Blog Review- Terri Thampan (Spoilers!)

Link to Terri's post: 
http://jaarb.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-secret-life-of-bees-spoiler-alerts.html

I really enjoyed reading Terri's post on The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I, too, have read the book and enjoyed it immensely (it is still one of my favourites). I agree with Terri, the book is indeed quite heart-warming, but also slightly heart-breaking (especially at the part of the discovery of May's suicide/death). I thought the book was written beautifully as each part of the story used enough description that I could truly visualize what happened around the main character, Lily. I agree with how Terri said that she was glad that it wasn't a "perfect", no real problem story (as those stories are too surreal to relate to). I remember that the story said that May felt others' pain. Again, I agree with Terri as feeling others' pain at such a time in history (when life was full of racism against African Americans) truly is too hard/painful of a burden to carry, especially since she could not share it with anyone, not even her twin sister, as her sister is dead. It was heart-breaking when May wrote in her suicide note telling her family to keep living. I thought of how impossible that seems when someone you love is dead. I thought of how painful May's burden must be if even death by drowning seems to be a better option than living. She is a very brave character, as only those who are brave have the courage to take their own life, and I think that she is a very important character in the story. I loved how Terri said that we should live life to the fullest, trying to correct the world, for I think this was one of the lessons of the book.

I like how she explained how Lily's image of her mother dropped from perfect after she learned the truth. I believe this is another reason why sometimes ignorance is bliss: when we don't know about the bad things in life, life seems perfect. I also liked how she explained why Lily's father was so cruel to her. I would not say that what T. Ray did was right for it surely was not, but he lost his true love and it broke him completely, so I think he deserves perhaps not pity, but like what Terri said, understanding.

I have read many posts by Terri but this one stood out to me because I read this book before and I wanted to see what she thought about the book and how her thoughts differed from mine. I never truly paid attention to how the racism in the story came from both whites and African Americans, so I am glad that Terri explained this point thoroughly. It also stood out to me because the post had many thoughts and details and is one of the longer posts she has written.

I liked how her post was written. Her summary was thorough but was not a retell and her thoughts on the book flowed well throughout her post. It was as though her thoughts on the book created the summary and I liked that a lot. Although her post was quite long, it was definitely worth reading and I did not feel bored as I sometimes do when reading lengthy texts. Perhaps this is because, again, her thoughts flowed well and blended with the facts about the story.

I really liked her last sentence: "It only takes some time to look for the lessons." I liked it because I felt that it was entirely true. After finishing the book, I did not immediately understand the life lessons taught in this book. Only after I thought about it more did I understand. The Secret Life of Bees is a book worth reading and I am glad that Terri enjoyed the book as much as I did.

 

Yeh Yeh`s House Non-Fiction Blog Post 3

I have been reading Yeh Yeh's House for quite some time now, and I am nearing the end of the book. Evelina has traveled on the Yangtze River to Changsha where she met her Aunt, her mother's sister. After spending a long time living in Changsha enjoying the company of her Aunt's family, she was surprised with airplane tickets to Beijing. So now she is in Beijing, at her Yeh Yeh's House. Although Evelina's trip to China revolved around her Yeh Yeh's house in Beijing, the main idea does not seem to be solely about her time there. Instead, the main idea seems to be about her journey around China that in the end leads her to not only Beijing and her Yeh Yeh's house, but also to her understanding of the simplicity/way of life in China, the stronger relationship between her and her mother (as her mother tells Evelina about her past), and her understanding of how she belonged and felt at peace in China but in America as well. I think her arrival in Beijing was what made her begin to understand her journey and experience in China, that it was not merely a trip. I think this is the main idea because the part about Evelina actually being in Beijing is quite short in comparison to the rest of the book. This main idea is still developing, as though she was beginning to understand the meaning of her trip only when it was almost at an end. This quote shows this: "The reminder that my mother and I were scheduled to fly home  from Shanghai came as a thunderbolt... There was something else in my reluctance to leave which I couldn't even explain to myself. Something still felt unfinished, unfulfilled, as if my having finally arrived had not yet sunk in, or that I had not comprehended what Yeh Yeh's house truly meant to me." 

