PEREZ - Surname Meaning, Origin and Genealogy

A patronymic name derived from Pero, Pedro, Petrus, Petros, etc. - meaning son of Pero. The suffix ez means descendant of in Spanish. It is also believed that PEREZ comes from the apostle Simon, whom Jesus called rock (Pedro in Spanish means rock) in tribute to his designation as the rock or foundation of the church. 2) The surname Perez may possibly be derived from the name of the pear tree, peral. 3) Perez may be a variation of the Sephardic Jewish surname, Peretz. Perez is the  29th most popular surname in the United States based on data from the 2000 census and the 7th most common surname in Argentina. Its also the 7th most common Hispanic last name. Surname Origin:  Spanish Alternate Surname Spellings:  PERES, PERET, PERETZ, PERETS, PHAREZ, PAREZ, PERIS Famous People with the Surname PEREZ: Rosie Perez - American actressGeorge Perez - comic book artistSelena Quintanilla-Perez - American queen of tejano music Genealogy Resources for the Surname PEREZ:   100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? Common Hispanic Surnames Their MeaningsLearn about the origins of Hispanic last names, and the meanings of many of the most common Spanish surnames. Perez Family Tree DNAThis Surname Project traces members of the Perez family through Y-DNA testing. Perez Name Meaning Family HistoryAn overview of the Perez surname meaning, plus subscription-based access to genealogical records on Perez families around the world from Ancestry.com. Perez Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Perez surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Perez query. FamilySearch - PEREZ GenealogyFind records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Perez surname and its variations. PEREZ Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Perez surname. DistantCousin.com - PEREZ Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name Perez. -- Looking for the meaning of a given name? Check out First Name Meanings -- Cant find your last name listed? Suggest a surname to be added to the Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins. ----------------------- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back to Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins

Essay about Struggles in Post Civil War America - 1020 Words

The Civil War split the nation in half. It tore apart families, and Union soldiers against Confederate soldiers for four miserable years. From the first shots fired at Fort Sumter 1861, and ending with a unanimous Confederate victory in 1865. All in all 630,000 people died and many thousands wounded. The deaths in the Civil War totally surpassed the death totals from any other war (1). For those managed to survive the up hill battle just began, they faced many unknowns in a world moving in an uncertain direction. With the north beating the succeeded south in the war, politicians faced a hard task of reuniting the divided country. With reconstruction now in affect, both northern workers, and southern farmers now face many new obstacles and†¦show more content†¦Farmers needed strong animals such as oxen and horses to pull the plows on the ground to make the land farmable. As a result to the wet and dry temperatures, grasshoppers would feast on the limited amount of crops grown on the farms. â€Å"This year we had another very dry season resulting in the light crops on which the grasshoppers came down by multiplied millions†¦the grasshoppers came I such swarms that they looked in the distance like fast-gathering rain clouds flying through the air... the grain was completely hid from sight†¦ the grasshoppers would take meat, bread and other things from the table† (13). The houses on the farms that were made of sod were not very stable and attracted bugs. The bugs lived in the sod walls and roof. â€Å"In moving into all kinds of houses we find that all kinds of insects that prey upon human blood. One house we found†¦ the bugs sailed out upon us by the hundreds†¦ we killed more the two hundred besides the many we had deprived of life before beginning to count† (13). The living conditions of the newly relocated families were unimaginable. The limited food they were able to grow due to the inclement weather was eaten by gras shoppers, and the unstable sod houses were infested with bugs. The farmer’s lives were made easier by the extreme investment by the United States government in the railroad industry. This way their crops could be shipped to different parts of theShow MoreRelatedAmerican Literature : An American Literary Time Period987 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican literary time period that began in 1865 and ended in 1914. This time period was flourished by three distinct features and the first of these features is: The Aftermath of the Civil War. It is estimated that a total of 620,000 Americans were killed in the Civil War, and for what? At the time, we were an America that was divided by one huge issue that ran supreme and it was slavery and the unequal treatment of African Americans. At this time the nation needed to figure a way to unite the NorthRead MoreThe Second American Revolution891 Words   |  4 PagesThe Second American Revolution Thesis Statement â€Å"The Civil War may also be termed as the second American Revolution in terms of the political, social and economic changes that occurred during the war† Introduction American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865. The