This spring break I did kind of a lot of reading. In addition to Judges in the Poisonwood Bible, I read:
- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
- Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
- Dry by Augusten Burroughs
- Shopgirl by Steve Martin
I also started a bunch of other books. I had a lot of time on my hands. Now I’m kind of an Augusten Burroughs freak, and I was always a David Sedaris freak. They both write memoirs. Augusten Burroughs’s are a bit more depressing, whereas David Sedaris’s are more humorous. This made me start thinking about all the people they are writing about. Usually, writing a memoir about someone, especially these kinds of memoirs, usually means that they are particularly laughable. Even if you change the names and places, these people definitely know that they are being made fun of. Even the people who look the best in them are usually called fat or stupid or something, and people tend to pick out the bad things against the good ones. I guess picking that kind of a career can mean offending a whole slough of people on your way to fame.
I recorded a show on my DVR called October Road. It’s a new show on ABC, and I recorded it because the girl from That 70’s show is in it. The point is, it’s exactly about what I’ve been thinking about. This guy leaves his hometown and writes about all his friends back home and makes most of them look bad, and ten years later he comes back. A lot of people hate him because of what he said about them, and some people were offended because they weren’t in it at all.
Then I thought, maybe some of these people deserve it. Hey, if you’re going to call a guy a pickpocket and say he smells bad on the subway because you don’t realize he speaks English, maybe you deserve to have the world know what a prick you are. Maybe if you end up in rehab for being a creepy sex addict, you should be prepared to have millions of people know all about it.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Literature 8 No. 4: New Critic
For The Judges, I decided to be the New Critic. My job was to identify key passages. This was kind of exhausting because this was a long chapter and this book is like one gigantic Key Passage, especially when Orleanna is narrating. I would be here forever if I typed out the whole quotes, so I’m just going to give the page numbers.
“That was the last I would ever hear… good fortune.” (196)
This is Orleanna talking about Nathan. This is a significant quote because it gives us some reason why Nathan is the way he is. Orleanna explains about Nathan being drafted, and how much it changed him. This reassures us that Nathan is not just a psychotic at random; he has his reasons.
“I’d lost my wings… Kingdom.” (201)
This is at the end of Orleanna’s narrative where she talks about her history with Nathan. She relates herself to the Congo. “Poor Congo, barefoot bride of men who took her jewels and promised the Kingdom.” It’s significant because it helps us to understand Orleanna better. A lot of the passages I chose explain why characters are the way they are. It’s Catcher in the Rye all over again.
“He explains the difference… she is named Leah.” (209)
This is Adah talking about Nelson explaining the concept of names to her. This reminded me of the Woman Warrior and the No Name Woman. Names have a lot of significance in the Congo. This topic of names and the names that the girls are given by the villagers comes up again a lot throughout The Judges.
“Now our whole family… we hardly understood them.” (230)
At first, it can seem like the Prices are the perfect family, but quotes like these show that they are as far from perfect as can be. Leah is narrating this, talking about the dysfunction that seeps into the family when they are in the Congo.
“All my life… He has no inkling.” (244)
This is Leah talking about how she is starting to doubt how her father handles their situation. This is a huge turning point for Leah, and it goes back to what Orleanna says earlier about “The day does come, finally, when a daughter can walk away from a man such as that – if she’s lucky. His own ferocity turns over inside her and she turns away hard, never to speak to him again.” (191)
“If I die… But you won’t see me.” (273)
This is Ruth May talking about all the bad things she’s done. Earlier, Nelson gave her a nkisi, a little box that the people in Kilanga wear around their necks to make them disappear if they’re about to die. He tells her to think of a safe place, and her chosen place is to be the green mamba snake in the tree.
“That was the last I would ever hear… good fortune.” (196)
This is Orleanna talking about Nathan. This is a significant quote because it gives us some reason why Nathan is the way he is. Orleanna explains about Nathan being drafted, and how much it changed him. This reassures us that Nathan is not just a psychotic at random; he has his reasons.
“I’d lost my wings… Kingdom.” (201)
This is at the end of Orleanna’s narrative where she talks about her history with Nathan. She relates herself to the Congo. “Poor Congo, barefoot bride of men who took her jewels and promised the Kingdom.” It’s significant because it helps us to understand Orleanna better. A lot of the passages I chose explain why characters are the way they are. It’s Catcher in the Rye all over again.
“He explains the difference… she is named Leah.” (209)
This is Adah talking about Nelson explaining the concept of names to her. This reminded me of the Woman Warrior and the No Name Woman. Names have a lot of significance in the Congo. This topic of names and the names that the girls are given by the villagers comes up again a lot throughout The Judges.
