Journey

After reading Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman, by Frankie Lennon, I have encountered the theme of journey or also know as quest. Taking a journey or quest means, to be challenged by life changing experiences and learning from them. There are different stages of a journey but the ones that I found in the book and actually related to them was The Threshold and Final Ordeal.

In the story Baptism, I identified with the theme The Threshold. What the theme describes is The Journeyer introduced to a “new” or “different” world. It also tests the commitment of the Journeyer and whether they can succeed. As a young girl, Frankie did not know what the world was really like. After becoming a teenager she found out through life experience how the world was different. Her innocence was lost once she found out how society viewed people. She became familiar with issues concerning race, gender roles, and violence. She was what she called herself baptized. I can relate to what Frankie felt. As a teenager I did not know what the real world really was. It was the moment I became more aware of my surroundings and questioned everything that I opened my eyes to what the world was really like. I had to face violence in the streets and some racism I my community. All I wanted is to go back when I used to be innocent.

The theme of Final Ordeal was evident in the story Scotch on the Rocks. Final Ordeal means dealing with life, the brink of failure and death but afterward feels rebirth and becomes wiser. As Frankie got older, she faced an alcoholism stage to the point where she got in a car accident. Drinking and driving made her realize that it was not worth losing her life. I connected with her in a different way. As I teen I would associate with bad influence to the point where I was almost got into big trouble. I was headed for failure. If it wasn’t for my parents forcing me stay away from bad influence, I wouldn’t be able to be the person I am today. As I moved on with my life I grew wiser and made my own smart decisions. I found out that the people I used to know are either in jail or pregnant. I’m glad that I came to realize through life changing experience that there is more to life just like Frankie did.

Reading journey’s or quest’s makes people understand and relate to different stages in life. Mee Street Chronicles: Straight Up Stories of a Black Woman has helped me learn other people’s life long journeys and to relate to them even though the author is not like me. Everyday is a new day and I am ready to face a new journey.

Cindy Ellie

"Cindy Ellie a Modern Faire Tale" by Carter Smith, is a story about a young girl who is mistreated by her step family but at the end gets her dream come true.

What I liked about reading Cindy Ellie, was the happy ending with her prince charming. In a fairy tale, there is always a happy ending no matter how difficult a situation gets. I enjoyed reading another version especially because this once was African American and it had humor. I think Carter Smith wrote this Cinderella modern version to make us understand the story and know the difference in every culture.

After reading An Anthology of African American Storytelling, I have become familiar with the different way the author’s write. Sumptuous is a word that means: splendid and expensive looking. Debutants means: a person making a first appearance in a fashionable society. These are two new vocabulary words that I have learned through out the story.

What I still don’t understand is why Cindy Ellie’s father does not speak up about her daughter being mistreated. The character that the father portrays has no emotion towards her daughter and it is almost unbearable to read. The external conflict that Ellie encountered was between her stepmother and stepsisters. Ellie was a nice caring girl and they decided to take advantage of her. One other thing that still lingers in my mind was when Godma decides to make a car out of an onion and butlers out of mice.