I think that Evelina wants the readers to feel all the emotions she felt throughout her trip. This included curiosity, peace, amazement, frustration, sadness, and also understanding. She provoked the feeling of curiosity when she described observations and life lessons. She described how Americans focus on life and the perspective of life on themselves while the Chinese focused on  their country. This made me wonder if this was true, for although I am not American, I believe that most of North America has the same view on life. I thought of which one was better, to focus on oneself or to focus on one's country. Should their be a balance? Evelina gave peace to readers as she described China from the gorges by the Yangtze River to the Great Wall of China. Her description used many adjectives and thought provoking words helped to paint a mental image within readers' minds so they may experience the peace that she felt. She gave amazement much the same way she gave peace through her book, by describing in great detail what she saw throughout her trip, like a maze of rooms in a tea house, the antiquity of the Forbidden City, or the intricate details of the possessions of the royalty from Imperial Dynasties. She provoked frustration by describing how she felt when she could not go to Beijing due to a lack of airplane tickets and was forced to travel further away from Yeh Yeh's house. She used adjectives to describe her feelings exactly. She provoked sadness by creating a mental image as well as the fact that she was describing how she would someday lose her mother, a fate that all sons and daughters must face. This quote shows how she provoked sadness: " I looked over at my mother lying next to me. Viewing her through layers of gauzy mosquito netting as she lay in her shallow wooden bed, I saw her as a mummy resting in a crude sarcophagus. I was unnerved again by the awful truth that time was unrelenting, and my perception of it standing still was merely an illusion brought on by the soporific air of Changsha. I thought of the many times on this journey I had gazed at my sleeping mother, filled with sadness that we were running out of time together, both in terms of our stay in China and in our lives." She provoked understanding without actually trying to. It is only because she continuously tried to understand China, her mother, and herself, that the readers try to understand as well. 

I felt all the feelings Evelina felt, especially peace and amazement. It amazes me how her trip evolved into a lesson of life and acceptance; she truly did make the most out of her trip. I wonder if I will ever have a trip as meaningful as hers, and though I know I would like to, I believe that you must think deeply in order to be like Evelina. It probably took a large amount of note-taking for Evelina to remember such precise details, and I believe that many of us will lack the time and effort. Her trip was surely not one of only relaxation, it makes me wonder if she relaxed at all. It saddens me that perhaps the lesser known places that she went to like the temples and tea houses, may no longer be waiting for me when I choose to take a trip to China in the future. Perhaps this is why she wrote the book, so she could not only share the life lessons she learned in China, but to also share the sights she saw, the experiences she had, so that when the places she went to no longer exist, they will still live in her pages.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Temporary Simplicity


I have begun reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I have only just started, therefore life in the book seems rather simple right now. The narrator is a girl named Jean Louise, but better known as Scout. Right now, she is almost six years old. She has an older brother named Jem, who, right now, is almost ten. They live with their father, Atticus, in the Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama. As I have said before, Scout and Jem's life right now is rather simple. Scout has started going to school and her teacher, Ms. Caroline, does not like her much as Scout already knows how to read quite well, which is in stark contrast to her classmates who cannot. This is all that has happened so far; this will be a short post because not much has happened in the story. 

 I know that their lives (Scout, Jem, and Atticus) will become very complicated (as this is quite a famous book and I have heard from others about how the simplicity does not continue for long), and it amazes me how life can change from simple to much too complicated within a period of time without once hinting that life will take an unexpected turn. The start of when life twists doesn't seem like a twist at all. It may seem like nothing changed and nothing will change. So when life seems to turn unexpectedly, it usually isn't unexpected but merely a build-up of events like a tidal wave. I find it quite tragic when people get swept away by the course of their lives, because when life itself is the ocean, where would you ever find a grip to steady yourself?  

The story is set in the past. Is it because Scout and Jem live in the past that life can be simple, even if it is only temporary? I believe so because I have never heard of a comfortably simple life in the present. All the gadgets that are supposed to make life simpler actually make life more complicated. Sometimes, I wish for the simple lives people like Scout and Jem seem to have, but, are their lives really that simple? Am I just seeing the surface of their lives and therefore am not seeing the complications? I'm not sure, but hopefully, I will find out.

