#aplit18reading

[sycamorestudies]

staring my senior year with a “light” summer reading! I’m reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami for APLit. if I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know if I can finish this book in time for the start of school. there’s 1,157 pages... definitely should’ve looked into the number of pages beforehand. if anyone’s read this book, lmk what you thought of it! I’m going in blind, so hopefully I made the right choice in picking this book (:

[onceupon-a-tima-blog]

[themessenger151]

Yo, so get ready to be bombarded with memes about seductive plant fucking, how Zenobia is a two face bitch, and that talents are bad

[poetic-ramen]

Send help

AM I THE OBLY PERSON WHO WROTE OLIVER??

[zaremc]

what i love about my piece

something that i absolutely love about the draft of my paper:

i feel very strongly about it. not always am i writing about something in class that i can feel strongly about and actually agree with. when i was reading my book, i got confused and lost a lot because of the strong diction, but i was always using aides and online interpretations to help me figure things out. they always gave their opinions on the book too, however, i never really took a stance on any topic until i was done reading. once i started reading criticisms, they brought to light even more and more ideas that i had never even thought about before and i was so excited when i found them because i actually agreed with them fully. i had an idea in my head about the insane nature of darl and how he was portrayed throughout the book, and reading some of my criticisms talking about that and explaining the strong difference between words and actions was almost a relief. when i came across those specific words too, “the strong separation and difference between what the characters say and do.” i was SOO excited to begin writing this. for once, i had actually done solid research that led me to an idea that i felt passionate about and other’s saw that too. i felt like my paper could possibly be something great. as i’ve been writing, i’ve fallen deeper into the chasm of thinking about this idea. i never thought i would actually enjoy writing this (simply because of all the talk about how hard this assignment can be). i most definitely have. while i am about half way done i’d say (or all caught up to where i am supposed to be) i feel so strongly about what i have written. i am excited to share my ideas and my feelings with my reader. one of the best feelings is finding evidence in your actual book that backs up your claim so perfectly. i actually wrote and annotated 5 portions and had to slim them down because everything seemed so fitting. i can’t wait to keep writing the bulk of this piece and see where it takes me because from where i am now, i cannot wait to keep writing:) 

[aisha-shamim-blog]

Colorism in my own life

Chapter three hit me kind of hard. A lighter-skinned black girl named Maureen comes into the picture. She seems to get away with more things because she is lighter than Frieda, Claudia, and Pecola and she knows her societal level is higher because she tells the other girls they are black and ugly. Claudia is envious of the privileges Maureen receives and her beauty as a result of her lighter skin tone. I am no stranger to this. I have always been pushed by my mother (not to push her under the bus per-se) to be fair skinned and not go into the sun and become darker. I cannot count the number of times I have received praise from my family and other member of my south asian community not because I am simply “pretty” but because I am pretty with my “light” skin. I remember wearing a traditional salwar kameez once and a lady told me that it looked good on me only because I had light skin. My grandma will sometimes tell me that she wishes that my face was as light as the rest of my body. As a society, both here and in Asia, lightness is valued greater than darkness. As a minority, I have gone through struggles, but those who have a darker skin tone than me have different, likely more difficult, struggles than me. Even though I’m considered light within my community, I’ll admit I get envious when I see someone lighter than me. I’ve been programmed to think this way from birth and its an ugly feeling and I can feel myself trying to stop myself from doing it but sometimes I cant resist. I can understand what Claudia is feeling, but at the same time as someone who is lighter than her, I cannot.

[kennedy-christl]

Things Fall Apart #4

The way Achebe illustrate the Umuofia women is both simultaneously complex, and straightforward to say the least. At first, when Okonkwo's wives are introduced, they are shown to be equal. All three live in a separate hut from him, and equally share duties and responsibilities in the household. Yet inorder to marry, a man must pay a ‘bride price’. At first, this reminded me of what would basically equate to a dowry, but in reality is quite opposite. Unlike a dowry, where a woman's family must pay the man’s family, a bride price is where a man pays a woman's family inorder to marry them. To me, by adding this to the story, Achebe is showing how women might hold different ranks in the Igbo society. That women from a wealthier family or who can be considered more ‘valuable’, will have a higher price. And that the amount of money a man were to use would establish a higher amount of wealth.

[racheljjones]

book blog 8 - final things I’m thinking about

Hey tribe, (or other random people on Tumblr)

So this is probably going to be my last "readingthework” blog post regarding One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but I still have a lot to say! In the end, I genuinely enjoyed my book, despite it being completely and utterly disturbing at times. As I’m moving forward with this project and am starting to look at some criticism surrounding OFOTCN, I thought I’d share with y’all some of the most exciting parts of the book/things I want to really look into.

