Portrayal Of Mexican American Heritage Film Studies Essay

Portrayal Of Mexican American Heritage Film Studies Essay There are many names that are often used to depict one of Mexican American heritage. Most Americans are familiar the use of such names as Chicanos and Cholos to name a few. But what do you often think of when you hear the terms being used? In this paper I will address the negative views that seem to be brought with these terms and the undeniable impact that the filming industry has had on these said associations. On the television a promotion comes on to entice you to go see the blockbuster movie of the month. The film is said to portray a loving Hispanic family that has just lost their daughter in a tragic accident. The television suddenly shuts off before you have a chance to see the rest of the advertisement for the movie. You start to predict the main plot of the movie yourself. Since the movie is about a Hispanic family, it is probably filmed in a rundown part of town with graffiti and abandoned buildings everywhere. Their daughter has more than likely been the victim of a stray bullet from a drive by shooting that was initiated over a gang fight or drugs. These types of views are not uncommon among most in America. The depiction of Hispanic characters in the past has usually been portrayed as criminal, greasy, and unintelligent. Directors and writers often put their prejudices into the work that they create and that in turn has created a world on screen of cultural stereotypes. Many actors are pushed to speak with certain accents and at times even their skin is made darker for effect. Women are usually cast to play roles as housemaids or an extremely sexual individual. Men often play the role of a mobster, landscaper, or extremely aggressive drunk person. The size of a typical Mexican family on film is often massive, with many children. Throughout U.S. history, Mexican Americans have, and continue to, endure various types of negative stereotypes which have long circulated in cinema. Silent films of the mid 1920s led to a few opportunities for Hispanics. Most of the early filmmakers were European immigrants and did not originally have the racial attitudes of Americans. Latinos were able to be actors and directors in Hollywood. The first Charlie Chaplin movies cameraman was from Mexico. There was no language barrier to contend with in the silent films either and were not subject to English-only prejudice. The Latin Lover, played by an Italian actor Ruben Valentino in early years, created an image that Latinos were much more passionate and sexual in comparison to Whites. By the end of the 1920s, however, European filmmakers had adopted U.S. racial values. They began excluding Latinos from the industry except when they were needed in front of the cameras. There they would generally play the stereotypical roles. The Latin Lover image often still exists today. With this Latin Lover image in the 1920s many Latinos were given leading roles. This also developed an image of Hispanic men as gigolos or Hispanic women as vamps in the mind of moviegoers. Spanish-language films were produced for the years between 1928 and 1939. They soon found that audiences only wanted to see the original stars of the film and decided to stop. This gave way to opportunities for Latino to star and participate as the image of the Latin Lover had diminished. Actors would generally change their names, hid their identities to be passed as white, or take stereotypical roles. Dark-skinned Latinos were confined to play negative roles or not work at all. One of Hollywoods and Mexicos biggest film stars during the 1920s and 1930s was Dolores Del Rio. Being dark-skinned, the studios would lighten her up. She was very proud of her heritage and declined roles that would put down her culture. She had refused to be branded by the studios as Spanish and insisted in being recognized as Mexican. Unfortunately, every time she turned down a character there was another actress willing play the demeaning role. Lupe Velez, known as the Mexican Spitfire, believed they would eventually return to more meaningful roles. After the 1930s, most Latinos who rose in popularity did so by hiding their identities using Anglo names. In later decades actors such as and Martin Sheen changed their names to avoid Hollywood typecasting. Raquel Welch was born Jo Raquel Tejada. Martin Sheen had his name changed from Ramon Estevez. The few leading Hispanic roles in films were often cast with White actors and this practice still continues today. For example, Marlon Brando played Emiliano Zapata in Viva Zapata! (1952). Natalie Woods stared in West Side Story (1961) as a young Puerto Rican woman. New opportunities arose in the Good Neighbor films of the 1940s although they were commonly minor Latin Lover roles and were often back-up to a white American lead. Latin Americans with musical abilities were brought in to perform in musical numbers. Among the most successful were Desi Arnaz and Carmen Miranda. Carmen Miranda was a singer-actress born in Portugal. She was known for her exaggerated costumes and