Being Here 2

"In the Name of Love" 


I am still reading Being Here by Barry Jonsberg. Before, when the present Leah (an old woman)  told Carly about her life as a child, she spoke in third-person. But now, as she talks about herself at the age of twelve, she uses a first-person point of view (as though she is herself at twelve and she is living in the memory which she is telling Carly). It spoke about how her mother beat her with a leather belt and locked her in their barn for three days. Leah had tried to read the story her mother had been writing for seven years, the story that her mother said would be about a land so perfect where they could live and never want to leave. She was punished, yet, after she was freed from the barn they prayed and her mother cried saying that she loved Leah. Also, the story describes how Adam, Leah's imaginary friend, grew with her throughout the years and perhaps does not need Leah's imagination for him to exist. This confused Leah as an imaginary friend should only talk and dress and act in ways known to the creator of the imaginary friend. But when Adam met her in the barn where she was trapped, he dressed in clothes she never saw and talked with words she never heard. How was this possible? Even Leah did not, and still does not, know.

I thought about how impossible it is to have an imaginary friend that isn't completely imaginary. How could something you imagined take a life of its own? I cannot believe that imagination is so powerful that it can exist as something living by itself, with no one to continually add to the imagined thought, that it can change and develop by itself. This is why the book is so intriguing, because of the beautiful way it's written and because it involves imagination in a mature and mysterious (and slightly confusing) way so that each time I put my book down, I wonder "How was... possible?" It would be amazing yet also terrifying if imagination was a living, breathing thing, an always-changing thought capable of its own thoughts. If imagination did not have to be imagined by someone and could imagine itself, the world would have no boundaries, meaning that terror/fear and destruction would have no limits either. Life would be a nightmare.

I also wondered whether or not it is truly possible for someone to hurt another person so cruelly but in the name of love. Is it really a bitter punishment that is actually for the person's own good or just an excuse to avoid feeling the guilt of doing wrong? Surely there must be a point or line where punishment as a life lesson becomes just cruelty and not "loving" at all. I think that Leah's mother beating her is an example of this. She went over the point/line but made herself believe that she didn't so she wouldn't be devoured by the guilt that comes from torturing your own child. I greatly dislike it when people do bad things but claim it's for a good cause. Though those people may fool others, they cannot fool themselves forever. Someday, guilt will come crushing down. We should not use a good thing as an excuse to do the contrary and it angers me that some people do. How selfish are they? To make someone suffer unjustly is bad enough, but to claim the punishment he/she gave was for the better is even worse, as the person tries to spare him/herself completely from their own punishment: guilt and regret.

Even though physical pain may be blinding and unbearable, most of those pains will pass, but a great amount of guilt and regret will cause pain that lasts a lifetime. So, of course the people would want to spare themselves from it, as their punishment is the worst kind of pain.

Yeh Yeh's House Non-Fiction Blog Post 2

I am still reading Yeh Yeh's House by Evelina Chao as my non-fiction book. Right now, the main idea is that Evelina is finally in China, and although her original plan to go to Beijing has been delayed numerous times, she discovers that perhaps what she had been "searching for" (it isn't really clear what exactly Evelina is searching for, perhaps at that moment, even she did not know) and believed would find in Beijing, is actually in her own mother. This quote from the book shows her realization of this fact as she sees her mother sleeping in front of her: "Perhaps what I was searching for might not be in Beijing, among the ghosts or living relatives there, but much closer at hand. Lying right in front of me, in fact." She has described all the things she saw in China, both famous landmarks, and simple details from everyday life in 1987 China (She visited China in 1987, but wrote this book about her trip rather recently). She describes Shanghai: "In addition to the torrent of bicycle riders, the street was filled with people hammering metal, winding string, and sorting knobs, buttons, and nails into trays." These were small observations she made about the streets, but she also described famous Chinese landmarks as in this example, she describes the Terra-cotta Warriors: "Inside the trenches stood hundreds of human-like figures in various stages of restoration. The rounded domes of heads and shoulder caps jutted above the trench rims, poking up from the dirt like bleached bones... Subtle differences in hair treatment and dress ornament  signified varying ranks among the infantrymen, charioteers, officers, and generals... All had faces of the same race, the same kingdom, yet each was undeniably unique." 