war began because President Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was very persistent on preserving the Union, which was threatened by the issue of slavery. The North was growing rapidly in wealth and population, and it was clear toRead MoreThe Second American Revolution901 Words   |  4 PagesThe Second American Revolution Thesis Statement â€Å"The Civil War may also be termed as the second American Revolution in terms of the political, social and economic changes that occurred during the war† Introduction American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865. The war began because President Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was very persistent on preserving the Union, which was threatened by the issue of slavery. The North was growing rapidly in wealth and population, and it was clearRead MoreRelationship Between The Cold War And Global White Supremacy853 Words   |  4 PagesThe relationship between the Cold War and global white supremacy is clear from Borstelmann’s writing. He demonstrates how the improvement of race relations both domestic and foreign were a necessity. If the U.S. did not fix how potential allies (specifically all post colonial countries) viewed the U.S., communism was sure to spread. Although Latham does not identify race as a reason for modernization both Latham and Borstelmann show that Aligning with these posts countries was necessary to preventRead MoreSocial Problems: Is the United States Post-Racial?1237 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Is the United Stat es Post-Racial? The election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States has generated a lot of discussions and debate on the current racial affairs in the United States. Many assume that Obamas presidency ushers a new era post-racial America. So, I decided to read a few recent articles on the topic. The first was by Time Wise where he reflects on denial and reality in response to the question what is post-racial? (Wise, 2012). Wises article is depressing becauseRead MoreThe Fourteenth Ammendment and the Fight for Equal Rights Essay1117 Words   |  5 PagesStates of America emerged from one struggle directly into another. After years of tension over state rights and slavery, the nation had exploded into a civil war, only to emerge bloodied but still intact. The question now was how to keep the nation intact, while protecting the freedmen and ensuring that the same powers that had ignited the war could come back to power. To Garrett Epps argues in his book Democracy Reborn: The Fourteen th amendment and the Fight for Equal Rights in Post-Civil War AmericaRead MoreHow Did The Radical Republican s Rise For The Failure Of The Post Civil War Reconstruction?1619 Words   |  7 Pagescontribute to the failure of the post-civil war reconstruction? The time between 1863, when Lincoln passed the ten percent act, until the year 1877, when reconstruction was officially ended, will be evaluated with information provided by the sources. The investigation will specifically look to how the Lincoln assassination allowed for the rise in the Radical Republican Party from 1866 to 1868 and the party’s effect on reconstruction acts leading to the failure of the post-civil war reconstruction era. EricRead MoreReconstruction : The Misadventures Of Post Civil War1116 Words   |  5 PagesReconstruction (The Misadventures of Post-Civil War America) America: â€Å"The land of the free, and the home of the brave† (Key 7-8). When our forefathers overcame the colonial reign of the British Empire, they formed the United States of America based on the premise of enlightened ideals promoting life, ownership of land, and liberty. But after the revolution, the country’s problems were far from solved. The country’s post-revolution issues sparked a Civil War, which was followed by a reconstructionRead MoreReconstruction and Industrialization1446 Words   |  6 PagesAssignment 1: â€Å"America’s Post-Civil War Growing Pains† Reconstruction and Industrialization 1865-1900 Four years after the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter the Civil War ended with the Union’s Victory over the Confederacy. Though the war was over, there were still many problems that needed to be resolved in order to reunite the states as a nation. The time period in which steps were taken to rebuild the nation is known as reconstruction. Reconstruction lasted from 1865 until 1877. TheRead MoreThe Civil Rights Movement By Charles W. Eagles780 Words   |  4 Pagesanother author continues the discussion of historians and their attempt to analysis the civil rights movement. Charles W. Eagles’ article â€Å"Toward New Histories of the Civil Rights Era† provides further supporting evidence that scholars fail to analyze the movement to its fullest potential. Eagles utilizes diplomatic historian John Lewis Gaddis analogy of historians studying the cold car. According to Gaddis, cold war scholars â€Å"reflected the contemporaneous debates rather than vie wing them with the detachment

 The Philippine Mtual Fund Industry Swot Analysis free essay sample

