Native Americans in the United States Essay Example for Free

Native Americans in the United States Essay The Navajo’s land was very precious. They lived in a huge expanse of land. They lived in large chunks of Utah and Arizona. They also inhabited small parts of Colorado and New Mexico. They had a similar climate all year around. The climate was arid to semi-arid. They had very hot summers and very cold winters. The annual precipitation for most of their land was less than 10 inches of rain. The average temperature range was 40 degrees Fahrenheit to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. They also had natural resources. They had coal, uranium, oil, natural gas, minerals, petroleum, agriculture, and herbs. ? LAKE NAVAJO ? FOOD: The Navajos had various amounts of food. They grew corn, beans, squash and melons. They hunted and ate Kaibab squirrels, black tailed jack rabbits, small pigs, peccary, horses, buffalo and sheep. They baked kneel down bread, Navajo cake, Navajo pancakes, blue â€Å"dumplings†, blue bread, hominy cookies, and squash blossoms stuffed with blue corn mush and pinon leaves. They also steamed and roasted corn. They harvested wild fruits and vegetables such as pinon nuts, corn silk, wild berries, wild onion, Navajo spinach (bee weed and pig weed), wolf â€Å"berry†, wax currant, sumac grapes, juniper oranges, yucca bananas, and Navajo tea (telesperma). They also traded for deer, squash seeds, tumble mustard seeds, pinto beans, goat, goat milk, and goat cheese. In special occasions they would have wild edible clay, wild potatoes, mimosa, sagebrush, and juniper ash. ? NAVAJO PANCAKES ? SHELTER: The Navajos had different homes than other native tribes. They lived in small clusters of families spread around. There’re 2 types of hogans (what they lived in), the winter type and the summer type. The winter hogan was more closed and padded for the cold but; the summer hogan was more open and less padded for the heat. They were both miserable and crude structures. The reason for them living in such poorly built homes was because they were nomads (so they could easily leave in a moments notice). They considered the outdoors as home. They used there â€Å"house† for storage, warmth and sleep. They said they wouldn’t get attached to their â€Å"homes† like white men (Americans). Hogans were round â€Å"houses† built with sticks, packed with earth and covered with brush, animal hides and whatever else they could find or was available. The front door always faced east to catch first light. They later built more advanced and bigger hogans made out of logs from pinon trees, and mud. ? NAVAJO HOGAN ? CLIMATE/ GEOGRAPHY INFLUENCE: The Navajo’s climate and geography affected them. Geography caused them not to have the same food or clothing in all parts of the Navajo land because some stuff didn’t grow everywhere and, the terrain made them wear different clothing according to altitude weather. Climate caused them not to have the same food, clothing or shelter all year around either. Some stuff could only be found a certain season. In the winter they had to wear more layers but, as for in the summer they would wear less, and like a said before (read shelter) there was a winter hogan and a summer hogan. ? CLASSIC TERRAIN ? LOCATION OF HOMES: ? NAVAJO’S CURRENT HOME ? NAVAJO’S ANCESTRAL HOME ? BIBLIOGRAPHY: Carey, Harold Jr. â€Å"Navajo People† Donald Snyder. (July 29, 2011) Outskirts Press. October 28, 2011 Donn, Andale. â€Å"Native Americans† Phillip Martin. (2007) October 27, 2011 Eck, Pam. â€Å"In Kido Indianans† Diane Dwenger. (April 22, 1998) October 28, 2011 Erdoes, Richard. â€Å"The Native Americans: Navajos† Sterling Pub. Co : New York; 1978: 15, 21, 12 James, Cullen. â€Å"Veterans Recall† Navajo Times; #24, October 29, 2011. 1,2 Kallen, Stuart A. â€Å" Native Americans of The Southwest† Lucent Books: San Diego; 2000: 12, 1, 11 Knysh, Brian. â€Å"Kid Port† Elizabeth Flynn. (1998) October 27, 2011 Lewis, Orrin, â€Å"Big Orrin† Laura Redish. (1998) October 27, 2011 Rossi, Ann. â€Å" Native Americans of The Southwest† Benchmark Education: Pelham; 2008: 16, 32, 10 Miller, Gay‘s 5th and 6th grade students. â€Å"Navajo. † Miller Gay. (October 23,2011) October 27, 20011 Yurth, Cindy. â€Å"Budding Filmmakers Debut† U. S. A Department of Defense; #3 October 29, 2011. 1,2 ? FUN FACTS: They Call them selves the â€Å"Dine† (the people) They drew petroglyphs Their reservation size is about 13 million acres (the largest in the U. S) They also have the largest membership size compared to other Native Americans membership’s size. (They allow up to 30 people from their extended family into the reservation. ) ? EXTRA: ? NAVAJO BOW ARROW ? NAVAJO POTTERY ? NAVAJO PAINTING ? NAVAJO TOMAHAWK.

