This week we had five strong narratives that all generated good discussion. I've noticed some narratives are generating other narratives and we're deepening our understanding of certain themes. One narrative today dealt with the tragic situation of a child with Gervais's disease, and how the family has chosen to react to this in the most positive way possible: caring more for each other and helping other people; another narrative looked at a decision-making process about what to do after high school and what going on to higher education meant; a third narrative examined negative practices in the workplace, what a mentor should be and how to apply what she's learned when a similar moral dilemma arose in the next job. Another two narratives examined sexism; first, the inner conflict of feeling uncomfortable about earning more tips through certain behaviour in a job and how that changed over time, turning it around to her advantage, all the while knowing this job was a temporary step on her way to a better life. The second dealt with how some people are uncomfortable with anything different, and use belittling remarks to maintain expectations and hide their jealousy or narrow-mindedness, in this case assigning gender roles to playing certain musical instruments. Many thanks to everyone who read today.
Our lecture touched on some of Nussbaum/Aristotle's ideas about the importance of being a world citizen. Although we all have our local identities and loyalties, our primary loyalties should be to our sense of humanity.
Our story, "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie (image) presented a very different world view, a story that raises a lot of questions about responsibility, worthy human beings, racism and homelessness, among others. Just a reminder, please don't forget about some of the other assigned readings at the back of our textbook -- we'll be discussing them soon.
Also, a note about absences -- more than two unexplained absences will affect your participation grade. Missing half a class or leaving after the break will count as an absence.
Lastly, keep working on your papers. That due date, Mar. 24, is coming up quickly! Have a great weekend.
After reading "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, I immediately began to think about how important it is that the community we live in is made up of good citizens. We began to talk about this a little in class around the importance of volunteer work, which made me think about this topic a lot more. We are conditioned to live our lives under laws that are made for us and then implemented through society, but following the law and abiding by the rules does not in my eyes make us good citizens. There is more to being a good citizen then just never getting a traffic ticket. To be a good citizen first you have to be a good person, a person who is full of values, morals, ethics, beliefs etc. An important part of being a good citizen is to help people. Around the world, in our country, in our cities, in our neighborhoods we can see there are always people who are in need of help. When talking about the people that need our help, I am not only talking about the poor, but also the women who is short a couple of cents paying for her coffee or the old man that cannot cross the street. Being a good citizen means you genuinely help out other citizens, by helping them out with a couple of cents, helping them cross the road or just saying hello to people you see on the streets. The small actions that make you a good citizen are the ones that make the most difference.Being active in the community is also another way of being a good citizen. By this I don’t mean joining volunteer clubs, or building homes for the homeless, because in reality everyone is short with time but being involved means, going to elections, waiting in line to vote, or when there is a neighborhood watch group being involved with it; that could just mean putting a watch block sticker in your window, when there is a gathering of the community about decisions on parking regulations, cutting down trees or street maintenance we are there in crowd supporting it. Bing involved in small community activities that maybe just take an hour out of your day is a contribution of a good citizen.The last and most important aspect of being a good citizen is respect, respect for all people no matter their, gender, or situation they may be in. Everyone needs to be respected for his or her own opinions and beliefs and by accepting everyone is a characteristic of a good citizen. The story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” is perfect example of different types of good citizens. The police officer embodied what a good citizen was, a person without judgments and who is full respect for others, being able to lend some cash to another individual putting full trust into them. The pawn shop dealer was also a good example because, in the end he recognized that Jackson made his efforts of attaining the money but was unsuccessful, knowing that he was a respectable and honest person admitting that the five dollars was all he had but was a different five dollar bill then what he started with, the pawn dealer gave him back his grandmothers regalia even though he new he was loosing profit.In class we touched upon bringing mandatory volunteer work in schools for children and if that was a good idea. In my personal view I think it is a good idea, I myself volunteered throughout high school inside and outside of school. Volunteering outside of school is a different type of atmosphere, if children in particular get a chance to see other peoples lives and what others in community go through, will help them better appreciate life for themselves and open up a more worldly view to them. I don’t think it should be something that is implemented on regular bases, even if it is ten hours of volunteer work a year; I believe that is enough to change peoples lives and give others the opportunity to grow. By also implementing volunteer work in schools it would help shape good citizens for the future. Spreading generosity, helping out and reminding people that the world is still a beautiful place to be is what good citizens are about.
