University of Chicago Lab School- Ms. Jacobs' Page

Sunday, September 14, 2008

"The Box" and Identity


In humanities class we have discussed the different ways in which people choose to identify themselves and the challenges, decisions, and frustrations that go into creating one's "identity." You have made your personal identity collages and have explored various experiences that people have had coming to terms with their own identity.

One metaphor that we have discussed in relation to identity is the idea of the box---- the forces and obstacles that stand in the way of a person truly being able to be him or herself in some way. What are the forces that keep people inside of their boxes? What forces push them to escape?

Think over the readings and discussions that we have had in class so far ("Theme for English B", "High Yellow White Trash", "Black, White, and Jewish", "Sylvia's Story", "Alone and All Together", and "Two Kinds") and think about the similarities and differences between each person or character's experience.

In your post, write three to four sentences about a connection that you have found between at least TWO of the experiences that we have discussed/read/listened to in class.

Some questions you may want to consider as you write your post are:
What boxes do some of these people find themselves in? Are the forces keeping them in the box external or internal? Do you think they will be successful in escaping their boxes? How are some people's boxes similar? How are they different?

In addition, you can also throw out relevant questions or observations to which other students can respond.

*** Remember to use your first name, teacher's name, and class period when you sign your post. Also, if you choose to respond to what another classmate wrote, please do so in a respectful manner.

Box image from: http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11288903/Glass_Mosaic_Gift_Jewelry_Box_Hexagon.jpg

posted by Charlotte Jacobs at 10:54 AM

35 Comments:

  • hi ms jacobs

    i still think the box is the world and the wrold puts yu in the box to fit in

    blake

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:03 PM  

  • I see a connection between Sylvia's Story and High Yellow White Trash. Both mothers in the story are both disappointed in their daughters for not being their ideal child. And both daughters feel shunned by their own mothers for not being perfect, and the way that the mothers expect them to be. But the mothers don't realize that their pushing the daughters away, when all they want is to bring them in.

    By Blogger lily b., at 1:41 PM  

  • In "High Yellow White Trash" Her white German family are embarrassed to have a half black relative. They try to get her to be more white. So basically the white people are sticking her in a box of what they believe white people should be. She starts acting like what she believes is an ideal black person. When she grows up, she still goes into the white and black boxes when she is in a all white or black situation. I think that she has not escaped her box. In "Black White and Jewish" She also grows up not caring about her race. Then a boy she likes tells her he does not like black girls. She starts trying to be a "White person. The boy does not know it, but he pushed her into a really tight knit white box. The similarities are that at first they don't care about any races. They both get rebuffed by people they care about, and those people stuff them in a box. The difference is that Lissa does not escape the box, while Rebbecca does.

    Lily Z. 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:31 PM  

  • I think there is a connection between "High Yellow White Trash", "Alone and All Together" and "Black, White and Jewish" Because in all these stories there parents are divorced. In these stories the situations are for the most part different but the fact that there parents are divorced will always effect them and the way people treat them.

    Harrison M, 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:33 PM  

  • I think that there is a connection between Black, White, and Jewish and High Yellow White Trash because in both of the stories, the kids are biracial. In both the stories the kids are fighting to find a balance between being african-american and caucasion. The main difference that I see is that in one of the stories, The charecters are more proud of being black. In the other story the charecter is more proud of being white.

    Jonathan,Ms. Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:55 PM  

  • There is a connection between HYWT and Black white and Jewish. In HYWT Lisa is battling an external conflict with trying to fit in among the white people of her family and when shes with her father, she blends in more and no one pays attention to her in a bad way like the white people did. In Black White Trash, She is battling between trying to make herself white but instead plainly being a black skinned girl, And she stubbornly tries to convince the boy she likes to think shes white by having her grandma come instead of her mom. She cannot change who she looks like so she is stuck inside her own box. Lisa is between 2 boxes, a white one and a black one, she chose the black one in the end.

