Topic Brainstorm

Project #3

The three topics I have chosen to potentially use for project number 3 are :

       1) Choose a reading. In your project, consider the following - I am interested in this project topic because it allows you to go back in time and use historical facts if you choose to. I do not have much previous knowledge in doing any project like this, so I think it would be a good challenge. I would like to learn how to tie a story of my choice back to an economical or historical event and learn new concepts as I go. A strength I will bring to this project is my dedication and knowledge of historical events that I may be able to tie into this one. The first two projects will help me with this one because I already know the concept of the project, what is expected, and the mistakes not to make again.

       2) Choose a reading selection. Explore relationships between the elements of the selection, For example, how does setting influence character development? - I am interested in this project topic because it directly relates the story with a character and talks about how certain things in that story can shape a character or outcome. The previous knowledge I have on this is the analysis we do each week when we talk about theme and characterization and how it plays into the story we read. I would like to analyze a story and understand how certain things cause a character to do something. A strength I will bring to this project is my hard work and my goal of completing the project with a good grade.

       3) Think about a theme you see running through your life. Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme. - I am interested in this project topic because it allows me to relate a story directly to my life. The previous knowledge I have on this is whenever I have related something to directly to my life and compared it. I would like to analyze a story and see how much of it relates to my life or things that have happened in  my life. A strength I will bring to this is my personal stories and feelings.

Week 12, Analysis, The Big Sleep

       For this week, I have decided to do a close reading on the book I decided to choose and read on my own. The book I am reading is called "The Big Sleep" and I have broken it into thirds, so this week I am going to base my close reading off the first third of the book.
       The part in this story that was interesting to me was when "Riley" was outside of Arthur Geiger's house spying on it. The street he lived on was quite, and there wasn't much activity. But all of a sudden, a car pulled up to the house, walked towards the door, and within a minute there was gunshots. This personally caught me off guard and I did not see it coming. As the car fled, Riley went to the house and inspected. What he found also surprised me, as Geiger was laying there dead and Carmen was unconscious.
       After reading this, I was still kind of shocked. I knew Riley had his eye out for Geiger and was potentially going to take him out himself, but I did not see him getting killed by someone else coming. It doesn't all add up just yet since I am only a third of the way through the book, but I think it was a hint. Some sort of change in plot and I could see this causing more issues in the future of this story. This was important to understanding our characters because it shows who really is who. Who hangs out with who, and who is after each other. There has been no other parts in the text like this one, but I could see something like this happening again in the future.

Reading Notes, Week 12, The Big Sleep

Reading Notes for "The Big Sleep" Part B


Chapter 7
-Carmen was in the house Riley broke into
-she looked unconscious
-he found Arthur, on his back
-found a camera pointed at the girl
-he was laying in blood
-he attempted putting her dress on her
-he dressed her
-he went into Arthurs room and took some of his belongings
Chapter 8
-he went back to Geiger's house
-he wasn't there, the house was back to normal
-Riley went home and drank alcohol and went to bed
Chapter 9
-he went to the hall of justice
-Geiger's car was rinsed up in the ocean
-Riley met a blonde guy in the hall of justice
-they went to go look at the car onto the pier
-they asked a guy what happened to the car
-there was a dead guy inside
-some guy said "ask me and ill call it murder"
-another guy thought it was suicide
-he wants them to leave the old man out of it
Chapter 10
-Riley went back to the bookstore and asked for Geiger
-she denied he was there and said he was out of town
-she was scared
Chapter 11
-he talked to the girl again and she apologized for being rude
-he kept talking to Geiger's daughter
-she wanted to know what he talked to her dad about
-they talked and talked and started drinking alcohol
-she kept talking and giving information
-she said she could call her Vivian
Chapter 12
-he went to Geiger's house
-he found Carman there
-she was standing at the door, and she didn't know what to say when she saw him
-they went inside, he lit his cigarette
-she denied being there at the house the night before
-he asked who killed him
-she told him Joe Brody killed Geiger
-she said his name was Philip Marlo - Not Riley
-she said she had to go home now
-they both heard a car coming
-it pulled up to the house, and the doorbell rang
-someone had a key, and came in
-a man came in, staring at them

