While it appears that some people don’t like David Almond’s novel Skellig, I thought it was a lovely story that left me wanting more. The text seemed a little slow at first, but once Mina and Michael are brought deeper and deeper into contact with Skellig and Michael’s sister’s life is placed in greater danger, I found myself enjoying the story and relationships between the characters. I enjoyed Almond’s use of William Blake’s poems and images to create a creature who teaches Michael and Mina the power of faith and love by giving them wings of their own.
What I thought was interesting in the text were the similarities between Skellig and Michael’s baby sister. Both are described as having pale white skin and black hair and they both are near death. It is only through care from Michael and Mina that Skellig becomes strong enough to recover on his own and it is only through the care of the doctors at the hospital and the positive thoughts of Michael and his family that the baby is able to survive her premature birth. It is as if the two of them are connected by their angel-like characteristics and their need for care in order to survive.
Perhaps my favorite part of the book was when Mina taught Michael to listen deeply to the night around them. From that moment on, Michael is able to deep listen for the thing that means the most to him; his baby sister—especially her heart. Michael says, “I listened through all these noises, until I heard the baby, the gentle squeaking of her breath, tiny and distant like it came from a different world….I listened deeper, until I believed I heard her beating heart” (96). From that moment on, he connects the beating of his own heart to that of his sister’s, “I touched my heart and I felt the baby’s heart beating beside my own” (97). This feeling carries on through the rest of the book and Michael fears the worse when he can no longer feel the her heart beating with his.
When it comes to love, Michael and Mina learn that they can help heal Skellig through their love of him—love that transfers into care. Likewise, the love and care received by Michael’s sister helps her grow strong and live. Michael asks a doctor at the hospital if love can heal people to which the doctor replies, “‘Love is the child that breathes our breath/Love is the child that scatters death,’” a quote from William Blake. The reference to Blake links back to the image of angels and, thus, Skellig. The line also suggests that love is a part of us—like our own child—and that the existence of love can overpower death.
Love is a powerful and—in this context—innocent creation that links the ability of Skellig to give the children wings and teach them to fly. In the book, there are several instances in which shoulder blades are connected with angels. Michael’s mother says, “They say shoulder blades are where your wings were, when you were an angel….They say they’re where your wings will grow again one day” (38-39). Angels are typically associated with innocence, children, and guardianship and the relationship between Michael, Mina, and Skellig reflects this. I believe these connections partially explain the ability of Skellig to give Michael, Mina, and Michael’s baby sister the brief ability to fly. The strong loving relationship between them allows Skellig to give the children a taste of the angelic life they might have once known and will someday know again.
When it comes to the baby girl in the story, I think it is powerful that Almond decided not to give her a name until the very end of the story. During the text Michael is told the myth of Persephone and how she comes back from the underworld every year. Michael thinks a lot about this myth and connects it to his sister. It’s is as if he wants her to be a strong as Persephone in fighting to make it in the world. He even suggests naming her Persephone but the family ultimately decides upon Joy, and that is what she is to the family.
Almond’s novel both excited me and confused me. I liked the premise of the story and the characters themselves, but I want to know more about Skellig; what is he, why is he there, why was he in such a state when Michael found him, etc. When I finished the book I felt not completely satisfied and with these questions still ringing in my mind. While I can try and make connections between the text and my prior knowledge of Blake and angels, I think it would take another reading to get try and make more deductions from the text and possibly satisfy my curiosity. Like I said, I wanted more!
I admit that Almond does a great job in weaving a story that is dynamic and engaging and I loved Skellig’s somewhat harsh personality and its dichotomy to the typical imaginative supposition of what an angel is. Almond leaves the reader guessing whether or not Skellig really is an angel or if he is an otherworldly creature with mystical healing powers—something I didn’t really like, but some might like the mystery surrounding such a strange character. I think students would really enjoy the reading this story and the intriguing characteristics of the people in Michael’s life from the enigmatic Mina, the crass Coot and Leakey, to Michael’s innocent baby sister, Joy.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
CI 5442: Historical Fiction Reponse
The novel Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata turned out to be exactly as the segments of reviews printed on the back cover stated it to be; it shines and speaks to readers as Kadohata tells Katie Takeshima’s bittersweet story of family, love, and loss. Kadohata is able to see the world through the eyes of a young child in the 1950’s who is forced to make many difficult adjustments in the young life. The deep family relationships bring the characters into perspective; Kadohata details the account of a dynamic family struggling to make a brighter future.
