Chapter 51

When managing your information on a specific source, it's crucial that you do so without plagarizing. Even thought sometimes you might not even mean to, it happens. Keep a record of your sources, it's called a bibliography. After you've gotten all that down you can read it and annotate it and make comments and sentences about the main ideas, summarize it a little bit so you have an idea about what you want to keep your focus on. When you're taking notes try not to put the same words from the article or place you're taking notes from, and avoid plagarizm that way. Resist the temptation to look at the article. Read it and then summarize what you got from it.

A summer condenses information, you can reduce a chapter to a short paragraph or a paragraph to a short sentence. A summery should always be written in your own words and if you use phrases from the source, be sure to put it in quotation marks. A quotation consists of exact words from a source. Even when you write your notes, put all your quoted material in quotation marks so you don't miss them when you go to write your final paper.

I've always been taught about plagerizm in school and high school and all that but I've never had a problem with it. It's pretty clear and easy to avoid. Like the chapter said, I always make sure I quote where I got my information from if it's not my own. Plagerizm doesn't seem that big of a deal but honestly the way teachers and staff address it, it seems like a pretty big deal to me so I just avoid it at all costs.

Part I

The story takes place in Pepelau, Hawaii. The Narrator is Kiyoshi Oyama. He is

younger than Mokoto who hangs out with younger boys, and he is a fourth grader

who enjoys doing activites in the summer even when he doesn't have that much 

money. He lived in a Japanese Camp with his parents and brother and sister. His 

father was a fisherman and his mother sewed kimonos so even thought they didn't 

have a lot of money they always had something to eat, because his father always 

brought home the best of fish even though they sometimes got sick of eating the 

same thing every day.

Kiyoshi met Makot at the beach who soon became their gang leader and did 

everything Makot told them to do but he treated them very well. Because Makot 

always had a lot of money he would take them to the movies and buy them ice 

cream and always had fun activities to do until Kiyoshi's parents found out he was 

always at Makots. His parents were concerned with how other people thought about 

them and they told Kiyoshi he was no longer aloud to eat and play over there 

because it would look like they couldn't afford their own food and because his 

parents thought that Makot was a bad influene.

Extra Credit: Writing About Film

When you analyze and write about a film you have to remember that you aren't writing a review. Reviews are more of the viewers thoughts and responses to a film and don't require research or analysis, though your feelings and reactions can help you write a stronger paper. There are a variety of different kinds of film papers such as formal analysis, film history, ideological papers, cultural studies/natural cinemas, and discussion of the autuer. Before writing a film you have to of course watch the film, and try to pay more attention to the views and lighting and angles and things like that. When writing about a film don't just summarize but really get into detail about the effects and genre of the film. Look beyond the frame.

When watching a movie I'm always paying attention to the angles and the subjects and things being pointed out in a particular time. It's easier to do with tv shows then with movies I think, and I do it more with tv shows then movies but after reading all of this, it lets me know how and where to look for these things that I can use to write about when I'm writing about a film. It was actually excellent timing because  I have to write about a film in two classes so I will look forward to watching the films and being sure to look more into detail and lighting and angles and the things "behind the scene" then just the movie itself.

Essay 3 Workshop

What role does forgiveness play in Smoke Signals? 

In the movie “Smoke Signals,” forgiveness plays a major role in the theme of this movie. The 

very end of the movie I think contains one of the most insightful statements about the nature of 

forgiveness. It’s a move based on family and brokenness and how even anger, alcoholism, and 

hurt still can’t compare with love. It can’t compete. True and unconditional love cannot be 

defeated. I think the overall reflection of forgiveness in this move moves on toward the personal 

areas along with larger political and social areas. 

When Victor is told that this father has died in Arizona, he and Thomas have to make the long 

journey by bus and on foot to go and get his father’s truck and personal belongings. During this 

trip Victor and Thomas learn a lot about each other and more about Victor’s father, not only the 

demons he battled, but also about the love that he had for his son. At one point during the end of 

the movie Thomas asks Victor, “So why did you dad leave?” and Victor replies, “He didn’t mean 

to Thomas.” And the Victor begins to do what he was to do to grieve his father’s death and ask 

the question about forgiveness. The movie addresses the important questions of why we hurt the 

people we love and if we can or should be forgiven? 

The move begins with fire and flames and ends with the waterfalls over the bridge. I this 

symbolizes forgiveness. You see fire and flames which can relate to hurt and anger and then you 

see the beautiful waterfalls which could be symbolizing the cleanliness and washing away of all 

the anger and hurt and alcoholism and brokenness that seems to be all through out this movie. 

It’s sort of similar to the washing away of all the bad and showing something beautiful, like 

forgiveness. 

This movie I think explores forgiveness between family members and also in cultural and 

historical areas as well. For example, how could a race of native people forgive generations of 

the stereotyping and for allowing their family and grandparents to allow it happen if you think 

about it in such a way it can go in either direction. It’s difficult to contemplate forgiveness when 

you’re paralyzed by fear. Going a little off subject I believe that we are not to pass judgement on 

our bothers and sisters (referring to other human beings) and to “forgive our brothers and sisters 

from our hearts” (Matthew 18:21). So a lot of people may ask the questions in a society based 

forgiveness that can be illustrated in this movie about forgiving terrorists, rapists and murderers, 

liars, thieves, people along these lines. For some people forgiveness is not always an easy thing 

especially depending on the actions a person has made. Again, for example, people who abuse 

and mistreat children or alcoholics who refuse to recognize the damage they cause to their 

families, those who participate in rape and molestation and things like that destroy trust and love 

aren’t really helped when forgiveness comes easily with no consequences for their actions 

especially when actions such as these are continually repeated. 

