Recitatif. By, Toni Morrison

I check on website to check author’s background and I found that ‘‘Recitatif’’ is the only published short story by African-American novelist Toni Morrison. ‘‘Recitatif’’ tell the story of the conflicted friendship between two girls. One black and one white from the time they meet and bond at age eight while staying at an orphanage through their re-acquaintance as mothers on different sides of economic, political, and racial divides in a recently gentrified town in upstate New York. In addition, I do feel that I connect to this story because I do feel that racial divides does still happen today. The story explores how the relationship between the two main characters is shaped by their racial difference. Morrison does not, however, disclose which character is white and which is black. When story open with a description of St. Bonaventure, the shelter where Twyla meets Roberta, when they are both eight years old. Twyla recalls that her mother once told her that people of Roberta’s race smell funny, and she objects to being placed in a room with Roberta on the grounds that her mother wouldn’t approve. Twyla, however, soon finds Roberta understanding and sympathetic to her situation. This first part of paragraph impact me so hard because I realize that I can identity smell different between black and white

Zelah: A tale from long ago. By, Norma Fox

This novel story is number one of my favorite story for leaving home book. This book have lot of emotions of a Jewish girl sent from Poland to America to meet the fiancé chosen by her parents then story was a little difficult for me because I just couldn’t decide if I believe Zelzah was a strong a female or not because she kept confused me by she wrote a letter to Jake that she don’t mind to take her cousin’s place which mean she will be become Jake’s new girlfriend but of course, Jake rejected it. But, she laughed when she read Jake’s letter that he rejected her, that party, I still don’t understand. Also, I can notice that she kept falling idea of marriage but she still being single. Therefore, there is an strong question is she strong female? I do surprise that when she became independent that she is single and still have a good job is teacher for 3rd grader. In addition, I think she is more stick with American culture than Polish because American’s famous is marriage while Polish aren’t. I think she made a big mistake for let Jake go because she kept wrote a letter to him, I think she need to have man around her to have a better life and keep her alive.

On The Rain River. By, Tim O'Brien

When I read that story, I don’t blame on him to kept secret to himself for many years because everyone have their own big and dark secret that you don’t want to tell anyone at all. When Tim O’Brien tells a story about how he faced his first real test of courage in June, 1968 when he was drafted to fight in a war he thought was wrong. Or rather, he didn’t understand how it could be right. There were too many questions that the government hadn’t answered to his satisfaction. This war was not right for him. He was too smart, too ambitious, and compassionate. He hated camping and boy scouts. He decided to just wait. When he said that, this make me feel that he won’t survive in war because he hated camping and against war. Also, first sentence of story said this is one story I have never told before. Not to anyone. Not to my parents, not to my brother and sister, not even to my wife, this make me feel that he have some of fear in his heart that he don’t want anyone to know that he is against war, if they found it out then they will turn and against on him? Imagine, I become Tim O’Brien at 1968, I would be scare because I would rather to keep secret to myself, if I decide to tell someone else then they will spread words to others then they decide to turn against me. I have some to admit that I still don’t understand why we have Vietnam War, it was Vietnam’s problem, it’s not America’s problem. One part of the story, he decides that he needs to get moving again, write a letter to his parents asking them not to be mad, cross the river and make his way into Canada then he pulls the boat near Canadian side, O’Brien has to do is jump and swim for it then he decide to take opportunity, its impact me so hard because can you imagine if you really don’t want go to war but you had to fought for himself instead being fear and hide from America. Remember, America is his sweet home and he hide from America, its not make a sense. The tone of that story is amazing.

Bad Influence. By, Judith Ortiz Cofer

When I read that story, summary of that story talk about the girl name is Rita, who like to sneak out to just her boyfriend without parents knowing and had a bad attitude with her family members. My first thought of that story was sneak out from my mother to just see my friends during school week. Even worse, one night, I decide to took my mom’s car key and driving to see my friends, and I don’t have any drive license; I’m doing this because I think its fun and cool to doing that kind of things because this happen to me when I’m young teenager. Imagine, my mother haven’t found it out until last summer, because I didn’t tell her until graduate from high school, so I feel ready to tell my mother about what happen in all of my teenager life that my mother didn’t know about. Once, she found it out about happen, of course, she is really upset because I can get in bad car accident or go to jail even my mother can go to jail for evading child. Therefore, she decide to not let me drive around for one month which during July. In my opinion of that story, I think they doing right things to send Rita to Puerto Rico from New Jersey because she needs to be polished, self-controlled and apprehend what is wrong and right. Right after move to Puerto Rico, she turned a better person and friendly and respectfully to her family members. In addition, I can’t really feel connect with that story because my mother never and never send me to some where else based on my terrible behavior. Also, my mother promise me that she will never and never kick me out from her home, she would do solve the problem. The tone of that story would be amazing because one of little bit can change your life and behavior, its amazing how human change with attitude. I think that title of that story is bad influence is prefect for that story because if you decide to hang out with wrong crowd, they will bad influence you to just fit in their crowd.

