Read the essay, Walking the Path Between Worlds by Lori Arviso Alvord. What aspects of her community did she have to leave behind, and what was she able to hold on to? Discuss specifically how Alvord conveys these aspects of community using ethos and pathos appeals, figurative language, imagery and shifts in tone.
Additionally, put yourself in her place. When you move on to your post secondary life, what aspects of YOUR community do you think you will have to leave behind? And what things do you hope to hold on to?
Depending where we are from, it can be very dangerous and hurtful. Each day because of our nationalities we are ridiculed. Life was just like this for Lori Alvord. She was a Navajo and didn't have the education like most of us do. She had good grades, but not necessarily good teachers. She was accepted into college as early decision and feared the worst, being made fun of. She had to leave her own native culture. She entered a new world, filled with many different aspects. Different landscapes, nationalities, and personalities filled the world around her. Lisa Alvord uses imagery to explain the journey to a new life. She uses colors to explain her new landscape memories. She related her story to pathos too. She explained the nervousness, sadness, and fear of moving to a new land not the same as her old one. As I move my life forward on to college, I hope to let go of all of the bad memories and hold on to the good ones. Memories are what change our lives and what our make lives better each and everyday.
ReplyDeleteI like how you viewed the reading and the imagery with it. This was something that I missed while reading it. It was good how you also related memories into the conversation!
DeleteAllie, you made a lot of strong points in your essay! I want to know more about your future life your thoughts are cool!
DeleteAllie,
DeleteI like how you took sort of a different perspective on the piece. It is interesting to see something different and you did a good job connecting her use of memories and yours on the future.
Allie,
DeleteI really enjoyed how you broke apart the different aspects of her writing. You also had a good summary of the piece.
Allie,
DeleteI enjoyed your blog. I liked how you brought up old memories. You have to forget the bad ones to move on and create new and better ones.
Throughout the course of one's life, they will most likely move several times for various reasons. Walking the Path Between Worlds by Lori Arviso explains her story of moving away, and everything she had to leave behind. Arviso uses her ethos as a member of a Navajo tribe member to back the imagery and figurative language used to describe her surroundings. Arviso focuses on what she must leave behind, her family, traditions, cultures, and values (students did not have similar values, or lived by completely different standards at Dartmouth). Another aspect of moving away was leaving the open, dry, desert landscape for the east coast. Although she left much behind, she was able to keep some traditions alive with the small number of other Native American students at Dartmouth. As I move on, I hope to hold on to as much of elk county as possible, of course this depends on the university I attend. Making a far journey like Arviso did would make it hard to carry out the Elk County lifestyle, but a university much closer would have many students with a similar background. Regardless of where I go, I will hold on to as much of the memorial aspects of Elk County as I can. If I can not do so, I will have to do as Arviso did, remembering her roots but continuing to focus on education.
ReplyDeleteJohn, your blog was good! We both presented the same ideas on this topic. As I move on, if I can't think about my background/hometown, I think I will focus on education too but I really think I will be able to remember my background/hometown.
DeleteJohn, your last line was very personal and strong, I like that!
DeleteJohn,
DeleteI enjoyed how you talked about carrying on the things you took from elk county, but at the same time making sure you focus on getting s good education. Good work!
John,
DeleteYou made some very good and strong points in your blog. I like how you said you will take as much as elk county as you can with you, and I hope that I am able to do that to!
John,
DeleteI really enjoyed your blog, and I thought you made a lot of good and strong points throughout it. Your last line was awesome and gave your blog the emphasis it needed to be strong.
John,
DeleteI thought your blog was really meaningful. You talking about how you want to keep Elk County with you no matter where you are really made me think about how it will be hard in certain areas to do so. We have to try though. Good job.
I always like to think about how every moment in my life has lead to this moment; to typing this sentence. At the same time, it makes me realize just how important every decision is and how every choice has a chain reaction. That's why every path we take is complicated and meaningful. Often when things change in our lives, we have to leave some stuff in the past. Alvord had to leave behind being at home with her family. She had to make complete strangers be here family. She had to give up the comfort and routine of being in her life at home. Dartmouth is a prestigious school that surely added stress to her life. At school, she was able to keep her traditions of her heritage through a small group of Native American students. They understood the struggles of being a minority and discrimination. This gave Alvord a sense of community and made her feel more like she was at home. She talks about her emotional connection to her heritage and how it makes her the person she is today. When I go to college, I think I'll have to leave behind just about everything except my toothbrush. I will have to make complete strangers be my new friends. My friends from high school might start to become strangers. My house at home will be nearly empty while I live at college. My dorm room at school will feel overcrowded. Everything will seem backwards. I will have to adjust to a new environment and a new lifestyle of doing everything on my own. The stress of school will only increase from that of high school. All these are similar to thing that Alvord had to leave behind. I hope to be able to hold on to my friends from high school. I want to be able to keep up with what's happening at home and with my family. I hope that I can feel at home in this new world.
ReplyDeleteJustin your blog was really good! When I go away I really hope I can feel at home in the new world too.