I think a question this movie brings about is how do we see to get past our pain and hurt, fear and 

wounds, and realize that to be forgiven we must forgive others. Although the movie did clearly 

state the fact about forgiving our fathers, which is forgiving others it also throws out when is it 

necessary to seek forgiveness ourselves and not only in family or other people. I think mostly 

everyone can recall a time in their lives where their own parents, neighbors, family members, 

friends, somebody has a story with hurt and pain somewhere for whatever reason, could be 

regrets, lessons to be learned, rejection, things that meant great value to us that were taken or 

maybe given away, words that were said to us, sometimes not meaning anything to someone else 

but so powerful in our ears and has in some way determined the course of our lives whether it’s 

the fact that you’ve gotten past these things and decided to be something bigger or you’re still 

hurt and in fear because of these things as so you’re not living up to your full potential. I think 

forgiveness has a lot to do with everything here and the movie explains it very well. 

In the last line in the movie it says “If we forgive our fathers, what is left?” After we forgive 

someone who has repeatedly and deeply hurt us, what’s left? What is forgiveness going to do for 

us, is it going to cause us to come to terms with ourselves. How does the act of forgiveness 

cleanse and transform us? These are things I believe are being asked. And I think that when we 

forgive others, we can forgive ourselves. When we forgive people who hurt us we can say to 

ourselves, I’m bigger than this and I’m not going to let it affect my life because in reality, hurt 

people hurt people. And because Victor was so hurt, he put his anger and pain on other people 

like his mother and Thomas and his father. And when he’s willing and able to forgive, the pain 

that was once inside has now vanished and he can no longer continue hurting other people.

So the movie “Smoke Signals” really does bring about a lot more then just the act of forgiveness 

but in different realms, personal, political and social and why forgiveness is so crucial to our 

lives and what it can really do when we choose to face the acts of forgiveness. 

"This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona”

C.      Are you more impressed with the film or the story?  Why?


I can't really say, obviously the film has a lot more detail because this was just a short story but it played out well in that short amount. I like how the movie described their past more and how the two ended up being friends and how their lives played out with each other and in the story it did that also just not as much. I was sort of more in tune with the story for some reason. Usually I would rather watch the movies then read the stories but I feel like I got more out of the story. It tells you everything that the movie does just in shorter sequence. 


It tells the past of the two that they didn't always get along and how Victor would always pick on Thomas. It showed Thomas stepping up to help Victor with getting his father and the journey the two set out on that actually brought them closer together. Even though they couldn't be friends, they knew somewhere that they could now be civil with each other. All in all I think I would say for me I was more impressed with the story just because that's how I received my information better, but the movies are always better to watch.

Smoke Signals

What do you think about the relationship between Thomas and Victor?

The movie "Smoke Signals" is about two young indians who travel to Pennsylvania and on the way learn some things about each other in weird ways I would say. Thomas and Victor never seemed to get along growing up and never really liked each other as kids, they grew up in the same little town but couldn't have less in common. And when you see them grown up it seems as if they still have problems with each other. Victor is called away and it so happens that Thomas is the one who's able to pay for the trip but in return has to go with him. I think the relationship between thomas and victor is quite amusing. They seem as if they're brothers in a way and they learn things about each other through the fighting and arguing. Though it didn't seem like it, they had a strong bond because they both related in the fact that they lost their fathers and I think Victor was just mean to Thomas because maybe he had a lot of anger and that's who he took it out on.

Along the way, they teach each other life lessons. Thomas, who has a sensitive nature and is a storyteller, shows Victor that there's more to living than cynicism and built up anger. Victor tells Thomas what it means to be a real Indian. "Indians ain't supposed to smile. Get stoic. If you don't look mean, white people won't respect you." For Thomas, the trip from Idaho to Arizona means an opportunity to come to grips with his ancestry. For Victor, it's a chance to forgive his estranged father in death. It was interesting and entertaining to watch how Thomas and Victor interacted with each other. I think the overall story is about they growing up with their struggles together. I don't think it had any particular type of plot.

Chapter 22

Make pronouns and antecedents agree. A pronoun is a word that substitutes for a noun. A pronoun and its antecedent always agree with together whether its single or plural. Since they have to agree, you can't use a plural noun with single antecedents. Writers usually want to use plural pronouns for two kinds of singular antecedents. Indefinite pronouns and generic nouns. An indefinite pronoun is people or things that are very specific. For ex, anybody, something, somebody, everything. Though they sound plural we treat them as singular. A generic noun represents a specific member of a group, for ex, a typical student or lawyer. These also can sound plural but are singular. Treat collective nouns as singular unless the meaning is clearly plural. A collective noun is like family, team, audience, crowd, and class. Treat compound antecedents connected by and as plural.

I had no idea writing got so specific in these ways, i'm sure I've learned this before somewhere during school but it was definitely a refresher if so. When I write I usually do as the book told us not to which would be something like everybody has their own opinion when it should really be everybody has his or her own opinion. As it was saying a lot of writers tend to miss that and will out a plural pronoun with a single antecedent, so when I write from now on I'll try to remember that and maybe it will make my writing seem more clear. The smallest errors in writing, I've learned, can sometimes make or break your paper.