Post #14 Form B (FINAL POST!!!)

A lot happened to Heavenlight in a very short period of time. She had an affair with the son of the Emperor, Little Phoenix. Then the emperor died. She went off to become a nun at a monastery. Little Phoenix, the new Emperor, called her back to him. She gave birth to his son. She became a concubine. She then had the Empress kicked out and killed after Heavenlight’s daughter was poisoned by the Empress. She became the new Empress. She gave birth to another son. She had her sister become a concubine to the Emperor as well so that his interests would not leave the immediate family. “The Emperor had stopped pursuing the beauties to spend alternate nights in our beds.” (131) Her sister’s daughter fell into favor with the Emperor. “I learned that the sovereign’s heart had been inflamed once more and that his conquest had already been consummated. Her name was Harmony. She was Purity’s daughter.” (135) Her sister died of sadness upon hearing about the relationship. And her niece, Harmony, hates her guts. Talk about a whirlwind of activity and a ton of incest.

Post #13 Form A

“The Empress had been married at fourteen, and now, at twenty-two, her stomach was still flat, while in the other palace, a succession of concubines and slaves brought imperial children into the world. Infertility is a major crime committed toward the ancestors, and any man whose wife is sterile is free to repudiate her. Many former Empresses had lost their titles on these grounds, and the Empress Want was well aware of the danger that threatened her.” (102) In America women are not looked down upon just because they can’t have children. In fact, since decent birth control was available to women, many choose not to have any children. Also, in America a husband can’t repudiate his wife just because she is sterile. A husband can’t repudiate his wife at all. There is only divorce, not renouncement married couples who no longer wish to be married. This is a big culture shock and shows just how little worth a women was given in ancient China. Especially a sterile one.

Post #12 Form B

People are very emotional in this book. Love, sorrow, wrath, jealousy, abandonment, loneliness, desperation, desire, it’s all here mixed together like a drama gone horribly astray. One moment people are in love, the next they are in mourning, the next they are jealous and inflict their anger on those around them. Many people have died from sorrow and abandonment. “I stayed at the bedside of the Delicate Concubine Xu, trying to persuade her not to let herself die. Beneath her linen sheet, she weighed little more than a feather. She spat blood and was wracked by violent coughing. She reached out for me with her frozen bony hand. We talked endlessly about our first few years in the Side Court, the Institute of Letters, and the late sovereign. I begged her to receive a doctor. She smiled and gave me no reply. I could see in her eyes her determination to follow her master into the next world. She died a few days later.” (86) Many more have been killed as a result of wrath and jealousy. It all happens so quickly that after a while it’s hardly even noticeable just how many emotions are experienced on each page.

Post #11 Form A

“There was much talk of the future. But was there any future for the concubines of the dead sovereign? The mothers of kings may have been able to join their children posted in the province-kingdoms, but ordinary women had to choose between living in the funerary palace of the August Deceased, becoming nuns in monasteries, or dying alone in the Side Court.” (84) This is a major cultural difference. In ancient China, the women within the Forbidden City belonged to the sovereign. If that sovereign died they no longer belonged there and the new sovereign would bring in his own women for the Forbidden City. Those who had belonged to the deceased sovereign had to choose between going to live in the funerary palace for the rest of their lives, devoting their lives to Buddhism and becoming nuns in monasteries, or killing themselves so as to join their sovereign after death. Um, we don’t do that anymore.

Post #9 Form A

“Now that my brother the King of Wei has removed his opponent, the title of heir automatically falls to him. He’s a suspicious man, a grudge-bearer. His accession will be the beginning of the end. He will kill all his brothers to keep his crown.” (75) This is a major cultural difference in this quote because, in America, the leader isn’t chosen by the previous leader, nor is the leadership hereditary. We vote on who our next leader will be we don’t seek a ‘mandate from heaven’. Also, no matter how venomous our politicians might be they don’t kill each other in order to gain the title of the next leader. If they were to kill anyone they would have no chance at attaining the title. Due to killing anyone being considered a terrible crime in the US, there isn’t any need for them to kill off their brothers in order to hold onto the right to the crown.