Latin America Essay Example for Free

Latin America Essay Nation states co-exist one alongside another, yet, their relations have not been perfect or devoid of discord. At the heart of this problem is that each nation state as a political and economic entity has its own interests. It is the pursuit of these interests that these states rub one another the wrong way, with the developed countries calling the shots, leading to an acrimonious disposition in international relations. This paper examines some of the facts by taking America, Cuba and Nicaragua as examples. Question 1 Part A The Cuba Revolution which took place in January 1, 1959 against President General Fulgencio Batista is highly esteemed by Latin Americans because it deposed the dictatorial President General Fulgencio Batista from rule. Part B Cuba occupies a special place in US policy makers’ minds both for historical and strategic reasons. The historical treason is that Nikita Khrushchev had at one time â€Å"poked US in the eye† after US had aimed missiles in Italy and Turkey at USSR. By planting other missiles in Cuba against the US, Khrushchev now had a more credible bargaining chip. America does not want a repeat of this. The Strategic reason is that Cuba at the moment is the only force standing in the way of the Caribbean domination by the US. Part C What prevented Cuba’s annexation by the US is Castro’s rule. This Castro has weathered all assassination and coup attempts that were staged against him at the behest of the US. Question 2 The main strategy that was used by Latin America against US hegemony was by forming an alliance with other socialist countries that posed antithetical stands against the US. It is through these alliances that Latin American states were able to realize the acquisition of arms and ideologies. Question 3 US has been at times responsible for the rise of military dictatorships in Latin America in its quest to annex these countries. In most cases, the US sponsored military coups both financially and militarily against legitimate governments (as it was seen in the case of General Fulgencio Batista when America wanted to oust Castro). Usually, these legitimate governments are conspired against by the US when they refuse to do US’ bidding. When these coups succeed, the leaders themselves turn into outright dictators. Commentary 1 It is true that Nicaragua looks up to Cuba positively since Cuba has been protecting her interests. Or instance, Cuba was instrumental in the 1990s in advising and helping Nicaragua to build closer ties with investors by working with them closely to reconstruct Nicaragua’s economic situation. What enhanced the credibility of Cuba’s economic advice and help to Nicaragua is that the latter witnessed Cuba’s proposals work out for the betterment of Bolivia, a country that initially was preoccupied with militarism. More Credit is being given to Cuba by Nicaragua because Cuba continues to protect Nicaragua’s trade and transport routes, of which the Trans Isthmian canal remains chief. Commentary 2 It is not sufficient to state that Nicaragua admires Cuba because of the protection it receives only. On the contrary, it is through this Trans Isthmian canal that Cuba protects, that the two economies are able to carry out bilateral trade. Cuba’s exports to Nicaragua are rice, sugar cane, medical products, hams and sausages, whereas Nicaragua exports veterinary products, pharmaceuticals, milk and milk products, meat and meat products, original perfume oil, pieces of ivory, among others, to Cuba. Conclusion It is therefore easier to see that because states exist juxtaposed to each other, there is no country that can exist on its own accord. This is why virtually all nations are players in international trade and diplomacy. The mandate therefore falls on the developed economies such as the US and the UK and other international organizations such as the UN to come up with policies that will foster egalitarianism and freedom for and among all states. References Blasier, C. (2005). Trade in Latin America. Ann Arbor: Michigan University Press. Callahan, M. (1999). A historical look at US relations with Cuba. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Katharina Reiss Text Typology

