Week 2 Reading Notes, Oroonoko Part A

Aphra Behn's Oroonoko is an important piece of literature because like Shakespeare's Othello, it offers a small glimpse of culture at the time. 

Oroonoko is about a Prince by the name of Oroonoko who falls in love with a beautiful woman named Imoinda, but she is stripped away from him and left heart broken.  The King of Coramantien falls in love with Imoinda and took her away from Oroonoko to keep for himself.  Oroonoko is heartbroken and tries to reconnect with Imoinda but that causes nothing but troubles between Oroonoko, Imoinda and the King.  After spending a night together, the King ships Oroonoko off as a slave to be sold and traded to England.



Major Characters-

• Oroonoko- Prince and General of Coramantien Army
• Physical Appearance
• "pretty tall, but of a shape the most exact that can be fancy'd: The most famous Statuary cou'd not form the figure of a Man more admirably turn'd from Head to Foot'' (205). 
• His face- "But a perfect ebony'' (205).
• "His eyes were the most awful that cou'd be seen, and very piercing'' (205).
• "His nose was rising and Roman, instead of African and flat (205).
• "His mouth, the finest shap'd that cou'd be seen; far from those great turn'd lips, which Negroes" (205).
• Hair down to his shoulders
• Attitude
• Seems to be very loyal and honorable
• Compassionate towards  Imoinda
• Strong Willed
• Very Smart
• Imoinda- The loved one.
• Described by Oroonoko reaction as being very beautiful, "he was infinitely surpriz'd at the Beauty of this fair Queen of Night, whos Face and Person was so exceeding all he had ever beheld" (205).
• "Softness in her look, and Sighs "(205-206)
• Falls in love with Oroonoko, agrees to marry him.
• King of Coramantien
• Old- "A man of a Hundred odd Years" (203)
• 13 sons- all died in battle
• Lusts after Imoinda
• Last thing remaining from his sons?
• Abuses his power to do unlawful acts against Oroonoko

Themes-

Racism

Love

Slavery 

Loyalty

Works Cited-

Aphra Behn, "Oroonoko", Pages 200-224.

My Take on the Growth Mindset Theory

I believe the growth mindset theory is something that should be practiced in schools at all ages.  Without the growth mindset theory, students will create boundaries or barriers and will not grow or be willing to accept new challenges. I can relate to this theory, I have changed my mindset towards schoolwork since going back to school.  I look at my assignments, as challenges that will help me understand the material better.  I used to take the approach of homework being a chore, and if I didn’t understand it, I just felt I was not smart enough to do the assignment.  I then created a barrier for myself and thought that I couldn’t do this type of work.  This resulted in me getting lost in my assignments and falling behind in the course and failing.

Taking the other approach has been very rewarding but also very hard at times.  Looking at the assignments as a challenge rather than a chore gives me hope that I can do the assignments, but it is going to take some work to get the job done.  I also look at it this way, if the teacher was assigning us the work, it is because he or she has taught us the skills and wants us to “flex our muscle” and show them what we can do. Realistically, teachers will not assign work that he or she knows is over our heads or something we are not capable of doing.  Knowing this gives me more confidence from the beginning to tackle the assignment from the get go. 

What the growth-mindset theory offers the student is hope and a future to grow.   School can be intimidating and it is easy for a student to feel discouraged if they do not pass a course.  Looking at it as a “not ready yet” instead of a fail, gives the student confidence that they can do it, they just need some more time studying the material. 

-Patrick 

Introduction to a future teacher!

My name is Patrick Garrett and this is my last semester at Los Medanos College.  I have been attending LMC now for 3 years and will be transferring after this semester.  This is my second attempt at school after high school, and it has been a successful attempt! 

Right after high school I started working full time, 2 weeks after graduation.  I worked at an automotive car dealership in Modesto full time in washing cars and keeping the service department clean.  I tried to work full time and attend the local junior college, but I could not manage both at the time.  I just did not have the drive or motivation to go to school at the time. I was too caught up in working and I really just had no idea what I wanted to do with school. On top of all this, Modesto Junior College was so impacted that I very rarely got into any classes that I really needed.  The last semester I applied for there was a total wash.  I registered for my classes right at my registration time and I was waitlisted on 4 of my classes.  After the first week of classes, I was not able to get into any of them.  I then lost all motivation to go to school there and I decided to focus on my job to see where it would take me and to see if I could spark an interest to go back to school.