ReplyDeleteToday’s class is my favorite to date. It seemed that with each student narrative and the short story What You Pawn I will Redeem, our human capacity to adapt was highlighted. This was evident as Kevan discussed progressing from nominal grades in high school to academic achievement in post-secondary studies. For the female student who described her situation at the bar where she works, it is difficult for me to completely understand her situation, however I do agree where men may sexually objectify her, it is better to take control than to allow the situation to control you. My only fear is that there may be a slippery slope for some (not our classmate) as they may exploit themselves for more cash. Lastly, the classmate who spoke of playing the dubla to the dislike of certain people, of the jealousy and distain she, as a female experienced due to playing the instrument so well. Hopefully, she will focus on her performance as worthy of the enjoyment of others; those who disagree are revealing inability to adapt to changing gender roles.
ReplyDeleteIn What You Pawn I will Redeem, Jackson shows how in 6 years on the street, he came to find his true calling as a homeless person. He effectively defies numerous stereotypes placed on First Nations peoples. He shows that natives are not all criminals; some are humble, caring world citizens that will give every penny they have to help another person, regardless of race or creed.
In this class the issue of humanity really came up, especially with the nature of the narratives read, and that of the short story. The narratives were really great and all touched on the depths of human emotion and real life issues that could affect us all. Jealousy, sexism, disease; these were all topics that people spoke about. Listening to them, it makes me think about how cruel the world can be and how low some people can sink in a way that shows nothing but selfishness. The story about jealousy involving the dubla I found so demeaning! That this woman was made to feel like she wasn’t worthy of playing this instrument because of her sex must have been a difficult thing to go through but what she should feel proud of is that she pushed through anyways and played. A narrative that I felt that I could really relate to was “How much for six?” Funny enough I had actually written a narrative at the beginning of the semester that was almost identical to that. I work at Earls and sometimes I think about how I could write a book about all the ridiculous, sexist things I hear all the time. I wonder about how little respect people have for each other, and it’s sad. So thus I do want to say that I think it is great that we are sharing all of our personal experiences through narratives with each other, I think we are learning something from each other. I think it is safe to say that if anything, we could become more compassionate from hearing each other’s stories.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the story we read this week, I found it really touching. Jackson seemed like such a kind soul, although I found it unfortunate that he was a native man, I felt like it played into a stereotype of a homeless native man. That aside, the story really showed a kind side of human nature, not only with Jackson but with the pawn shop owner as well, who although he was taking a monetary loss, decided to do the right thing in giving Jackson’s family heirloom back.
The lecture in class yesterday about the creation of a “World Citizen” reminded me of a similar topic I wrote on in my other education class. We were asked to create a question about one of the topics from class, and then answer the question in a brief paper. The question that my group chose was: What causes people of similar race or culture to band together in schools – what, if anything, can be done to prevent this segregation? In response to this question, I wrote that discouraging recognition of the diversity of cultures within a school created a separation between groups of people, as they did not feel they had any similarities with the different students. I believe that it is the educator’s job to stress the importance of our multicultural nation in a way that brings the students together, and does not create division between cultural groups. The significance of multicultural acceptance is even more profound in Canada, as the multitude of ethnic backgrounds is increasing each year. From the class tonight, a simple indicator of how much students know about other cultures was demonstrated through each person’s interpretation of the short story.
ReplyDeleteBefore we began to take a look at the events of the story, the first question placed on the board was, “What knowledge do you have of First Nations people and their history?” The ranges of interest and familiarity with these people was a clear indication of how uneven our educational backgrounds are with regard to multiculturalism. In order for us as students to fully place ourselves in the shoes of the characters we read about, a better understanding of the Native culture is key. Without this, it is easy to assume that all homeless people are First Nations, or that the First Nations people do not amount to anything within a Western society. The generalization of the homeless population within this short story exemplifies this stereotype by emphasizing the portion of homeless people who are Native. As less educated students about the First Nations people, how are we supposed to stop the continuation of these stereotypes? Even with the injection of humour into the short story, a significant portion of the work is devoted to the inability of First Nations people to function in our society. I feel that with a larger emphasis on this group’s history and place within Canada, a more understanding view of these issues and successes will come forth. Continually, for this to happen, the literature written needs to reflect a more positive outlook about their culture.
