Thursday, April 02, 2009

 

Obama Cyber-Essays April 2-8, 2009

Respond in a 3-4 paragraph essay to one (1) question. In the essay include one of the following per paragraph with a total of 3 citations: 1 free paraphrase, 1 in-text citation, 1 block quote. Use the book for your citations. Make certain you use a signal phrase and include the page number. Use one citation per paragraph (3 paragraph essay). Your essay can be longer, but 3-4 paragraphs is fine. We will review these cyber-essays in class on Mondays and write another one using a different question.

Students need to also respond to a student essay and you can recommend questions about themes discussed or omitted here.


1. Many state that Dreams From My Father is a classic coming of age story with a twist. Perhaps the twist is the interracial component, the international flavor of Obama’s childhood, or the fact that except for the absentee father, his life was one of relative ease comparatively. Definitely, he wasn’t a descendant of Booker T. Washington (I jest). Talk about the author’s journey, his questions about identity and his quest for his dad so that he could find his place in the world.


2. What role does forgiveness play in Obama's story, and how does forgiveness help in allowing him to move on despite his father's trespasses?

3. How does Obama create himself in his biological father's absence? Who were the father figures or male role models in his life and what did they teach him?


4. “Dreams from My Father” is a coming-of-age story in which a Obama straddles two cultures as he searches for his identity. How does he succeed? What conclusions does he reach?

5. Talk about his work as a community social worker on Chicago's South Side. What does he learn or come to realize about his role in the African-American community?

6. Write about community in Obama’s book. What communities are there? How do they work (or not)? Explain how Obama evaluates various communities and show what he values in a community, as seen in his book.

7. Women have played a significant role in Barack Obama’s development. Identify 2-3 women. Clearly, his mother is a woman whose influence on Obama is immeasurable, Toot might be another, but what about his friends causal and otherwise who taught him lessons we see incorporated into the moral fabric of his life?

Use examples to show what values are. Do not list them, rather have Obama interpret them into his life as activity or action.

8. Family is a value shared in Dreams. One could say that Dreams is a journey where Obama clarifies what or who his family is. There is of course the family he is given, his biological parents; however, his extended or blended family has perhaps as much to do with the man he becomes as does his genes.


9.How does Obama’s shifting definition of family—family as community, family as one’s nation, family as one’s people— help Obama realize his place in the world is fluid and that the family he was searching for was a part of his life all along?


10. In Dreams, Obama's definition of what family means is fluid. Give examples of how this changing perspective helps Obama come into himself as a man.


11. Race is an obvious theme in a book where the protagonist is the child of an Kenyan and a white American; however, Obama says of himself that he is not the typical “tragic Mulatto.” What does he mean by this and does the fact that he is a man raised in a family where white-skin privilege is an unspoken given for most of his life, reason for this fact?

12. How does Obama create himself through the presence and influence of his father? Who were the father figures in his life, and what did they teach him?

13. What has Obama come to realize as a grass-roots activist about the community he lives in? What does he learn about himself? How is this education used to propel his political career which culminates later in a nomination for presidency?

14. How does Obama’s active and passive use of his paternal and maternal culture to shape his identity? What can other bi-racial adults, and those persons from single parent homes gain from his story?

Comments:
Christine So
Eng 201 B

6. Write about community in Obama’s book. What communities are there? How do they work (or not)? Explain how Obama evaluates various communities and show what he values in a community, as seen in his book.

Obama wants to help those who wanted to help their community. One of the communities is Altgeld in Chicago. Obama described Altgeld as "a dump"(165). There were a group of people who wants to help make their community a better place for people to live. Obama was actually organizing this group. He noticed a lot from observing the people and community.
Things weren't turning out the way people wanted. People still unemployed even after being promised jobs. The peo0ple were really tired and felt like giving up and just quitting but Obama didn't want to that to happen and convince them why they shouldn't.
He says: You know, I didn't come here 'cause I needed a job. I came here 'cause Marty said there were some people who were serious about doing something to change their neighborhoods. I don't care what's happened in the past. I know that I'm here, and committed to working with you. If there's a problem, then we'll fix it. If you don't think anything's happened after working with me, then I'll be the first one to tell you to quit. . . ."(172)
 
#2. What role does forgiveness play in the blame game and how does forgiveness help in allowing someone to move on?