Reading Notes, Week 12, The Big Sleep

Reading notes for "The Big Sleep" part A


Chapter 1
-General  Guy Sternwood
-found a girl who looked pale and sick
-his name is "Dog House Riley"
-Riley Marlo
-the girl liked Riley and said he was cute
Chapter 2
-entered a room like a jungle, warm and muggy
-plants everywhere
-found an old dying man(The General)
-Riley smoked and the old guy sat there and smelled the smoke
-he was paralyzed in both legs
-the old guy sat there and drooled watching Riley drink Brandi
-the general asked what he knew about his 2 daughters
-General paid Joe Brody 5 thousand dollars
-the general wants Riley to take a guy out (kill him)
Chapter 3
-the daughter asked Riley is he was a private detective
-she asked "how did you like dad?"
-she also asked about Rusty - the guy who left suddenly
-she got snappy with Riley
-they got in an argument
-Riley left after arguing with the generals daughter
-thunder was crackling and the rain was coming
-Riley started downtown
-he went to the library to do some research
Chapter 4
-saw a blonde he had never seen in a bookstore before
-she approached him in a way looking for sex
-a guy came in a left quickly, Riley followed him
-he was spooked
-the guy got away
Chapter 5
-Arthur Guin Guyger
-he went to another book store and asked if she knew Arthur
-she denied knowing him
-he found a book
-Chapter 6
-he found Arthur and started following him in his car
-he found Arthurs house and parked at waited
-a girl showed up at Arthurs house and got in
-Carmen Sternwood was the girl who went to Arthurs house
-Carmen is the generals daughter
-Riley waited, and all of a sudden he heard a scream
-he went towards the house
-three shots went off in the house
-he broke the window into the house and entered
-saw two people, one was dead

Week 11, Analysis

       I am going to do a close reading on week 11's reading on Cleaver. The portion of this story that I am choosing to write about is when he described the police shoot out him and Little Bobby were in. The paragraph starts off by saying "Above my head, the windshield of my car shattered and I looked behind me." This whole paragraph as well as the others that follow in the story are describing a scary situation of Cleaver's life. He was essentially getting shot at and chased that day because he was black, and the whole situation really describes what racism was and how it affected peoples lives back then. This is a break in action in this story because the whole story is about racism and the challenges he faces, but this paragraph and part of the story is a breaking point. This is when they get gunned down and his friend dies laying next to him, and I could tell the importance that he was trying to get across from this passage. I can think of some similar moments in the text like this one, but not as intense and severe.

       This passage and story inside the big story is a big turning point in the book. This allows us to understand our main character a little more than we had, and also brings out a horrible situation that happened in his life that affected him and the whole community. The moments of this passage refer back to what has happened previously in the story regarding racism. This was definitely the most severe and hurtful event but it still ties and connects with the rest of the story.

Reading Notes, Week 11, Cleaver

Reading Notes for Cleaver (Link)


-born in Arkansas and moved to east LA when he was 12 years old
-imprisoned at age 22 for assault
-late 1960's, racism raged the streets of Oakland
-in 1968, Cleaver was involved in a huge shoot-out
-BBQ picnic for the Black Panther party
-Oakland police were against the party and picnic
-after the party, Oakland police arrested 16 members of the Black Panther Party
-Cleaver and the head police chief did not get along
-the cops murdered little bobby in the meeting they were in
-the cops would follow their cars around each day and night
-the never went in the streets at night unless they had two or more people
-one night Cleaver was stopped by cops, demanding  him to the middle of the street
-all of a sudden the cops were shooting at him from all around
-Cleaver took off on foot and tried everything he could to get away
-he laid on the ground saying by to his family and the world as he thought he was going to die
-the cops murdered little bobby right next to Cleaver in that shoot-out
-Cleaver was later taken to jail and told he was not going to attend the BBQ

Project 2

Logan Huntze

5 April, 2019

Ms. H

English 205

Project #2

            In the story “About the House Girl,” I believe Ifapi was viewed as a price possession by the author and the main characters of this story and she herself did not believe that as much as they did. She grew up getting babied by her father and Aunt, but as she grew up she wanted to be herself and live her own life, and that happened after she met Patipir. My attitude towards Ifapi is positive based off of the personal decisions she made throughout the story and her attitude towards every situation she was put in. In my eyes, I see Ifapi as a shy girl that knows her worth and is determined to live a good life. She is also perceived as a determined, smart girl by other characters in this story and she proves to everyone that that's just what she is throughout the story. 

            The author’s attitude towards Ifapi was positive and uplifting the whole entire story, and the way he described her made it obvious that he thought she was special. Ifapi didn’t made an appearance in the story until half way through, but leading up to the not knowing much information about her, the author still described her as this golden girl. We as readers were not able to understand the things he was mentioning about her until she appeared in the story, but the author did a good job leading us up to the event she was spotted at. Everyone was at the beach, late at night, and the dancing and singing all meant a lot to the people in the story. When Ifapi was first spotted by Patipr, the author described Ifapi as “Her skirt and front apron were heavy fringes of shells strung close together, each string tufted with a red woodpecker crest. She was barefoot, and as she bent to the fire or lifted a basket of incense to the Leader, the play and motion of thigh and leg showed through the fringe of shells which answered her every movement with a low rustle as of a receding surf playing shell against shell on the beach.” (45)  This quote by the author is when he is first introducing her at the beach, and the way he talks about her and describes her outfit is not like he is talking about a simple girl. He madet clear the her dress made of shells presented her as special, and a simple girl would not have something like this on; She was special. Throughout the whole story, this is the kind of tone the author described Ifapi as and that is what made it clear that he cherished Ifapi for her personality and presentation.

