Running Head: Portfolio

John Fisher Portfolio Week 8 Professor B

The fire in Westbury Court left a longing impression on the author Edwidge Danticat. It triggered a series of events that she took notice of after that afternoon on Flatbush Avenue. Danticat lived in a working class, melting pot, neighborhood in Brooklyn. She describes the neighborhood as Un-kept, and run down. She lived in an old unmaintained building that had flakey elevator service and a lack of hot water at times. Despite the living circumstances, the neighbors in Westbury Court were all courteous and friendly to one another. But Danticats story was more than just a description of her home. It shows a life lesson that everyone can relate to or the infamous saying Everyone has something which just means that everyone has something happening in their lives for example. Danticat had the responsibility at fourteen years old to pick up her brothers from school and escort them home, since her parents would not be home until later at night. Until her mother and father returned, they were her responsibility. Across the hall, Danticat talks about an African American mother who recently moved in with her two young children. One day, while Danicat was home watching one of her favorite soap operas, a fire broke out across the hall. The two young children were playing with matches, while there mother left to run to the grocery store. The children died in that fire, and the mother was prosecuted for negligence and child abandonment. Danticat started to think what would have happened if this was her mother that was being prosecuted, and her two brothers dying in a fire. No matter who you are. Every human being has a struggle that they cope with on a daily basis.

Once, the apartment across the hall was torn apart and refurbished. A Haitian family of two blind brothers and their sister moved in. They were all musicians and were part of a group called the Freres Parent. All three siblings were all political activists for their home country, and were based her in America. Further down the hall, lived a cab driver in apartment 6J, one night while he was doing his night shift in Manhattan, he got shot. The reason is unknown, and who did it was even a bigger mystery. It was sudden and shocking to all. Nearby in apartment 6F lived a good friend of Danticats father, who was known for his ritual Sunday afternoon parties. Passed away from cirrhosis of the liver. Across the street from Westbury Court, a murder took place. A Nigerian immigrant was shot and killed. The reason for that was unknown as well. Danicats mother told her that People dont just die out of the blue and that something must have happened for someone to just shoot and kill somebody in the middle of the street, such as an argument, even though Danicat was skeptical of her mothers reasoning behind it. Danicat was skeptical of her mothers reasoning about the Nigerian immigrants death. Her mother believed that someone could not be killed without cause. She believes that something must have triggered the immigrants own death, such as an argument. Meanwhile, her mother is contradicting herself. Down the hall from Danicat, lived the cabdriver who was also killed, and the reason was unknown. Both of these men died of the same exact death. Both were shot and killed, and the reason is unknown. Danicats mother was only accusing one man, the immigrant, for his own death. Meanwhile she did not accuse the cab driver of doing anything wrong that may have resulted in his death.

In the end, all of these points from the story show how everyone is similar and can relate to each other as far as having a full plate and hurtles that they need to jump through in their everyday lives. Yet again, they show how everyone is unique and have different struggles that they cant personally relate, such as a disability like blindness, to a death of your own child, and you being held responsible for it. Every person mentioned in the story has their own unique background and situation. From the African American mother, who lost her children in a fire, to the man who was just doing his shift in Manhattan and got shot unexpectedly? No matter who you are in this world, no matter how rich, or how poor.

Reference Page Danticat, E. (n.d.). Westbury court. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0 CCkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fenglish.basd.k12.wi.us%2Fmocarski%2Fcollegeengl ish%2FWESTBURYCOURT.rtf&ei=xYhiUrqgK8HCywHNnoDYAQ&usg=AFQjCNFy 7xbfGmwRggMd1JrUqF6a7tQUaw

City vs Country John Fisher Professor Barbara Monaghan September 2013 Week 3 Paper 2

