Wendy Faris: Nalo Hopkinson

      In "The Glass Bottle Trick" the most obvious evidence of "irreducible magic" would be the ending, and climax of the story when Beatrice discovers her husbands dead ex-wives locked in the spare bedroom. It is revealed that their spirits had been locked in bottles that were placed in a tree out front of the house. The spirits end up seeking revenge for being locked away, and come back to haunt the home. The idea that these spirits exist is a "irreducible magic" as there is no law in the universe that could possibly explain this.
      I was curious about the idea of post-modern connection with magical realism, as what I have understood about post-modernism is the idea of breaking traditional barriers, and other characteristics such as the lack of focus on a main character, and a focus on a consumer based society. I did not look at post-modernism as a typically "magical" experience. I would be interested to learn about this connection of magic and post-modern thought.

Dessa Rose: Part 2

     I found this reading to be very interesting, and I liked that it had many twists and turns. It was at times hard to comprehend when Dessa would speak, but I think that it was meant to be like that. She was meant to be a character who couldn't speak or write very well at all. It at first is a sad loss when Dess loses Kaine, because I think that she kind of loses a part of who she is. However, I love how strong of a character that she is throughout this book. She keeps moving on when she loses him and I appreciate that in the writing because nowadays if girls go for five minute without getting a text from their boyfriends, they have a coronary. Imagine being a slave and losing the one you love because your master hit him over the head with a shovel.
     I think this book is both a sad and loving story of life through the eyes of a slave. It is meant to show people what is was like for this woman and others like her to not have any rights at all. I found tons of similarities in this book and the essay "The Legacy Of Slavery" by Angela Davis. It is true that the slaves had absolutely no rights at all. Women were raped and chained up and beaten to death. It is sad that this has happened in the past just because of their skin color. I think that this book shows a great example of how people can get over racism and become civil human beings. That's what the relationship between Dessa and Rufel symbolizes to me.

Rose: Literacy

             I found the setup of the narrators in the novel "Dessa Rose" interesting. On one hand, told in the first person is Dessa's story, in which she is an authentic African American woman, that has a hard time with literacy, and cannot read or write. Her voice in the story, is a voice that strains to be heard, and never really gets her point across, as a slave. Yet, the Williams sets her up next to Nehemia, who is not only white and literate, but compiling information to write on. He uses his langauge and skills of langauge to force her into answering his questions. Though, Dessa has a casual expressiveness, even if her vocabulary is not as "refined" as Nehemia's. Lastly is added Ms. Rufel's addition which displays the view of a white woman, though so is not so typical as she is harboring slaves to help set them free.
              Another interesting aspect about he story is that in the beginning based on the prologue, one would assume that the story would be about love, and passion between a man and woman (Dessa and Kaine), but eventually it becomes about a woman and woman (Dessa and Rufel), getting over their prejudices and learning to respect one another. The women seem to bond over both being opressed by the "man" or even "white man", and there seem to be many signs of this throughout the novel. Although Dessa is opressed to her breaking point in many ways, such as he violence upon the slave owner, which leads to her punishment of death, she was also opressed in what seem to be other ways as well. When discussing the lashings from whips on the insides of her legs it seems as though she was "symbolically raped", which is often considered for women the most violent thing that one can imagine.
           I felt that the novel surprised me in a lot of ways, and took some turns that I wouldn't have seen coming, but that made sense when they did. I liked the three characters that formed opposite, but also similar discussions of many of the same issues.

Dessa Rose

  While reading the first part of Dessa Rose, I found the story of Dessa and Kaine to be both romantic and sad at the same time. In the prologue, it is easy to see how comfortable Dessa feels about him and how happy that they are together. I thought as I was reading it that this story might turn out to be a romance, until further reading to learn that Kaine was soon killed by Master Steele because he beat him over the head with a shovel.

  We then learn that Dessa is sentenced to death as soon as her baby is born because she took part in a slave rebellion. This mad me upset as well, because this is when Nehemiah comes into play. He is a journalist who wants to hear Dessa's story, but if he would have asked me I would have spat in his face. His excuse is that he baby will one day hear the true story if she tells him what happened, but let's think about this...will that really happen?

Antelope Wife: Birth Cord

I think everyone has faith, at least in something and by no means do I mean this in a religious way. I have faith in many things, people, animals, and objects. However in my life I have never really had faith in an object so much that I believe it could change things. The opening of section three is about faith in a sewed together birth cord and once the child loses this object the child herself is lost and that is why she runs away. The cord has magical powers linked to the child. Yes it was once linked to the child and mother, but it's powers come from faith. Kind of like a wedding band. However unlike a wedding band, in my opinion, the band doesn't change people people choose to change. In our story the people change because they lose an object not because they seem to have a choice.

The Antelope Wife: Post 3

     I think that this book is full of anger, rejection and compassion. I think that This book has an underlying message tat gives the readers hope. In the beginning, Scranton did not get the girl that he wanted, but he found love in the long run. His wife also granted him with a son, Augustus. Even if things do not go your way, everything happens for a reason.
       This book takes the reader through multiple periods of time throughout Roy's life. I think that Roy is a good person, he just has a hard time trying to deal with some of the events that have happened in his life. I think that is why he keeps going back and thinking on the woman that he murdered.

The Antelope Wife

     After reading the part about puppy soup, I have to admit that I was startled. For some reason it reminded me of the white dog that the mother kills in one of our previous readings, again I don't know why, it just did. This reading shows me how much of a difference in diets between an Indian and I. I would never eat a dog, unless I was literally dying of starvation, and I'm still not sure then if I could force myself to do it.
     Although I found this part of the book to be a bit gruesome and sad, I liked that there was sort of a happy ending to the dog. I think that when the grandpa made the grandma give the dog to the little girl it showed that they are still people with emotions. Yes they have different eating habits, different traditions, and different beliefs. However, underneath it all are they really that different?

