I was having trouble thinking about another topic to blog about for "My Sister's Keeper" so I decided to go back and re-read the part that I couldn't focus on the first time that I read through it. During the end, I was so desperate to finish and have a nice cry that the words didn't register as much as they should have. Jodi Picoult has this style in her writing where she throws in these small comments which are actually huge concepts. This is what makes her books so interesting to read, the reader always ends up thinking deeper than normal.
The first comment that caught my eye in the epilogue was an observation of their mother. Kate notices, "she began to look for signs - plants that bloomed too early, eggs with double yolks, salt spilled in the shape of letters" (421). When the reader first reads this, they think the mother desperate and kind of pitiful. But if they think about it, what mother would be able to see anything as mundane as it used to be. Everything would be filled with their daughter's face and mind. After the sudden, random death of a daughter, the miracle recovery of another daughter, and the troubled son graduating from the police academy, is it really insane to think Anna might be hiding in that morning's eggs? From the outside perspective, yes, it is insane. But if was happening to me, I don't know if I could remain sane without that shred of hope. The mother will spend the rest of her life waiting for the next "interaction" with Anna, but that might be better than the alternatives.
The next thought provoking comment is, "Grief is a curious think, when it happens unexpectedly. It is a Band-Aid being ripped away, taking the top layer off a family" (422). I really liked that metaphor because on the outside, skin is soft and smooth but if you take off the first layer, if you rip a Band-Aid off, it becomes blotchy and less smooth and stingy. A family is like that, in the way that it has many layers, built up for protection. When one gets ripped off, the strongest layer of protection is gone. The strongest layer is always in the front, like with skin, or with chess. The pawns are in front because they have the strongest defense. If all the pawns are lost, the game gets harder.
As it turned out, the epilogue was full of impressive thoughts that I had missed the first time. That might have been a good thing, however, because at the time it probably would have brought on a new wave of tears. I'm glad I went back and re-read it because I would have missed out on one of the best parts of the book.
Picoult, Jodi. My Sister's Keeper. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Blog...5 Quarter 2
SPOILERS
Earlier today, I got distracted skimming a book that was buried in the piles of books in my closet. The book is Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson. The book is mostly a teenage girl book that I read with a friend of mine a few years ago. My mom would probably refer to it as trash but I still enjoyed reading it, stupid as it may be. The basic story is about three girls who come from completely different worlds who meet on a peach orchard and become unlikely friends. Murphy is the first girl introduced and was consequently my favorite. Her mom didn't really care about her along with some other hardships. The quote in the book that I took notice of is a thought of Murphy's. The passage goes, "He was the same as anybody else. Murphy breathed a sigh of relief. It felt good to be let down" (183). When I read this, I thought back to My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and how that line sort of summarized most of the characters.
I'll start with Jesse, because he's always been a favorite of mine. He's been let down so much in his life that he starts to get uncomfortable when things are going his way. That's why he tries to rebel, to minimize the amount of time spent exceeding his expectations. He tries to get on his families nerves and flirt with Julia because he expects that they will be angry with him, or ignore him. And when he's isolated, he's in his most comfortable element.
With Anna, she keeps expecting her mother to care more about her and not ask for the donations. Every time she has to donate something new to her sister, she feels let down. This doesn't hurt her though because if she wasn't let down, she would be in unmarked territory and wouldn't know how to proceed. Would she actually not donate to her sister? It's easier for her when her mother lets her down.
Kate gets disappointed by her sickness. Whenever it comes back, she might feel a little more mentally stable, because she knows what's going on and knows what her body is doing. When the Leukemia disappeared for a while, she was nervous because of the unknown. Although getting sick again was a let down, in some ways, it might be the better option. For everybody, there's an aspect in their lives that is stable and doesn't knock us off our feet or raise our hopes. In a way, everyone needs something like that to ground us. Change is good, but if everything changes, the result wouldn't resemble the components.