style of performance. They each came to symbolize the comic, tropical Latino, a stereotype that is widely known today. Actor Cheech Marin is one of Hollywoods most recognizable Hispanic stars. He was the other half of the comedy team Cheech and Chong, opposite Tommy Chong, in the 1970s. The team was often criticized by some in the Latino community for their portrayals with negative stereotypes, even though they were hugely popular at the box office. Cheech portrayed a low-rider who spoke Calo and wore clothes looking similar to a Zoot Suit with a wallet chain. His Chicano character was heavily into smoking marijuana. Marin went on to write, direct, and star in Born in East L.A which is a film about a third-generation Hispanic American who accidentally becomes mistaken as an illegal immigrant from Mexico and is deported. Unfortunately, he neither speaks nor understands Spanish. Stereotypes often come into play throughout the entire movie such as when the main character teaches some locals how to act like a vato. That same year he appeared in From Dusk till Dawn, a horror film written by Quentin Tarati no. In the movie Marin plays three different roles. He is a border official, doorman for a strip club, and criminal contact for the villains of the movie. On a side note, Selma Hayek is cast in the movie as Santanico Pandemonium who is the vampire princess and main attraction at the strip club, thus further enforcing the belief of the sexual vamp. The referenced Cheech movies and its characters show typical stereotypes of Hispanics as criminals and unintelligent druggies. Marin did an interview in which he claimed he was often persuaded into being more cholo with this character in order for it to sell better. One cannot contemplate he impacts of famous Hispanic actors without thinking of Edward James Olmos. Olmos got his first big break in the production of Zoot Suit in 1978, which was a musical based on the famous Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles in 1942. He was cast as the narrator El Pachuco and, more or less, the films master of ceremonies. He is the main characters demonic, zoot-suited alter ego. Olmoss character seems to represents the fury inside this main character and the remains of his machismo. Unfortunately, though the movie and play try to make a point of obvious racism against Hispanics, it also plays into the common stereotypes instead of against them. The Calo words pachuco, vato, simon, and chale are said way above the normal usage for anyone. In the film Stand and Deliver, which was based on a true story, Olmos portrayed teacher Jaime Escalanet who will do anything to teach his Hispanic students the complicated mathematics of Calculus. The movie is very close to the actual real life story of the Garfield High students experience with Mr. Escalante. However, I believe that the Hispanic stereotypes used were a bit over indulged and exaggerated for the sake of the movie in order to make it more appealing. Lou Diamond Phillips has starred in many pictures where he was cast in the stereotypical Hispanic roles. He was a co-star alongside Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver where he played Angel Guzman, a young troubled gang member. One of his most memorable roles was his portrayal of the life and death of singer Ritchie Valens in La Bamba. He also portrayed a young outlaw named Jose Chavez Y Chavez in Young Guns and Young Guns II. Chavez y Chavez was a member of the Regulators where he met Billy the Kid and soon joined his group of wanted outlaws. While the films mentioned are based on real life accounts, they serve as prime examples of the Hispanic stereotype. To add to the writing for the movie, directors had the actors embellish certain Mexican traits within these characters to make them stand out more in order to entertain the viewer. In contrast, we can look at another famous actor Emilio Estevez. Because of his blonde hair and blue eyes he has been cast in many mainstream pictures. Unlike his brother and father, who are both great actors in their own right, Emilio decided to take on his surname of Estevez. In 1958, Emilios father was forced to change his name for the movie industry. He didnt look Hispanic but to have a Hispanic or Latino last name was not popular. The same could be said when Emilio started his acting career. He battled with his father about whether to use the name Sheen over Estevez. His father had persuaded him to keep his name; partially due to the regret he had for deciding to change his. While he held on to the surname of Estevez, Emilio has done everything but a Hispanic character on screen. In the movie Young Guns he was cast as Billy the Kid, with the Mexican role of Jose Chavez y Chavez being played by Lou Diamond Phillips. He has avoided any Latino roles altogether, thus avoiding the po ssibility of any stereotypes involved. The cult classic Scarface was about a greasy immigrant named Tony Montana who became a Cuban/Latino drug lord. While he is a disgraceful character, many Latinos love to claim him as their own. It portrays on the big screen the label of Latinos