Writing the first draft in class helped me able to write out all my ideas for the essay at once with no distractions. I focused on being able to finish the essay with with an introduction, conclusion and multiple paragraphs. I didn’t focus on making my points stronger and having a clear argument. Having my first draft revised helped me realized that and after being able to edit at home gave me more time to think about a well though out argument. I had to look deeper into my first argument and see how I could make it stronger. After I was able to edit my points and evidence to help support my argument even more.

One of the most famous midrashim in the Haggadah is the story of four sons. Each son has a different personalities and relationships to Judaism. There is a wise son, an evil son, simple son and a son who cant ask questions. In the “Defender of the Faith” four Jewish men question their religious identities during the time of Passover. Roth creating these four characters show him reinterpreting the midrash for a twentieth-century world. Roth clearly not labeling the characters leaves the reader to decide how each character can compare to the sons in the Passover story. The story “Defender of the Faith” makes you question what actions would make you believe the men are wicked or wise.

Both stories “The Paper Mangerie” and “The Loudest Voice” we see the main characters go through the struggles and adversities of assimilating into a new culture.  We see how the environment and outside influences of an individual could positively or negatively affect somebody into wanting to embrace different cultures instead of their own. Both stories demonstrate how these factors have the biggest impact on somebody and their assimilation into a new culture. 

In “The Paper Mangerie” Kankan is a young boy that lives with his mom and dad. His mom is a heavy influence on him that causes him to be very involved in her culture. He eats the same food, speaks the same language and plays with the magic origami that his mom creates for him. In the story another boy in Kankan’s school makes fun of him for playing with his mother’s origami and for embracing his culture. This causes him to want to move on and forget about the cultures he embraces. After this he takes the steps too completely avoid it. He tells his mom he doesn’t want to be involved in their culture anymore and wants to be more like the other kids at his school. 

In “The Loudest Voice” we see Shirley a young Jewish girl and her parents going through their everyday life in a new country. In the story Shirley is offered the biggest role in a Christmas play in school because of her loud voice she is known for throughout school. When she’s home she’s met with criticism from her mother and approval from her father. Her mother’s culture and beliefs won’t allow her to agree with her daughter being a part of the play. She sees it as disgusting and embarrassing whereas her father believes it could help Shirley in multiple ways. Shirley is praised for assimilating into a new culture by being a part of this play. Playing the biggest role makes her feel special and helps her gain confidence in herself. Her assimilation into a new culture holds a lot of opportunity and value for her. 

Both stories show us the characters assimilating into a new culture. We see two completely different ways of assimilating and reasons why people assimilate. “In The Paper Mangerie” we see Kankan get bullied for his culture. He gets made fun of for being different, that makes him want to change and be like everybody else. The other kids he is surrounded by every day that bully him are the negative influences that cause him to want to assimilate into a new culture to escape his own. Whereas “The Loudest Voice” Shirley is met with positivity by her teachers and dad. She was praised by her teachers and dad for her voice and opportunity even though her mother highly disagrees.  She’s already set on being a part of this play and the positive feedback drives her into wanting to assimilate into a new culture even more. Positive outside feedback and influences from her father and teachers impact her embracing a new culture by being a part of the Christmas play. These two characters’ environments and influences play the biggest role in their assimilation.  

 Assimilating into a new culture could be one of the most stressful and difficult transitions in someone’s entire life. There could be multiple different reasons why somebody would assimilate into a new culture, but the biggest factors are their outside influences and environments. In “The Paper Mengerie” and “The Loudest Voice” we see examples of this. We see how someone’s environment and influences could negatively or positively impact them, causing them to assimilate into a new culture. These factors play such a big role that it causes the characters to embrace a new culture instead of their own.  

The legislature had enacted laws enabling debtors to discharge their obligations more easily. The courts put an end to such practices by stipulating that no state could enact such laws. 

Every wall was smashed to rubble. The only thing left of those houses was the land and the rocks from the rubble 

My heart broke because the owners had no insurance 

The town looked deserted. The streets were so dark and empty. The only thing we could hear was the wind blowing 

We worked from dusk to dawn. We never had so many contracts been written in such a short time