South Africa. Part 1.

The word apartheid means any system or practice that seperates people according to their race, segregation. Apartheid was used in the Republic of South Africa but it was renounced in 1992.

In South Africa, they divided the people into four major racial groups: (In 1991) Africans(blacks) about 80%, whites (just over 9%) , coloreds (about 9%), and Asians (about 2.7%).  There are many languages, religions, and ethinic groups in South Africa. Their population as of this year 2010 there are 49.99 milion people. That is made up of: black 79.4%; white 9.2%; colored 8.7%. Their education are for children ages 7-15 and they are still aiming to achieve greater opportunities for them. The World Cup for soccer was held there in South Africa. The Union of South Africa was created on May 31, 1910. South Africa is the only country that gets their fuel from coal.


Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa and he was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand. Nelson was then quilified in the work of law in 1942. He then was elected President of the African National Congress and he was all for banning the apartheid policies. When he was put in prison he was known and accepted as the most significant black leader. When he was released on February 11, 1990 he was ready to meet the goals that the people have been set from for decades earlier.

Cold Weather!

I like the cold weather but it's been too cold. Every summer i say i can't wait till winter so this heat can go away but now i can't wait till summer time for the heat to come back. This type of weather makes me not want to get up. All I want to do is just be lazy. I want to stay in bed and be under my blankets and be warm! I don't really do anything related to the outdoors this time of year because I would get cold real fast.

The things that I like about this weather is that the cold brings Christmas and most importantly hot chocolate! Hot chocolate is another thing that keeps me warm and i love it. I know when its cold Christmas is just around the cornor. That's when the part of our family we don't see to often come over to my Nana's house and we have a nice big dinner and then we gather in the living room to have some laughs and exchange gifts.

So I like this cold weather and i don't. It has it downs with being lazy and tired but it has its ups when Christmas comes around and you get to be around your family and have a good time.

A Chirstmas Memory by Truman Capote

The element of literature that is in this story is Autobiographical Fiction. Autobiographical fiction is when the writer may take material from anywhere, including experiences from his or her life. How this story reflected on this element of literature is when the author writes Those who Know Best decide that I belong in military school. That could be from Truman Capotes life.

The Beginning of Something by Sue Ellen Bridgers

The element of literature that is in this story is Character. Characters are the people who participate in the action of work of fiction. There are two types of characters, main and minor. The main characters in this story would be Roseanne. She is a girl in her teens and she and he family has gone to her Aunt Jessie's funeral. Melissa is Jessie's daugther and she is the type that she got everything so her and Roseanna really never got along Jessie is the woman who passed away but she's a main charater because the story is mostly revolved around her funeral. Roseannae's mother is Jessie's sister and she was there to help around the house and with the funeral. The minor characters would be Jamie who is Melissa's boyfriend and Travis who is Jamie's friend and he used to hang around with Roseanna and Melissa when they were younger.

There's not only characters in books. There are characters in movies and yourself is also your own character.

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

The element of literature that is in this story is Irony. Irony is the difference between what we expect to happen and what actually happens. Or another word that can be used for that would be Ironic. How Irony is used in this story is when Della had sold her hair to get Jim a gift for his most valueable possession it turned out to be he had sold he watch to get her the set of combs for her hair. I didnt see it coming when he said he had sold his watch for her gift.

What Sally Said

When people ask I say he doesn't hit me hard, my mom rubs lard on the places that hurt, thats why i have brusies and scratches. Or i say i fell down the stairs. But I think to myself asking who would believe me, im sorta a big girl and the way people look at my face probably think she couldnt be falling off the stairs. If i was an animal, that'd be the way he would beat/hit me. I think he's just afriad that i would leave like his sisters did and make the family ashamed. I go to school with a bad full of clothes and a little brown bag of sweetbread that my mama had sent. But then my dad came crying and said please come back, this will be the last time. So I went. I was talking to a boy one day and i guess my father had seen and the next day i didnt go to school and the next, no school. He just went crazy and told me that i wasn't his daugther, and broke our with his hands.

