5a Train Go Sorry

Questions:
1. What does Train Go Sorry mean (who in the book is this referring to; there is a specific person, include his name and his outcome. Remember that good college writing assumes no one has read the information and you must present it or 'teach' it by giving us details.)?

2. What pair of 'shoes' do you think the main person in the book is walking in and what did she learn? In other words, who or what culture does she want to belong to and why?

3. What is one image you won't ever forget? Draw us a picture in words to explain this. What chapter is it in?

4. What are 5 facts about ASL or Deaf culture you think everyone should know after your reading of this book?

I am a hearing student assigned the book Train Go Sorry in my Introduction to Humanities Class. Other readings assigned in this class include several essays from the book My California. In both books, we examined the cultures of California that form a microcosm of the U.S. In this essay, I will incorporate 4 required questions.

The term Train Go Sorry means that one has missed the boat, or missed an opportunity. James uses the term train go sorry when he goes to visit his younger brother Joseph at Rikers, which is a prison. He gets there to visit and after checking in and waiting for hours to see his brother he is told that Joseph is in court. James thinks to himself that he has "missed the boat." James returns to the prison the following day only to be told the same thing, that Joseph is in court. On his third try he finally gets to see Joseph. As James is at Rikers visiting his brother that day, he realizes that he is not the only one that missed the boat, Joseph missed the boat on life. James has become a model student, made it onto the honor roll, and is seen as showing "promise." Joseph is a rough and tough boy in prison, a criminal.

Leah is a hearing person who lives at the Lexington school for the death in New York. She has grandparents who are deaf, and her parents and siblings are hearing. Her father works at Lexington and the family lives there at the school. There are dormitories for the students that attend the school and so Leah is brought up in a world of non-hearing people. Aside from her immediate family of her mom, dad, adopted brother, and sister, all of students are deaf. She is surrounded by a culture different than what she would belong if she were to walk out onto the street. If she were to walk on the street she would be able to converse with others using their voice. Inside Lexington she watches everyone use his or her own language, American Sign Language. She watches the students struggle with their English classes where they are trying to learn to speak. She watches their frustration as they attempt to speak just as she can. She feels the frustration of not being a part of their culture. Leah longs to be a part of the deaf community.

In Chapter 12 as James is at the Honors Breakfast he realizes that if he were not deaf he probably would have ended up the same way as his brother Joseph, in prison. He remembers those times in his past when he was Joseph's partner in crime. They once set a car on fire. Joseph is the one who got caught. James was a faster runner and did not. As he comes to realize how far he has come in life he comes to terms with the fact that he is no longer that person who caused trouble and broke the law. He is a good student and believes that he can be something better than what his brother and some of his closest friends have become.

After reading this book I think that it is important for other's to know that being deaf, or have a hearing impairment does not affect a person's intelligence level. Deaf students can excel in school just as hearing students can. It is important to realize that American Sign Language is the third most used language in the United States. Sweden is the only nation that officially recognizes two languages, a spoken language and a visual language. I didn't realize before reading this book that there is such debate about cochlear implants. I understand the debate now having thought about it after reading this book. To the Deaf culture, there is nothing that needs to be repaired. There is no reason for an implant. To people outside of their culture, one may think, "Why would they not want to hear?", but that would be assuming that a deaf person believes that there is something wrong with their way of life.