as gun toting, drug running killers. It further adds to the impression of having a White woman as their own being a symbol of an achieved higher status. Hollywood will continue to represent Latinos in this way as long as the audience applauds it. Children learn stereotypes and attitudes about race from their parents, caretakers and the world around them. The Disney studios have long been a culprit of putting cultural stereotypes on the screen. The original Speedy cartoons had many stereotypes and unflattering characterizations of Mexicans. Speedy Gonzales is a stereotypical poor Mexican mouse with a highly exaggerated accent that could run very fast. This was in comparison to his sluggish, continually lazy friends who were also shown as drinkers in the earlier versions of the cartoon. For example, there was his cousin Eslow Poke Rodriguez. The animated movie Oliver and Company had a Latino Chihuahua named Alonzo that is typecast as a troublemaker who at one point in the film talks about stealing cars. In yet another Disney film, A Bugs Life, the grasshoppers are presented as being tough, rowdy, and uncivilized and are always ready to start a fight. In one particular scene the grasshoppers are relaxing and drinking alcohol. Th ey are in a southern environment ordering Mexican drinks and dancing to Hispanic music. This correlation reinforces the cultural classifications by associating Hispanic culture with drunken and rowdy celebrations Hollywood has a long and continued history of racial insensitivity. Stereotypes could be considered its stock in trade. It is always going to exploit the stereotypes of Hispanic culture in order to appeal to the hostility others may have towards them. For the sake of the film industry and sales, directors are always going to tell Hispanic actors to speak with exaggerated accents and have overstated mannerisms. There is always going to be the Latina maid or the sexy Hispanic landscaper ready and willing to perform their employers every fantasy. The Latin housekeeper is going to be either the truth-teller or the fantasy wife in comedies about an American household. Actress Lupe Ontiveros has been cast in film as a maid over 150 times. That is definitely a perfect example of type casting strictly because of her ethnic background. In conclusion, stereotypes are just a simple, one-dimensional portrayal of people. Usually they are based on sex, race, religion, profession or age. As we try to make sense of the world, we have all been guilty of stereotyping people to some degree.  Filmmakers will continue to rely heavily on stereotypes. They are a quick, simple way to establish the traits of the characters in the movie. For example, Blonde women are dumb, Teenagers are sex-crazed, foreigners are villains, Mexicans are lazy, and Blacks are natural born athletes. While the film industry of today may be more sensitive to issues of culture than it once was, many movies still keep alive common false impressions about groups of people. Such oversimplified and inaccurate portrayals have a profound effect on how we perceive one another. It also has an effect on how we relate to one another and how we value ourselves.

Disater Management Essay

Disaster Resistant Construction Practices Introduction Disaster Resistant construction practices are as important as disaster resistant structrual designs. Infact the methodology for construction also should be designed for disaster resistance. We should have proper implemenation of the structural details so as to let the structure behave as envisiged. The quality and methodology of construction is equally important. For example we use cover blocks. If the cover blocks are not cast properly in good quality concrete then they facilitate concrete deterioration. Ultimately this affects durability and serviceablity of the structure. The Durability and serviceablity are the key elements of any structure. Ensuring Quality in construction will enable achieving durability and serviceablity as a desired end result. Openings too close to corners Too high and long walls Use of Cut Lintels Usually a building comprises of: 1. Walls 2. Openings 3. Foundation 4. Plinth 5. Beams/Columns 6. Roof / Slabs Deficient Bond at corners Parts of a Building Differential settlement due to soft soil.

Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 29~31

29 Safe in the Hands of Medicine â€Å"How are you feeling today?† Sebastian Curtis pulled the sheet down to Tuck's knees and lifted the pilot's hospital gown. Tucker flinched when the doctor touched the catheter. â€Å"Better,† Tuck said. â€Å"That thing is itching, though.† â€Å"It's healing.† The doctor palpated the lymph nodes in Tucker's crotch. His hands were cold and Tuck shivered at the touch. â€Å"The infection is subsiding. This happened to you in the plane crash?† â€Å"I fell back on some levers while I was trying to get a passenger out of the plane.† â€Å"The hooker?† The doctor didn't look up from his work. Tuck wanted to throw the sheets over his head and hide. Instead, he said, â€Å"I don't suppose it would make a difference if I said I didn't know she was a hooker.