A financial adviser will be hired the investment company to help choose where to place your money. In relation with his you’ll be having an access a boarder range of investment instruments such as equities, fixed income and real estate. Another, thing mutual fund has a low tolerance on risk through diversification. Finally, an investor whose considering to put his money in mutual fund would be delighted because of its lower transaction costs and minimum capital requirement of Php. 5,000 only. There are a lot of disadvantages that Philippine mutual funds industry is facing. First on the list is that the industry remains small after 41 years. Since the incorporation of the first mutual fund in the country which was Filipinas Mutual Fund at the end of 1998 there were only 15 investment companies participating in the industry with total assets of only 3.   billion. In addition to this there only 14 open-ended companies and only are closed-ended company each having 6000 and 8000 investors respectively. We will write a custom essay sample on   The Philippine Mtual Fund Industry Swot Analysis   or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There were less than 200 SEC-licensed mutual fund salesmen. Obviously this will affect the operation of the investment companies engaging in mutual funds because the promotional activities is very minimal and so it generate lower income thus affecting the return of the investor. Secondly, the level of accountability reliability of the industry was not that good because out of 222 companies only 50 are generally considered to be truly investment rade companies. Environmental analysis There a lot of external factors that the mutual funds industry of the Philippines had. There may be a number of weaknesses the industry has but still many opportunities can be a tool to help revive the sector. The promulgations of the rules regulation Governing Investment companies under Republic Act 2629 with the support of SEC helped revive the industry after its downfall because of negative things that happen under the leadership of then President Ferdinand Marcos. That’s the point where in th eir investment companies emerged. Republic act 2629 can be redeveloped to help attract more investors in the industry because we need to adapt to the charging pattern of the market. Another thing also to consider is the challenge of ICAP to BSP’s position against alliances between the mutual fund industry and universal banks. It is the right time for the industry to take the risk of having strong relationship with banks and encourage the BSP to support them with its endeavour. It may create a great venue for the both sectors to shape the Philippine financial system. Finally, Personal Equity Retirement Account (PERA) as pattern on Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAS) is seen by the industry to help boost the mutual fund industry in the country. Through PERA accounts, a substantial part of Filipino saving is to be open among financial institutions including mutual fund companies. Aside from that, PERA offers tax incentives so it will be attractive to investors. There were lots of concerns that the industry can’t avoid. First, people were not familiar about mutual funds. One factor that may contribute to this is the fact that funds have very few retail outlets. The distribution channels consist primarily of the offices of the funds themselves. Another thing to consider was that the industry fell victim to a number of scams by some unscrupulous individuals. There came a time that mutual fund industry would become synonymous with the word â€Å"scam†. In addition to that, people preferred bank time deposit s as the most investment tools as they offer a safe guaranteed return compared to mutual funds that do not offer a guaranteed rate of return and more prove to risks. Pre-need plan also dominate the investment sector in the country. Pre-need plan is way better than mutual fund. There are 88 pre-need plan companies with total assets amounting to 78. 8million compared to 15 mutual fund companies with 12million in assets. Aside from that SEC has a minimum eye on preneed plan compared to mutual fund. Finally, the mutual fund industry of the country when compared to other countries is obviously uncompetitive. One factor that may contribute to this is   Philippines has one of the lowest saving rate in Asia of 17% is compared to Malaysia, Hongkong ,India and Thailand with 34%, 30%, 24% and 37% respectively. Strategic Issues and Recommendation Considering the fact that the mutual fund industry in the Philippines is small with only 15 companies and insignificant because people would prefer to invest in other financial instrument like preneed plan and common trust funds and time deposits on banks due to lack of familiarity and negative image it is very obvious that the Philippine mutual fund industry is undeveloped and growing very slowly. In order to help gain the popularity of mutual funds to investor, investment companies should hire more salesman reliable and advertising campaign to help promote their products. Revision of republic Act 2629 should also be implemented. This action should be actively supported by the Investment Company Association of the Philippines (ICAP) and not mutual fund companies alone.   Mutual funds industry should also seek for support of other financial institutions like banks, insurance companies and the like to create alliances and good relationship with each other. One strategy that a company can be used to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage against its rival is to provide a distinctive product or service. PERA accounts may be a great help for the industry to attract more customers. The industry should pursue this bill because it is a possible source of large inflows of capital into the industry.

