2. Group B---jperry26

In my book, “Breathe and Count Back From Ten” by Natalia Sylvester Veronica has lived in the U.S. since before she can remember so she's never had to think much about fitting in unlike her mother and father. They push her to be very perfect and do nothing wrong, but while they think it's for the best they are really taking away all her freedom and choices. Rather than her trying to fit in because of her ethnicity she has to fit in due to her hip injury; her hips are lopsided, and she just found out her parents have been keeping a huge secret from her. She finally gets her dream job but her family won’t accept it so she is forced to lie to them. Also due to the new worsening condition of her hip she has to learn when to figure out if she is actually okay or if she is just being brave for others. The job she thought she had wanted and she fought for, the place she thought would truly accept her with her scars ends up trying to cover up the part of her she's always been most self-conscious about. In the end she finally starts to live out her dream, her parents accept what she chooses and she finds out the decision she thought was going to be made for her was actually something she could finally control. 

Veronica's whole life has been unfamiliar situations, never knowing what is coming next. From the biggest part which is the hip dysplasia, to her dream job or even getting caught in the hot-tub with a boy. It is always an uncertain situation with her, and to be honest she doesn’t handle it well. She pushes people away constantly, “Wait. What are you saying? Geoff and I are performing next week. Dont F- this up for us. I swear, I’ll tell Mami and Papi about you and Jason if you do!” (Sylvester 280) This is showing how after she gets scared and talks to her sister about something she starts fighting with her. They are both so nervous as to how things are going to happen that they fight the only other person who could truly help them.

In my book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz, the characters often react differently when they are placed in unfamiliar situations. The book focuses on Oscar, Lola, and Beli as they struggle to adjust to their new life. Each character reacts differently when faced with something new. Oscar escapes into Sci-Fi, Lola rebels by becoming a punk girl, and Beli responds with anger and rage. Their reactions show how difficult it can be to adapt when life suddenly changes.

Oscar reacts to unfamiliar situations by retreating into his imagination. As a Dominican American boy growing up in New Jersey, Oscar does not fit the typical mold of a Dominican man. He is shy, overweight, and obsessed, and loves escaping into Sci-Fi. When he is bullied or judged by others, he avoids them and escapes into his Sci-Fi books. These books give him comfort that he lacks in real life. Instead of trying to change who he is, Oscar accepts being different and uses his books to cope with the unfamiliar environment.

Lola reacts very differently when she is placed in an unfamiliar environment. She feels trapped by her mother, Beli’s, strict rules and expectations. “You don’t know the kind of world I came from,” (Diaz 125) Beli tells Lola. Instead of retreating like Oscar, Lola fights back. She expresses herself by becoming a punk, changing her appearance, and eventually running away from home. Even though running away is risky, she chooses to take on the unfamiliar path rather than remain in the situation she is in right now.

Beli’s reaction to unfamiliar situations is shaped by her difficult childhood in the Dominican Republic under the Trujillo regime. When she works at Palacio Peking, she becomes involved with a Gangster, and she finds herself in a dangerous, unfamiliar situation. Instead of hiding, Beli tries to escape, relying on her beauty to draw people's attention. However, her relationship with the Gangster leads to being abused and that forces her to escape to the United States.

In the TED Talk “The Necessity in Showing 'Imperfect Immigrants' by Tina Yong, she talks about how immigrating is not always perfect. She talks about the struggles, judgment, and unemployment issues.“We often expect immigrants to be perfect — hardworking, grateful, successful — because if they’re not, their presence is questioned.”(Yong). Immigrants have a hard time fitting into society, but they recognize that it is better than where they came from. This ties back to my book because Oscar, Lola, and Beli face cultural differences, are judged for being different, and struggle to support their family, and not being the people others expected them to be.

In my book Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian, Tom Bouchard is a great student, a good soccer player, and a bad decision maker. One night, he and his best friend went to the Maquoit school and wrote “you suck Maquoit” on their school rock. He gets in big trouble with the school and has to do 100 hours of community service and repaint the rock so he can walk at graduation. Tom faces humiliation when he goes to re-paint the rock, and all of the Maquoit students show up to watch him paint and haggle with him in the process. He swallows his pride and accepts his mistake. 

How would your character react to being put in an unfamiliar situation?

Tom was put on the spot when he was asked by a college girl to come over to her place and hang out. Tom felt nervous and struggled to keep his composure. “I struggled to keep a neutral, and nonchalant expression on my face. As if hot college girls invited me to hang out in their dorms on a regular basis”(padian 189).

In my book “the tyrant’s daughter” by J.C carelson, my main character, Laila, is taken from her home in the mid-west by an American CIA agent and put into the U.S under certain conditions after her fathers assassination, she experiences many unfamiliar things while she is trying to adapt to the US,but i feel that the school dance is the event that sticks out the most for this.

“I stare at my image, pleased and appalled. I am nearly unrecognizable–a bedazzled version of myself held together with spaghetti straps and mounted atop small, spindly heels.”

– j.c carleson The tyrant’s daughter

jperry26

My character is in an unfamiliar situation because she is being deported and is scrambling trying to be able to change that. In the ted talk “From Scratch ” By Susie Castellano

A girl from India struggles fitting in at her American school. She made friends with a girl in Iran, who at first she thought was American because she too was trying to fit in. “for days she sat alone in the lunch room, hiding her food behind her paper sack so no one would see that she didn’t have jelly and peanut butter or cartoon- shaped fruit snacks.” 

Iraftice27

What kind of conditions was she put under after her fathers death? And I agree the dance seems like a good example of that as its a pretty big event and she self relects on how she has changed. It makes me wonder what would happen if she saw the dance as pressure rather than a opportunity how she would of adapted. Is there any other situations which are similar or almost as good as a example? Also is it just a physical change but also emotional?  

Tsmith27

What kind of steps are they taking to avoid deportation? I do agree that its a good example of her trying to fit in because it shows how hard shes trying to fit in even in the little situations. But focusing on that situation rather than deportation might not capture the full seriousness of her situation which is a bigger challenge than fitting in at school. What if she didn't try to hide her differences would she have a easier or harder time adapting to her new life? Also is it more about struggling to adapt to her new life or is it more about her struggle with deportation?

Jgreenwood27

How does he handle the pressure from both the collage girls and his peers? I think that's a good quote because it shows how dipite the uncomfortable and embarrassing situation he chooses to make the right choice and do better. But I do think the example with the collage girl doesn't show as much growth as the other one, as its more a embarrassing but good situation rather than a bad or uncomfortable one. But that also makes me wonder how things would of turned out if he refused to paint the rock.

Caustin27

I wonder how these coping mechanism effect there long term growth and relationships. I find it interesting that each one of the charecters coping mechanisms is tied to there past/personality. I do think that Oscars way of coping is negative as it only delays and prevents his integration into the real world. What if Lola had tried Oscar’s method of retreating instead of rebelling, would she have been able to cope with her mother or would that have made her feel even more trapped?

mpeterson27

How does she decide if she should stand up for herself vs when to do what her parents want and how does it effect her relationship with them? But I agree that Veronica’s challenges show that weird situations can come from health, family, or personal choices, rather than just moving or culture. Though I do wonder if her fighting with her sister is really the best example of how she handles uncertainty, as it seems like more stress relief than a actual coping mechanism or strategy. What if Veronica had been more open with her parents or sister from the start, would her situations have been less stressful or would that have made her feel even worse.