University of Chicago Lab School- Ms. Jacobs' Page

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Identity and "The Box"




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", "Sylvia's Story", "American History", and "Crickets") 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. (Example: Bill, Jacobs 3-4) Also, if you choose to respond to what another classmate wrote, please do so in a respectful manner.

Image source: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/cm/goodhousekeeping/images/kY/7-WoodContactPaperBoxes-fb.jpg

posted by Charlotte Jacobs at 4:30 PM

37 Comments:

  • I think that Sylvia, in Sylvia's story, and the girl in American History, are in a box,especially because of their parents. I think that they think they're parents don't understand why they want to be American. That is why I think they are trapped in this box- because of their parents pressure. Also, the fact that they're ancestors were from other countries limits what they can do. I think that Bill, in Crickets, somewhat feels the same way.

    Like- I think it was Quentin- said,it seems that in crickets its the opposite- in both American History and Sylvia's story, the parents are worried about their children and want them to follow by their culture. However, in Crickets, the parents are just like all right, be American. They don't seem to try that hard, to insist that Bill learn Vietnamese.

    -Arthur, Ms. Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:35 PM  

  • On npr i listened to sylvia's story and i thought that she was stuck in a box mainly because her mom wouldn't let her out. Her mom believes that sylvia should follow all the other people in her family. Her mom wants her to get married early like the other mexicans in the family and that leads to getting pregnant early but sylvia does not want to do this she wants to get a decent job and go to college. I think sylvia is involved in an internal box.

    peter
    jacobs 8-9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:36 PM  

  • I think the girl, from American History is trapped in a box because of who she is.Sylvia in my opinion doesn't really realize who she is until she meets up with Eugene's mother. It's extremly hard for Sylvia to escape her box because her mother is constantly reminding her who she is, it also does not help because her relatives came from a different place.

    I think Sylvia, from Sylvia's Story is stuck in a box because of her mother.Every time she tries to escape the box her mother always shoots her down with her disappointment and Anger.Sylvia always fells fear towards her future and if she were to fail.but I admire Sylvia's courage and strength!!!.
    -Kendall, Ms.Jacobs 3/4

    By Blogger tennisgirl, at 2:18 PM  

  • I think all of these characters were in a box.Sylvia was in a box because of her parents. They acted as if she shouldn't have hopes and dreams and as if she shouldn't try to succeed.Elena in American History was boxed in by her ethnicity, and where she lived. When she went to study with Eugene, his mother said "Eugene is smart, he doesn't need to study with you.", after she had asked where Elena lived. Lisa Page from High Yellow White Trash was boxed in by her family and her race and ethnicity. She had 2 disguises, her white and black girl disguise. She felt she had to be someone not herself around blacks and whites.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:28 PM  

  • I think that the girl in American History was stuck in a box that her parents put around her because they were poor, and Puerto Rican. The girl couldn't control either of these things because that's the way things were. She couldn't be in honors classes because English was not her first language, and that wasn't her fault. She also lives in El Building which is why Eugene's mom won't let her study with him. She isn't trying to get out of the box, because there is nothing that she can do about it.

    Alijah, Jacobs, 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:31 PM  

  • I think that in a few stories, the main characters were trapped in a box, where the force keeping them in that box was the mother or father. For example, In Sylvia's story, Sylvia was stuck in a box where she could not act American, and had to follow the rules of her family, because her mother only accepted that. I think she was in an internal box in that case, because she didn't know what she was going to do with her life.

    Another connection I found was that in both HYWT and Crickets, a person is forced to switch between 2 identities, for the sake of blending in with other people. Also, in Crickets, Bill is trapped in a box where he can only be American, because he knows nothing about his Vietnamese culture. His father wants him to escape that box, but Bill has become too American, and is not interested in what interests the Vietnamese people.

    Sameer, Jacobs 8-9

    By Blogger SuperSameer!, at 2:38 PM  

  • In Crickets, Bill wants to be an American boy, but his father wants him to at least respect his culture. In Sylvia's Story, Sylvia wants to break free from the traditions she doesn't like from her culture, but is very pressured to continue these traditions. These are similar in that they are both trying to escape from a box put there by their parents and by their culture. The difference is Sylvia is very intentionally pushing away, whereas Bill is just doing what the people around him do.

    Luke, Jacobs, 8-9

    By Blogger REDhare2201, at 3:22 PM  

  • I think that Sylvia's parents and "Ted" from cricket. I think there both are in the same box. They are both trapped in a box, America. Neither one really wants to be there. Sylvia's parents want to go back to Puerto Rico. "Ted" had to flee Vietnam with his wife and has never been very happy in America. They are also alike because they both want to share there culture with there children.