The Antelope Wife:Realities

Almost Soup is as Indian as a the humans who want to eat him. As a pudgy young white puppy he was set to be perfect soup, until Cally saved him with her young girl charm. A twist to the story being told from a human point of view Almost Soup guides us through the reality of the life of a reservation dog. Our little puppy and soon adult dog shows us reality for not just himself but the Indians as well and also demonstrates to us the more harsher realities beyond anything I have read thus far. Indians have a variety of tradtions, white puppy soup, tying down a dog with stones and throwing them in a river, leaving pets alone and abandonment. To me it has seemed that we have been faced with only the realities of harshness the writers have chosen for us to see, not the ones that may show signs of their own harsh actions. (Erdrich, 73-98).

The Antelope Wife

     I found that the first part of this novel is not exactly comforting. Through Erdrich's writing, she expresses times of anger, rejection, and guilt through exactly your every day, "safe" read. I feel like the point of the reading so far is that if you try hard enough for something, it will come to you, with in reason. I think that her writing exposes a native american take on a sense of despair and magic, but at times it can be humorous.

Antelope: Scranton Roy

         The first few pages of this novel amused me and caught my attention right off the bat. The first quote that I found interesting was "Scranton Roy was most disturbed not by the death yells of old men and the few warriors shocked naked from their robes, but by the feral quiet of the children." I think that it set the stage of the violence and madness occurring in the village. Soon after, his contempt for the children, the paragraph mentions him as he, "bayoneted an old woman who set upon him with no other weapon but a stone picked up from the ground." This certainly interested me, but what caught my attention even more was the dog.
          The dog interests me not only because Roy takes pity on the child and therefore it, so he follows it, but it also becomes a symbol to lead throughout his journey away from the horrifying scene. I have found that dogs always seem to hold emotional entitlement in many pieces of writing, and typically, they die, or are injured when this happens. I found it interesting that Scranton and the dog "found rhythm" in their breathing. Soon after Roy was afraid to "frighten him with a rifle shot", soon after he had just destroyed a village. The connection between the two seemed interesting, when he repeatedly cannot connect to the child. The fact that it was so easy for him to fall in sync with the dog was a thought of value.
     I was a little taken aback by the fact that he let the child mock breast feed, because I couldn't think of many men who would have gone that far, that I know personally to comfort a child that wasn't theirs, when they had little skill with children. The ending of that idea was a bit confusing as he gave a milk from his breast, I was a bit quizzical all and all as to if it was a dream or not. Mostly It made me excited to keep reading on and tied me into the book.

The Antelope Wife

The starting chapters for The Antelope Wife are possibly startling,  yet seem to prove if you want something hard enough and keep having faith it will come to you. The story starts with, "a dog bearing upon its back a frame-board tikinagun enclosing a child in moss...a cavalry soldier, spurred to human response by the sight of the dog, the strapped on child, vanishing into the distance, followed them and did not return" :(pg. 1). Over time the man is able to convenience the dog and child to come close to him. While caring for the child he is unable to figure out how to take care of the child's basic need, food. One day seemingly giving up the man brings the baby to his chest, the child takes to it although no food is produced. The man is happy he is able to help the child, but unhappy he is unable to provide nutrients for the child. Over time though and by a seeming miracle his body produces the child's necessity for survival.

This is quit a role reversal and not one I had expected. Usually when the roles of gender are being reversed it is a female becoming a male. She becomes strong, capable, and dominating. To have a male take on the gentle and paternal piece of a female is rather unusual. Its more unusual for me since the author of the story is a female. I say this because female empowerment usually doesn't involve making a male female. 

I-Hotel

"if you want knowledge you must take part in the practice of changing reaLity.":(301). While the story of Olivia and Ben plays out little poems or rhymes a placed in to seemingly carrythe story along. Some seem to give insight into the story itself. This piece comes after Olivia tells Ben she has overran cancer and he is pondering how he will go on without her. I honestly find this story difficult to follow with the poems inter placed, but have also found some of them to be simply insightful. It's sad for this young couple to have to face a harsh reality, but because of how they ,et they have already faced a harsh reality.

I Hotel Chapters 1-3

     I found it very interesting how Ria became sort of obsessed with her job. I feel like a lot of it had to do with her break up with JB. A lot of times people have weird ways of dealing with break ups and need to fin a way to keep themselves busy. She says that the break up is not the reason why she is constantly working and that it is because  she is passionate about it. She likes to see the women walk through the door who are beautiful and that she is living for the fact that the business is changing, (p. 388)
     I enjoyed how the second chapter started off. It was interesting reading the introduction as they wrote about philosophy. I didn't think that it would go from a group of people to a story mainly about Ria. I liked that she was a such a career focused person. I think that the fact that she didn't engage in a fist fight with Olivia showed how professional of a person that she really is. I also think that it was a good idea for her to go back to school because of what Mrs. Lee told her.

Under the Feet of Jesus: Isolation

     I think that this book was full of imagery and symbolic naure. It was very easy for me to visualize scenes such as the baseball game and the barn. I think that throughout this book, it is easy for Estrella to feel alone and isolated. I think that it can be hard when members of your family are migrant workers. I felt like in some ways that it was easy to relate to her isolation feeling.
     Being away from home, I can really relate to how sometimes you just feel like you are alone in this world. I think that this feeling happpens for a lot of girls and not just Estrella. I feel that most of the main characters in these books that we read have a similiar feeling that they keep inside of them.

Under the Feet of Jesus: Fitting In

Each story we have read has not only focused on life of the female characters, the readings have also focused in one way or another on trying to fit in. Fitting in is not just something migrant workers or immigrants try for. Everyone in one way or another, or at one point or another tries to fit in. In Breath Eyes Memory (Edwidge Danticat) we have a strong female lead that doesn't feel comfortable in her own skin (for a variety of reasons). Not only does she not feel physically comfortable with herself, she is not certain where she actually belongs in adulthood. At the end of the story it seems like a small realization that she belongs home, but home is unknown still or developing.

