Soundtrack selection.

Song Lyrics/Tortilla Curtain Comparison

 

Tidal Wave by Owl City	The Tortilla Curtain
“Cause all I see is a shattered conscience staring right back at me I wish I had covered all my tracks completely 'Cause I'm so afraid, is that the light at the far end of the tunnel”	America realizes that her past is not the best, she had no money to buy new clothes, but she tries to keep clean her dress because is the only one that she has. She wants to cover his actual situation and forgot about reality. The light at the end of the tunnel is when the baby born she can be on the beach with her and everyone can be happy (7).
“I forget the last time I felt brave, I just recall insecurity 'Cause it came down like a tidal wave and sorrow swept over me”	America is not brave anymore, she leaves the beach because she is afraid of Candido. She compares herself with the white people that try to find a job, she does not understand how they have the same bad situation as her. She sees them as a superior race. She has no confidence in herself anymore (7).
“Oh please be done, how much longer can this drama afford to run Fate looks sharp, severs all my ties and breaks whatever doesn't bend But sadly then, all my heavy hopes just pull me back down again”	When America thinks that things can be worse he finds Candido laying on the floor with blood on his face. The motivation that the ocean causes her is not anymore there, she is back to her cruel reality. Like if every time she feels happy something bad happens and she is down again (7).

Community Profile Interview with Brissa Guevara

In my English class my teacher, told us that we need to interview a classmate and ask them questions about their experience at IVC, I think that this interview can apply to my Community Profile subject that is about Cultural Diversity, and I ask Brissa about his experience at IVC with cultural diversity. 

Brissa Guevera is a student from Imperial Valley College, a place where she can experience cultural diversity each day in the classroom. Everyday Brissa hears the most common languages in school, English, and Spanish and sometimes a mixture of she calls this “Spanglish” a language created because we are close to the border. Brissa emphasizes, “I think that cultural diversity is great, we can learn from each other in the classroom, and our ideas combined can be better because we can have some innovator.” (Guevera) Everyone who lives close to the border should understand what Brissa is talking about, we live in both worlds, cultural diversity in the classroom is not something bad, like Brissa says you can take advantage of your classmates with different background and learn more about their culture and behaviors, this should be fun in the class. When you combined ideas with someone who came from another place maybe you both can have differences, but after a good conversation, I am sure that you both can do something amazing and innovator.

TOP 10

My Favorite Movie

Sometimes people wait all of their life, for the correct person to come. Fight for the person that you love sometimes can have bad consequences. The Great Gatsby, a sad story that shows us that sometimes we are in love with the incorrect person,  Gatsby does all types of things hoping to see daisy one day, he never imagined that Daisy would be the cause of his death. Daisy is the beautiful girl that wants everything in an easy way, and she is scared of the consequences, Gatsby never sees the bad signals because he is in love with her. Sometimes being in love doesn't mean that it is correct, love does not matter if the other person is not committed as you in the relationship, you need to love yourself first and then you can share your love.


My Favorite Book

The world of angels exist, Patch is an angel that watches every day a girl on the earth. Who says that angels are free? After falling in love with this girl, Patch was kick out of heaven. Instead of trying to go back to heaven he prefers to meet the love of his life. Like every story, they need to fight against everyone that does not let them be together. This is a story that shows us that do not matter what you can fight against everything in order to achieve what you want.


A famous person I love

Rihanna is a girl from Barbados, she signs from an early age, she was very shy and she becomes a soldier because she wanted a stronger attitude. Now she is the singer with the most money and she has his own makeup brand. Now her makeup brand is one of the most popular. It is important to notice how she was very shy and now she is one of the best pop singers. She had low self-esteem whe she was a kid. She is the person that inspires me becoming whatever I want no matter what others think.

Quote Sandwich- “As people from diverse cultures contribute language skills, new ways of thinking, new knowledge, and different experiences”- Erasmus.

The majority of people do not understand what cultural diversity is, and how can help others. Cultural Diversity is more than people with different skin colors, hair or linguistic. You can learn from cultural diversity more than you think. A lot of people in the United States just see the negative side of diversity, but they can take advantage of that instead of look for bad things. The website Erasmus, Partnership International, is a page specific to discuss cultural diversity around the world, the website Erasmus emphasizes, “As people from diverse cultures contribute language skills, new ways of thinking, new knowledge, and different experiences” (Erasmus 4). Now we can understand that with cultural diversity we can have a different perspective of the world if we look at the world with the same eyes that people with different backgrounds do, we can understand a lot of situations, and maybe have more empathy for them, instead of criticizing. The United States diversity is going to increase more and more, and in order to grow as a country we need to accept each other, and have empathy for others, understand their situation, and support them.

