My Version Of "Ending Poem"

Ending Poem
by Ogechi Nwaogu and Nicholas Nwaogu

I am what I am.
A child of the Africans.
A fair-skinned Igbo of Aba.
A child of many cultures, born into this state as a family.
I am Nigerian.

I am a Queens New Yorker.
A free-born, community-bred, homegrown Oberete child,
up from my mother, a New York Nigerian Christian.
A product of Abia State.

I am not an immigrant,
but the daughter and granddaughter of many immigrants.
We didn’t know our ancestors names with a certainty.
They aren’t written anywhere.
First names only or enyi, nwa, ada.

I came from the fertile land where food grows.
My people partied when the work was done and enjoyed themselves to the fullest.
I am Nigerian indigene.
Igbo is in my flesh, ripples from my tongue, wiggles in my hips,
the language of papayas and pears.
Igbo. As Igbos come from Eastern Nigeria.
I am West African, rooted in the history of my continent.
I speak from that body. Just black and brown and full of drums inside.

I am African.
Africa waters the roots of my tree and I can return.

I am not American.
I am a root which has sprouted from what my ancestors have grown for me,
and my roots reach into the soil of two continents.
American is in me, but there is a way back.

I am not Australian, though I have dreamt of those cities.
Each voice is different.
Some soft, some slow, some loud and some low.
Australia lives in me but I have no home there.

Your table has a cloth made from my people.

Woven by one, dyed by another, and embroidered by another still.
I am a child of many mothers.
They have kept this culture we celebrate all going.

All the civilizations have been erected upon their backs.
All the joy that has come from their labor.

We are you.
We have lives that keep us going,
that have brought us to where we are.
Born at a crossroads.
Come and endure in the wealth of my peoples generosity. Eat, dear, eat.
History is said to have made us,
But will not eat ourselves up inside any longer.

Because we are whole.

And I am one.

Vocabulary from "Ending Poem"

Mestiza-> a woman of mixed racial ancestry, especially of mixed European and Native American ancestry

Diaspora-> the dispersion of Jews outside of Israel from the sixth century BC, when they were exiled to Babylonia, until the present time

Jibaro-> a rural inhabitant of Puerto Rico

Shtetl-> a small Jewish town or village formerly found throughout Eastern Europe

Forbears-> ancestors

Caribeña-> a person from the Caribbean region

Bóricua-> people of Puerto Rican descent

Notes on the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement

The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement-> 1960s. Problem with restoration of land grants, farm workers rights, enhanced education, voting and political rights. Tejanos (Mexican or Spanish Texans) organized protection for themselves from official land private of discrimination. The movement was strongest in Texas.

"La Raza"-> "The People". Hispanics and Chicanos from the Aztec heritage. Originated from the book La Raza Cósmica written by a Mexican writer Jóse Vasconcelos. People of Mexiacan descent. Camraderie among different oragnizations.

The Young Lords-> Political organization in Chicago. A well-known Chicago street gang. Committed to human rights and the liberation of Puerto Rico. Brought attention to the economic, social, and political conditions in Latino communities. Lost existance do to goernment interference in 1976.

Cesar Chavez-> Mexican American labor activist. Leader of the United Farm Workers. Leading voice of migrant farm workers. Spoke of laborers bad working condition which led to the improvement of such matters.

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales-> Leader of Denver War on Poverty Inc. Organized the Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in Denver, Colorado in March of 1969. Established the La Raza Unida Party of Denver in 1970. Said to have defined Chicano activism, politics, and culture.

La Raza Unid Party-> Called"Party of the United Race" by the Texans and "United People's Party" by the Mexicans. Established on January 17,1970 in Crystal City, Texas by Jóse Angel Gutiérrez and Mario Compean. U.S. third political party.

Reies Lopez Tijerina-> "Tiger King"-> 1960s. Leader of struggle to restore New Mexican land grants to Spanish and Mexican descendants. An image fro the Chicano Movement. Raided Tiera Amarilla courthouse in 1967.

What is rhetoric and how important is it in protest?

Do Now -> Select one of the literary works discussed and analyzed in class and give reasons why this work can be considered the best work that represents protest literature.

Olaudah Equiano can be considered to represent protest literature because the imagery of the tortures that were endured by slaves is expressed effectively. In writing this slave autobiography, Equiano has survived it all to share his story. His willpower and braveness to survive shows why his story is worth listening to.

