Blog 1

Vocab:
contortion(5)/contort: To twist, wrench, or bend severely out of shape.

stimuli(10): something that incites to quickens action, feeling, or thought.

Appeals: "My God, I am the wrong color."(10) In this quote Alexandra feels she needs to have different colored skin. She is a white female growing up in an African American society where only her family is white. The kids at school are picking on her for being white. This quote provokes a disturbed feeling in that no matter what color you are, anywhere in the world, if you look different you stand out.

"I say, 'I'm African.' But not black. And I say, 'I was born in England,' by mistake."(10) It sounds like she is almost ashamed to say she is born in England. One should have pride in thier country no matter where they are from. This qoute also shows that she doesn't quite know what race to say she is. When most people think African they think black, Alexandra is trying to include where she is living now as part of her race without saying false information about her ethnicticty.

'"You hated England," I point out.[...] 'But I love Scotland.' [...] Mum hates Scotland."'(11) This goes back to the issue of being proud of the country you are born in. Mum is proud that she is from Scotland even though her daughter says she hates England. This sends mixed feelings towards the reader. Who should we believe? The five year old daughter or the drunk mother?

Qoute:
"The way I stand out against the khaki bush like a marshmallow to a gook with a gun. White. African. White-African."(10) Alex doesn't feel like she fits in with the rest of her African society. In her mind she feels that she doesn't belong to this community because of her white skin. I like the way she compared it to the war her dad is currently fighting in. She may also show concern for her dad in this qoute because she may feel he will stand out with his white skin.

Themes:
One of the themes in this book is confusion. Alexandra is confused on how to describe her ethnicticity. She can't decide if she is white or black. She wants to say she is African American because she lives in Africa with other black societies, yet her skin color is white because she is from England. This creates confusion about her race.