19 Varities of Gazelle the author, Naomi Shihab Nye is basically defending her culture after 911.While she is defending her Muslim heritage she is also trying to show the reader that she is Muslim and American. Bone  (Fae Myenne Ng)and Lakota Woman  (Mary Crow Bird) again focus on this idea of not knowing where or trying to figure out where one (in our case female) belongs in society. For the women we have been reading about their lives are so greatly affected but not only where they actually are, but who they come from and where.

Under the Feet of Jesus (Helena Maria Viramontes) follows this premise in the eyes of a 13 year old becoming an adult and trying to place herself in the world. For her the world is very scary not only because of her youth, but because she actually has a scary, unpredictable life. Parents and relatives are in theory suppose to be comforting and provide a stable environment, for this young lady there is none of that stability.

Feet of Jesus: Comparing

         In looking at this novel compared to the others we have read in class I am beginning to notice that thus far, all of the novels have been written by women, and for the most part involved main characters as women. I like the age of Estrella in the novel, and that it doesn't jump around as much as others such as Breath, Eyes, Memory. I have found the descriptions in this novel to hold more weight in my mind, when giving imagery to a topic. I have liked the way she is always talking about fruits, colors, and lushness of things, but of course it never usually involves her personally.
        I have liked that it focuses primarily on her thus far, and that we really get into her head and her thoughts. The other novels have bounced around in focus, and I have enjoyed this style a lot. I also like learning about this part of California, compared to San Francisco in "Bone". I have also found a connection in this reading, as today Spanish and Mexican immigration is still a large focus that is discussed a lot, so this topic has been tied down for me in more than a few ways.

Under the Feet of Jesus

     To go off of what Jen was saying about the dolls, I personally did not enjoy reading about it. I think that dolls are creepy in the first place, and to read about a little girl shaking the dolls head saying no? I wanted to stop reading right there. I have to admit that I am not entirely interested in the book so far, I feel like the other works that we read have been a lot more interesting. However, knowing that we are supposed to include similarities between the works that we have read, I will focus more on that aspect.
     As I had said in my previous blog, all of our books seem to have a pattern of young women trying to grow up in a changing or rough surrounding. Some of them have to deal with rape, a terrible guardian situation, poor neighborhoods, war, or depression. Those issues I would have a hard time dealing with now as an 18 yr old; I couldn't in a million years know where to begin if I was 13 and struggling with those topics. I think that this book can be related setting wise, to Bone because of the fact that Estrella and her family are in California. I think that it can relate to all of the other books because it is about a story of a girl who is realizing that she is becoming an adult.

Feet of Jesus: Baseball

       Something I really enjoyed about this novel was the realistic-ness of the characters. I liked their descriptions, their references and I found it all so relatable. One of the instances in the story that I found interesting was when Estrella is at the railroad tracks and begins to discuss the lights from the baseball field.
     In the moment that the lights from the field turn on, Estrella is worried that it could possibly be border control, but then goes on to discuss what happens in baseball. Questioning as to "where is home", I felt that the baseball analogy made for a much larger metaphor. This brings up the question of where "home" is for Estrella herself, which may not actually be where her family is. When watching the game she on the field she describes the ball being hit in violent manners, "a ball, a blunt instrument, hit against the skull". Which could also allude to other things, such as the trials of finding a home, or being in one that is not the right one.
    I also liked her description of the ball as a peach. In talking about the players and questions their "hunger" which could allude to many other things. She also discusses one of the players as being a "stunned deer" in the lights of the field, which I felt alludes to her fear of being caught in the lights of border patrol. Overall I felt this passage exemplified how alienated and controlled the people in the novel must have felt. Seeing as if I came upon the same scene Estrella did, I would have enjoyed the view and watched a nice game of baseball, but to her it was foreign, violent, and based on survival.

Under the feet of Jesus: Ch 1-2: The naked doll

Estrella is a young girl traveling with her Chicano migrant worker family in California. The story it self did not really capture me thus far. It seems to be a young girl becoming an adult or realizing she has to become one. One key moment for me that stands out demonstrating this is when her family arrives at the first place we encounter them working and she ask her naked doll if she is ok and Estrella shakes the dolls head no (page 7). The doll is one many small girls, a lot younger than 13 year old Estrella, would play with. Unlike most young girls dolls this doll is naked which gives me the impression of it going through the same hardships as the family. Estrella shakes the dolls head no, which seems to references that she is not well. Which is very understandable, who could really be ok or well traveling around for work and being forced into labor? The doll also stands out to me as a little creepy. Horror movies and sad parts of books also have the small childs naked doll. It really stands out against even the words of the story as this is a hard, sad situation.

The other thing that captured me in this story was the very vivid imagery being described. The fields are given so much lush or yummy sounding detail with all the fruits and veggies available and yet not available to the family. It's like life is hanging in front of the family but they can't have it.

Citizen: A Picture Lasts a Lifetime

            This week really opened up my eyes to what happened while many were imprisoned in the Japanese internment camps. The way that Otsuka represented the people and the family in "When the Emperor was Divine", was by making them all vague, to symbolize the larger population. Yet, Okubo, goes into all of the details. I felt that through the drawings not only did I get a real graphic sense of the places and the setting, but I felt she did many things when them to get her point across.
             I felt that she represented each Asian character a little differently, to show the diversity among the race, and to prove that they were not all the same. This is ironic, because Otsuka put everyone in the same category to make a point, and Okubo did the exact opposite. Okubo also does this with details of the situation, but in more blatant ways. I felt that because of the drawings, the language was obviously much more blatant in the graphic novel, which gave something so emotional, a different approach.
         Overall, I felt that both novels captured what happened at this time in very different ways, but very successfully. I feel that I gained a greater knowledge on the topic, and was interested in finding out more. That especially happened in "Citizen 13660". There were many things that made me want to explore the topics. I had never heard that they were issued numbers, just like Jewish internment camps in the Holocaust. This really made it real for me on all levels, showing how awful it must have been. It was eye opening, and interesting, and I enjoyed both of the novels with all of the differences they had to offer.