Post #10 Form B

Dear Shan Sa,
I have many praises for you. I admire how Empress has such vivid, figurative language yet still carries a heavy dose of bluntness. Your elusions and descriptions are beautifully written and the entire book has a poetic feel to it. “The palace of Precious Dew was displaying its beds of irises and orchids. With its ceilings as high as the vault of the heavens, its curtains of pearls, its screens inscribed with calligraphy, and its succession of sinuous galleries, it was a labyrinth of intrigue. Its countless doors opened onto a little corner of sky, a sloping roof, a window in the shape of a crescent moon, a rockery smothered in the twisted limbs of a wisteria or an emerald pond around which white cranes flitted.” (70) Every character has many sides and emotions which are far more complex and developed than even some people.Yet you do not falter at even the most taboo of subjects. I admire that. I truly do. However, amongst the admirations there are also questions for you. What about Empress Wu’s tale inspired you to write this book? How much of her tale is historic, how much is myth, and how much stems from your imagination?
Your admiring reader,
Virginia

Post #7 Form A

“The rebel province was overcome by the imperial army’s attack. The King of Qi was brought to the Capital in chains. A decree from the sovereign stripped him of his position, his title, and his nobility. Now deposed, reduced to the state of a commoner and imprisoned, he received the order to commit suicide.” (73) This is a major cultural difference for a ton of reasons. First, we don’t really chain people up anymore. People are handcuffed but the way it’s phrased in this sentence it sounds like more than just handcuffs. Secondly, in the US at least, we don’t really have ‘nobility’ nor do we give orders to commit suicide. And even if the order to commit suicide was given to someone, it is very unlikely that they would carry it out unlike in ancient China.

Post #8 Form B

‘“My little cousin, I have heard stories of you,” she said, pronouncing each word carefully. Her lips were two petals of red grenadine. “I shall take care of your instruction, my little, wild one.”’ (52) This is the beginning of a very very very very bad relationship for Heavenlight. She falls in love with her cousin, the Gracious Wife. “In fact my longing to see her again supplanted every other agony. Freed from the anguish of mourning, I was now enslaved by a new torment. I did not know this was the being of love: Taut as an archer’s bow, my soul distended with expectation, my desire tightly coiled, my stomach tensed.”(54) So, she falls in love with her. She thinks about her constantly and is anguished to be apart from her. Finally, she meets the Gracious Wife again. They sleep together. Yes, the intimate kind of sleeping together. They sleep together, the Gracious Wife beats her. They sleep together, the Gracious Wife beats her. The Gracious Wife even makes her sleep with other girls. “She forced strangers on me, girls I did not desire. In that accumulation of mouths and breasts, above the mirror that multiplied the gaping orifices further, she would beat me until I bled. The other women would fondle on another as they watched me. They were naked, with their heads between on another’s thighs, their bodies writhing in the blaze of sunlight, shrieking with pleasure; and I felt only loathing.” (62) Like I said, a very very very very bad relationship for Heavenlight.
(Do you pity me yet for having to read this Ms. Burgess?)

Post #6 Form B

“In the Palace of Celestial Breath, I followed the training given to new women at Court. The great curtsey, the minor curtsey, greetings of respect, greetings of condescension, greetings from equal to equal, the quick walk, the slow walk… there was no spontaneity in the Forbidden City. Natural responses were considered the premise of the people and of Barbarians; all the elegance of our movements derived from the height of restraint.” (42) I found it very interesting that these women who are granted a life of luxury create their own hierarchy. They make rules and laws to govern themselves within the Forbidden City. Though it seems very superficial it gives these women something to do rather than laze about. They make friends and enemies and create their own little world within the palace. It seems so distant, so dreamlike to read about. But I suppose to the women who lived there it was very real and very, very real. And very, very dull. They must have come up with many more rules and games in order to entertain themselves. And of course they chatted with the eunuchs to learn about the affairs of the outer realm. I feel sorry for them but I also admire their ingenuity and the cunning plans they made in order to gain power and influence despite being in a patriarchal society and being cut off from the world.

Post #5 Form A

A major cultural difference which has arisen is in the existence of the Forbidden City. In the Forbidden City hundreds of women live lives of luxury, pettiness, and jealousy while waiting and hoping for the Emperor’s favor so that they might go to bed with him. That’s not something that exists in current day America, at all. Though this seems like a lowly existence for these women it is actually the best way and one of the only ways to gain any power at all. “My heart leapt with pride. As Talented One of the fifth rank, I immediately overtook my brothers in the imperial hierarchy; they were officials of the seventh rank. The next time we saw each other they would have to prostate themselves at my feet!” (34) The women within the Forbidden City were the ones who became the Emperor’s concubines and wives. They were surrounded by government officials and were able to have some influence within the government. They were also the ones who gave birth to possible heirs to the throne. It’s a major cultural difference but it is also one of the only ways a woman could obtain power and influence in this highly patriarchal society.