After reading “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”, I found myself thinking about how our society judges the homeless and how they are frequently placed into their stereotypical roles. Is it fair for society to judge a homeless person when passing by them? Since we have no idea of their experiences or how they ended up in the situation that they are currently in, we have no right to assume that they are lazy or are dependent on drugs. Whatever their situation or how they ended up where they are, we tend to forget that the homeless are humans too and that they are in need of the basic needs and rights which we have. When one looks at Jackson Jackson from his point of view rather than a bystander, we are able to see him as the funny and gentle soul that he is. If one is merely a bystander, they see Jackson as just another homeless person and reinforce the idea of Native homelessness.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the short story, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”, that we read last class is carried through a humoristic style by Sherman Alexie, I actually find the story very depressing. It also seems very real to me. The author is very brave to show the true side of what it is like to be a homeless Native person. While I was reading the story, I felt like I was watching a documentary film aiming to document reality. Many parts of the story had made me feel uncomfortable because the author reveals a lot of negative aspects of being a Native (on top of being homeless). Honestly, I felt very ashamed- and still am- ever since when I realized that I knew almost nothing regarding First Nations people and their history. It arouses my concern for how neglectful our educational system has been for providing a lack of topics regarding other cultures, i.e. knowledge about First Nations. The stereotypic issues are more severe and more negative when there is lack of information, which in the end, leads to lack of understanding and awareness.
ReplyDeleteI am very curious as to why anyone would want to write about the negative sides of his/her own culture. So I did some research online on the biography of the author Alexie. I found out that Sherman Alexie is a Native American writer who enjoys writing about his experiences as a Native American. What I’ve found more interesting was, according to wikipedia, the Spokane Indian was born with hydrocephallus, which is a medical condition with abnormal accumulation of fluid in the ventricles or cavities of the brain. This disorder can affect thought, behaviour as well as learning. Despite all the mental and physical difficulties that he had to suffer through, Alexie took the courage to continue on in his life, getting into higher education and pursue a career as writer and even filmmaker. I assume he wants to share all his knowledge and experiences with the greater community in a true manner, no matter how negative or positive reality seems to be; because after all, life is true.
Aristotle's Ethics I feel is very important to understand human life, but it is hardly approachable unless one takes a higher education. The main points that Aristotle makes are important and simple to understand but in the same time, it is the people who are seeking for this knowledge that will read it. The general public is not aware of his work, they may have heard of him, but it is through higher education that we are able to learn to be better human beings for the society. I do feel that it is important to view life beyond being revolved around the self. It is when people are able to look around an reflect on others that they can come to understand humanity. In order to live a good live, one must appreciate the ways the relationships, friendships, wealth and honor fit together as a whole. In another way, it is reflective practices, and association with others that makes good ethics and a happy life. Viewing current society, it is safe to say that many people are not following Aristotle's way of achieving happiness. There are many cases of violence, homelessness and robberies still happening day to day. So, how do people learn Aristotle's view on ethics(besides learning it in University)?
ReplyDeleteIn the short story “What You Pawn I will Redeem” is a good example of Aristotle's ethics in play. The pawn store owner, the policeman and Jackson Jackson were all people who cared for others before thinking of themselves. Every character in the story had good ethics, the pawn store owner wanted to help from the beginning and gave Jackson five dollars, the newspaper guy gave Jackson fifty dollars worth of newspaper, the policeman gave Jackson thirty dollars, everyone tried to help despite the fact that they did not have the resource to help him. Sometimes looking out for others before looking after one self comes as a disadvantage but everyone hopes in the end that good things happen for good people. I got a little emotional in the end when the pawn shop owner gave Jackson his grandmothers regalia back. The ending proved that good things can happen for good people. This ending was good but most of the time people are not as friendly as the characters are in this story and good things rarely happen for good people. The good people are usually the ones taken advantage of and are usually the ones that are called stupid or naïve. Good people with good ethics do not do well in the corporate world or in the streets. My parents always told me to protect myself and that not everyone can be trusted. Different cultures raise people differently and my parents compare children from Hong Kong to children raised here and they both exclaim that Canadian born Chinese are too naïve for the real world. Sometimes what my parents tell claim is true, I have encountered people who have good ethics and moral values and they are the ones who are taken advantage of.
The narrative today that discussed the decision-making process after high school really hit home for me. When I was in high school I never realized that not going to university was an option I could even consider. I come from a family of over achievers. My mom and sister have degrees and love learning for the sake of learning and my dad is a successful business owner. The topic of university was never up for discussion. Here I am five years later living someone else’s dream. I have finally found my voice, however, I am so close to completing my degree that it would be insane to quit. I feel that there are so many choices today that I could have possibly taken advantage of if my eyes had only been open to them. As a teacher I hope to provide inspiration and information about all the possible selves students can be.