In Obama’s Dreams of my father, Obama struggles to identify himself as a young man due to his father leaving. Obama had to forgive his father for not being there to help him grow into a man. Barack’s mother played the role of being a mother and a father. Obama loved his mother dearly and learned from her wisdom this caused him to move on and pursue his destination. As time consumed Obama’s father became distant in regards of not being present as a man towards his seed and his wife. Having grief in his heart he wanted to live a prosperous life style without having to live with the fact that his father left him because of his selfishness. "I was too young to realize that I was suppose to have a live-in father, just too young to know that I needed a race”(27). Obama realized he needed to forgive his father for himself in order to move on and follow his dreams.

Forgiveness isn’t an easy nor is it a quick process to overcome. It takes maturity and understanding to overcome a heartbreaking event. In the case Barack’s story he only wanted to have love from his father like he encountered from his mother. Since obama’s father wasn’t there to identify himself Obama’s mother and grandparents were left to identify him. “I don’t blame my mother or grandparents for this. My father may have preferred the image they created for him-indeed, he may have been complicit in its creation”(26).

Obama wanted to know the real reason why his father left, his mother was ashamed of her husband’s abusive behavior. “She would never quite forgive his instability and often-violent temper and would grow ashamed of his crude, ham-fisted manners”
(30). Although Obama’s father abused his mother he felt it was important to not have hate in his heart. Barack found having forgiveness in his heart will only lead to progressing forward.

---Sameela
 
Adries Ahmed
english 201
1. Many state that dreams of my father is a classic coming of age story with a twist. Perhaps the twist is the interracial component, the flavor of obamas childhood, or the fact that except for the absentee father his life was one of the relative ease comparatively. Definitley he wasnt a descendent of booker T. washington (I jest) talk about the authors journey his question about identity and his dad so that he could find his place in the world.

Obama went around the world with his grandfather and grandmother, he also lived with them for a few years. Before that he was in indonesia wiht his mother and Lolo to start a new life. When they arrived there it wasnt anything compared to america, but eventully they adapted the life. He lived there for three years and then returned to america to begin school. When he started school he braught with him his past experience.
When he preformed the speech on Africa witch gave gave him doubt on who he was. He said he wouldn't do it anymore to Regina because he felt like he didnt fit in. Your probably trapped with other races her eyes said, but you have an ability to thrive. The speech he gave was good, thought at the end he told Regina it was his last time doing it. Regina and Marcus were better off because their black he thought, Then Regina and him got in an argument about his compliants of feeling left out. There was no reason for giving up, he just needed more practice pg(111).
Being a kid in indonesia was tough. If he wanted to survive he had to be smarter,and stonger. His mothers husband Lolo taught him things about being a man. "That's usually enough. Man take advantage of weakniss in other men.Theyre just like countries in that way. The strong man takes the weakmans land. He makes the weak man work in his fields. If the weaks man's women is pretty, the strong man will take her". Lolo was explaining to obama what men with power can do.
 
Sabah Said
4/10/09
English 201B
Mon/Wed 10-12

Free write: question # 2. three paragraph essay. 3 citations: 1 free paraphrase, 1 in-text citation, 1 block quote.

2. What role does forgiveness play in Obama's story, and how does forgiveness help in allowing him to move on despite his father's trespasses?

Through out Barack Obama life he basically lived without his father being there for him. Obama father left him and his mother at the age of two to persue his graduater studies. Obama was abandon by his father, but his mother took care of him. Obama was hurt and angry because of his father. His father didn’t get to spend his childhood or even other time with Obama to see what he went through. Obama should over come from that and kearn from the mistakes his father and be a better person. Obama should forgive his father. Obama said his Gramps would always tell him that his father is going to come soon, but never showed up (pg. 62).

Obama should forgvie his father because his dad might have struggled in his life also. He passed away when Obama was younger. He died in a car accident. Obama says,
“I don’t bame my mother or grandparents for this. Any father may have preferred the image they created for him- indeed, he may have been complicit in it”(pg. 26). Obama shouldn’t hold a grudge. He felt lost without his father but he should think about how much he accomplished without him.

Its tough how Obama didn’t get to have time with his dad. To have a man around him and learn from him.
Obama says, “Theres only one problem: my father was missing. He had left paradise and nothing that my mother or grandparents told me could obivate that single, unssaible fact. Their stories didn’t tell me why he had left. They couldn’t describe what it might have been like had he stayed”(pg.26).
Obama always wanted to know the reason why he left. Nothing changed his mind about how he felt. Obama knows how he will always be there as a father for his kids.
 
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