I absolutely love the title of the book, Kira-Kira; before I even knew what it meant, the lyrical quality drew me in. Within the first few pages readers are told that kira-kira is Japanese for “glittering,” such a simple yet prolific word. Lynn tells Katie that the sky is kira-kira because “‘the color is deep but see-through both at the same time’” just like the ocean and people’s eyes (3). As a curious reader, I wanted to know why this word was so important—why was it chosen as the title for this book? It wasn’t until much later in the text that I determined why I thought Kadohata chose this word for the title; to me it represented to relationship between Katie and Lynn as well as Lynn’s “theme.”
The relationship between Katie and Lynn is fascinating. The two are inseparable and Lynn always ensures that her sister is cared for, a duty that Lynn takes very seriously. Lynn is the one that looks out for Katie and has “serious talks” with her; Lynn tells Katie that they are moving to Georgia, that Katie might not make friends at school because of prejudices against them, and she tells Katie when their mother is pregnant. While Lynn takes care of Katie, Katie idolizes Lynn. She looks up to her as a genius and friend. They spend a lot of time looking at the sky, making wishes and promises about their future lives, and worrying about their parents. Katie agrees with everything that Lynn tells her and finally Lynn asks, “‘Do you agree with me all the time just because I say so or because you really, truly agree with me?’ I didn’t see the difference between the two things, so I just said I didn’t know” (60). Katie’s reply illustrates her undeniable love and admiration for her big sister.
Things changes when Lynn becomes friends with a girl from school and her behavior changes from being that of a friend to being that of an older sister, alone. The realistic shift from childish antics to boy-crazy attitudes that adolescents experience is chronicled through Katie’s eyes and is, thus, illustrated as a waste of time. Kadohata brilliantly explores this shift through Katie’s young eyes, expressing her confusion with Lynn’s behavior. She stops agreeing with Lynn and begins to feel like a child in her presence. Katie notices one day, “Whenever I try to talk to her, she made me feel immature, even if she didn’t mean to” (120).
While the relationship between Katie and Lynn changes, so does the relationship of the entire family. A major theme of the book—and the Takeshima family—is duty. Katie’s parents know it is their duty to do what is best for their family and provide them with the things they need; this duty drives the family from Iowa to Georgia, it pushes Katie’s parents to work hours and hours each week I order to save enough money to buy a house, it causes them to take out a loan from the bank in order to get that house—something they would never have done if not for Lynn’s condition. Lynn feels it is her duty to take care of Katie, and Katie feels it is her duty to take care of Sammy. When Lynn becomes sick, Katie believes it is her duty to take care of her. Even after Lynn’s death, both Katie and her parents try to protect and take care of each other the best they can. The relationship of the entire family is strained by Lynn’s sickness and threatens to disintegrate, but after Lynn’s death they go on. Katie remarks on how her father only took two days to grieve for Lynn before getting back into his normal routine, “He needed to think about his children who were still alive, because he was honor-bound to think of the living before the dead” (240). Through Lynn’s death the family is brought back together and each of them take something away from the experience.
I thought the setting of the story affected the characters as they struggle to overcome adversity. What is interesting about the book is that the characters are so realistic, that I would often forget the story was set in the 1950s until the girls would mention something relating to the prejudice they faced or specific time-telling things like how much money a dollar seemed to be. I would become so absorbed in the lives of the characters as simply people, that the time period would float in and out of my consciousness. I am not trying to diminish the significance of the historical setting, but there are so many other aspects of the novel that intrigued me as well. Kadohata does create a setting that is realistic and imaginable—you can live it with Katie.
Kadohata’s book is about hope and the ability to achieve a brighter future. Lynn lived for the future and forced those around her to do the same; she loved to look at the sky, the infinite beyond that was full of the same possibilities as their futures. She was always talking about the great things she would accomplish in her life, the great things that Katie would accomplish in hers. It is by preserving this hope and remembering the infinite possibilities of the future that she was able to look at the world in a different way from those around her. Katie writes in her essay for school, “Lynn could take a simple everyday object, like a box of Kleenex and use it to prove how amazing the world is….This is the main theme of my sister’s life” (224). Lynn believed that everything in life could be described as kira-kira if you look at it the right way. Lynn’s death was a heart-wrenching event for her entire family, and yet they each grew from it in a positive way; they took something and made it beautiful, made it kira-kira.