What is the difference between the country and the city? There are a lot of differences between them and after reading both essays it is very clear what those differences are. For Danticat and Oates the country and city both have dome similarities, but major differences. First off, in the city, Danticat did not know all of the information about all of the deaths that occurred while she was living on Flatbush Ave. Most of the people mentioned in the story ended up dying, the result of the deaths were unknown and what happened afterwards was a mystery to her. I heard that the childrens mother would be prosecuted for negligence and child abandonment. I couldnt help but wonder,(Westbury Court) When she got older, reality started to set in for her, and Danticat found out that they all died for no reason at all. On the other hand, Danticat had many neighbors that had different situations going on in their lives. She really did not know many of her neighbors very well. She knew most about the people around her and that she had a personal connection with. Danticat did not know what exactly was going on all of the time, but most importantly, why things happened in her neighborhood was her question. Another difference between the country and the city is. Danticat did not know all of the people in her apartment complex. The only people she sort of knew were the People on her floor. She did not know anyone on the floor above or below her apartment unit. She did not even know anyone that may have lived in the building next store. Weather it be another apartment complex, house, or store. Danicat grew up in a working class neighborhood, where people had typical 9-5 jobs to pay bills, with a lot of crime around. For instance, where Danticat lives it is a melting pot neighborhood. There

are Haitians, African Americans, and Latino families. With every different ethnicity, there are also different religions, and beliefs people have. To compare, the country is a small town and Oates knew everything because rumors spread quickly. She knew exactly what was going on at the Weidels because firstly they were not too discrete when it came to certain things. For example, the killing of their dog, Slossie. Mr. Weidel shot Slossie in the defense that she was getting old. The shot did not kill her, but put her in pain and misery. Slossie dragged herself beneath the Wediel house to die. Mr. Weidels Sons drag Slossie out from beneath the house, and he stratlled her and shot her a second time. Joyce was always hearing rumors as to what the Weidel family was up to. The only thing that she did not know is what happened to Mr. Weidel, after the fire, he was arrested and the fate of Weidel was unknown which is what everyone believed. (Oates 1995). Oates only had one close neighbor and only knew of her troubles. In the country Oates knew everyone in town because it was so small. Everyone knew each others name and where they lived. No one had any issues with anyone else because of their peaceful, non-stressful work in the fields. Everyone also shared a common interest of farming. People were able to talk and make conversation with some one who could relate on a topic without feeling left out. In the country it is a quiet, airy feeling. There is never someone disturbing the peace unless something must be terribly wrong. You can also get up in the morning to a quiet, and calm scenery. Everyone is just neighborly. There are a lot of farm animals, and homemade meals, a one-room schoolhouse, and everything that just says Country life. Oatess town is mostly made up of people that have the same beliefs, and practice the same religion. Joyce also refers to some of the people in her town as White trash.

Oates grew up in a working class town as well, but with a low crime rate, not including the Weidels of course. The city it is very loud and claustrophobic. There is somewhat of quiet time during the middle of the night when about half the city is going to sleep. There is traffic and people causing a ruckus outside. Nobody has the time to say hello to each other, because people in the city are always on the go. It does not even seem that they have free time, let alone time for their family. If a misfortune were to happen in the city, such as a fire, No one would reach out the victims in the fire as much as someone would do in the country. In the city, if your home burns down, neighbors most like will grieve for you, and feel bad, but majority of the time, they most likely wont welcome you into there home, because you did not know each other that well enough. In the country, your neighbors would come rushing over to help you and assist in anyway that they possibly can, because there your neighbors, and thats what they do. In the end, The City life and country life are both very different from each other. The spaces in both towns are use differently as well. To expand on that, In the city, there is never a field of corn, being grown by a farmer. Any vacant space being used in the city is most likely used to build a complex, or even sometimes a skyscraper. While in the country, space is used to grow crops of corn, and make bundles of hay. Both have there positive and negative view points. Every person has a preference as to where they would like to settle down and live. Weather it be the quiet, rural countryside. Or the hustling city that never sleeps.

