"Building Bridges" Essay

It is not unusual for guardians and their children to have arguments. Throughout the short story “Building Bridges” by Andrea Pinkney a grandma named Mama Lil and her granddaughter a teenage girl named Bebe, struggle  with letting go. Through various aspects of “Building Bridges”, Bebe wants to help repairs the Brooklyn Bridge her dream job, but Mama Lil is scared to let her go.  Throughout the short story, Pinkney teaches the reader that family bonds are hard to keep strong but Mama Lil and Bebe learn how to move on and forgive each other through this story.

In the beginning of “Building Bridges” Mama Lil and Bebe weren’t nice to each other and their relationship contentious. For example, Mama Lil said, “ I weighed too much and dressed badly.” Then Bebe thought back after Mama Lil said that, “ She smoked too much and overdid it with her fake gold chains.” The author really wants to show the reader how Mama Lil and Bebe fight and don't agree a lot. Mama Lil is reluctant to letting her go. They are very mean to each other and fight a lot. Mama Lil doesn’t think Bebe is the perfect person she wants her to be because she said Bebe,  “... weighed too much.” Mama Lil makes Bebe feel very upset. This shows how their relationship is complicated. They are both very opinionated. They love each other but can’t agree. For instance, after Bebe begged Mama Lil to sign the permission slip Mama Lil says, “ain’t no black woman doing no engineering...trying to cross the white man’s line.” The phrase “trying to cross the white man’s line” shows me that Mama Lil will not let bebe go and will not support her. Bebe is trying to understand why Mama Lil will not let  her go. Mama Lil doesn’t want to be alone and if Bebe goes and repairs the bridge she will be. Their relationship complicated  because both Mama Lil and Bebe don’t always agree. “She took another drag a heavy one this time and blew out a long quick breath. She was doing her best to tune me out.” This shows some of the struggles many  family’s relationships go through. It is very hard for guardians to let their kids go and Mama Lil loves Bebe so much she is afraid to let her go. Overall, in the beginning of “Building Bridges” Bebe and mama Lil don’t listen to each other and agree with each other.

In the middle of Building Bridges” Mama Lil and Bebe’s relationship is very fragile. They couldn’t just talk to each other without saying mean things or not agreeing. But, Bebe finally expresses herself. For example, when Bebe got really mad that Mama Lil was refusing to sign the permission slip she said, “Your eyes are closed, closed to seeing me.” Bebe gets frustrated because Mama Lil isn’t supporting her and listening to her. When Bebe says, “closed to seeing me” you can see that she is irritated because Mama Lil will not listen to her.  I think that Mama Lil is just too scared of letting her go because then she will be all alone. But Bebe doesn’t know that, so she feels alone and unsupported. Mama Lil is stuck between letting Bebe go and keeping her home with her. Overall, this shows how Mama Lil and Bebe can’t agree and let eachother speak without saying mean things. Additionally, when Mama Lil says, “Your dreams are the kind that’ll take you away from here, Bebe-- away from your Mama Lil. You got big hopes, child but they are gonna leave me alone.” This quote really shows Bebe what she has been missing. Mama Lil wants to send her, but she is just very scared to. She is afraid to be all alone. Bebe really wants to comfort her but she can’t because she is very committed and determined to achieve her dream which is to help repair the Brooklyn Bridge. Overall, this really shows how Mama Lil and Bebe’s relationship got stronger because they expressed their feelings.