I absolutely love the title of the book, Kira-Kira; before I even knew what it meant, the lyrical quality drew me in. Within the first few pages readers are told that kira-kira is Japanese for “glittering,” such a simple yet prolific word. Lynn tells Katie that the sky is kira-kira because “‘the color is deep but see-through both at the same time’” just like the ocean and people’s eyes (3). As a curious reader, I wanted to know why this word was so important—why was it chosen as the title for this book? It wasn’t until much later in the text that I determined why I thought Kadohata chose this word for the title; to me it represented to relationship between Katie and Lynn as well as Lynn’s “theme.”
The relationship between Katie and Lynn is fascinating. The two are inseparable and Lynn always ensures that her sister is cared for, a duty that Lynn takes very seriously. Lynn is the one that looks out for Katie and has “serious talks” with her; Lynn tells Katie that they are moving to Georgia, that Katie might not make friends at school because of prejudices against them, and she tells Katie when their mother is pregnant. While Lynn takes care of Katie, Katie idolizes Lynn. She looks up to her as a genius and friend. They spend a lot of time looking at the sky, making wishes and promises about their future lives, and worrying about their parents. Katie agrees with everything that Lynn tells her and finally Lynn asks, “‘Do you agree with me all the time just because I say so or because you really, truly agree with me?’ I didn’t see the difference between the two things, so I just said I didn’t know” (60). Katie’s reply illustrates her undeniable love and admiration for her big sister.
Things changes when Lynn becomes friends with a girl from school and her behavior changes from being that of a friend to being that of an older sister, alone. The realistic shift from childish antics to boy-crazy attitudes that adolescents experience is chronicled through Katie’s eyes and is, thus, illustrated as a waste of time. Kadohata brilliantly explores this shift through Katie’s young eyes, expressing her confusion with Lynn’s behavior. She stops agreeing with Lynn and begins to feel like a child in her presence. Katie notices one day, “Whenever I try to talk to her, she made me feel immature, even if she didn’t mean to” (120).
While the relationship between Katie and Lynn changes, so does the relationship of the entire family. A major theme of the book—and the Takeshima family—is duty. Katie’s parents know it is their duty to do what is best for their family and provide them with the things they need; this duty drives the family from Iowa to Georgia, it pushes Katie’s parents to work hours and hours each week I order to save enough money to buy a house, it causes them to take out a loan from the bank in order to get that house—something they would never have done if not for Lynn’s condition. Lynn feels it is her duty to take care of Katie, and Katie feels it is her duty to take care of Sammy. When Lynn becomes sick, Katie believes it is her duty to take care of her. Even after Lynn’s death, both Katie and her parents try to protect and take care of each other the best they can. The relationship of the entire family is strained by Lynn’s sickness and threatens to disintegrate, but after Lynn’s death they go on. Katie remarks on how her father only took two days to grieve for Lynn before getting back into his normal routine, “He needed to think about his children who were still alive, because he was honor-bound to think of the living before the dead” (240). Through Lynn’s death the family is brought back together and each of them take something away from the experience.
I thought the setting of the story affected the characters as they struggle to overcome adversity. What is interesting about the book is that the characters are so realistic, that I would often forget the story was set in the 1950s until the girls would mention something relating to the prejudice they faced or specific time-telling things like how much money a dollar seemed to be. I would become so absorbed in the lives of the characters as simply people, that the time period would float in and out of my consciousness. I am not trying to diminish the significance of the historical setting, but there are so many other aspects of the novel that intrigued me as well. Kadohata does create a setting that is realistic and imaginable—you can live it with Katie.
Kadohata’s book is about hope and the ability to achieve a brighter future. Lynn lived for the future and forced those around her to do the same; she loved to look at the sky, the infinite beyond that was full of the same possibilities as their futures. She was always talking about the great things she would accomplish in her life, the great things that Katie would accomplish in hers. It is by preserving this hope and remembering the infinite possibilities of the future that she was able to look at the world in a different way from those around her. Katie writes in her essay for school, “Lynn could take a simple everyday object, like a box of Kleenex and use it to prove how amazing the world is….This is the main theme of my sister’s life” (224). Lynn believed that everything in life could be described as kira-kira if you look at it the right way. Lynn’s death was a heart-wrenching event for her entire family, and yet they each grew from it in a positive way; they took something and made it beautiful, made it kira-kira.
