# data[].attributes.body
Thesis idea
-  single story
- the stories of women
- the stories of immigrants
- The Woman Warrior and The House on Mango Street
- I also want to work with the way that the authors write their novels

Kingston and Cisneros used unconventional tools to write to further themselves from the single narrative of America that has been fed to the masses.

Single story of women as striving to be mothers and wives (needing men to be happy)

Single story of immigrants as dangerous and job stealers or those who dont work hard enough (?)

Minority Voices in American Literature allows us to understand situations outside of the narrative of white families that we have been fed since birth. Literature by authors who are not white and male tend to be written using unconventional tools to help convey the story to the readers which opens us up to different ways to write and tell stories. Through this literature, Americans as a whole can learn more about themselves and those around them; we can learn more about what others around us are capable of doing and what we are capable of doing. Learning more about stories other than our own or those fed to us teaches us to be more empathetic and sympathetic to every person we meet.

# data[].attributes.headline
Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer

# data[].attributes.subject
Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer

# data[].attributes.body
In “Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer,” Murphy Paul argues that a key part of learning literature is learning how to become fully immersed in a novel. In today’s world of internet, children are learning to read online and are not learning how to become immersed in literature. Paul argues, “online reading may be less engaging and less satisfying.” When a person enjoys a book, their reading pace slows down and allows them to make a deeper connection to the novel. Deeper connection with the novels is what will produce more sympathetic and empathetic people.

# data[].attributes.body
In “Should Literature Be Useful?,” Lee Siegel argues that fiction literature leads to empathy but does not necessarily lead to sympathy. Two recent studies have concluded that fiction literature does in fact make people more empathetic and therefore more social aware. Siegel states "though empathy has become something like the celebrity trait of emotional
intelligence, it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the sensitivity and
gentleness popularly attributed to it." Siegel argues that empathy can make people better, but empathy can also be used by people to manipulate and hurt other people. The most important thing for fiction literature to teach us is how to use empathy for good instead of for bad.

# data[].attributes.body
My camera is currently not working, so I am just going to write out my thoughts so far. I want to explore the single story of the female experience in America. I would like to use The House on Mango Street and either The Woman Warrior or The Bluest Eye. I am not sure which would be best to use yet. I am leaning more towards The Woman Warrior because I am also interested in the single story of immigration. I still need to spend a little more time thinking out my exact thesis.

# data[].attributes.body
"I looked at Ras on his horse and at their handful of guns and recognized the absurdity of the whole night and of the simple yet confoundingly complex arrangement of hope and desire, fear and hate"

Ras is the example of the militant story. The story of black men as being dangerous beings who wish to overthrow the white man.

# data[].attributes.body
"If It's Optic White, It's the Right White"

Ellison created Lucius Brockway to be another example of black men hurting their own kind by blindly supporting the white men. Brockway loves his white boss so much that he turns the other workers at the factory in for wanting to start a union. He hurts other black men purposely because he believes that the white man is correct.

# data[].attributes.body
"That’s my life, telling white folk how to think about the things I know about."

Ellison uses Bledsoe as an example of a man who uses his power as a black man to oppress and control other black men. Bledsoe believes that he gets his power from white men. He believes that he controls white men in a way by being loved by them. Then, he turns around and controls the black students of the school and stop them from learning anything other than what the white men want; therefore, he oppresses other black people.

# data[].attributes.body
- Double Identity
- African American
- African Americans contributing to white society

# data[].attributes.body
Ralph Ellison hopes to show that there is not a single story for a black man in America. Not all are subservient to the white man. Not all are visibly fighting against the white man. Not all are secretly fighting the white man. Some even help keep other black men oppressed.

# data[].attributes.body
"I want them blue." page 174

Pecola's desire to have blue eyes drives her to madness. She wants blue eyes because American society has told her that only girls with blue eyes are beloved.

# data[].attributes.body
"I was physically revolted by and secretly frightened if those round moronic eyes, the pancake face, and orangeworms hair." page 20

Claudia hates little, white dolls that she is supposed to love. She finds them scary and wants to destroy. In destroying them, she is destroying the image of beauty that is being forced upon her.

# data[].attributes.body
"This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers."
page 206

Morrison uses the motif of flowers to show the growth and beauty of these young girls. Morrison shows through Pecola that it is no fault of the girls that they end up damaged; it is the fault of the society that raised them. It is the fault of American society.

# data[].attributes.body
- African American
- Female
- Growing up
- White washing

# data[].attributes.body
Toni Morrison was trying to stop the idea that little black girls should strive to be beautiful in white standards. These standards destroy the girls. Claudia is striving to create a story of beauty for black girls instead of just repeating the beauty stories of white girls.

# data[].attributes.body
"a song that Chinese sing to their own instruments. It translated well." page 209

Even with the different cultures, there is a way to mix them and translate them; therefore, the cultures can mix and meld.

# data[].attributes.body
"I've found some places in this country that are ghost free." page 108

Kingston found a place to live in her double identity. She found a place where she can live as a Chinese person while also living as an American. She does not wish to continue to live in a small China in the United States. She wants to meld with society as a whole if society will accept her as both American and Chinese.

# data[].attributes.body
"When I visit the family now, I wrap my American successes around me like a private shawl" page 52

In American society, there is a stereotype of Chinese immigrants forcing their children to have perfect grades so that they can go to a good school and become a doctor. In Kingston's family, Chinese success are way more important than American success. A suitable husband is more important than a good job.

# data[].attributes.body
- Double Identity (Chinese at home, but American everywhere else)
- Female
- Chinese American
- Mother/Daughter Relationship

# data[].attributes.body
Through her memoir, Kingston is trying to break down the single story of Chinese immigrants as women bound by their native land. Kingston uses The Woman Warrior to break away from the confusing talk-stories her mom told her as a child. The novel shows stories of strong Chinese women. It depicts powerful women breaking from their bound feet. She also works to create her own path of double identity throughout the novel.

# data[].attributes.body
"the weekly money orders sent home" page 66

Cisneros shows the side of Mexican immigrants that is so often ignored by America. The young men who moved only to help their families at home. They are not dangerous. They just wish to help, but America does not care because "what difference does it make?" (66).

# data[].attributes.body
"Not a flat. Not an apartment in back. Not a man's house. Not a daddy's. A house all my own."  page 108

Esperanza's singular goal in life is to take care of herself. Not to have a man care for her. Cisnero is trying to reshape the idea that Chicanas have to have a man to feel content. She is breaking this stereotype for Mexican Americans as well as American society as a whole.

# data[].attributes.body
"I have inherited her name, but I do not want to inherit her place by the window." page 11

Esperanza wishes something different for her own life than the women who came before her. She wishes to do more than just be a housewife who is trapped by her husband. Esperanza is going to have her own home when she is older and she is going to help others who do not yet have their own homes.

# data[].attributes.body
- Mexican American
- Female
- Growing up (growing up sexually)
-Family dynamics and abuse

# data[].attributes.body
The single story of Mexican immigrants. Specifically, female Mexican immigrants. Cisneros shows through her story that not all Chicanas will be forced to sit by their windows for their whole lives. Cisneros is trying to break the story of Mexican immigrants being dangerous criminals. She works throughout her vignettes to show another side of being a Mexican immigrant and being a female Mexican immigrant.