DeleteJustin,
DeleteI liked your introduction because it gave a personal thought, and the blog is supposed to have some input from your own life. You made some great comparisons between her college life and our future. Great blog.
Justin,
DeleteI really like your blog! It is so entertaining to read and I really like how started it out and then your own personal thoughts of the future, it really made me think. Very good job this week!
Life is full of lefts and rights, up and downs, and life altering situations that may be difficult to figure out. Lori Arviso Alvord explains some examples of this in her essay. She was and Indian living with her tribe who participated special customs only Indians did. In the essay it describes the song and chants she did at her reserve and when she found her new way at college she found that no matter where she goes music will never change. Lori's writing is very personal and deep without even completely showing it. Also, she proves her credibility and feelings throughout this because she talks about her life as an Indian and makes it profound to as what she did. Throughout the work put you into her life through the words she used, the fast way she moved through the essay, and the way she said her words. While reading I think about my life after high school and what will become of it. When I graduate I want to move to college, hopefully in the city, and that basically starts a life of change. When I go to college I will have to make new friends, live without my family, and be crammed in a city lifestyle. This is what Lori portrays in writing, that you have to give up the good to get the better. I believe that. I believe that even though life can be hard and distrusting at times, we can always think positive and believe in ourselves. This of course is a difficult task, but with courage and the accountancy to know that our lives will change can only help us. Lori went through struggles that can promote us to be opened and willing to try things even if we don't want to.
ReplyDeleteReilly,
DeleteGreat blog! I like that you said that you'll choose to go to a school with a different environment than Elk County. You did a good job of explaining the pathos and ethos of Alvord's writing.
Really,
DeleteI liked the examples of ethos and pathos you presented, and I also liked the comparison to a life altering decision.
Reilly,
DeleteI like how you opened your blog this week. You explain the lives we all live each day by never knowing what is going to happen next just like the life that Alvord lived. She followed her heart and made a life altering decision that benefited her very much. You made a very interesting point when you stated "you have to give up the good to get the better." I think that is a very profound statement that can usually hold true in whatever an individual is working towards. Great Blog!
Reilly,
DeleteI liked how you mention music in your blog and her connection with it. Your contrast between elk county and city life is similar to how you compare Alvords beginning and then her college atmosphere, which I really like. Great Blog!
Really,
DeleteI really liked your blog. I liked how you stared it off by saying life is full of ups and downs. I also thought it was really good when you said that life can be hard at times but we must always find some good and believe in ourselves.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA teacher once informed me that junior year would be one of the most stressful years of my life. Looking back on it, I can honestly say that she was right, and I believe that I speak for many of my fellow classmates as well. It is a time where major life decisions take their rightful places as top priorities, exceeding all the drama and excitement of the everyday high school environment.
ReplyDeleteLori Arviso Alvord was in a predicament similar to this, and she chose to follow her heart and pursue an education at Dartmouth College, an Ivy League school in Hanover, New Hampshire.
She was forced to leave behind the Dinetah, the beautiful geographical barrier that had separated the Navajo and its sacred lifestyle from the rest of society. Throughout the journey, however, Alvord discovers that she can hold onto some of the values of her past tribe, make unfamiliar territory feel like home, and create a new sense of purpose and security. She appeals to ethos by establishing herself as a credible narrator. Under the circumstances of being a minority figure, especially at a school consisting of only fifty Indians, Alvord gives readers an insight as to what she was going through and cements herself as someone who deserves respect and authority. As for pathos, she appeals to that technique both positively and negatively. She talks about feelings of sadness, loneliness, and homesickness associated with leaving the Indian nation behind. She incorporates this emotion with imagery, reminiscing to the sight of Navajo traditional clothing, emblazoned with silver and turquoise, the pink-and-purple splashed sunsets of New Mexico, and all the components of the kinaaldá ritual. Nonetheless, Alvord spoke about how Dartmouth taught her meaningful lessons, provided new opportunities, and allowed her to melt some of her historical grief and anger. Imagery is evident when she summarizes her memories of Hanover through the color green. I also noticed figurative language, particularly how the author differentiates "family" from "tribe." She says that family is the foundation where behavior and morality begin, but people cannot control what family they are born into. On the other hand, a tribe refers to an inclusion, by choice, into something larger than blood, something that is profoundly connected by a certain way of life. What does all of this indicate to the reader? It shows how Alvord did not have a consistent tone throughout the entirety of the essay. She basically traveled through her own story with the reader, narrating the struggle to fit in and how overcoming it was worth it. Alvord came to recognize that no matter how different people are from each other, they can still connect as a community and gain a sense of true identity.
As for myself, it hurts to say that I will have to eventually leave most of my friends behind, but we are meant to go in different directions and chase our own dreams. If there is one thing I would like to hold onto, it would be all the values that my parents, coaches, friends, teachers, etc., have instilled in me since day one. If I am able to do this, I know that everything will be just fine in the end.