Anderson, Jodi L. Peaches. New York: Alloy Entertainment, 2005.
Picoult, Jodi. My Sister's Keeper. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004.
Earlier today, I got distracted skimming a book that was buried in the piles of books in my closet. The book is Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson. The book is mostly a teenage girl book that I read with a friend of mine a few years ago. My mom would probably refer to it as trash but I still enjoyed reading it, stupid as it may be. The basic story is about three girls who come from completely different worlds who meet on a peach orchard and become unlikely friends. Murphy is the first girl introduced and was consequently my favorite. Her mom didn't really care about her along with some other hardships. The quote in the book that I took notice of is a thought of Murphy's. The passage goes, "He was the same as anybody else. Murphy breathed a sigh of relief. It felt good to be let down" (183). When I read this, I thought back to My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and how that line sort of summarized most of the characters.
I'll start with Jesse, because he's always been a favorite of mine. He's been let down so much in his life that he starts to get uncomfortable when things are going his way. That's why he tries to rebel, to minimize the amount of time spent exceeding his expectations. He tries to get on his families nerves and flirt with Julia because he expects that they will be angry with him, or ignore him. And when he's isolated, he's in his most comfortable element.
With Anna, she keeps expecting her mother to care more about her and not ask for the donations. Every time she has to donate something new to her sister, she feels let down. This doesn't hurt her though because if she wasn't let down, she would be in unmarked territory and wouldn't know how to proceed. Would she actually not donate to her sister? It's easier for her when her mother lets her down.
Kate gets disappointed by her sickness. Whenever it comes back, she might feel a little more mentally stable, because she knows what's going on and knows what her body is doing. When the Leukemia disappeared for a while, she was nervous because of the unknown. Although getting sick again was a let down, in some ways, it might be the better option. For everybody, there's an aspect in their lives that is stable and doesn't knock us off our feet or raise our hopes. In a way, everyone needs something like that to ground us. Change is good, but if everything changes, the result wouldn't resemble the components.
Anderson, Jodi L. Peaches. New York: Alloy Entertainment, 2005.
Picoult, Jodi. My Sister's Keeper. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Censorship Annotated Bibliographies and Research Question
Research Question: Is the risk of too much exposure to a touchy subject worth the possibility of missing out on a life changing book?
Note. The unbolded terms after the question are underlined. Also, some stuff got deleted and wouldn't post with the URLs in the citations.
Blume, Judy. Judy Blume On The Web. Mark I. West. 2006. 7 Dec. 2008.http://judyblume.com/censorship.php.
Judy Blume is a writer who's books are mainly directed and children and teenagers. The target the process of growing up and the difficulties that come with it, along with some abnormal situations. She believes that the censorship on her books are caused by fear of losing control of her children's lives. In an interview with Mark West, Blume implied that she thinks of what might get censored, and then realizes the topic which needs exposure. Blume's censored books include but are not limited to, Forever, Blubber, Deenie, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Tiger Eyes, all of which made the top 100 challenged books list as defined by the ALA. Blume's perspective on censorship of literature makes her a valid opponent of censorship.
Ulin, David L. "Banned Books Week A Thorny Issue."Los Angeles Times. 29 Sep. 2008. L.A. Times. 7 Dec. 2008 <http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-et-banned29-2008sep29,0,2160426.story>.
David Ulin is a staff writer on the Los Angeles Times. He often covers social issues and usually shies noticeably away from the common view, or at least shows a different perspective. In this article, he covers censorship and why it would be nearly impossible to abolish it due to the fact that everybody has differing ideals and opinions and it would be unreasonable to try to accommodate all of them. He illustrates that it's foolish to believe that a book would not influence someone's thoughts because if that were the case, there would be no need to ban them. He renders the argument that people might not be affected by what they read, invalid. He counters his own argument by saying that there is no book that someone would be better off not reading. His opinions would both condone and condemn literary censorship.