    Jeff Li, 8/9
    p.s. i hate writing so long...sorry

    By Blogger Jeff, at 4:41 PM  

  • It looks like, from reading this page (thus far) that there is something left to be desired (no offense meant) -- the difference between active and passive conflict. There is a difference, say, between Sylvia's interview and Black, White and Jewish. The difference is that in the interview with Sylvia, the mother (the largest opposing force) is actively repressing or at least being unhelpful as possible, whereas in Black, White and Jewish the conflict is not entirely internal, nor entirely external but more and internal conflict sparked by a "passively fighting" set of opposing or at least contrasting ideals -- in this case the main character is "building her own box with her crush's materials", as opposed to the world actively pushing her into it, as in Alone and All Together, where others are actively (and some times passively) pushing Libby into a stereotyping box. (I know I have put in redundancies, but they were to prove my point, so be nice :D) So the moral of this comment is, boxes come in small packages or something.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:49 PM  

  • Breaking out of the box is in a lot of stories we have read so far. In High Yellow White trash the girl breaks out of the box by finding her identity and what she wanted to be. She also learned that she could live two lives. There is breaking out of a box in Alone and All Together when Libby relizes that she dosen't live in a perfect world. In Sylvia's Story she also learns to do her own thing and that her mom can not run her life.
    Sophia Weaver 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:17 PM  

  • i think in both stories the mothers want their children to be jus like them. They can't let go of their childhood. So thats why they are stuck in a box.

    Allie
    Ms. Jacobs
    3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:18 PM  

  • I thought that "High Yellow Whtie Trash" and Black, White, and Jewish" had a connection because both the main characters seem to stuck in the same situation. In "High Yellow White Trash" the main character puts on a white disguise when she's with her mom, and a black disguise when she's with her dad. In "Black, White, and Jewish" the main character feels that she needs to be just like the white girls at her school. The main characters in both stories feel like they need disguises in order to fit in.


    Melora 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:50 PM  

  • I saw a connection between Two Kinds and High Yellow White Trash. In both of the stories, the mothers seem to be trying to shape the life of the two daughters. In High Yellow White Trash, it has more to do with race. Lisa struggles to find a balance between being black and white. Her mother has a vision of what she wants Lisa to be, and it has nothing to do with being African American. In Two Kinds, Amy's mother wants Amy to be a genius, to be successful, to be perfect. But Amy wants to be herself, and I think both Amy and Lisa are struggling to find and be who they want to be because of their family figures.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:55 PM  

  • I see a connection between Two Kinds and Sylvia's Story. Both of the mothers have a certain ideas of what their daughter should be. Both daughters are stuck in a box and want to escape. Sylvia and Amy feel like both their mothers are not happy with who they are and so external conflicts are created.

    Priya Zylstra, 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:39 PM  

  • I see a connection between "Sylvia's story" and "two kinds" both have the main character stuck in a box created by their mothers. In "sylvia's story" her mother wants sylvia to be a traditional mexican girl and follow the mexican culture. sylvia wants be something else. in "two kinds" her mother wants her to be a prodigy. she does not want to be one. they are both trying to escape the box and be who they want to be.

    -Grace, Ms. Jacobs, 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:50 PM  

  • There is a connection between HYWT and Black, White and Jewish. Both girls are biracial and both are trying to fit in better as only one of the races. In BWJ, the girl is ashamed of her African-American ethnicity because the white boy she likes "doesn't date black girls". In HYWT, the girl pretends to be more black when she is around her father and his family, and she tries to be more white around her mother's family. They are both trying to get out of the 50-50 box.

    By Blogger James Duran, at 2:06 PM  

  • Out of all the stories that we've read in class so far, I pick Two Kinds, and Black, White and Jewish. The main connection that I found was that both the main characters in each story were put in "boxes", and went through hard times to make life easier for themselves. But I believe that in BWJ, the main character really never left her box. The main character in Two Kinds, was.

    -Hiroki, Ms. Jacobs, 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:30 PM  

  • In "High Yellow White Trash" she was hiding her identity cause of people thought of her and the connection in "Alone and all together" she is also kind of ashamed of being arab when she looks at the people from the car. They both deal with external conflicts. In high yellow white trash she is in a conflict with her mother cause she is acting differently than she wants her to act and then in alone and all together she deals with sticking up for her friends brother. So, they are very similar.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:32 PM  

  • In "Sylvia's story" and "Two kinds" both of the main characters are stuck in boxes that their mothers made for them. They're trying to escape because their mothers ideas of what they should do are different than what they want to do with their lives and not in a good way. The forces keeping them inside of their boxes are internal and external. External because their mothers are making them and internal because they don't want to disappoint their mothers.