Motorcylces and sweetgrass free essay sample

Reaching Compromise of Cultures by Manifestation of Contact Zone through the Character John From the start of the novel, it is not difficult to see that Maggie, the chief and mother of Virgil, is having trouble with her life. She is busy and has many identities. When she is talking to her mother Lillian, she has her own thoughts and opinions about how to live her life. Her way is doing as much work and taking care of every matter because she is the chief, and also worrying about her son because she is the mother. This always crashes with what Lillian thinks. Lillian says that her work is â€Å"too much† (Taylor, 44) and that she â€Å"should be the chief of [her] own home, not Otter Lake. † (Taylor, 44) Maggie does not even have time to have lunch with her son, let alone talk and spend some time with him. When she came home after what happened with her tire, she cooked a decent dinner â€Å"for the first time in a week. We will write a custom essay sample on Motorcylces and sweetgrass or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † (Taylor, 93) Virgil, of course, knows this and feels the lack of his mother in his life in some way. He might be skipping classes because he is not getting his mother’s attention and care. Lillian suggested this many times before she died and Virgil’s teacher asked Maggie for special care for Virgil. She is letting down her family. When John came for lunch to her office, her answer is â€Å"but sorry, can’t do it. Priorities. † (Taylor, 226) Her tone is very determined and dry. She cannot sleep well at night. This proves that she is rushing herself too much with her work and schedule. Meanwhile, she thinks that she will manage all of this and be responsible. This way of thinking is very much the influence of western culture, Canadian culture in this book. Although she cares for the Anishnawbe society and knows the language and culture, her life is more of a Canadian life than an Anishnawbe life. John enters her life suddenly with his charming looks and approaches her without hesitation, intriguing Maggie’s curiosity and interest. She goes on a date with John and in such a long time, she feels romantic For Maggie, John appealed his sexual attraction because that would work the best since she lost her husband and there has been no space for ‘man’ in her life. She learns slowly how to chill out and have some break. Through John she also experiences some real Anishnawbe culture such as the carvings in front of Sammy’s house and an inukshuk that John made. The first time she encounters John and on their first date, she was definitely feeling confused. In the end, she managed to balance her life with â€Å"a more Zen approach† (Taylor, 340). She does not waste her time worrying too much and spend more time with family. She learned how to compromise between the two cultures somehow. She chose â€Å"what gets absorbed into† (Pratt, 36) her life from the Canadian culture and moved closer to her Anishnawbe culture. This is how John worked as a comfort zone as for Maggie. He approached her to show her a new perspective just like Guaman Poma did to â€Å"construct new picture of the world† (Pratt, 34). There are two more important characters that went through similar process with Maggie’s and found the way to negotiation: Virgil and Uncle Wayne. To begin with Virgil, he was just an adolescent boy who is going through puberty before his encounter with John and little chat with him on the rock that he visits often. He skipped class in school and went near the train station, sitting on his rock thinking. He doesn’t have many friends. Even Maggie was relieved to see that Virgil talking with Dakota before they were all together in Lillian’s house. Most importantly, Virgil does not receive his mother’s attention and care that he deserves that age. This is shown throughout the story. He feels jealous when Maggie cooks fancy dinner for John. He thought â€Å"the effort his mom was putting into† (Taylor, 110) the dinner was â€Å"upsetting† (Taylor, 110). Maggie never did this for â€Å"him† (Taylor, 110). His encounter with John was not that pleasant, but it was shocking enough to haunt him every day until he finally disappears from Otter Lake society. He saw John kissing Lillian and John’s motorcycle was surely a piece of work to a teenage boy. I think what John did to Virgil was not that much and not direct. John clearly influenced Maggie directly but what he did to Virgil is a little bit of threatening before they meet near the rock. Following John and being obsessed by his presence make him look for what Nanabush is and about Anishnawbe