Critique On A Book

Overall this book brings to light some hard life lessons that all of us must learn as we grow up. We must question societies’ beliefs and ask why it is that we believe such things. We all become sexually active sometime, and must deal with the complications and consequences that this can lead to. And all of us struggle with forgiveness, to be forgiven, as well as to forgive others. The authors quest to make the book thought provoking seems to leave the book open and “not finished” to some people. Maybe the author’s intent all along wasn’t to make the reader feel “finished” and content at the end of the book. Perhaps the author wanted to leave it open, leave the reader questioning, so that we might all think a little bit harder about the values and themes in our own lives. ~Tina Bash

excerpt from Critique of Wicked, author Gregory Maguire by Tina Bash

This Old House

Their son, Bob, was now 10 years old. He was high-powered and shy. He came home from school at a quarter to three and always asked his mom for a snack. She would feed him and hug him and send him to boy scouts. She would smile and think: what a perfect boy I have created! What a perfect boy! ~ Tina Bash

excerpt from short story This Old House by Tina Bash

Transparency

Augustine had a purpose in his confessional. He wanted people to understand his religious resolve and be drawn toward Christianity. On the other hand, Rousseau was very obsessive in his memoir, modeling himself and laying himself out for all to see. It was like a bad Jerry Springer episode. Rousseau seems to be embarrassing people he writes about on purpose, exposing facts that could have been left untouched. ~Tina Bash

excerpt: Contrasting memoirs of Augustine and Rousseau by Tina Bash

Art & Play

Her fingers are small and have not yet mastered great coordination, yet she does not care. She dips her fingertips into the paint, not minding if the colors mix or run. She is painted as much as her paper, and so is the floor, chair, and table that surround her. The paint is sparkly and looks acrylic. She is only three, yet she is an artist. ~Tina Bash

excerpt from college paper on art and play by Tina Bash

Plastic Sandals

Tears welled in my eyes. My feet seemed melted in place, unwilling to move, not to go back or forward. And panic gripped me. I wanted to scream. My plastic sandals were yelling, urging me on, into the street.
I closed my eyes and pictured my father’s face, his solid gaze, his tiny chin. The way he laughed and called me ‘princess’. It calmed me, the way he always calmed me, when my mamko beat me for letting the wash fall on the ground. I waited a bit for my courage of adventure to return, and then I darted into the street, to the other side. ~Tina Bash

excerpt from: Plastic Sandals, a short story set in Tanzania, East Africa by Tina Bash.

Mock Autobiography

I was working as a cocktail waitress at the time, trying to find my way around the city, trying to survive. I didn’t realize how expensive life would be there. So I served drinks to whites every night, and went to political rallies during the day.

I remember the day I met Jay Kennedy, a member of the American Communist Party. That is a day that changed my life. I mean, I listened to what he had to say. He talked about inequality and how our capitalist government was so corrupt, and I was just like: “Yes, Yes!” What he said made sense and was so right. And I knew then that I just couldn’t sit around anymore and let other people control my world. I went right out and quit my cocktail waitress job. I was just like,”I quit, so shove off”; and I walked right out of there. ~ Tina Bash

excerpt from: First-person mock 'autobiography' of Elaine Brown, former female leader of the Black Panther Party by Tina Bash

Questioning Identity

What do you do?
This seems rather over-important in some ways because there is a social order to jobs and it can tell you about how much money a person makes. But simply stating, I am an administrative assistant, “does not say about how we occupy these positions or about what they mean to us.” (p.9). The how part is important because you can be a lawyer, but you can be a GREAT lawyer, or a really bad one and so there IS a difference. The ‘what they mean to us’ is important because we all know that some of the ‘lowest-status’ jobs can be the most fulfilling. ~Tina Bash

reflection on: Critique Questioning Identity: gender, class, nation. Edited by Kath Woodward