Yolanda by Oscar Casares Essay Example

Yolanda by Oscar Casares Essay Example Yolanda by Oscar Casares Paper Yolanda by Oscar Casares Paper miolanda by Oscar Casares is a story narrated by a thirty-six-year-old man reflecting on his experiences during one summer in his youth. The story starts in present day before recounting the experiences of the summer he met Yolanda. She was the young wife of Frank, a controlling older husband, who moved in next door to the narrator when he was twelve years old. The narrator thinks Yolanda is beautiful and develops a huge crush on her, so he cant help but listen to Yolanda and Franks fights and make-up sessions throughout the summer since their houses are so close ogether. His feelings for Yolanda grow when she spends time looking after him when he comes down with chickenpox. Ultimately, Frank and Yolanda have a huge fght and Yolanda ends up crawling through the narrators window into his bed for comfort and protection. The narrator also learns of Yolandas imperfections after that night, although now, as an adult, he isnt fond of recalling them. Casares central idea focuses on loss of innocence, the Journey into the adulthood, and the longing to reclaim that innocence by going back to a time when life had not yet left its scars. The central character is the narrator who tells the story, but his name is never revealed. This narrator is round since the reader gets to see not only what he thinks and feels as an adult, but also what he thought and felt as a teenage boy. He is also a dynamic character, changing from a young, innocent boy, into the adult narrator he is today reflecting back on his younger self. His Journey into adulthood began when he meets Yolanda and develops his first crush. A persons first crush is usually not forgotten because it is often this crush that crashes one into the world of adulthood and sexuality. Yolanda came to the narrators bed that night for shelter, wanting to escape the troubles in her life and feel safe, much like the narrator now goes back to that night to escape his own. Yolanda is a major character in the story and is the object of the narrators obsession. She is a round character, shown through the eyes of the narrator as the perfect woman repressed by her Jealous husband, only to be revealed in the end as a deceitful woman with flaws. In the beginning of the story she is controlled by her husband, but she begins stepping out of that subservient role as the story progresses by attaining a Job, wanting to drive nd buy a car, and eventually in the end leaving her role as a wife completely. Her characters struggle is reminiscent of a teenager fighting to gain independence from their parents, even though in this case it is gaining independence from a controlling husband. It is this transformation from being controlled to being in control that makes her character dynamic. The minor characters include Frank and the narrators mother and father. Frank is the Jealous, controlling husband next door. From him, the narrator learns people like him exist; people who will yell at and do everything they an to control the world, even those they supposedly love. Knowing him takes away a piece of the narrators innocence because before knowing him, he did not realize this kind of person existed. Then there is the narrators mother and father, whose roles seem to simply help propel the story forward by giving more information about Yolanda and Frank. The central conflict of the story is an internal one between the narrators desire to gain back his innocence and having to live with the fact that it is gone forever. He thinks about Yolanda when he cant sleep at night, implying there are numerous troubles in his life that keep him awake. He seems to want to go back in time, even if only in his mind, to before he realized the hardships of life, back to when a perfect world still seemed attainable, his innocence was still intact, and things were different. He tells the story of his loss of innocence and entry into the world of adulthood, but the conflict is ultimately left unresolved. The reader is left to assume that his internal conflict will continue and he will continue to think about Yolanda when he cant sleep at night, since the memory of that night is the last time he felt safe [enough] to fall asleep.

Identify an Unknown - Experiment With Chemical Reactions

Identify an Unknown - Experiment With Chemical Reactions One exciting aspect of chemistry is that it explores how substances combine to form new ones. While a chemical reaction involves change, the atoms that are the basic building blocks of matter arent changed. They simply recombine in new ways. Students can explore how chemical reactions can be used to help identify the products of chemical reactions. Rather than randomly mix chemicals together, using the scientific method can help better understand what is occurring. Overview Students will learn about the scientific method and will explore chemical reactions. Initially, this activity allows students to use the scientific method to examine and identify a set of (nontoxic) unknown substances. Once the characteristics of these substances are known, the students can use the information to drawinference to identify unknown mixtures of these materials. Time Required: 3 hours or three one-hour sessions Grade Level: 5-7 Objectives To practice using the scientific method. To learn how to record observations and apply the information to perform more complex tasks. Materials Each group will need: plastic cupsmagnifying glass4 unknown powders in 4 plastic baggies:sugarsaltbaking sodacorn starch For the entire class: watervinegarheat sourceiodine solution Activities Remind students that they should never taste an unknown substance. Review the steps of the scientific method. Although the unknown powders are similar in appearance, each substance has characteristic properties that make it distinguishable from the other powders. Explain how the students can use their senses to examine the powders and record properties. Have them use sight (magnifying glass), touch, and smell to examine each powder. Observations should be written down. Students may be asked to predict the identity of the powders. Introduce heat, water, vinegar, and iodine. Explain the concepts chemical reactions and chemical change. A chemical reaction takes place when new products are made from the reactants. Signs of a reaction could include bubbling, temperature change, color change, smoke, or change in odor. You may wish to demonstrate how to mix chemicals, apply heat, or add indicator. If desired, use containers with labeled volume measurements to introduce students to the importance of recording quantities used in a scientific investigation. Students can put a specified amount of powder from the baggie into a cup (e.g., 2 scoops), then add vinegar or water or indicator. Cups and hands are to be washed between experiments. Make a chart with the following: What was the appearance of each powder?What happened when water was added to each powder?What happened when vinegar was added to each powder?Did all powders produce the same response?What happened when iodine solution was added to each powder?Why do you think this happened?If you predicted the identity of the powders, were your predictions correct? If not, how were they different?What are true identities of the mystery powders A-D?How did you determine the correct answer?Now, give the students a mystery powder made up using at least two of the four pure subtances. They are to test this mixture using the procedures they used on the pure substances. In addition, they may wish to design new experiments.AssessmentStudents may be evaluated on their ability to correctly identify the final unknown mixture. Points may be awarded for teamwork, staying on task, submission of data or a lab report, and ability to follow directions and follow safety rules.