Juan Rulfo by Grigori Karlenovich Gazarian y Sorel Scarlet Contreras Meyemberg

"Dice Rulfo: Yo soy de una zona donde la conquista espanola fue demasiado ruda. Los conquistadores ahi no dejaron ser viviente. Entraron a saco, destruyeron la poblacion indigena, y se establecieron. Toda la region fue colonizada nuevamente por agricultores espanoles" (Karlenovich 15). This quote is saying that where he came from it was a place where the Spanish conquest was really harsh. They took over everything and established there. The whole zone was colonized again and by Spanish agriculturist. O chose this quote because from the whole book of his biography I would say that this is the only good quote I could find that would describe where he came from. These is an example of what happened when he was little and also that's some of the things that he included in his books things from what he has lived.

The first Connection that I can make about this book to me would be that in this biography Juan Rulfo talks about the most violent states which could be Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacán, and others. Well my family comes from Guerrero and well it is true that it is a violent state. One specific situation would be that the drug dealers killed my mom’s cousin. He was a police man and well the drug dealers came and were going to take out another drug dealer but my mothers cousin didn't want to participate so they kidnapped him. After that a couple of days later in the newspaper it came out that they found a dead body in a river hanging from a tree but its head was missing. They were never able to find the head.

The second connection would be that I agree with Juan Rulfo I haven't found a really good book that has fulfilled my expectations. That’s why Juan Rulfo decided to write his own books. I feel that some books that I have read are good but not the way I wanted them to be. The books start good but don't end how I wanted to be. Sometimes I wish I could write the book but change the ending so it could be how I want it to end.

I chose this image to represent my book that I read for honors because it’s basically the biography of Juan Rulfo I just wanted to put his picture instead of another thing that he talked about. Juan Rulfo describes his life how everything in his family was and what happened where he was raised and born. Juan Rulfo describes how things were before and how they have changed now and that some things have not changed at all.

He talks about his family and says that he remembers they were all discreet like him and that his only companions were his three brothers. “Al igual que el propio escritor, todos eran bastante discretos….Los únicos compañeros de Juan eran sus tres hermanos” (Gazarian 21). Another thing would be that in one of his books he talks about them. That book would be called “Nos han dado la tierra” (which means they have given us the land). An example would be this, “En el cuento “Nos han dado la tierra”, aparece una imagen interesante que bien podría ser el reflejo de el al lado de sus tres hermanos y nadie mas: “Somos cuatro. Yo los cuento: dos adelante y dos atrás. Miro mas atrás y no veo a nadie. Entonces me digo: ‘Somos cuatro’” (Gazarian 21). This quote would translate to; “In the story “They have given us the land” appears an interesting image that could be the best reflection of him next to his three brothers and no one else. We are four. I count them: two in the front and two behind. I look more back and I don’t see anyone else. Than I tell myself we are four. These are some examples I found for these picture.

Questions:

1.What do you think about Juan Rulfo's idea about creating his own books because other ones didn't meet his expectations?

2. After reading his biography do you understand some of his books better? Did it clear up some of your questions?

3. Why do you think Juan Rulfo during his infancy was so conserving?

4. Do you think that everything that Juan Rulfo went through had to do with him not wanting to be like other kids?

5. Why do you think Juan Rulfo Started to work in Goodrich if he liked to write stories?

I liked these book because it talks about the whole life of Juan Rulfo. He talks about his life, his family, where he came from, and about some of his book. I think it was a good idea that he talked about some of his books and what they mean because some of them are kind of confusing and that way people are able to understand the meaning of the his books. The only thing would be that they should do a biography book about Juan Rulfo in English because from the search I did I only found books in Spanish for the biography of Juan Rulfo. I liked how they formatted the book by sections and each sections have a title that give you an idea what they are going to be about or if you want to know something specific you can go to that page without having to search the whole book.

Pedro Paramo

“I came to Comala because I had been told that my father, a man named Pedro Paramo, live there. It was my mother who told me. And I had promised her that after she died I would go see him” (Rulfo 3).

This quote basically represents what the whole book is about. Juan Preciado promised his mother that he would go looking for his father that they fled away from since a long time ago. He went to Comala for that reason only. When he gets there everyone is dead. He talks to people but they are only ghost that still can not get to heaven and rest in peace. He hears a lot of stories about how his father was and gets surprised because some of those stories are harsh. What I think Juan Preciado went in search of his father was because he wanted to know him, how he was, what he liked what he disliked and what people thought of him or said. I don’t think his mothers promised was the only reason he went because he could have had waited to go but he left right after her death. He also wanted to claim what was his since he had never been with him. I would say that the purpose ghost appear to Juan would be so he can be able know about his father from the people that were close to him and knew exactly how he was and what he did. This is the analysis i could make from the quote to the overall book.

