At one point in your life you probably created a huge problem for yourself. However‚ you most likely did not solve that problem without seeking help. “La Bamba” written by Gary Soto is a rare case. The story features a boy named Manuel who decides to sing in his school’s talent show. Unfortunately‚ during his moment the record sticks to one verse and Manuel is forced to sing along. The performance was embarrassing‚ but he became popular. This story shows how one character archetype can solve a problem
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“Looking for Work” by Gary Soto One July‚ while killing ants on the kitchen sink with a rolled newspaper‚ I had a nine-year-old’s vision of wealth that would save us from ourselves. For weeks I had drunk Kool-Aid and watched morning reruns of Father Knows Best‚ whose family was so uncomplicated in its routine that I very much wanted to imitate it. The first step was to get my brother and sister to wear shoes at dinner. “Come on‚ Rick – come on‚ Deb‚” I whined. But Rick mimicked me and the same
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In both poems “Oranges” and “Fair Trade” by Gary Soto‚ the author explores the recurring theme of compassion and pride. Both poems have several ways to show the theme. The poem “Oranges” is about young love and knowing how it once felt. At the beginning of the poem‚ I get the sense that the boy is a little apprehensive in meeting his girl as he states‚ “Cold and weighted down / with two oranges in my jacket.” Certainly two oranges aren’t going to weigh anyone down‚ therefore the image described must
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Yet we never did make that connection. Instead we found it best to try and act as though we knew what a functional family was as though we were doing a bad game of Simon Says. As Gary Soto recalls from his childhood‚ “I tried to convince them that if we improved the way we looked we might get along better in life” (Soto‚ 29). That was the way my fake family was. We knew the meaning of values‚ but in reality we did not put them into practice‚ whether it be out of laziness or simple antagonism for
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Taking Sides Discussion Points Assignment: Issue #18 Should Female Circumcision be Banned? Summary: The main issue being discussed in the Taking Sides article is that of whether or not it would be right for anthropologists to work to eliminate the practice of female circumcision. This culturally debatable topic was discussed by professor of the history and philosophy of science Merrilee H. Salmon and Professor of anthropology Elliot P. Skinner; Both taking on very different sides in their discussion
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For The Love Of The Game The poem‚ "Black Hair by Gary Soto describes a boy who had and probably still has a love and passion for baseball. Many images throughout this poem support this fact. For example‚ "In the bleachers I was brilliant with my body‚ waving players in and stomping my feet‚" "His crouch the one I assumed before an alter of worn baseball cards in my room‚" and " in my mind I rounded the bases with him‚ my face flared‚ my hair lifting/Beautifully‚" show how much he loves the
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Gary Soto’s "A Red Palm" 2004 When a person hears the title "A Red Palm" there are many things that come to mind. One could either think of a red palm tree‚ or more realistically‚ the strained palm of ones hand. After just reading through this poem a person feels as if they begin to know the man who is spoken about. One can relate to him because most Americans work very hard for a living. Similarly‚ most Americans do not work hard because they enjoy it‚ but work hard because they feel the need
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Gary Soto’s reflections on his childhood efforts of improving his working-class family are humorous and entertaining‚ yet show the flaws in the era of the family. Fueled by TV shows such as Leave it to Beaver‚ young Gary wanted to make his Mexican-American household more like the idealistic “nuclear families” that he seen on television. However‚ achieving that appealing lifestyle of the white middle-class families proved to be very difficult; especially for families like Soto’s‚ who didn’t fit that
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Gary Larson is the creator of the enormously popular cartoon The Far Side. The cartoons unique style and creative style has helped it to become one of the most recognizable and popular cartoons of all time. Gary Larson was born August 14th 1950 in University Place‚ Washington (near Tacoma‚ WA) to Verne and Doris Larson. As a child he enjoyed drawing and biology as well as playing the guitar. He graduated from Curtis Senior High School and then attended Washington State University where he earned
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Have you ever wanted to be good at something‚ but you couldn’t figure out how and you just wanted to quit?This is how Lupe Medrano felt in the story “Marble Champ” by Gary Soto.Lupe is good at everything‚chess‚spelling bees straight A’s‚perfect attendance‚and she even has her own shelf in her room built for all of her awards that she had won.The only things she had never won at were sports.She tried to beg her body to run as fast as the other girls‚but she could never do it.Then one day she wanted
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