culture. Until the last moment of John, Virgil keeps on thinking about his life and his identity and at the same time about John who is so mysterious and seems to be dangerous to his mom. After him gone, he got much closer with his uncle and Dakota thanks to John because it is the mystery of him that bonded them in the first place. Similarly, Uncle Wayne comes out to the real, social world where he belongs to his family and mingles with people. His life was closed before John’s arrival and he faces John only one time when they fight. In a roundabout way, he could come out from the island and try living a social life outside of the island. His presence gave him the chance and helped in an indirect way to strengthen the bond of family between him, Maggie and Virgil. From these changes, Wayne seems to be learning his way of adjusting to society by understanding and taking in some of Canadian culture. He let some of it â€Å"get absorbed† (Pratt, 36) in his life. He adapted to the mixed society where it is inevitable to live with two different cultures. He certainly gained a whole new perspective towards life and First Nations society. John, although he mainly focused on Maggie during the whole story, had given Virgil and Wayne the opportunity to think about balancing between two cultures. By undergoing these processes, we can see a sign of ‘transculturation’ where â€Å"members of subordinated or marginal groups select and invent from materials transmitted by a dominant or metropolitan culture† (Pratt, 36). In this book, the members would be the people of Otter Lake society and their society is obviously a marginal group including the generations of Anishnawbe such as Lillian, the generations of First Nations such as Maggie and the generations of their children leaning more towards Canadian culture. A dominant culture would be Canadian culture. From all three of the characters, we can see that a certain degree of ‘transculturation’ going on. Maggie using a Zen approach would be interpreted as selecting less from the dominant culture, the Canadian culture. In case of Virgil, the change is broader and more overall because his connection with his family such as Wayne, Dakota and most importantly Maggie has become stronger after John’s appearance. For Uncle Wayne, the fact that he is admiring the technology of the white people means in some degree that he is taking in the Canadian culture. What is more worthy to focus on is his change of attitude. By the end of the novel, Wayne asks Maggie about the nurse at the clinic. Wayne is clearly feeling the kind of natural attraction towards women. During the conversation, we can see that he has his own thought of his identity in a positive way. He says that he is â€Å"Eccentric† (Taylor, 342) and â€Å"peculiar† (Taylor, 342) rather than weird. This could indicate that he is accepting the Canadian culture a little and not be a weird person who lives in the island stuck in the Anishnawbe martial arts. This can be called Wayne’s way of ‘selecting’ from the dominant culture. As for ‘inventing’, I think that all three of the characters invented something that mostly fit to their lives. This ‘transculturation’ occurs together with the understanding of both cultures, both dominant and subordinate cultures. John came in with this understanding of cultures part, working as a contact zone himself. For Maggie he offered her the Anishnawbe way of thinking and living life while he was with her. For Virgil he offered him the opportunity to know better about his identity as a descendant of Anishnawbe people. For Wayne, he also gave him the chance to come out and see what it is like to allow some degree of ‘White man’ culture. Through the experiences with John, they all get to negotiate between the Anishnawbe culture and Canadian culture. They created their own ways of lives and this led to overall balance of the whole society including their individual lives. John crosses the boundaries of Canadian culture and Anishnawbe culture. He features some of the characteristics from this and at the same time, he features some of the characteristics from that. He is appeared to be a white man, although he later changes to his Anishnawbe appearance before he says last goodbye to Virgil. The feature he displays of himself is not just that of a white man, it is the typical of a white man. He has blond hair which is the stereotype of a white man. Although his eye colors changes a lot, it never goes black which is the eye color of Anishnawbe people. He comes to the Otter Lake village riding his motorcycle which could be classified as western culture or Canadian culture. Then, his