All the light we cannot see prompt 1

    The structure of this novel is strange because every two or three pages, it changes character perspective. In those two or three pages, the author includes an important event, exposition, or some sort of buildup. While strange, this method is effective at keeping the interest of readers over long periods of time. The author employs a "cliffhanger approach" not unlike television programs to retain the attention of viewers. In those three page chapters, there is always some interesting plot point that isn't immediately clear or isn't immediately resolved. That clarity or resolution could occur in the next few pages or in the next few sections. This constant feeling of the unknown keeps the reader interested and wanting to know more. This is very common in television programs because those who tune in want to know what happens and because they left you on a cliffhanger, you have to see the next part to find out. The author's use of this strategy will keep the reader interested and their interest will cause them to recommend the book to others because it was interesting. Recommendations lead to more people buying the book which leads to making loadsamoney. This may not have been his reason to make the book like this, but it's a perfect recipe for making more than the usual amount of money writers make.

Oral history prompt 3

    The interview went well. We had a pleasant conversation and the interviewee was easy to talk to. In hindsight, however, it could have been better. For one thing, we had not received previous confirmation for the videotaping, so we could not take a video. Another mistake was that we blazed through the list of questions and did not ask any follow up questions until we got almost all the way through the list, making it difficult to carry on with the interview past the fifteen minute mark. However, we did manage to make it a full hour interview using follow up questions and in the end we got some interesting information from our interviewee. In the future I would come prepared with more questions and have immediately responded with a follow up question in case of an interesting point the interviewee makes but does not elaborate on. There were many cases in the interview where the interviewee mentioned a significant part of her life and did not elaborate on it and instead of asking a follow up question, we overlooked it. Despite these errors, we were able to obtain interesting information from her. For example we found out why she became a doctoral student and why goals are such an important thing to her.

Oral history prompt 2

    Maria Jimenez came to Houston in the fifties and went to Franklin Elementary. It was here that she first experienced racism toward Mexican-Americans. At Franklin, she was not allowed to speak Spanish and was cut off from her culture entirely. Even speaking Spanish to classmates who understood it caused her to receive threats of being reported. Her teachers refused to pronounce her surname correctly and her classmates openly made fun of her heritage. 

This article interested me because it shed light on the plight of the Mexican-American of the fifties and sixties. This is an issue which has been swept under the rug, so to speak. It seems to me that it has been obscured by the African-American Civil Rights movement, Gay Rights movement, and the Vietnam War protests. These were major events that dealt with pressing issues, but they seem to have garnered much more attention than the Mexican-American Civil Rights movement, which dealt with an equally pressing issue. It was interesting, albeit saddening, to be able to learn more about the daily lives of Mexican-Americans in a much more oppressive America.

https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/2015/07/a-life-of-activism-maria-jimenez/ 

Oral history prompt

    In this oral history, Marilyn Hillerman and her daughter, Andrea Crook, went over the time when Andrea began to experience an unspecified mental illness. She called her mother one day and Marilyn knew from how her daughter spoke that she needed help. Marilyn offered for Andrea to stay at her home, but she refused. Marilyn then visited Andrea and they both got into her car and went onto the freeway. At this point, Andrea panicked and attempted to jump out of the car window, and her mother held her back. They received a police escort to a hospital. Andrea refused to take her meds until her grandfather called, urging her otherwise and informing her that he had been through the same issue. It was then that Andrea began to recover from her illness.

Follow up questions: 

(directed to both) How has this experience changed your life?

(directed to Hillerman) When you were on  the phone, how did you notice that your daughter was in distress?

(directed to Crook) Before you were treated, how was this illness affecting your everyday life? 

https://storycorps.org/listen/marilyn-hillerman-and-andrea-crook-151009/# 

Persepolis prompt 4

     Persepolis is a memoir about an Iranian woman who faces racism in foreign countries and sexism in her own country. It is part of the broader conversation of racism and sexism in the world. It is a helpful book for those who are unaware of their privilege because it could make them aware that there are people being judged for their race, gender and anything else that they cannot change about themselves. As a white, heterosexual male, I could never experience her hardship. I would not even be aware how easy my life is compared to what she has gone through if I had not read the book. I don't experience racism, sexism or the hardship of being an immigrant the way Marjane has. This book has brought light to the issues of racism and sexism in a way like no other. Through telling a personal story instead of a third-party description of what it's like to face those issues like I have seen in news and other media allows the reader to empathize and become more aware and understanding. 

Persepolis prompt 3

This book goes through multiple different settings. It begins in post-revolutionary Tehran when Marjane was ten. The book soon goes back in time to pre-revolutionary Tehran where Marjane is ignorant of the rest of the world and seeks that knowledge. In that pursuit, she begins to think for herself. Next, the book goes back to post-revolutionary Tehran where Marjane begins to form her own opinions. Then the book moves to the setting of her high school life in Austria where she deals with the issues of adolescence. The book ends by returning to post-revolutionary Tehran where Marjane has reached adulthood. 

    In pre and post revolutionary Tehran, the book talks a lot about how life was like with the shah in power and the lives and deaths of the protesters to convey an unstable atmosphere supported by the shading of the background. In dangerous or distressful times, the background is usually dark in shading. This background color modification is usually an indicator of significance to the protagonist. For example, on page 69 where she is at the last meeting with her uncle, the background is darkened to show a feeling of sadness and dread. If the background was a lighter shade, the same feeling wouldn't be conveyed.

    In the second half of the book, this idea of the black background is retained but used much less. Instead of darkened frames, the book utilizes pacing and urgency to convey the mood. Like in the party scene on page 153 of the second book, a lot of the scene has a bright white background, but it still feels like the same dark, unstable atmosphere. 

Persepolis prompt 2

    I think Marjane chose to leave Iran because of the liberties taken away from the public. Her life as a child was filled with things like chess and parties and having that taken away from her would already be shocking, but then her parents send her to Austria. In Austria, she found those liberties like playing chess and cards again and also found a new freedom, the ability to think for oneself that comes with being an adolescent. With all this behind her, returning to an even more conservative Iran would be terrifying to anyone. The simplest act could land you a fine, for example talking to a person of the opposite gender that has no familial or marital relation to you. Her decision to go to France was one that I would also make had I been in her situation.

persepolis prompt 1

    Marjane's relationship with her uncle was very important because she considered him a hero. She was jealous of some of her friends because they had family that were war heroes and family that was tortured in prison and her father experienced none of these things. She was disappointed because she had no amazing stories to tell to her friends about the life of her father. Her uncle had a life filled with hardship so she now had stories to tell to her friends about. She could tell them that her brave uncle endured prison and torture for years. Also he was family that she had not previously met and they could share points about their lives with each other. Her uncle is an interesting person as well, so that may have contributed to it.