    Mary, Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:44 PM  

  • i believe that both sylvia and the girl from high yellow white trash are stuck in a box. a box of wanting to be someone. the girl in high yellow white trash is wanting to fit in, since she is half white and half black she wants to fit in with her black or white friends but finds it very difficult. sylvia on the other hand is being nagged and bothered about getting married early and have kids at an early age. but to sylvia that is like being a nobody,a nobody without life. both of the two characters want to escape that box.

    Alex, Ms. Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:46 PM  

  • In the story Crickets, Ted kinda knows he should try to fit in and wants to, but at the same time he tries to be kinda like a person from Vietnam because it's his first nature. Also he wants his son to at least know what it's like to be Vietnamese, because he might like it, but Bill was born in America and apparently Ted didn't act quick enough because Bill already took in America, Ted is trying to help him escape.

    In Sylvia's Story the same thing happened to her that happened to Bill except her parents acted sooner, but not soon enough because she doesn't want to be like everyone other Mexican family and her parents are intent on making her like them, it's the opposite of Cricket, she wants to get out of the box but they wont let her. Also unlike Bill her parents won't accept her being American. (not that Bill's dad did at first but he tried and he
    recognized it was too lat.)
    -Kevin, 8-9, Jacobs

    By Blogger Kravin, at 4:04 PM  

  • I think that I can most relate the story crickets to high yellow white trash.
    In both stories, the main characters are fighting with them selves and struggling with split a personality. Also in both stories the main character has two sides. Thieu and the girl In H.Y.W.T. always keep a part of there other personality with them.

    --David #1
    Jacobs 8-9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:20 PM  

  • I found a connection between sylvia and the girl from American history. they are both trying to fit in and succeed in life. but with that comes breaking down the walls that people in there lives have built to keep them from doing that. they have complications from sylvias parents not sharing the same idea of her education plans to the girl from american history not having english as her first language so she cant take honors classes.

    whitney jacobs 3-4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:24 PM  

  • The Theme for English and High Yellow White Trash have characters who live in between the white and black world. In Lisa Page's story the girl says that she has had to “Learn to accept that a paradox is a part of life.” That seeing two opposite things and living two opposite lives at the same time is a “source of energy and strength.” The characters in both stories have learned to recognize that life isn’t just “black and white” that there are also shades of grey. She is always thinking outside the box, as she tries to fit into both worlds.

    Elena’s circumstances have placed her in a box. She is poor girl from Puerto Rico who lives in a tenement. She wants to get out of her box by living an American life, and dreams of going to college and becoming a teacher. By contrast, her parents dream of making enough money so that they can go back to Puerto Rico and retire. When Eugene’s mother tells her to go home, she realizes it is because she is from Puerto Rico and it isn’t as easy as she thought it would be to escape from her box.
    In Crickets, Bill has escaped his box by becoming Americanized. He can’t relate to Vietnamese culture at all. He likes Superheros, American things and fashionable clothes, and isn’t interested in the crickets. Bill does not notice his differences. This is opposite fromn Elena, who recognizes them when Eugene’s mother tells her to go home.


    Kate, Jacobs 8-9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:36 PM  

  • i think sylvia is stuck in a box because her mom wants sylvia to be a house wife like her but sylvia doesn't want to be a house wife. instead she wants to be a graphic designer. in the sylvia story she says every time she wants get out of the box her pushes her back in and every time she makes a hole in the box her mom tapes up the hole.

    in crickets ted trys to get bill to get in to his culture but instead he his more intersted in his shoes.
    Rafer, Ms. Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:33 AM  

  • I think that in Sylvia's story and American History there is a connection in the way, by this I mean that the parents are both trying to keep them in a box, when they want to get out. I think BIll from crickets has the same situation but breaks the box and lifes his own life, not his parents like the others.

    By Blogger Jonah, at 6:38 AM  

  • Sylvia's parents and ''Ted'' the dad in crickets are in very similar boxed. They both wanted to have there children to be like how they were in the childhood. like in the song Boxes where he tells about how all the people are the same, and there children do exactly what there parents do. They are in a "box."

    -Benny, Ms. Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:32 AM  

  • i think people are afraid to leave there "box" because they think if they don't "fit in" then people wont like them. Also, they might have people pressuring them to do something or to change something so they feel like there in a "box". so the moral here is don't be afraid to be your self.
    kasey-ms jacobs-3-4 period

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:11 AM  

  • In the first poem we read this year Langston Hughes talks about all of things we like that make us all alike. It seems that he will convince his white professor that blacks and whites are equal with this poem except he is missing one thing--that thing is the status of a white man. In Cricket Ted tries to connect with his son by showing him the arts of cricket fighting. It almost works but they don't have the right crickets.