† Sebastian Curtis looked up and smiled; his eyes were light gray flecked with orange. With his gray hair and tropical tan, he could have been a re-tired general, Rommel maybe. â€Å"I'm not really concerned with what the woman was doing there. What does concern me is that you had been drinking. We can't have that here, Mr. Case. You may have to fly on a moment's notice, so you won't be able to drink or indulge in any other chemical diversions. I assume that won't pose a problem.† â€Å"No. None,† Tuck said, but he felt like he'd been hit with a bag of sand. He'd been craving a drink since he'd regained consciousness. â€Å"By the way, Doc, since we're going to be doing business together, maybe you should call me Tucker.† â€Å"Tucker it is,† Curtis said. â€Å"And you can call me Dr. Curtis.† He smiled again. â€Å"Swell. And your wife's name is?† â€Å"Mrs. Curtis.† â€Å"Of course.† The doctor finished his examination and pulled the sheet back up to Tuck's waist. â€Å"You should be on your feet in a few days. We'll move you to your bungalow this afternoon. I think you'll find everything you need there, but if you do need anything, please let us know.† A gin and tonic, Tuck thought. â€Å"I'd like to find out what happened to the guy who was piloting my boat.† â€Å"As I told you, the islanders found you and a few pieces of your boat.† There was a finality in his voice that made it clear that he didn't want to talk about Kimi or the boat. Tuck pressed on. Respect for authority had never been his long suit. â€Å"I guess I'll ask around when I get out of here. Maybe he washed up on a different part of the island. I remember being hung in a tree with him by an old cannibal.† Tuck saw a frown cross the doctor's face like a fleeting shadow, then the professional smile was back. â€Å"Mr. Case, there haven't been any cannibals in these islands for a hundred years. Besides, I will have to ask you to stay inside the compound while you are here. You'll have access to beaches and there's plenty of room to roam, but you won't be having any contact with the islanders.† â€Å"Why, I mean if they saved me?† â€Å"The Shark People have a very closed society. We try not to intrude on that any more than is necessary for us to do our work.† â€Å"The Shark People? Why the Shark People?† â€Å"I'll explain it all to you when you are feeling better. Right now you need to rest.† The doctor took a syringe from a metal drawer by the wall and filled it from a vial of clear fluid, then injected it into Tuck's IV. â€Å"When do you think you'll be ready to fly?† Tuck felt as if a veil of gauze had been thrown over his mind. Everything in the room went soft and fuzzy. â€Å"Not real soon if you keep giving me that stuff. Wow, what was that? Hey, you're a doctor. Do you think we taste like Spam?† He was going to ask another question, but somehow it didn't seem to matter anymore. The Sorcerer stormed into the Sky Priestess's bungalow, stripped off his lab coat, and threw it into the corner. He went to the open kitchen, ripped open the freezer, pulled out a frosty fifth of Absolut, and poured a triple shot into a water glass that froze and steamed like dry ice in the humidity. â€Å"Malink lied,† he said. Then he tossed back half the glass and grabbed his temples when the cold hit his brain. The Sky Priestess looked up from her magazine. â€Å"A little stressed, darling?† She was lying out on the lanai, naked except for a wide-brimmed straw hat, her white skin shining in the sun like pearl. The Sorcerer joined her and fell onto a chaise lounge, a hand still clamped on his temples. â€Å"Case says there was another man with him on the island. He said an old cannibal hung them in a tree.† â€Å"I heard him,† the Sky Priestess said. â€Å"He's delirious?† â€Å"I don't think so. I think Malink lied. That they found the boat pilot and didn't tell us.† She moved next to him on the chaise lounge and pried the glass of vodka out of his hand. â€Å"So send the ninjas on a search mission. You're paying them. They might as well do something.† â€Å"That's not an option and you know it.† â€Å"Well, then go yourself. Or call Malink on it. Tell him that you know there was another man and you want him brought here chop-chop.† â€Å"I think we're losing them, Beth. Malink wouldn't have dared lie to me a month ago. It's that dream. He dreams that Vincent is sending them a pilot, then you tell him it's not true, then a pilot washes up on the reef.† The Sky Priestess drained the glass of vodka and handed it back to him empty. â€Å"Yeah, nothing fucks up a good religion like the intervention of a real god.† â€Å"I wish you wouldn't talk that way.† â€Å"So what are you going to do, after you get a refill, I mean?† The Sorcerer looked up at her as if noticing her for the first time. â€Å"Beth, what are you doing out here? The Priestess of the Sky does not have a tan.† She reached under the chaise lounge and came up with a plastic bottle of lotion. â€Å"SPF 90. Relax, ‘Bastian, this stuff would keep me creamy white in a nuclear flare. You want to rub some on me?† She pushed her hat back on her head so he could see the predator seriousness in her eyes. â€Å"Beth, please. I'm on the cusp of a crisis here.