Bianca Duarte's Blog

  After viewing microlecture 1, part B on There There, I definitely feel very knowledgeable on indigenous ways of communication and methods of documentation. I find it very interesting to see how indigenous literature and storytelling has evolved over the years. Another thing I thought of was how the indigenous people could completely understand what these symbols and works meant, but it would take people a while to interpret their works. For example, the star maps that consisted of a pawnee star chart that was painted on deer hide would be hard to interpret from the eyes of someone that is not familiar with their art and literature. It takes someone who is very familiar and knowledgeable on the art form to depict it. I can compare this to basic literature today because almost anyone that can read at a fluent level can understand a book depending on how difficult it is to read, but older indigenous forms of communication are harder to understand. Another interesting thing that fascinat

       After viewing microlecture 1, part A on There There, I definitely had a better understanding fo Native American history in general and within literature. I find it truly fascinating how the literary history of Indigenous storytelling goes all the way back before the main era of storytelling, print, and before the period of contact with Europeans in the Americas. I can compare this information to There There because I can now recognize hoe Native American literature has evolved. It makes me appreciate the novel even more, but I can also appreciate the older methods of literature and storytelling. Another important topic that made me think differently about the novel relates to older Native American literature and history that is written from the perspective of the oppressors instead of a first hand account from the Native Americans themselves. Without having their voice heard, history can be misshapen and their narratives are definitely not told correctly. With learning this info

    After watching the interview of Tommy Orange regarding There There, I began to respect him even more as a father and author. Orange speaks about the writing process and how long it took him, and I am truly impressed by how well the book is written especially since this is his debut novel. This only means he can go up from this novel so I am very excited to read the following novel he writes. Orange spoke about how he started the book when he found out he was having a child, and even when the child was born, he would wake up early, write, and stay up late to write. He chipped at it day by day which is very impressive especially since he had a job and a child. Another thing mentioned in the interview was how Orange planned to have more characters in the novel. I am very interested in knowing how much they added to the novel and if eliminating them from the novel was the best choice. Perhaps he will speak about the other characters in another interview, but I am very intrigued on the

       One thing that is surprising me from There There so far is how different it is from Hayy Ibn Yaqzan. I appreciate how different both texts are from each other and the variety of texts we have been able to read this quarter. Going into reading There There I was expecting a novel with a strong cohesive vocabulary, but I find it refreshing how the novel is easy to understand and it includes diction that is easy to read and follow along with. I do appreciate hard to read/ more difficult works to read and comprehend, but I find There There to be very compelling and an easy read, but that does not stray away from the fact that it promotes and emphasizes many important themes and ideas related to the Natve Americans and their culture. The geographical location of the novel is also very interesting to me because it is not that far away from Santa Clara, and it isn’t even that far away from my hometown, Gilroy. References to Oakland and the Colosseum truly catch my attention each and e

       Finding texts and solid primary sources has been a journey, but I am slowly beginning to condense my choices to have my primary sources be set and ready to dig deeper into the intertextuality project. My secondary sources are not as connected as I want them to be to my topic, so I will definitely have to do a deep dive and find sources that are not only relevant to female protagonists in novels based in the United States, but in other parts of the world as well. I also have been finding secondary sources relating to African American women which is very good, but I also need to open up my lens to have a variety of races and cultures pertaining to my topic. My topic is based on literary texts that depict a defiant female protagonist from multiple time periods and diverse locations and regions. My emphasis is specifically on women of color because as a woman of color myself, I would like to learn more about this specific area of history in literature. I definitely need to do more w

     One of the three context links that caught my eye was the “What Native Land Am I On.” After reading the first part of There There, I have a better understanding of the meaning of the native land to the natives and how much they take pride in their own identity and the history of their ancestors. When I clicked on the link, I was led to the Native Land Digital Map, which reminds me a bit of Neatline, but it is also very different. There is a spot to put any address you would like, and I put my home address to see which territory my home is in. One thing that I found interesting was that the map did not only show territories, but you have the ability to see what language was spoken in that territory and what treaties that were held in that location. I found this to be fascinating and it directly relates to There There because it shows the history of the natives throughout the world and it allows the user to explore and find meaning with their history. When searching my hometown, I

       As stated in the blog post prompt post, Hayy Ibn Yaqzan translates to,” The Improvement of Human Reason” which is not what I expected it would translate to. I personally believe it is not just “ the improvement is given by the book itself to its readers” and not solely “the improvement of human reasoning over the course of evolution.” I believe that it is a combination of both ideas intertwined together.  Knowing the translation of  Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, I would say that the improvement is given by the book itself to its readers because the book is converting many themes and through Hayy’s experiences, the reader is able to use the lessons and ideas he learned in their own lives. I would also state that it is the improvement of human reasoning over the course of evolution because as we see, Hayy develops his ideas and comes to certain realizations over a long period of time. When he was born and taken in by the doe, he was unknowing, but as he developed over time, he was able to find

       After reading Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, I was heavily reflecting on life and life’s purpose as well as lessons I learned. I have not truly read anything like this before, but the closest thing I have read would be some of my early readings in my philosophy class that I am taking this quarter. After reading my philosophy readings, I would be left with so many questions and I would delve more into the topic at hand. After reading Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, I have that same feeling as I reflect on the lessons and purpose in the novel. Hayy Ibn Yaqzan is definitely a philosophical text and Hayy makes it clear that humans are essentially superior to animals and are at the top of the chain or in the hierarchy. I find this interesting because as we read in Hayy Ibn Yaqzan , we see that Hayy focuses on highlighting human growth and learning from one’s surroundings. We notice this when Hayy is taken in by the Doe and becomes “one of them” but he eventually becomes self-aware and notices that he does not l

       So far, I have just begun deep diving for sources regarding the final project. My project is focusing on literary texts that depict a defiant female protagonist(specifically women of color). After having my meeting with Michelle, I realized that I need to do a deeper dive and have an open mind when looking into sources, specifically when finding my primary sources. I have found a decent amount of secondary sources, but they are not as varied as I would like them to be regarding having diverse locations and backgrounds within a vast time period. I definitely need to use different keywords when searching for sources because I tend to find the same ones, but if I add new keywords, I know that I will find good sources that will assist me in my project. I also definitely need to make an appointment with kelci so she can help me in my research and my searching process. One text that I am definitely going to use as a primary source is a novel named Sula by Toni Morrison. Toni Morrision

       One image/symbol I recognized in Hayy Ibn Yaqzan was the significance of the doe(deer). I noticed the deer represent the motherly figures and provide comfort. The deer also tend to show all forms of unconditional love and kindness as well. As the Doe raises Hayy as her own, Hayy feels loved and welcomed into a new “family” even though he looks nothing like the doe. He is taught all sorts of things such as how to take care of yourself such as grooming and how to live on your own. Due to Hayy being alone, the doe is the closest thing he has to family, and he appreciates the love they give to him each and every day. The doe is a large part of Hayy’s life and it shows how loyal the doe is. Reading about how the Doe was taking care of Hayy reminded me of my mother because she did all that she could for me to grow up and she taught me the things I know today. Even though Hayy was completely different from the Doe, Hayy was accepted and was raised with love. Hyy even received milk from