Trip in a Summer Dress. By, Annette Sanford

When I read this story, my first response was shock and stupid because I can’t imagine that I called my sister as mother and called my mother as sister. I said that because once I born by my mother then she raise me and I know who is my mother and siblings while Matthew who son of family decide to called mother as sister while sister as mother, I think its really confused him in the future because when you born, most of babies tend to learn by their mothers and act right in the future while in this story, the happening will be Matthew become so immature and play with his friends’ mother instead his friends. The tone of that story is amazing because there many difference ways of how families raise their own children, sometime, there is weird, right way, and many more. In addition, I think it’s the sadness coming out from the narrator because she was doing what she doesn’t want to but thought it was the best for her. When she was on the bus, she was realizing that she was the mother of her own son, Matthew, and she would give her whole heart to him. What bother me the most was the reason of the narrator’s mother was yelling on the phone at the end of the conversation with her daughter. Therefore, she disowns her own daughter? I think if this happen in toady’s society, there will be upset to Americans because they wont like that because its not how they suppose to raise their children in wrong way. Also, they will upset that she shows no responsibilities being parent. I think she isn’t ready to being mother. In addition, my opinion of that mother who act like Matthew’s sister, I strongly disagree with her decide to being sister instead mother because this will confused to Matthew’s future life.

Beautiful and Cruel. By, Sandra Cisneros

When I read this short story, this remind me of A house of my own, its one of short poem in same book, leaving home. A house of my own talk about one woman finally have her own power because she always been pressure by man and boys in all of her life, so its concept same as Beautiful and Cruel talk about one girl who think she is really ugly and accept it. The first sentence of this story said “ I am an ugly daughter. I am the one nobody comes for. This part is impact me so hard because I can see some people who knew that themselves is ugly and don’t tell me that they are ugly while that girl in that story, she admit that she is ugly which mean she accept who she is. Imagine, I become ugly son in the family, I bet that I will be suffer and sad all the time because there are plenty of bully people which I don’t want to deal with it. Other part of the story said “In the movies there is always one with red red lips who is beautiful and cruel. She is the one who drives the men crazy and laughs them all away. Her power is her own. She will not give it away.” This part make me feel that she wrote that story during her young time because in sixty years ago, there full of women pressure by men and society and watch a movie which I love lucky or any shows during in 1950s because most of actress in 1950s, they tend use red lip and show this clear on the television. Other part of the story, “I have begun my own quiet war” This part make me feel that she knew that she is ugly, therefore, she kept it hide from men and careful with men for some reason. The tone of that story is power because author kept use power words and right word choices.

Rules of the Game. By, Amy Tan

When I saw a book title, Rules of the Game, its my first thought was someone must to be in control by someone else by play their rules. Until, I read one paragraph said one morning Waverly has had enough of her mother’s boasting about her and runs away for the rest of the day. When she returns home, her mother and there rest of the family ignore her, as if she didn’t exist. Therefore, my opinion of that paragraph, when her mother being upset that her daughter didn’t take her advice during chess game or whatever then family will follow mother’s emotion and ignore her daughter, I think its not fair for her daughter because its difficult when adult or someone that older than you and they expect you to better than that which you have to reach over your limit and they still want more. Also, I think rules of the game is actually a chapter about the rules of chess, as well as the rules of life, I said that because Amy Tan’s life is all about chess because if she don’t do well with chess games then she will have family difficult just because she didn’t win. In addition, I notice that most of characters in the book are Chinese Americans. I assume that Amy have two mixed countries culture which its lead her to confused with her life and identity between chess and life. She hasn’t identity that who she is because chess take her life over. One part that touchy me, after their fight and Waverly runs away, she eventually returns, and her mother says she will no longer have anything to do with her daughter. Can you imagine that anyone or everyone in your family relative decide to give up on you which mean you don’t have any place to stay or eat the food. Its never happen to me before because my mother wont and never let that happen to me.