Letter to Tom O'Brein

Ogechi Nwaogu
116-23 Brookville Delly
Jamaica, Queens
N.Y., 11243

February 13, 2008

Dear O’Brien,

While reading your short story “Ambush” I was extremely impressed by it because it showed how even the strongest individual on the surface can have a daily ecstasy of regret and sorrow.

I liked the way you took what you did and realized it was wrong. That is what makes you a hero in the war in my eyes because others would’ve taken that situation as an initiation to go on a killing spree. You, on the other hand, took that as a sign to start a new life that wouldn’t bring you to feel the pain you felt watching that boy die.

By reading your literature you can already tell how repelled you feel about what you had to do, especially when you said “All I could do was gape at the fact of the young man’s body.” because you couldn’t believe that you were capable of such a thing. You didn’t know that if you hadn’t taken his life, he would’ve taken yours or you would have been seen as a traitor and punished for your hesitation in not acting on command.

You can’t blame yourself for what you were trained to do. You didn’t know if he had a concealed weapon or had an intension of causing painful harm to others. Even at the age of twenty you were too young to make such a decision in the situation that you were put into.

You now have something to tell your daughter when she is old enough. You can tell her that “Daddy made a mistake and has lived with it for more than two decades, but now he wants to be better for you, so you never have to suffer or endure such an unbearable pain.

I can only imagine what it will be like when that day comes that you will have to tell your daughter the truth. Who knows? Maybe, you will fully be released from regret when you tell her what you did and can move on to a better life than what you have had for all those years of regret.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my letter. It is such an honor to know a survivor and hero of a nation which I like to consider myself apart of. You story is an example of true life and heartache and I am glad you decided to share it with me because it gives me the strength to believe that I can be stronger than what I am.

Sincerely,
Ogechi Nwaogu

How can we compare protest literature?

Thematic Focus Journal entry-> What specific images, lines or scene from each work makes these two works anti-war stories.

In "Autumn", the fact that the man regretted knowingly killing an innocent man and lives with it everyday shows a protest against the war. He is too ashamed and worried to tell his daughter what he lives with everyday.

In "Dulce et Decorum Est", you can tell by the way that the author describes and reenacts his memories, that he sincerely regretted a war that he saw had no meaning and took innocent lives.

-----------------------2 Scans(Venn Diagram, Do Now Vocabulary Handout)

How can we use a Graphic Organizer to better identify and compare Equiano’s similarities and differences to Harper’s and Whitfield’s poems?

Do Now-> Compare One of the poems to Equiano’s narrative.

I was reminded of the part when the men jumped from the ship to sacrifice their lives to spare the torture they were enduring when the poet says "My rest shall be calm in any grave".

I noticed how the poet's phrasing simulated Equiano when he said "I would sleep, dear friends, where bloated might can rob no man of his dearest right." They simulate in the way they showed a dedication to their rights.


--------------------3 Scans(Venn Diagram, Ambush, Dulce et Decorum Est)

Olaudah Equiano

Comprehension Check Questions:
For what crimes were slaves punished? And what was the punishment?
Slaves were punished for stealing fish. Their punishment was to be flogged(whipped).

Critical Thinking Questions:
Interpret: Why does Equiano blame the illness aboard the ship on the “improvident avarice” of the traders?
Equiano blames the traders because they overlooked the capacity of people who could stay in such a little space. Their greed pushed them to think that the more people their were on board, the more money that came their way.

Support from the text: How can you tell that Equiano has a great zest for life despite his assertion that he wanted to die?
His willingness to speak out for what he thought was right and waiting for that day of freedom to shine upon him and his fellow people(slaves).

Infer: What does this passage reveal about the author?
Through the way he speaks, you can tell that he is educated and shows pride in what he has accomplshed for himself. He is astonished by everything he saw because he is in a new surroundung. He has a strong sense of character because he went through a lot due to his protest against slavery.

Draw conclusion: Explain what a variety of languages indicates about the slave trade.
Slavery was diverse. It was integrated among different countries.

Thematic Focus: When one culture dominates another, what troubles might society face?
There are clashes in communication through language, culture, religious beliefs and much more that humans find the need to argue and disagree on.

Identify:
-Genre: a style of expressing yourself in writing
Example- Slave literature is an autobiography that expresses the struggles that slaves went through and what they had to endure.