Katharina Reiss Text Typology Reiss translation-oriented text-typology provides a systematic approach to translation. More interestingly, it approaches translation at the text level. This essay will examine Reiss typology with focus on Parting the Waters, published in National Geographic, a monthly magazine that borders on science, geography, history and culture. REISS TEXT-TYPOLOGY Reiss sees translation as an act of communication whereby the translator acts as a medium (secondary sender). This presupposes that a message has to be passed across, from the primary sender (source text) to the secondary receiver (target text). The major media are the source language and the target language. The aim here is to produce a target language text that is functionally equivalent to the source language text (Reiss 1971:160). This means the source text should be the consultative point for the translator. In order to achieve this functional equivalence, Reiss proposes a functional approach of text-typology. This approach takes into account the communicative functions of a source text as a basis for translating into the target text. In other words, a target text that does not have the same function as the source text is not entirely a translation, but what Reiss calls transfer (ref here). Reiss text-typology includes a two-phase approach in translating a text: Phase of analysi s and phase of reverbalization. The analysis phase basically involves establishing the text type, genre and style (linguistic form).The phase of analysis is the most important as that is what would inform the translation method to employ. Text-type of Parting the Waters Reiss identifies three text-types according to their communicative function namely: the informative type (communication of content), the expressive type (communication of artistically organised content) and the operative type (communication of content with a persuasive character). There is another hyper-type which she calls the audio-medial text type. This is more of a super-ordinate term for the other three and does not concern the text in question since it is a written text. Parting the Waters can be seen chiefly as an informative text type; first given the context of the text: magazine and second because it gives factual information about a place: Korea, and the geographical events that take place there. The translation strategy recommended in this case by Reiss should thus focus on conveying content. Text variety (genre) of Parting the Waters This stage has to do with the conventions of structure and language adopted by the text. However, Reiss explains that they may differ according to different cultures. The importance of this is to be able to find a functionally equivalent convention in the target text culture. In this light, Parting the Waters is a kind of popular scientific text. This suggests also that it seeks a wider audience other than scientists. This leads to the final stage of analysis: style. Style in Parting the Waters The final stage of analysis has to do with detailed semantic, syntactic and pragmatic analysis of the language use (Reiss 1971:166). Ordinarily, one would expect that when a text is an informative type, even the language used should be such that it is aimed only at giving facts. But that is often not the case, as Reiss herself admits not in one single language do form and function show a 1:1 relation (166). Hence, looking at the text, one would find a similar occurrence. The text has expressive language such as the internal rhymes: tides, divine, divide; of 15 feet. There is also an allusion to a biblical story: not divine interventions, an expression that answers the presupposition in the title itself Parting the Waters. Reiss thus considers this stage of analysis the most important, as the translator is faced with a decisive battle on what would inform the translation: the language or the function of the text. At this point, Reiss posits that if using an equivalent language style m ay weigh on the content of the text, then the translator should stick to the predominant function of the text. Translating Parting the Waters to Yorà ¹bà ¡: limitations Taking into consideration the content-focused function of the text, the translator is expected to employ a method that would achieve the same function as that of the target text by translating according to the sense and meaning (Reiss 1971:167). This suggests that the meaning conveyed by the target text should be equivalent to the meaning in the source text. For this to be achieved, Reiss adds that what is conveyed implicitly in the SL text should be explicated in the TL and vice versa (167). Being a popular science text, and specifically about geography, Parting the Waters has terms such as peninsula, southwestern, mile, width, feet, and spring. While some of them might have some kind of equivalence (i.e. peninsula, mile width) in , a climatic description like spring poses a problem because Yorà ¹bà ¡ neither has a word nor group of words for it. This is basically due to the different weather conditions. The question is: what should the translator convey here? This is important be cause spring as used in the text plays a major role in the content; by telling us when an event takes place. The only alternative here would be to replace the word with the time of the year this season happens in Korea. The problem with this is that it might change the meaning, as the sense of season is different from the calendar year. This aspect of the translation problem seems to call on Nidas gloss translation of formal equivalence, that is, the use of footnotes in order to make the text fully comprehensible (Nida 1964:129). What this means is that Reiss method is not sufficient to solve this translation problem. In talking about divine interventions, the text makes allusion to a biblical story about the Red Sea. This could be because the author had a target audience in mind and presumes they know about the story in the Bible. Although this can also be linked to the use of expressive language, it is however difficult to ignore the fact that this type of language use plays a role in the text- to maintain the interest of the reader. If the original audience for the source text were scientists, there is doubt as to whether expressive language would have been used at all, since all that would be needed are facts. The question is whether or not to include it in the translation. The answer to this is dependent on another question: who are the audience? Sacrificing the expressive form might change the text to an entirely scientific or historic one. This means a different readership, as it may not appeal to a common reader. The problem here is that Reiss method overlooks the fact there is an addresse e for even an informative text type. She acknowledges this only in the text variety stage. Communication itself is not complete without a receiver, in this case the audience. The title, Parting the Waters, also draws attention. It first makes the reader think of the biblical story of the red sea, and then makes a reader assume that is what the text is about. But this effect can only be achieved based on a shared knowledge between the author and the reader about the biblical story of the Red Sea. This assumption too must have been informed by the fact that the author had an audience in mind. However, the author quickly attends to this curiosity and possible misconception by the following opening sentence Tides, not divine interventions, divide Unfortunately, the target language (Yorà ¹bà ¡) audience is a mixture of different religions. In this text the title performs an expressive function, but that is not to say its predominant function is expressive. Since it is an informative text, one would expect again that the title would be informed by the major content being conveyed. But this is not the case. Moreover, attractive titles seem to be a common featu re of this genre. This is also a common feature of Yorà ¹bà ¡ magazines (ref here). The question here is: since content is the aim, should the target title be informed by the content alone and leave the use of expressive language? This of course is possible, as Reiss already advises on ignoring such language use especially if it will weigh on the content. The translation can simply have à pa-Õnà   Ã’kun Korea which means The Path between Korean Waters. The consequence of this however is that it might not appeal to the wider audience except a few, specialists. This brings up again the question: who are the audience? Reiss considers this an appropriate factor only when the function of the target text is different from the source text (Reiss 1971:170). What her typology fails to recognise is that both source and target texts can have the same function (as in the case of Parting the Waters) but different addressees. CONCLUSION While Reiss translation-oriented text-typology provides a systematic method of approaching a translation task, it does not provide a complete solution for some problems in English to Yorà ¹bà ¡ translation of Parting the Waters. This suggests that it is not absolute that a text function will provide a translation strategy. Fawcett (1997: 107) makes this same point: There is simply no necessary link between text function and translation strategy. Just because we have identified a text functiondoes not mean that we are led inexorably to any logical or translation-scientific imperative to take this function as an overriding parameter to which we subordinate our translation decisions. This further suggests that other translation theories are valid and useful to the extent to which they proffer a solution to a translation problem.