† â€Å"It's not a crisis. It's obvious why the Shark People are getting restless.† â€Å"It is?† â€Å"No one has been chosen in over two months, ‘Bastian.† He shook his head. â€Å"Case isn't ready to fly.† â€Å"Well, get him ready.† 30 Fashion Statements Kimi sat under a coconut palm outside of the bachelors' house sulking. His flowered dress was gone and he wore a blue thu, the long saronglike loin-cloth worn by the Shark men. Gone too was his blond wig, his high heels, and his best friend, Roberto, who he had not seen since the cannibal tree. Now it looked as if he had no place to sleep. Sepie had thrown him out. Sepie came out of the bachelors' house wearing Kimi's floral dress and glared at him. She paused on the coral pathway. â€Å"I am not a monkey,† she said. Then she picked up a stone from the path and hurled it at him, barely missing his head. Kimi scuffled to the leeward side of the tree and peeked around. â€Å"I didn't say you were a monkey. I said that if you didn't shave your legs, you would soon look like a monkey.† A rock whizzed by his face so close he could feel the wind of it. She was getting more accurate with each throw. â€Å"You know nothing,† she said. â€Å"You are just a girl-man.† Kimi dug a stone from the sand at his feet and hurled it at her, but his heart wasn't in it and it missed her by five feet. In English he said, â€Å"You just a poxy oar with a big mouth.† He hoped this verbal missile hit closer to home. They were the last words of Malcolme, Kimi's pimp back in Ma-nila. In retrospect, Malcolme's mistake had been one of memory. He had forgotten that the overly made-up little girl standing in front of him with a machete was, in fact, a wiry young man with the anger of hundreds of beatings burning in his memory. â€Å"I no have the pox,† Kimi said to Malcolme, whose look of surprise remained fixed even as his head rolled into the corner of the hotel room, where a rat darted out and gently licked his shortened neck. â€Å"I no have the pox,† Sepie said in English, punctuating her statement with a thrown lump of coral. â€Å"I know,† Kimi said. â€Å"I'm sorry I say that.† He skulked off down the beach. Sepie stood outside the bachelors' house watching him, totally disarmed. No man had ever apologized to her before. Kimi hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. Sometimes it takes a thick skin to trade beauty tips with a girlfriend. Sepie was naturally pretty, but she didn't understand fashion. Why bother to put on a pretty dress if you're going to have monkey legs and tufts of hair hanging out from under your arms making it look like bats hanging there? Bats. Kimi missed Roberto. The Shark men wouldn't talk to him, the women ignored him, except for Sepie, who was angry at him now, and even Tucker had been taken away to the other side of the island. Kimi was lonely. And as he walked down the beach, past the children playing with a trained frigate bird, past the men lounging in the shade of an empty boathouse, his loneliness turned to anger. He turned up the beach and took a path into the village to look for a weapon. It was time to go see the old cannibal. Outside each of the houses, near the cook sheds, stood an iron spike – a pick head that was driven into the ground and used to husk coconuts. Kimi stopped at one house and yanked on the spike, but it wouldn't budge. He moved between the houses, vacant now in the early morning, the women working in the taro field, the men lounging in various patches of shade. He peeked into a cook shed, and there, by the pot that held the crust of this morning's rice, he found a long chef's knife. He looked around to make sure that no one was watching, then bolted into the shed and snatched the knife, fitting it into his thu so that only the handle protruded at the small of his back. Ten minutes later he was hiding in a patch of giant ferns, watching the old cannibal roll coconut husk fibers into rope on his leathery old thighs. He sat with his back against a palm tree, his legs straight out in front of him, pulling the fibers that had been soaked and separated out of a basket and measuring by feel the right amount to add to the coil of cord that was building on the ground beside him. From time to time he stopped and took a drink from a jar of milky liquid that Kimi was sure was alcoholic tuba. Good, he was drunk. Kimi moved slowly around the house, staying in the undergrowth of ferns and elephant ears, careful not to kick up any of the coral gravel that rang like broken glass if you didn't place your feet carefully. Once he was behind the old man, he drew the knife from the small of his back and moved forward to kill that man who had eaten his friend. From the window of his new quarters Tucker Case watched the Japanese guards move through the compound carrying palm fronds and broken branches, detritus of the typhoon, which they piled in an open space at the side of the hangar to dry in the sun. They were dressed like a police SWAT team, in black coveralls with baseball caps and paratrooper boots, and if he squinted, they looked like