Blog #3
February 9, 2020
Hao Ran Chen
Aim: How can the use of annotations aid in analyzing the figurative language, tone and conflict in “My Name,” by Sandra Ciseneros?
Annotations help me keep track of what's going on in the story. As I read I would stop to analyze what’s happening, this occasional pause helps me notice the various diction and syntax. Those would lead me to the figurative languages used in the text.
Do Now: What does your name mean? If you don’t know, look it up.
According to the internet my name means vast, expansive, and overwhelming. In my opinion I think this is completely untrue. One fun fact I learned from the internet is that many famous chinese poets and writers in the past also had my name. I like reading a lot so this makes me feel a bit closer to my name.
Team Discussion: Do you know why your parents chose your name? Who chose it? Were you named after a particular person? Why were you named after him or her?
I don’t talk much with my parents and I never asked them so I don’t know why they chose this name. Hao Ran is a pretty popular name at that time among chinese people, so that may be why. From what I know about my grandpa he writes poems a lot, and some famous poets had my name before, so that could also be a possibility.
Sandra Cisarnos “My Name”
Esperanza uses her grandmother’s story to figuratively show us the meaning of her name. To add on to her grandma’s experiences she also has her own share of pain that accompanies her name. She was teased and bullied for her name, ultimately it causes her to have a desire for a new identity.
Reading this story, I don’t read felt anything since it doesn’t make any sense. I get that your name could be used as a way to humiliate you, but how does she get so upset only that. I have a weird name, and many people said bad things about it, but it never bothered me. In my opinion this story is a bit too unrealistic.
Annotation Video
I annotated before for schoolwork, and I used a very similar method as the video. They were pretty useful in helping me answer the questions my teacher asked me about the books. These annotations helped me keep track of what I'm reading, but I felt like I could have done the same without it. It would be useful for more complex books though, so I’ll probably use annotation in the future.
Reflection
In this lesson I learned the importance of one’s name. This is because its part of our identity, a word we heard often in our life. Some people might have a totally meaningless name, or one that causes them harm. Regardless I think that you should just accept it since it’s part of you anyways. In this lesson I also learned many tips for annotating, and was reminded of the benefits of annotating while reading.
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