Character Analysis

Character Analysis

Yoli from mototrcycle on the sea of tranquility	Connie from where are you going, where have you been
Internal Conflict	A struggle within the character	worried about her brother Chuy and how she wants to help him.	worries about her looks and wants to be dolled up all the time
External Conflict	A struggle against another character, idea, organization, etc.	she believes that women aren't treated the way they deserve and think men are treated as if they're something more than women.	she wishes her mom to be dead and herself because of how shes treated by her mother.
Climax	A high point of the story, such as where a character must make a big decision	she goes on a motorcycle ride with her brother although it's dangerous but she takes the risk	she leaves with a guy she doesn't even know
Motivation	Why do characters behave the way they do?	she looks up to her older brother Chuy and would do anything for him	her mother always puts her down in ways she shouldnt
Strengths	The positive qualities and characteristics in a character.	she cares about her rights and is very creative	she enjoys being herself and she loves herself
Weaknesses	The negative qualities and characteristics in a character.	she looks up to her brother which is a bad influence on her and doesnt think of the consequences	shes disobeys her mother and is careless
Figurative Language	Any use of metaphors and/or similies by the character.	she is compared to a coconut due to the fact she is brown on the outside but white in the inside meaning shes Mexican-American	her laugh is compared to the bells on her bracelet which is high pitch

Yolanda Shagun is the main charcter from the book "motorcycle on the sea of tranquility" novel by Patricia Santana, is based on the sixties in San Diego, California. she is a Mexican-American teenager who looks up to her older brother Chuy who she was close to but after he went to vitenam he had changed as a person which Yoli is concerned about as for her her family and neighbors. Yoli wants to help him and understands why he chose a mototrcycle instead of a car which is because he loves the way the wind hits his face and imagine himself flying to get a taste of freedom and Yoli wanted to apart of that, to get that taste of freedoom.

Connie from the novel "where are you going, Where have you been" is about a fifteen year old girl who doesn't really look up to anyone but herself really, she is always put down by her mother which makes her not know anything about family, she only really cares about her looks due to the fact her mother tells her shes not but she chooses not to believe that so she doesnt understand what family is until a stranger comes to her house and lures her into his car to go for a ride she then realizes all the values in life other than her looks and thinks about her family.

MOTORCYCLE ON THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY: SOUNDTRACK

MOTORCYCLE ON THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY: SOUNDTRACK

       

Summary of Scene

On "Motorcycle On the Sea of Tranquility," novel by Patricia Santana, is based on the sixties in San Diego, California. At some point in the novel, Yolanda, the protagonist, mentions her true love for Francisco Valdivia, her classmate from Southwest Junior High. One day, Yolanda is sick of waiting for Francisco to make a move and decides to make a move herself. “Here I was waiting for Francisco Valdivia to enter the locker hall so I can cast him The Look,” thought Yolanda. ‘The Look’ was a suggestion by her wise older sister, Ana Maria, who was experienced in relationships and dating. This side of Yolanda, a side that truly brings out the best of her, is what I believe ties in the idea of how Yolanda and her siblings ‘learn how to be Americans as well as Mexican Americans.’ Chapter 16 starts off with Yolanda confessing to her best friend, Lydia, her true love for Francisco Valdivia. At first, she’s not exactly sure how to do this and decides to write him a love note. Before she takes immediate action, although she’s sure that’s what she should do, Yolanda seeks advice from Ana Maria. “Red Coral” is the lipstick she instructed Yolanda to wear and then to wait by Francisco’s locker to give him the look. “Your eyes meet. Just an instant, not longer. Then quickly look down like to say ‘oops, I didn’t mean for you to catch me looking at you.’ Don’t do this more than once a day.” This was described by Ana Maria as The Look. As Yolanda waited for Francisco to stop by his locker, he and three other friends came up to Yolanda. The three buddies made fun of her outfit because it was nothing like she had worn before. As they shared their laughs, Francisco too joined in with heir laughter. Yolanda felt embarrassed for a few seconds until she realized how confident she should feel and the work she spent to impress this boy, and decided to throw her books at the boys that made fun of her. People who watched cheered for her as the boys and Francisco walked in shame. At last, Francisco and Yolanda’s eyes met as she gave him The Look. Personally, I’ve never had an experience like this mostly because I never had the confidence Yolanda had when I was in high school, but when I heard of other girls confessing their love for their Francisco Valdivia or even giving a simple ‘Look,’ I would be left in complete shock by their amazing confidence. What Yolanda did is every high school girl’s dream. Not only having the confidence to try to reach out to her crush, but also standing up to the people that made fun of her. I’d say she’s a true inspiration for showing this confident side of hers. The way she didn’t plan to throw her books at the idiots after feeling super embarrassed is an important factor of the character she is.

