The Old Man and the Sea (Pgs. 9-64)

Summary: The Old Man and the Sea is about a man from a Cuba that goes fishing in the Gulf Stream. Although this book may seem like it is boring to many people because the topic isn't that interesting, it is actually an interesting story so far. I was recommended this book by an old teacher of mine, that said that this book would be a good choice for a novella. The setting of the book takes place in Cuba, around no particaular time, but in little town. The story starts off en media res, with the man thinking about the time he spent 84 days on a boat trying to catch fish. This was an interesting way to start of the story because it sped up the process a little bit. Instead of writing a story about the 84 days on the boat, the man starts with him beginning his new journey.
Quote:"He was an old man whofished alone in a skiff in the Gulf stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish."(Hemingway 9).
Reaction: At the beginning, although starting en media res, the story still seemed a little dense. The reader is introduced to the location of where the man lives, but not the time nor the Old man's real name. Personally, I felt a little disconnected from the story because I did not know the old man's full name, but I kept reading. The readers were introduced to the old man's little prodigy, who was known as 'the boy.' Again, this non-realistic distinction made me a little disconnected. As I continued reading the story continued to be a little slow until I read into the old man's new journey. His new journey began with him going back out to sea for more fish.

Gay America (Pgs. 128-160)

Summary: In the final section of Gay America, written by Linas Alsenas, there was a range of topics. None of the topics left the general idea of homosexual, but these topics seemed to be completely different although similar. There were topics about a man named Father Mycal Judge who was seen as the 'hero for the Gays' because he had died during 9/11 and was openly homosexual. Another topic that was talked about was the idea of homosexuality becoming legal. In a court case known as Lawrence vs. Texas, sodomy laws had become unconstitutional, making homosexuality legal. The idea of sodomy was discriminated against by many books and laws, only becoming legal recently, in 2003. Although the topic of homosexuality was not lost throughout this final section, the sub topics presented were different and more controversial than the other topics raised in Gay America.
Quote: "It was long before the press acknowledged the fact that Judge was a gay man."(Alsenas 144).
Reaction: This book was interesting to me because I did not know much about the Gay community. Linas Alsenas portrayed the gay community for even the most simplistic people, like myself, could understand. Before reading this book, I knew absolutely nothing about the gay community and how they came to be. Alsenas made sure to highlight the most important if not all the events in the homosexual history. I learned a lot about group of people in this one book than I did in any other book. The gay community has done a lot for America, being proven by what Mychal Judge did duting 9/11. The fact that America does not give the homosexual community more credit, is not fair to them, and should be changed.

Gay America (Pgs. 96-128)

Summary: In this section of 'Gay America' written by Linas Alsenas, something is brought to the readers attention. What Linas Alsenas does in 'Gay America' is give readers the facts about homosexuality years ago, and slowly updates to the present. In this section Ellen DeGeneres was profiled. As many know, Ellen DeGeneres is a very success homosexual woman, and Linas Alsenas highlights on that. Ellen's sexual orientation is not under the microscope in this section like her success is. If i didn't know anything about Ellen DeGeneres from my previous knowledge, I would not have guessed that she was homosexual. Ellen's homosexuality is almost not looked at in this section, she is just seen as another successful woman.
Quote: "In 1997, Ellen DeGeneres came out on her television sitcom Ellen, sparking a publicity storm that was fueled by her high-profile relationship with actress Anne Heche. (Alsenas 128).
Reaction: This section proved to me that nobody has to be judge because of their sexual orientation. Ellen DeGeneres went from being a successful woman on television to an openly-gay, successful woman on television. She didn't let the people that discriminated against her ruin her career. In fact instead of letting those that discriminated against her ruin her life, Ellen actually embraced her homosexuality. I think that if everyone read this book, many would change how they see homosexual Americans.

Gay America (pgs. 64-96)

Summary: One of the most interesting sub section between the pages 64-96, was the seb section title 'Butch/femme.' This sub section interested me because I have heard the nickname 'Butch' before. Butch is another stereotypical nickname referring to lesbian females that do not dress like woman, but rather manly. This section stood out to me among all the others because woman were hated because they chose to express themselves through clothing. In the 1940's only working-class woman were called 'butch' and 'femme.' Quote: "For working-class lesbians, the 1950s were the heyday of 'butches' and 'femmes.'"(Alsenas 65). Reaction: After reading this sub section, I looked up the modern definition of 'butch.' Today, in 2011, butch is slang for a lesbian, especially one notably masculine in manner or appearance. I like this section out of all the sub sections because i found it interesting how the term for a manly female had changed drastically from the 1940s to 2011. In the 1940s only working class females were 'butch,' now a female that dresses in any kind of manly manner is considered 'butch.' This sub section just proves to Americans or anyone that reads this book that terms can change from one meaning to another.