knowledge in the history and Anishnawbe culture is so deep. He speaks perfect Anishnawbe language and he knows how to perform Anishnawbe arts such as drawing petroglyphs, carving and making an inukshuk. It is strange but these two cultures coexist in him, allowing him as a proper ‘contact zone’ figure. The title of this book is a combination of rather ironic and discording two things if you think about it. Motorcycle is something that is totally Canadian, western, and white while sweetgrass is something that is totally Anishnawbe, traditional, and aboriginal. From the title, the author is already telling the readers what the book is going to be like. As the story goes on, the readers realize that Taylor describes how the balance and concord is gained throughout the society of the First Nations from discourse. John, who is depicted as a manifestation of contact zone and perhaps the contact zone himself, enters their society. He uses magic and changed the society but the process is not that simple. He tries to control the amount of each culture the characters are accepting in their lives. The balance does not come from the numerical and mathematical balance. It is the balance within their lives and even without his realization or work, Maggie, Virgil and Wayne finds the balance themselves. He works as a negotiator, a mediator between the two cultures. The way he is described in the book is probably Taylor’s idea to explain what contact zone is since the concept is very abstract and hard to grasp. John’s features including his outer and inner characteristics play a huge role when he approaches each of the characters. He appeals to each of them very differently and very effectively when he does that and after ‘John’ happened, all of them are able to enjoy the â€Å"moments of wonder and revelation, mutual understanding, and new wisdom – the joys of the contact zone. The wonder of John’s sudden appearance and his talking to animals or changing his eye colors, the wonder of real Anishnawbe culture, the true understanding of both cultures and accepting both in lives and learning new ways of living less stressful and more leisurely lives happens. With John character, the author gives the readers how it is like to interact and negotiate between disparate cultures and to produce something valuable. Motorcylces and sweetgrass free essay sample Reaching Compromise of Cultures by Manifestation of Contact Zone through the Character John From the start of the novel, it is not difficult to see that Maggie, the chief and mother of Virgil, is having trouble with her life. She is busy and has many identities. When she is talking to her mother Lillian, she has her own thoughts and opinions about how to live her life. Her way is doing as much work and taking care of every matter because she is the chief, and also worrying about her son because she is the mother. This always crashes with what Lillian thinks. Lillian says that her work is â€Å"too much† (Taylor, 44) and that she â€Å"should be the chief of [her] own home, not Otter Lake. † (Taylor, 44) Maggie does not even have time to have lunch with her son, let alone talk and spend some time with him. When she came home after what happened with her tire, she cooked a decent dinner â€Å"for the first time in a week. We will write a custom essay sample on Motorcylces and sweetgrass or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † (Taylor, 93) Virgil, of course, knows this and feels the lack of his mother in his life in some way. He might be skipping classes because he is not getting his mother’s attention and care. Lillian suggested this many times before she died and Virgil’s teacher asked Maggie for special care for Virgil. She is letting down her family. When John came for lunch to her office, her answer is â€Å"but sorry, can’t do it. Priorities. † (Taylor, 226) Her tone is very determined and dry. She cannot sleep well at night. This proves that she is rushing herself too much with her work and schedule. Meanwhile, she thinks that she will manage all of this and be responsible. This way of thinking is very much the influence of western culture, Canadian culture in this book. Although she cares for the Anishnawbe society and knows the language and culture, her life is more of a Canadian life than an Anishnawbe life. John enters her life suddenly with his charming looks and approaches her without hesitation, intriguing Maggie’s curiosity and interest. She goes on a date with John and in such a long time, she feels romantic For Maggie, John appealed his sexual attraction because that would work the best since she lost her husband and there