CI 5442: Historical Fiction Reponse
Jennifer Donnelly’s novel A Northern Light offers a fascinating and insightful glimpse into the life of a young woman living in upstate New York just after the turn of the twentieth century. Not only does Donnelly expertly tell Mattie’s tale as she struggles to uphold the promises made to her mother while keeping her own dreams alive, but she is able to do so by cleverly juxtaposing the Mattie’s life with that of the actual, tragic life of Grace Brown. Brown’s story provides the perfect foil to Mattie’s resigned choices and forces her to re-evaluate the direction of her life.
The novel is written in alternating chapters of past and present that weave the story of Mattie Gokey with the tragic death of Grace Brown. This choice keeps the reader on the edge of their seat as they search for the story behind Grace Brown’s death and the story that has brought Mattie to this point in her life. It is interesting how starting with the end does nothing to detract from the flow or readers enjoyment of the text; it serves as a catapult into Mattie’s life and the circumstances that brought her to work at the Glenmore. The alternating chapters allow the reader to predict things about Mattie’s life and the events surrounding Brown’s death, only to change those predictions when another piece of the puzzle surrounding both women’s lives is retold. I loved this exchange between the book and me throughout my reading of the text.
Donnelly’s character, Mattie, is a dynamic and realistic figure who posits difficult questions, works hard for her future and to help her family, and fails as often as she succeeds. Mattie’s “realness” allows readers to connect with her and believe that she is someone who could have truly existed in 1906. She is young, spirited, and driven, and yet, she has family duties and social pressures that threaten her dreams. I was able to connect with Mattie, despite the distance of our existences and the differences in our situations, based on her determination and drive—even though people tell her “no” she pushes for the future she wants. There are other characteristics about her would connect her with other readers and aid in further establishing the sense of timelessness in the issues she faces, some of which are still faced by people in today’s society.
Just like the stories that were written by Mattie in the novel, Donnelly’s portrayal of life in the North Woods is dirty and realistic. Things are not “picture perfect” nor are they what they appear to be. When her friend goes into labor Mattie comments on the lack of truth presented about giving birth, “I have read so many books, and not one of them tells the truth about babies….There’s no blood, no sweat, no pain, no fear, no heat, no stink. Writers are damned liars” (93). Mattie wants to give voice to the people around her, the ordinary, everyday people she encounters, but just as Mattie finds her own voice being silenced by the dictates of society, the voices of the average citizens of the North Woods and the world appear to be missing from the histories. Only through Miss Wilcox does Mattie begin to experience the realistic—and often censored—writings of others. Based on those around her, her dual desires were all for naught, “Miss Wilcox had books but no family. Minnie had a family now, but those babies would keep her from reading….Some people…had neither love not books. Nobody I knew had both” (96-97).
The hope that Mattie has for a better future, a future that can somehow encompass all of these desires is claimed by Mattie to be “The Eighth Deadly Sin. The one God left out” (114). This was interesting to me because according to Greek mythology, hope was one of the things found within Pandora’s box; it was almost left inside the box after all the plagues were released into the world—plagues that would indeed be members of the Seven Deadly Sins club. It is sad to think that Mattie has gotten to such a point in her life that something as simple and innocent as “hope” could become paralleled to greed, sloth, wrath, envy, lust, vanity, and pride.
In the present tense chapters of the novel—those dealing with the death of Grace Brown and the discovery of the contents of her letters—Mattie at first plays into the idea that there was a tragic accident between the two lovers and that their “happily ever after” was taken away from them. As she begins to read the letters between the two, she learns the grim truth behind what happened on that summer day. She unearths in a letter a line that sounds very similar to the conversations she has had with Royal Loomis. Grace writes, “the world and you, too, might think that I am to blame, but somehow I can’t—just simply can’t think I am, Chester. I said no so many times, dear. Of course the world will not know that but it’s true all the same” (217). Mattie tells Royal one day, “‘Stop it Royal. I’ll jump out of the boat if you don’t, I swear I will’” (191), only to later think, “I knew I should stop them [Royal’s hands], stop him, find my voice and tell him no. But then the warmth of him…the smell of him…the taste of him, overwhelmed me….And so I said nothing. Nothing at all” (192). She has been in eerily similar situations as Grace and has fallen victim to the same sense of belonging and lust.