I think Evelina wants readers to find the peace, beauty, and mystery she seems to find in ancient/historic places in China. I think that she also wants readers to think that her mother is a woman worthy of great respect. For my first point, I think this because she uses many descriptive words and imagery to describe ancient landmarks like temple-grounds. For example, in this quote, she describes her visit to a temple in Shanghai: "The only sounds were of sparrows squabbling over crumbs on the path, water lapping the edge of the lake. I stared at the temple, a painted wooden structure reaching up into the sky... The whole of this was reflected in the glass-like  surface of the lake, so that horizon and water merged to create a seamless image that looked symmetrical and immutable. This was antiquity, I thought, where all dimensions had lost their edges, where there was no sense of time passing. Here, earth and sky were one, and a century was as long as a day. I imagined myself like the image spread in water, as much a part of the past as the future, as much memory as expectation or hope." This quote gives a feeling of peace and mystery as well as power in a gentle way. Evelina describes her observations of China, both the good and the bad, yet, it seems as though the best of her observations come from historic places. Here is another example of her describing a historic teahouse and her feeling of peace: "The teahouse was made of varnished snakewood, made up of many separate but connected chambers... The interior was cool, open, and airy, so that refreshing breezes fanned through... I felt calm here." Again, Evelina uses descriptive words to paint images of her observations into readers' minds and she uses positive and peaceful words like "refreshing" to describe the feeling of peace. For my second point, she creates a feeling of  respect for her mother that encourages readers to respect her mother as well. She does so by describing intriguing scenarios of her mother with words that are detailed and "lock" together to create the general powerful emotion of the scenario. Here is an example as she describes her mother at the burial site of the Terra-cotta warriors: "my mother continued by herself down the slope to the farthest point jutting over the pit... I was struck by how my mother blended with the elements of the tomb, yet remained somehow distinct. She seemed to straddle both time and being, standing half in antiquity and the present, half as clay figure and woman. Poised on this cusp, she embodied all the mystery and power of the site, her stillness reflecting a life as powerful and individualistic as those represented by the clay warriors below. It seemed natural for her to preside over everything, like an empress." She conveys a powerful feeling of respect toward her mother by making comparisons of similarities between her mother and an empress or the ancient Terra-cotta warriors. 

I felt at peace, reading this book. I enjoyed her point of view on China and its landmarks both known and lesser-known. I could feel the crowded, bustling city of Shanghai that was both slightly disgusting (sadly) in its circumstances and also thrilling with the excitement of the city. I admired her deep thinking for as one may have seen the temple grounds as a mere lake with nature and a wooden building beside it, she saw it as a merging of time, a representation of herself. I also admired how she did not soften the negative parts of China, did not try to cover its many blemishes. Instead, she described it in detail, but without showing disgust, merely observation. I believe that China is beautiful, not just because I am Chinese, but because China is an ancient country with a history that is always in full bloom. Its many historical places are not only intriguing, but mysterious as the full history of it will never be fully uncovered. This does not conflict with my earlier statement, because although China's history is always in full bloom, it is as though it is the blooming of one flower, among an orchard of flowering trees. I have never been to China, but Evelina made it sound so beautiful with its many places to see, that I will be more willing to go in the future. Perhaps it is not only her that makes it sound beautiful, for maybe she is only speaking the truth.

Being Here

Tragically Imaginary


I have begun reading Being Here by Barry Jonsberg. It is about an old woman named Leah. One day, a sixteen-year old girl, Carly, visits her and asks if she may interview Leah for her history project on how life was like in the past. However, instead of telling Carly about life in the past in general, Leah tells about her own past, and her friend, Adam. She narrates her past in a thrid person point of view starting at when she was five and her father commited suicide. At his funeral, she met a boy, who she named Adam. Adam takes her to places in the books she reads; Adam becomes her friend. Despite how unrealistic Adam sounds (even Carly believes he was an imaginary friend), Leah claims he is real, and Leah is not crazy.