            My attitude towards Ifapi is very positive. In the start of the story, we were vaguely introduced to her as some sick girl who lived with some old lady, which was her aunt. It was hard to paint a clear picture of who and what Ifapi was, and why she was kept inside at this old ladies house all the time. However, as the story went on we were re-introduced to Ifapi, and this time it was at a public event, with tons of people. At first, I thought this was odd because she had been described the whole story as being some girl who never left home, and when I found out she was out at this dance party at the beach made me wonder.

            As the story continued on, and Patipir continued chasing Ifapi around as the girl of his dreams, Ifapi began to be a main character. She was no longer some sick girl inside a house; Instead she was a girl with determination to go out and live her own life and make her own decisions. This is ultimately what she did when her and Patipir decided to get married. She made one last visit to her father and explained to  him the situation, and surprisingly he was supportive. This story really shows how Ifapi changed as a person, and how she matured and made her own life decisions in a short amount of time. For me, I respected her more for this and my positive opinion of her grew since she was able to leave a house she was babied in, go out and meet new people, and then made a decision that changed her life forever.

            One character who had a strong opinion about Ifapi was her Aunt. Ifapi lived with her Aunt during the story, and for a young girl life Ifapi I think he Aunt made it difficult to live with. Although her Aunt cared about her very much, I think she was too protective of Ifapi and did not allow her to go out and socialize like she should be doing as a young girl. One scene in the story when Ifapi’s Aunt showed overprotection of Ifapi was when Patipir was at the house. Patipir was so interested in Ifapi that he walked over to her in the house and put his hand on her. When he did this, Ifapi’s Aunt replied with “Do not touch her. She is very sick. You mustn’t ever do that again!” (45-46) This dialog that came out of the Aunt’s mouth really showed how protective she was over Ifapi, and she even said she was sick when really she wasn’t. This behavior from the Aunt occurred throughout the whole story, but in the end after Patipir talked to her and explained to her that him and Ifapi were going to leave and get married, I think that was the point where her Aunt was finally able to let go of Ifapi and accept the fact that she is off to live her own life.

            Another character who was protective but accepting of Ifapi was her father. Ifapi’s father sent her to live with her Aunt, hoping she would be well nurtured and protected. This definitely happened while living with her Aunt, but Ifapi also wanted some freedom. The dance and sing parties she would go to at night was a way for her to get out and explore the world outside of being stuck inside all day at her Aunts. When Ifapi and Patipir met and made the decision to go away and get married, and leave their hometowns for good, Ifapi had to go let her father know the news. In today’s world, before people get married they normally know each other’s families first. In this case, it was not like that. Ifpai’s father had known who Patipir was from a little kid, but did not personally know him well. When Ifapi talked to her father and  let him know who she was marrying, he was very accepting and supportive of Ifapi’s decision. His mindset of being protective of his young daughter had changed, and he was finally able to allow her to make her own decisions in life and he would be happy with them. The father’s sending off words to Ifapi and Patipir were, “It is good, my son-in-law, my daughter.” (48) These words prove that the father is now happy with his daughters decisions and he can trust her on her own. His opinion definitely changed from a protective dad to a supportive and trustworthy dad, and he let Ifapi go on her own to start a new life with her husband.

            Ifapi viewserself in a few different ways. She knew she was valued by her family, but I don’t think she thought of herself as worthy as her family did. Being stuck inside at her Aunt’s house and being babied all day left her to be somewhat irritated I think. Every young kid wants to go out and have fun, and she really only had one opportunity to do that and that was at night at the dance and sing parties. However, she also valued the traits she had, and didn’t fall for just any man. Patipir had been on her mind since she was young, and at the parties I truly think she was after no other man but him, and one night she finally saw him. This shows that she had good self control and she knew what she wanted. She was responsible in this way and viewed herself as worthy like her family did. Although she didn’t see herself as a golden angel like her family did, she did know that she was important and she valued herself. She grew up being responsible and maturing each day. This helped her become the woman she was at the end of the story, and that woman was self loving and confident of herself and others. She truly grew to love herself like her friends and family members in this story. 

Reading notes, week 10, Mori

Reading notes on Toshio Mori (583-592)


-first American writer of Japanese ancestry
-born in Oakland
-left for Utah in WW2
-stayed there for 3 years
-woman he visits is old
-never forget the experience of her house
-used to make doughnuts for him
-he couldn't describe her doughnuts they were so good
-everyone calls her mama
-Sessue Matoi
-people feared him
-he told the old lady she was in an egg
-sad and alone but laughing all the time
-the Japanese would sit in the park everyday
-he finally talked to the man
-laundry truck driver