Snow Country part 2

Wow... I am beyond confused at this point!  I'm not really sure what to make of what I just read.  First of all, the change in Komako's character was weird and I didn't really understand why she was so different.  Plus, it seemed like she was drunk for most of the second part of the story.  She was still the same indecisive person as she was in the first part, though.  Komako was still doing the "I'm leaving" game, even though she never did.  I did think that she and Shimamura were cute, the way they bantered with one another.  I actually almost forgot that he had a wife and kids that he just up and left!  I'm not really sure what to think of all the characters, though.  Hopefully our classroom discussion will clarify the whole "crazy" thing between Komako and Yoko, because I have no clue what all that was about.  I also didn't really understand the Milky Way discussion.  I think it was meant to have some significant meaning, but I sure didn't see it.  The fire at the end of the story came out of nowhere too, so that seemed odd to me.  I also would have liked to know what happened in the end.  Did Shimamura go home to his family or stay with Komako?  Because no matter how many time Shimamura tried to deny his feelings for her, I'm pretty much certain that he loved her.

Snow Country part 1

I waited until after our class discussion to talk about this because I honestly had no clue what I was reading.  I'm glad that others felt that it was awkward to read, at parts.  The way that the story jumped from the different seasons was confusing at first, but I got the hang of it eventually.  I also found the red/white color references interesting.  I hadn't really given those details much thought at the time, but after we discussed it, I flipped back through the pages and realized just how much those colors were used in the story.  Also, I never really considered there to be love triangles.  I wasn't really sure what to think of Yukio so I didn't give much thought to him, as a character.  Yoko didn't seem to even notice Shimamura, so I didn't consider that a love triangle either, so it was interesting to connect them all in such a way.

Pedro Paramo Part 1

Oh boy! This story is making me go crazy! I can't keep track of all these characters they keep introducing, who's point of view we are in, and whether each passage is from the past or the present. I find the story very interesting and the characters are all very intriguing. I'm still not entirely sure what is going on but from what I can see, the old lady Eduviges can communicate with the dead and is pretty much all-knowing. The main narrator is on a journey to make his father, Pedro, pay for not caring for him and his mother, but Pedro is apparently dead. Then we've got some flashbacks of Pedro's life and some interesting stories from several different characters. I am still reading it so I haven't figured anything out yet but it's really interesting and makes you think as you read, in order to make all the connections between characters. I'm very interested to see how this all turns out in the end because it just sounds like a whole lot of crazy to me at this point!

Things Fall Apart 2

I have just started the second part of the story, but I thought that the isa-ifi ceremony was very interesting!  I thought it was intriguing that the sisters came for the ceremony and they did the questioning, because it made the females role seem more significant than what Okonkwo is use to.  I'm only on the second chapter of this section, but I really like Okonkwo's uncle Uchendu so far.  He seems very wise and I loved his gathering with his children and his nephew.  The tough questions he was asking gave Okonkwo a lot to think about regarding the way he treats his family.  It is clear that family means everything to Uchendu and he has not had an easy life, but I love that he has moved past his grief and he is trying to encourage Okonkwo to do the same and to make his life worth something.  

Things Fall Apart 1

When we first started reading this, I was discouraged by how long it was and I wan't sure if I would like the story.  Since I'm not finished with it yet, I can't say for sure whether I like it or not.  For me, the first chapter or two were difficult to get into.  I'm not really sure how to feel about Okonkwo either.  I understand why he wouldn't want to be anything like his father, but the way he treats is family is very sad.  I don't think he's completely bad though.  I think that in the second part we might get to see his feelings.  The introduction of Ikemefuna was nice too.  He was a good addition to the family.  He was very helpful to Nwoye, who really needed the extra attention since his father only paid attention to him when he was criticizing or beating him.  I was very upset that they killed Ikemefuna.  I'm curious to see what will happen to Okonkwo in part 2 now that he has fled his home.

Tuesday

Well since I was sick last week, I completely forgot that I was going to do a blog about our Tuesday class.  I was pretty skeptical when I was told that we were going to be acting out the Dadie and Diop stories.  I hate doing any form of presentations but I actually enjoyed it!  I had a lot more fun than I thought I would and it was a new and fun way to go over the material.  While I am very proud of my groups performance, I absolutely loved the other groups presentation of "The Bone".  It was hilarious and I really enjoyed it!  When I read it, I didn't really see it as a humorous story.  I honestly thought that it was annoying.  However, when we went over it and then the other group presented it, it made me really enjoy the story.  I also was very glad to get the information regarding the major and what former students have done with their degrees.  I have been asking myself what I want to do with my major and it was very helpful to learn about the success others are having.

The Man Who Was Almost A Man

I remember the first time I shot a gun.  Unlike Dave, my first time shooting was with a rifle.  I was so terrified because I knew that it was going to be loud and I was positive that it would have a bad kick, so I kept asking my dad "Are you sure it won't hurt me?" and he always told me it would just feel like someone was pushing on my shoulder.  Well, he lied.  I was sore for days and didn't want to shoot ever again, but I changed my mind real quick when I was given a rifle of my own.  After practicing with it enough, I barely feel the kick anymore but the sound is still awful.  But I got use to it and it doesn't scare me anymore.  Anyways, just like Dave, I felt so powerful and really cool because I'm from a small town where pretty much everyone hunts, even the girls.  So I understand the excitement that he felt about owning a gun, but he bought the gun for very wrong reasons.  I don't really have a problem with the fact that he wanted it so that he would be a man, because being able to use a gun is something that would make a boy feel like a man, so that was understandable.  But what he was planning to use the gun for was terrible!  And I knew the moment he hid it under his pillow that someone was going to end up shot.


In the beginning of this story, when Dave first said he wanted to kill someone, by the use of vulgar language, I assumed that Dave was just a very southern white boy, so I was really surprised when I got further into the story and realized that he was actually black.  So I'm really confused about who he was so angry with at the beginning of the story that he wanted to shoot.  I actually don't think race was meant to be the issue for this story.  As it said in Wright's biography, it was to tell a coming of age story for a young boy who wanted to be respected.  But anyways... I thought the story was very interesting and it teaches a nice lesson.  It shows that it takes more than being a tough guy, or in this case being able to shoot a gun, to make a boy a man.  The fact that he ran away in the end to someplace where he could be a man showed that he was actually still just a scared little boy.  

Rest In Peace Jenny.  Poor horse!