Jared,
DeleteGreat job tieing in our junior year to her college life/ transition. They are both very stressful and decisive times, which you clearly lay out. The figurative language segment was very interesting and your thoughts on leaving were truthful. I think most of us feel the same way.
Jared,
DeleteYou did a great job of explaining the use of pathos and ethos in "Walking the path between worlds." I like that you compared your junior year and the choices you are making to Alvord's choices.
Jared,
DeleteJust as the two people commented above me, I like the way you parallelled junior year of high school to the obstacles that Alvord faced in her decision to leave or stay. You do a great job explaining the colors and imagery that Alvord uses in her story. Great work as always Mr. Braun!
Jared,
DeleteThis was a great blog and a very enjoyable read. You hit every question right on the head perfectly. Great job explaining all your points, and I enjoyed how you talked about your own life.
As we move away from our childhood homes, many aspects of our lives change. For Lori Alviso Alvord, the changes were incredibly drastic. As a student moving from a small, ill educated Navajo community to a large Ivy League school with very few people that shared her culture, she experienced a great deal of change. She used vivid imagery and figurative language to describe the drastic changes of her atmosphere and culture. Color was her main way of contrasting the landscapes of her home and her college.She described in detail the differences in culture between herself and many of her classmates. She established her ethos by describing herself as a born and raised Navajo, however, her ethos applies to people of both Navajo and typical American cultures because she is half Navajo. She contributed pathos to her piece by describing the cultures and traditions of her heritage. Alvord left the comfort of her culture and family behind for a completely different environment, and that was very difficult for her. Her tone shifted in her descriptions of her home and Dartmouth. In the end, she found a group of students that shared her heritage, and together, they were able to keep their culture alive even though they were far from home. In college, I hope to experience a change in my environment. I believe it will be beneficial to experience changes during college so I can see both sides of things and learn to adapt much like Alvord. For that reason, I believe I will have to leave behind the small class sizes and familiarity of students. I will have to learn to take care of myself, and befriend complete strangers. I have been going to school with nearly the same people since preschool, and making new friends will be a big change. I hope to hold on to the aspects of Elk County that made me the person I am today. I hope I can make friends that are as close to me as the ones I've made in Elk County.
ReplyDeleteJenna,
DeleteI liked your interpretation of Alvord's appeal to ethos, particularly how it applied to Navajo and American culture because she was linked to both. This was a good observation because she even noted, "As I was only half Navajo in blood, I wondered if this meant it would be only half as dangerous to me to leave Dinetah." In addition, I think you could have explained the shift in tone in more detail instead of with just one sentence, but overall, you did a great job answering all the components of the prompt.
Jenna,
DeleteI really enjoyed the opinions that you had in your blog, especially when you discussed her use of imagery and figurative language. You also made an excellent point with her shift of tone.
"Walking the Path Between Worlds" is the story of an Indian woman, Lori Alvord, that sets out for the real world on a journey to success. With every new start comes change. She had to leave her family and friends,the safe mountainous region, the distinct culture, and the sandy desert in order to achieve her goals of a great education. Although she leaves a lot behind, Lori sees many similarities on campus. She likes how the squirrels are everywhere, because they remind her of Texas prairie dogs, and she especially loves the free roaming dogs. Academically, she was persistent. Her love for reading gave her a solid foundation. She learned a lot of the information that was being taught, so this gave her more time to focus on subjects like psychology and sociology. The other Native Americans made her feel the most "at home." They had tribal ceremonies, played music, and even wore the same clothing.
ReplyDeleteThe author conveys the aspects of community when she addresses that she comes from an isolated Indian culture. She refers to this idea many times throughout the text and uses it when she is stuck on an obstacle or is having trouble fitting in. Lori uses pathos throughout the piece as well. She says that the reason for her adversities is because her high school never taught her correctly and that it is the teachers fault she is not competitive with the Ivy Leaguers. She also talks about her mixed emotions of fear and sadness, upon moving to the real world. Alvord uses imagery when she describes the landscapes of her college. I think she is trying to explain how green everything is, and that this color means life. The figurative language used most frequently throughout this piece is the anecdote. She explains many short incidents in her life which in turn, relate back to her present world. The author also uses many tones throughout the writing. She is confident and calm while talking about her safe haven in the mountains, but is shaken and somewhat disturbed while describing college. When I move on, I would like to leave behind any bad memories throughout my teenage years. I want to stay close to hunting, soccer, friends, family, and faith. Although it is small, Elk County is a great place to live.
Charles,
DeleteThe connections between Lori's home and campus were a nice touch, I also liked the examples of ethos, pathos, and imagery.
Charlie,
DeleteYour connections about the color green were great. However, I do not agree with you when you say that Lori Alvord thinks it's her teachers fault she has such a hard time at her college. It isn't ideal that Lori hadn't had the education some had, but she doesn't blame anyone.
In your blog you were able to make many connections to the reading, something I lacked in my blog. I like the mention of how every new start brings change. You did a good job of interpreting and summarizing the reading!
