Bobby S., Post 5

Wendy Rose makes the emotional and physical pain that she has endured throughout her life very evident in her writing. As a reader, it it very obvious to me that she has been through a lot, and writing poetry is her way of expressing her emotion as well as relieving stress. The poem, "Neon Scars" is a great example of this pain. The title itself shows us that not only she hurting, but it shows and she can no longer hide it. Neon is a noticeable color, and the fact that her scars are neon shows that she is deeply troubled.

In this autobiography, Rose discusses how she was seen as an outcast in her family, mainly because of her complexion. Rose is of Indian descent and for this reason was seen as different which was a major source of emotional pain for her. Writing in the form of poetry makes it so that she can express her feelings and leave it up to the interpretation of others. Its a great way of saying things in code, but way also make her misunderstood.

Ashlyn Zgoda Post 5

Truganinny is an outcast because she is the last of her people. No one knows her pain, and what she has been through. This is seen right from the start in the poem. She also talks of wantign to be buried by herself when she dies. She wanted to rest in peace, basically choosing to be an outcast also.
Julia is an outcast first of all because of her physical features. Her abnoramlties make her stand apart from others. Julia is also an outcast in her relationship because she was in a way forced to marry a man for reasons dealing with her career. Then when she comes with child, the child is also deformed and dies quickly. These things push her from society, therefore making her an outcast.

Zack Schwartz Post 5

Wendy Rose uses a very unique style of writing that allows her to blur the boundry between what is real and what is a metaphor for something else. She uses this specifically when refering to the word "scar". Not only does this mean the scars on her body from abuse, but also the emotional scars she suffered by being the outcast of her family. Rose did not fit in with either side of her family because of her race. Being this pariah led her to a lot of emotional suffering. All people need a sense of belonging somewhere, and not have that feeling hurt Wendy Rose a great deal.

The word choice represented in the title plays a big part in the overall meaning of the essay, Neon Scars. Neon is a color that stands out from all others, and does not have a category of its own. When paired with the word "scars" this gives the thing that stands out a negative connotation. Wendy felt as though she was exactly what the title suggested. She could never escape the outcast feeling; it stayed with her for her entire life. Being an outcast and the feelings that go along with it were represented greatly in Wendy Rose's life. She directly correlates her writing to personal experience, and that is one of the reasons her writings have been so successful.

Laura Giunta Post 5

The essay, "Neon Scars" by Wendy Rose was a very intense and sad story of her past. It is very upsetting to hear about how a child suffered her whole life because of the way she looked. Parents are supposed to love their children no matter what they look like. Reading her poem was frustrating to me. I hate hearing about how she was abused for something that was not hurt fault. It is her parents that are to blame, if anyone. She talks about how she would go to school with bruises everywhere, and tried to get help but no one would believe her. It is also a terrible situation knowing that her brother was loved more because he was born with pale skin and blue eyes. Just because she was not Indian enough for once side of the family, or white enough for the other, her childhood was ruined.

I do think that it is great that Wendy is able to share her feelings with others now, through her words. People always tend to struggle being able to discuss how they were once abused. Her being able to come out and speak about her horrible past through her poetry is a great success. I hope that her doing this has helped her to cope with her tough times.

Kaitlyn Dickey, Post 5

"Neon Scars" by Wendy Rose was a very deep story. In it, she refers to both physical and emotional scars that she has gotten throughout her lifetime. The physical scars are real scars on her body and the emotional are the pain she goes through because she was never accepted into her family because she was of mixed race. I believe she chose the title "Neon Scars" because neon is very noticeable and cannot be hidden. I believe this is her way of "airing her dirty laundry" so to speak.
The way the story is written is also very unique. She writes it in a way that it constantly switches from normal form to poem form. I think she does this so the reader never gets a sense of stability, just like she never had a sense of stability in her life. You could tell that she never knew what was going to happen in her life, just like you never knew when the story was going to switch form. 

