The fourth of july:reading response
Paiden Brown
Mr. Smith
English 101: Composition 1
January 27, 2014
Reading Response Paper 1:
The Fourth of July
In “fourth of July”, it seemed to me that the main character was never really aware of the racism in the world, as if her parents were trying to hide it from her. Her eighth grade graduation was supposed to mark the end of her childhood, But I believe it was her fourth of July graduation present trip to Washington D.C. that really ended her innocence, because there she encountered the harsh reality of racism in the world. I believe that she doesn’t comprehend her parent’s views on racism for a few reasons.
First, her parents never gave her any reasons why they did not trust white people; they just expected her to know the logic of their warnings and the reasons of their feelings regarding them. She had a hard time understanding why her mother had the same skin color as these people that she was being told not to trust, but she never questioned it. Another reason I think she is confused about racism is the fact that her mother and father seem to ignore the fact that their family in being treated unfair. I can really relate to this story because I was raised in a family with a Caucasian mother and African American father and I have 3 other mixed siblings. Even though my family didn’t go through those type of things we still had our own issues with racism. I understand that racism can be a difficult thing for a child to understand.
I see that the main characters mother and father avoid the issues of racism in many ways throughout the story. Her mother overlooks racism and her father tries to make up for it. In the story her mother packs a bag of food for the train ride. She does this so that her family can avoid the food cart. By packing an elaborate picnic her mother successfully avoids the racism ther would surely have encountered if they would have attempted to eat in the dining car. I strongly
Mr. Smith
English 101: Composition 1
January 27, 2014
Reading Response Paper 1:
The Fourth of July
In “fourth of July”, it seemed to me that the main character was never really aware of the racism in the world, as if her parents were trying to hide it from her. Her eighth grade graduation was supposed to mark the end of her childhood, But I believe it was her fourth of July graduation present trip to Washington D.C. that really ended her innocence, because there she encountered the harsh reality of racism in the world. I believe that she doesn’t comprehend her parent’s views on racism for a few reasons.
First, her parents never gave her any reasons why they did not trust white people; they just expected her to know the logic of their warnings and the reasons of their feelings regarding them. She had a hard time understanding why her mother had the same skin color as these people that she was being told not to trust, but she never questioned it. Another reason I think she is confused about racism is the fact that her mother and father seem to ignore the fact that their family in being treated unfair. I can really relate to this story because I was raised in a family with a Caucasian mother and African American father and I have 3 other mixed siblings. Even though my family didn’t go through those type of things we still had our own issues with racism. I understand that racism can be a difficult thing for a child to understand.
I see that the main characters mother and father avoid the issues of racism in many ways throughout the story. Her mother overlooks racism and her father tries to make up for it. In the story her mother packs a bag of food for the train ride. She does this so that her family can avoid the food cart. By packing an elaborate picnic her mother successfully avoids the racism ther would surely have encountered if they would have attempted to eat in the dining car. I strongly