giant worker ants cleaning out the nest. From time to time one of the guards would look toward his bungalow, then quickly turn away when he saw Tucker standing in the window in his pajamas. He had given up waving to them after the first hour of being ignored. He'd been in the one-room bungalow for four days now, but this was the first time he'd felt well enough to get up and move around, other than to use the bathroom, which to his surprise, had hot and cold running water, a flush toilet, and a shower stall made of galvanized metal. The walls were tightly woven grass between a sturdy frame of teak and mahogany logs; the floor was unfinished teak, sanded smooth and pink; and the furniture was wicker with brightly colored cushions. A ceiling fan spun languidly above a double bed that was draped with a canopy of mosquito netting. The windows looked out on the compound and hangar on one side and through a grove of palm trees to the ocean on the other. He could see sev-eral bungalows perched near the beach, a small dock, and the cinderblock hospital building, its tin roof arrayed with antennae, solar electric panels, and a massive satellite dish. Tuck backed away from the window and sat down on the wicker couch. A few minutes on his feet and he felt exhausted. He was twenty pounds lighter than when he had left Houston and there wasn't a six-inch patch of skin on his body that didn't have some kind of bandage on it. The doc had said that between the cuts on his arms, knees, and scalp, he had taken a hundred sutures. The first time he looked in the little mirror in his bathroom, he thought he was looking at a human version of the mangy feral dog he'd seen on Truk. His blue eyes lay like dull ice in sunken brown craters and his cheeks were drawn into his face like a mummified bog man's. His hair had been bleached white by the sun and stuck out in straw-dry tufts between pink patches where the doctor had shaved his scalp to stitch him up. He took small comfort in the fact that there were no women around to see him. No real women, anyway. The doctor's wife, who came several times a day to bring him food or to change his bandages, seemed robotic, like some Stepford/Barbie hybrid with the smooth sexless carriage of a mannequin and a personality pulled out of an Eisenhower-era soap commercial. She made the straight-laced cosmetic reps from his past seem like a tribe of pillbox ny mpho hose hunters. There was a tap on the door and Beth Curtis breezed in carrying a wooden serving tray with plates of pancakes and fresh fruit. â€Å"Mr. Case, you're up. Feeling better today?† She set the tray down on the coffee table in front of him and stepped back. Today she was in pleated khaki pants and a white blouse with puffed shoulders. Her hair was tied back with a big white bow at the back of her neck. She might have just walked out of a Stewart Granger safari movie. â€Å"Yes, better,† Tuck said, â€Å"But I wore myself out just walking to the window.† â€Å"Your body is still fighting off the infection. The doctor will be by soon to give you some antibiotics. For now you need to eat.† She sat on the chair across from him. Tuck cut a divot out of the stack of pancakes with a fork and speared it through a piece of papaya. After the first bite, he realized how hungry he really was and began wolfing down the pancakes. Beth Curtis smiled. â€Å"Have you had a chance to look over the manuals for the airplane?† Tuck nodded, his mouth still full. She'd left the operations manuals on his bed two days ago. He'd leafed through them enough to know that he could fly the thing. He swallowed and said, â€Å"I used to fly a Lear 25 for Mary Jean. This one is a little faster and has longer range, but basically it's the same. Shouldn't be a problem.† â€Å"Oh, good,† she said, sporting one of her plastic smiles. â€Å"When will you be able to fly?† Tucker put down his fork. â€Å"Mrs. Curtis, I don't mean to be rude, but what in the hell is going on around here?† â€Å"Regarding what, Mr. Case?† â€Å"Well, first, regarding the man I came to this island with. I was sick, but I wasn't hallucinating. We were strung up in a tree by an old native guy and cut down by a bunch of others. What happened to my friend?† She shifted in her chair, and the wicker crackled like snapping rat bones. â€Å"My husband told you what the islanders told us, Mr. Case. The natives live on the other side of the island. They have their own society, their own chief, their own laws. We try to take care of their medical needs and bring a few souls into the fold, but they are a private people. I'll ask them about your friend. If I find out anything, I'll let you know.† She stood and straightened the front of her slacks. â€Å"I'd appreciate that,† Tuck said. â€Å"I promised him I'd get him back to Yap and I owe him some money. The natives didn't find my backpack, did they? My money was in it.† She shook her head. â€Å"Just the clothes you had on. We burned them. Fortunately, you and Sebastian are about the same size. Now, if you'll ex-cuse me, Mr. Case, I have some work to do. Sebastian will be along in a bit with your medicine. I'm glad you're feeling better.