has been no space for ‘man’ in her life. She learns slowly how to chill out and have some break. Through John she also experiences some real Anishnawbe culture such as the carvings in front of Sammy’s house and an inukshuk that John made. The first time she encounters John and on their first date, she was definitely feeling confused. In the end, she managed to balance her life with â€Å"a more Zen approach† (Taylor, 340). She does not waste her time worrying too much and spend more time with family. She learned how to compromise between the two cultures somehow. She chose â€Å"what gets absorbed into† (Pratt, 36) her life from the Canadian culture and moved closer to her Anishnawbe culture. This is how John worked as a comfort zone as for Maggie. He approached her to show her a new perspective just like Guaman Poma did to â€Å"construct new picture of the world† (Pratt, 34). There are two more important characters that went through similar process with Maggie’s and found the way to negotiation: Virgil and Uncle Wayne. To begin with Virgil, he was just an adolescent boy who is going through puberty before his encounter with John and little chat with him on the rock that he visits often. He skipped class in school and went near the train station, sitting on his rock thinking. He doesn’t have many friends. Even Maggie was relieved to see that Virgil talking with Dakota before they were all together in Lillian’s house. Most importantly, Virgil does not receive his mother’s attention and care that he deserves that age. This is shown throughout the story. He feels jealous when Maggie cooks fancy dinner for John. He thought â€Å"the effort his mom was putting into† (Taylor, 110) the dinner was â€Å"upsetting† (Taylor, 110). Maggie never did this for â€Å"him† (Taylor, 110). His encounter with John was not that pleasant, but it was shocking enough to haunt him every day until he finally disappears from Otter Lake society. He saw John kissing Lillian and John’s motorcycle was surely a piece of work to a teenage boy. I think what John did to Virgil was not that much and not direct. John clearly influenced Maggie directly but what he did to Virgil is a little bit of threatening before they meet near the rock. Following John and being obsessed by his presence make him look for what Nanabush is and about Anishnawbe culture. Until the last moment of John, Virgil keeps on thinking about his life and his identity and at the same time about John who is so mysterious and seems to be dangerous to his mom. After him gone, he got much closer with his uncle and Dakota thanks to John because it is the mystery of him that bonded them in the first place. Similarly, Uncle Wayne comes out to the real, social world where he belongs to his family and mingles with people. His life was closed before John’s arrival and he faces John only one time when they fight. In a roundabout way, he could come out from the island and try living a social life outside of the island. His presence gave him the chance and helped in an indirect way to strengthen the bond of family between him, Maggie and Virgil. From these changes, Wayne seems to be learning his way of adjusting to society by understanding and taking in some of Canadian culture. He let some of it â€Å"get absorbed† (Pratt, 36) in his life. He adapted to the mixed society where it is inevitable to live with two different cultures. He certainly gained a whole new perspective towards life and First Nations society. John, although he mainly focused on Maggie during the whole story, had given Virgil and Wayne the opportunity to think about balancing between two cultures. By undergoing these processes, we can see a sign of ‘transculturation’ where â€Å"members of subordinated or marginal groups select and invent from materials transmitted by a dominant or metropolitan culture† (Pratt, 36). In this book, the members would be the people of Otter Lake society and their society is obviously a marginal group including the generations of Anishnawbe such as Lillian, the generations of First Nations such as Maggie and the generations of their children leaning more towards Canadian culture. A dominant culture would be Canadian culture. From all three of the characters, we can see that a certain degree of ‘transculturation’ going on. Maggie using a Zen approach would be interpreted as selecting less from the dominant culture, the Canadian culture. In case of Virgil, the change is broader and more overall because his connection with his family such as Wayne, Dakota and most importantly Maggie has become stronger after John’s appearance. For Uncle Wayne, the fact that he is admiring the