Connections:

Well I can in some way connect the book to my life in the way that I promised my mom that whenever I can I am going to go visit my grandmother that’s in Mexico. My mom has always wanted my grandmother and aunts to know me because I have never met them in my life. She wants me to go and spend a couple of time so I can get to know them better and they can know me. This is somewhat the same thing that Juan Preciado promised to his mother when she was dying, “And I had promised her that after she died I would go see him” (Rulfo 3).

My aunts mother in law died a couple a years ago but she would still not leave to where she was suppose to go because she committed suicide. She could not find the so what called "light" to heaven. People said that since she committed suicide and it wasn't her time to die because God hadn't called her she could not leave. Another reason was that she still wanted to take care of her son. When there was no one in the house her spirit would come back and do chores in the house she would was the dishes, do the laundry, and sweep the floor. People would even see her from the windows and tell my aunt that they saw her mother in law in the house. one day my aunt was bale to talk to her and tell her that she needed to rest already. What my aunt did was that she gave her a candle so she could find her way to heaven. So this is somewhat alike to the book because Juan talks to the ghost that are still in the town because they can't rest in peace. "The man I'm Talking about heard fine...Then it cant have been him.Besides, Abundio died. I'm sure he's dead. So you see? It couldn't have been him" (Rulfo 16). As this quote is saying he was talking to one of the dead people roaming the town of Comala.

The last connection would be that in this world there are a lot of people that commit sins. Some of those sins may be that they commit crimes and rapes in the book a man named Miguel kills the fathers(priest) brother and rapes his niece. Many people in this world do many crimes like that and do not get punished like this man named Miguel which is Pedro's son. Some of them being people that have a lot of power and know that people won't believe they would be able to do crimes like and if they do they pay people or police men so they won't do anything to them. "I know you hated him, Father. And with reason. Rumor has it that your brother was murdered by my son, and you believe that your niece Ana was raped by him..." (Rulfo 26). Also Pedro Paramo had a lot of power in Comala that he would decide what people could do and what they couldn't. He made some of them die of starvation because he did not want them to eat. He owned most of the land in Comala, and as most important people with power in this world tend to think that they can do what they want, Pedro would make all of the people in Comala suffer.

I chose this image because as the book said Juan Preciado's mission was to find his father Pedro Paramo. The thing was that everyone in Comala was dead since a long time ago and no one had visited it ever again. When he got there he was the only one alive and the people he talked to where only ghost. In the far right of the photo he appears and he looks like a human while the others that are in the photo are dressed up but are only skeletons. From the women in the coffin i came to the conclusion that it was his mother since she asked Juan to go look for his father. I would say that the meaning of him going in search of his father was meant for him to know about where his mother came from what people knew about her and also he would he able to get an idea about what his father was like. This is why i decided to use this photo as a representation of the whole book.

Questions:
What was the purpose of writing the book in two different points of views?

Do you think it was a good idea that Juan Rulfo wrote in two different points of view? If yes why? If not why? Give examples.

From reading this book what do you think Juan Rulfo is trying to say through this book?

What does he think about death?

What are your opinions on the book?


Reflection:
Well what I was confused about the book was that he went from the present to past than to present. Juan Rulfo talked about both at the same time because they have a lot of things in common. At times I would get confused because I did not know if he was talking about the past or the present. Also another thing would be that I would get confused because I did not understand how he was able to communicate with the ghost people and it was like if they were alive. At the beginning he is the only one alive but at a certain point in the story he dies. Another thing would be that he meets different people at the same time that it can get confusing in trying understand who he is talking to. I would recommend others to read this book but would say that they would need to read and analyze what is going on because if they read the book without stopping, at times it can get really confusing.

The Burning Plain and Other Stories by Juan Rulfo

"I don't know why she ties my hands, but she says it's because they say I do crazy things. One day they found me hanging somebody; I was hanging a lady just to be doing it" ( 4).

In this story from the many that this book contains it is talking about a little boy that is always tied up and locked up because he does weird things. If he goes out he does things and later on doesn't remember what he did. It also talks about him going out to the street and people start throwing rocks at him. The little boy also likes to bang his head on the floor because he says it sounds like drums and he likes how they sound. He starts banging his head on the floor slowly but keeps on going faster and faster. In this quote the little boy is asking himself why they tie him up but its because he does things and later doesn't remember anything. He was hanging the lady just to hang her but did not know why he was doing it.

Questions: What sickness did the boy have that he did things and later on did not remember them? Why do you think Juan Rulfo decided to put different stories together or what was the purpose? Why do you think the story called They gave us the land was short and did not continue? What is Juan Rulfo's writing style? Why do most of the stories don't really have an ending?