Lastly, in the end of “ Building Bridges” Mama Lil and Bebe’s relationship becomes more open and honest because Mama Lil realizes that Bebe’s dream is too big to let go and ignore. For instance, Mama Lil said, “ Bebe, that bridge is lucky to have you.” This shows that Mama Lil finally let go. She is finally supporting Bebe and will help her achieve her goal. This is an example of a true, open and honest relationships. Their relationship is more powerful and better than the beginning of the story because Mama Lil is making Bebe feel more appreciated then before. Another example is when Mama Lil said, “ I been up most the night—thinking, praying and trying my best to read the confounded permission paper. They sure got a whole bunch of words typed on that thing, just to say I’m gonna let you help fix the bridge.” This quote really shows the Mama Lil realizes how she is old and doesn’t have a lot to look forward to and since Bebe has a dream, she realized that she has to do her best to support her and help her achieve it. Therefore, in the Bebe and Mama Lil become really close and their relationship became very open and grew stronger from the beginning of “Building Bridges”. Family relationships are a struggle and it’s normal for guardians to be unsure and nervous about letting their loved ones go and Mama Lil and Bebe’s relationship showed us.

In conclusion, in the short story “Building Bridges” Bebe and Mama Lil’s relationship grows. In the beginning of the story Both Mama Lil and Bebe were at odds. They fought a lot but, deep inside they still loved each other very much. In the middle, Bebe expressed herself and she told Mama Lil she was going to the bridge and nothing was getting in her way. Lastly, in the end Mama Lil learns to let Bebe go and Bebe finally feels supported, just as Mama Lil always really wanted her to be.This short story showed me that you have to be determined and never give up when you are so close to your dreams. It reveals the struggle your guardians could may go through but they sometimes realize that there loved ones dreams matter just as much. This message relates to many teenagers in the real world because many give up when people get in their way. But just like Bebe, you must stay determined and be confident about yourself to make your dreams come true. Readers respond to this short story because many go through this. In the end, you realize that it is important for guardians to let their children achieve their dreams.

My name piece

Kristyn

My name doesn’t have any special meaning or story behind it. Kristyn means “follower of Christ.” I like this because it relates to my religious beliefs.  My parents told me when I born they looked at me and said “ are you a…?” They have a very thick book with baby names underlined and circled. When my mom came across kristyn she was having trouble trying to come up with spelling. Kristen, Kristin, and Krystin then she came up with Kristyn. This spelling is very uncommon which is why she chose it. Whenever I go to a store and my brothers and sisters, and they find a key chain with their name on it. I never see the correct spelling of my name on one of those key chains. It makes me feel very upset. But at the same time it shows me how my name is very unique.

My middle name, Marie, it is passed down from my mom’s family. It is very simple and suits me best because it’s short and sweet. Marie means a type of sweet biscuit and extremely fun, caring, intelligent, very funny and beautiful person. I feel this name best suits me because all of those adjectives make me who I am. I am glad Marie was chosen for me because the sound of my full name flows well.

My name is like the color brown. This color is very unique because nobody really likes this color, as they’re favorite because it is not a very popular. This is the type of color you don’t pay attention to. The color brown relates to my name because of the spelling. Spelling my name with a y at the end makes this spelling very uncommon. I like the fact that is very original and was given to me because I don’t want to be like everyone else I want to stand out in a many different, and good ways.

My name is like the number seven. Seven is a prime number and a prime means no other number can be multiplied or fit in to seven. I like how my name is spelled with 7 letters because it shows that I am a special number and nobody can fit or act like me. Lastly the number seven is not a very popular number and that is like the spelling of my name. I like that because it makes me feel different and special.

At school my name changes from Kristyn, to Kris Kris or Kristy. Also at dance and soccer I am called by Kris. I think all my nicknames are okay. They aren’t my favorite. But kristyn, is a very hard to come up with nicknames. All my siblings and friends have cool nicknames that everyone calls them. For example I friend Agnes’s nickname is “aggie” a lot of people call her that. I wish I had a cool nickname too. I wouldn’t change my name just for that. It shows me one of the disadvantages of having my name but at the same time I can deal with it and kristyn has many other advantages including spelling and sound.

I feel my name best suits me. Everyone say I only look like a Kristyn and I guess that is a good thing. My name shaped me on becoming the person I am today. My name is very special to me because it is what I have been called my whole life. My name is what makes me who. Kristyn.