technology of the white people means in some degree that he is taking in the Canadian culture. What is more worthy to focus on is his change of attitude. By the end of the novel, Wayne asks Maggie about the nurse at the clinic. Wayne is clearly feeling the kind of natural attraction towards women. During the conversation, we can see that he has his own thought of his identity in a positive way. He says that he is â€Å"Eccentric† (Taylor, 342) and â€Å"peculiar† (Taylor, 342) rather than weird. This could indicate that he is accepting the Canadian culture a little and not be a weird person who lives in the island stuck in the Anishnawbe martial arts. This can be called Wayne’s way of ‘selecting’ from the dominant culture. As for ‘inventing’, I think that all three of the characters invented something that mostly fit to their lives. This ‘transculturation’ occurs together with the understanding of both cultures, both dominant and subordinate cultures. John came in with this understanding of cultures part, working as a contact zone himself. For Maggie he offered her the Anishnawbe way of thinking and living life while he was with her. For Virgil he offered him the opportunity to know better about his identity as a descendant of Anishnawbe people. For Wayne, he also gave him the chance to come out and see what it is like to allow some degree of ‘White man’ culture. Through the experiences with John, they all get to negotiate between the Anishnawbe culture and Canadian culture. They created their own ways of lives and this led to overall balance of the whole society including their individual lives. John crosses the boundaries of Canadian culture and Anishnawbe culture. He features some of the characteristics from this and at the same time, he features some of the characteristics from that. He is appeared to be a white man, although he later changes to his Anishnawbe appearance before he says last goodbye to Virgil. The feature he displays of himself is not just that of a white man, it is the typical of a white man. He has blond hair which is the stereotype of a white man. Although his eye colors changes a lot, it never goes black which is the eye color of Anishnawbe people. He comes to the Otter Lake village riding his motorcycle which could be classified as western culture or Canadian culture. Then, his knowledge in the history and Anishnawbe culture is so deep. He speaks perfect Anishnawbe language and he knows how to perform Anishnawbe arts such as drawing petroglyphs, carving and making an inukshuk. It is strange but these two cultures coexist in him, allowing him as a proper ‘contact zone’ figure. The title of this book is a combination of rather ironic and discording two things if you think about it. Motorcycle is something that is totally Canadian, western, and white while sweetgrass is something that is totally Anishnawbe, traditional, and aboriginal. From the title, the author is already telling the readers what the book is going to be like. As the story goes on, the readers realize that Taylor describes how the balance and concord is gained throughout the society of the First Nations from discourse. John, who is depicted as a manifestation of contact zone and perhaps the contact zone himself, enters their society. He uses magic and changed the society but the process is not that simple. He tries to control the amount of each culture the characters are accepting in their lives. The balance does not come from the numerical and mathematical balance. It is the balance within their lives and even without his realization or work, Maggie, Virgil and Wayne finds the balance themselves. He works as a negotiator, a mediator between the two cultures. The way he is described in the book is probably Taylor’s idea to explain what contact zone is since the concept is very abstract and hard to grasp. John’s features including his outer and inner characteristics play a huge role when he approaches each of the characters. He appeals to each of them very differently and very effectively when he does that and after ‘John’ happened, all of them are able to enjoy the â€Å"moments of wonder and revelation, mutual understanding, and new wisdom – the joys of the contact zone. The wonder of John’s sudden appearance and his talking to animals or changing his eye colors, the wonder of real Anishnawbe culture, the true understanding of both cultures and accepting both in lives and learning new ways of living less stressful and more leisurely lives happens. With John character, the author gives the readers how it is like to interact and negotiate between disparate cultures and to produce something valuable.