When the Emperor Was Divine:Name less

Julie Otsaku keeps the names of "characters" from the reader while Mine Okubo gives everyone, place, and thing a name (most I can't pretend to try to pronounce). Which for me gives a very striking distinction to each writing. For Otasku while she is reflecting on events she did not experience, but rather shedding light on them, she allows the reader to place names to her situation. Maybe making it more personal? Otasku also seems to want to reader to realize this was a large event that effected many and maybe nameless people makes that more real. This was a situation they all faced not just one family.  Okubo is reflecting on lived events and giving the reader the reality of the situation with little room for place one's own ideas into the situation. Okubo does however provide short details which I feel made one desire google to clarify or elaborate.

Both authors also talk about Utah. Otasku makes the situation seem more trying then Okubo did actually living through it. I'm not saying Okubo played down the situation, but seemed to be more like this is reality and I am going to get through it where Otasku wanted people to mourn the situation.

Citizen 13660

    Even though this may seem juvenile, I enjoyed this book over some of the other readings because of the pictures. I like that the author was able to put drawings inside, because it took my imagination and created a picture for me. I thought that it was really sad when Miné's mother passed away. For some reason, I thought back to Breath, Eyes, Memory. I feel that throughout these books that we are reading, there are clear similarities.
     All of these woman go through drastic changes effecting their lives. Whether it be a passing of a family member, an emotional and personal change, or self discovery, I have found that their stories are all relatable to each other. I thought that it was really heartbreaking to read that her career as an art student came to an end after Japan attacked the US. I think that it is easy for us to be able to read about these moments in history through research, but seeing it through the eyes of  real person can be really moving. I couldn't imagine going through half of the things this poor girl had to.

Citizen 13660: Mine Okubo

This story for no logical reason reminds me of "A Long Days Journey into Night", probably because it's short burst of a story on each page which is how I feel the above mentioned book was (although the above book is a very short story). Citizen 13660 is a very quick read, but full of a lot of information, most of which makes you feel like pulling up google. Evacuation order #19 orders all Japanese regardless of citizenship in the United States to be sent to camps (which is interesting because also very much like the German camps the United States protest). Two thirds of Japanese individuals sent to camps were citizens (pg. 16). What a startling number and unimaginable. People today get mad if they feel any of their personal space is being invaded and shout for their rights, now imagine havign every inch of your personal space invaded because someone of the same cultural background did something.

13660 is the family number given to Mine and her brother (pg. 19). Mine and her brother are sent together as a family of two and through some debate are allowed to live together. Camp life is very hard, everything needs to be sought through hardship or waited in line for. Eventually the Tranforan Camp individuals decide they want to self govern themselves and try to have that allowed, but nothing comes of it. Which is odd to me because they live in a camp because of their national heritage and lost all rights, but some how thought they could get their own government?

Eventually Mine and her brother are moved to the Utah Central Relocation Project, another camp. This would be the last camp for each. Eventually they would both get out because they were considered loyal after examination and found jobs. This entire book is such a startling situation. I have been aware of this event in history, but I still find it mind boggling. Everything in these camps from eating together, working on the camps, going to the bathroom together, and showering together is the same as the German camps. Except when the Japanese showered they surivived. This also reminds me of our current situation. Since Septemeber 11th there has been this fear expressed in the media of Muslims. It seems that through history for any event that arises someone of some cultural decent will be found to blame and all those associated with that culture or heritage will be found at fault as well.

Emperor: POV Choices

         I was really interesting and intrigued by the way Otsuko chose to change the point of view every chapter, and have only one chapter for each. It was like it was not just one person's story, but the entire family's and possible even their entire culture. I enjoyed getting to see the story through all perspectives, because it seemed different each time.
         Ostuko also did not give each of the character's names, which I thought also spoke towards the fact that when discussing the family she was speaking for all Japanese-American's at that time. The store was subtle and very down to earth, and I found myself speeding right through it. But when I got to the last chapter, when the father spoke, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. In the last chapter the man rambles off a list of grievances, of things that would be expected of him by Americans. He "admits" to all of the crimes he was suspected of in order to go. And suddenly, I really understood the position of these people. They had pride too, they had their own ideals to uphold; and they were treated like none of that mattered. While the conditions of the camps, and the awful situation gave me a look into what had happened, the last chapter really pulled it together for me.
         I think Otsuko did this completely on purpose. How can someone look at a man, who is just trying to do well for his family and accuse him of all of these things, based on something so vague? While I felt like three years was a lot to cover for the length of the book, I really enjoyed reading it and felt like I gained a better understanding of the topic.

When the Emperor Was Devine

While reading this book, I found that there were many things that I could never imagine going through. For example, I don't think that I could ever kill my dog or let my pet bird fly away. I could never just pack my bags and go with my mom without knowing where we were going. I think that the mother has to be the strongest character in this book. Although the second her children are in bed, she cries and drinks, it must take a lot of courage to pack away everything you've ever known while taking care of two children.
     I found it very interesting that the author decided to narrate this book through the eyes of the parents and the children. I also found it intriguing that she chose to keep their names a mystery. I thought that it was very sad how the little girl lost her identity when Pearl Harbor was attacked. I couldn't fathom being a character in this book and I think that one of the themes is being able to find the strength inside of yourself.

Lakota Women: Family Traditions

It is a world tradition to destroy culture and even more fascinating to me because everyone talks about preservation or in history form goods, but all in one way or another seek to alter each bit of society. Even those who state they are the most excepting or friendly. For the Lakota it was and could be said still is the white christian. Which shouldnt be that big of a shocker since it has been the white Christian impacting most change. The point of family traditions that most stuck out to me in "Lakota Women" is chapter three. Mary Crow Dog compares what happened to Idian children with what happen to victims of the Nazi's (28). A very senestative subject for many but a statement filled with a lot of truth. Mary then goes on to reference how traditionally children are cared for with love and surrounded by love while they are allowed to grow (29). When the whites take the children this is all changed. The children are taught how to grow with no love surrounded by steel. The family traditions of how a child should be raised and cared for is gone.