-Symbolism: the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character
Example-"countrymen who were chained together ... somehow made through the nettings and jumped into the sea" They gave up hope of being free

-Imagery: the ability to form mental images of things or events
Example-"so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself"

-Plot: the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story
Example- protest against slavery

-Sequence of events: the order in which things happen
Example-Got on board, went under deck, crowded together, sickness,death, chaos

-Characters: A distinguishing feature or attribute, as of an individual, group, or category
Example-"Every circumstance I met with served only to render my state more painful, and heighten my apprehensions, and my opinion of the cruelty of the whites."
He grew stronger through his determination to show what he could rise above.

-Setting: the surroundings or environment of anything
Example-"we were all put under deck"

-Conflicts (internal/external): opposition between characters or forces in a work of drama or fiction, especially opposition that motivates or shapes the action of the plot
Example-"stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so in tolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us had been permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air", "that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers"
they were suffocated daily by harsh odors.

-Point of View: a mental position from which things are viewed
Example-"But this disappointment was the least of my sorrow." Equiano

Vocabulary:

Loathsome (adj.)- arousing intense dislike and disgust

Pestilential (adj)- likely to cause disease

Copious: (adj)- plentiful; abundant

Improvident (adj)- shortsighted; failing to provide for the future

Avarice (n)- greed for riches

Apprehensions (n)- feeling of anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen; taking of a criminal into custody, the power or ability to grasp the importance, significance or meaning of something

Procured (v)- to obtain something, especially by effort, to provide somebody for prostitution

Dejected (adj)- feeling or showing sadness and lack of hope, especially because of disappointment

Accursed (adj)- enduring the effects of a curse; horrible or hateful

Quadrant (n)- a 90 degree arc representing one fourth of the circumference of a circle. The area bounded by a quadrant and the two perpendicular lines that connect it to the center of the circle.

Kindred (adj)- close to somebody or something else because of similar qualities or interests. Related to somebody by blood. (n) closeness to somebody not related to you by blood based, e.g. on similarity of character or interest. Relationship by blood, or less strictly by marriage

KWL Chart

Do Now-> insert three columns in your journal (KWL Chart).

-----------------3 Scans(KWL graphic oragnizer, Bury Me In Free Land, America)

What is a slave narrative?

Do Now->Explain in one paragraph what you've been taught about slavery in Social Studies.

I have learned that slavery is when people are imprisoned with full disregard to their rights, whether shackled or roaming. Slavery is apart of history because it has surrounded all nations and all people, whether black or white. Anyone could be enslaved. In our present time today, slavery is still ongoing even if it is not labeled so.

Slave Literature = Autobiography for slaves

Who am I?

"I am nobody who are you?"

-Emily Dickinson

I am Ogechi Nwaogu. I am sixteen years old. I am a junior. I love to sing and dance. I strive and look for the best for myself and try to encourage my friends to do the same. I am of Nigerian descent from both of my parents but I was born here in the U.S. I love math. I am sociable when I see deemed necessary. I am the youngest of three. I have an older brother and sister. I have a lot of friends and acquaintances. I have five best friends. I love to have fun, whether acting cooky by myself or hanging out with family or friends. I love life. I like to make the best of the time that I have with no regrets.

Interpreting a quote said by D.H. Lawrence

"I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough' without even having felt sorry for itself."

-D.H. Lawrence

This quote said by D.H. Lawrence interprets self-pity unprejudiced. It can be in someone who is perceived as a "wild thing" or a wild child that seem like that they have nothing to lose or it can be in something as frail and fragile as a small bird who has lost all hope in life. D.H. Lawrence basically states that self-pity can't be judged by what is plainly shown on the surface.

How can we integrate technology is this English course?

Do Now->Write a paragraph on how you think technology should be integrated in an English class. What things would you like to do using technology?

I would like to use technology to interpret our English class by using it to create podcasts. We can make a podcast that can show what we see when we think of English. We can show our interest in how we come to like or dislike English. Either way you do it it's still English because your writing your thoughts.

How prepared are you for college?

I plan to take the SAT in May. I plan to take the SAT 2 in Math. I plan to score for a perfect 4.0 on my GPA. I plan to go to a college that has a very spacious suite dorm. I plan to apply for more scholarships. I plan to finish all my regents and graduate with the class of 2009, with an advanced regents diploma. I plan to apply for grants and Financial Aid. I plan to organize all my past essays that have received high grades and the scholarship programs that I have done. I really haven't thought about what college I will go to. I plan to go to college fairs.

I feel that I am prepared for college because I know the plans I wish to make.