Adam Swift Post # 5

Wendy rose creates a poem Neon Scars describing her life through metaphor. The title itself can be seen as Metaphor. Neon is a vibrant visible color (noticeable.) This may represent how she stands out from her family and has had to deal with discrimination her entire life. Scars can be physical but more likely in this case they are referring to the emotional scars she has endured. Rose explains her role as an outcast through the years and in her poems as well.

We also discussed why she wrote in this format and why did she choose to write in poetry. I think that she broke up the essay into section to take the reader out of their comfort zone. It helps the reader think more and question why she did it this way so in the end we can better understand the overall message and interpret it through our own way. In the writing she explains poetry as “both ultimate fact and ultimate fiction: nothing is more brutally honest and, at the same time, more thickly coded.” I really like/ agree with her on this statement. Poems can be use to fully explain everything, without actually saying what it is.

Brittany Coppinger - Blog 2

I think that both Julia and Truganinny are viewed as outcasts, because they are both different then those around them. Julia was very different in her looks, which made it hard for people to see her as a person. Instead they likened her to a lion, and made fun of her, and prevented her from becoming part of society. Truganinny was the last one of her kind. She didn’t fit in because she was old and the last one left. People were just waiting for her to die instead of getting to know her as a person. Because both people were outcasts, they weren't viewed as people, but instead objects. This is why they were stuffed and put on display; people wanted the joy of judging them long after they were gone.

Considering the fact that these were real women, I admire Rose for writing about them. I think that as soon as she knew their story she felt like she had to. Sometimes it is hard for us to speak our own story. It is easier for us to tell a story of others that relates to our own. I think that Rose wrote from the perspective of these two women because their stories need to be told and they couldn’t tell them themselves because no one would have listened when they were alive. This gives Rose the freedom to write about herself without it really being about herself, which is easier if we need to say something but can’t find the words to say it.

Jaime Wallace, Post #5

In the poems, Truganinny and Julia by Wendy Rose, both of the women could very well be considered outcasts. By outcast, I mean that both of these women were very different than the rest of the people that were around them. For example, Truganinny was sadly the last person of her kind. Her husband died and she was left all alone. Her husband was stuffed and showed off to the world. That was one thing that she did not like what so ever. Truganinny had a dream to die out, far away from everyone so she could be all by herself with absolutly no one able to find her.

In the second one of Wendy Rose's poems, this poor woman Julia is very different. She was born with a defect in which she grows hair on her face. She was always described as "The World's Ugliest Woman" or in other cases "Lion Lady". She was an outcast becasue no one saw what was on the inside of her, they all saw the outside. Julia was very different than everyone else becasue of her hair and such. When she died she was stuffed and put into a glass case. She was showed off to many people when she was alive and when she was dead.

Jaime Wallace, Post #5

Molly Rutter, Post #5

Truganinny and Julia are autobiographical references Rose used to relate to her life story. Although their circumstances are different, Rose can most likely sympathize with these women. Truganinny did not want to be displayed after her death, but it was done so regardless. Similarly, Rose did not choose to be denied by her family, but was unaccepted by them her entire life. Julia was mocked for her abnormal appearance, just as Rose was rejected for hers. These women are the same in that they were all undesirably exposed and judged by others.

On a side note… Rose ends the intro about Julia by saying, “Her husband died in an asylum.” This sentence caught my attention, for it may be a clever way Rose relates Julia’s husband her own family. Rose could have included this sentence earlier in the paragraph, but perhaps she put it at the end to emphasize how brainless Julia’s husband was for treating her as he did, and also how foolish it is for Rose’s own family to have rejected her.