Donnelly did a great job creating a counter story to Grace’s about a girl who is able to find that voice and say “no.” Mattie goes off to live the life Grace Brown never got. When asked why she is leaving at such an odd time Mattie replies, “Because Grace can’t” (376). In the story, Donnelly gives life to Grace’s death by allowing Mattie a chance at freedom so cruelly denied to Grace; Mattie becomes the realization of Grace’s future hopes and dreams. Donnelly gives the ghost of Grace Brown a chance to renege on the mistakes and troubles of her life and explore the possibilities of a bright future through Mathilda Gokey—a farmer’s daughter with big city dreams, just like Grace.
The novel is written in alternating chapters of past and present that weave the story of Mattie Gokey with the tragic death of Grace Brown. This choice keeps the reader on the edge of their seat as they search for the story behind Grace Brown’s death and the story that has brought Mattie to this point in her life. It is interesting how starting with the end does nothing to detract from the flow or readers enjoyment of the text; it serves as a catapult into Mattie’s life and the circumstances that brought her to work at the Glenmore. The alternating chapters allow the reader to predict things about Mattie’s life and the events surrounding Brown’s death, only to change those predictions when another piece of the puzzle surrounding both women’s lives is retold. I loved this exchange between the book and me throughout my reading of the text.
Donnelly’s character, Mattie, is a dynamic and realistic figure who posits difficult questions, works hard for her future and to help her family, and fails as often as she succeeds. Mattie’s “realness” allows readers to connect with her and believe that she is someone who could have truly existed in 1906. She is young, spirited, and driven, and yet, she has family duties and social pressures that threaten her dreams. I was able to connect with Mattie, despite the distance of our existences and the differences in our situations, based on her determination and drive—even though people tell her “no” she pushes for the future she wants. There are other characteristics about her would connect her with other readers and aid in further establishing the sense of timelessness in the issues she faces, some of which are still faced by people in today’s society.
Just like the stories that were written by Mattie in the novel, Donnelly’s portrayal of life in the North Woods is dirty and realistic. Things are not “picture perfect” nor are they what they appear to be. When her friend goes into labor Mattie comments on the lack of truth presented about giving birth, “I have read so many books, and not one of them tells the truth about babies….There’s no blood, no sweat, no pain, no fear, no heat, no stink. Writers are damned liars” (93). Mattie wants to give voice to the people around her, the ordinary, everyday people she encounters, but just as Mattie finds her own voice being silenced by the dictates of society, the voices of the average citizens of the North Woods and the world appear to be missing from the histories. Only through Miss Wilcox does Mattie begin to experience the realistic—and often censored—writings of others. Based on those around her, her dual desires were all for naught, “Miss Wilcox had books but no family. Minnie had a family now, but those babies would keep her from reading….Some people…had neither love not books. Nobody I knew had both” (96-97).
The hope that Mattie has for a better future, a future that can somehow encompass all of these desires is claimed by Mattie to be “The Eighth Deadly Sin. The one God left out” (114). This was interesting to me because according to Greek mythology, hope was one of the things found within Pandora’s box; it was almost left inside the box after all the plagues were released into the world—plagues that would indeed be members of the Seven Deadly Sins club. It is sad to think that Mattie has gotten to such a point in her life that something as simple and innocent as “hope” could become paralleled to greed, sloth, wrath, envy, lust, vanity, and pride.
In the present tense chapters of the novel—those dealing with the death of Grace Brown and the discovery of the contents of her letters—Mattie at first plays into the idea that there was a tragic accident between the two lovers and that their “happily ever after” was taken away from them. As she begins to read the letters between the two, she learns the grim truth behind what happened on that summer day. She unearths in a letter a line that sounds very similar to the conversations she has had with Royal Loomis. Grace writes, “the world and you, too, might think that I am to blame, but somehow I can’t—just simply can’t think I am, Chester. I said no so many times, dear. Of course the world will not know that but it’s true all the same” (217). Mattie tells Royal one day, “‘Stop it Royal. I’ll jump out of the boat if you don’t, I swear I will’” (191), only to later think, “I knew I should stop them [Royal’s hands], stop him, find my voice and tell him no. But then the warmth of him…the smell of him…the taste of him, overwhelmed me….And so I said nothing. Nothing at all” (192). She has been in eerily similar situations as Grace and has fallen victim to the same sense of belonging and lust.
