The Coldest Winter Ever
Who is Winter? What's her story? Talk about the writing style, the presumed audience and the world Winter lives in.
Winter speaks a lot about her dad in this first part. Talk about her dad and their relationship. Do you see any contradictions between the parenting styles of her parents?
Are you uncomfortable with the language? Do you know anyone who lives this type of life? Where do you think the story is going?
Make a list of the words specific to the community Winter resides and give the definition. Now, choose a passage and rewrite it in Standard English.
Who are some of the other characters mentioned we probably need to pay attention to? Use the text and reference the descriptions Winter gives with the page number.
Sister Souljah uses lots of analogies in her writing. Give ten citations and page numbers where she uses analogies: metaphors and similes.
What does the move to Long Island foreshadow? What isn't Santiaga telling his family, yet clear in from what the author includes in the dialogue?
Keep reading.
Who is Winter? What's her story? Talk about the writing style, the presumed audience and the world Winter lives in.
Winter speaks a lot about her dad in this first part. Talk about her dad and their relationship. Do you see any contradictions between the parenting styles of her parents?
Are you uncomfortable with the language? Do you know anyone who lives this type of life? Where do you think the story is going?
Make a list of the words specific to the community Winter resides and give the definition. Now, choose a passage and rewrite it in Standard English.
Who are some of the other characters mentioned we probably need to pay attention to? Use the text and reference the descriptions Winter gives with the page number.
Sister Souljah uses lots of analogies in her writing. Give ten citations and page numbers where she uses analogies: metaphors and similes.
What does the move to Long Island foreshadow? What isn't Santiaga telling his family, yet clear in from what the author includes in the dialogue?
Keep reading.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 11:26 AM
6 Comments:
Winter is the young, sexy, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Winter is very street smart and savvy. This young lady knows the streets like she knows the back of her hand. She is a teenager in a grown woman body. She wants to let loose and find love in the streets but is afraid that no one will live up to her father’s standards. Winter in some ways is looking for someone that portrays her father but in the sexual sense. She respects her father to the fullest and wants someone that can give her the nurturing as well as the material things that her dad has given her. She speaks on her father with the utmost respect and puts him up high on a pedestal. Winters love for her father runs real deep and she loves him for keeping her game tight.
Winter is accustomed to a certain type of lifestyle because of how she is being raised. Her mother is beautiful and doesn’t have to work because she gets everything she wants and teaches Winter to use her looks and beauty to get what she wants and deserves.
I have two opinions about their parenting techniques because on one hand it is o.k to give your daughter street smarts but where is that going to get her in life if she has no education. She is going to be nothing but beauty with no brains. Of course she knows the streets but she is not encouraged to go to school. Mother teaches her that her looks will get her whatever she needs and that maybe true to a certain degree. But what happens when her parents are no longer there for her? What is she going to fall back on the streets? The streets will eat you up alive if you don’t be careful and the life that they are living there is only two ways out of that. Jail or death. Santiaga already knows this, that is why he is moving his family out of Brooklyn because he can feel that something big is going to happen in the long run. You can only hustle for so long.
I can relate to this because I have a lot of friends that are in this lifestyle but they know that it is not the way of life. You constantly have to worry about someone testing you or trying to rob you of what you have. So they got out the game and got themselves a job. It’s not paying what they are use to getting but at least they don’t have to worry about the police or dopefiends trying to take their stuff.
We should all keep an eye on Midnight because he is a key player. Midnight is smart but he is not trying to mix business with pleasure and he knows his place. Trust me he is still human but he is also smart.
Also keep an eye on some of her friends they will come up again in the story. She will find out who her true friends are. Natalie, Tasia.
I am very comfortable with the language because she is keeping the story real and telling it just how it happens. She is not sugar coating nothing and that is what I respect about winter. This is another reason why she got the name Coldest Winter Ever because she is a cold piece of work. She does not play games and she always tries to stay two steps ahead of the game because that is what her daddy taught her to do.
Analogies, Metaphors, Similes
1. The pawns are my soldiers (pg. 7) “If I surround myself with strong soldiers, give them all a stake in the game, then they keep the hood strong and tight.” (Everybody is going to eat and nobody has to worry about how they are going to take care of themselves because Santiaga is not being greedy and letting everybody get a piece of the rock.
2. Young kids tryna “spread their wings” and test his operation. (pg. 7) Someone always trying to go off and do things for themselves and trying to be greedy.
3. “Hospital run” (pg. 8) Santiaga would beat you so bad that you had to go to the hospital. He would make an example out of you.
Santiaga in a way felt the heat coming down and wanted to get out of Brooklyn before anything happened to his family. When you in the game you sort of have a sixth sense about things and he knew that if they couldn’t get to him then they would go after the next best thing that was closest to him his family.