Reference Page Danticat, E. (n.d.). Westbury court. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0 CCkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fenglish.basd.k12.wi.us%2Fmocarski%2Fcollegeengl ish%2FWESTBURYCOURT.rtf&ei=xYhiUrqgK8HCywHNnoDYAQ&usg=AFQjCNFy 7xbfGmwRggMd1JrUqF6a7tQUaw Oates, J. (1995, October). They all just went away. The New Yorker. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1995/10/16/1995_10_16_178_TNY_CARDS_00037 3438

Running Head: The Space John Fisher

The Space of Our Lives Week 4 Paper 3 Professor Barbara Monaghan

What does the word space mean to the average person? Some people say it is where he/she lives. Others say that it is what and whom they are surrounded by. In the three essays, Westbury Court, They all Just Went Away, and Silent Dancing, each author writes about space and I can very well relate to all three stories from previous happenings in my life. Joyce Carol Oates lives in the rural countryside of Millersport, New York, where it is wide open and her neighbors are far enough that you have to travel a little bit before you can get to their houses. In Oatess situation she knew all of her neighbors and had a big house with a lot of space. It was not cramped or anything, they lived comfortably. long since begun to rot and collapse engulfed by vegetation that elsewhere, on our property for instance, was kept neatly trimmed. (Oates, 1995 Pg. 243). She likes living in the country because it is quiet and everything is not so close together like it is in the city. Oates was naturally curious about the surrounding farmhouses of her familys property. I believe that it was a lack of entertainment to Oates that allowed her to be fascinated by the abandoned farms. Oates states in the story, Shall I say for the record that ours was a happy, close knit, and un-extraordinary family for our time, place, and economic status? (Oates, 1995 pg. 243) I can relate to Oates because when I was growing up I lived in a house in Clifton, NJ until I was three years old. After that we moved into a house in Hawthorne, NJ. That was the house I grew up in until I was about fourteen years old. The space in the house was big. It had a backyard that was bigger than any backyard in the neighborhood. I had my own room, and my sister and I got along great. When we made the transition from Clifton to Hawthorne, my sister and I were both curious as to what the new

surroundings were going to be like, and we wanted to explore the new space that we would be living in. On the other hand, Judith Ortiz Cofer had a different life. She lived in Paterson. It was a new style of living because most of their lives they were able to be a loud as they wanted. But in apartment living residents need to show respect and be quieter then you want to be, and they should do the same. The Ortiz family lived in a neighborhood that was in the middle of a major renovation stating in a huge tenement that had once housed Jewish familys but was just being taken over and transformed by Puerto Ricans, overflowing from New York City(Cofer, 2005 pg.1). For some time there was only Jewish culture around and there were apartment buildings with just that race. Later on, apartment buildings were taken over by more ethnicities. Which is how the Ortiz family in the story was able to get there apartment. They described it like being in Puerto Rico because there were familiar aromas and sounds throughout the block filled with people from Puerto Rico. In the story Cofer talks about how she heard her mother yelling at the neighbors about something she did not know about at the time. When she got older she knew the whole story. Her neighbors flushed down a baby that was not ready to be born yet. Then they go on and say, Instead of flushing the baby down a toilet why not put him in a little white casket and bury it (Cofer, 2005 pg.7). I can relate to this experience because my brother who would have been a year older than me did not get to see the light of day, was buried in a little white casket between my great-grandparents. Cofers incident and my late brother situation were both completely different. Cofers cousin was going to give birth to an unwanted child, that was American, and the father of that child

was already married, with children of his own. My parents situation was very different with my brother. He was a child that was already loved, and not even born yet. Another writer, Edwidge Danticat, like Judith Cofer lived in the city. It was really cramped and not too many people knew each other. She lived by neighbors that she barely knew and it was a small apartment. The apartment building was run down with graffiti on the side of the building, and trash piled up in the dumpsters. They had two television sets so they were doing very well for themselves. Danticat would watch TV in the living room and her two brothers would watch TV in the other room in the back of the apartment. Towards the end of the story she also describes that she is no longer living in Westbury Court but now she lives in a house. She is very comfortable and says that she visits the old town once in a while but she will never dream of living there again in such a cramped environment. I can relate to both Danticat and Cofer because their situations are a little similar. When I was thirteen years old, I found out that we had to move out of our house and move to an apartment in Paterson, NJ. My sister and I lived with my father. It was our first time living in an apartment and we had to learn quickly to keep quiet when my dad said so or we would have gotten in trouble with the neighbors. To add to that, we were not even allowed to play outside, It was not that bad of a neighborhood but my dad just wanted to make sure we did not get into trouble or hurt ourselves. After that we moved into our current apartment in Hawthorne NJ, it is a way better neighborhood then Paterson, though it is still very cramped and I even had to continue to share a room with my sister. We had to learn how to deal with it or kill each