Lakota: Generational Differences

            In Lakota Woman, I noticed some interesting occurrences between Mary, her siblings, and their mother. It was so interesting that Mary's mother was raised a Christian, as she was from the generation of Native Americans that were forced to conform to Christianity. Her mother having Christian values really throws a wrench into the works of Mary trying to find a place in the world. Not only is her mother more old fashioned than her, but she is also much more Christian.
           When talking of her sisters' pregnancy's I felt sorry that Mary's family not only had to deal with the hardships of being singled out in society as Native Americans but also with their mother not accepting their way of life, which often was more Native American than their own. The generational differences in the story are not just similar to typical mother/daughter relationships, but have other people tampering with their relationship. Mary's mother was forced into Christianity, and new ways of life, and Mary was trying to rebel against all the forces that had made things this way.
         There is also the issue of no real permanent father figure for Mary, at least when we meet her. Her husband Leo eventually becomes the most positive and permanent man in the story, but to me, that was Mary once again creating her own fate. I think she went out and changed what she wanted to for herself and her life.
        It is interesting however, that Mary ends up following many of the ways of past Native Americans, while her mother never truly did so. It may attribute to the fact that times were harder on her mother, or it may even be because Mary had a fighting spirit her mother never did. Regardless the differences between Mary and her mother are not just gerational, they are national.

Lakota Woman: Family Issues

     As I was reading I felt like a lot of the main character's problems all came back to family issues. I think that her and her sister Barb ended up doing a lot of drugs and drinking a lot because they started at a young age with their step dad. I also believe that a lot of her emotion problems stem down from her mother not being the right kind of parental figure that she really needed her to be.
     When Mary acts out in school, I feel like her mother has no sympathy for her, even though she should completely understand. I think that the fact that the mother is almost non-existent, except for arguments, really affects the way that Mary turns out. Whenever there are problems between children and parental figures, there are going to be issues in the long run.

Lakota: Blood

        In "Lakota Woman"it seems that there is always an issue of blood. Mary is not fully Sioux and so in all aspects of her life she feels out of place. She is not considered white enough to be treated like some of the "mostly white" girls when she is in school. She is also not Indian enough to be respected by full blooded people. It seems that whether she is lashing out against whites or trying to make peace she is never fully accepted.
       Also, the issue of blood comes into play in other ways as well. It seems white people wanted those of mixed race to be political officials rather then full blooded Indians. This was an insult as the tribe already had chiefs and elected officials, but when the government stepped in they chose the more "white" of the reservation.
      Another example of mixed blood scenarios is also when discussing alcohol in the towns. It may not be ironic that Mary, being of mixed race was represented as one with the least problems with alcohol later on in life. While she was exposed to it and use it at a young age, so ends up abstaining from it later on while many people acquire serious problems with it.
     It seems that the issues of "bloodedness" are of high concern to the people of the Lakota's just as in the history of African Americans. I had always looked at both "races" as being oppressed but never considered the blood aspect of Native Americans. I have always imagined that it would be hard to tell exactly how much of one is white or Native American, so it never really occurred to me until reading this book.

Bone: Truth Behind the Story

     Even though this story is told through the eyes of Leila, the oldest daughter, I find myself asking if this story is even about her at all? It seems to me that she focuses on talking about Leon. She searches to find him to inform him that she is married, and then proceeds to tell the readers about the bones of Leon's father. She explains that because of the fact that Leon never sent his father's bones back to China, bad luck would follow.
     Throughout the novel, several terrible things happen to Leon. His wife has an affair and he has a hard time finding jobs because he has so many fake birthdays and identities. He ends up starting a business with one of his good friends, only to find out that it dead ends. He then finds out that his favorite daughter killed herself by jumping out of a building after dating a man that he disapproved of. Not only does he lose Ona, but he also in a way loses Nina, because she moves to New York as soon as she can. The only person in this story who stays loyal to Leon is Leila, who isn't even his real daughter.
     I do think that the family as a whole has issues, but I it all boils back down to Leon. If he would have taken his father's bones back to China, they wouldn't be having any of the bad luck.

Bone: values of family and community

The character's within Bone all want to be in America and have the life of wealth they thought America would bring, but they want to be Chinese. When they move to America, they settle in China town. They continue to go through all the cultural traditions and situations they would face in China, but it is Americanized. Sending bones of individuals who die in America back to China is also very important and for Leon, not sending his fathers bones back to China seems to be the curse of the family (in his opinion) and the reason all bad things happen. So maybe, the title is based on this because the author is also suggesting the bones are the curse that causes the bad karma in the family?

Mason, Leila's boyfriend has many comments that struck me. It's important, it seems from the book, for Chinese individuals to still be Chinese and not American. Mason calls his cousin Dale to white (Page 40, Ng) and then likes to call places in China town to Chinese (180, Mg). Which is kind of confusing to a reader and to me demonstrates his own struggle with being simply himself and yet being defined by his culture. Which might and seems to be the struggle for all the characters in the book.

Bone: Role Reversals and Family

          There were many interesting aspects of Leila's family, and felt that it was a large theme of the book. Family ties, omens, relationships, mishaps all seemed to be key to the story. If someone was making good on the family name, then someone was else was shaming it.
           It is mentioned that Leon and Ona had a strong bond, and that he was much closer to her then the other sisters. While we do not see this as much as we see his interaction with Leila, we can assume that his relationship with Ona was much different. It is ironic that then she is the one that betrays him and dates the son of his new enemy after the business mishap. It seems that everyone Leon loves, (Ona and Mah) hurt him in the end. Before Leon is given the chance to fix things with Ona she moves out and eventually takes her life.
          This is not the only relationship faulted by Ona's death. It is also mentioned that Ona and Nina have a much better relationship then the other combinations of sisters. This points toward the fact that Leila has a different father, which makes her relationship with her family different. Ona and Nina's relationship is also traumatized with Ona's death, therefore Nina eventually leaves for New York. This leaves Leila with no sisters to lean on for support or to help with her family.
          This now leads us to see Leila's role reversals with her parents. She abandons her husband to move in and take care of her mother. The role reversal is also characterized by her mother's "irresponsible" affair  and affirms this switch. She also takes care of Leon as she tries to figure out his paperwork and occupation. This also emphasizes Leila's role as an impromptu parent while she ironically has no children of her own, and also does not have a relationship with her real father.

