the reader.

"Porto Rican Folklore"

I can honestly say that “Porto Rican Folklore” was the best text that I have read so far. Besides the fact that it explained what myths meant to the Puerto Rican culture, it also went into detail on what the people of the culture believed in about different topics such as music, love, animals and more. The text elaborated on the folktales related to each topic. But what I loved about it was the originality of the culture. It was so amazing to find out the things that they believed in such as if a Puerto Rican man “washes his face in the first rainfall of May, then the sun will not burn him as dark as others.” Or “if an animal does not pass through a dark place, it is because he see’s beings invisible to man.” These types of beliefs are myths and folklores to this culture in particular. And it’s certain that every single culture believes in different things relating to each topic, but as for the Puerto Rican culture, I loved everything about it because I felt as if it all had a strong connection to the past of their people. Regardless of how much time as passed, they stayed in touch with their heritage I didn’t only love this text for the amusement of the beliefs; I was amazed by what these myths meant to Puerto Rican people. In this case, myths and folklores are doing a lot more than just teaching lessons because to this culture, it’s a relation to the past and your ancestors before you. It’s making sure all of the future generations of Puerto Rican people always know where they and their family really came from. It was just absolutely incredible to see that all of the myths and beliefs are still remembered, are still being passed on from generation to generation, and still are strongly believed to this day. That’s something I bet a lot of other cultures would not be able to proudly say.

"The Sociopsychological Analysis of Folktales"

After reading this long and ridiculously confusing article, “The Sociopsychological Analysis of Folktales” by J. L. Fischer, I realized I really didn’t like it very much as much as I thought I would have. When I think of myths, folklores, folktales, etc. I think of amusing and interesting stories that teach morals, lessons, and values. They teach about justice and equality and how these stories can connect to society. These folktales have strong meanings to what is explained in them, and they also have strong connections to the cities and people that they came from. There is even a powerful significance on why the stories mainly use animals as characters rather than using human beings. Although this article does elaborate on those points, I feel as if it went into such detail and examination of folklores that it basically took all of the interest out of the topic. The author mainly went into the idea that these folktales affect the mind as well as society. But even though I was able to understand the main point, I can honestly say that it was actually very hard to comprehend everything else just because of the thorough and strong research. It was a bit hard for me to keep up with everything else the author was trying to say. There wasn’t much that was catching my attention. However, one piece of information did interest me. “Local folktales are being collected and studied in a number of other parts of the world, most notably Finland and Scandinavia, Germany, Hungary, Japan, and Russia.” (239) Out of all the countries in the world, I really wouldn’t have thought of those to be the ones to study myths and folktales. It was surprising yet intriguing. Otherwise, I really didn’t like the rest of the article. I view folktales as very engaging, but this text took a lot of the excitement out of them. As far as the information, it wasn’t wrong and it definitely was informing, but it was too detailed and researched rather than actually elaborating on the true important of myths and folktales.