Culture Tips
Genre
Background
His Life
• Born in Alabama USA in 1945. • Parents divorced when he was a boy; traveled widely with his mother; soon forced to endure life under his strict and cruel stepfather. • From 1964 to 1968, lieutenant with the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) in Vietnam. • B.A. (1972) and M.A. (1975) from Oxford University with First Class Honors in English, a second M.A. from Stanford. • A revered writer& teacher of creative writing and literature in Stanford and elsewhere.
Tobias Wolff (1945-)
Background
His Works
Short stories (O Henry Award): • “In the Garden of the North American Martyrs” (1981) • “Next Door” (1982) • “Sister” (1985) • Our Story Begins (short story collection in 2003, The Story Prize in 2004) Memoirs: • This Boy’s Life: A Memoir (1989) • In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War(1994) Novels: • The Barrack's Thief (1984, PEN/Faukner Award for Fiction) • Old School (2003)
Say Yes
Tobias Wolff
Say yes
Question:________________? Answer: Yes.
Say yes Question: Let’s say I’m black, but still me, and we fall in love. Will you marry me? Answer: Yes, (I will.)

Love is Color-Blind It don't matter if you're black white or yellow, if you're brown or red let's get down to that love is color-blind I remember when I was a child and couldn't understand people having fun discriminating all the different ones mama just used to say when you grow up you'll maybe find a way to make these people see that everything I do comes back to me You gotta live your lives we're all the same, no one's to blame they gotta live their lives just play the game and let love reign It don't matter if you're black white or yellow, if your brown or red let's get down to that love is color-blind you're my brother, you're my friend all that matters in the very end is to understand love is color-blind
This Boy’s Life Film Poster
Background

His Style




A direct writing style, obeying the “show, don’t tell” maxim, leaving much to the reader’s intuition Non-dramatic, focusing more on the psychological dimensions of a character in dilemmas than on plot development Often understated, forcing readers to become engaged in the collection of strands that will result in the full comprehension of a story. Exploring alienation, the nature of lying, and the essential foundations of relationships Hoping to instruct and inspire people to triumph over their situations through character change and development


1.What kinds of person you would like to marry? 2. Have you ever thought of marrying a foreigner or a black person? 3. Then, listen to a song, please tell me what is the theme of the song?



Hale Waihona Puke I remember as a young boy I watched my neighborhood go up in flames I saw the whole thing thru tears of pain and a situation's rackin' my brain I wish I could fly away and never come back again we need some love y'all we need some real deal help from above y'all I mean the kids watchin' and I just can't see it stoppin', I don't understand I mean we all bleed the same blood, man! You gotta live your life better than our fathers did let's make some love, baby, have some kids they gotta live their lives and I don't care what color they are, or you are, or we are it's all love, baby!


It don't matter if you're black white or yellow, if your brown or red let's get down to that love is color-blind you're my brother, you're my friend all that matters in the very end is to understand love is color-blind You have been my mother you could have been my brother what if you were my sister if you were my father? you could have been my fella you could have been my teacher what if you were my friend? would be so nice to meet ya

take it out to the world tell every boy and every little girl be proud of yourself cause you're as good as anybody else put away your prejudice open your mind, don't need a stick to this try to make this earth a better place without a racial curse Yeah, it's time for some changes It don't matter if you're black white or yellow, if your brown or red let's get down to that love is color-blind you're my brother, you're my friend all that matters in the very end is to understand love is color-blind