Donnelly did a great job creating a counter story to Grace’s about a girl who is able to find that voice and say “no.” Mattie goes off to live the life Grace Brown never got. When asked why she is leaving at such an odd time Mattie replies, “Because Grace can’t” (376). In the story, Donnelly gives life to Grace’s death by allowing Mattie a chance at freedom so cruelly denied to Grace; Mattie becomes the realization of Grace’s future hopes and dreams. Donnelly gives the ghost of Grace Brown a chance to renege on the mistakes and troubles of her life and explore the possibilities of a bright future through Mathilda Gokey—a farmer’s daughter with big city dreams, just like Grace.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
CI 5442: Folklore Response
The collection of folktales found within Virginia Hamilton’s The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales were both surprising and familiar to me—a response that greatly intrigued me. While “Bruh Rabbit” and “Bruh Fox” were creations that were familiar to me through Disney World and animated cartoons, the remaining stories throughout her text were completely new to me, I had never laid eyes on them before, and yet, many of them I knew. How could this be so? What I learned by reading this collection of stories was just how interconnected the human race is and how similar we truly are.
The first story in the book, “He Lion, Bruh Bear, and Bruh Rabbit,” was the first to surprise me. In one of my other classes I was working with others on a presentation on how to use the postcolonial lens. The story we chose to build a lesson around was Stephan Crane’s short story “A Dark Brown Dog.” While the stories are very different, I was struck by the way in which they could be used to complement one another. Both illustrate the danger and power of men, particularly white men, in controlling those around them. I was very excited by this and we discussed it in our group. But the comparisons did not end there.
The animal stories reminded me of the many Native American stories and legends that I have encountered in various projects on Native American peoples and cultures over the years. The Trickster character is found throughout their stories and is common among many other cultures as well. I love the use of these stories to explain how certain, unexplainable things came to be—the alligator’s skin was my favorite! The stories under the section “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower” could have been pulled straight from my collection of Grimm Brothers and Hans Christen Anderson fairy tales, especially “The Two Johns” which is almost exactly the same as the Grimm’s tale “The Little Farmer.” The stories within the next section are a combination of myth, medieval tales, and scary stories that resonate within me. It is the last section that was particularly moving and truly seemed to illustrate the uniqueness and similarity of human experience. These tales, because of their base in reality, were much more moving in their theme of freedom.
The connections I made between the stories collected by Hamilton and my own encounters with folklores of other cultures and time periods, I think serves to emphasize the connectedness found within the human experience. While every culture and every period has a unique identity and history that is important to maintain, remember, and respect, there are many things that are common among us all—the desire to explain the unexplainable; the use of stories to teach our children and families the dangers of the world; the desire to find happiness, freedom, and love; our fascination with magic and mystical beings; and the indomitable spirit of man. Hamilton’s stories bring all of this to the surface within a group of people and the timeless, universal themes found within these stories found connectivity through my own limited experience of the world.
While the stories kept my attention, what I found to be the most useful element of the text were the short segments after each story that provided background information and insight into the creation of each story. Not only did these pieces help explain the dialects, settings, and specific settings for each sections creation, they also provided analysis of the symbolism and meaning behind many of the characters and ideas within story. Hamilton’s ability to provide the different versions and histories of the stories helped me to understand more about the importance, significance, and formation of each tale. The stories in the last section that contained so much personal history for Hamilton and other descendants of former slaves were particularly poignant because of those solid connections between past and present. Hamilton’s ability to bring these texts together and ground them in reality makes this collection a significant piece of our world’s history and culture; a piece that will continue to entertain, enlighten, and educate the world for years to come.