Note. The unbolded terms after the question are underlined. Also, some stuff got deleted and wouldn't post with the URLs in the citations.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Blog #4, Quarter 2
SPOILER ALERT : MY SISTER'S KEEPER
While reading "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult, I had a constant Jesse radar, where I watched for upcoming chapter's from Anna's older brother Jesse's perspective. From the very beginning of the book, I've had an interest in that character for the simple reason of him being the rebel. Naturally, people are interested in others who disregard rules. One of the first descriptions of Jesse was that he had figured out a way to make his own alcohol in his apartment. This sets his character up as being brilliant, but misunderstood.
My favorite passage of the entire book comes from page 93. It's Jesse's point of view and the scene is set in the bathroom of their house a few years earlier. It's actually Jesse explaining a memory he has of Anna. The memory consisted of him pouring flammable bath splash onto the floor and setting it on fire. Anna walks in and sees him. He expects her to be afraid as he pours her name onto the tiles and ignites but instead she pours a weird design on the floor and tells him to re-light it. To me, this held significance because of the lines that followed it. Jesse explains, "Anna is the only proof I have that I was born into this family, [...] On the surface, we're polar opposites. Under the skin, though, we're the same," (93). This passage resonated with me and showed me the importance of Jesse in the story. To Anna's parents, Anna was a sort of second choice and even though they love her as much as their other children, she wouldn't have existed if there wasn't an underlying incentive for her life. For Jesse, however, Anna being born was the best thing that could have happened to him. She kept him home and in touch with his family. Anna was the only person who talked to Jesse like he is on the inside and not what she saw on the outside.
I thought this was so interesting because for most of the family, Anna hadn't connected with them on a personal level. For example, when Brian asks Anna about her detached behavior, Anna doesn't even realize that the question was put to her instead of her sister. All he said was, "Something happen today?" and "You feel okay?" (39) but Anna instinctively looked to her sister to answer. For Jesse, Anna is the one person who he can talk to without worrying about disappointing her. That's why he became the most interesting character for me.
Picoult, Jodi. My Sister's Keeper. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004.
While reading "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult, I had a constant Jesse radar, where I watched for upcoming chapter's from Anna's older brother Jesse's perspective. From the very beginning of the book, I've had an interest in that character for the simple reason of him being the rebel. Naturally, people are interested in others who disregard rules. One of the first descriptions of Jesse was that he had figured out a way to make his own alcohol in his apartment. This sets his character up as being brilliant, but misunderstood.
My favorite passage of the entire book comes from page 93. It's Jesse's point of view and the scene is set in the bathroom of their house a few years earlier. It's actually Jesse explaining a memory he has of Anna. The memory consisted of him pouring flammable bath splash onto the floor and setting it on fire. Anna walks in and sees him. He expects her to be afraid as he pours her name onto the tiles and ignites but instead she pours a weird design on the floor and tells him to re-light it. To me, this held significance because of the lines that followed it. Jesse explains, "Anna is the only proof I have that I was born into this family, [...] On the surface, we're polar opposites. Under the skin, though, we're the same," (93). This passage resonated with me and showed me the importance of Jesse in the story. To Anna's parents, Anna was a sort of second choice and even though they love her as much as their other children, she wouldn't have existed if there wasn't an underlying incentive for her life. For Jesse, however, Anna being born was the best thing that could have happened to him. She kept him home and in touch with his family. Anna was the only person who talked to Jesse like he is on the inside and not what she saw on the outside.
I thought this was so interesting because for most of the family, Anna hadn't connected with them on a personal level. For example, when Brian asks Anna about her detached behavior, Anna doesn't even realize that the question was put to her instead of her sister. All he said was, "Something happen today?" and "You feel okay?" (39) but Anna instinctively looked to her sister to answer. For Jesse, Anna is the one person who he can talk to without worrying about disappointing her. That's why he became the most interesting character for me.
Picoult, Jodi. My Sister's Keeper. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004.
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