Zoo Island

"Zoo Island", by Tomas Rivera, refers to immigrants that have meager money and must work on a farm mainly to survive. This story is about a particular boy named Jose. Jose is 15 and, "woke up one day with a great desire to take a census count, form a town and make everybody in it do what he says." as the book states. He lives in a chicken coop along a whole bunch of other people. People come to the farm that Jose works on from another town because there isn't a gate keeping them out. Those townspeople like to gawp and laugh at the farm's inhabitants. This makes Jose all the other people that live on the farm very angry. "There are 83 souls, and you know what? They have a church, a dance hall, a filling station, a grocery store and even a little school. Here, we're more than 83, I'll bet, and we don't have any of that. Why, we only have a water pump and four outhouses, right?" When Jose takes a census count for all the people that live in the chicken coops, there are  88 1/2 other people. The half represent a woman who had given birth. When this was discovered, everyone on the farm had their picture taken next to a sign that said: Zoo Island, Pop. 88 1/2.

Every time Jose would go and see the sign, he,"got a warm feeling inside that started in his feet and rose through his body until he felt it in his throat and in all his senses." This shows how important being a part of a town was to the people in Zoo Island. The census makes the people on Zoo Island feel special, like they can actually be a part of the world on a positive note. Before the census, Jose and the others were being beaten down and laughed at and were to be thought lower because they appeared like a group of poor people trying to make a living. When the census was taken a gate was put on the town so no one could ever come back in and laugh at them. Being a part of Zoo Island changed Jose's life and made him no longer feel like he wasn't meant to be.

Zoo Island

           The story Zoo Island by Tomas Rivera, was about a boy who woke up one morning and wanted to take the census of the farm where he lived. Everyone who lived on the farm lived in a chicken coop. The people from town would drive by their homes  and mock them.  They would even try to look inside their coops. Jose the main character, wanted to take a census count to see how many people lived on the farm compared to how many people lived in the town. " 'See here in that little town where we buy our food there's only eighty-three souls, and you know what? They have a church, a dance hall, a filling station, a grocery store and even a little school. Here, we're more than eighty-three, I'll bet, and we don't have any of that. Why, we only have a water pump and four outhouses, right?' " said one of the citizens that lived on the Farm. Jose wanted to take the count so that maybe they could feel important too. "And every morning Jose would no sooner get up than he would go see the sign. He was part of that number, he was in Zoo Island, in Iowa, and like Don Simon said, in the world. He didn't know why, but there was a warm feeling that started in his feet and rose up through his body until he felt it in his throat and in all his senses. Then this same feeling made him talk, made him open his mouth." that was what some of the people thought of the census. They finally thought that they were something in the world. When Jose and his friends were taking the census one of the citizens thought it was great having people asking you questions and asking your name.



         Why did Jose do the population count? In the very beginning of the story, it said "Jose had just turned fifteen when he woke up one day with a great desire of taking a census count, of making a town and making everybody in it do what he said." Ok, so Jose probably wanted to make the Census count because he wanted to show that his farm could be like a town like everyone else. Maybe if he did this the people from the town that they buy food from wouldn't point fingers and would think of them as people from a town like them. Maybe they would think of them as one of them, and wouldn't find it so entertaining to see how they lived in their coops. Everyone in the town had probably gotten laughed at once or twice and at that point they wanted to feel important. In the end of the book he was so pleased with his sign that had the population and the pictures of the citizens he would shout and go to see it everyday.

by: Emily

Zoo Island

     

      “Zoo Island” by Tomas Rivera is about a Mexican Migrant worker, Jose, who decides to take a census count. Jose is fifteen years old and probably immigrated from Mexico to find work during the Great Depression. In his story, Tomas tells about Jose and his family moving from farm to farm to work, and living in deplorable conditions like chicken coops. Jose and his friends take the census count, and find out that there are more people in their little community, than the small town where they buy their groceries. They also decide to put numbers on the chicken coops so the families can have their mail delivered to them. Even though the people were already getting their mail, it probably made them feel different than the other people living next to them in their chicken coops. The town next to them had churches, dance halls, stores, and even a little school, but their community had none of that. However, after Jose took the census count, I think it made everyone feel special.

      In the story “Zoo Island,” one of the characters that got a lot of attention was an old man named Don Simon. Though at a first glance, he may not seem important, he does a lot for the story. One, he adds the conflict that every story needs. Without Don Simon, everyone would have been like, “yeah cool we’re all okay with taking the census, let’s make this story like one for a three year old where nothing happens!” Also, it seems as if Don Simon knows more then Jose. Jose may think there is power in numbers, but Don Simon knows better, He knows that they are all Mexican and that racism is frequent in their time. So though Jose is full of ignorance and bliss, Don Simon knows about the cruelties of the world.

Zoo Island

Zoo Island was about a boy, Jose who woke up one rainy morning and decided he wanted to do something for his family and friends. he decided that he would count the census of the community. he wanted to do this to make everyone feel special and that everyone counts as  something. the population turned out to be 87 1/2 because they were going to count two baby's as one person but only one was born so they counted the baby as 87 1/2. they also put down little numbers on the chicken coops so they could be like house numbers. in the end of the book everyone was happy about the census and it made everyone feel special. 

blogged by Emily 

Zoo Island

Zoo Island was about a 15 year old boy who is most likely an immigrant from Mexico. When the weather is rainy and they don't have to work, Jose decides to take a census of the people that live in the plantation. He counts the people, and when they ask the old man that lives on the other side of the farm, their questions, he says they should call their community "Zoo Island." I think the reasoning behind this is that they feel like they are in a zoo because of their deplorable living conditions and the people that gawk at them, and the reasoning behind island is that they are somewhat cut off from the neighboring town and feel somewhat alone. I think the moral behind this story is that everyone in the world is equal and special. (Even the unborn babies counted as 1/2, and when one of the babies was born, it counted as an entire person.

I think that the point of the census was to make everyone feel special and that ever person in the world counts and that everyone's special. even the unborn baby's counted as someone.

Welcome!

Here's the homework we went over in class!

Great Books – Day 1 Homework

Read Miriam again at home.

o   Note your favorite passage in the story.   Find ONE!

o   Mark places where you find something about Miriam disturbing, and then make a note about why you and/or Mrs. Miller find it disturbing.

o   Have at least one question for the class for next week for discussion.  Examples:

§  Why is Miriam so prim and proper and Mrs. Miller so drab?

§  Why doesn’t the man find Miriam in the apartment?

§  Why does Mrs. Miller do _____?

o   Log on to the blogspot that I have set up for the class.

o   Blog:   where you find something about Miriam disturbing, and then make a note about why you and/or Mrs. Miller find it disturbing.