1. Erasing masculinity. Something I found interesting within Kesey’s novel was the way he spoke about masculinity. He (Kesey) paints the head nurse as this overly overbearing, ball-cutting, and overall masculine character, making the other characters seem (and feel) inferior to her power.

2. Power complexes within society, aka what do we do to those who are different than us? (I touched on this in my last blog) but the question still stands. And the horrible tactics in order to “fix” these men may actually turn them more insane than when they entered the ward.

3. Find identity in a world trying to warp it. This is a weird one, but I found the Chief’s story very interesting. As you can see in my very first blogs, I had a difficult time trying to “figure out” the Chief, who narrates the story of OFOTCN. I know now that that is because the Chief has lost himself throughout his many years in the Ward. His last words (and also the last words of the novel) prove this - “I been away a long time.” The reader is left feeling hopeful that the Chief will begin to gather a sense of self again after escaping the psychiatric ward he was stuck in, which is an interesting move by Kesey to also end the novel this way as well. 

Anyways, wish me luck as I begin to look at criticisms and ponder these three big ideas! Talk later!

[kaileymerritt-blog]

The Concept of “Blackness“ in Africa - Americanah #1

In the first few chapters of Americanah, a concept was touched on that I had never previously thought about. At this point in the book Ifemelu is still a teen in Nigeria when she attends a house party. During this house party, hother students are trying to set up her friend with a Obinze, an attractive new student. Obinze on the other hand is not interested in her friend, but is into Ifemelu. This seems strange to the other students who try to steer him back. At first this could be seen as they are trying to set Obinze up with her simply because she is the most popular, which is no different than in America with young teens. Where this popularity stems from is her color of her skin, or the lack thereof. She is popular among the school and the receiver of much attention from the boys simply because she has the lightest skin. The fact that she looks “half-caste”, or more known as mixed race in the US, means that she has better qualities than the other girls. So when Obinze prefers to talk and be around Ifemelu, people are shocked. In Nigeria, this topic of colorism is a serious issue ingrained in people from a young age. Since there is not a distinction between black and white in Nigeria, Adichie states Nigerians do not consider themselves “black” as African Americans do, a hierarchy is created by skin tone and not race in itself. This hierarchy differs from the US where anyone who can be considered “black” is shoved onto the same level of race, no matter if you are African-American, African, or even Afro-Caribbean, whereas there are many levels to whiteness. White in America can be distinguished between Irish, Russian, Australian, Swedish, and more, but someone who is Nigeria would be thrown into the same category of “black“ as someone from Jamaica.

[jadasbrain]

On Beauty #1

So far the book that I have been reading by Zadie Smith has been pretty good. I can definitely see that Smith is trying to bring attention to the ideas of family values/functions. So far the family in this book is going through quite a bit of struggles. The oldest kid is pushing the boundaries of his parents very literally. In the house that he has grown up in, his father is white and his mother is black. His dad is from England and his mom is from Florida. Him and his family are currently living in North Eastern America somewhere near Boston. His dad (Howard Belsey) is a professor at Wellington University and he has made an enemy of another intellectual named Monty Kipps. Monty Kipps is very right-winged from what I have observed. He believes that colored people are 100% to blame for their conditions and that they need to stand up and take responsibility for it. (However, from what I’ve gathered I think Monty Kipps is black also, so I’m a little bit confused tbh). The Blesey’s (the family that we are following in the book) have completely different views and view Monty Kipps as a bigot. To make matters worse, Monty Kipps is writing a book about the same thing that Howard Belsey is writing about and Howard feels like anything that he writes will not be sufficient to what Kipps writes. So long story short the oldest son goes and moves in with the Kippses, falls in love with not only the Kipps daughter but also the general dynamic of the Kipps family, and then gets kicked out of their home whenever he tries to marry the Kipps daughter. So I guess right now in my train of thought I’m thinking a lot about how someone of color can demonize their own race. I mean sure there are tons of lazy people but they aren’t all black, or white, or any one color and I don’t think it’s fair to say that certain races haven’t endured situations that have led them to their current circumstances. Take Native Americans for example. They were driven off of their own land, and into reservations where many of them live in poverty and terrible circumstances. Are we going to look at them and say “Hey! Sucks to be you, maybe if you would give up your stupid culture and succumb to western society and culture like the rest of us you wouldn’t be in this situation. Also we didn’t put you here, you got yourself into this by trying to preserve your traditions and ways of life.” I don’t know but this whole thing about African Americans and people of the black race not having it a little bit harder than everyone else seems like BS to me. I’m not saying it’s impossible because there are plenty of successful black people out there who have made their way through hard work and persistence, but I would make a point to say that it is easier for a white man coming from a middle class family to make a life of that nature for himself than it is for a black man. That’s just one train of thought that I’m riding on so far. If I started diving into the part about how the Kipps family is very religious it would take me all year to write this one tumblr post. (I just don’t understand why people use a good thing like the love of Jesus to justify being racist. It’s literally a palm to forehead slap moment, like the one from the V8 commercials where they say “Shoulda had a V8!” and then run away. That’s what I want to do to the people who use Jesus to justify their ignorance. They’re all stupid ninnies). 