World Issue Outline Sources Cont

An Interview with the Dalai Lama on CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dalailama/interview.html


The Documentary Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion
http://www.cryofthesnowlion.com/ (website for the documentary)


"Fears and Tears" interview with the Dalai Lama in Newsweek
http://www.newsweek.com/id/124365/output/print


Website on Government in Exile of Tibet; Article is "Status of Tibet"
http://www.tibet.com/whitepaper/white1.html

Post #4 Form B

Thus far Heavenlight’s journey has all been a matter of fate. Her family had once been a noble family with power and wealth. However, her father died and her mother and siblings were stripped of all they had and left to depend on their extended family; a family who did not care for them, who did not appreciate nor love them. Her mother’s way of adapting to this was to put her all into Buddhism. If her current life was a mess she hoped to have a better next life and so she prayed and prayed and made religion her life.
By another piece of fate Heavenlight met General Li, who, impressed by her intelligence, recommended her to the emperor. He told her, “Heavenlight, you are an exceptional girl. I shall take responsibility for your destiny!” (26) She was then brought to the Forbidden City to be one Emperor’s of the hundreds of women.” The Great Uncle told me the news: Great General Li Ji, Governor of our province, had spoken highly of me at the Imperial Court. I was to be called for by a decree from the sovereign to go into service in the Forbidden City.” (32) Named a Talented One, Heavenlight became the only hope her mother and sister had at a better life.

Post #3 Form A

Cultural Legacy: Proceedings after Death

“We observed the ceremonial procedures: bathing him, calling upon his soul, filling his mouth, the smaller clothing ceremony, the great clothing ceremony, laying him in his coffin, and making daily offerings.” (16)

Some of the ceremonial procedures of ancient China are very different from our own while others are quite similar.
“Bathing him”: in general, nowadays the body of the deceased is cleaned up as well as back in ancient China.
“Calling upon his soul”: This depends on religion nowadays. As Buddhists calling upon the father’s soul was clearly an important part of the proceedings.
“Filling his mouth”: In ancient China the deceased’s mouth was filled with grain mixed with pieces of jade or shells depending on their social status.
“the smaller clothing ceremony”: Nowadays people the deceased are generally changed and gussied up a bit but in ancient China the smaller clothing ceremony consisted of the deceased being dressed in nineteen costumes after the clothes were displayed.
“The great clothing ceremony”: The great clothing ceremony took place the day after the smaller clothing ceremony. The number of clothes one was dressed in was ‘strictly related to hierarchy’. For the father, fifty costumes were used.
“laying him in his coffin”: Same as now, people were put into their coffins.
“making daily offerings”: Though nowadays people might bring flowers to a grave site occasionally and especially on the day of death back in ancient China it was custom to bring offerings daily.

Research Outline Topic

I chose to focus my research outline on the history of the China-Tibet conflict over Tibet's independence.

Some articles which I think would be helpful are:

"Tibet" found on the World Book Encyclopedia Online
http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar557140&st=tibet

"The Dalai Lama's Great Escape" found on SIRS database
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-9374&artno=0000017967&type=ART&key=

"The Restless Children of the Dali Lama" found on SIRS database
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-9374&artno=0000245657&type=ART&key=

"Tibet: Myths and Realities" found on SIRS database
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-9374&artno=0000141294&type=ART&key=

Post #2 Form B

‘After looking carefully up and down, she put a finger in my hand, and I squeezed it until she flushed red and began to cry. "You must not hurt your sister," my wet nurse told me. She did not know that years later, as she had in those days of innocence, Elder Sister would beg me to be her torturer.’ (6)
This is a very clear foreshadowing of the dangers, trials, and tribulations to come. I get the feeling that Wu will become a very powerful woman very quickly, but the internal struggles she will face will slowly tear her apart. She will be caught in the middle, torn at the seams. At least, that’s my impression thus far. She is very inquisitive and that leads to her becoming much more aware of how much the world around her differs from the confined world she has been exposed to. This inquisitive nature of hers is bound to get her into trouble and troubles like that might have something to do with whatever will happen between her and her sister. But, that’s just my guess on everything.