When Leah claimed that Adam was real, I grew confused. As the text says (starting with Carly speaking): " 'In the story, the boy, Adam?' she says. 'He's an imaginary friend, isn't he?'... 'Oh no,' I say. 'You don't understand. Adam wasn't imaginary. He was real.' " I did not understand how Adam could be real, as it is not possible to take people to fictional places from books. I think that perhaps Adam is imaginary, but their friendship was real.

I find it tragic, the imaginary Adam. Perhaps he would not exist if Leah's father did not commit suicide. Adam was an escape for Leah, as it was obvious in the story that although she was only five, she knew what was happening around her as she was wise beyond her years. I think that Adam gave her happiness and strength like a real friend would for it was never mentioned that she had any real friends. I cannot imagine how sad it must be to create an imaginary being, in order to escape from a tragic truth that lies in life, in reality. Although I think that having imaginary friends are normal for young children, I don't think that Leah made Adam for the typical reasons children make imaginary friends. Adam must have been perfect to Leah, a stark contrast to her deeply less than perfect life that came to be after her father's death.

The author describes his book as a "bittersweet story"  and a "compelling novel about love, faith and consequences." This confuses me further, as I do not know what "consequences" there could be with spending time with something that does not exist. Except, when he said that the book was also about love, it makes me wonder whether or not Leah falls in love with Adam, as that would be very unfortunate. To fall in love with something imaginary is a punishment by itself. Though the love may be real, to person you love is not. Perhaps those are the "consequences" the author talks about. It would not be surprising if she did love Adam, for he is perfect to her (or why would she imagine him?), and it must be hard to not love someone so perfect, especially someone so perfect who is also your best friend (I believe that Adam will become her good friend). It makes me wonder if Adam has ever faded away like most imaginary friends do as children grow up and make real ones. Does Leah, as an old woman with no family or children, still love Adam?

Gravity 2

As Powerful As We May Be, We Are Always Fearful


I have continued reading Gravity by Melissa West and so far, as Ari and Jackson try to find the strategy, Ari falls for Jackson and Jackson's feelings towards her are mutual. This is the only real change that has happened in the story. However, as Ari and Jackson's relationship deepens, they must keep it secret as people are fearful of the aliens and would never approve of someone falling in love with one.

As normal as their fear of aliens sound, it is not right. When I say this, I do not mean that the people should run to greet them and love them immediately, but I think that the aliens in the story should be judged as individuals, not as a whole. This is very similar to how we should treat people. I don't think anyone should have the benefit or punishment of being judged by their gender, colour, etc. In fact, we shouldn't even have these judgements on groups of people in the first place. Sadly, I think most of us have these judgements and assumptions already, and won't be able to change it because our society that will constantly influence us to believe such things.

Fear can destroy us.
 
In Ari's society, it is fear that caused the people to judge the aliens. It was the fear of the unknown. The unknown gives people fear because it means we know nothing of whatever is unknown, and all we do know is that it could hurt us, that it may not be something good. This is probably a natural instinct in humans, as we seem to always be afraid. Our fear has made us what we believe as the most "powerful" creatures on Earth. This is because by finding ways to conquer the unknown, the unknown will never get the chance to hurt us. We never "bother" to try and find what the unknown is, and instead, we make assumptions and simply decide those assumptions speak the truth.This is wrong. How many good things can one destroy if he/she believes they are not good? The answer is, a lot. The unfortunate truth is that we may have hurt many others, many things, because we assumed they were bad, and continued to live with that assumption. Ari would not have needed to hide her love for Jackson if she did not live in a society filled with fear. There would be no need to have a strategy to destroy all the aliens if they tried to know them, to understand them so they would no longer be an unknown. And even if the truth was found and it showed that the aliens were evil, then at least there would be no mystery left. If the aliens were destroyed for they were actually evil, then at least the people would not have to live in doubt and guilt as they would have if they never tried to find out about the aliens. But sadly, my previous statement is only a hope, as I am unsure if people would even feel guilt, would they ever doubt the justice of their actions? I don't believe they would.