Song Analysis

      On January 10th 1961, "At Last" by Etta James entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; eventually it peaked at #47 and spent 8 weeks on the Top 100. It is her most enduring song, but is not typical of her work. Throughout the whole song, she explains how happy she is to be in love. Etta James had her fair trial of drug addiction and became very depressed and in this song she expresses her true happiness and has finally found her love at last. This is still one of the best love songs out there no matter how old it is. We also believe that it couldn't have been written any better because of how perfectly it describes what being in love is about. She finally finds the love she dreamt of whom brings color into her life. There’s no more gray skies and she can finally breathe. This says she’s very lucky and deserves all the happiness and love in the world. "At last, my love has come along," suggests that before her love came into her life she was very lonesome and depressed. We think many people have felt this before and to come to a point where you finally found what you’ve been looking for, it is a huge relief. 

Background of Artist 

Born in Los Angeles, California, on January 25, 1938, Etta James was a gospel prodigy. In 1954, she moved to Los Angeles to record "The Wallflower." Her career had begun to soar by 1960, due in no small part to songs like "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "At Last." Despite her continued drug problems, she earned a Grammy Award nomination for her 1973 eponymous album. In 2006, she released the album All the Way. James died in Riverside, California, on January 20, 2012, and continues to be is considered one of the most dynamic singers in music. Etta James is best described for her bluesy/classical style of music and how she battled her drug addiction. She lived a rough and tumble life that could’ve inspired a dozen soul operas. Despite her struggles, James finally found a man that brought her love and happiness. In “Motorcycle on the Sea of Tranquility,” Yolanda Sahagun gives Francisco Valdivia ‘the look’ which she believes will lure him to her. Yolanda wants nothing more than to have Francisco for herself and believes she has nothing to lose if she expresses her true feelings for him.  Like Etta James, Yolanda Sahagun she too believes she found her soulmate, Francisco Valdivia. 

Lyrics/Text Chart

"At Last," by Etta James is about her lonely days over and she finally found the love of her life.	We believe she considers herself lucky to be in love and that she found that man.
She finally finds the love she dreamt of whom brings color into her life.	There’s no more gray skies and she can finally breathe.
"At last, my love has come along.."	We think many people have felt this before and to come to a point where you finally found what you’ve been looking for, it is a huge relief.

This we Believe:

We believe Motorcycle on the Sea of Tranquility is a great book because we feel that we relate to the main protagonist, Yolanda Sahagun, since she comes from a Mexican-American family. We feel the same way she felt with her high school crush, Francisco Valdivia. in this book, Yolanda and her family traveled to tijuana very often to visit her family just as we visit our family in Mexico as well. We believe this book is a perfect read for chicanos living in the united states struggling with the same issues of being both Mexican-American.

Mind Map

Hope

Hope

Hope is like a dream come true. It’s not about skin color; it’s about character. Martin Luther King Jr. had a famous speech talking about how one shouldn’t be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. King organized peaceful protest in order to fight for their rights of all men. He thought if things got violent then he wouldn’t get what he wanted. Kings dream was for all to come together instead of living in a world so separate, a dream where all men are equal.

Martin Luther King: Man of Peace

Martin Luther King: Man of Peace

         Hope is like a dream come true. It’s not about skin color; it’s about character. Martin Luther King Jr. had a famous speech talking about how one shouldn’t be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. King organized peaceful protest in order to fight for their rights of all men. He thought if things got violent then he wouldn’t get what he wanted. Kings dream was for all to come together instead of living in a world so separate, a dream where all men are equal.

    Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of peace; King once said, “I have a dream this afternoon that my four little children will not come up in the same young days that I came up within, but they will be judged on the basis of the content of their character, not the color of their skin.”  He wished his children didn’t live the way he did as a child, living in a world separate for being judged by their skin. King dreamed for their lives to not be that way.

     The article “Minister, Civil Right Activist” talks about how separated is never equal. Martin Luther King suggested that nonviolent protest would be the best option to fight for his rights. This would be the best option because he thought if there was violence it would only worsen things. How would violence make any situation better? Well it wouldn’t of course. By protesting he thought they would meet their racism and prejudice. King only wanted equality where we would see one another as family, as their own kind. At the end of the article King proclaims, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” In front of a million people he shares what he feels and hopes to happen. To treat one another equally and with respect. We shouldn’t hate each other just because of our skin color and our looks, that shouldn’t matter at all.

       Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama brought people together but ran out of time. What I mean by running out of time is that King was assassinated and Obama had people who go against him due to fact he was the first African-American president. However, both still fought for what was right in our country, different yet similar in their own respected ways. In 1955 Martin Luther King and other civil rights activist were arrested for leading a boycott of a Montgomery, Alabama, transportation company which required nonwhites to surrender their seats to whites, and stand or sit at the back of the bus. The following decade, King wrote, spoke and organized nonviolent protests and mass demonstrations to draw attention to racial discrimination. King thought if he did violent protests then things would only get worse, so he made them peaceful, to hopefully have equality for him and others. Martin Luther King brought people together to fight for their rights. In 2007 to now Obama wants what is best for the people like King did. Obama and King were both leaders of great movements, Obama inspired a movement for hope and change that took over the country. King was the leader for the civil rights movement, his power attracted not only thousands of supporters and activists, but concern from the government. King dreams was to one day have all races living together in harmony, Obama was multiracial, and his diverse administration and supporters show he is making good on Kings dreams.