DeleteCharlie,
DeleteI really appreciated the way you emphasized the way of life that Lori had in the reservation. I am unsure if you should have referred to her as a "Indian." We can see if Mrs. Messineo ever email Sherman Alexie to see if that was proper or improper!
"Walking the Path Between Worlds" by Lori Alvord tells a story about how she must decide wether to take a leap of faith and journey into the unknown world or remain in her secluded Navajo reservation tucked in between the mountains. Lori was a women who was an above average student on her reservation and felt that it was necessary to increase her skill even more by obtaining a higher education. This conclusion came with a price though. She would have to leave the place she grew up in her entire life. By doing this she had to leave behind her family, friends, culture, and traditions that the Navajo people performed. Lori attended Dartmouth University in Hanover, New Hampshire. This geographic location was a complete polar opposite to the dry, arid desert region she had lived in. At Dartmouth there were only about 50 Native Americans who attended the college. This group of individuals held onto their customs and beliefs by performing some of the native traditions found in each of their tribes. By doing this Lori was able to hold onto a part of her that she was afraid she would lose if she left her previous lifestyle. Throughout the entire writing we are exposed to colors, sounds, and other forms of imagery that help to establish a picture in the mind of each reader. She appeals to pathos when she talks about how she felt invisible at college and the nervous feelings she had that people would make fun of her for being Native American. She established an appeal to ethos by telling us she was accepted into Dartmouth University, an Ivy League school, as an early decision at the age of sixteen. Her tone shifts throughout the piece from happy, to sad, to nervous, to proud all in order to make invoke feeling inside her audience and show them how she felt.
ReplyDeleteElk County is a very distinct area. When I leave for college or other occupational opportunities, I think the hardest part will be not seeing friends and family every weekend or even everyday for that matter. This was the same for Alvord p. She had to leave her family behind while she obtained her college education, but she held onto parts of her lifestyle as well. I think that what I will hold onto most is the friendship I built through sports and other extra-curricular activities and hopefully be able to carry that same standard into college and eventually the work place.
Dan,
DeleteYour opening sentence was beautiful! I also enjoyed your opinion on Alvord's appeal to ethos. I basically said that her appeal was authoritatively cemented, as all of the circumstances made her a figure who deserved respect and credibility. However, you made a good point in saying that she gained credence simply by being accepted into an Ivy League school at the young age of sixteen! That is remarkable. Something else that resonated with me was your last paragraph when you discussed the friendships you built through sports. It was important to note because, like you, I hope to hold onto all the bonds I have formed with my friends and teammates at ECC.
Hey buttmud,
DeleteGreat opening and we got a lot of memories to make here in elk county 😝
In the piece "Walking the Path Between Worlds," Lori Arviso Alvord focuses on what her life was like transitioning from living on the reservation to attending Dartmouth college. Alvord was basically dropped on another planet, she left almost everything behind and everything was so foreign to her. Her family and tribe, familiar landscape, she left them behind to try and make a new life for herself. Alvord kept her values and culture, she did not let the fact that she was in a new place stop her from following her Native American culture. She tried to connect things she saw to what it was like on the reservation, and kept true to herself. She speaks very highly of the Indian community on campus, they were her new tribe. You can feel her emotion when she talks about how close they were and how much they helped her get through. She brings forth emotions in readers when she is discussing what it was like being a women at the time and also being an Indian she also had struggles fitting in with the other students. Throughout the piece, the tone goes from nostalgic to sort of sad and lost, and switches between the two. Alvord reminisces about what her time was like on the reservation and then what she went through with her new "tribe" at school, you can tell how much they meant to her. However, when she talks about the culture shock, distance from other students, and the reality outside of the reservation, she expresses her frustration and sadness through her writing.
ReplyDeleteSt. Marys is a small town, and in the future I will be in a similar situation as Alvord. Obviously not as extreme, but I will have to leave behind some things. Most likely I will have to leave the slower, quiet "countryside" vibe and move to a bigger city where things are more fast paced. I hope that moving away and growing up will not change who I am as a person, for the worse. Change is inevitable, but I hope that I will stay true to myself and not become someone else. I also hope to hold on to the relationships and connections I have here in St. Marys, because they are really important to me.
Rachel,
DeleteNice way of acknowledging the change in tone throughout the piece. I have a similar idea to you of how I want my life to be and the connections I want to keep.
When Alvord went to college, she faced many physical and spiritual changes. For one, she had left the hot southern desert area for one of cool trees and mountains. She was now part of an institution, instead of a tribe. In her tribe, everyone always had a place. In the institution setting, it was "every man for himself". In summary, everything she had to deal with was not necessarily bad, but different. Her new home was the exact opposite of her old one. However, she was able to hold on to the tribal atmosphere by being part of a group of students who were all facing the same thing as she was. She uses pathos by appealing to people's loneliness, by explaining why they need fraternities. She also uses ethos in this way, she states that she was taught to be humble and not self-serving, and that that was not the case in her new place, because people cared so much about "winning".