Bone: Lucky or Unlucky

             It seems that throughout the novel, the ideas of superstition, luck, and misfortune are brought up a lot in regards to the family, and Leila. The symbol of the "bones" always refers back to an instance of unluckiness. While "bones" seems to refer to the doves that were cooked in the three sister's childhood, it could also refer to the family's past and the "skeletons in their closet". Bones could also literally represent the dead bodies of her sister Ona, and her sister Nina's child. In the novel it is said that each member of the family carries the responsibilities of the family's past with them. This is a lot to take on as a family member.
          It also seems that when something goes wrong for the family it is blamed on their bad luck or misfortune as well. They also refer to numbers such as 3 as unlucky (as in the three sisters) one killing herself, and the other getting an abortion exemplify that. Also when clinking glasses in New York, they clink them three times. Ona also jumped from the 13th floor of the building to kill herself, which is an American unlucky number. The irony is that it is mentioned that in Chinese dialect thirteen sounds similar to "to live". This compares the cultures and their and beliefs in interesting ways. It is also interesting that Ona killed herself directly before the Chinese New Year, which is another key time in their lives. The guilt that lies in the feelings of of bad luck also takes a toll on the family.
         Leila feels the guilt from her sister's death and moves back home with her mother. There is also a role reversal in the way that Leila takes care of her mother like a mother. She does this because the family blames the sisters' misfortunes on Leila as she is the eldest. There is a lot of superstition involved in the Chinese culture that is slowly revealed as the book carries on.

Bone: Generational Differences and Familial Roles

     While reading this novel, I noticed that Leon and Leila's mother are both very needy people. I feel like they both need to be taken care of in some sense and they both need their children. I think that after the death  of Ona, they both lost a little piece of their heart,and in turn fell apart. They both are also very culture related. They stay focused on the Chinese background of their lives, and while Leila appreciates where she is from, she stays more focused on life in America. She ends up being the translator for parents and she also seems to live an American lifestyle while her mother takes a trip with Nina. She gets high, she smokes cigarettes, she drinks, and she has sex.
     The main event that has happened in this book is the passing of the middle sister, Ona. It is very hard for the whole family, but it seems to be the most tragic for the mother. Even though Leila stays with her mother to keep her company and to keep her together, Mah is never happy. I think that as the novel goes on we will find out that one of the main reasons that Leon left Leila's mother is because of the death of Ona. Not only are both parents torn up over the loss, but Nina takes off and leaves everything behind.

Bone-Familial Roles Represented

This story has plenty of underlining emotional family drama. The two biggest effects on the family relations are the parents ( Mah and Leon) and the suicide of Ona. Both have effected and broken apart the main structure of the family, however the death of suicide of Ona was the major fracture. After Ona commits suicide everything changes, all the fractures in the family that were holding are shattered and every family member seems to be searching for the reason why. The story follows the family structure of three sisters, the oldest Leila is the narrator, Ona is the middle child, and Nina the youngest. Leila is whom the parents rely on the most for everyday things to rebuilding their relationships.Leila has in some sense become the parent in how she manages her parents life and feels she can't leave their side. Ona is placed to be the middle child (think Brady Bunch, "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha"). Leila watched all this as the youngest and left the situation when she was old enough.

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Interpretive Post #2

     I feel that I should start of by saying that this whole work of poetry is based on 3 main ideas. Naomi searches for peace, grace, and equality. As I stated in my first interpretive post, I feel that she relates our problems in the United States to several of her own countries' issues. In a way I feel as if she searches for the reasons why we can not have equality. Why must there always be war?
    "For years the Arab poets used 'gazelle' to signify grace, but when faced with a meadow of leaping gazelle there were no words," Naomi says in her poem 19 Varieties of Gazelle. I wish that our first assignment was to pick out a quotation from any of her poems instead of the introduction, because I would have picked that one. It is hard for many people in the world today to be able to find grace or elegance in the simple things in life. I think throughout this poem she was trying to say that there are several types of Gazelles that you could find grace through, whether it be a purebred animal or a mixed breed. If there are that many types of Gazelle and they keep their peace and grace why can't humans? The animals don't judge one another based on color of coat, size, or heritage.
    Gazelle are peaceful towards one another. There may be a fight over a female or a mother protecting her children, but other than that they keep the peace between each other. "As long as the question-what if I were you?-has two heads," she says in her poem How Long Peace Takes. I think that by this she means several things. It is one thing to say to someone "take a walk in my shoes," it  is another to actually realize what others go through on a day to day basis. People are often not grateful for the lives they have,while others are sitting in a ditch somewhere hiding from firing guns.
     Perhaps if we were all Gazelle, we would see life differently. We would live in a judgmental free place. We would all live as equal.

Gazelle: Post Two

      For the second half of the book I chose to focus more on word play and deeper meanings in poems as I felt her style leaned more this way. It seemed she became more honest and passionate about the world and it's current state. She reached out and grabbed my attention in new ways this part of the book.
      The first poem I chose was "Jerusalem". For once she discusses what she wants in the first lines, and lets you actually read something that points directly at her ideals. She then looks back to her father's childhood when a rock is thrown at his head. This leaves a scar that she could still feel for years after. When explained, the book who through the rock claims he was throwing it at a bird. The last line of the stanza claims, "And my father started growing wings". This alludes to the fact that it wasn't a mistake and that the boy still indeed was aiming for a bird. This could represent the fact that in some way or another her father will always be a "target"; if it means for his religion, his migration to the U.S, or for other reasons.
      She then goes on to claim that we all have a tender spot such as this one, and that it is something our lives forgot to give us. Which I took as a physical reminder that we have a weakness, or a part of us that is different. The little boy in the next stanza is painting yet another bird with wings, after he claims that he doesn't like wars. She uses the word "monument" twice in the poem, once to represent a memoir from a war, and another to explain how slow we are to stop the awful wars and such in the world. I believe she is drawing a connection here by using the word twice.
     Her last stanza points to the future. This is her way from her father, to a current little boy discussing wars, to tomorrow of creating an essence of time and how little has changed.
     In Nye's poem "The Tray", she shortly and sweetly describes the way that tea is carried out on trays in the same ways, no matter what is going on in the world. She talks about how it is an actual form of communication, and in passing tea, they pass their feelings and opinions. While the last poem addressed time periods and things not changing in a bad way, this poem discusses consistency in something good. There is a comfort in the form of tea and company that is correlated with the ritual, and it always seems to be the same for her, whether it is sorrowing or not. The circle on the tray that the cups appear in represents never ending connectedness, like a ring. They are always connected and understanding with one another as long as the tray is there. I liked that this was a good example of something that never changed, whether it was for her or for her culture it was unknown. I think that's nice, as it was solely about her comfort, and there were not many poems in which she really paid attention to herself.