Gay America (pgs. 32-64)

Summary: In the next few sub sections the history of homosexuality is being reflected. During the 1920s, homosexuality had become drawn to Paris. Many homosexual American citizens formed groups in Paris, developing something like a subculture within a culture. A lesbian writer named Natalie Clifford Barney made Paris her home to openly express herself. Barney was open about being lesbian and having many lovers. Barney took a trip to the Greek Islands of Lesbos with the intentions of creating a lesbian school of poetry. Quote:"Lesbian writer Natalie Clifford Barney once stated, 'Paris has always seemed to me the only city where you can live and express yourself as you please." Reaction: When I read about Natalie Barney, I thought that she is someone that showed a good example of homosexuality. What Natalie does is she keeps to herself, yet tries to be the beneficiary for others. Natalie actually tries to create a school teaching lesbians poetry. This shocked me because I never thought of homosexuals as trying to help anyone else. To me, homosexuals already have enough on their plate without being bothered by anything else. What i like about Natalie and what I aspire about Natalie is that regardless of her situation, she still helps others.

Gay America (pgs. 1-32)

Summary: Linas Alsenas's reason for writing a book about homosexuals, was to get the idea out to more people. What many may not know about homosexuals...is a lot. There are many different stereotypes that have been established about homosexuals, and this book is used to prove them wrong. What people may not think about often is that homosexuals shape America. Homosexuality had dated back for beyond 2010. The first sub article represented in Gay America was about a female that had killed someone because they wanted to talk her from her girlfriend. This crime occured in Memphis, Tennessee 1892; even back then, being homosexual was a crime. Alice felt that the oly way to stay with her girlfriend was by eliminating the person that tried to drive them apart. Even in the 1890's homosexuals were misunderstood, as they are today. Quote:"Gays and lesbians play a very prominent role in American life today, whether grabbing headlines over political gains, starring in and being the subject of movies and televison shows, or filling the streets of nearly every major city to celebrate Gay Pride very year." (Alsenas 4). Reaction: When I first read the article about Alice Mitchell killing someone just to be with the woman that she loves, I thought she was crazy. I thought about the situation if i was placed in it. Knowing how many people felt about homosexuality in the 1890's, I would not have drawn attention to myself by killing the woman I love. As I kept reading the article, I began to chnage my whole my mindset about what Alice did. Alice had felt incredibly strong about Freda Ward, enough to kill for her. I would not have personally killed for this woman that I loved, but I could see where Alice was coming from.

The Secret Life of Bees (Pgs. 103-214)

Summary: In the second section of The Secret Life of Bees, the critical details start to be elaborated. Realizing soon after leaving that there really wasn't a place for a Negro and a little white girl to stay, both Lily and Rosaleen (Lily's African-American house mother) felt hopeless. Lily really didn't have a plan after leaving her father, she just felt the urge to go to Tiburon, South Carolina. The reason why Lily felt the need to go to Tiburon was because she thought that she could find out more about her mother. Lily didn't know whether her mother had actually traveled to Tiburon or not, she just knew that Tiburon was where she should look first. A series of minor events occur while Lily and Rosaleen are trying to find a way to survive. These events lead Lily and Rosaleen to an elaborate house that is owned by 3 African American sisters. The sisters take Rosaleen and Lily in their arms, without knowing too much about where they came from and their back story.
Quote: "August pulled her chair close to the statue of black Mary and sat facing us." (Kidd 107 ).
Reaction: The only way that Lily and Rosaleen found the 3 sisters was because one of Lily's mother's old pictures. In the picture that Lily has been basing her whole journey on, there is a picture of an Africa-American Virgin Mary. The missing piece to the puzzle connecting everything together was the same picture of the African American Virgin Mary on a jar of Honey at a store. Lily felt that these two pictures had to have some kind of connection because she didn't see too many African American Virgin Mary's, as opposed to white ones. These 3 sisters may be the key that Lily needs to finding out more about her mother.