ReplyDeleteIn her essay, Alvord says that while white people know what it is to be a family, they do not know what it is to be a tribe. While I may not belong to an actual tribe, what I have comes pretty close. As a child, my family provided me with all of the friends and support I needed, and protected me from the outside world. I was living in a small bubble made up of my immediate family, the rest of my family who lived within three blocks of me, and my Saint Leo's family, which was made up of about sixty people. This small group of about 100 people had their own culture that I was immersed in. I would go to school, come home, and play with my cousins outside or dance for hours. We had our own traditions, and we made up our own "tribe".
When I started high school, this all changed. Suddenly I was surrounded by people I had never seen before, who had no intention of wanting to know me. I had never had a locker before, never went in a lunch line before, and never had to find my way around more than four classrooms. I never had to put my last name on an assignment before, it never mattered if my clothes matched or were spotless, and I had only used any sort of technology a few times a week, and even then it was an old desktop computer. Much like Alvord, My safety bubble burst, and I was thrown into the real world that was nothing like my own. And while that world was different and confusing, it wasn't a bad thing.
Catherine,
DeleteI like your comparing of a tribe to the college setting. I also really liked how you made it personal in including St. Leo's!
Catherine:
DeleteYou did a very nice job explaining the reading material, and summarized it well. You did a pretty good job answering the questions as well. I enjoyed reading the part where you talked about tribe vs. family. This was an excellent comparison and it was good you included your personal story. Nice work.
Catherine,
DeleteYour blog is really good. You explained the reading really well, and your personal express really make the blog great.
"Walking the Path Between Worlds," by Lori Arviso Alvord is all about the difficult decisions, and choices she faced in her life. Alvord was born into a Navajo Indian culture, and grew up in an area called Dinetah. When she was around the age we are our now, she had to make a decision on whether or not to pursue a higher education, which meant leaving all of her friends, family, and way of life behind. Alvord decided to leave her Navajo culture, and attend Dartmouth College, a prestige Ivy League school. Alvord arrived at Dartmouth and felt very out of place and different from everyone else she knew there, except for a small fraction of people. The transition was not easy for Alvord at first, but she later learned that although she has left her Navajo tribe behind she could still use the valuable lessons she learned, and try to make Dartmouth feel like home as best as she could. She was forced to leave her family and friends, but was able to take all of the lessons she learned from them with her on her journey to Dartmouth. She establishes ethos by explaining how she is a credible source throughout her essay, and establishes pathos by talking about her emotional connection with her tribe and displaying her love and passion for it. She also uses figurative language and imagery when describing what it was like back home at her tribe, and what it was like at Dartmouth. Alvord changes her tone in different parts of the essay from being sad when she left, to happy when things started to become better for her at college. Personally, when I leave for college it will be hard for me to leave behind my family and friends I have made. I think I will leave behind the small town everyone knows everyone feel that Elk County has. I will take with me all of the great memories I have created, and hopefully some day be able to share those memories with my kids.
ReplyDeleteFrank I like your interprets of her story but I don't know how you could ever leave elk county. It's perfect here
DeleteFrank:
DeleteYou did a superb job explaining and interpreting the story. Your summary was nice. I think you did a good job of explaining that the lessons she learned before she left stuck with her. The sentence about ethos, however, was rather weak as I believe this was a circular argument. Your conclusion was nice, and the "everyone knows everyone" feel might be something you will miss, but we won't know until we leave. Nice work.
Frank, I think your argument was really good and you interperated the story really well. Great job!
DeleteEach day, new challenges and obstacles arise. In Lori Arviso Alvord's life, she had to make a tough decision regarding her future. Alvord had to decide if leaving behind her homeland within the mountains, culture, and tribe was worth it for a college education. This decision was very difficult for her, and something all of us will have to decide in the near future as juniors and seniors in high school. As she decided to move on, she was able to hold onto some key aspects of her life that she maintained from childhood. Alvord discusses in this story that she was always taught to be humble and don't give your opinion unless it is asked for. This ultimately hurt her in the end as her teachers believed her lack of participation was because she did not care about her studies. At her new college, living a completely new lifestyle, she used pathos describing how alone she found herself as she struggled to make friends and fit in due to her ethnicity. When she found a group of Indian friends, she was able to share the tradition and cultures she brought with her. By doing this, she was able to feel more at home, and fit in better in this new community that seemed so foreign to her. Her appeal to ethos was her acceptance into Dartmouth University, even though her high school education was limited and not as good as her peers. Alvord uses imagery throughout the piece as she relates things to colors creating images.
ReplyDeleteWhen the times comes for me to move on to the next chapter of my life, it will be hard to let go of some things like it was for Avlord. Obviously leaving my family will not be easy, but leaving my friends will be exceptionally tough as they are my second family. I grew up doing almost everything with my friends. It will be hard to leave behind the many great people of Elk County that are overall exceptional people, but I know I will be successful because these people helped me grow to become stronger as a person. The lesson of respect bestowed upon me throughout my childhood will continue to lead me on the right path. I hope that all the lessons I have learned over the course of my life leading up to this point better my future, and I'm confident that they will.