† She turned and walked out the door into the blinding sunlight. Tucker stood and watched her walk across the compound. The Japanese guards stopped their work and leered at her. She spun on them and waited, her hands on her hips, until one by one they lost their courage and returned to their work, not embarrassed but afraid, as if meeting her direct gaze might turn them to frost. Tuck sat down to his half-eaten pancakes and shivered, thinking it must be the fever. A half hour later the doctor entered the bungalow. Tucker was spread out on the couch descending into a nap. They'd been doing this since they'd moved him to the bungalow, tag-teaming him, one showing up at least every hour to check on him, bring him food or medicine, change the sheets, take his temperature, help him to the bathroom, wipe his forehead. It looked like concerned care, but it felt like surveillance. Sebastian Curtis took a capped syringe from his coat pocket as he crossed the room. Tuck sighed. â€Å"Another one?† â€Å"You must be feeling like a pin cushion by now, Mr. Case. I need you to roll over.† Tuck rolled over and the doctor gave him the injection. â€Å"It's either this or the IV. We've got this infection on the run, but we don't want it to get a foothold again.† Tuck rubbed his bottom and sat up. Before he could say anything, the doctor stuck a digital thermometer in his mouth. â€Å"Beth tells me that you're worried about your friend, the one you say came to the island with you?† Tuck nodded. â€Å"I'll check into it, I promise you. In the meantime, if you're feeling up to it, Beth and I would like you to join us for dinner. Get to know each other a little. Let you know what's expected of you.† He pulled the thermometer out of Tuck's mouth and checked it but made no comment. â€Å"You up for dinner tonight?† â€Å"Sure,† Tuck said. â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Good. We'll eat at seven. I'll have Beth bring you down some clothes. I'm sorry about the hand-me-downs, but it's the best we can do for now.† He started to leave. â€Å"Doc?† Sebastian turned. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"You've been out here, what, thirty years?† The doctor stiffened. â€Å"Twenty-eight. Why?† â€Å"Well, Mrs. Curtis doesn't look†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes, Beth is quite a bit younger than I am. But we can talk about all that at dinner. You should probably rest now and let those antibiotics do their work. I need you healthy, Mr. Case. We have a round of golf to play.† â€Å"Golf?† â€Å"You do play, don't you?† Tuck took a second to catch up with the abrupt change of subject, then said, â€Å"You play golf here?† â€Å"I am a physician, Mr. Case. Even in the Pacific we have Wednesdays.† Then he smiled and left the bungalow. 31 Revenge: Sweet and Low in Calories Sarapul twisted the last of the fibers into his rope and drew his knife to trim the ragged end. It was a good knife, made in Germany, with a thin flexible blade that was perfect for filleting fish or cutting microthin slices from coconut stems to keep the tuba running. He'd had the knife for ten years and he kept it honed and polished on a piece of tanned pig hide. The blade flashed blue as he picked it up and he saw the face of vengeance re-flected in the metal. Without turning, he said, â€Å"The young ones are going to kill you.† Kimi stopped, his knife held ready to strike the old man in the neck. â€Å"You ate my friend.† Sarapul gripped his knife blade down so he might turn and slash at the same time. There was no quickness in his bones, though. The Filipino would kill him before he got halfway around. â€Å"Your friend is with the white Sorcerer and Vincent's bitch. Malink took him away.† â€Å"Not that one. Roberto. The bat.† â€Å"Bats are taboo. We don't eat bats on Alualu.† Kimi lowered his knife an inch. â€Å"You are not supposed to eat people either, but you do.† â€Å"Not people I know. Come over here where I can see you. I am old and my neck won't turn that far around.† Kimi walked a crescent around the tree and crouched at ready in front of the old man. Sarapul said, â€Å"You were going to kill me.† â€Å"If you ate Roberto.† â€Å"I like that. Nobody kills anybody anymore. Oh, the young ones are talking about killing you, but I think Malink will talk them out of it.† Kimi cleared his throat. â€Å"Were you going to eat me when they killed me?† â€Å"Someone brought that up at the drinking circle. I don't remember who.† â€Å"Then how do I know you did not eat Roberto?† â€Å"Look at me, little one. I am a hundred years old maybe. Sometimes I go to the beach to pee and the tides change before my water comes. How would I catch a bat?† Kimi sat down on the ground across from the old man and dropped his knife in the gravel. â€Å"Something happened to Roberto. He flew off.† â€Å"Maybe he found a girl bat,† Sarapul said. â€Å"Maybe he will come back. You want a drink?† The old cannibal offered his jar of tuba to Kimi, who leaned forward and snatched it before retreating out of knife range. Kimi took a sip and grimaced. â€Å"Why are they going to kill me?