Fences setting

The setting of the play is in the 1950's in an urban home in a north american industrial city.

Things that were going on at this time in the united states:

• Hola hoops became popular
• First organ transplant 
• Colored tv introduced
• Seat belts introduced
• Polio vaccine created
• DNA discovered 
• Joseph Stalin Dies 
• First modern credit card created
• Segregation ruled illegal in the US
• Rosa park rufuses to give up her seat
• TV remote control invented
• NASA founded 
• Kitchen Debate Between Nixon and Khrushchev

http://history1900s.about.com/od/timelines/tp/1950timeline.htm

Race and Racism

Racism is something that is talked about often, especially in school when it comes to racism “blacks” have experienced. “At a young age I already knew the standards for a girl like me as I become older they become more obvious.” What this means is that as a young child you start learning about race and racism; and this knowledge grows as you age and it makes you realize racism is a horrible reality. Racism is something that people have drilled into America’s head and even though people claim that racism is “abolished” it is not even close to being half way done.

Through out time Africans have been treated as slaves and later, even though they were not slaves anymore, they were still discriminated for being a different color. Not only Africans have encountered such events of discrimination Hispanics, Muslims, and many others have been down this road. White people have been taught that racism is right and they have the right to carry such duty forward. The girls in the video “A girl like me featurette” think that black people are suppose to be a specific way. They believe that a black girl is considered a girl with a big butt, big boobs, nappy hair, stupid, and etc. Even young people of other races start believing that they are supposed to be a certain way.

 For example some people say that Hispanic girls are whores and they are all board hoppers. Young people have heard these statements so much that they start believing that it is right. Young people have the understanding that being white is the best and that being black is wrong. When in fact they have no controlling over the color of their skin but still they think it is their fault and they just start accepting the fact that whites will be superior to them. At this rate African Americans will always be remembered as slaves, Hispanics will always be remembered as immigrants/aliens, Muslims will always be remembered as terrorists. Young people have the understanding that the best race is the white race.

Gender can add on to racism. Gender can have a great impact on how race and racism will affect the person.  Girls tend to have their gender bring a greater impact on them then a boy would. Being a different can be the cherry on top the ice-cream sundae we call racism and cherry would be the sexism.

Girls tend to have it tougher considering the fact that when a girl goes somewhere they are considered incapable of doing things that only men can do. So people look down on them and being a different race would all add up because being black or being Hispanic and being a women people (especially men would not take you seriously). They take women being serious as a joke because they believe that women are supposed to be cooking and being a house wife they should be breaking a nail out in the “real world”. Race is something people should not take so seriously, race is something that has been made up in order to maintain superiority and dominance. Race is something that just categories humans into different groups due to their ethnic background. America being the land of the free should not have racism considering the fact that everyone in America has derived from somewhere other than America. So the so called “Americans” have no right to discriminate others for the color of their skin considering the fact that the natives are the only ones who can shun the people that are different. Although the natives had the right to do such a thing they did not and the whites took advantage of them and they betrayed them. Which proves that race is something that was made up, and most signs point to the whites as the creators of racism; which would mean there is no such thing as race and racism should not exist. And if there is such thing as race there would only be one race which would be the HUMAN RACE.        

J.F.K's Inaugural Address

The negative impact that Kennedy believes science has had on the world is that it has brought violence and destruction upon the human race. In his speech he states, "...before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf humanity in planned or accidental destruction." he later states, "...Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors." What he means by this is that the human race has used the power of science for evil and they have misused science. He believes we should further explore science and use it for good things and to better the human race. Two ways that Kennedy believes that science can positively affect the future is by using the power of science to cure diseases and to explore the unknown depth of the ocean. As he states in his speech,"....to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce." He wants us to use the wonders and powers of science for the betterment of the generations of mankind to come. An example of the misuse of science would be the bombings in the final stages of World War II; the creation of all these nuclear weaponry. This resulted in many lives lost thanks to the science that opened the door way to nuclear weaponry. 

Kennedy believes that true progress only results from nations working together for change. In his speech he states, "  Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us." ; he later says, "Let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah -- to "undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free." Kennedy believes that if both sides unite and they work together to resolve one problem it would easily be done, instead of working against each other and bringing one another more issues. He believes that if everyone unites we can repair and restore everything that has been damaged and destroyed due to the isolation of every side. Being unified is something that is possible and happens every once in a while here and there.  An example of this would be like when a natural disaster occurs everyone is willing to put everything aside and help and actually work together in something that will resolve a bad doing. 

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's day is an Irish celebration. St. Patrick's day is also known as Feast of Saint Patrick and Patrick's Day. St. Patrick's day is celebrated March 17th.  St. Patrick's day is named after Saint Patrick who was a patron saint( he is one of the most well known patron saint of Ireland). The history of St. Patrick's day is that Patrick was a normal British boy who one day was kidnapped and sold as a slave to Ireland. When Patrick finally escaped he went back to Britain and then France; he then studied and became a Bishop. Later on he returned to Ireland to spread the word of god. Since he made such a big impression on the people of Ireland when he died they named the holiday after him. This is the history of St. Patrick's day!

Thinking Different.