“Now our whole family… we hardly understood them.” (230)
At first, it can seem like the Prices are the perfect family, but quotes like these show that they are as far from perfect as can be. Leah is narrating this, talking about the dysfunction that seeps into the family when they are in the Congo.
“All my life… He has no inkling.” (244)
This is Leah talking about how she is starting to doubt how her father handles their situation. This is a huge turning point for Leah, and it goes back to what Orleanna says earlier about “The day does come, finally, when a daughter can walk away from a man such as that – if she’s lucky. His own ferocity turns over inside her and she turns away hard, never to speak to him again.” (191)
“If I die… But you won’t see me.” (273)
This is Ruth May talking about all the bad things she’s done. Earlier, Nelson gave her a nkisi, a little box that the people in Kilanga wear around their necks to make them disappear if they’re about to die. He tells her to think of a safe place, and her chosen place is to be the green mamba snake in the tree.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Mosquito Coast and Poisonwood Bible
In English we watched the movie the Mosquito Coast with Harrison Ford. We watched it because it related to The Poisonwood Bible.
I thought that the father in the movie is very similar to Nathan Price. They both have to defend what they believe in, although one believes in science and one believes in God. They both traveled to another country to try to civilize the people there, to change the way they are. In both cases, it ends up blowing up in their faces. I could also picture the mother in the movie as Orleanna Price. They are both kind of quiet. Both wives went along with their husbands’ antics in the beginning but showed their own opinions later in the story.
The children in the Mosquito Coast do not play as big a role in the story as the children in the Poisonwood Bible. The oldest son, Charlie, is the one telling the story in the movie, but the other three children do not have much of a role. In the Poisonwood Bible, all of the children tell the story and are an important part of the book. Similar to the mothers, the children follow their father in the beginning but eventually go against them.
The general storylines of both the Poisonwood Bible and the Mosquito Coast were very similar for the beginning, but we haven’t finished the book so I can’t speak for the rest of it.
I thought that the father in the movie is very similar to Nathan Price. They both have to defend what they believe in, although one believes in science and one believes in God. They both traveled to another country to try to civilize the people there, to change the way they are. In both cases, it ends up blowing up in their faces. I could also picture the mother in the movie as Orleanna Price. They are both kind of quiet. Both wives went along with their husbands’ antics in the beginning but showed their own opinions later in the story.
The children in the Mosquito Coast do not play as big a role in the story as the children in the Poisonwood Bible. The oldest son, Charlie, is the one telling the story in the movie, but the other three children do not have much of a role. In the Poisonwood Bible, all of the children tell the story and are an important part of the book. Similar to the mothers, the children follow their father in the beginning but eventually go against them.
The general storylines of both the Poisonwood Bible and the Mosquito Coast were very similar for the beginning, but we haven’t finished the book so I can’t speak for the rest of it.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Literature 8 No. 3: Character Analyst
Leah: In Revelations, Leah provides the most information about what’s going on around the family in the Congo. She talks about the scenery and the other villagers. She also sees everything from a very optimistic point of view. She says of their new home, “Oh it’s a heavenly paradise in the Congo and sometimes I want to live here forever (103).” She has a strong desire to please people, especially her father. Everyone else sees moving to the Congo as a bad thing, except Leah and Nathan, and Nathan never narrates, so Leah provides a unique view of the story.
Ruth May: Ruth May talks a lot about what the other family members are doing. She quotes her mother and father a lot. She is very matter-of-fact, and tends to believe whatever she hears. She is a little mischievous, getting into trouble by climbing trees and spying on people. She has a different kind of bias that the rest of them, because he hasn’t quite formed his own opinions yet. I think that because she is the youngest, people aren’t aware of her as much as they are of the others, so she picks up some interesting information here and there. She breaks her arm and goes to the doctor, and she overhears a conversation that she probably shouldn’t have.
Rachel: Rachel probably has the most negative view of all of them about their situation. She hates everything about Kilanga. She provides the opposite opinions of Leah. When she talks about their surroundings, it’s in a negative way. She is very self-centered and cares a lot about her appearance. She never really gets used to her life in the Congo.
Adah: Adah provides the most unique view of the story, a view twisted inside out and backwards. She has her own opinions more than any of the others do. If we didn’t know she was a Reverend’s daughter, it would be hard to tell. Like Ruth May, the others underestimate her. They forget she’s there a lot, and don’t notice when she leaves the house for long periods of time. When a lion supposedly ate her, the others all believed it even though she was sitting right on the porch.
