While reading through Rising Cairn I came across “Live or Die” by Paige Hibbard her Literacy Narrative reminded me a lot of a family member of mine so I could relate a lot. Her story relates a lot to Dora Lopez from the Brandts reading, a girl that has no support for higher education at home so has to seek out and find help. Throughout the reading by Alexander it explains that there should never be discrimination to students who want to better themselves in literacy. However, how can that be when Gee himself discriminates people that are advancing differently by saying they are “mushfake”. Hibbard would be described as mushfake to Gee because her primary discourse is described by this sentence “I didn’t expect to go to college, my parents never talked to me about it. Their expectations were for me to graduate high school” (1). This sentence in her literacy narrative explains she has no sponsor at home that pushed her to go to college because no one in her family had. She describes her family as non-dominant, but later explains she wants to but effort in and become something else other than a Mcdonalds worker. When Hibbard entered freshmen year she found a teacher that did show her the importance of school and they made a deal. Not only did she make a deal with her teacher but her grandparents as well. Her grandparents found out she wanted to college, so they fully supported her. They showed this support by what Brandt would call a reward, “My reward was $75. I was shocked I never thought I would be getting money for having good grades” (Hibbard 3). In my opinion Gee is in the wrong by discriminating against student who are achieveing goals with what they are supported with.Like Hibbard she used what she could to fully gain everything she could for to understand english. Everyone has to fake on concept of life, but in the end they will overcome in and accomplish something which Hibbard did by attending UNE to soon get a job that will bring a social status.
collreadwrit2e