other trying. The apartments are right next to each other, making us feeling like at times that we are sitting right next to our neighbors through the thin walls. As the reader can see I can relate to all three stories because I lived all of them to a certain extent. My life in the apartments reminded me of Danicats story about living in the city. The country life Oates described reminds me of the time I spent in my old house. Then the story Cofers story reminded me of the brief time I spent in Paterson with my dad and sister. Every move in my life was an exciting new chapter in my life, though I do wish I was able to see my brother but will have to wait some time before I can.

Reference Page Danticat, E. (n.d.). Westbury court. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0 CCkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fenglish.basd.k12.wi.us%2Fmocarski%2Fcollegeengl ish%2FWESTBURYCOURT.rtf&ei=xYhiUrqgK8HCywHNnoDYAQ&usg=AFQjCNFy 7xbfGmwRggMd1JrUqF6a7tQUaw Oates, J. (1995, October). They all just went away. The New Yorker. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1995/10/16/1995_10_16_178_TNY_CARDS_00037 3438 Ortiz Cofer, J. (n.d.). Silent dancing. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www2.hawaii.edu/~facoba/readings/cofer.htm

Running head: Identity

John Fisher Identity to Me Week 6 Paper 4 Professor Barbara Monaghan

What is Identity? Identity defines who you are as a person. It defines your purpose, and passion in life. An identity can also never be taken away from you. It is who you are and no one can change that. Everyone in the world has their own individual and unique personality that makes them one of a kind; and sometimes a one in a million person, that you will only meet once in a lifetime. Your identity makes you stand out from everyone standing around you, because everyone in this world in some way is different. The Cofer familys identity was one of a kind. When they came to this country and moved to Paterson, NJ, they were not like the other families. Cofer was given strict orders in her house. Her FATHER SCOLDED HER TELLING HER Keep the doors locked, the noise down, ourselves to ourselves. (Cofer, 2005, pg. 2). Cofers father was in the United States Navy. He was placed to work in a shipyard in Brooklyn. Since Cofers father worked all week, and only came home on the weekends to see his family, they had the luxury to own their own television set in the building. Out supreme luxury in El Building was having our own television set. It must have been a result of Father s guilt feelings over the isolation he had imposed on us (Cofer, 2005, pg. 4). Cofers mother was also not allowed to go outside too often. She was only allowed to go to the bodega in the neighborhood, which reminded her of her country. Cofer stated in the story Father preferred that we do out grocery shopping at the supermarket when he came home on weekend leaves (Cofer, 2005, pg. 3). Identity also relates to the Weidel family, in the reading They all just went away. The Weidels have a unique story. Mr.Weidel was mainly known for abusing his family, and Oates wondered often why Mrs. Weidel didnt leave him. Oates stated, Why did

she marry him? Just desperate people. Ignorant. Poor white trash. (Oates, 1995, pg. 245). Mr. Weidel eventually tried to kill the family by burning down his own home, while everyone was still in it. Oates stated, It was said the Mr.Weidel fled as a fugitive but was captured and arrested the next day (Oates, 1995, pg. 249). After the fire, the family was split up, and the family members were scattered. In the end, we all have different identities. Along with those identitys come stories of our past, and our troubles getting to where we are standing in the moment. The Cofer family had struggles to get to where they were going, and made it to the United States. The Weidel family was split up after the fire. But maybe a fire is just what it took, for the family to get out of harms way from Mr.Weidel. So they would never have to worry about being abused by him ever again. What did struggles did you have to get where you are today?

