"Latino USA," Response (8)

This excerpt from Ilan Stavans' graphic novel "Latino USA," could quite possibly be the best text that I've read in class this term. Beginning with the introduction, Stavans writes in such a manner that is both highly complex in nature yet simplistic and easily accessible to the reader. By using this method, he is able to garner the audiences attention before he even truly begins, a tactic that I would definitely like to have in my own papers. I found the fact that the majority of citizens in Mexico actively purchasing and reading comic books to be every interesting, as here in America it is a largely unpopular feat compared to that of novels and magazines. Also, I completely agree with Stavans' reaction to the vast majority of American people looking down on comics, as I also feel that it is a more accurate reflection of our culture and society than certain works of nonfiction/fiction currently on the market now. As for the actual graphic novel portion of the excerpt, I feel that Stavans again made a deep topic like countries' histories and transformed it into something easy to understand, this time by adding pictures to accompany his words. It was a very enjoyable read, and after reading this I found myself wanting to get my hands on the actual work and finish it.

"Graphic Memoirs Come of Age," Response (7)

I want to begin by saying that William Bradley's article "Graphic Memoirs Come of Age," was an example of a masterful work of writing, in my opinion. His technique seemed rather simple yet very powerful, and the references used throughout, such as the Batman instance found on page 164, help to explain concepts like comic "gutters," that otherwise would be much more difficult to grasp and understand. This is how I would want my essays to read, and I will certainly take note for my upcoming research paper. The content found in this piece was very interesting as well, as Bradley explores just what exactly these non fiction graphic novels should be classified as. As someone who has read quite a few comic books growing up, I definitely found a way to relate to the argument being brought forth here in the text, which made it all that much more interesting to me. Personally, I feel that these works should still be viewed as graphic novels regardless of their narrative/nonfiction nature, as when read that is what they are essentially are at heart. It seems that the author here s adamant about disproving this claim, but I have to disagree as I see no harm in viewing it as such.

"White Tigers," Response (6)

I will start off by saying that this text is perhaps the best one I've read this year. The first part of the story is set up like a first-person warrior epic, and features the masterful use of literary devices such as imagery and symbolism to help drive the tale along. Also, I felt that the transitioning was brilliant in this piece, as it starts off with Kingston reminiscing of childhood stories regarding Fa Mu Lan warriors, and then jumping right into the folktale itself with her as the protagonist. Once the tale is told, the text transitions back into real life, with Kingston confessing that the story is essentially just that; a story. With this fluid transitioning throughout, it's pretty simple to keep up and stay with the author, unlike several of the other texts we've read in class this term. I also loved the end of the writing, in which the author contradicts the entire story of female Chinese warriors that she had been telling. According to Kingston, Chinese emigrants still view women as nothing more than wives and slaves, and they ultimately will have no power to fight for themselves. I felt that this was a twist to the reader, as after reading the tale of the White Tigers we would be expecting the author to have reached some epitomic point, but that is not the case. Overall, I enjoyed reading this piece, I felt that it was well-written and very interesting, with the use of several powerful literary devices.