I worked right out of high school at Modesto Subaru in the service department.  I started the job making minimum wage washing cars that came out of the garage for service and then cleaned up the shop after the mechanics.  I worked there for a little over four years and made the best of my time there, taking any opportunity I was given and running with it. I worked my way up through the service department and eventually was working the front desk, writing service.  I went from washing cars to changing oil and doing maintenance work, to running the parts department and then to writing service.   The next step up from writing service would be management, and that is when I understood the power of a higher education.  Everyone in management had at a minimum a college degree, and if I wanted to be in management to make the big bucks, I was going to have to go back to school.

I received a job offer to work at a Subaru performance shop that I couldn’t turn down.  Being a Subaru performance nut and a passionate automotive enthusiast, this was a no brainer for me!  I am still currently working at this automotive shop and I am coming up on four years here and I love it just as much as I did on my first day on the job.  I have learned a lot of useful trade skills working at the performance shop as well as being able to take advantage of a lot of great parts and accessories for my own car. 

I still have had the interest to get back into school and get my college degree.  While still working full time, I enrolled at LMC and signed up for classes. I worked full time and also took 12-14 units each semester.  The experience I have had at LMC is a night and day difference than when I was at MJC a few years back.  I had no trouble getting into my classes and I now had motivation and the drive to get my education done.  It was difficult however to work full time and stay on top of my classes.  Managing the performance shop is a dedicated task and requires a lot of commitment.  School is also demanding and requires a lot of attention and time to stay on top of 4-5 classes a semester.  I kept the job at the performance shop to pay my way through school and to live in the bay area. I knew if I were to go back to MJC, I would fall back into the slump I fell into before. 

My end goal is to become a high school english teacher.  I took English 90 at LMC and I discovered how much I actually enjoyed to read and write papers.  Throughout grade school I always struggled writing papers and never did well on them.  English 90 was the ice breaker for me, Professor Ashmore taught me how to write papers and how to get my thoughts and ideas from my brain into essays.  I then wondered why some of her important lessons and tips she presented to us were never presented in high school.  My english teachers in grade school really lacked on teaching the students the proper ways to set up an essay, or show how to brainstorm or do background research effectively.  This is what inspired me to become an english teacher.  I was a little shocked when I got into my English 100 class and none of the students right out of highschool knew where a thesis statement went....or what it even was!   

I am excited to continue my education at the university and I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead!

Another One of My Favorite Places

I actually recently came across this place and fell in love with it.  Last spring I came across this place while on a road trip with some friends.  I revisited it with my girlfriend over winter break and we stayed for a week.  In sunny and warm southern California, Venice Beach is my new go to "local" vacation spot.  We stayed at a place called Venice Suites (highly recommended!) that had us situated right in the middle of the beach walk.  In front of our hotel was the beach, it was just on the other side of the sidewalk.  It was fantastic.

There was always something going on at Venice Beach and that is why I loved it.  Everyday we would wake up and walk to somewhere new along the beach walk.  The beach walk is lined with little vendors, street performers, various restaurants and smoothie bars.  The place is alive and is mixed with all kinds of culture.  Along the beach walk, they have a skate park, an outdoor gym, playgrounds, volleyball courts, surf shops and clothing shops.  Artists would be on display painting the scene and selling their work, or you could find stunt men performing street stunts or magic shows.  It didn't matter which way you turned, there was something to look at and capture your attention.  

One of the other nice things about Venice Beach is that it is only a 2 mile walk to the Santa Monica Pier.  We took the ocean walk one night all the way over there and had a blast on the pier.  The pier has a roller coaster, huge Ferris wheel, giant arcade, bumper cars and lots of small carnival games.  

I felt that a week there was just the right amount of time. I am already planning on going down there again for Spring break in a few months. This time we may go visit Universal Studios since it is only a short 30 minute drive away from Venice Beach.

-Patrick Garrett

This is a test post!

This is a test post for my English 145 class! I will do my best not to get this mixed up with my English 205 blog!

-Patrick