Extra Credit

The first reader read a series of poems that he had written that were inspired by western films that he had seen from the 20s and 30s. I thought it was very interesting how he incorporated themes and names from the movies into his poems to create a whole new piece of work.

The second reader wrote a true story about her experiences fostering a Haitian girl needing serious surgery on her legs. She gave a vivid description of the bond she had with the child and about the hardships of communication. I really loved the story because I felt the emotion for her, living with a child that she knew would have to leave to go home in a year.

The third reading was a series of different kind of poems. Many of them were about technology advancements today. I had a hard time following the poems but I think one was talking about how technology was taking over the world and advancing so much right now.

The last reader was probably my favorite. It was a fictional short story about two freshman living in a college dorm and a series of crazy events happen. The diction that the author chose was funny and relatable to freshman in college. The ending was unexpected, which I liked as well. As much as I wanted to stay to hear the rest,  had to go to the library to study at intermission.

The bridegroom

This short story shows the controversay of homosexuality in this society and time period. From the reactions of the people at the police station, homosexuality was not a common issue or well-known topic. One man asked, "What do homosexuals do?" The time period is definitely older because of the reactions, but I am not sure that China is tolerant of homosexuality even today in 2011. The chief of police described homosexuality as, "It's a social disease, like gambling, or prostitution, or syphilis." It is interesting to see that the men in the society are ashamed of being gay, but also meet to be support...and see other gay men. Many of the men had probably covered up their homosexuality by marrying like Baowen. The marriage arrangement was perfect. Beina was ugly and needed someone that would marry her and Baowen needed to marry to cover up the fact that he is gay. The fact that the uncle is even willing to help Baowen is admirable because of how homosexuality is frowned upon in that society.



Vocab
brazen- bold and without shame