When someone steps out of the box and behave in an “unconventional” or “unacceptable” way, people do not accept their decision and they are rejected. In this video Don Haskins decides to take a African American,” Black”, player onto his team. This demonstrates that Don was different from most coaches at that time. He decided to take in a “black” player when no one else was willing to do so. At that time there were no interracial teams and he was about to make that change. Don decision is very important think different because everyone else had an all whites team and blacks were not allowed to play. This is similar to “Into the Wild.” because Chris McCandless decides to live in the wild; something the society thought was unconventional. This did not stop him from leaving; he was determined to prove to society that they were not living life to the fullest.     

Overcoming Obstacles

Everyone has problems. There are many problems someone has to overcome. Many of these problems are small but to someone who is facing them it may seem like the biggest obstacle they have yet faced. For example there was one problem that I had to overcome when I was a child. The problem was with my mom’s side of the family and the way they treated me. They would always consider and view me as the black sheep of the family (even though at the time I was only 8-9 years old but they still consider me the black sheep). They did not want me around and I could tell by the way they treated me. Everything I did was wrong and nothing I ever did could be right. There was once a time when I used to talk to my cousin. She was nice and she was a good friend (or at least that’s what I thought).

The day that everything started to make sense was when i attended a party. I was talking to my cousin. We had decided to play tag. We were playing for most of the party and everything seemed to be going very well and then her mother called her over. Her mother told her to go inside the house and to stay there. So I was left alone. I told my mom, “Mommy, she doesn’t want her to play with me.” “That’s not true she probably has to go do something inside that’s all. I bet she does want to play with you.” “Her mom doesn’t want me around her.” “Do not think that she probably just wants her to do something important and that’s why she called her.” “Ok mom.” Then when she came back out i went over to her and she just ignored me. “Why don’t you want to talk?” “I’m not supposed to talk to you, my mom told me not to” “what why?” “She just told me not to, so can you go away and leave me alone.” “Ok I will leave.” So I walked away and she went over to her brothers. Her brothers would always talk badly about me. They would always think more of themselves. When I would walk by them they would throw what ever they found laying by they would mostly be rocks or pebbles. Every time they would laugh as they threw the rocks at me and she would join in and laugh at me too. Sometimes I just wanted to throw something back at them but I couldn’t.

They would always ostracize me. In their eyes i was no good. They would always put me down. Even the adults would act like childern at times. They wouldnt want any of their chidern to be around me. When i was having fun it was wrong, so they would always find a way to make the fun for me end. My parents were blind and they never saw what they did to me. When ever I told them they would tell me to deal with it or that I was imagining things because they were good children. My parents thought nothing of my words, they still think this way. Nothing was going my way. Every party or every family event i went to it would be the same ordeal. My moms family didnt like me and i couldnt change that. I would always think that it was my fault that they didnt like me. I thought i did something wrong. Their words and their hate were getting to me. I had to stop but this obstacle was very hard to overcome. I didnt get over this obstacle until i got to middle school.

Once I got to my middle school year I put my foot down. I was done listening to them and what they had to say. I didn’t care that they didn’t like me. They tried to make me go to Maxson and not Hubbard but they couldn’t convince me I refused to go to the same school they were going to. I finally got to let my feelings out and tell them that they had no right to tell me what to do. They were shocked at the fact that I actually talked back to them; I thought it was inevitable; I was a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. At that moment they had nothing else to say so I got up and walked away with dignity. My parents even thought it was a good idea to go to Maxson but I refused to go to that school. And they decided to actually hear me out and let me go to Hubbard.

Once I got into Hubbard, I felt like it was going to be a big change with the fact that I actually stood up to my mean cousins and the fact that I was going to a new school. So in the end I over came my obstacle, even if it did take a few years. I stood up to my cousins, even though they still look down at me, but I learned to actually forgive and forget whatever they said in the past ,even though I will never be able to trust them.  They sometimes try to talk to me now and make up for what they did in the past, but I think its no use considering the fact that the things they did in the past actually made my life horrible at times. Considering all they did I believe it only made me stronger and wiser and I thank them for that because I wouldn’t want to be like them or even be friends with people like that. I’m grateful that obstacle was put on my path it has made me the person I am today and it has made me a greater person and brought me great friends I know wont treat me as bad as my family. Obstacles are hard to face but you can overcome them if you are determined enough. Obstacles only make you stronger.        

VALENTINES DAY!

 The history Valentine’s Day is all based off a man named valentine, St. Valentine to be specific. St. Valentine was a cleric who unified people in holy matrimony. At that time Claudius II was in power. Claudius II believed that marriage made the men, who were to go off to war, weak. He believed it made his men weak because they became too attached to their wives which would distract them from their duties. So he decided to make marriage illegal at the time. St. Valentine felt bad for the men, so he decided to perform secret marriages. He knew that in time he would be caught and when that day came he was arrested. After being arrested he was killed for acting against the emperor’s order; but before he was killed it is said that St. Valentine fell in love with the guard’s daughter. And before being executed he wrote a letter to her stating “From your Valentine.” He was killed February 14. From this legend February 14 has become Valentines Day.

The advice I have for the people in a relationship is that they have to be fully committed to the person they are with. They can not just back out before a holiday or before they meet the other person’s family. Also the people in the relationship should get to know the other person very well; if they know the other person is not a Monday person they should just back off a little on Mondays before they end up single. People should try to stay connected during spring break and they should stay faithful so they won’t break up other a spring break “romance”. So people should just control their hormones and actually feel something for the other person so the relationship will last.