Summer Reading Essay

       

The Wizard of Oz

By: L. Frank Baum

Over the summer vacation I read The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. This book was about a girl named Dorothy who was trapped inside her house during a cyclone. This cyclone took her to a magical place. When the cyclone stopped she woke up and found herself anywhere but Kansas. She was amazed by the color and things there, but yet frightened because she was far away from home. She was told by Glinda the good witch to find Oz in the emerald city if she wanted to get home. After that, she set off following the yellow brick road, frightened about the shoes the wicked witch of the west wanted from her. Through Dorothy's journey she met many new friends and encounters the wicked witch of the west. She was determined to find Oz and return home.

After reading this book it made me realize that both the movie and book are different in many ways. But the book had many more elements that made it stronger and better then the movie. One reason is because in the book it explains a few important details that the movie doesn't show. Another reason is that the book reveals more of the characters feelings, thoughts and shows how the characters changes from the beginning to the end. My last reason is that the book describes and explains the setting and problems that Dorothy encounters better than the movie. Overall this proves that this book is different in many ways and it helps the reader understand I the story better.

One reason the book is stronger and better than the movie because it reveals more of the characters feelings thoughts and how the characters change throughout the story. One example of this is on page, 173, it states “Dorothy wept bitterly at the passing of her hope to getting home…and she also felt sorry at losing Oz, and so does her companies.” It reveals how she is very upset that she lost her chance of going home. Additionally, it states, “the little girl began to weep, she was so disappointed; and the eyes winked again and looker upon her anxiously.” These statements show her feelings when she was told that she had to kill the wicked witch and it shows how she felt when she didn’t get want she wanted. This really made me empathize towards her and feel what she is going through. Overall, this proves that the book reveals more of the characters feelings and thoughts through the story

Another reason the book is different than the movie because the book explains a few important details that the movie doesn't show. One example of this is on page, 42-43 the book explains more about the scarecrows past then it does in the movie. It states, “My life has been so short that I really know nothing whatever. I was only made day before yesterday. What happened in the world before that time is all unknown to me. Luckily, when the farmer made my head, one of the first things he did was to paint my ears, so that I heard what was going on.” This wasn’t said in the movie and is a very important part in the book because it shows the scarecrows past. Another example is in the book it explains and describes the house with a lot of detail. On the other hand the movie just shows a house that looks like that. If the author had not described the house it may have been hard to understand and imagine what Dorothy could have been doing during the cyclone. My Final example of this is on page106, it states, “It was a big, round room with a high arched roof, and the walls and ceiling and floor were covered with large emeralds set closely together. In the center of the roof was a great light, as bright as the sun, which made the emeralds sparkle in a wonderful manner.” This explains the room in great detail. This really helps the reader visualize the room. In the movie it doesn’t show and explain Dorothy describing the room as well as the book. Overall, this shows that a few little important details could change the understanding of the story sometimes.

My last reason is that the book describes and explains the setting and problems that Dorothy encounters better than the movie. One example is on page, 1 it says “there were four walls, a roof, which was made one room; and this room, contained a rusty looking cooking stove, a cupboard for the dishes...” This statement in the book is longer but it really explains and describes the house with a lot of detail. But, the movie just shows a house that looks like that. If the author had not described the house it may have been hard to understand and imagine what Dorothy could have been doing during the cyclone. Additionally, on page 208 it describes and gives a very clear explanation about what Dorothy does to the winged monkeys and that the movie doesn’t show. It also names and says the commands she give that are very important and don’t sound as powerful as they should. Overall, this shows how the book describes and explains the setting and problems that Dorothy encounters better than the movie.

In conclusion at the end of this book I learned that the book is different in ways that help the reader understand the Wizard of Oz better. One reason the book is different than the movie because it reveals more of the characters feelings thoughts and how different characters change throughout the story. Another reason the book is different than the movie because the book explains a few important details that the movie doesn't show. My last reason is that the book describes and explains the setting and problems that Dorothy encounters better than the movie.  I loved reading this book by L. Frank Baum and would recommend it to anyone who is ready to read about adventure and who is ready for exciting characters and events that happen in the story.