The first story in the book, “He Lion, Bruh Bear, and Bruh Rabbit,” was the first to surprise me. In one of my other classes I was working with others on a presentation on how to use the postcolonial lens. The story we chose to build a lesson around was Stephan Crane’s short story “A Dark Brown Dog.” While the stories are very different, I was struck by the way in which they could be used to complement one another. Both illustrate the danger and power of men, particularly white men, in controlling those around them. I was very excited by this and we discussed it in our group. But the comparisons did not end there.
The animal stories reminded me of the many Native American stories and legends that I have encountered in various projects on Native American peoples and cultures over the years. The Trickster character is found throughout their stories and is common among many other cultures as well. I love the use of these stories to explain how certain, unexplainable things came to be—the alligator’s skin was my favorite! The stories under the section “The Beautiful Girl of the Moon Tower” could have been pulled straight from my collection of Grimm Brothers and Hans Christen Anderson fairy tales, especially “The Two Johns” which is almost exactly the same as the Grimm’s tale “The Little Farmer.” The stories within the next section are a combination of myth, medieval tales, and scary stories that resonate within me. It is the last section that was particularly moving and truly seemed to illustrate the uniqueness and similarity of human experience. These tales, because of their base in reality, were much more moving in their theme of freedom.
The connections I made between the stories collected by Hamilton and my own encounters with folklores of other cultures and time periods, I think serves to emphasize the connectedness found within the human experience. While every culture and every period has a unique identity and history that is important to maintain, remember, and respect, there are many things that are common among us all—the desire to explain the unexplainable; the use of stories to teach our children and families the dangers of the world; the desire to find happiness, freedom, and love; our fascination with magic and mystical beings; and the indomitable spirit of man. Hamilton’s stories bring all of this to the surface within a group of people and the timeless, universal themes found within these stories found connectivity through my own limited experience of the world.
While the stories kept my attention, what I found to be the most useful element of the text were the short segments after each story that provided background information and insight into the creation of each story. Not only did these pieces help explain the dialects, settings, and specific settings for each sections creation, they also provided analysis of the symbolism and meaning behind many of the characters and ideas within story. Hamilton’s ability to provide the different versions and histories of the stories helped me to understand more about the importance, significance, and formation of each tale. The stories in the last section that contained so much personal history for Hamilton and other descendants of former slaves were particularly poignant because of those solid connections between past and present. Hamilton’s ability to bring these texts together and ground them in reality makes this collection a significant piece of our world’s history and culture; a piece that will continue to entertain, enlighten, and educate the world for years to come.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
CI 5442: Poetry Response #2
Naomi Shihab Nye’s book of poetry 19 Varieties of Gazelle was an illuminating text that made me question some of my own beliefs about the Middle East and the world in general. The title does nothing to really prepare the reader for what they are about to encounter as they flip through page after page of thoughtful reflections, remembrances, and dreams. Not only does Nye’s book provide her readers with an insider’s look into life as Middle Easterner, she also provides deep insight into the often forgotten and misunderstood culture of a faraway land. Nye uses her experiences and knowledge to create a bridge between different worlds and creates images that unite.
What I enjoyed the most about Nye’s poetry was the sense of self that is examined and reflected in many of the poems about either her own experiences or the experiences of her family and friends from around the world. Nye illustrates the struggle of many to remain true to their family’s and culture’s beliefs within the ever-expanding reach of the western world. In their struggle though, many are able to find a balance and accept the old with the new. Her father is able to live in America with his daughters and constantly tells them how lucky they are to have opportunity and freedom in the United States, and yet, he maintains many of the traditions of his own people within his new land. This struggle is felt by many, but especially those who come from cultures that are misunderstood by westerners in issues surrounding social mores and norms. I enjoyed learning more about Middle Eastern culture, especially the recurring theme of hospitality.
One of my favorite poems form the collection is “Red Brocade.” This poem not only brings up the importance of hospitality in Arabic culture and history, but also presents the reader with a strong desire to return to simpler times when sharing what you had was more important than pining for what you lacked. I love thinking that there was a time when a stranger would come to the door and you would care for him for three days “before asking who he is/ where he’s from/ where he’s headed” (40). A time when trust was given and received. My favorite lines of the poem offer the reasoning for waiting these three days; “That way, he’ll have strength/ enough to answer./ Or, by then you’ll be/ such good friends/ you don’t care” (40). By ending with the single line of “you don’t care” I felt a sense of hope that people could see beyond the differences and notice only the similarities between people, the things that make us human. Why should people care about the ways we differ when there are so many more ways that we are the same?