Tell me about it

Compare and Contrast

compare and contrast

Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama brought people together but ran out of time. What I mean by running out of time is that King was assassinated and Obama had people who go against him due to fact he was the first African-American president. However, both still fought for what was right in our country, different yet similar in their own respected ways. In 1955 Martin Luther King and other civil rights activist were arrested for leading a boycott of a Montgomery, Alabama, transportation company which required nonwhites to surrender their seats to whites, and stand or sit at the back of the bus. The following decade, King wrote, spoke and organized nonviolent protests and mass demonstrations to draw attention to racial discrimination. King thought if he did violent protests then things would only get worse, so he made them peaceful, to hopefully have equality for him and others. Martin Luther King brought people together to fight for their rights. In 2007 to now Obama wants what is best for the people like King did. Obama and King were both leaders of great movements, Obama inspired a movement for hope and change that took over the country. King was the leader for the civil rights movement, his power attracted not only thousands of supporters and activists, but concern from the government. King dreams was to one day have all races living together in harmony, Obama was multiracial, and his diverse administration and supporters show he is making good on Kings dreams.

Consequences

Consequences

   I was fifteen years old during my sophomore year when I headed to a bumpy road. I had gotten suspended and lost what I love the most. It all began in mid-October where leaves would fall and kiss the floor. A cloudy Friday with bipolar weather where it was freezing in the morning but hot like the sun during the afternoon. Life was good to me until I got a class with the most obnoxious girls ever. These are the type of girls where you can smell the smoke coming from your ears as you turn red due to irritation. These girls were very toxic, the type that always had something rude to say. I guess you can say they tried acting cool or they just had no heart at all. However, the cruel things the two girls would do to me was make fun me and just say things to make me look bad. Although none of those things ever hurt me, it was embarrassing. It all got to a point where I had enough with those girls and finally put my foot down and stood up for myself but that’s when things went downhill: this is how I lost everything.

   The way my life went downhill was when I stood up for myself but not in the right way. There were ways I could have avoided this unwanted situation. The way I stood up for myself was by telling the two girls cruel words, it was like the rage I get when I’m losing in a match of call of duty, where I’m so furious because I am the one being defeated with a poor connection. The sound of anger in my voice, how I told these girls what they basically wanted to hear, the fright in their eyes was priceless but that all changed when I was the one who got sent to the office due to my foul words. It never made sense to me, how I was the one who was being punished after all this time they called me foul names. Apparently, it was all because the teacher only heard me and never them. How is it the one time I stand up for myself and say something, I’m the one to blame when they been doing it all along. The whole situation was all on me as if I was the bully, there was no proof that they were the ones who bullied me. It was two vs one plus a witness so of course, I’m the one who had to be punished.

   It was game day, the sound of the cheerleaders cheering and getting the crowd to cheer along and to carry that spirit hoping our football team takes that win. In fact, that was supposed to be me out there, to have spirit, to make the crowd go wild for their team but instead I was at home due to the fact I got suspended. I got kicked out of the cheer team which was very devastating for me but that wasn’t all that damaged me. Cheer was everything to me, it was my escape to happiness. Cheer helped me become a better student minus that Friday afternoon. The one thing that damaged me the most was that my mother couldn’t see the good in me after that day. My mother and I were close. I was an innocent child, the type that wouldn’t follow the footsteps of my siblings. I was nothing like my siblings but after that day it’s like I was worse. My mother couldn’t even look at me. The sound of disappointment in her voice was like a knife to my heart, it pained me. I would lock myself in my room where it was sad and gloomy. This all lead to a depression where I wanted to give up. I failed all my classes that year, I never wanted to talk to anyone or explain how I felt. After my five-day suspension, I ended up switching my class. The teacher would always show videos about bullying as if I didn’t know that pain; they would make jokes about it so I couldn’t stand it and switched to a different class to stay away from trouble.

   Now that I think of it there were so many ways I could have prevented that situation. Although I wasn’t really at fault, there was still other options I could have used. For example, I could have told an adult about it, kept on ignoring them or even switched my class. I should have been an adult about it but instead I did what I’m sure of what they wanted me to do and what they wanted to happen. The way I got rid of my depression was by playing video games, it always took my mind off things and the people I play online with are absolutely the greatest. I should have known better than to say foul words, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten in that situation. I learned my lesson, I got back into cheer leading that next year and remained happy. My life is back to normal of how it was, happy. I now have that strong connection with my mother, I’m no longer in cheer leading because I only did that when I was in high school but I truly do miss the sport.