Long Island foreshadows a better life for his family and a safe haven for his girls. Plus no one knows anything about them out there so he feels that he can live a normal life. He doesn’t always have to constantly watch his back. But winter has another plan in motion.
Winter is a girl who was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 28, 1977. She was born during a snowstorm so her mother named her Winter. Winter is a young beautiful teenager who acts and does almost a grown woman does. She is a young girl who wants to fall in love but with her father, Santiaga in her life, she will have to find someone who fits his high standards. Winter truly loves her father since he is the one who made a difference in her life. Winter says that everybody knows who she is at the streets and that the Brooklyn streets are hers. Since her mother lived by her looks and beauty, Winter was never really disciplined but to use her looks as well.
I am uncomfortable with the language Winter uses since that’s what separates this book from other books. It is using language where people today are using and it can actually lure in the readers to keep reading. Winter makes the story more interesting by the language she uses.
Santiaga probably moved his family to Long Island since he has some issues going on in Brooklyn and he is running away from his problems to keep his family safe. Santiaga is the role model and the one who always gives out advice to his family, so he cannot look like he is scared because he’s suppose to stay strong.
We would probably have to pay attention to Midnight(Pg.10), Sterling(Pg.12) her friends (Pg.17)
1. “Bubble’s was a walking billboard that no one is allowed to fuck with Santiaga’s daughter.” -pg.8
2. “Every teenage girl wants to cut loose and get close to the fire, but I was like a pot of boiling milk with the lid on.”-pg.9
3. “but I wasn’t gonna report to school every day like it was some type of job when they weren’t even paying me for it.”-pg.9
4.”School was like a hustle”-pg.9
5. “He did his pickups and deliveries like clockwork.”-pg.10
6. “I’ve seen with strong upper bodies and legs like a chicken.” -Pg.11
7. “Shit, is laid out so nice, it’s like heaven.” -Pg.16
8. “The whole thing was casual like we were going out to dinner or some shit like that.” -Pg.18
Chesi Brown
English: 1A
November 12, 2008
Chapter 1&2
Coldest Winter Response:
Winter is a 13-year-old, African American ghetto fabulous princess. In chapter one, Winter talks about her mother‘s and father’s past, her lifestyle as a girl being raised with hustler’s and gangster as parents.
The writing style is not Standard English terms, but it’s more direct to how a person feels at that specific time. It's what I would call strong terminology.
The audience is towards anyone who is interested in evaluating one’s experiences or who can simply relate to winter situations.
Winter and her father Sanitaga relationship is very unclear. Here you have a man or should a say a father who is trying to provided the things he never had to his family. Like, new cars, house, money, education, and etc….When it comes to Winter he tries to shield her from men like the ones in his profession. Majority of men who have the advantages of fast past money usually abuse it, and end up broke! Men like Sanitaga use fast past money to his advantage to get headed in life. For example, education, security, schools, and structure for his family.
There is Contradiction on Sanitage part, because Santiaga doesn’t explain to his children what he does for a living is not positive. If he addresses to his children what he is doing and why it’s wrong, and tell them the truth about how he sacrifices for them. Then he would not be a hypocrite.
I am very conformable with the language. I love aggressive language. It gives me a real feeling as if I was the character. It also make me versatile because I grew up on this type of language and it made me yearn to speak proper english because its lady like and helpful when you are a parents. I think the story is about to get very personal with raw details that will interest the readers. I also think that the pros, and cron’s of a gangster family is about to present.
• Make a list of the words specific to the community winter resides and give the definition. Now, choose a passage and rewrite it in Standard English.
1. A bad bitch: A women who handles her priorities
2. He’s hella broke: A man or a boy who has no money
3. Motherfucka: Is someone who is stupid to you at a specific time or moment
• Who are some of the other characters mentioned we probably need to pay attention to? Use the text and reference the descriptions winter gives with the page number.
Winter is very materialistic
“I recognized him immediately as a sucker, somebody I could take for all he had” (pg. #8)
Winter likes thugs and aggressive men
“They had the blank sort of look in their face, not aggressive enough the way I liked’em.” (pg. #15)
Winter is conceded
“I know I’m a bad bitch” (pg. #21)
Sister Souljah uses lots of analogies in her writing. Give ten citations and page numbers where she uses analogies: metaphors and similes.
“Days later I called sterling, my old sugar daddy, out of the blue. (pg. 17)
“She was brown skin with chinky eyes “Regular bitch! I thought to myself. (pg. 19)
“Then like a gypsy, Midnight, reading my thoughts. (pg. 20)
“Winter! He called my name with a roughness that made me want to hop on his d*** and go buck. (pg. 14)
Hell no! The incense is a dead giveaway (pg. 24)
What did you expect? Or have you forgotten? I’m
Great work. Your comments illustrate a close reading.