    Akilah Ms.Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:42 PM  

  • hi Ms.Jacobs,

    I think that High Yellow White Trash and Sylvia's Story are similar because they are both trying to find out who they are, where they belong in the world. In High Yellow White Trash I think the mother is atleast trying to figure out how to help her, but in Sylvia's Story the mother has already decided that her daughter, Sylvia, will be a "typical spanish girl," so it suprises her when she tries to leave the box. They are both trying to break through the box they're mother put apon them. The mother's side of the family in High Yellow White Trash would be happy with them leaving they're box, but in Sylvia's Story the family would take her in if she acted the culture she was born in, which she is not going to do so.

    Rosie

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:49 PM  

  • I thihnk that there is a connection between Two Kinds and High Yellow White Trash because in both stories, the main character ultimately rebels from their mother, the force tyring to keep them in the box, and becomes the opposite of what the mother wants them to be and escapes the box. Also, both mothers want their daughter to be what they think of as "perfect." Finally, I thought that it was intresting that in A Theme For English B, the author is talking about when he was grown up, and in college, and that what he wrote in his paper was very similar to what was said in the, "when I grew up I understood these things" section in High Yellow White Trash. When the characters grow up, they understand the boxes that they are enclosed in.

    Sonia, Ms. jacobs, 8th period

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:11 PM  

  • i see a connection between high yellow white trash and sylvia sory because in high yellow and in sylvia sory they both were mad and disagreeing with there mothers about what tehy want to do

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:31 PM  

  • In "High Yellow White Trash" a bi-racial girl by high school rather be black even though she will nothave as many rights. She rather be black because whenever shes around black people. It feels to her like she fits in more, than when she is around white people because they are mean to her and act as if she is unimportant. In "Black White and Jewish" a young bi-racial girl likes a white boy. Later the white boy she likes says to her that he doesn't like black girls. So she try's to show him in every way possible that she is white by having her white relatives pick her up from school ect. The way this book relates to the other is that in "High Yellow White Trash" the girl ends up waning to be only one race and so does the girl in "Black White and Jewish".



    Noah B.
    per 8-9
    Ms. Jacobs

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:26 PM  

  • Hey Ms.Jacobs,
    I have a connection to High Yellow White trash and All Alone and Together. I have connections to these because I have had to choose one of two worlds once before because my friends encouraged me to do something I didn't want to do, and I had to choose which one to do. I have also been in the situation when you feel like everybody wants to kill you or everyone hate you.
    Max R. 8th Period Ms. Jacobs

    By Blogger Unknown, at 5:29 PM  

  • The conection between Sylvia's story and High yellow white trash is how in both of these the daughters and the mothers sort of want their child to be what they say and not what the daughters think. I also think that the daughters not really act out, but sort of do strange things because they are not getting enough attention from their mothers.

    Anoop H-R, 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:40 PM  

  • One connection that I found was that in "Black,white, and jewish" and in "High yellow white trash" in both these stories the parents were divorced, which is usually the way the story starts because both of these stories were about how 1. They're parents are divorced, and 2. The ways that they deal with at least being half african american. That also leads to a second connection, them dealing with being black. IN high yellow white trash, she is half black and half white, and has no problem being both but the whites care and judge her. But in Black, White, and jewish, the situation is that Brian wont accept her being african american.
    Elyse H,3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:02 PM  

  • Christian Morris 8/9 to ms. jacobs

    I see a connection between the stories Two Kinds and high yellow white trash because it seems like the mothers are shaping out their daughters lives for them. For example in High Yellow White Trash the daughter is half black and half white because of her parents, and when her parents got divorced the daughter was only living like she was just white and not at least a part black (lived with white mom). And she rebelled against that, the daughter acknowleged the fact that there were black women on the bus going to work, and said that they look good (as in that they are themselves). In Two kinds the mother is literally attempting to make her daughter into what she wants her to be, and not letting her choose anything on her own. the way she rebelled against that is that she directed all of the dispare in herself at her mom, the daughter said "Well then I wish I were never born"! at her mom and her mom backed off in sadness but not showing it. (stunned).