Ruth May: Ruth May talks a lot about what the other family members are doing. She quotes her mother and father a lot. She is very matter-of-fact, and tends to believe whatever she hears. She is a little mischievous, getting into trouble by climbing trees and spying on people. She has a different kind of bias that the rest of them, because he hasn’t quite formed his own opinions yet. I think that because she is the youngest, people aren’t aware of her as much as they are of the others, so she picks up some interesting information here and there. She breaks her arm and goes to the doctor, and she overhears a conversation that she probably shouldn’t have.
Rachel: Rachel probably has the most negative view of all of them about their situation. She hates everything about Kilanga. She provides the opposite opinions of Leah. When she talks about their surroundings, it’s in a negative way. She is very self-centered and cares a lot about her appearance. She never really gets used to her life in the Congo.
Adah: Adah provides the most unique view of the story, a view twisted inside out and backwards. She has her own opinions more than any of the others do. If we didn’t know she was a Reverend’s daughter, it would be hard to tell. Like Ruth May, the others underestimate her. They forget she’s there a lot, and don’t notice when she leaves the house for long periods of time. When a lion supposedly ate her, the others all believed it even though she was sitting right on the porch.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Being Leah Price
At school we are reading The Poisonwood Bible, and we did an activity where we walked around campus for 20 minutes, seeing the campus through one of the character's eyes. My character is Leah Price.
Today we visited a school in Hawaii. It was amazing! God must have placed his blessings upon this place, because it seemed almost too perfect to be real. The ground was covered in lush, green grass, and trees and bushes sprouted out of the soil wherever you looked! I even recognized some of the plants from Kilanga. I saw the same scarlet ginger that grows behind our house, and rows of frangipani trees in front of a large, cream-colored building. I wanted so badly to talk to the boys and girls here, but I had about as much luck with that as I did back in the Congo. Here they don’t have that haunted look behind their eyes, those married eyes, but there is something else. It reminds me of Rachel, that imperious, slightly haughty expression. They don’t stare into our souls, but glance at us, and then turn back to each other, uninterested. At least here they wear real clothes. It was a relief to hear people speaking english again, but even here I heard words I didn't understand. My family quickly dispersed, all of us making our own way through this new, exotic world. Rachel had found a group of beautiful girls her own age, and sat on a green picnic table with them, flicking her white-blond hair over her shoulder. Ruth May had marched up to a group of large, intimidating-looking boys and appeared to be bossing them around. They looked at her amusedly, eyebrows raised. Mother sat quietly in the shade under a huge tree, eyes on her youngest child. Adah shuffled across a path, dragging her bad leg behind her and seeming to see everything at once. Father had gone up to the chapel. He pointed out to me the small cross on the side of the smooth, white building, and smiled in satisfaction as if he himself had put it there. I followed him for a while, but got distracted by the olive-green pond that it was sitting in. I wondered if there were alligators in it, like the river in Kilanga. I wish I knew the names of everything here, so that I could write them in my notebook, right next to the names of the plants and animals from Kilanga. Imagine, another Garden of Eden, clear across the world! I wandered along the paths, stopping in wide, open fields to spin around in circles, arms out wide. There couldn’t have been a single sinner in the place; it was so beautiful, just like a storybook. I could have stayed forever.
Today we visited a school in Hawaii. It was amazing! God must have placed his blessings upon this place, because it seemed almost too perfect to be real. The ground was covered in lush, green grass, and trees and bushes sprouted out of the soil wherever you looked! I even recognized some of the plants from Kilanga. I saw the same scarlet ginger that grows behind our house, and rows of frangipani trees in front of a large, cream-colored building. I wanted so badly to talk to the boys and girls here, but I had about as much luck with that as I did back in the Congo. Here they don’t have that haunted look behind their eyes, those married eyes, but there is something else. It reminds me of Rachel, that imperious, slightly haughty expression. They don’t stare into our souls, but glance at us, and then turn back to each other, uninterested. At least here they wear real clothes. It was a relief to hear people speaking english again, but even here I heard words I didn't understand. My family quickly dispersed, all of us making our own way through this new, exotic world. Rachel had found a group of beautiful girls her own age, and sat on a green picnic table with them, flicking her white-blond hair over her shoulder. Ruth May had marched up to a group of large, intimidating-looking boys and appeared to be bossing them around. They looked at her amusedly, eyebrows raised. Mother sat quietly in the shade under a huge tree, eyes on her youngest child. Adah shuffled across a path, dragging her bad leg behind her and seeming to see everything at once. Father had gone up to the chapel. He pointed out to me the small cross on the side of the smooth, white building, and smiled in satisfaction as if he himself had put it there. I followed him for a while, but got distracted by the olive-green pond that it was sitting in. I wondered if there were alligators in it, like the river in Kilanga. I wish I knew the names of everything here, so that I could write them in my notebook, right next to the names of the plants and animals from Kilanga. Imagine, another Garden of Eden, clear across the world! I wandered along the paths, stopping in wide, open fields to spin around in circles, arms out wide. There couldn’t have been a single sinner in the place; it was so beautiful, just like a storybook. I could have stayed forever.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
SAT Essay Analysis
In class we wrote a practice SAT essay. The topic was whether or not the media influences our culture and what we find important.