College Experience Interview- The Quote Sandwich

In my English 110 class, we do an activity called “The Quote Sandwich” is about how a quote should be.
First, you need to talk about your theme (that is the first bread) you should give the reader an explanation
of your topic, is like an introduction to your quote if you do not do this first the reader would not understand
really good your quote. Second, your quote(This is the ham and cheese) here you need to give your quote,
but first remember that you need to put the name of the author in order that the reader know who says the
quote after you close your quote, you need to put in parenthesis the last name of the author. Then, in order
to finish your sandiwch, you need the last cape of bread, here you need to explain your quote, how is that
your quote connects with your topic, what the quote means, what the author is trying to do with this, then
your sandiwch is done. 

Brissa Guevera is a student from Imperial Valley College, a place where she can experience cultural
diversity each day in the classroom. Everyday Brissa hears the most common languages in school, English,
and Spanish and sometimes a mixture of she calls this “Spanglish” a language created because we are close
to the border. Brissa emphasizes, “I think that cultural diversity is great, we can learn from each other in
the classroom, and our ideas combined can be better because we can have some innovator.” (Guevera)
Everyone who lives close to the border should understand what Brissa is talking about, we live in both
worlds, cultural diversity in the classroom is not something bad, like Brissa says you can take advantage
of your classmates with different background and learn more about their culture and behaviors, this should
be fun in the class. When you combined ideas with someone who came from another place maybe you both
can have differences, but after a good conversation, I am sure that you both can do something amazing and
innovator. 

The Tortilla Curtain- Traga Fuegos

Candido is egocentric and weak, he doesn't know what he wants, he takes positions that not make sense. His attitude is bad in my opinion, I think that he needs to work more in his attitude and self-control before anything, if he keeps that way he is never going to be successful, I see many errors on him,  maybe he can find a job, but he is never going to be a real man, maybe people are going to want him, but only for work, but nobody is going to respect him if he keeps that way. I think that he is an idiot, he knows the bad consequences of his actions and he still goes and drinks dirty water.

     He does not go back to Mexico because he wants a better life, he wants more money in order to be successful, I believe that one key event is when he works in the United States before and go back to Tezpotlan  feeling like a god just because he had more money than everyone else, I feel that he expect the same acceptance from others, also we need to remember that he is a very egocentric man and that he always want to have the reason, this is another key in order to understand that he wants to be better than anyone else, he wants to prove that he can do anything he wants.

     What drives him is that he is a determinate man, that once he has an idea or goal in his mind he is not going to give up. Also, many events of his past have a big impact on his present, he feels humiliated for what happened with his last wife and now he wants to cover that past with a better future. In my opinion, I am not judging him for that, many people do the same in order to forget the bad memories.

     Something about his past is when he goes back to his little city and find that his ex-wife go away with another man, and get pregnant of him and not of Candido, even when they try to have a baby and they cant. In my point of view, Candido feels shame when he remembers that. Now that America is pregnant, and that they are in another country is like a new start and he is trying to do what he can't do with his ex-wife. 

     I feel that she did not leave him, only because she is positive even that she is very young, but she is strong, she still believes that they can make. She only wants what everyone else wants, good quality of life. Another thing that I notice about America is that she is determinate also, and she gives me a good feeling, like if she can achieve anything that she wants. I don't know why I have the sense that she would be a good student. For sure she can have a good future in Mexico if that country was not machista, maybe she would think different if she sees that girls can work like a man in Mexico. 

 

The Tortilla Curtain

IS DENALNEY RACIST?

    I think that Delaney does not act like a complete racist, but in some parts, he acts like if he does not support the illegals, or maybe it's me that I do not distinguish really good, I believe that he had a situation that he never had before, I am not going to support him, I am just saying that maybe he was no prepared for that situation, I think that chapter one is not enough to describe Delaney personality.

                                                                                                                                                       think that one indicator of Delaney personality is when he calls his wife, I think that he is going to be a problematic person, or maybe not problematic, but he is going to have some issues and going to tell his wife about it. I think this because last summer I watch Breaking Bad, and the principal actor had the same behavior at the beginning as Delaney, I think that the character may have a personality change thought the chapters too. I think that he is going to be that type of man, who is scared of his problems, and instead of making it better is going to make it worse. 

     I think that something of Delaney that my instructor does not mention is deeper than just something superficial. I believe that inside Delaney was scared, but an intelligent man, he was morally scared of what he has done because he knows that humans need to support each other, but I do not believe that he did all he can do in order to help the illegal, I believe that he is an intelligent man, because he only give twenty bucks to the illegal, because he noticed that he was illegal,  if he knows that the man was not illegal he would do much more for him, because he may be scared of have problems, but in this case he notices that the man was scared of getting deported and Delaney take advantage of this and honestly I do not like this type of people.

     I think that something that can describe Delaney as a racist is his attitude, he does not mention in a specific way or acts in a specific way, but in several moments he gives us keywords or key actions that make the audience believe that he may be racist. One example is when he only gives him twenty bucks to the man, or when he did not help him enough, it was not necessary to take to the doctor, he can buy some alcohol or a first aid kit for him. When he calls his wife, I do not what he was expecting from her, I mean what his wife can do for him and for the illegal? I think that he has several actions that make no sense.