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:05 PM  

  • I believe that Alone and all together and Two kinds could be connected by culture. In both of the stories,each of the daughters culture played a big part in erecting each of their own boxes. In Alone and Altogether, due to the fact the daughter has Muslim family, and cultural roots, She is shunned in School. In Two kinds, The daughter's mother put her daughter in a box because, following Chinese culture, she wanted her daughter to be the best, the prodigy, and a genius. This goal may have got her carried away which lead to her daughter rebelling, and breaking out of the box that her mother created for her when she was younger.

    Arjun N. Ms Jacobs 8\9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:19 PM  

  • I see a connection between Sylvia's Story and Black, White, and Jewish. When Sylvia is trying to get out of the box her mother keeps trying to pull her back in. Also Sylvia's mother is stuck in the box and wants Sylvia to be like her cousins, stuck in the box doing what their parents want them to do. Instead of being like Sylvia going out and creating a career. In Black, White, and Jewish the main character wants this boy to like her but she's kind of stuck in a box, with her mother. But she wants to get out of the box with her mother and be white so the boy likes her.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:21 PM  

  • I think that there are a few connections between Sylvia's Story and High Yellow White Trash. Both mothers in each story are trying to get their daughters to be what they want them to be. I also think that both daughters are trying to decide between different cultures. Their mothers are putting them into a box.

    Kelsey

    Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:25 PM  

  • I see a connection in alone and all together and in high yellow white trash. Because in both stories both of the girls are biracial and cant make up their mind on if they want or act one raise or the other. They both cant decide because they are both in a situation where people don't like their cultural because of something that has happen'ed or because people don't like their color.

    Kaleb M. 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:33 PM  

  • I agree with lilly b. But also in Two Kinds the mother was preasuring her child into this box by trying to make her a protoge. I think that the mother was trying to live out her dreams through her child. The story said that she lost every thing in china, so she was trying to get her child to do the things she wishes she could have done. To have one extrodinary child to make up for the two she lost.

    Carah A.
    Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:08 PM  

  • hello......... tis lukas

    I think that in Black, White, and Jewish and Two Kinds are quite similiar because it is about the two kinds of daughters, the daughter the mother wants her to be or just the daughters self. In B,W,J, the mother wanted her to be be as white as her but she was half black and the two daughters were her dads side or her moms side. In two kinds she came out of the box adn said no but in B,W,J she didnt and just lived by her mothers rules.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:10 PM  

  • I see a connection between "High Yellow White
    Trash" and "Two Kinds", because in both stories the moms try to make their daughters be what they like them to be. This is how the moms put their daughters in a box. Lisa thought that she had to be black when she was with her dad and white when she was with her mom. Lisa could not decide which to be. This is two boxes that Lisa was in. Amy's mom wanted her daughter to be perfect and famous, but Amy wanted to be normal. So when she had a performance she messed up to prove to everyone that she is not perfect. This is how she got out of the box.

    Paul
    3-4
    Ms. Jacobs

    By Blogger Paul, at 7:21 PM  

  • hi

    i think that in some stories the boxes are diffrent colors. like the one in the silvia story is neon lighted. but some other boxes are camafloged adn aren't very distinc.
    blake
    ms jacobs
    8-9 peroid

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:54 AM  

  • I think that lisa page in high yellow white trash and elena in american history are in a very similar box because both of them have problems with their identity and both of them wish they weren't puertorican or half black half white. So they both are put into a similar box.

    Eira Nylander
    8-9
    Ms. Jacobs

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:42 PM  

  • I think that there is a connection between the Malcolm X film we saw today and X, A Fabulous Children's Story. Both show how much one's environment can affect one. In X A fabulous Children's Story, X is technically a boy or girl, but because of its carefully selected environment, it is an X. X is not hiding its gender, it is an X. The box it is in , or rather the utter lack of a box it is in, has made it a free X, and not a girl or boy trying to change itself. In the autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm talks about how his expieriences changed him, but also, he talks about how rascism changes who people are and how it affects and changes people.

    Sonia, Ms. Jacobs, 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:59 PM  

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