What makes Jana Richman "Jana Richman"

11/20/2020

In class, we created a Venn diagram version of the essay "Why I Ride." We identified three ways the author shows a reader who she is--and who she is is sort of complicated, both good and bad, brave and scared, happy and sad, etc. (I will make the Venn diagram slide available on the syllabus once class is over for those folks who weren't in class--which is most of you).

FIRST: So, for your 250 words, summarize the three big things that Richman writes about as her way of telling us about who she is.

And, then: do some analysis (as always), which would tell me the thesis of this essay. And that thesis is, as you might expect, is the answer to this question: Who is Jana Richman? Connect the summary you write about for the first part with the analysis you are doing here.

THEN: As a way to start the final project for our class, identify who you are prior to showing up here in college--what are the things that made you you before landing at BSU? You can consult some of the question from the We Are Bridgewater assignment to help you to answer this part.

AND REMEMBER: Cookie deal is still in play, people, still in play.

2 Comments

Wicahpi Chaddlesone-Yankton

11/20/2020 01:51:44 pm

The short essay is based on the story of Jana Richmans who took a road trip on her motorcycle to see her family which has flashbacks about her family. The first major thing that caught my eye was her talking about her family's religion and the mormon church.She started talking about the women in her family and how religion affects them. Then tells a story about a Moron legacy about her ancestors such as her great-great grandma who founded The relief society, a women's organization of the Morman. But she mostly focuses on the women in her family and their independence. Next, the second information would be her parents relationship with her. It seems that her father was a person that really didn’t care about her dreams and unless it made good money.. Jana had always liked her mother more over her father since she believed that the goodness comes from her. Unlike her father who gives the negativity that she sees within herself. I feel that her mother inspires her because she did stand up to Janas father before because he stopped her from going to church and wearing her clothes again. The third information would be her owning and riding a motorcycle. Janna does struggle with the motorcycle in the beginning of the long road trip. She almost got into a car crash going down a steep hill and pushing a bike that weighs more than her. She bought to have a common interest with her husband even though she didn't know how to ride it or start it. I feel that the thesis of this essay is her own struggles that are affected by her family in different ways. Her motorcycle is proving that women are powerful in different ways just like the women in her family. Jana found empowerment from her mothers family unlike her father who wasn’t always supportive of her.

I was just a recent high school graduate who just wanted to move forward in my college career and travel the world with no care in the world. I was a hard worker but always late to school and I swear to god that I have never made it to school before morning announcements start. So I would show up to school clueless and never know what events are happening in the school such as testing or celebrations. I had a horrible GPA and ACT test scores because I didn’t study and just wing it. I knew that BSU would support me in different ways that I didn’t get on the reservation. Also choosing to attend BSU on a full-ride that nobody in my class wanted to so I took this opportunity and ran with it.

tk okla

11/22/2020 11:51:26 am

Jana Richman took a road trip on her motorcycle to go to a family reunion. At first it seemed as though she was afraid to ride the motorcycle but her husband told her to “trust her tires”, which is quite odd, but she did just that. Jana begins to have these memories of her family. She had a close relationship with her mother but not so much with her father. Jana would praise her mother for all the good traits she has but blame her father for all the bad ones. Her father didn’t seem like he was much supportive of her and I believe it’s because Jana was a little different from him. He was more of a ranch man that dealt with cows and wanted to be like his father and grandfather and he didn’t believe much in education. When she would be in her room reading and she heard her fathers footsteps she would quickly hide before he yelled at her. Jana grew up and moved to New York and was getting paid a lot due to the job she had and that's when her father started to support her. Her family was also filled with religious people. Her parents got married in the church but as time went on her father seemed to drift away from the church and tried to drag her mother along with him. Some religious women wear things that cover most of their body because it was known to be the “righteous” way of living. Her father didn’t find that attractive so he told Jana’s mother to stop wearing them. He also tried to forbid her from doing certain activities in the church. In some churches you are taught to be a submissive wife and obey your husband at all cost. It came to a point that Jana’s mother got tired of his “rules” and threatened to leave him if he blocked her from going to church. Before coming to bridgewater state I was a student worker. I was dealing with my family's businesses while trying to run my own as well as attending school everyday.

What makes Jana Richman "Jana Richman"

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