† â€Å"They say you are a girl-man and that you make Sepie forget her duties as mispel. And they don't like you. Don't worry, no one kills anyone anymore. It is just drunk talk.† Kimi hung his head. â€Å"Sepie sent me away from the bachelors' house. She is mad at me. I have nowhere to go.† Sarapul nodded in sympathy, but said nothing. He'd been exiled for so long that he'd gotten used to the alienation, but he remembered how he had felt when Malink had first banished him. â€Å"You speak our language pretty good,† Sarapul said. â€Å"My father was from Satawan. He was a great navigator. He taught me.† â€Å"You're a navigator?† In the old days the navigators stood above even the chiefs – and just below the gods. As a boy, Sarapul idolized the two navigators of Alualu. The long-dead dream of his boyhood surfaced and he remembered learning from them, watching them draw star charts in the sand and stand at the beach lecturing on tides and currents and winds. He had wanted to be a navigator, had begun the training, for in the rigid caste system of the Yapese islands it was the one way for a man to distin-guish himself. But one of the navigators had died of a fever and the other was killed in a fight before he could pass on his knowledge. The navigators and warriors were ghosts of the past. If this girl-man was a navigator, then the bachelors were piss ants to talk of killing him. Sarpul felt infused with an energy he hadn't felt in years. â€Å"I can show you something,† Sarapul said. He tried to climb to his feet and fell back into a crouch. Kimi took him by a bony arm and helped him up. â€Å"Come,† Sarapul said. The old man led Kimi down the path to the beach and stopped at the water's edge. He began to sing, his voice like dried palm leaves rattling in the wind. He waved his arms in arcs, then threw them wide to the sky so that his chest looked as if it might crack open like a rotten breadfruit. And the wind came up. He took handfuls of sand and cast them into the wind, then clapped his hands and resumed singing until the palms above them were waving in the wind. Then he stopped. â€Å"Now we wait,† he said. He pointed out to sea. â€Å"Watch there.† A column of fog rose off the ocean at the horizon and boiled black and silver into a huge thunderhead. Sarapul clapped his hands again and a lightning bolt ripped out of the cloud and across the sky like a jagged white fissure in blue glass. The thunderclap was instant, deafening, and crackled for a full ten seconds. Sarapul turned to Kimi, who was staring at the thunderhead with his mouth open. â€Å"Can you do that?† Kimi shook off his astonishment with a shiver. â€Å"No, I never learned that. My father said he could send the thunder, but I didn't see him do it.† Sarapul grinned. â€Å"Ever eat a guy?† Kimi shook his head. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Tastes like Spam,† Sarapul said. â€Å"I heard that.† â€Å"I can teach you to send the thunder. I don't know the stars, though.† â€Å"I know the stars,† Kimi said. â€Å"Go get your things,† Sarapul said.

The Color Purple And Stephen Crane s Maggie, A Girl Of...

Kara Zittergruen Ms. Murtha English III 16 November 2016 Rough draft Albert Schweitzer once said, One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome diversity (Brainy Quote). While everyone has barriers and hurdles in their lives, only some people have the courage to get over them. It is often hard for people to move on after abuse, loss, or other tragedies. People can choose to descend into self-loathing and destructive behavior, or they can make an effort to overcome their battle, and make something of themselves. Regardless of the contrasting endings in Alice Walker s The Color Purple and Stephen Crane s Maggie, a Girl of the Streets, both female protagonists are impacted immensely by the abuse and neglect they endured early on in their lives. In The Color Purple, Celie, a young black woman is abused by her father. Ever since she was a little girl he beat her. He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got somethin in my eye but I didn’t wink. I don’t ev en look at mens. That’s the truth. I look at women, tho, cause I’m not scared of them (Walker 5). Despite this persistent abuse throughout her early life, she is able to let go and rise above it. She finds what she wants and she is inspired to move on. In Maggie a Girl of the Streets, Maggie also deals with family struggles. While her mother, Mary, is an abusive alcoholic and her brother, Jimmie, is a brute, Maggie manages to grow up to be aShow MoreRelatedBrief Survey of American Literature3339 Words   |  14 Pages Billy Budd Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) â€Å"art for art’s sake† Horror story Science fiction Detective story Psychologically thrilling tale Poems Literary criticism The Realism and Naturalism 1865—1914 REALISM The Local Color Movement (1865-1880) Local Color Mark Twain (1835-1910) Innocents Abroad (1869) The Gilded Age (1873) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) The Prince and the Pauper (1882) Life on the Mississippi (1883) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) A Connecticut Yankee