Post #1 Form A

In the book Empress by Shan Sa, there is a distinctive cultural difference from the United States in differing treatment of the sexes. Ancient China was highly patriarchal. Men were in charge. If pregnant, you wanted a son. Men had the most power. Men, men, men, men, men.
When Wu is born her father asks, '"Boy or girl?" No one replied. The man grabbed me and tried to tear open my swaddling. He was interrupted by a woman's quiet wail: "Another girl, my Lord." "Ah!" he cried before dissolving in tears.' (2-3) So heartbroken to have another girl is he that her father cries! Later in the book, after going though the ritual of toddlers choosing on of many items set before them in order to tell what their future will be like, another states, "It is truly a shame that she is not a boy." (5) It is then decided upon to dress her like a boy and give her the education of a boy because the item she chose was her father's sword meaning that she would become very strong and a "mistress of a noble warrior household". Even this is only allowed because she is the daughter of a general and has all the 'signs' of being someone of power.

Fourth Quarter ORB

I chose the book Empress by Shan Sa which is 319 pages long. This book written by a woman born in Beijing and is about Empress Wu from the 7th century. I picked out this book because I have strong interest in Asian culture and especially women’s roles in ancient Asian societies. I specifically chose this book from the other books about Asia because of the author’s unique writing style, and of course, because it isn’t a really long book. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to reading Empress for fourth quarter.

Post #14 Form B

‘I dreamed of the desert and the sun and the big house in Phoenix with the palm tree in the front and the orange trees and oleanders in the back. We had owned that house outright. Still owned it, I kept thinking. It was ours, the one true home we’d ever had.
“Are we ever going home?” I asked Dad one day.
“Home?”
“Phoenix.”
“This is our home now.”’ (154)
Jeannette and her family are constantly on the move. They are rarely in one place for long and when they do stay somewhere for a while the attachment the kids have is hard for them to get over especially when they move somewhere they don’t particularly like. (Example being the move from Phoenix to Welch, West Virginia)
This continuous change of environment shapes the Wells children’s lives dramatically. The shifts cause them to be much more open minded than most, especially when it comes to differences in people. However, the never ending cycle of moving the moment something happens becomes tiresome for the children and they are nearly always poor because of it. Though I’m sure it was fun for the kids at first, it must have been really hard to be always moving and switching lifestyles. Jeannette recalls bullying and sexual harassment in various places they lived and more often than not there are more bad things than good things to say about the different towns. She must have turned into a very strong woman after dealing with such variable condition all throughout her childhood.

Post #13 Form A

Vocab
usurious (111): practicing usury; charging illegal or exorbitant rates of interest for the use of money.
palatial (149):befitting or suitable for a palace; stately; magnificent.
Figurative Language
"...even if we stayed in the basement and kept as quiet as church mice." (149)
This is a simile using the word as. It compares the children's quietness to the quietness of church mice.
"One corner of the kitchen ceiling leaked like a sieve." (153)
This is a simile using the word like. It compares the leakage of the kitchen ceiling to the easiness liquid has in going through a sieve.
"...who had little eyes set practically on the sides of his head, like a whale." (165)
This is a simile using the word like. It compares the boys eyes being on the sides of his head to the eyes of a whale.

Quote
"Sew it up," he said.
"Dad! I can't do that."
[...]
"Go ahead," he said again.
I pushed the needle and felt a slight tug when it pierced the skin. It was like sewing meat. It was sewing meat.
"I can't, Dad, I'm sorry, I just can't do it," I said. (169)
This is significant because it shows the stuff Jeannette and her family dealt with when she was young. Stuff like sewing up an injury her father had gotten while fighting someone.
Theme
Life is hard but know, it can always get worse. But if it does get worse, remember, the important thing is being able to scrap by.

Post #12 Form B

“After all he’d put himself through, I couldn’t believe Dad had gone back to the booze.” (123)
This quote shows Jeannette’s father’s continuing fight with alcohol. Despite numerous attempts at quitting the disastrous habit, her father always went ‘back to the booze’. It got to the point where, for her 10th birthday, all she’d asked for from her father was for him to quit drinking. And he had. For a while. He quit and went through all of the withdrawal symptoms. He had had delusions and became quite sick. He spent an entire summer, a Nevadan summer, recuperating yet he was unable to return to the dirty habit once things went south in his life. This habit shaped a lot of Jeannette’s childhood because her father became quite violent once he was drunk and the habit sucked up all of the money the family had. They were nearly always poor once her father started on booze again.
“With Dad drinking again and no money coming in, Mom began to talk about moving east, to West Virginia, where Dad’s parents lived.” (123)
Once Jeannette’s father was drinking heavily it was impossible for him to keep a steady job so he spent the money they had and didn’t bring in any new money. These drunken sprees nearly always led to the family packing up and moving in hopes of a better outlook elsewhere. But the same situation was repeated over and over again.

