Lindsay's Blog

every little hurricane

rnmitchelllindsay — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:03:01 +0000

This novel, I think, has a very captivating first chapter. Everything we read is somehwhat interesting from the start, but this chapter of this book really caught my attention and made me want to read more. The different aspects of Victor’s life are immediately touched upon: his family and their drinking problems, how his father has no money to support the family, when they actually get money they spend it all on alcohol and joke about how there is no food in the refrigerator, and Victor’s dreams of having a better life. “In those dreams, Victor and his parents would be sitting in Mother’s Kitchen restaurant in Spokane, waiting out a storm. Rain and lightning. Unemployment and poverty. Commodity food. Flash floods” (Alexie 5). I think that the “hurricane” and bad weather is shown to be in relation with the family troubles.

mcmurphy and chief bromden

rnmitchelllindsay — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 16:37:56 +0000

There is certainly a change in the chief with the progression of this novel. When he speaks to McMurphy for the first time, I do not think that he was in any way “tricked” into talking. I think that he began to feel comfortable with McMurphy and thought that it was about time to speak to someone who he knew would not share his secret. I was personally very shocked to learn that the chief was able to hear and speak- I never saw that coming. When McMurphy expresses that he wants the chief to rebel with him, the chief says that he is too small to rebel. Obviously, he does not mean that he is too small physically, because if he really wanted to rebel then he could do so. I think when he says that, he means that he does not have enough courage to leave. He opens up to McMurphy and tells him about his life before the ward and of his father, and I think that his father made him feel so little inside, and that might be why he says that he is too “small” to rebel.

When McMurphy takes everyone fishing, you can sense the uncertainty in all of the men. Most of them are very cautious about the trip. But when they return, they are all beaming with glee and proud of their victory. I think it is great how McMurphy wants to, in a way, liberate the men. Most, if not all, of the men will never leave the ward, so this was a chance for them to have a little adventure outside to bring happiness to their lives, and maybe give them some strength in knowing they can do something without being in the institution.

Blood Wedding

rnmitchelllindsay — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:24:16 +0000

In this play marriage, to me, is not shown as the traditional way I would think of it. In this particular culture marriage is all about arrangements and who has the most money to offer, it is not about true love or finding your soul mate infact, when/if you actually fall in love with someone who you were not arranged with or with someone who is not wealthy then that is looked down upon. The natural need and want of humans is to love and be loved, and when society gets in the way of true love, some people will fight for what they want. The bride is facing a struggle with her own subject position when she finds that she is in love with Leonardo. She has to now make a decision as to which path she will follow: the path chosen for her, or her own.

the house of spirits

rnmitchelllindsay — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 15:45:36 +0000

Another character in this novel that I have come to enjoy is Clara. She is a very important person in this novel because she is the one who holds her family together; she is strong, spiritual, loving, and peaceful. She is a character who I was able to figure out easily because as she was growing up, her personality never really changed, and that is probably the main reason why I like her the most. Also, when she is hit by Esteban, she stands up for herself and does not speak to him anymore. However, she knew that it was in her destiny to be with him, so she stayed with him until the end. I admire her, and this is why I have come to like her the best!

-just some food for thought

Blanca

rnmitchelllindsay — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 15:35:11 +0000

I can’t help but feel sorry for Blanca in this novel. Personally, I am not very familiar with this culture, but I know that I would never want to go through some of this things that she has, even if it is the “norm”. She first fell in love with Pedro when she met him.. and that’s great, but then she was forced to marry Jean. If that’s not enough, she then leaves jean to go have Pedro’s baby. So she is now raising her baby, not with her husband, and doesn’t yet want to run away with the father of her baby because of other issues going on in their society. Too complicated for me!

ceremony

rnmitchelllindsay — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 15:20:16 +0000

Throughout the novel, I think the significance of the stories is that they show how important they are to the Native American culture. I also think that Tayo might feel that he is somehow connected to his family and heritage because of how some of the stories are told. As he is growing up and changing, he is getting closer and closer to his ceremony, and these stories in the novel show the journey through his progression in his community and his transformation to becoming more like the people he is surrounded with.

Second Blog

rnmitchelllindsay — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 15:42:57 +0000

At first, when I thought of popular forms of text such as fairy tales and lyrics, I did not classify them as what I consider to be literature, but the more I thought about it, the more I am convinced that whether you are reading a novel, singing your favorite song, or reading The Three Little Pigs, there is a message in the text. Though a novel and lyrics are not conveyed in the exact same manner, you can break a book down to see a deeper message just like you can pick apart song lyrics to find meaning. I think that each of the previously mentioned texts are worth teaching.

Why Fairy Tales

rnmitchelllindsay — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:33:53 +0000

When I was growing up, I was shown stories such as Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, etc. These stories are what most people would classify as a typical fairy tale, but are they too “sugar coated”? Each of the previously mentioned stories has a main character whom is at a disadvantage, goes through a hard time, and ulimately has a “they lived happily ever after” ending; this is our idea of a fairy tale. Some people might hope that fairy tales could become more true to how the world actually is, and i know that life does not always have happy endings, but as a child I enjoyed seeing Cinderella end up with her Prince Charming and I liked to watch as the Beast became a handsome man again. I believe that little children should not be shown extreme dangers of the world through childrens books and movies such as the Grimms Tales presents. They have enough time to learn about how cruel the world can be, some children even grow up with hard times from the time they are born, so we should just keep the fairy tales how they are and let children continue to expand their imaginations and have a sense of peace while they watch and listen to childrens stories.
If we read these stories without any prior preconceptions about how fairy tales are, we might learn that there is a lesson behind each fairy tale. Whether the lesson is to never give up, or be kind to others no matter how they treat you, or to see the good in all people, I think that these lessons are important if you are a first time reader.