Reference Page Oates, J. (1995, October). They all just went away. The New Yorker. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1995/10/16/1995_10_16_178_TNY_CARDS_00037 3438 Ortiz Cofer, J. (n.d.). Silent dancing. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www2.hawaii.edu/~facoba/readings/cofer.htm

Running Head: The Classes

John Fisher Professor B. Week 7 The Classes

Why do people want more than they can afford? In my opinion the reason why people do this is because it shows a false sense of success in their life. Most people only buy a house the size of a mansion because they want to show people that they are not on the lower class side. For some reason this is really important to people in this society. In the essays The Mansion, and Westbury Court, they give us a little taste of what class they are in. Before I talk about the essays I wants to talk about how people class themselves. Most of the people class themselves by either how much money they have or by how big their house is. Class is also set by opinion as well. Someone who does not have a house or anything to their name can be considered lower class, someone with a mansion and all the money in the world can be named upper class. Someone who is comfortable and does not have any worries is considered middle class. I do think that your house is a status symbol because these days people judge you buy your house. Opinions also matter in the ranking of the classes, for example someone can have all the money in the world and say that they are middle class because that is the way they feel. They can also say that they are upper class if they are comfortable with their money as well. In the essay The Mansion Lewis talks about how he falls in the category of upper middle class. Stating Upper middle class: Thats how Ive always t hought of myself. (Lewis, 2008, pg.1) The reason he says this is because he does not want people to think that he is rich, but living a comfortable lifestyle. When people know that you are upper class they all want money, a favor, or they want to get an investment from the person that is rich and has money to gamble with. This is why the author said

he was upper middle class all the time. In my opinion there is only the three classes, lower, middle, and upper. He mentions in the story that there is too much space and he did not have enough stuff to fill some of the rooms: there is a closet in the bedroom that was carved there in my sleep and it was empty. I had to fill it with something (The Mansion Pg. 4). I have seen people buy a big house with so much space that they cannot fill it with all of the stuff that they have. Most of the time they just close the doors to empty rooms they do not use and collect dust until someone finds a use for it. Some upper class people buy huge mansions and have nothing to fill them with. So to fill in the emptiness, they spend more money trying to make it comfortable to live in. In the process they are trying to create a comfortable environment, which they could have gotten easily if they got an appropriate sized house to fit their needs. In the essay Westbury Court by Edwidge Danicat, Danicats family could be considered lower class. In the story, she describes the apartment building as un-kept, noisy, and run down. Danicat states Beneath the building ran a subway station through which rattled the D, M, and Q trains (Danicat, 1995, pg. 1). She also states graffiti on most of the walls of Westbury Court, and hills of trash piled up outside, and though the elevator wasnt always there when we opened the door to step inside and the heat and hot water werent always turned on (Danicat, 1995, pg.1). When Danicat describes this in the story it gives you an image of a lower class neighborhood. With crime on the streets, and no care into the community they live in. Lower class people tend to live paycheck by paycheck, and just about making ends meet every month to

pay their bills, and have enough food for their family. Lower class people are sometimes the people that work the hardest for their family. The majority of them have multiple jobs paying minimum wage. They do everything and anything to just get through their problems. I would consider myself as lower middle class only because my mom has a decease called fibromyalgia (where it hurts all the time and you cannot really do anything.) when I get older I will make sure I am either middle class or upper class. For my final thoughts I still do not think that there is an upper middle class. Lower class people do work harder than upper class people because they are just trying to get by and support their family, as upper class people do work hard for their money but then once they have enough most of them stop working. Lewis did not have to rent the mansion, or have to spend all that money on the mansion. He could have just stayed where he was and had a great life.

Reference Page Danticat, E. (n.d.). Westbury court. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0 CCkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fenglish.basd.k12.wi.us%2Fmocarski%2Fcollegeengl ish%2FWESTBURYCOURT.rtf&ei=xYhiUrqgK8HCywHNnoDYAQ&usg=AFQjCNFy 7xbfGmwRggMd1JrUqF6a7tQUaw Sedaris, D. (2007, July 9). This old house. The New Yorker. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/07/09/070709fa_fact_sedaris

Reflection
I feel that I have learned more about writing then I have ever done before. Even though I needed help with all of my essays I wrote all of them by myself and then I had someone check it and make corrections for me and then send it in and have the professor fix it even more. I am very proud of what I have done in this class and not to sound mean but I am so happy I do not have to take it a third time. If I pass this class with a B I will be off academic probation for good. I also had fun on either week three or four when we had that argument for about two hours.