Wow. I knew this book was challenging to read when I attempted it 20+ years before, but I am amazed at how challenging it still is. Watson, my man, you are killing me with her complete and utter sense of isolation and powerlessness. The images in my head as I read barely have any color at all -- only shades of grey. In fact, I think the best way to describe the "hue" of this book is to describe as the color of mushrooms, of fungus. And man is this world decaying.
By the way, I don't know why I am stuck on using the word "man" right now, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that when I read the book the first time (around 1984) "man" was still an okay slang term to use -- almost like an explicative, to REALLY let the audience know how serious I am about what I'm going to say next.
I'm reading the book on my ipad so I don't have page numbers to refer to, but I can say that I've read about 13% of the book so far and of the few characters I have met, I don't have hope that ANY of them will be as inspiring or as galvanizing as Katniss. Even President Snow and his mutants seems like minor annoyances, compared to Big Brother and the Thought Police.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Writing My Own Scene from Persepholis (using the image from p. 136)
time of day: dusk, night is shortly coming
setting: city street, deserted and desolate. The riots have finally ended.
mood: depressed, oppressed
character: a middle aged woman, who lost her only son in the riot.
what's happening (plot): the city is falling apart as the civil war escalates.
What can she do? In the last six months she has lost everything. Her husband arrested. Her relatives fled. And now her son. Her only son. Gone. Bludgened to death by the military police. She is alone now. Alone and unprotected. No one will hear her tears as they fall on her pillow tonight.
setting: city street, deserted and desolate. The riots have finally ended.
mood: depressed, oppressed
character: a middle aged woman, who lost her only son in the riot.
what's happening (plot): the city is falling apart as the civil war escalates.
What can she do? In the last six months she has lost everything. Her husband arrested. Her relatives fled. And now her son. Her only son. Gone. Bludgened to death by the military police. She is alone now. Alone and unprotected. No one will hear her tears as they fall on her pillow tonight.
Why use graphics Marjane?
One of the questions Melissa, our presenter, asked us to think about is "WHY do you think the author chose to tell the story this way?" I have an idea, but I don't know for sure if this is true. I wonder if a rationale for telling her story this way was due in part because her memory of these events is the most real -- the most vivid -- in pictures from her own mind. Especially being so young, I wonder if her earliest memories are even wordless pictures.... images like the women shouting (on page 5)... or the police brutality (p. 14).... and it was seeing these events (and wanting to share with the world what she saw) that moved her to tell her story this way.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Getting Lost in the World of Kristina and Bree
I have been reading and re-reading Crank, in order to try and find just the right stanzas or phrases for my choral reading. And each time I re-enter Kristina's world I get more angry with the judge for letting her go see her father. Or for her father for even demanding such a visit. What an idiot. I am now convinced that Kristina's Dad only demanded this visit to try and gain some sort of control/attention from Kristina's mother.
And it is this very same goal -- to get attention/to dominate or control another person -- that defines Bree.
It's a fine line here since I also think Kristina wanted more attention -- more attention from her Mom, from her Dad, from boys.... but this attention was connected to a genuine sense of love, affection and appreciation.
Bree, on the other hand, forces other to notice her through her outrageous, and at times sexually explicit, behavior.
Even though my initial thoughts were to explore my response to Crank based on the theme of being alone -- since Kristina felt alone and certainly pushed people away. But now I'm thinking what I was really getting at is this slight, yet significant difference between affection and attention.
It reminds me also of the adage that fame is fleeting..... Am I making sense here?
And it is this very same goal -- to get attention/to dominate or control another person -- that defines Bree.
It's a fine line here since I also think Kristina wanted more attention -- more attention from her Mom, from her Dad, from boys.... but this attention was connected to a genuine sense of love, affection and appreciation.
Bree, on the other hand, forces other to notice her through her outrageous, and at times sexually explicit, behavior.
Even though my initial thoughts were to explore my response to Crank based on the theme of being alone -- since Kristina felt alone and certainly pushed people away. But now I'm thinking what I was really getting at is this slight, yet significant difference between affection and attention.
It reminds me also of the adage that fame is fleeting..... Am I making sense here?
I Am Nujood
How does one recover after reading this book? This book haunts me. I mean no disrespect to the tenants of Islam and the Muslim culture, but I have such a hard time finding any empathy for the adults (parents, neighbors, law makers) who allow this kind of sexual brutality to take place.
I do understand that a Western view of "a quality childhood" is radically different from other cultural expectations for a child/young adult. In fact, I would agree with some of the criticism that Western cultures have promoted a view of child/adolescent development that inspires a perception of "learned helplessness" and we do our children a disservice because we do not expect them to take equal responsibility for themselves, their family, their community.
