Author: Brooke

Watching this episode of “Democracy” the speaker first talks about her childhood and how life was for her and her family.  She was born and raised in Iowa in a small town called Waterloo.  She mentions how her father wanted to pursue the American dream and fight for his country, but wasn’t allowed too because of the color of his skin.  Her family was patriotic and loved this country and was so disappointed when they found out he couldn’t fight for this country.  The speaker states that without black people she finds it hard that our country wouldn’t be a democracy at all due to all the work that the blacks did behind the scenes.  As the show continues the speaker brings up voting and how there was a problem at one of the locations where voting takes place.  The people working at the voting station weren’t allowing a group of black people to vote due to some problem that went on and when the speaker heard about this, they got emotional over it.  As I continue to watch this, I can see the numerous connections that are made to the book “Citizen” that was read in class.  The book “Citizen” talks about very similar situations that blacks face throughout their life.  The author Rankine speaks from her perspective of life and mentions the battles and unfairness that she had to face in situations that may not seem like a big deal when they are.   Rankine talks about how Serena Williams and how in the olympics was treating her horribly and would be making fun of her.  One way that someone offended her was by saying they were going to do “the Serena Shuffle” which was also known as a gangster dance.  The reason why this connects to the episode is because both Serena and the people being denied to vote are both being treated unfairly for no reason whatsoever.  

When continuing the episode, I found it so interesting how so many blacks got together and stood up for what was right when the voting problem was occurring.  They came together and stayed calm to make sure that the people being treated unfairly got the right to vote when they have the opportunity too.   I never fully realized how hard blacks had to constantly fight for something that they would want and all of the trouble that would follow along with it.   Learning so much from just watching one episode of this, makes me realize how important it is to treat people with kindness and to never judge someone without knowing anything about them.  Yes, I have always known this, but I didn’t realize how much something so much can be and have an impact on others.  The speaker has made so many persuasive points on how hard black americas had to work in order to get the smallest respect for others when in reality they deserve so much more than what they were given.  

When reading the chapter “At The Western Palace”, there was so much that took place that started to make more sense now then when first reading the book.  So many different obstacles occurred which made the characters in the book to be more brave and stronger.  One of the characters, Moon Orchid, finds out some horrible news that her husband that she married back in China has remarried and started a new family in America.  Her husband moved to Los Angeles to become a successful doctor about thirty years ago and they have not seen each other since.  The reason being they have not seen each other in so long was due to money issues and not being able to afford a plane fare.  When she first lands in America she is absolutely thrilled and is so happy to finally be able to live in this country.  Moon refers to America as “ The Gold Mountains”, which in my opinion is a great way to describe a place that someone has wanted to come visit and now finally has. Unfortunately, her sister brought her to America to confront her cheating husband and his new family that he has started with this new woman.  But she is too embarrassed and doesn’t want to confront the man, so Brave starts to encourage her to do so and says if she doesn’t do anything about it that she will do it herself.  When reading this chapter, so many thoughts and questions were going through my head about this situation that took place.  It makes me wonder what Moon was mentally going through when she found out about the horrible news that she received.  

While reading this chapter and seeing how the characters were dealing with this situation, there were several lines that really stood out to me due to the way each person would be speaking with each other.  “Maybe we ought to put your aunt in the middle of the street, and she can lie down with her legs bent over.  But Moon Orchid kept shaking her head in trembling no’s.” “Why don’t you push her down in the intersection and pour ketchup on her? I’ll run her over in a little bit. Said her son”(150).   From an outsider’s perspective, I was in total shock by the way the characters would be communicating knowing that Moon Orchid was going through a tough situation.   They way they would say these things and not put her feelings into consideration, it mind blowing to me.  Having to read this chapter about this type of situation makes it more appealing to me how important it is to always think before you say or do something toward someone.  Connecting this lesson towards the book, readers can see that this is not the only time a character says something that is totally uncalled for towards someone else regardless if they have a different obstacle going on in their life.  As the chapter continues, the “ghost” gets brought back up towards the end of the chapter and continues to make connections from the previous chapters when they would also mention the “ghost”. Bringing up the “ghost” makes the book even more mysterious and draws the readers into the book even more.  The author created these “ghosts” with different occupations that are attached to their name throughout the book.  Reading about these ghosts and how they go along with the story line, makes me think about why the characters are even thinking about ghosts.  “That week a letter came from my niece saying that Moon Orchid had become afraid.  Moon Orchid said that she had overheard Mexican ghosts plotting on her life.  She had been creeping along the baseboards and peeping out the windows.” (155).  Reading this quote makes the readers wonder why the ghosts have such an important role in this book and what they could be foreshadowing.  In some class discussions, we have talked about what the ghost could represent when they use an occupation word when talking about the ghost.  As a class we have come up with some ideas that they could mean or what they could be signs of.  We came up with how they could stand for fears that people have or even some of the unexpected events that could try to happen in the book.  This keeps the outside viewers on edge when reading about this and makes them wonder if that is the true meaning.  

When reading this chapter, the author made so many different obstacles to occur that would make the readers on edge.  Having to see how the characters interact with each other and communicate, it is so interesting to hear and wonder why they talk to each other with rude comments.  Then when the author continues to talk about the “ghosts” it makes sure the readers are thinking of what could happen in the future with the characters.  In conclusion, reading this chapter keeps the readers on their toes and wonders what could happen in the future for the characters.  

Discussion Questions

1.  Why do you think Kingston keeps creating these types of situations that the characters have to face? Do you think there could have been a better outcome?
2.  How does the title of this chapter “At The Western Palace” connect to the obstacles that occurred in this chapter?  

Citations
‘At The Western Palace’ , The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston

Hello I am Brooke Semco and I am majoring in psychology. I am from Orange County which is about two hours and thirty minutes away from Cortland. I live with my two younger sisters, my parents, and my dog Cooper. I am not a big reader but I am currently reading “The Deal” by Elle Kennedy, which is really good and would recommend this book to everyone.