"Champion of the World"
This reading is a story about a fight between a black man and a white man. This fight was said to determine the strongest man in the world. Every one from the town and even out of town came to watch this fight. The atmosphere was restless, people were anxious. Throughout the fight, people were constantly on their toes, flinching with every hit. This story shows how it was to be an African American at this time. It shows us how the black people felt when Joe Louis won the fight against the white man. How they felt a sign of relief that they were once proven to be stronger than the other kind. In the past, this was unthought of.
"Once More to the Lake"
This reading dealt with the reminiscence of a father on a family fishing trip. It is a very relaxing reading. It is written to make us feel the way the father felt when he was a child and now that the roles have switched. He was once the child that looked up to his father, but now times have changed and the roles are reversed and he is the father teaching his son. This story has a kind of bittersweet feeling to it as he realizes that life is a cycle and eventually his son will be in his same position. I feel like the purpose/meaning of this story is to show the audience the cycle of life. We can live in the moment and cherish the small things like this man has done, but everything comes to a bittersweet end and we can only hope to have left a legacy.
