Journal Two from Gavin

Gavin J Sullivan 

English 1109 at 10:30, T-Th

8/31/20 

Journal Two

Hello, fellow classmates, my name is Gavin Sullivan, and I look forward to seeing everyone each Monday and Wednesday. I come from Delaware, Ohio, and did all four years of high school at Buckeye Valley. I have a brother who is 18 named Camden who is in his second year of college here at OSUM.  My father is an Airforce veteran who used to work as an industrial engineer, and my mother works at the Aldi in Delaware. A little about my backstory I currently work two jobs, one at the Menards in Lewis Center, my other job is serving one weekend a month in the Ohio Air National Guard where I work as an aircraft mechanic. Some other things that you may want to know about me are that I build computers on occasion, and I also like to drive, and I am hoping to fix my Jeep Grand Cherokee. My fun facts would be that I do play video games on almost every platform, and I would like to get into welding.

Moving onto the House on Mango Street, my general feeling from the book tells me that Esperanza feels trapped by her situation. You can read it plain as day mostly in the first few pages “But what I remember the most is moving a lot.”- Sandra Cisneros writes this on page 3. This sets this tone of their families to struggle with staying in one place for more than one year. One can tell in an instant that the only thing that does not move is this family’s bond. After being in this situation for a while now you can tell that this family is brought together by their shared hardship in the chapter titled Hairs, we find Esperanza describing her mother’s hair. “…sweet to put your nose into when she is holding you, holding you and you feel safe…” This quote from Cisneros telling us readers Ezperanza’s feelings while embracing and remembering her mother’s hair. Her parents tried their best to provide for their families through hard work and care. But living so low on the totem pole has influenced young Esperanza especially after hearing from an adult who was stunned by her home. “You live There? The way she said it made me feel like nothing.” Cisneros telling us that Esperanza has to hear this from so many kids and now hears it again said by someone she looks to as a guide in learning. This leads me to further conclude that though her family is loving they are going though times. 

I feel as though I am currently going through these times myself, with the amount of not only work but worry I have accumulated due to these times due to my father being laid off my family's been feeling the pressure for a few months now and it is not enjoyable. My favorite passage is "For the time being, Mama says. Temporary, says Papa. But I know how these things go." I chose this one for the simple fact that everyone in a family can usually tell where certain events will lead them but I am hopeful that I may be wrong.