Should Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay -- Legalization of Marijuana

For thousands of years human beings have attempted to find ways to get passed the struggles of their lives. With the pain of the world stopping people from enjoying simple pleasures, sometimes there is a need for help. Marijuana brings millions of people relief from the pain they feel on a day-to-day basis. This completely natural plant which helped so many people has puzzled the leaders of our nation for a long time. The THC in marijuana causes its users to experience a mild-huluciginic or high. The effect that marijuana has on a person has prevented the product from being legalized. Many other details about the plant, like the speculation of it being a gateway drug, have put another blockage on its legalization. Even though there are speculations about the plant, the benefit that it brings to the table most definitely out way its disadvantages. The plants help benefit by supplying us as a natural ingredient for medicine; however, nowadays, some people have been using it wrongly. Sh ould marijuana be legalized? Many Americans have this question roaming through their heads. Marijuana is an illegal drug in the U.S. and many other countries; it comes from dried flowers and leaves of the hemp plant. It has been available since the 1960s, but is 20 times more potent than before. Many youngsters believe that marijuana should be illegalized. However, they fail to know its many long term side effects. In the long run marijuana usage has a very high effect on the person’s body. Also, it’s known for a fact that marijuana has a high rate for addiction. Some people also believe that marijuana is accepted as medical use; however this is not true. In my eyes, marijuana is illegal for extremely powerful reasons, and it should stay that way. As... ...ere is a side affect of this individual drug. As stated before, marijuana affect our health, such as short term memory and our logical thinking. Teens who have used marijuana, their health may have been affected by these illness. And it can’t easily be cure, because once you are addicted to marijuana it is very difficult for one to detach him or her self from the drug without any medical profession. To prevent unnecessary use of marijuana, the drug shouldn’t be used because can be very dangerous to the body and health. Beside from using such drug, it is better if we were to use a different one, not marijuana alone. Pain killer may relieve the pain of each individual, but there might be some side affect to it as well. Exercise, be active, and communicate can also solve unwanted problem, too. Not just the drugs alone. Works Cited about.com ic.galegroup.com