A Smart Cookie

Esperanzas mom always tells her I could've been somebody, you know? Her mom can do many things such as sing opera, fix a t.v., and speak two different languages. But she doesn't know how to find the right subway to get downtown. When Espernaza is with her, her mother is very tense while they wait for the right one to come. Esperanza says that her mom would love to go and see a ballet, she goes to the public library and gets opera records and listens and sings with powerful lungs. One day though when she and Esperanza were in the kitchen her mother said the her the same thing. I could've been someone, you know? Her mom tells Esperanza to keep up with school and don't drop out or quit for any reason. To study hard. Then her mother says why she dropped out of school. It was because she didn't have nice clothes, but she had brains. She then says, disgusted, I was a smart cookie.

Beautiful & Cruel

This is about how Esperanza wants to be able to choose who she wants to be with. Not go really fast into a relationship just to have someone else. How she doesn't want to be the one girl that has the guys all over her and making them laugh and her power is all her own and not wanting to share it. Esperanza wants to have a say in her life.

Bums in the Attic

This short story is about when Esperanza's family go up to see he Papa's house on the hill. She used to like to go and see it but after awhile she just didn't want to go because she didn't like to see something that she will not have. But she just says she's getting to old, well her Papa asked and she just agreed. Esperanza didn't want to tell the truth about it. When she grows up she says that she wants to get a house, and when a bum comes and asks if they can come in she can say you can stay in the attic. Then when people are over and they hear creaking floorboards and ask rats? Esperanza will say bums.

Minerva Writes Poems

I take care of my childen and I sometimes get aches
Before they go to bed I feed them pancakes
I'm unlucky I pray all the time
So I sometimes like to do a little rhyme
She reads mine I read hers
Mine has very strong words
I'm through
Out the door my husband goes, clothes, records and shoes
He comes back saying sorry
The same story
He leaves and comes back
But then it ends with a whack

Sally

Sally is a beautiful girl and he father says it dangerous. The boys at her school think she is beautiful beacuse her hair is black and shiny like a ravens feather. She wants to be loved. Sally got a black coat and shoes. Her mom said wearing black young is dangerous. She doesnt have a best friend anymore because they got into a fight and made her ear bleed. When she is at school there's no one there that she can talk to hang out with and lean against the fence with at lunch. Sally wishes she would be able to walk far far away from Mango Street and end up at a beautiful house and open her bedroom window and see the pretty blue sky and trees. She wants to be loved and not have anyone think she crazy.

Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays

I hate Tuesdays. When Monday night comes i know i'm going to be doing anything but sitting home and waiting for my husband to come home late because he is playing dominoes. He wont let me go out, he thinks I will run away. Every Tuesday I lean out the window and i think about my hair being like Rapunzel's hair. I hear the music playing down at the cornor of the street at a music bar and wish that i could go there. I ask the kids if they would go and get me something from the store and I throw them a crumpled up dollar and i sometimes ask for coconut or papaya juice. I toss down a clothes line and pull it up with what i got in a bag. I wish there were sweeter drinks and not just having to sit in this bitter empty room. I wanna be able to go down and dance like the older women do.

No Speak English

No speak english was about a man who paid for his wife/partner and son to come and live with him. She was a big women and wore tiny pink shoes. It was hard for her to climb the stairs and people say that thats one reason she does not come out of the house. Others say it was because she was big or couldn't speak english. She only knew a few words that she would have to use if someone was to talk to her in english. He would try and help her so she wasn't homesick by painting the walls pink, but it didn't seem to help. They would sometimes fight and you could hear it all the way down the street. One day the baby boy started talking and was singing the Pepsi commerical he heard on T.V. But then the mom said no speak english, no no no speak english like she couldn't believe her ears.

Four Skinny Trees

Four skinny trees is a short story that I actually like out of this book. It talks about how the trees have pointy elbow like her. She (Esperanza) is comparing her to the trees. She says that the trees are the only ones who understand her and she is the one who understands them.