My Heritage

Although many people automatically think that I am Irish (Murphy seems to be a dead giveaway), I actually am not Irish at all! My former last name is in fact German and Austrian which is where my grandfather's family immigrated from. My grandmother is all Italian and with a maiden name like Marinari, it's hard to mistake her for anything else. But when looking at a picture of my family, it is very difficult to discern what nationality we LOOK like. My older brothers both have red hair, one is extremely pale-skinned with blue eyes and the other is olive-skinned with brown eyes. My mother has dark hair and dark eyes while my father has dark hair and blue eyes. I have been told I have a blond hair, although I don't agree, but I know I have brown eyes. With a group like this, it's hard to figure where we are from. I guess you could say I'm a mutt.... and that's the way I like it.

I am Now the Teacher!

Hello There to My New Student!

In the novel Native Son by Richard Wright, Bigger is a poor black boy in a white man's society. Bigger lives a life he hates, with people he hates, in a world that hates him. His unfortunate circumstances, lead to actions that Bigger can never take back and set the tone for the rest of the novel. His longing for a real human connection with someone who actually cares about him deeply is frustrating and ultimately goes unfulfilled as he realizes almost everyone is against him. The serious oppression of the 1930/1940s leaves Bigger to fend for himself in a society that couldn't care less if he was dead or alive.

Does this topic interest you? For all of you who didn't read this novel, you will be doing this WebQuest to try and get an understanding of the novel!