WS
Ammnah Babikir
English: 1A
Nov. 13, 2008
Chapter 1&2
Coldest Winter Response:
Winter is a thirteen year old, African American raised as a spoiled ghetto fabulous princess. In chapter 1, winter talks about her mother and father’s history, her life as a young girl raised with her gangster parents.
The writing style is not standard english terms, however I do feel that because the weight of the content, the language provides a sense of direct in your face imagery that engages your attention while making you feel as if you are the character.
This book is for anyone who is interested in assessing one’s experiences or can relate to winter’s situations.
The dynamic between Winter and her father is interesting to me. In her case, her dad is a man/ father who are trying to provide compensation in terms of materialistic matters in an attempt to keep her occupied and happy. Despite the heart to heart talks they have about how to avoid/ what to stay away from in regards to dealing with untrustworthy men like the ones he deals with selling, he still doesn’t come off to me as being really honest with Winter. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he hasn’t sat down and categorized the negative aspect of what his profession operates on and that he copes with it to take care of his family.
To me that makes him a hypocrite and a liar amongst other things. Abusing the fast paste life style that is depicted in the lifestyle Santiaga lives by is usually short lived in reality. So to guard your family from the lifestyle you live by and not make them aware of the reason or why you do it is a blatant contradiction.
It’s not so much that I am uncomfortable with the language, it’s more so the morals and what not that I was brought up on. I guess that if you know when to use it and when not to its ok. I grew up in a family that said what the felt despite hurt feelings. I do have a pretty good vocabulary which helps to be versatile and be able to break down language barriers. It does make me cringe when having to read it in front of my elders who pretty much consist of only Mrs. Sabir so its whatever…. Lol.
Having read this book many yrs ago when my big sister had it, I recall the story starting out explaining the foundation that would soon lead to snowballing troublesome devastation in the little girl’s life altering her perception of the world around her.
- Make a list of the words specific to the community winter resides and give the definition. Now, choose a passage and rewrite it in Standard English.
1. He’s Hella Broke: A man or a boy who has no money
2. Bitchass Niggaz: A male who is or hangs around other males displaying punk like behavior.
-Who are some of the other characters mentioned we probably need to pay attention to? Use the text and reference the descriptions winter gives with the page number.
1. “He did his pickups and deliveries like clockwork.”-pg.10
2. “Shit, is laid out so nice, it’s like heaven.” -Pg.16
- Sister Souljah uses lots of analogies in her writing. Give ten citations and page numbers where she uses analogies: metaphors and similes.
“Every teenage girl wants to cut loose and get close to the fire, but I was like a pot of boiling milk with the lid on.”-pg.9
1. “He did his pickups and deliveries like clockwork.”-pg.10
2. “Winter! He called my name with a roughness that made me want to hop on his d*** and go buck. (pg. 14)
“Shit, is laid out so nice, it’s like heaven.” -Pg.16
“She was brown skin with chinky eyes “Regular bitch! I thought to myself. (pg. 19)
“Then like a gypsy, Midnight, reading my thoughts. (pg. 20)
The Coldest Winter Ever gives us concise insight on the life of "Winter", the main character, who is a young African-American girl growing up in the ghetto. The story takes place in her hometown of Brooklyn, NY where she and her family resides in a housing project. Winter's father, "Santiaga", is a king pin drug dealer whose life of crime affords the family a lavish lifestyle. Always the talk of the town, and demanding attention, Winter has matured far beyond her tender age of thirteen. From the sugar daddies, premature sexual behaviors, and uncanny superficiality, Winter is inevitably heading down a swift path of destruction.
The relationship that Winter has with her mother depicts more of a sisterhood or friendship with no set boundaries. Perhaps the relationship amongst Winter and her mother is mainly impart by the fact that Winter's mother was a mere fourteen when she gave birth to her. In contrast, although Santiaga is somewhat stern in his parental guidance, and spoils the family with material and monetary wealth, it leaves one to question why he'd exposed his daughter to such a tumultuous and dangerous lifestyle.
Definitions: dipped – lavish, nice, exquisite
cock-block- to prevent another from scoring sexually
worthless nigga – someone who is jobless, does not support themselves, and otherwise without monetary wealth
bad bitch – a female that possesses intelligence, class, beauty, economic fortune, and tends to handle her business
Analogies/metaphors/similies
"His cologne came around the corner introducing him before you could even see him" (2)
"His mother, or whomever washed his clothes, must have been more handy than them happy homemakers on TV commercials 'cause his s*** was crisp" (7)
"S*** that stank, stank more"(10)
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