Just the Three of Us: 1

 Just the Three of Us by Julia Blackburn is a memoir about a herself, her drunken father and her relationship with her mother when her father left. From the very start of the book Julia states that "He (her father) was disastrous in so many ways, yet I never felt threatened by him. I could be frightened of the madness and the drunken rages, but I never doubted the honesty of his relationship with me and that was what really mattered"(3). She doesn't really know what to feel about her father and that he is a kind man and has love in his heart yet he has those "drunken rages" that scare her. 

This book reflects on her good and bad memories of her parents, then speaks her mind about the situations. Also the reader see's Julia's father and his problems and her mothers bad decisions and the reader will begin to not only see what went on in Julia's life but the reader is able grow with the character. 

The Epilogue?

Not many auto-biographies end with a Epilogue but Obama ends "The Audacity of Hope" talking about his days up to giving the keynote address at the 2004 democratic convention. Obama also talks about how he had to get used to being spotted out in public, his new found fame and how he wondered how all of this really came about. By the end of this chapter he thinks of his old friends advice that had really helped him along the way:

"It's not that compromise is inherently wrong. I just did'nt find it satisfying. And the one thing I've discovered as I get older is that you have to do what is satisfying to you. In Fact that's one of the advantages of old age, I suppose, that you've finally learned what matters to you. It's hard to know that at twenty-six. And the problem is that nobody else can answer that question for you. you can only fingure it out on your own".

This auto-biography was a interesting read. I expected a different feel to it. I thought it would be more of Obama recalling memories and his life growing with his mother and his dad being gone and then eventually his grandmother, but it was'nt it was him recalling his life in politics and how it changed his life and how it forever will. 

Family

              Family is the 9th chapter in "The Audacity of Hope" this chapter, Obama talks about his own family life and the common challenges that he and many Americans has faced. Obama also talks about how both he and Michelle were working parents that needed to balance there home and family commitments with there business commitments like many families in society. Saying this in chaper 9 he goes on to challenge republicans saying that having the "traditional" family lifestyle is not big idea anymore, he goes on to say "traditional family is under assault from hollywood movies and gay pride parades--with tales of women consigned to permanent singlehood, me unwilling to make lasting commitment, and teens engaged in endless sexual escapades"(381). Obama makes a good point, the "traditional family" barely exists anymore just because of all those things he previously listed and because many people know what they want and what they dont't want, with technology being as advanced as it is, people have the opportunity for those things. Theres no denying that American's lifestyles have changed in the past 50 or so years and they always will.

OTW

In On the Water Front the characters all disagree on what they think a traitor and what a whistleblower is. Terry (the main character) thinks that being a traitor is a bad thing, that your "ratting" out your friends in the beginning of the movie, but when it came to Idy and Idy's brother died he starts to change his mind about the definition about a traitor. Terry does the right thing and tells on Johnny Friendly and is true to himself. He risked his life, job, friends, and everything just to do the right thing.

I personally think that its ok to be a tattle tale when it comes to life or death like Terry in On the Water Front. I believe that he did the right thing because someone died because of him and he should feel bad for what he did. I believe that its ok to speak your believes because everyone is entitled a opinion, whether one agrees or not is not the issue.

blog Question: All My Sons

In All My Sons, the characters in this play make choices based on the needs of their family and the needs of society. Every Character is different to which one is more important to them individually. Joe Keller tells Annie's father to just cover the cracks on the engine heads and send them off because he did not want to jeopardize the business for his son. He wanted leave something behind all for his son. On the other hand Joe Keller's son: Chris, would never have done that. He believes in telling the truth and in being in the war, he doesn't want to cause anymore harm to the soldiers and to society. Chris shows this by offering to take Joe to the slammer. 

I personally think that one should think about what choice has the most impact and how significant it is on either the family or society. If one was to put there family first and it killed many or it hurt the country somehow then its not the time to put ones family first. In Joe Keller's position I think he should have told the government that they're were cracks because those twenty-one pilots did not have to die so Chris Keller would have a company and some money. I think it was a poor decision that not only impacted them as a family but the families of the fallen fighter pilots. 

Race

In the Audacity of Hope by: Barack Obama, one of the chapters talks about Race. Obama being mixed with a unique racial background, his mother being white and his father kenyan, then also living in many different locations such as Hawaii, indonesia, and in America it has giving him many different outlooks on life and the social order. Obama talks about how America has come far but there are still racist acts, and that he calls upon not only the colored people of america to step forward but to everyone to clearly disapprove of these acts. 

I really like this part of the book, being a bi-racial citizen this impacts me, I need to know how are president feels and how he will act on the issue of race and racism in our country. Its not just a touchy subject but something that should be handled seriously. I also like chapter because are country is growing everyday and its not how it was anymore. The minorities are becoming the majority, and so race is obviously going to play apart. 

in-sight to his presidency?

In the Audacity of Hope its the auto-biography on his political career, not of his whole life much to my displeasure but this is also interesting and something I think we should all read. We should get to know as much as possible of our presidents past, present to learn from our countries mistakes. I think that this book would give us a in-sight into how he may run the white house and how these next four years will turn out.

Right now in the book, Obama is talking about his new career into politics and he is just getting into the rythem of his new senate position schedule. He talks about all the things that are in his scheldule, but what jumped out at me was a small comment, he wanted to catch a flight home before the girls went to bed. Reading that I thought "He really cares about his family if one: he thought to do that and two: he would remember that and want to put that in his book, third: he puts so much into family, that I think that he will definitatly be thinking of our nations families and what they need/afford.