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Post 1

"My Father and the Fig Tree"(Naomi Shihab Nye), forever wanting a fig tree and never having one until his children are finally grown and gone. I like the straight forward wife and mother in the poem saying if you want a fig tree so bad please plant and grow one. It seems to me like the father is holding on to this dream of a fig tree until it finds him. The next poem after this is "What Kind of Fool am I"(Naomi Shihab Nye) which seems to have no relation to the previous poem which makes me wonder why it proceeds it? It seems both poems are about the writers father. In this poem he sings in arabic and English kind of blending his two words together. This poem is the morning ritual of the poets father; waking up singing and showing love for his children.

19 Varieties of Gazelle: From Birds to Gazelle Introduction Paragraph

Poem two in the introduction of 19 Varieties of Gazelle informs the reader "we are topling from our nest, changing species, and we're not birds anymore, we are some kind of energentic gazelle leaping toward the horizon with hope spinning inside of us" (xii, Naomi Shihab Nye).

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Interpretive Post #1

     Throughout the reading of section one, it became very clear to me that Naomi was trying to prove a point. In her introduction she writes about how important it is for people in America to know that not all people who are Arabic are villains. Even though we had the tragedy of 9/11, her people go through similar events all of the time. I think that she was trying to compare the life of Arabic people to Americans and she wasn't trying to belittle the event, she was only using it as an example.
     In her poem For the 500th Dead Palestinian, Ibtisam Bozieh, she speaks beautifully about the topic at hand. Naomi writes about how devastating it is that Ibitsam died at the age of 13 for no good reason. She grieves for the little girl and says that it isn't fair. She was supposed to grow up and become a doctor and have a family and die of old age. I think that it is important for the world to know that not only are tragedies happening around us in the United States,but they are going on around the entire world. By her expressing her thoughts in her introduction, she incorporates these ideas throughout her entire work.
     Although it is easy to find this pattern throughout most of her poems, it speaks out very loudly in Those Whom We Do Not Know. The very first part of this poem made me stop and think. Sometimes Naomi's words can be so powerful that I feel like I personally am stuck in the middle of the war. "Because our country has entered into war, we can have no pleasant pauses anymore-" I could not imagine not having one second to think to myself because I was so frightened. For the people in her country to have to go through that constant feeling is really sad.
     Even though Naomi currently lives in America, it is still very hard for her to hear about the tragic events going on in her country. I think that this pattern will shine throughout the rest of this book of poetry, not in only the passages I have chosen.
  

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Chosen Passage to Introduction

"September 11, 2001, was not the first hideous day ever in the world, but it was the worst one many Americans had ever lived. May we never see another one like it. For people who love the Middle East and have an ongoing devotion to cross-cultural understanding, the day felt sickeningly tragic in more ways than one. A huge shadow had been cast across the lives of so many innocent people and an ancient culture's pride." -Naomi Shihab Nye (Introduction, page xv)

Gazelle: Interpretive Post

    While Naoimi Shihab Nye seems to have poems covering all topics in her book, 19 Varieties of Gazelle, many of the same types of patterns persist throughout them.
     My personal favorite was "The Words Under the Words", which in some ways paid respect to her grandmother. The poems lists parts of her Grandmother such as her hands, days, voice, and eyes. Through discussing the experiences her Grandmother has through these things, she also opens our eyes to the world of the Middle East and her families past there. She discusses Allah, violence, Joha, and more. It can be understood that her Grandmother believes that we should find the deeper meaning the world, or the "words under the words", or else it would be hard to live in such a sad and rough world. If we did not find the deeper meaning we would be held down. Nye uses her Grandmother to let us in and view this foreign world through someone's familiar days.
     The next poem I chose was "For Mohammed on the Mountain". This is an ironic poem as it is really alluding to the story of Mohammed, which as Americans we typically relate to, "If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, he will have to go to it." In the poem she refers to Mohammed as her uncle and questions as to why he had to go to the mountain. By the end she understands that sometimes, one can not change the world, but go to the place where change is capable. I think this could be referring to many things; whether she means the afterlife, her life in the U.S, or other things. I found it interesting when she discusses how she questions daily how little she could live with, while others in America question how much. It highlighted a difference between her and the place she was raised, which may be based on her intrinsic heritage.
    I chose to compare these two poems as Nye uses other people to give life to her poems, and to leave a deeper meaning. While the poem of her "uncle" was really referring to something else, and her Grandmother helped us to see other things, she manipulates characters to enlighten her readers. She also alludes to religious figures in both poems, and uses that as a key part to many of her writing. The poem of Mohammed could also be used to look at her change from a child to an adult, and how her point of view and view of his decision had changed. This also happens in the poem of the Grandmother based on the fact that the Grandmother's quote and life causes a change in her views on her world. It seemed like a good comparison to make between the two.

Introduction Passage

"If grandmothers and children were in charge of the world, there would never be any wars. Peace, friends. Please don't stop believing."