Epic of Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

As the welcoming celebration for Beowulf goes on, Unferth begins to ridicule Beowulf about his swimming competition with Breca. Unferth is jealous and feels threatened by Beowulf " for he would not allow that any other man of middle-earth should ever achieve more glory under the heavens than himself." (Norton p. 33) Unferth is a very peculiar character. Although he has committed the horrific crime of killing his brother(s), he is privileged enough to sit at the feet of the king, a very respected position. His sin,an enormous violation of the comitatus, suggests that there is something wrong in Hrothgar's kingdom and perhaps helps to foreshadow its destruction. Ultimately, it will be destroyed, as the text says, by a fire after " sword-hate between son-in-law and father-in-law to awaken after murderous rage." (Norton p. 28). Unferth tries to put Beowulf down by saying that Beowulf once risked his life for pride and foolish boast. He also points out that Breca has beaten Beowulf in the swimming and that he therefore expects him to lose the fight with Grendel as well. Unferth is arrogant, obnoxious and the only one who challenges Beowulf. However, later when Beowulf fights with Grendel's mother, Unferth lends him his sword. This can be seen as a noble gesture, and a redemption of Unferth for the way he has behaved. However, it can also provide further proof of Unferth's incompetence as a warrior. Because he is scared to fight himself, he passes on his sword to Beowulf. Beowulf answers Unferth's words of envy with his side of the story. He says that Unferth is drunk and obviously knows nothing about the competition. Continuing, Beowulf explains that he won the contest despite the heavy attack by sea-monsters. From this story, we see further proof of Beowulf's supernatural powers. The competition occurs during the winter in the freezing water, yet Beowulf is able to swim for five nights armed with a heavy sword, in full armor and mail . When the battle is over, Beowulf finds himself on the shore lying next to nine sea monsters that he killed with his sword and modestly attributes his victory to both courage and fate. His comment that, " Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good" (Norton p. 34) shows his belief that 'Fate' will forever govern him and aid him as long as he is courageous.

Essay example --

Folkers 1 Amanda Folkers October 25, 2013 Mr. Spencer Economics 1 Period: 3 Price Floor, Price ceilings, and inflation Folkers 2 The Price floors, Price ceilings, and the inflation of the government funds are increasing. The definition of price floors, â€Å"are prices even just below the point to which it is illegal to buy or sell goods. They can’t go lower than 7.25/ hr or they are breaking a federal law, this is to protect the producer.† A price floor can be set below/ above the market equilibrium price. If the free market price is set higher than the equilibrium, the price floor has a small to no direct change. It ensures prices stay high so that product can continue to be made. If the free market price is lower than the price floor, then a surplus; Consumers find they must now pay a higher price for the same product, then they reduce their purchases or switch to a substitute good. Meanwhile, suppliers find they are guaranteed a new, and higher prices, and so they produce more. There are a number of strategies that the government uses for setting a price floor and dealing with its consequen ces. They can set an easily understood price floor, for the citizens. This price support sets a minimum price, however, here the government buys up any extra supply, or surplus. This is even more inefficient and costly for the government and society. Production quotas usually raise the price by limiting production by giving businesses the opportunity to reduce their production. In America, this technique is used mostly with agriculture. The government pays farmers to keep a portion of their fields production, this leads to a raise in prices. Like price supports, the policy would be more efficient and le... ...instance, when gold was used as currency, the government could collect gold coins, melt them down, mix them with other metals such as silver, copper or lead, and reissue them at the same nominal value. By diluting the gold with other metals, the government could issue more coins without also needing to increase the amount of gold used to make them. When the cost of each coin is lowered in this way, the government profits from an increase in seignior age. This practice would increase the money supply but at the same time the relative value of each coin would be lowered. As the relative value of the coins becomes lower, consumers would need to give more coins and money, in exchange for the same goods and services as before. These goods and services would experience a price increase as the value of each coin is reduced. Therefor causing too much money into the economy.

