Pecos Bill: Toughest Cowboy to ever Live

When I was young I was told the stories about Davey Crockett, Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe, and John Henry. However, the one guy I remember the most was Pecos Bill. He was toughest and meanest cowboy to ever live. From an early age he had “super-human” powers. The story I can recall the best is the one where he road a tornado from Kansas to Texas to California. This wasn’t any ordinary tornado that he rode either. It was the meanest and fiercest tornado ever. Pecos Bill could ride any horse and tornados as well. The stories of Pecos Bill made me want to be the toughest guy around. It taught me that men were supposed to be rough and tough when they grew up and have a great understanding about nature. It taught me to not be afraid of anything.

http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/ks2.html

Emerson and Nature

The two sentences I found very interesting to me were these two: “The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood.” As we mature in our lives, we loose that childhood sense of nature and the world around us. Adults are no longer capable of using their “infant” imagination, and they don’t appreciate what nature is doing for them. Only the adults that carry that same sense of nature from the time of their childhood can be fully aware and thankful of nature. This speaks to me really well. A lot of people tend to leave those things behind from their childhood. Although we grow up, we need to retain those childhood loves and appreciations. If do not do this, then we are doomed to not relish in all the beauty that nature presents.

Freedom Tower

The art that really moved me was the Freedom Tower in New York City. This is the structure that will replace the pre-existing World Trade Center Towers. The memorial has great meaning to not only the Nation, but to the World. Building the Freedom helps to remember those lives that were lost on September 11, 2001. However, there is something more that the tower will stand for to the world. By building a structure like one of the old towers, and making it taller, shows that the United States will not be threatened. Our Nation can recover from a massive tragedy and excel past the expectations. We are showing that we are not afraid of the enemy. We will stand strong and rise to challenges that the enemy throws at us. The Freedom tower will show off exactly what its name says, Freedom.

Realization at the End

The Realization that Wright comes to at the end of the novel is that no matter what race you are, everyone has the same struggle and is dealing with the same problem. All people need to conform with one another. If this does not happen then everyone is doomed to go down the same “drain”. Wright’s ambition is to write in a way that will cater to all and be understood by everyone. The same thoughts that Wright is thinking now are the same ones from when he was trying to have the Communist party appeal to everyone and show off the better characteristics of the party. This unity created by Wright will prevent the decline of the human race. The Communist party, his friends, and the ones he trusted have shunned Richard. I think Richard is now back on track with how he is going to finish out his life.

artists vs. politicians

I believe that Wright has a great point in this passage, and I agree with him. Artists and politicians have differences in their outlook on life and how they act towards it. The artist can benefit the politician, but the politician may not always be benefited and that is what turns them away from each other. However, if you look into what Wright says, you will see that both the politician and the artist are after the same “vision” and headed in the same direction. The opposite poles that these two groups stand at may not be that far off. Both of them may be in this problem with each other and locked in a battle, but it is more than they wanted. Wright has a good understanding of what is happening around him, and how both sides of the spectrum have a common goal, but they don’t know how to cooperate with one another.

Richard's Parentheses

In Part two of the novel you see these blocks of paragraphs that are in parentheses. These parentheses only include the thoughts of Richard Wright, like most of the book, but they possess something more in them. The passages in parentheses show Wright in a more sophisticated and thoughtful way. He analyzes race and the differences between whites and blacks. His comments on the life of blacks shows how he feels about the struggles they go through, and he finds a reason for these struggles. For example on page two hundred and seventy-two & seventy-three, Wright talks about the white girls that work with him, and how they could never really understand the life of a Negro. Wright comments on how even though they (whites and blacks) may have the same tongue, blacks spoke a different language. In the parentheses Richard shows great knowledge and sophistication while he expresses his position on the meaning of life between whites and blacks.

Positive Decision by Richard

At the end of part one, I feel that Richard Wright is making a great choice. This was a positive decision for him to leave Memphis and go to Chicago. Yes, Wright did have a good job and life set for him in Memphis, but Richard wanted more and he had the hunger for writing and a better life. The South would have restrained him from accomplishing his goals. However, the white men that Wright works with do not feel he is making the right choice. They discourage him to leave and tell him that he won’t like it in the North. Mostly they are afraid Richard will achieve greater things than they ever will. To them it’s not good for a black man to become successful above a white man. I support Richard in his decision, and I believe it will be for the better.

Wright and Stealing

Richard Wright is preparing to leave the South for the North. He feels that needs to get out of the South in order for him to succeed to the point that he wants to. He continues to look for jobs so that he can earn money to leave. School has started again, but it is impossible for Wright to go. The biggest job he has was at the hotel that Bob had worked at prior to being killed. Richard would learn that stealing was second nature to most blacks around him. He came to the realization that whites would rather have a black person who steals then one that “knew the worth of their humanity”.

Wright first began to steal when he was promoted to bellboy. He learned that the majority of the money that the bellboys earned came from bootlegging liquor. He fell into this cycle quickly and continued to do so until he quit the hotel. From there he took a job at a movie theater. He joined the stealing there as well. The scheme consisted of reselling tickets. Richard made fifty dollars in his first week. He then stole fruit from the Negro College and a gun from his neighbor, which he pawned off.

I believe Wright was justified in what he did. There was nothing to lose in his life, and he stated that. The white people expected it out of him, not matter how much he was against stealing. Also, Wright is taking the advice from Griggs. Wright living how he is supposed in the South. Wright did he what he needed to get out of the South, and I justify his actions.

How to act in the South

Wright in this chapter is now looking for a solid job that he make good money at. He has had some issues with keeping the jobs that he attains. His friend Griggs has a talk with Richard and the way he acts around white people. Wright expresses himself too much in the presence of white folks. Griggs tells him that he needs to “learn how to live in the South”. The meaning behind Griggs’ words is that Richard needs to act more “black” and change his attitude when he is near or around whites. In the South a black man could be killed for forgetting to say “sir” to a white man or for trying to act smarter than white person thinks a black man is. In order for Wright to sustain the jobs he has, he needs to know how to “play the game”. He obviously doesn’t like this idea, but he knows that he needs to do whatever is needed to earn the money.

Richard's Speech

In chapter eight Richard is chosen as his class’ valedictorian. Richard has earned this achievement for his great intelligence and wit. The tradition of this award is that the recipient reads a speech at graduation. Wright has prepared his speech, but the Principal has made one himself for Wright to read. The Principal requires Richard to read his speech because white people will be in attendance as well as the Superintendent. Richard’s speech would not have appealed to the whites or impressed the Superintendent. Wright refuses to say the speech. I believe he is justified in taking this stance. It is an award given to Richard not the Principal. When you are told that a person is to going to give a speech, you expect it will be there own writing. Also, Richard has the right to speak his own my mind and express the feelings that he possesses. No matter who is in the audience at the banquet, Richard still has his right to recite his speech.

Richard's anger at his Uncle

Richard is this chapter is trying to get a part time job to earn some money. He finds a couple jobs with families, but they turn out to not be what he was looking. The places that he is at treat him in a way that he does not approve of. The white families automatically think that Wright is beneath them and has no reason to succeed in life. They think he stills and has an attitude just because he is black. However, the bigger part of this chapter is the fight between his Uncle Tom and him. Uncle Tom in the early morning asks Richard for the time. Richards responds with the time and his uncle feels that Richard is being “sassy” and rude. Uncle Tom threatens to teach him a lesson. However, as we know Wright does not take kind to people who want to beat him. Richard is mad that his Uncle is trying to shape him into something that he doesn’t want to be, and his uncle is trying to do this by using force. Richard’s anger in my mind is legit, and he had the right to challenge his Uncle.