HOWEVER! I cannot condone the practice of child-brides (or child-grooms, although I cannot name a culture that practices such a custom today) simply because a cultural norm is that children must "do their part" to support the family or be an "honorable woman." I just cannot call this practice anything else other than abuse. Physical abuse. Mental abuse. Emotional abuse.
This being said I am amazed at Nujood's fortitude to break away from her husband and his family and go to the court and demand a divorce.
This, of course, is why I must not remain paralyzed by reading this book. I have to encourage others to read her story and to learn more about her.
Speaking of which, I was curious to know what she is doing today so I googled her. http://www.mytrendingtopics.info/nujood-ali-stories-as-the-youngest-bride/
Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of information about Nujood today. It sounds as if she could be attending school, but it isn't clear since in this article it also says that the proceeds from the book stopped going to pay for her education because she was not attending...?
I suppose I worry for her since she lives at home. Even though the reports say that her family is living in a more upscale home and seem to be prospering, there is no updates on how Nujood herself sees the world -- what she now thinks of marriage, what her hopes and dreams are for herself and for her family. And what about her older sister? Or her brother? Where are they?
Not that I want her to leave Yemen or abandon her family, but I just wonder if she is as happy (if not happier) now than she was before the whole thing happened.
I do understand that a Western view of "a quality childhood" is radically different from other cultural expectations for a child/young adult. In fact, I would agree with some of the criticism that Western cultures have promoted a view of child/adolescent development that inspires a perception of "learned helplessness" and we do our children a disservice because we do not expect them to take equal responsibility for themselves, their family, their community.
HOWEVER! I cannot condone the practice of child-brides (or child-grooms, although I cannot name a culture that practices such a custom today) simply because a cultural norm is that children must "do their part" to support the family or be an "honorable woman." I just cannot call this practice anything else other than abuse. Physical abuse. Mental abuse. Emotional abuse.
This being said I am amazed at Nujood's fortitude to break away from her husband and his family and go to the court and demand a divorce.
This, of course, is why I must not remain paralyzed by reading this book. I have to encourage others to read her story and to learn more about her.
Speaking of which, I was curious to know what she is doing today so I googled her. http://www.mytrendingtopics.info/nujood-ali-stories-as-the-youngest-bride/
Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of information about Nujood today. It sounds as if she could be attending school, but it isn't clear since in this article it also says that the proceeds from the book stopped going to pay for her education because she was not attending...?
I suppose I worry for her since she lives at home. Even though the reports say that her family is living in a more upscale home and seem to be prospering, there is no updates on how Nujood herself sees the world -- what she now thinks of marriage, what her hopes and dreams are for herself and for her family. And what about her older sister? Or her brother? Where are they?
Not that I want her to leave Yemen or abandon her family, but I just wonder if she is as happy (if not happier) now than she was before the whole thing happened.
More Coming Soon!
I have been so busy reading, I haven't been able to sit down and tell you all about what great reading journeys I have been on. I promise to do so very soon. Stay tuned!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
My More Critically Reflective Response to Parvana's Journey
I loved this book, but I admit I did not stop often to think about my own reading practices and what I was bringing to the text. In part, I felt like I was simply trying to learn as much as I could about what life was like for people -- particularly the children of Afghanastan -- during the first part of this century. But in reality, I am sure my "Americanized (and fairly tacit)" conceptualization of the Middle East, its cultures, its people, its religions, and its geography did, in fact, influence what and how I read Parvana's Journey.
After having our discussion tonight and thinking more critically about the text, I realize that as much as I truly loved this book -- it is only because my own life experiences are so much more privileged and "Westernized" -- that I was able to read this book without sobbing. My lack of personal experience with such realities as bombs destroying your home, living for days without food or water, afraid that any stranger might kill me or rape me without a second's thought because I am female makes my response to the journey Parvana must undergo quite shallow.
There is a question on the handout Meghan gave us that says, "Do you ever wish you could be someone else or a different type of person? Explain." I would like to be able to say that I could be as brave as Parvana, or Asif, or even Leila but honestly I don't know.... I might be more like Parvana's mother and Leila's grandmother than I care to admit.
After having our discussion tonight and thinking more critically about the text, I realize that as much as I truly loved this book -- it is only because my own life experiences are so much more privileged and "Westernized" -- that I was able to read this book without sobbing. My lack of personal experience with such realities as bombs destroying your home, living for days without food or water, afraid that any stranger might kill me or rape me without a second's thought because I am female makes my response to the journey Parvana must undergo quite shallow.
There is a question on the handout Meghan gave us that says, "Do you ever wish you could be someone else or a different type of person? Explain." I would like to be able to say that I could be as brave as Parvana, or Asif, or even Leila but honestly I don't know.... I might be more like Parvana's mother and Leila's grandmother than I care to admit.
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