Post #11 Form A

Vocab
Benighted (104): intellectually or morally ignorant; unenlightened.
Mantillas (104): A lightweight lace or silk scarf worn over the head and shoulders, often over a high comb, by women in Spain and Latin America.
Figurative Language
"The cheetah licked my palm, his tongue warm and rough, like sandpaper dipped in hot water." (109)
The simile used is comparint the roughness of the cheetah's tongue to 'sandpaper dipped in hot water' using the word like.
"-and over to Beaumont, where the oil rigs bobbed like giant birds." (130)
This is a simile because it is comparint the oil rigs bobbing to giant birds using the word like.
"..the land rolled and dipped like a sheet when you shook it clean." (130)
This is also a simile using the word like. It compared the rolling land to a sheet being shook clean.
Quote
"When dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off, and that was what we did that night."
This quote is significant because it shows the family issure Jeannette grew up with. Her father, a drunk, would often become violent and the entire family suffered from it.
Theme
When life hands you a lemon, make grape juice.

Post #10 Form B

After a gypsy clan stole Brian’s pogo stick and left a chicken with its throat slit on the doorstep of the family after the Mom got into an argument with the clan leader. Jeannette’s Mother decided to fight magic with magic.
“Standing on the sidewalk, she held up the bone like a crucifix at an exorcism, and called down a curse on the entire Gypsy clan and their house, vowing that it would collapse with the lot of them in it and that the bowels of the earth would open up and swallow them for ever if they bothered us again. The next morning Brian’s pogo stick was lying in the front yard.” (102)
This quote represents Brian’s mother’s superstitious nature. She decides to take the matter somewhat seriously and combat the ‘magic’ with her own ‘magic’. This quote also gives a glimpse as to what kind of neighbors Jeannette had in her early years. At the beginning of the chapter she describes her neighbors as ‘weird’ but this incident really highlights that. This quote is also a good comedy relief type of thing because it comes shortly after the death of Jeannette’s grandmother. All in all it just seems to fit in nicely with what is going on yet it is random enough to require a double take over that section of the book. Kinda neat.

Post #9 Form A

Vocab

raucous (71): harsh; strident; grating; rowdy; disorderly
cajoled (95): to persuade by flattery or promises; wheedle; coax.
Figurative Language
"The way she saw it, glasses were like crutches." (96)
This is a simile comparing glasses and crutches using the word like.
"...making the entire machine dance around on the cement patio."(100)
This is personification because a machine doesn't really 'dance'.
"plopped" (104)
This is onomatopoeia because it is a word which represents the sound it sound like.
Quote
"After inspecting the house, Dad decided that the termite infestation was so severe nothing could be done about it. We'd have to coexist with the critters. So we walked around the hole in the living room floor." (101)
This is significant because this quote represents the Walls' family's way of life. When you must, you deal with what life hands you and make the best out of it.
Theme
Sometimes, even the worst situations can be a blessing in disguise.

Post #8 Form B

I am constantly impressed by the wisdom shown by Jeannette’s parents. Though some of their ideas about things aren’t what society would consider appropriate nowadays they often have excellent pearls of wisdom. An example of this is when Jeannette tells her mom that they should get a “No-Pest Strip like Carla’s family” but her mother refuses saying, “If it kills the flies it can’t be very good for us.” (65) However, some of Jeannette’s parents’ approaches are no longer considered good parenting. One example of this is when Jeannette goes out to play with her friends and gets a large gash. When she show’s her mother the cut her mother says, “Nothing but a minor flesh wound” (59) despite the mother of the girl Jeannette was playing with saying that Jeannette’s mother should take her in to get stitches. Jeannette’s parent’s ‘hands off’ approach to parenting works both ways for the children. Though they grow up in an environment where they learn from their mistakes it also means that when they make mistakes they must deal with all that accompanies those mistakes without the help of an adult. Though her parent’s are more than capable of giving great advice and thinking of things in a way which is beneficial to their children they often choose not to ‘on behalf of their children learning from mistakes’.

