I wrote my literacy narrative in the subway. I can’t focus in quiet places since I always found silence so distracting, so I did it in a place with lots of people. Seeing all those different types of people made me realize that the more differences we have, the more we have in common. And I took a look at the images again, and I noticed some similarities between the two. Although the circumstances behind the two were different- Rockwell’s to convey a message about racism and another to portray a rich woman as a victim- I saw that the message was the same: restriction of free speech.

The Betsy DeVos image was made after she went to make a speech in a school and people were restricting her from entering the building, which reminded me of how white people spat, threw rocks and insulted Ruby Bridges for going to a previously all-white school. Although it was nowhere near what Ruby Bridges went through, I could see how someone could make the similarity between the two. They both were restricted from speaking their mind. As a result, I wrote about why someone could make the comparison between Ruby Bridges and Betsy DeVos, even though I didn’t completely agree.

I wanted my tone throughout my writing to be informative because I felt that both sides- the side that agreed with the Ruby Bridges comparison and the side that didn’t- had some interesting points and I wanted the audience to be aware of both sides before I discussed my stance. However, because I saw the merit in both sides, I felt somewhat unsure about my stance throughout most of the essay, hence why I wrote about my stance in the last paragraph. I also felt that this was a sensitive topic to talk about and if I expressed myself wrong, people could be offended- which was something I did not want. This uncertainty was what lead me to be so nervous during the drafting period, since I did not know how my audience would react

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