ReplyDeleteThe story we read this week, “What You Pawn I will Redeem” was an interesting story. I realized quickly that I had very little knowledge to bring to the story other than the stereotypes that are presented through the media regarding aboriginals. At first it seemed ludicrous to me that he would spend every cent he made on others when he was in such dire straits. When I reflected on the story a little bit more I realized that it must be a more accepted part of his culture to be generous to others. Who am I to judge his actions from my cultural perspective?
I think what I liked most about this week’s short story is that it didn’t shy away from stereotypes. I know that seems like an odd thing to say but there was something almost refreshing about this Indian who made a rather impressive amount of money in twenty-four hours and freely admitted to immediately spending it on alcohol and cheap food and giving it away. He also acknowledges the fact that Indian homelessness is common. I even like the fact that the speaker called Native Americans ‘Indians’ as I think we sometimes get too obsessed with political correctness.
ReplyDeleteI thought a lot about why Sherman Alexie would write a story like this. I’m still not sure I have the answer but I do believe that sometimes stereotypes have to be acknowledged. If we cling to our PC ideals and insist that not all Natives are homeless and some of them are perfectly productive members of society then we miss an opportunity to deal with the very real issue that there are a lot of homeless Indians. I think that’s why this story supports a stereotype while at the same time, putting a face to it. This had the effect of reminding me that the problem exists while making sure I had reason to care about it. I finished this story admiring Jackson Jackson and feeling that he kept his soul and dignity.
I feel very connected with the idea of gender roles in the narratives reading of how many assign gener roles to playing certain musical instruments. I have been in band through all five years of my highschool life and I have been playing pianno and violin from three. I felt very fortunate to have my band teacher Mrs. Sparrow, she not only taught us about music but gener and race equality as well. She let us choose our top three instruments before assigning them to each of us and she made me felt warmth through our band practices. Many times she will direct the music beats in different languages counting 1, 2, 3, and 4! I think she really reinforced the concept of eqality in genders and cultures. I think music really bring people together from different backgrounds to create a community.
ReplyDeleteI have heard many interesting discussions throughout this term about working and espeically in the service industry. I too felt very uncomfortable at times when servicing people being a cashier as a part time job. You will see different customers and different people and they will try to make you mad. I always think that each of my customers have two different stickers sticking on their body, one in the back that says "please care about me" and one in the front that says "please understand me". This thinking process makes me to have positive thinking about different customers and remain calm and helpful in hard situations. I think this goes with the big idea of our sense of humanity. By caring for each other and have an open mind, together we can build a stronger community by sharing the best of different cultures.
I really enjoyed the lecture on " The World Citizen". I think this is very important concept that everyone should understand and believe in. I also believe that it would be great if educators taught this topic at an early age. I think this is important to teach in schools, because students can carry this on throughout the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteIt will also make students help and recognize human life around ther world. In my opinion, it will create more awareness in our society as well. One example of awareness is when the media portrays stereotypes and false information on diffrent groups around the world. Here, a world citizen would think beyond the stereotypes and wont be trapped by the media bubble. A world citizen respects all cultures, and never judges, and does not let the media think for him/her. Overall, I really believe in the concept of world citizen and schools should try to implement this within their systems.
I really enjoyed the reading we had this week. It was probably my favorite reading of all time this semester. I really enjoyed the flow of it and the comedic essence it had. In particular, it was very interesting to see how the events transpire in Jackson Jackson's life. He seemed to be such a humble man, and very generous throughout the entire story. The outlook of this story showed that money was no value to him and that he based everything on relationships he had with everyone. He also shared some of his earnings with the store clerk, because it was very important in his culture. This also shows me that sharing is very important to Jackson Jackson's culture.
Another aspect relating to this story that I noticed, was that Jackson Jackson had really good karma throughout the entire story. Also, as karma states , what goes around comes around. Thsi is exactly what happend with the main character. He could of saved some money up, but in the end the pawn shop owner gave it to him because of his troubles. Also, Jackson Jackson, showed how a good citizen/human being can be rewarded because of his good actions, ideals and relating to others.
I wanted to comment on the girl who read her narrative of playing the dubla. I honestly can say you’re a role model for other girls. Given that men have genuinely played the dubla, you should be proud of yourself. You are one of the first women to break these gender gaps! I find that amazing. I can see why you get nervous playing in front of or with other male dubla players. Just think of the people that said women couldn’t be rock stars. It only takes one person to stand up and say I can! And the rest will follow. That is kind of what you are doing. I encourage you to keep showing off your passion and talents. One day, I assure you there will be more women dubla players in the future and just to think you were one of the first to inspire them!