Post #7 Form A

Vocab
barite (54): a common mineral, barium sulfate, BaSO4, occurring in white, yellow, or colorless tabular crystals: the principal ore of barium.
tobogganing (54): the noun form of the word is toboggan: A long, narrow, runnerless sled constructed of thin boards curled upward at the front end.
Figurative Language
"Dad said you could read my face like a traffic light." (54)
This is a simile because it is comparing her face to a traffic light using the word 'like'.
"Off to one side was a room with rows of slot machines that were constantly clinking and ticking and flashing lights." (55)
This uses onomatopoeia through the words 'clinking' and 'ticking' which are words that represent a sound.
"Where I tossed in the match, a cone of flame shot up with a whoosh like a jet after burner." (61)
This sentence uses both onomatopoeia with the word 'whoosh' and simile when comparing the 'flame shooting up' to 'a jet after burner' using the word 'like'.
Quote
" I thought Dad would be furious, but he wasn't. He was sort of quiet. We stood on the street watching the flames devour the shack. Dad had an arm around each of us." (61)
This quote is significant because it shows how even her dad, the father she looked up to, could be shaken up.
Theme
It's good to get out in the world, to live in it, but it's also good to be wary of it.

'Ode On the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes' by Thomas Gray

I was looking through my poetry books and found one that I really liked and decided to post it here. It's called Ode On the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes by Thomas Gray...

'Twas on a lofty vase's side,
Where China's gayest art had dy'd
The azure flow'rs that blow;
Demurest of the tabby kind,
The pensive Selima, reclin'd,
Gazed on the lake below.

Her conscious tail her joy declar'd;
The fair round face, the snowy beard,
The velvet of her paws,
Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,
Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,
She saw: and purr'd applause.

Still had she gaz'd; but 'midst the tide
Two angel forms were seen to glide,
The Genii of the stream;
Their scaly armour's Tyrian hue
Thro' richest purple to the view
Betray'd a golden gleam.

The hapless Nymph with wonder saw:
A whisker first and then a claw,
With many an ardent wish,
She stretch'd in vain to reach the prize.
What female heart can gold despise?
What cat's averse to fish?

Presumptuous Maid! with looks intent
Again she stretch'd, again she bent,
Nor knew the gulf between.
(Malignant Fate sat by, and smil'd)
The slipp'ry verge her feet beguil'd,
She tumbled headlong in.

Eight times emerging from the flood
She mew'd to ev'ry wat'ry god,
Some speedy aid to send.
No Dolphin came, no Nereid stirr'd;
Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard.
A Fav'rite has no friend!

From hence, ye Beauties, undeceiv'd,
Know, one false step is ne'er retriev'd,
And be with caution bold.
Not all that tempts your wand'ring eyes
And heedless hearts is lawful prize,
Nor all, that glisters, gold.

Post #6 Form B

“I want that one,” I said.
Dad grinned. “That’s Venus,” he said. Venus was only a planet, he went on, and pretty dinky compared to real stars. She looked bigger and brighter because she was much closer than the stars. Poor old Venus didn’t even make her own light, Dad said. She shone only from reflected light. He explained to me that planets glowed because reflected light was constant, and stars twinkled because their light pulsed.
“I like it anyway,” I said. I had admired Venus even before that Christmas. You could see it in the early evening, glowing on the western horizon, and if you got up early, you could still see it in the morning, after all the stars had disappeared.
”What the hell,” Dad said. “It’s Christmas. You can have a planet if you want.”
Then he gave me Venus.’ (40)
Despite the many poor qualities Jeannette’s parents display, it is clear that they truly love their children. Despite their lives being harsh and variable, her parents do their best to make their kids feel special and to look out for them. Whether it’s making them conquer their fears or giving them planets and stars on Christmas because they can’t afford real presents, her parents are always finding creative ways to display their love for their children and care for them to the best of their ability. I think it’s really neat how creative and insightful Jeannette’s parents are. Though the actions they sometimes display aren’t necessarily what one might consider appropriate for a parent trying to be a good role model, they never allow their children to feel unequal to others. That’s really good of them and I admire them for it.

Post #5 Form A

Vocab
Gila Monster (35): A venomous lizard (Heloderma suspectum) of arid regions of the southwest United States and western Mexico, having black and orange or yellow scales.
Creosote (35): an oily liquid having a burning taste and a penetrating odor, obtained by the distillation of coal and wood tar, used mainly as a preservative for wood and as an antiseptic.
Figurative Language
"I wondered if the fire had been out to get me" (34)
This is personification because the author is giving the fire the human trait of being 'out to get
her'.
"He tossed the half-eaten head at me like a grenade." (46)
This is a simile because it is comparing the half-eaten head of lettuce to a grenade using the work like.
"The wind shrieked through the compartment." (49)
This is personification because the author is the wind shrieked which it can't really because shrieking is a human trait.
Quote
"She told us that both our grandmothers were angry because neither Lori nor I had been named after them, so she decided to call the baby Lilly Ruth Maureen. [...] That, Dad told us, would make everyone happy except his mom, who hated the name Ruth and wanted the baby called Erma, and Mom's mom, who would hate sharing her namesake with Dad's mom." (47)
This is is a great example of the humor which rears its head constantly throughout the book. It's a nice touch considering how serious the author's situations are.
Theme
When life throws you a curve ball make the most of it.