Gabe,
DeleteYour blog was really interesting. I enjoyed how you discussed that because she was taught to be humble and not draw attention to herself it hurt her education. Overall your blog was great, however, I think you could have included even more detail about her imagery.
Lori Arviso Alvord's piece, "Walking the Path Between Worlds," is a story about the inevitable truth of decisions. Alvord had to make the decision of whether to stay in the familiar environment of her home or leave everything she ever knew behind to attend college. Her path lead her to Dartmouth where she found an entirely new life experience. She left behind her family, friends, the place she called home, and everything that brought her comfort. However, she took her traditions with her. Even though she was experiencing a whole new world filled with different cultural aspects, she continued to observe life like a Navajo. Throughout her story, she developed her ethos by discussing that she was a Navajo along with being a typical American as well. She contributed pathos to the piece by giving the reader feelings of unfamiliarity. Most of us have found ourselves in situations where we feel like we do not belong. By giving examples of how she felt alone in this new world, she also made the reader remember their same feelings of loneliness. She uses figurative language in several places to describe the differences between the culture of Dartmouth and the culture of Dinetah. Imagery is also found throughout the piece. Alvord uses colors to describe her feelings between the new world and old world. She also gives clear and vivid descriptions of her home by using the wind of the desert as its voice. Her tone also shifts from the beginning of the narrative to the end. In the beginning, she makes change appear to be difficult and scary, however, by the end of the piece she gives the reader an impression that leaving your comfort zone and discovering a new world will change your life for the best.
ReplyDeleteAs of right now graduation feels so far away. I don't feel like I should even be thinking about going to college, and when I do I begin to feel scared. I know that I will have to leave everything that I've ever known behind. I will be forced to leave my family and my friends to discover something entirely new. However, I will always hold onto the memories I have made and the lessons I have learned. Even though my path is leading me into the unknown, I know that it will take me to the best place that I can be.
Hailee,
DeleteYou bring up lots of thing that I had not thought of. You are good at analyzing people's writing. I was confused about what you had to say about pathos, but I am sure you have a reason I am not thinking of. I enjoyed reading your blog.
Lori Alviso Alvord describes her childhood and what she overcame. She was able to take away many lessons from her own experience as everyone does. She was a born and raised Navajo Indian girl that made a huge transition from life on the reserve to attending an Ivy League college. She tells us how scared she was because what she had on the reserve was extremely different than the college, along with only fifty students attending that were like her, Navajo. She uses figurative language along with imagery when she describes the different places. Color represents most of her understanding of the different cultures. She uses ethos to describe how she is Navajo and American so she should belong in some way. Pathos is used by the differences in the civilization and culture between the two different environments. In my own way living in St. Marys is amazing, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but soon I'll have to leave for the service or college. In college there won't be the trust you find in such a town. I never think about locking my truck or if something happens everyone's got your back. This is something I'm going to lose for a few years until I get back. The friends is something I hope to keep. The group of people I am typically with just enjoy themselves are there something different about them. Well most of them plan to live in st marys anyways so we all have that in common. We just know how to have a good time.
ReplyDeleteDouglas,
DeleteI think it is interesting that you tied her use of colors to culture. When I think about it colors are different just like cultures. You did a nice job with that. People in St. Marys definitely know how to have a good time. I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
I believe that everyone has a destiny. We all have a path that we will go on, but that path is not always clear. We often have to face adversity as we go through our lives, and it is never easy. Unfortunately, high school does eventually end and we must move on with our lives leaving our friends and family behind. Although, we do not have to leave behind the years of values we have learned from everyone who has impacted our lives growing up. This is one of the most important things to take away as we leave to chase our dreams. Everything you learned and cherished can be taken with you on your journey to help you in your life and education. This is exactly what Lori Arviso Alvord did when she left her home seeking a good education.
ReplyDeleteShe had never been outside of her isolated area where her tribe lived. She was part of the Navajo tribe and she had many values and rituals to live by. When she decided she wanted to attend college, she had to leave her family, friends, and the beautiful land of Dinetsh. Although she would come to learn that she could take those values with her helping her on her path. Alvord appeals to ethos by building on her status showing that she is educated in the topic of tribal culture. Alvord uses strong pathos in her writing. Alvord said, "By my sophomore year I understood what it meant to be invisible. People looked right through me—I moved around the campus as unseen as the air." She uses pathos here to get to the emotions of the readers so they would feel sad for Indian students. She also uses vivid imagery and figurative language to covers the aspects of her community. She talks about her hometown in a very detailed way, especially the geographical barriers that surrounded her giving readers a sense of what she grew up with. She also gave vivid imagery of when she first arrived in New Hampshire talking a lot about the color green describing what she saw. Throughout her story, she changes her tone. She begins by being hesitant of whether she should stay in her tribe, or leave in hope of getting a good education. After she decided to leave, she is afraid of what awaits her. In the end she shows a tone of a sense of pride and accomplishment for what she had done. Finally, she shows a tone of reminisce. She misses her home and people, but is glad she did what she did.