Black People and Birdie Essay

In her novel Caucasia, Danzy Senna paints the image of a young bi-racial girl, Birdie, growing up in the 70’s and 80’s. Her mother is a white, blueblood Bostonian woman turned political activist, and her father is a black Boston University professor with radical ideas about race. Birdie and her older sister Cole are both bi-racial children, but Cole looks more black and Birdie looks more white. The two sisters are separated early in the novel and then the rest of the story focuses on Birdie and how she needs to â€Å"pass† as white. Passing is the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of social groups other than his or her own, such as a different race, ethnicity, social class, or gender, generally with the purpose of gaining social acceptance. Birdie’s existence is the ultimate experiment on how to pass. She is first asked to pass as black at Nkrumah, even though she doesn’t fit the profile of a black child. Then she is taken to New Hampshire and asked to be the opposite of what she’d been before- a white Jewish girl. Senna introduces Birdie to all different versions of the races she is torn between, and none of them seem to fit quite right. Through Birdie, Senna is making the point we see that there is no one size fits all version of any race. Birdie is exposed to many different ideas of what it means to be black while she’s younger, even though the general idea of the time was very specific. All of the adults around her are busy preaching this idea of The Black Person, but they are showing her all different versions of what that really means. The first impression she gets of a black person is her father who â€Å"in the past year had discovered Black Pride and†¦ was trying to purge himself of his ‘honkified past’†(10). Deck is an intellectual; he studied at Harvard and is a professor at Boston University. However by the time his daughters are old enough to really start understanding things, he has gotten caught up in the idea of The Black Person, saying things about his sister like â€Å"she sleeps with these white boys, then acts surprised when they don’t take her home for dinner. I told her, these ofays just want their thirty minutes of difference†(10). He’s telling his daughters that the way to truly be black is to have no association with white people, which is a direct contradiction of his own life and something that is impossible for them to do given their genealogy. He’s telling them there’s no way for them to be the ideological black person. Then the girls go to Nkrumah, a black power school. This school is supposed to be about owning your race and being proud of being black, but Birdie isn’t initially accepted well because she’s not ‘black enough’. The way she becomes more accepted is through her sister, but also because she assimilates to the idea of black culture that her school has. She reads Ebony magazine, speaks in a specific slang, dresses differently and does her hair in a braid to hide it’s smoothness. At Nkrumah, she tries to live as though she doesn’t have a white mother. However, that’s not who she is. She says that she â€Å"learned the art of changing at Nkrumah, a skill that would later become second nature†(62). She’s acknowledging here that this all black persona isn’t who she is. She’s simply changing, pretending. Pretending is what Birdie has to do for most of this book, but as she gets older instead of needing to pass as black, she needs to instead adopt a new identity as Jesse Goldman, a Jewish white girl. She maintains in her mind that she is black, and is just pretending with her white half. While using this persona, and having the mindset that she is just gathering information on whiteness, Birdie gets painted a picture of different types of white people. In an authoritative sense, Birdie gets ideas about being white from her mother and her mother’s boyfriend Jim. Jim is the type of white man who likes to act like he’s liberal until it comes down to real world circumstances. After causing a scene with some young black men, Jim says â€Å"I swear, I try to be liberal. I try really, really hard. But when you meet fucking punks like that, you start to wonder. I mean, Jesus, what did we do to deserve that? We’re on their side and they don’t even know it† (265). Jim is the white man who sees his liberality as a gift instead of a belief. Birdie says about this that â€Å"it scared me a little†¦. how easily they could become cowering white folks, nothing more, nothing less† (264). To contrast these this very negative views of what it means to be white, Birdie also has her mother as a model. Despite coming from an upper class, white family and the struggles that she has with that, Sandy is a white person who firmly believes in equality, even if she may take it to extremes. She tells her daughters â€Å"that politics weren’t complicated. They were simple. People, she said, deserved four basic things: food, love, shelter, and a good education† (22). This is the opposite from what Birdie has seen in other white people. Her mother doesn’t revert to racism or abandon her views when it comes time for her to uphold them. Finally, Birdie befriends the most racist girls in school saying it’s because â€Å"there was a safety in this pantomime. The less [she] behaved like [herself], the more [she] could believe that this was still a game†(233). However, as much as she’d like to say she’s acting, she assimilates to this culture just like she did the black culture at Nkrumah; â€Å"I was a New Hampshire girl now†¦we dressed identically: cutoff jean short, halter tops that exposed our tan bellies, and jelly shoes on our feet† (244-245). This version of being white was a skin Birdie could slide on easily, even if she didn’t really want to. The only thing that shocks her out of the comfort she’s fallen into in this identity is the fact that another half black girl recognizes that she’s not fully white; â€Å"I’m black, like you† (286). None of these ideas about race fit Birdie. She cannot exactly fit into a version of what it means to be white because that’s not the only part of who she is. She also cannot be fully black, not only because she has light skin but also because that’s not the only part of her heritage that exists. Birdie is the perfect example of how multidimensional race is. There is no one way to be black and there is no one way to be white. Race isn’t one size fits all.