Post #4 Form B

“But when Dad pulled out a bottle of what Mom called “the hard stuff,” she got kind of frantic, because after working on the bottle for a while, Dad turned into an angry-eyed stranger who threw around furniture and threatened to beat up Mom or anyone else who got in his way. When he’d had his fill of cussing and hollering and smashing things up, he’d collapse. But Dad drank hard liquor only when we had money, which wasn’t often, so life was mostly good in those days.” (23)
It’s so astonishing to me that Jeannette’s ‘good days’ were the ones when her family didn’t have money and therefore her father couldn’t buy booze. It’s terrible to think that Jeannette and her siblings grew up in that kind of environment yet saw their father as a wonderful man and believed that time in their life to be good. I suppose this is also some foreshadowing to future days which aren’t nearly as good. It makes me wonder what could possibly be in store for Jeannette and her family. I suppose this quote also just goes to show that, if you grow up in it, anything can seem normal to someone. It’s amazing what people can get used to if they have no other options.

Post #3 Form A

Vocab
shiftless (20): lacking in resourcefulness; inefficient; lazy.
sluice (24): an artificial channel for conducting water, often fitted with a gate.
Figurative Language
'thowck' (21) is onomatopoeia because it is a word which sounds like the sound it represents.
"the way the sky at sunset looked like a sheet of fire" (21) is a simile because it is comparing the sky at sunset to a sheet of fire using the word 'like'.
"Sometimes they hit without warning, and other times you knew one was coming when you saw batches of dust devils swirling and dancing their way across the desert." (21) When this sentence says the dust devils were dancing their way across the desert it is personification because dust devils can't really dance. The author is instead applying a human quality to an inanimate thing.
Quote
“Dad always fought harder, flew faster, and gambled smarter than everyone else in his stories. Along the way, he rescued women and children and even men who weren’t as strong and clever.” (24)
This quote shows how, as a child, Jeannette was easily convinced of her dad’s heroics. However, now that she is an adult and is looking back on her father’s stories she sees the clear embellishment on her father’s part.
Theme
You can get used to anything if you have to.

Post #2 Form B

Dear Jeannette Walls,
With a life as busy, spontaneous, and adventurous as yours, did you ever grow tired of it? One moment you were in a trailer park lit aflame while making hot dogs. The next your father is taking you out of the hospital ‘Rex Walls Style’. The next you are in the Blue Goose traveling to yet another unknown destination sleeping under the desert stars along the way. Pain, joy, fear, friendship, love, and loss. All of these things moved by so quickly for you in your childhood. Did you ever just want to stop for a while? Keep to one place and not move around quite as much? Or were you content with your constant change in scenery. Happy with the never-ending excitement, the frequent moves, and spontaneous movements of your family. I’m sure it was all very thrilling. But there must have been times when you felt hurt by your family’s behavior. I know I would have been hurt if “Mom told me she had entered my name in a raffle at a fair, and I’d won a helicopter ride.” and I had asked “When do I get to go on the ride?” with the reply of “Oh, we already did that. It was fun” (13) How did you bear through your oddball family. Or was it just the only thing you knew, or was it your age, or were/are you just a stronger person than I?
A new fan and admirer,
Virginia

Post #1 Form A

Vocab
Gestapo (19): the German state secret police during the Nazi regime, organized in 1933 and notorious for its brutal methods and operations.
Posse (19): a body or force armed with legal authority.
Figurative Language
"Ten the flames leaped up, reaching my face." (p. 9)
This is an example of personification. The author is personifying the flames by saying they leaped, which is not something flames can actually do.
"Burns need to breathe" (p. 13)
This is an example of personification. The author is personifying the burns by saying they need to breathe, which is not something burns can actually do.
I found the quote "You don't hae to worry anymore, baby," dad said. "You're safe now." (p 14) to be ironic because he says this just after taking her out of the hospital which she was in because of her parent's neglect.
Quote
One of them squeezed my hand and told me I was going to be okay.
"I know," I said, "but if I'm not, that's okay, too." (p. 10)
This is significant to the story because it shows just how mature Jeannette was even at the age of three. Despite being in a very scary situation she was calm and logical.
Theme
Don't let your fears get the best of you, rather, let you get the best of your fears.
(Jeannette starts playing with fire despite having just returned from the hospital after being severely burned.)