Alvord's story is very inspiring and I look to take away from my community many of the same things she did. It is going to be difficult for me to leave behind everything I ever knew, but I realize that we must all go and chase our own dreams.
In Walking the Path Between Worlds, Lori Arviso Alvord has to go through a culture shift. When Alvord went to college at Dartsmouth, she was awakened to the reality of unsheltered life. She was the minority, although there were around fifty Native American students there. Alvord learned that she needed to follow the norm at Dartsmouth, and not the norm of her home in New Mexico. Life there was completely different, as before she did not even have plumbing or electricity. Luckily, Alvord was able to keep part of her home with her by taking classes like Native American studies. This is a part in the story where she uses pathos. She finally is able to connect somehow the two unrelated places. She also used this as a coping mechanism for her loneliness and alienation. Throughout the piece, Alvord establishes ethos by her interpretations of the real world in New Hampshire. She is able to compare her tribe to the tribes of college, such as fraternities and sororities. Alvord makes very good points that show what morals the colleges of today are lacking. Although she lived a very sheltered life until college, she is surprisingly worldly and knowledgeable. In the beginning, she writes about the landscapes of New Hampshire compared to New Mexico. While doing this she uses descriptive words which represent imagery. Alvord says, "Green cloaked the hillsides, crawled up the ivied walls, and was reflected in the river where the Dartmouth crew students sculled. For a girl who had never been far from Crownpoint, New Mexico, the green felt incredibly juicy, lush, beautiful, and threatening. Crownpoint had had vast acreage of sky and sand, but aside from the pastel scrub brush, mesquite, and chamiso, practically the only growing things there were the tiny stunted pines called piñon trees. Yet it is beautiful; you can see the edges and contours of red earth stretching all the way to the box-shaped faraway cliffs and the horizon. No horizon was in sight in Hanover, only trees. I felt claustrophobic." In this passage, it is evident that she is devastated to leave behind the desert landscape that she has always known, and into one filled with trees and cold weather.
ReplyDeleteWhen I grow up, I will most likely go separate ways from my friends. I will have to leave behind my school, activities, and classmates. This separation will be difficult, but I have memories that will last me all my life. I want to take with me my memories, experiences, and values from St. Marys. As the saying goes, the only thing that remains constant is change.
Kara,
DeleteYou did a really excellent job giving a summary of the essay by Lori Arviso Alvord. I loved how you said how she compared the two places. And I love your last sentence.
Lori lived in a place that was isolated from the rest of the world in her story "Walking the Path Between Worlds." Her village was between four mountains which made them feel secure and at home. The people of Dinetah taught traditions that were not as frequent in the cities. She was smart, so she decided to go to college. She had to give all of that up to go to Dartmouth in New Hampshire. In her experience, she was torn between the values she had developed as a child and the values that she needed to be a successful college student. She joined a club that included many different Indian tribes, and the group of similar people comforted her. She had authority in the writing because it was her life story. She lived there. She speaks about community as if it is the foundation of her life. Everything was built upon the people that she was surrounded by. This is how she appealed to pathos. She uses the pronoun "our" throughout her piece which points out that being part of a group means something to her. Lori had a very tough time leaving because she felt such a connection to her tribal family. In the song that they had made I believe that the word strong that they used to describe their surroundings can represent the power that they have when they are together. She uses imagery to describe her tribe and how much in means to her. She also uses it to give the audience an idea of how different college life was. She uses a dreamy, wishful tone when she speaks about her surroundings. Both areas are beautiful in her mind, but she misses her village. Lori is definitely more descriptive when talking about her life before college because that meant more to her. When I leave for college, I will have to leave behind camping, fishing, hunting, and the close knit group of people that I have lived with my entire life. I am not bothered by the fact that I will have to move on someday. Life is a big adventure, and I love change. I am positive I will make friends with a new group of people and be just as content. Experiencing different people and places is a part of life.
ReplyDeleteZach,
DeleteWe both made reference to the mountains! You did a really good job describing the tone and imagery. Same with Kara's, I really love your last sentence.
Lori Arviso Alvord’s path was not like the typical Native Americans in her tribe. She said, “I chose to leave and get an education, following the path of the books I loved so much.” Lori Arviso Alvord left the comfort of the four mountains that created their Navajo reservation for the unfamiliar Ivy League college, Dartmouth. She was culture shocked when she arrived at this school, in awe of the actions of others, choosing to be with herself. She created her own tribe at this campus, understanding a tribe did not have to exist by blood. Lori Arviso Alvord took her values and her love of people with her from her upbringing. She used nostalgia to build the readers emotions when speaking of her growing up in the Navajo tribe.
