The Appropriation of Cultures

In this short story, Everett addresses racial prejudice shown through a character by the name of Daniel Barkley.  Daniel is taken care of through the inheritance from his mother and his mother's deceased sister and doesn't work, but he enjoys hanging out at a jazz club.  Right from the beginning, Daniel faces prejudice from some white fraternity members.He decides to play the song, however, with passion to insult the white men.  He is a strong man who is not so easily overcome by prejudice.

He accepted the song as his own, interestingly enough.  He had the anger a young, black male would have with the situation, however, he was also calm.

I love the change, where he decides he wants to buy a truck.  It is hilarious when he decides he wants to look at a truck with a big, confederate flag on it.  Reading through the text gave me one impression, a rather dull opinion of the text.  However, I found a reading from Percival Everett and his voice, tone and personality brought more life to the text.  I could sense the irritation of prejudice and I could empathize with Daniel. There is so much tension that I can feel when hearing him read the portion at Travis' house. The humor and tension presented in reference to the Confederate flag on the truck and the irritation that Sarah has seems to mock the prejudices between blacks and whites.  It almost undermines prejudices.

Daniel is a hilarious character.  I love his comment on the "Black Power Flag."  Everett does an effective job of mocking prejudice and insulting the stupidity of racism.



In case you were unaware, Lisa, here is the link to the reading by Percival Everett:
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/entertainment/watch/v19965005Cpgg9SP7

Araby

There was one in particular thing that this story shows that I believe any reader has some kind of experience with.  The narrator becomes intensely fascinated/infatuated with Mangan's sister.  It is interesting how he is almost creepy about his infatuation.  He even goes as far as following her while she walks for a little while.  Maybe not to this extent, but I believe each of us has experience with infatuation and that yearning to know someone.  Even the way he becomes nervous to the point of not being able to talk to her is realistic.  I can recall times when I would be infatuated with someone to the point of not focusing on school work, work or various other responsibilities; because of this, I can relate easily to this story.  

I like also how the story shows that perhaps it is not best to plan things in your life.  The fact that the narrator attempts to go to the bazaar and buy Mangan's sister something shows that he planned a lot for this to happen.  Although the plans were perfect, the execution is not always what one could expect.  Due to his uncle's tardiness, the narrator arrives at the bazaar just as it is closing. Sadly enough, he is unable to buy Mangan's sister anything, but it shows that not everything goes according to plans.  Therefore, I took the message that we shouldn't put so much hope in our plans, when plans so easily fail.

Tapka

I really enjoyed this story.  I thought the story was going to be more of a detailed explanation of this Russian family's struggles as they adjust to life in Toronto, Canada; however, the story diverges from the story of the family to the story of the dog, Tapka.  Tapka, the dog of the Nahumovskys, is a beloved part of Rita and Misha's lives.  Originally, the perspective of the son (the narrator) focuses on the transition, however his perspective switches to Tapka. The narrator is the only one in his family who likes Tapka.  One aspect I really enjoyed about this story is the feeling the reader can obtain towards Tapka.  On one side, I think anyone can relate to loving some kind of animal, and most people can probably say they are dog lovers.  However, the wording about the narrator's mother's attitude toward Tapka allows the reader to find the dog to be drab.  They author writes, "They were simple people.  Rita had never attended a university. She could derive contentment from talking to a dog, brushing its coat, putting ribbons in its hair, and repeatedly throwing a rag clown across the apartment...they were good people, but a dog ruled their lives."  After reading this part, I personally felt bogged down.  I no longer thought very highly of a dog.  It makes you feel like a dog is too much work and not worth the effort, unless you're uneducated and have nothing better to do.  Then, you see the excitement of being around a dog as the narrator explains his visits to the Nahumovskys'.  The narrator states, "When I inserted the key into the lock I felt emanations of love through the door."  As the reader, it created an excitement inside me as I read.  Although this was only part of the overall story, this really stood out to me.