Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Chapter 4

Journal Entry # 4
Reflect on the YAL you are reading along with this textbook. What insights into yourself or others have you gained from these readings?


The moment I read the synopsis of the novel If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson, I knew I would enjoy the book. The novel was beautifully written about an inter-racial relationship between a Caucasian girl of a Jewish background named Elisha and an African-American boy named Jeremiah.

As open-minded and sophisticated we think we are in this modern world, there are certain things which people still frown upon when they happen. One such thing is an inter-racial relationship. Being a person who has gone through a similar situation, I do find that this kind of relationship is very challenging and not everyone is cut out to go through it successfully.

Similar to the story, my husband’s family was very much open and accepting towards the idea. Unlike the story, my relationship ends with a happy ending whereas theirs ended up in a tragedy caused by the death of Jeremiah. Elisha’s fear of informing her parents about their relationship seems so real because I was also going through the same feelings of apprehension facing my parents twenty years ago. I remember the time when I was feeling so scared to inform my parents that I had a special friend from a different race. Somehow, I managed to gather my strength and told them about it. Their initial response was exactly as what I had expected which was a definite no. Patience and perseverance were the only weapons I had and they worked.

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