ReplyDeleteI will be attending American University in the fall. I’ll be the only person from Elk County to attend this university. Similarly to Alvord, I will be leaving behind my comfort and familiarity of this small town to explore our nation’s capital. I hope to take with me the morals, values, and teachings the people of this town have taught me. I hope to take my views with me. I will be the only person who lives in a town where the majority of the town is Roman Catholic, the elk roam, and the beer taps flow regularly from households. I can use this uniqueness to my benefit, to emphasize the values of where I come from. In the recent Republican Debate, Ted Cruz criticized Donald Trump for having New York values. So I guess you could say I have Elk County values.
Moving is a nerve racking and foreign experience for anyone whether it is go to college or moving across the world. This is especially apparent in the story of Lori Alviso. She was from a Navajo community to an Ivy League School. She used a lot of imagery to describe the incredible changes that she experienced in this process of moving. She also desired her emotions as she remised about her difficult experiences. She also talks about keeping her culture alive by keeping with a grump of fellow Navajo people. I still can remember when Mr. MacDonald said that being form Elk County make him different form everyone at his college and have knowledge about things of interest in the area like cars. As we all are forced to make decisions about our future and moving I hope that everyone keeps some of there Elk County culture with them, where ever they move too.
ReplyDeleteMitchell,
DeleteWe make some similar points in our blogs. It was nice how you tied in Mr. MacDonald to your blog. Good job!
Mitch, I liked you blog a lot and I think that you made a lot of great points
DeleteIn Walking the Path between worlds, Lori lived a normal Native Maican life on the reservation. She felt comfortable in the confines of the mountains surrounding the "rez" as she calls it. The education in this reservation was not as good as most normal schools would be. When Lori left the tribe to go to college, she left behind a whole culture. She left behind the feeling of community, and coming together for rituals. She left behind family, and friends, for a life of better education, and promise. But by leaving all these things behind, she realized things about herself, and the world around her. She saw the disconnect in the everyday lives of the college students at her campus at Dartmouth. By seeing this large seperation between the students, she was able to join a student organization for Native American students, and felt at home in a large campus, that was nothing like the reservation.
ReplyDeleteIn a few short months, I will be leaving the small town of St. Mary's, to go to college. So far, I am very sure I will be going to Clarion to get a bachelors degree in nursing. Small town America has not really prepared me for a life outside of it. But I will be leaving behind friends and family, all of the memories I've made here, and many more. I'm scared to go away, but I know that it will be good for me in the long run. Leaving my home will be a new and different experience, but compared to Lori, I will be much closer to my home than she was.
Emily,
DeleteYour blog was very interesting. Your last sentence was very intriguing how you almost connected yourself to Lori. Good blog.
"Walking the Paths Between Worlds" is a story about decision making and changes. Especially in Elk County, we are sheltered and closed minded. People that move away talk about the experience and how different it is. In Elk County everybody knows everybody, and when you move to a city that does not apply. It can be intimidating moving to a place where you do not know anyone. This change can be even more frightening if you are a minority race. Arviso was given the choice to stay with her Navajo people, or further her education and move on. By deciding to move on, that meant leaving her friends, family, and traditions behind. The only thing she could take with her was the memories of her past. Arviso uses pathos by spilling out her feelings on the journey she took, and used imagery to paint a picture of her new adventure. When I move on to my new experiences after high school, I want to come back to Elk County. Being in a small town is where I belong. I plan to travel to other places though to keep myself cultured and entertained. Although I will still be living in Elk County, I will continue to use the lessons I have learned and memories I have made and apply them to my every day life.
ReplyDeleteLori Arivso Alvord had to leave much in order to gain knowledge that her mind was desperate to find. She was able to establish her ethos in this piece by telling the reader about her background and showing them all the struggles that she went through in order to keep her background and heritage. Her pathos were established through the pain that she endured and the loneliness the experienced while attending Dartmouth College. She was forced to leave behind many of her costumes and it was very hard for her to adjust because she did not have many good teachers. She left behind her family traditions and kept as many as she could with fellow Native Americans. Her experiences taught her how much her background meant to her. She used figurative language when describing in detail her past life.She feared being made fun of because she did not exactly fit in at college and she did not have the best teacher which would make it harder for her than other people. The tone of this piece shifted many times depending on whether what she talked about was happy or sad to her in the past.
ReplyDeleteIf I were in her shoes I would try to keep as much of my background while interacting with different people and broadening my horizons. I want to keep my roots because I know that all of the amazing people and Elk County in general have made me into the person that I am today. Like her, I would be very homesick and take comfort in people with the same or close to the same background.
In Walking the Path between Worlds, Lori Alvord talks about her experience and feelings when she had to decide to leave her home town to further her education. She explains how people are so much different then her culture. Although she felt alone at the large campus, she found some peace with students that came from a similar culture. Even through everything Lori was able to find peace and happiness.
ReplyDeleteI will be graduating next year and I hope to go to college but like Lori I am nervous to leave my home town and my family. I live in a very small town and everyone knows everyone else and I feel that moving away from here will be a great thing for me. Although it will be difficult at first I hope I can achieve all my goals and further my education so can make a good future for me.