I definitely do not think that my essay is my best work. I don’t really work well under pressure and that’s something I can only improve by practice.
Something that I should have done was to take the first few minutes to outline what I was going to write. I was worried about the time limit so I just wanted to start writing. If I had taken a few minutes to just think, I could have some up with a better example. I also should keep my eye on the clock. When Mr. Watson announced that we had 3 minutes left, it was kind of a surprise to me.
For most essays, we are supposed to just pick a side. I didn’t know about this in-between business. It does make more sense, now that I think about it, to show the complexity of the issue, but I am also afraid that if I try to argue both sides I’ll just end up contradicting myself.
I learned that because these essay-readers who sit in a hotel room and decide our future read quite a lot of these, our essay needs to stand out. You can’t feed them the same stuff that they’ve read a million times. Next time we write a practice essay, I will
a) Not pick one side, but discuss the complexity of the issue and make a decision later,
b) Take some time to outline the essay,
c) brainstorm some good examples, and
d) use my example to make my point, but still discussing more sides of the issue, showing it’s complexity.
I definitely do not think that my essay is my best work. I don’t really work well under pressure and that’s something I can only improve by practice.
Something that I should have done was to take the first few minutes to outline what I was going to write. I was worried about the time limit so I just wanted to start writing. If I had taken a few minutes to just think, I could have some up with a better example. I also should keep my eye on the clock. When Mr. Watson announced that we had 3 minutes left, it was kind of a surprise to me.
For most essays, we are supposed to just pick a side. I didn’t know about this in-between business. It does make more sense, now that I think about it, to show the complexity of the issue, but I am also afraid that if I try to argue both sides I’ll just end up contradicting myself.
I learned that because these essay-readers who sit in a hotel room and decide our future read quite a lot of these, our essay needs to stand out. You can’t feed them the same stuff that they’ve read a million times. Next time we write a practice essay, I will
a) Not pick one side, but discuss the complexity of the issue and make a decision later,
b) Take some time to outline the essay,
c) brainstorm some good examples, and
d) use my example to make my point, but still discussing more sides of the issue, showing it’s complexity.
Literature 8 No. 2: Lexicographer
Crinolines - A coarse stiff fabric of cotton or horsehair used especially to line and stiffen hats and garments.
Phonograph - any sound-reproducing machine using records in the form of cylinders or discs.
Deluge - a great flood of water; inundation; flood.
Frangipani – a flower of a tropical American tree or shrub, Plumeria rubra, of the dogbane family, plumeria.
Stipend - a periodic payment, esp. a scholarship or fellowship allowance granted to a student.
Hyssop –
Putrefaction - the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter by bacteria and fungi that results in obnoxiously odorous products; rotting.
Semaphore - any of various devices for signaling by changing the position of a light, flag, etc.
Parable - a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
Furlong - a unit of distance, equal to 220 yards (201 m) or 1/8 mile
Desultory – lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful
Mongoloid - resembling the Mongols.
Phonograph - any sound-reproducing machine using records in the form of cylinders or discs.
Deluge - a great flood of water; inundation; flood.
Frangipani – a flower of a tropical American tree or shrub, Plumeria rubra, of the dogbane family, plumeria.
Stipend - a periodic payment, esp. a scholarship or fellowship allowance granted to a student.
Hyssop –
Putrefaction - the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter by bacteria and fungi that results in obnoxiously odorous products; rotting.
Semaphore - any of various devices for signaling by changing the position of a light, flag, etc.
Parable - a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
Furlong - a unit of distance, equal to 220 yards (201 m) or 1/8 mile
Desultory – lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful
Mongoloid - resembling the Mongols.
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