Breath, Eyes, Memory-Patterns

As I read further into Breath, Eyes, Memory it all seems to be about patterns. How the grandmother, mother, aunt, daughter, and baby are all being raised. How the trips to Port-Au Prince are all the same with the same shouting and excitement for the department stores. Even their cooking patterns seem to bind them. All the women in this family seem to look at Bridgette as the break of the patterns and the possible baby in the mothers stomach seems to point to maybe another break or new beginning for each of them. However that turns out to be false when Martine kills herself.

Each section seems to display a pattern being broken. The biggest one being the rape, but the second one being the behavior or opinion of males. In the book we are started with a female cast of characters who protect themselves from males. As the book continues we get the "good' male characters of Marc and Joseph who want to be faithful, caring, and loving towards the women in their lives. I particularly enjoy Joseph receiving the tour of the house and acting like the respectful boyfriend visiting for the first time seeking approval, even though he is married and has a child.

Breath, Eyes, Memory: Reflection

  I really enjoyed reading this book. Even though there were some points in it where I thought it was too graphic, Edwidge Danticat paints a beautiful picture of how life in Haiti really is for women of all ages. I think that in America we tend to overlook how lucky we really are.
  This book focuses on the relationships between mother and daughter and it shows how hard it can be to have a relationship with a mom once they have done "tests". I was surprised to read that Sophie was as forgiving as she was towards her mother. She is definitely a stronger and more forgiving person than I am.
  The book focuses on how Sophie was able to make it through life after growing up in such a terrifying place. It was very fast paced, which I liked and it was also very easy to feel the emotion through her writing. By the end of the book I found myself crying because of what Sophie's mom did to herself. I could never imagine going through anything close to what all of the women in Haiti must be going through at this moment. This book not only made me appreciate my life here in the United States, but it made me appreciate the wonderful woman that I have for a mother as well.

Breath, Eyes: The Body and Stories

              I felt that the book had a lot to do with women and their bodies as the holders of their problems and stress. There were many instances of bodily abuse in the story. Some of the examples are done on by others, such as Martine being raped, people being beat by the Macoutes, and the intrusive feelings of being "tested". Others were done to themselves, such as Sophie's problems with bulimia, Atie's alcoholism, and in the end Martine's self abortion. Martine's abortion stood out largely to me as it seemed the enemy of her raper had become herself and her own body, at this point. Also, some were done by the world, such as health problems with cancer and more. I felt that all of these connections to the body represent the realistic problems that were happening around them and symbolically of what was happening to the Haitian world as it was deteriorating.
            I feel that these abuses also represent the ways in which Haitian women are controlled and may never be free, from their expectations by society, and themselves. The one way that it seemed that they could remain free was from telling parables and stories. It seemed it was the only way that they could have control over their own lives. It seemed that narratives gave the characters power, especially in Atie's case. At first I questioned as to what the deeper meaning of Atie's story telling was, but by the end I saw it was the one thing they all had in their lives that they could do by themselves and for others that gave them power.

Breath, Eyes, Memory : Through the Mother's Eyes

    When I first started reading this book I was a little worried that I would be uninterested in the plot. As I got further into reading I was surprised at how much of an opinion I could create out of some of the events. The one person in this book that really tends to get under my skin is Sophie's mother. I understand that she is very over protective because of what happened to her when she was Sophie's age, but I think that there is a fine line between being an over protective mom and being absolutely ridiculous.
  In the beginning of course I thought that the "testing" was a little bit outrageous, but then I thought about it later and realized that I wouldn't understand because that's not my culture. I wasn't born in Haiti and gratefully, I will never have to go through what Sophie did. After that realization I figured Sophie's mom wasn't really that bad, until she kicked her out right before part three. I'm sorry, but if you loved your child as much as you claim you do, you would never throw her out. Thinking about how much my mom loves me, I could kill someone, get pregnant, wreck her car, and call her a bitch to her face and I doubt she would ever kick me out even after all of that. ( Even though I would never in a million years do any of those things.)

Breath, Eyes: Narrative Layout

               I really enjoyed how fast the novel progressed. At first when reading it I thought I would be reading about the young girl the whole time. When the transition was made quickly from her at 12 to her at 18, I began to like where the book was going. I was concerned at first that I would lose her essence as a person and be stuck on who she was "that year". I then realized that the story wasn't just about her and her own experience, but it spoke to more. 

             It also became apparent that as an author, Danticat likes to use the theme of connections in doubles. There is always a juxtaposition in the story. Often the sisters Martine and Atie are compared such as in Martine's rape and almost "too much" sexual experience, and Atie's lack there of in her saddened life. I found many instances where this seemed to be apparent throughout the novel. It also moves into place once Sophie is older comparing her mother and her. 

          The idea of the body I think begins to come into play early on in this book as well. It seems that while the Caco women are constantly physically abused in various ways: rape, cancer, testing, etc, the physical abuse is a symbol for their abuse as women in their society. I feel that there were many themes that became apparent early on in the book, and enjoyed watching them unfold later on in the book in more depth. In the beginning many of these things were highlighted. 

Breath, Eyes, Memory: Heart Ache

In Chapter 1 we discover the life of a young girl with more opportunities than the generations before her had. She lives in a nice house, goes to school, has her own bedroom, and the opportunity to leave Haiti and go to New York. However she is not happy about leaving Haiti. In Haiti she lives with her Tante Atie, whom has been carrying for her since she was a baby and her mother left for New York without her. She has no memories of her mother and as Mother's Day in Haiti is approaching her Mother's Day card was made for Tante Atie not her mother.

I was struck by the sadness that carried from the two main characters thus far in the story. Tanta Atie is sad because the day, it seems, she tried to avoid thinking about, sending the young girl to New York, has come. Tanta Atie is also upset that gossipy man told everyone about this event before she could even tell the young girl. Which is very understandable. The young girl is sad at first because she senses her Tanta Atie's sadness but doesn't know why and then sad and angry when she discovers the reason. The bright yellow flowers and dresses described seem to try to offset the mood and possibly point to happier events in the future.

Breath, Eyes:

Practice for actually blogging.