[madeleine0bahorski-blog]

Seashells

So this is a background influence of sorts, but is really more a personal curiosity thing. Marie-Laure has a sort of obsession with sea shells, which is ironic, as other characters in Doerr’s books do as well, and the title of his first publication of short stories is called The Shell Collector. So, I looked into Doerr’s history looking for some personal connection to the sea or seashells. This search was fruitless. I then decided to look into the overall significance of seashells. Some very hippie-like sites (see below) informed me, that seashells traditionally represent either a feminine strength and allure or a magical property. This immediately clicked for me, as Marie-Laure has extensive contact with a “cursed” diamond that is believed to kill her loved ones. Her fascination with seashells that also could by mystical make her character’s trends make a little more sense. Her susceptibility to be influenced by constants, like nature and natural objects (diamonds, shells) is expressed through this. Marie is also a strong female character. She’s young, and isn’t entirely mothering, or feminist, but she acts in a self respecting way. She is curious and persistent, giving her some of the characteristics associated with seashells. There is a possibility that the author has a different connection to seashells that is not documented on the internet, possibly changing the meaning, but this has strong connections to the character and plot of the novel. 

https://seastarsmermaidscove.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/day-21-sea-shells-their-meanings-and-magick/

https://seastarsmermaidscove.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/day-21-sea-shells-their-meanings-and-magick/

With this understanding I think slightly less of the author’s historical accuracy, as the unrealistic and fantasized characters detract from actual wartime themes. If the book was more realistic in terms of its characters maybe the far-fetched plot would have more meaning, but details like this make parts of the book seem a little over romanticized. 

[reannaorz-blog]

one chapter down!

end of the first chapter: i am really intrigued by this narrator and the setting of the book...

my initial thoughts on tone is: very serious, analytical, descriptive

my thoughts on the narrator: serious, introverted, shy, reserved

there is a clear contrast between the narrator and her room-mate, Ainsley, who is loud, out-going, energetic, free-spirited, messy

the quote that really sticks out to me is, "I'm sure she's really quite normal, but there's something cretinous about the hair-ribbon perched up on top of her gigantic body"

something I noticed about Atwood as a writer is her use of diction. Pretentious words like "cretinous" is used in the same sentence as "gigantic" There always seems to exist these contrasts.

Last random thought: i also noticed Atwood divided her books into chapters, and parts. This kind of reminds me of how we look at our lives. Marked by not only age, but stages (i.e. elementary, middle, high school, living on your own) all these things are clumped in different ways

[onceupon-a-tima-blog]

Don't you hate when a plant tries to seduce you.

[dbalaji2000-blog]

A Thousand Splendid Suns #8

In my opinion, I think there are a couple things that Hosseini could have changed to make the book even more intereseting. 

Even though the ending of the book showed the true connection between Mariam and Laila, I wished it would have ended differently. It made sense that Mariam was not able to escape with Laila, since she killed Rasheed and wanted to protect Laila by taking all the blame, but I wish that the author could have included an ending with Mariam since she was the sole character who helped Laila escape and live with Tariq in Pakistan. 

He also could have added a little background and clearer explanation on the Taliban, especially for readers who may not know the Soviet Union invasion and the reasons why the Afghan government became conservative. It also would have given these readers a better perspective on how the characters changed throughout the book. 

Like Mariam and Laila, Hosseini could have also given a separate section for Rasheed, or any male character with his views on the Taliban and women, to show how he gained these perspectives. It also would have given the reader a better interpretation on Hosseini’s perspective on woman and the Afghan government.

[sophieaplang-blog]

[zaremc]

writing my draft!

When I started writing my draft for my paper in class, I really felt like I had a good topic and book that I enjoyed writing about. Since I bring my laptop to class, I am able to write a substantial amount of my paper in class. I feel good about the topic that I chose and the stuff I choose to focus on. When I first started writing the literary review, I really felt like my topic was strong. Since a lot of my criticisms focused on the idea of the separation between words and actions, I focused on that aspect. I also included within that idea that it is mainly seen through Darl and his characterization. As I continued with this theme and idea, I realized how strong and prominent it is throughout my book. It is such a strong claim and I am excited to keep working with it!!