Athena, "The Tarot Cards (塔羅牌)" by F.I.R. 飛兒樂團

For my Soundtrack to the Days of Their Lives assignment I chose to pair the song The Tarot by F.I.R. with the Goddess Athena. This Goddess was interesting to me because she has a very powerful and important female role in the Odyssey. Athena is constantly offering her wisdom to Telemachus and goes out of her way to help both him and Odysseus.

I found that the Chinese song, The Tarot, mirrors Athena’s personality and position in life quite well. The lyrics, “Tarot Cards point out one’s way/ Uncertainties of the believers are resolved/ It reveals the future/ But can not change the designated grief” (translation courtesy of Gloria F.) could represent Athena’s ability to change the fate of mortals but also her recognition that they will still have to overcome hardships in order to be worthy in the eyes of their peers. The Goddess is always altering the fates of Telemachus and Odysseus but does not necessarily make their journeys easy.

Another set of lines which fit in nicely with Athena’s character is in the description of the Tarot Cards. Each card represents something such as strength and sacrifice just as the Greek Gods and Goddesses each represent something different. One card, the High Priestess, represents Wisdom and coincidentally Athena is the Goddess of Wisdom.


Tarot Cards (translation courtesy of Gloria F.)

Guess you never really know him in these days.
The spell of distance between your hearts, it never goes away.
Time to give up. Time to fall deeper.
Let me choose one, right now.

Consists of twenty two cards
It describes all situations in life
Flourished for hundreds of centuries
Spread from Egypt and India
Until now

The Hanged-Man represents sacrifice
The High Priestess is full of wisdom
The Moon is a subconscious dream
Tarot Cards point out one’s way
Uncertainties of the believers are resolved
It reveals the future
But can not change the designated grief

How powerless
Tarot Cards
Shall I
Choose the next card?
Would you like to master your life?
Or let the destiny arrange your fate?

Consists of twenty two cards
It describes all situations in life
Flourished for hundreds of centuries
Spread from Egypt and India
Until now

The Magician creates a new beginning
The Sun represents strength
And The Wheel of Fortune never stops turning
Tarot Cards point out destinies
Uncertainties of the faithful were resolved
It reveals the future
But cannot change the designated grief

How powerless
Tarot Cards
Shall I
Choose the next card?
Would you like to master your life?
Or let the destiny arrange your fate?

Consists of twenty two cards
It describes all situations in life
Flourished for hundreds of centuries
Spread from Egypt and India
Until now

Post #14 Form B

“Fenris the Feared turned slowly to the high table, raising his great tattooed fist, opening his chasm of a mouth, a hideous spasm running over his face. ‘Angland!’ he screamed, louder and more terrible by far than the Lord Chamberlain had ever been. The echoes of his voice bounced off the domed ceiling high above, resounded from the curved walls, filling the great space with piercing sound.” (140)
This quote gives a very terrifying image of this thing-ish person. It gives a distinctive image of what Fenris looks like, acts like, sounds like, etc. You already are glad that you aren’t at the scene right now. I find that the author does a great job at describing this scene. He doesn’t force a specific image into your head, but rather, he give the basic outline for the character and you create the rest of the image based on what each individual person would feel was more fearsome. Personally, I think this is an excellent display of the skill of this author, and I think that more parts like these give the book more potential to be decent to people who don’t read this genre very often. Hopefully, this book will seem more worth it to have read after some time has passed and I begin to forget the … gory parts.

Post #13 Form A

Vocab (all definitions are from dictionary.com)
Gall (105): impudence; effrontery, bile, something bitter or severe.

Intoned (106): to utter with a particular tone or voice modulation, to give tone or variety of tone to; vocalize.
Figurative Language
"crash to the floor with a sound like a cupboard full of saucepans." (103) A simile because it is comparing the sound to a cupboard full of saucepans.
"creaking" (118) is onomatopoeia because it represents a sound.
"patter" (141) is onomatopoeia because it too represents a sound.
Quote
"Hard words are for fools and cowards. Calder might have been both, but Logen was neither. If you mean to kill, you're better getting right to it than talking about it.. Talk only makes the other man ready, and that's the last thing you want." (101)
This quote is significant because it shows a realistic approach to fighting rather than the kind you tend to see in movies and such.
Theme
There are many types of people in the world; know who you can beat and who you can't.