How this photo relates to the book will be with the story called Macario i really liked reading this story because it was kind of weird. I had never read a story like this on this little boy gets tied up because if he doesn't get tied up he does things. Later he can't remember what he did because he has some kind of sickness. As it says this in the book, " I don't know why she ties my hands, but she says it's because they say I do crazy things" (4). The little boy asks why he gets tied up and his godmother tells him but he doesn't really understand that what he does is bad. I feel bad for the little kid because it sounds like he is little and is not able to understand things clearly as an adult does.

Well a connection that I can make with the book to me would be that I have a neighbor that has mental problems. He is already 21 but acts like a kid of 5 years. Sometimes he does things but doesn't know they are bad. Last time he threw his moms medicine away but since he isn't able to know whats wrong and whats bad he just does what comes to his mind. Sometimes he throws gallons of milk into the sink and when his moms finds out and tells him that's not good he starts cry and doesn't stop but sometimes he is able to understand when he did something wrong.

In the news sometimes I hear that kids get their hands tied up so they won't do stuff. But eventually their mom or dad get taken to jail because the police doesn't think that is a good way to teach kids how to behave. Sometimes the kids do have mental problem but its still not a way to treat a kid like that because they don't really know what they are doing.

In another story there was a man that some people cut his toe off and he did not like that so he later was looking for revenge. He did get revenge but ended up killing more than one person because it was dark and he did not know which one he was suppose to kill. Various time in the news I have heard story about revenge. People want to get revenge for things people have done to them which is not good because they become serial killers or other stuff. This are some connections I could make from the book to my life.

I would recommend this book to people because after all it is interesting. It also contains some stories are scary to think about but when you think about it, it's scary to think that there are people out there in the world that are like that. I'm referring to the story about the man looking for revenge and ended up killing more than one person. what i did not like about this book would be that the stories don't really have an ending but at the same time they leave you with the doubt of what happened next or what would be the ending of this story. I would like to know the connections between this stories.

Response to Schindler's List

2. The movie Schindlers List was about what happened during the holocaust. It basically showed what he Jews went through. It was sad how they were treated. I liked how helped out the Jews so they wouldn't get killed and did whatever he could to save as much asSchindler he could. To me my favorite part was when the little boy went into the toilets to hide. Also that the little kids were smart enough to hide different places. Also how a lady just got killed for saying what they were building was wrong that was sad. I could actually feel their pain. This was one of the saddest movie I have ever seen. They people that did the movie did a really good job projecting everything from the holocaust.

3. A response to the following questions:

a. What does the word power mean to you? What does it mean to Goethe? What does it mean to Schindler? Do these people misuse power?

What the word power means to me is like someone can do whatever they want. they can order people to do somethings and that person has to do it. that who ever has power has control and authority. The word power to Schindler means having the authority to kill someone but taking the decision not to do it.

b. Schindler went from being an "antihero" to a hero. What specific events did he experience and realizations did he have to create this transformation.

Schindler did a factory to help the Jews and he made them work there so they will be doing something and not get killed. He also spent most of his money on them by helping them to survive.

c. Did you think this film was effective? Why? Why not?

I would say this movie was effective for me because i actually saw how the Jews got treated and what they went through. Through the film in a way i felt how much the jews suffered and what they felt when going through all the stuff. Overall i do think this movie was effective and it was good we watched it.

illegal immigration research #3

Illegal Immigrants' Cost to Government Studied

This article said that immigrants cost the government more than 10 billion dollars a year. That part of that is because illegal people get medical health. Also they get food because they don't have money for food and money for school. Almost two-thirds illegal immigrants don't have a high school degree. People say that if illegal immigrants get their residency they are going to make the cost go up. This is because they are going to get more things while thery are not really skilled. They think that if illegal immigrants disappear it will drop 10 billion dollars and the government won't loose the money but it is not true. This all I understood by reading this article.

Questions:
1. What is the whole argument of this article?

2. Is it only illegal immigrants that cost the government?

3. Why didn't they do a much deeper report?

illegal immigration research #2

The article More illegal immigrants are rushing to file taxes talked how illegal people are doing their taxes. They are risking themselves by giving the government their name and address and other things. Alot of people call The Community Economic Development Center in New Bedford asking help for filing their taxes. The IRS created ITINs, wicha re numbers that track the tax returned to those who are not eligible for a social security number. The ITINs were created on 1996. They say that the most people that use this ITIN number are illegal immigrants. Some legal residents use ITIN numbers to. In the year 2006 in Massachusetts 39,221 ITIN numbers did their taxes. That was a 20% increase from the past year. Illegal immigrants have to pay back taxes as a maybe to get their residency.Giving hopes to 12 million people. From 1996 to 2003 people who had ITIN numbers paid the government 50 billion dollars. Some people don't think that illegal immigrants should become residents just because they are paying taxes.

Questions:
1. What is the problem with the number of people doing their taxes going up?

2. Why shouldn't illegal immigrants get their residency if they are paying their taxes?

3.How many people that are residents have ITIN numbers?