    -Ethan , Mrs. Jacobs 8/9 or on tuesdays and fridays8

    By Anonymous froggerocks, at 11:32 AM  

  • I picked Sylvia's Story, American History and High Yellow White Trash because they all had external boxes. Sylvia's box is that she is Hispanic. Her mom is wanting her to grow up to be the "typical" Hispanic girl, getting married, having kids etc. But Sylvia doesn't want that, she wants to go to college. The girl in HYWT's box is that she's biracial. The white side of the family wants her to be more white but she doesn't want to be. The girl in American History's box is her ethnicity and her socioeconomic status. Eugene's mom is keeping her inside her box and the school is keeping her inside the box.

    I think that Sylvia could get out of her box if she stops and or doesn't listen to her mom anymore and goes with what she wants to do. I think she could do that because when she was younger, she was practically supporting her family. I think that the girl in HYWT could get out of her box by staying with her dad's side of the family or becoming more comfortable with herself when she's with her mom's side of the family. But the girl in American History, I don't think she is able to come out of her box. I think that because the external forces are too strong to get out of.

    Anna, Jacobs, 3-4

    By Blogger Unknown, at 1:11 PM  

  • I think Sylvia and Eugene are both trapped in a box in the same way, by their parents. Their parents wont let them do the things they want to do. For example: Sylvia wants to be an american girl and be a graphic designer, but her mom wants her to be a mexican girl an serve her husband. Another example: Eugene wants The girl to come study with him but his mom doesnt be cause she is, A) puerto rican and B) Because Eugene moves a lot so she doest want him to make freinds.

    -= Will, Jacobs 3/4=-

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:43 PM  

  • I think that, the Vietnamese father from "Crickets", and Sylvia are both in a box. I think this because they both had a tough life and now the father is trying to connect to his son, even though it's not working, and Sylvia is in a box because her mother keeps her in the box and her mother wants her in the box.


    I can relate to these stories and at least one way. I can relate tp Sylvia's story because I feel like my mom is keeping me in a box and that she keeps trying to close the box, even though she's not as afraid as Sylvia's mother she's stilled a little too afraid of me coming out. In the story Crickets, I am Bill. But not in the same way. My parents don't make me learn there, first language but they try to teach me a little too much and it's not very fun.


    --Kate, Jacobs 3-4.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 1:48 PM  

  • I will chose “Theme for English B” and “High Yellow White Trash”. One connection I found in the two of them was that both the narrators were in "boxes" race boxes to be exact. For “Theme for English B”, the narrator is colored, so he mostly sees things from a black person’s "eyes", therefore, he is stuck in a “black box.” In “High Yellow White Trash”, the narrator also sees things from biracial "eyes". One of the differences in the characters "boxes" is that the narrator in “High Yellow White Trash” can see from mostly two points of view. (black and white)

    ~Angelina, Ms.Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:56 PM  

  • Although the story wasn't in his point of view, i thought the son of ted felt like he was in a box because his dad didn't realize that he just wanted to be a 10 year old american boy. It didn't say that but it could be true.

    -carra, Ms. Jacobs 8/9

    By Blogger Carra Gray, at 1:57 PM  

  • I think that in Sylvia's story, Sylvia is stuck in a box because of here mother. Every time she tries to get out of the box, here mom will find a way to push her back in.

    I think that in the story Crickets, Bill was stuck in a box because of his father. His dad wants him to be Vietnamese like the rest of the family and Bill wants to be American.

    Karen, Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:20 PM  

  • Dear Ms. Jacobs,

    I think that high yellow white trash and sylvia's story are the kind've the same because they are both stuck in a box. In sylvia's she is stuck in a box with her mom. and in high yellow she is stuck in box because of her skin color.

    thanks ms. jacobs,
    Della

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:42 PM  

  • I think that in High Yellow White Trash the girl was trapped in a box because she was half African American and half white. I think that she was in a box because she didn't know what she wanted to be African American or if she want's to be white. If she chooses to be African American She can be louder and listen to more hip-hop jazz, but if she chooses to be white then she should listen to more slow music motzart and be more quite so thats why i think she's trapped in a box.


