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.