Continuing on with identifying the ways in which people are the same, I come to the other thing I noticed about Nye’s poetry that I really enjoyed. Nye is able to present the differences while providing readers with similarities. As I read the poems I could see the stories behind them in my mind. I knew that she was describing a place that I had never been before, but it was a place I wanted to visit. I wanted to surround myself with children running around in “little suitcoats/ and velvet dresses….eating 47 Jordan almonds,” (59) I wanted to see the gardens that have been tended so carefully, the grandmothers caring for their grandchildren, people laughing and singing. There were so many things that seemed a natural part of human existence within her poems, that although they were centered around people and places that I know little about, I know those feelings and experiences all the same; love, hope, fear, desire, all things that are a part of my life the way they are a part of all human experience—or at least they should be.
I think Nye’s collection of poems could teach the world a thing or two about understanding others. Even though the people and situations may be different the experiences are often startlingly similar. Her poems express a desire for peace and understanding between people and she brings to life the unseen, innocent victims of extenuating circumstance. She tells in a poem about “Mr. Dajani Calling from Jericho” in which he desires only letters and books, saying how even though bombs are being dropped on them from American planes, “I want you to know/ we never stop holding our branch of the olive tree/ even though for some it is such a little branch” (131). But, I think the quote on dedication page brings the point home for all, “If you look at the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religions, their first commandments are the same: ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ It’s not taken seriously.”
What I enjoyed the most about Nye’s poetry was the sense of self that is examined and reflected in many of the poems about either her own experiences or the experiences of her family and friends from around the world. Nye illustrates the struggle of many to remain true to their family’s and culture’s beliefs within the ever-expanding reach of the western world. In their struggle though, many are able to find a balance and accept the old with the new. Her father is able to live in America with his daughters and constantly tells them how lucky they are to have opportunity and freedom in the United States, and yet, he maintains many of the traditions of his own people within his new land. This struggle is felt by many, but especially those who come from cultures that are misunderstood by westerners in issues surrounding social mores and norms. I enjoyed learning more about Middle Eastern culture, especially the recurring theme of hospitality.
One of my favorite poems form the collection is “Red Brocade.” This poem not only brings up the importance of hospitality in Arabic culture and history, but also presents the reader with a strong desire to return to simpler times when sharing what you had was more important than pining for what you lacked. I love thinking that there was a time when a stranger would come to the door and you would care for him for three days “before asking who he is/ where he’s from/ where he’s headed” (40). A time when trust was given and received. My favorite lines of the poem offer the reasoning for waiting these three days; “That way, he’ll have strength/ enough to answer./ Or, by then you’ll be/ such good friends/ you don’t care” (40). By ending with the single line of “you don’t care” I felt a sense of hope that people could see beyond the differences and notice only the similarities between people, the things that make us human. Why should people care about the ways we differ when there are so many more ways that we are the same?
Continuing on with identifying the ways in which people are the same, I come to the other thing I noticed about Nye’s poetry that I really enjoyed. Nye is able to present the differences while providing readers with similarities. As I read the poems I could see the stories behind them in my mind. I knew that she was describing a place that I had never been before, but it was a place I wanted to visit. I wanted to surround myself with children running around in “little suitcoats/ and velvet dresses….eating 47 Jordan almonds,” (59) I wanted to see the gardens that have been tended so carefully, the grandmothers caring for their grandchildren, people laughing and singing. There were so many things that seemed a natural part of human existence within her poems, that although they were centered around people and places that I know little about, I know those feelings and experiences all the same; love, hope, fear, desire, all things that are a part of my life the way they are a part of all human experience—or at least they should be.
I think Nye’s collection of poems could teach the world a thing or two about understanding others. Even though the people and situations may be different the experiences are often startlingly similar. Her poems express a desire for peace and understanding between people and she brings to life the unseen, innocent victims of extenuating circumstance. She tells in a poem about “Mr. Dajani Calling from Jericho” in which he desires only letters and books, saying how even though bombs are being dropped on them from American planes, “I want you to know/ we never stop holding our branch of the olive tree/ even though for some it is such a little branch” (131). But, I think the quote on dedication page brings the point home for all, “If you look at the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religions, their first commandments are the same: ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ It’s not taken seriously.”
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