ReplyDeleteLast week we were asked to come up with our own questions. I asked “ do you think the pawnshop owner actually bought the coat for $1000?” Personally, I think it was a test to see if Jackson was actually willing to work for this coat. So by exaggerating the price of the regalia, he made Jackson’s goal seem unattainable. I think that the shop owner knew that Jackson would spend the twenty dollars given to him on alcohol. I bet he also knew that most homeless people would not save their money or even come back to the shop. By Jackson showing up with money he worked for, he demonstrated to the shop owner that he really wanted that regalia. I think the shop owner just wanted to teach Jackson a valuable lesson of working hard and how rewarding it is.
Do you think the author is promoting stereotypes?
I believe that Jackson was just telling it as it really was. It is easier to lie then to explain the harsh truth. That is why I actually appreciate the honesty that the narrator explained. Living on the streets and first nation’s history was all he knew and was good at. He definitely did not shy away from the stereotypes given to first nation’s people or even calling himself or others “Indian”. I think his descriptions gave us a view of the reality of some indigenous people’s lives.
We discussed the story entitled, What you Pawn I Will Redeem and relating to others in the world through being a good citizen during this week’s class.
ReplyDeleteThe First Nations people encompass a lot of western Canada, yet most of us living here do not know much about them – besides the general stereotypes that go around. Many people think the First Nations people live a charmed and easy life because they receive free education, no taxes and live on a separate reserve. However I think their lives might be the opposite of charmed. Many people, outside of the reserves may not realize the large division that is created between First Nation people and everyone else not living on reserves. Many First Nations people are labelled as alcoholics who are poor but love singing and dancing.
When I was in grade 7 there was an Aboriginal class one day where whoever was part Aboriginal could attend. My friend and I are not aboriginal but we still thought it would be fun to attend, so we did. It turned out to be a lot of fun; we made small drums with deer hide and special waxy rope. At the time I did not really consider this to be stereotyping First Nation people, simply because it didn’t cross my mind and maybe I wasn’t educated enough at the time to truly contemplate what was going on. When we were discussing stereotyping is class I told my group about this experience, and thought that it is stereotyping in a way. I went into an Aboriginal class, where I did not know much of anything about their culture and we made drums. Stereotypically First Nation people like music and dancing; however this is a large part of their culture and how they express themselves and tell stories about their ancestors, so maybe it wasn’t exactly stereotyping, maybe that class in grade seven was in fact, teaching us an important part of the aboriginal culture.
In class we also tried to put ourselves into others shoes in order to understand them as an individual and become better citizens. I couldn’t completely put myself in his shoes. He just made me frustrated because he was making money – quite a bit of money, but then would just spend it on frivolous expenses. I can relate to spending money on frivolous expenses definitely because I love to shop, but if I wanted an object that was so close to my heart, as the regalia in the story, I would have saved my money for that purchase.
Overall, this was one of my favourite stories we have read so far in the semester. I enjoyed how the story moved quickly and contained a lot of dialect. It was heartbreaking to see how easily his friends disappeared and in general how homeless people disappear very quickly, without notice.
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ReplyDeleteI have seen gender bias as a musician quite often. In the jazz world, women most often play piano and/or sing, sometimes play sax. Growing up, a good friend influenced my becoming a jazz trumpet player. She was the same age as me, played very mature jazz trumpet, and kicked the butts of all the musicians in town her own age. She has gone on to have a strong jazz career in Toronto. She played differently from the guys. Her tone was huge and gentle, and her sense of musicality or phrasing was so unique and smart. She listened to all the same records the rest of us did, studied with the same teachers, and played in the same ensembles, yet she was the most unique. She was the only girl in any of the jazz settings. She was the one we all looked up to. I guess she was a lot like one of the guys in a lot of ways. Personally, I was jealous of her skills. Check out Lina Allemano online… I’m sure she felt she had to fight her way into her rightful place among the guys in her career, perhaps more than all the guys around her.
ReplyDeleteI liked What You Pawn I will Redeem. I thought Jackson was a genuine character truthfully portrayed. I did not consider that the story contained unfair stereotypes about the aboriginal community. Is the telling of a truth the same thing as the telling of a stereotype? I think stereotypes can be damaging when they are used to judge. When brought out to tell a realistic story, stereotypes, negative or positive, may need to be explored. I don’t think that something uncomfortable should be censored. The author did a fantastic job showing the world how beautiful and messed up he feels individuals in his culture can be. Perhaps now, after reading his story, we can all have a more genuine understanding and compassion for those around us making life choices we don’t immediately understand.