    Carl
    Humanities 8-9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:54 PM  

  • I think there is a similarity between Crickets and American History. I think that is because the father from Crickets and the girl from American History are both trapped in boxes by people that are very important to them. For the father, his son is the one trapping him in a box. The father wants his son to be interested in his culture but not be unhappy, which means that it is sometimes unnatural for them when they are together. The father wants to impress his son. That is similar to American History because the girl is trapped in her box by Eugene. She also wants to impress him. I think that both of them are in a box also because of fear. They don't want the person who is trapping them in their boxes to dislike them. That is why I think the father from Crickets and the girl from American History are both trapped in boxes in similar ways.

    Madeline, Ms. Jacobs 3-4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:27 PM  

  • I think that in both Sylvia and High Yellow White trash, both of thier mothers don't fully eccept who they truly are, and try to change what the two girls feel on the inside.

    Sylvia and Bill, as well are simalar in the generations way. Both their partents are trying to get them interested in what their backrounds tells them to. They both arent interested whatsoever and as a result, they both end up somewhat happy.

    -Leah Ms. Jacobs 8-9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:51 PM  

  • I think Sylvia and the main character from "HYWT" can both relate.
    Like many other people said, both their parents are playing a big role in each of the girls boxes. Sylvia's parents are pressuring her to become more "mexican", HYWT's parents are of diffrent races, preventing her from fitting in that well.
    Sylvia's box is internal.She is deciding whether or not to give in to her mother. HWYT's box is external, because the people around her don't accept her, forcing her into a box.
    -Francine, Ms Jacobs 3/4
    :)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:12 PM  

  • In the Sylvia story it seems that she is trapped in the box because of her mother. The reason is because her mother was in a way deciding her live for her. She wasn't listening to Sylvia's opinion. All she wanted was to make a good example for her aunt.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:24 PM  

  • I think that Lisa Page from High Yellow White Trash and Ted from Crickets have similar boxes. Ted wants to blend in with the large Americans and speak their language normally so he doesn't act like a typical vietnamese. Lisa Page also wants to blend in with both of her worlds - her white world, and her black world- both Ted and Lisa both want to blend in and so they don't act how they truly want to. This is an internal box because they force it upon themselves to blend in even though they don't truly need to. Both Ted and Lisa believe that it will be worse for them if they don't blend in so they force it upon themselves. Both their internal boxes are practically the same.

    -David Y. ,Jacobs 8-9

    By Blogger niteblak, at 4:32 PM  

  • I think that Crickets and Sylvia's story are connected in the way that both storys involve parents trying to get their kids to be something they aren't. In crickets, the father wants his son to atleast try being vietnamiese, however his son, Bill, is comepletely ininterested. In Sylvia's story, her family, and her mom especialy, want her to be a traditional mexican girl, however Sylvia want's to be an American.

    Sam, Ms. Jacobs 8/9

    By Blogger Unknown, at 5:21 PM  

  • I think that sylvia was stuck in a box because her family doesn't except that she wants to be different because they all grew up in the box, and the girl from "HYWT" is stuck in a box because her mom doesn't except that she doesn't want to act like her.

    By Anonymous Cydney, Jacobs 3-4, at 6:12 PM  

  • Sylvia is trapped in a box like all of us, but our boxes are all different. Our parents make that box for us so we can be just like them. In Sylvia's case her mother does not want her to get out of the box. I think it's sad that Sylvia's mother doesn't realize that there is something more to life than what she sees . In American Boy his father wants him to stay in the box to know and appreciate his culture without pushing him too much. His father also has to add an american touch to the culture to get his sun to listen .

    -Gabrielle , Ms. Jacobs 8/9

    By Blogger Unknown, at 7:25 PM  

  • I think that in the sylvia story there was an outside force trapping her in her box. Which in this case was her parents. And in crickets he was trapped in a box and until the end, when he relized HE needed to change. Not his son.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:00 AM  

  • In "HYWT" the main character was in a box that was both internal and external. The external force is because she is born biracial and the caucasian side of her famiy did not really accept her as a part of the family. the internal box is that she doesn't really know what her identity is because it says that she felt schitsophrenic about her identity.

    In Sylvia's story Sylvia is forced into a box by an external force. The external force is that her mom doesn't really want her to get an education and be different from the rest of her family. She wants her to be the same as Sylvia's cousins. Sylvia's mother is worried that if she is different something bad might happen. She thinks that she won't want to see them anymore because this is what Sylvia's aunt told her.

    -Jonathan, Ms. Jacobs 3/4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:44 AM  

  • Sylvia and Bill are both stuck in boxes that were created by their parents. Other parts of the box were created by race, gender, ethnicity,and religion. Neither Bill nor Sylvia want to stay in their boxes.

    Mimi Jacobs 8,9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:58 AM  

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