Post 5

Wow, that Wendy Rose tale was probably something that I am glad we were exposed to as students. Her story of her life was something written so uniquely, it wasn't something that we needed to read and try to understand her, but we had to read her words to try and analyze the situation she was setting up for us. She wrote in a way that was foreign to her, yet it was simple that we could read it, and then she wrote in a way that she was so comfortable, and as vague as it was, it was explained by the words written before it.I think the fact she was so open yet it wasn't like she was try to force her writing so that people felt a need to read it. I thinks he wrote it for herself, and explained its awkwardness for herself. The fact that people got to enjoy it, was something that she was just used to handing out with her poetry.
Also, she wrote, explaining her uncomfortable side, and yet as a reader I wasn't uncomfortable reading it, i was sorry that she had to go through, and try to understand how people couldn't feel  a need to reach out to her!
Off hand, I wish she could have written a novel because it would have been something I would love to read. However, her poetry is something that is an awesome insight and glad we got to read. I hope you continue to share it with your students.

Nadia POST 5

Post #5

In Wendy Rose's poems, Julia and Turuganinny, both of the women could be viewed as outcasts. They were considered as outcast because they were different than other people. Turuganinny, for example, was considered an outcast because she was the last of her people, the Tasmanians. Her husband, after dieing had been stuffed and put on display. Having seen this done to her husband, Turuaninny did not want the same fate to befall her. She wished to be buried so that she could be at peace, but instead, she was stuffed and put on display for over eighty years.

Julia Pastrana was considered as an outcast because she was born with a deformity which left her face completely covered with hair. She was nicknamed the 'Lion Lady' because of this deformity. Although she liked to think her husband married her because he loved her, he saw only the financial profit he could make off of her. Julia gave birth to a son with the same deformity, who died less than a day after birth. Shortly after, Julia died as well. Still looking for profit, Julia's husband had his wife and dead child stuffed and put on display.

Chelsa Wlodarczyk, Post #5

Maggie DeMarco-Post 5

In Wendy Rose's Neon Scars, she writes of literal and metaphorical scars. The literal scars refer to the physical scars she has, but it could also refer to her not having a spot in her family. As she was mixed race, she was not accepted in either side of her family, and could be seen as a "neon scar," or the one who stands out. The scars also refer to her emotional scars on the inside. She has obviously been through a lot, and has had to deal with many emotional feats as well.

The title of the poem mirrors the way the poem was written. Rose writes in a unique way, switching from stanzas to paragraphs, and different styles of writing. This change caused me to feel a little comfortable while I was reading. I think that Rose did this on purpose, in order to allow the reader to have a sense of what she feels in her life, as not having a "comfortable identity."

Wendy Rose Prompts

1. Based on Rose's poems, why are Julia and Truganinny viewed as outcasts? (FYI: Julia Pastrana and Truganinny were real women, not characters Rose made up. She discovered their stories through her work as an anthropologist). Why is it that both Julia and Truganinny were put on display? What purpose did this serve?

2. Can we draw any comparisions between the way in which Julia was treated by her husband/manager and how Rose was treated by her family when she was growing up? Why might such a comparison be significant?

3. Rose states in her autobiographical essay "Neon Scars" and everything she writes is fundamentally autobiographical no matter the topic or style. What comparisons can be made between Rose, Julia, and Truganinny? In a sense, are these three women one in the same?

4. What is the purpose of Rose writing in the voices of Julia and Truganinny? Why write in their voices as opposed to her own? What does this allow Rose to accomplish that she otherwise could not?

Allison Shubert Post # 4

I definitely thought that the last two chapters of the book were the most interesting. In all honestly the book didn't really interest me but towards the end of the book I really saw the story come together. I found it ironic how Guilda felt outcasted and like she didn't belong, but in the last few chapters she was actually being hunted down because she had something that everyone wanted.

Being a black female vampire made Guilda feel like she was an outcast and like she didn't fit in with anyone, due to that she didn't really stay in the same place for long. In the book she hopped around to many places in hope that she would be accepted somewhere. The one thing that I picked up from this story was that family is very important. No matter where your family is they will always have unconditional love for you, even when no one else does.