The Tale of Despereaux, 1.

My favorite character from Kate DiCamillo's, The Tale of Despereaux, is Princess Pea.  I really liked how this she is portrayed as having all of her needs taken care of, yet still capable of being kind and profoundly empathetic.  So often people who are given so much seem to come off as stuck up and disengaged to the feelings of others, but this is not the case in this novel.  Even after the death of her mother, the princess is able to forgive the rat (Roscuro), which is necessary for them to live.  Another example of her kindness is seen in how she treats Miggery Sow.  Princess Pea was kind to Miggery Sow from the start; she waved to her one day long ago, she related spoke to Miggery in a friendly way when she brought her some red thread, and most importantly, even after Miggery had plotted to capture her and drug her to the dungeon, Princess Pea was still kind and empathetic to her when Roscuro was telling Mig that nobody cares what she wants. 

The Alchemist, Bildungsroman.

The Alchemist is another example of a bildungsroman, made evident through the main character Santiago.  Like the protagonists in other novel, Santiago goes through a journey of self-cultivation in which he discovers many things about himself.  For Santiago, it takes a departure from the environment he knew as home to seek out his soul.  Through his travels from Spain to Egypt, seeking a treasure he is not really sure of, he is able to find out more than he even imagined about himself and ends up returning back to where he started.  Unlike the character of Esperanza, who develops herself in the confines of her community and sometimes without an option, Santiago chooses to undergo an actual journey.  However, this just reiterates the point from the novel of how everyone has their own personal legend, and these differences just represent how there are numerous ways that people can discover themselves and bring more fulfillment to their life.

The Alchemist, 1.

I read Paulo Coelho’s, The Alchemist, for the first time 2 years ago in my World Religions class, and it is a book that has stayed with me.  This time through, one of the things that stuck out to me the most was the notion of dreams as presented in this book.  Through Santiago and the people he encounters on his journey, dreams are presented as necessary in order to have purpose in life.  Furthermore, it inspired me to witness how one can make or break his or her own destiny.  Anyone can have a dream or a goal, but that is only the beginning.  One must have the desire and strength to execute it, and be capable of picking themselves up after the inevitable hardships that come on the journey.  Having an end in sight, while not knowing the path to get to that end, is incredibly scary.  However, like Santiago, it is necessary to forge ahead and to continue to make choices, even if you do not know the certain answer.  It is hopeful to imagine the world, as Colelho portrays it, as wanting you to succeed on your quest towards your destiny.

The House on Mango Street, 3.

The book, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros is definitely a bildungsroman, as exemplified through the character Esperanza.  Esperanza is the protagonist of the novella, who matures in both body and mind, through the one year of her life that is depicted to the reader.  The sum of the vignettes in the book make up the process or journey that Esperanza undergoes in moving from a girl to a woman, not to mention an individual, which was a difficult thing to do in her Chicano society, being both a female and a minority.  There were two vignettes that stood out to me as turning points in which Esperanza the girl becomes Esperanza the woman.  The first of these was the chapter called “Hips,” where Esperanza begins to realize the changes in her body and her difference from men.  This also is the point where she seems to recognize, although not really accept, the sexuality and power that comes with womanhood.  Secondly, the chapter “Red Clowns,” insinuates Esperanza being raped, and obviously strips her of an innocence of childhood, as well as making her realize again the battles of being a female.  While these chapters depict major events, both of which she did not have a choice in, which help turn Esperanza from a girl into a woman, she takes them in stride.  By the end of the book, it is obvious that Esperanza has taken her experiences and what she knows and has learned through the years and breaks the cycle of the typical female from her Latino section of Chicago.  Even more than that, not only is Esperanza courageous enough to leave what she knows for something more, she is brave enough to know that she will eventually return in order to help others.

The House on Mango Street, 2.

The portrayal of Esperanza's character in The House On Mango Street has a sort of kinship with a couple of the other characters that we have covered this semester.  Principally, the characters that I see as akin to Esperanza are Pi, Ike, Janie, and Lucy.  First of all, the importance of one's name and the background of having both a mother and a father connect Esperanza with the character of Pi.  Secondly, Esperanza and Ike share a profound sense of inheritance and heritage as represented through Esperanza's shame and Ike's action of renouncing his familial inheritance.  Thirdly, there are obvious connections between Esperanza and Janie as seemingly hindered individuals, being born female and a minority in society.  Lastly, I found the kinship between Esperanza and Lucy to be very interesting as they are nearly opposite in aspects.  These two characters are not an example of who I would of put together right away as having a connection, but I was really intrigued by our discussion in class today about how, despite all of their extraneous traits (like societal status, financial status, living situation, ethnicity, etc.), the fundamental issues they are going through are incredibly similar.  This is profound, especially in today's society with current events including wars on religion and violence between cultures, in that if we clear away the smoke from the bombs and the walls built up to the "other," I think what we would find is that at the core of every person is a heart and soul that wants to live, and grow, and prosper, just like you and me.

The House on Mango Street, 1.

I was immediately caught up in Sandra Cisneros’, The House on Mango Street.  Although we have already encountered female protagonists in this course, the character of Esperanza, as well as all of the other female characters depicted in this book, were so much more powerful and real than any of the others.  The way in which Cisneros weaves the theme of womanhood and the unseen, abusive relations that afflict nearly every female in Esperanza’s Latino neighborhood is incredible.  All of the snapshots we receive of the characters are so simple and unembellished, yet they manage to tug at my soul the whole way through.  One of the characters that stood out to me the most was Sally, a beautiful young girl who Esperanza looks up to at different points in her life.  For me, Sally’s character is the embodiment of male dominance in this Latino culture, where nothing is her own and there is no way to escape.  Even her beauty is not her own and betrays her in the end, as her good looks and sex appeal only lead to her abuse and confinement, first by her father and then by her husband. 

Life of Pi, 2

Death is a very strange event to imagine.  In Chapter 22 of Life of Pi, Pi is imaging the deaths of an agnostic and an atheist and what they are thinking just as the slip away from the realm of reality.  While the atheist is convinced by the glorious white light and immediately believes, the agnostic continues to doubt, even upon seeing the white light, writing it off as a possible glitch in his brains' functioning, brought about by death.  Death is not an event that I reflect upon often, and I somewhat prefer to keep it that way.  There has not been a lot of deaths in my family, and I never reflect on my own death, so I have never had a fear of death.  This short passage struck me because I can see myself in certain attitudes of atheist and agnostic people.  Just as I choose not to examine uncomfortable topics such as my own death, I think there are certainly times when I choose not to assess the quality of my life and my heart for fear of what I'll find there.  However, what disturbs me most about this passage is that death is imminent.  Unlike religion, where one can choose what they believe and cultivate a relationship with God that is personal, death is the same for everyone.  It is not a question of if it will happen, but when it will happen, and the reality that we cannot choose any of this for ourselves.  The positive thing though, which becomes clear in this passage, is that we can choose for ourselves the life we live, the way we cultivate our hearts and minds and souls, up until that point of departure from this earth.  In doing so, we will hopefully avoid having to come to a realization on our deathbed, of living a life that was not truly fulfilling.  

Life of Pi.1

I am sad that I have not been able to start this book yet, but on the other hand, I am glad that the weekend starts tomorrow so I can get caught up.  Just by reading the back cover of the book, I am very excited about the animals and love that their names!!!  Orange Juice the orangutan...the huge bengal tiger named Richard Parker...even "Pi" has a strange name, "Piscine Patel."  I have always believed that someone's name was a very important thing, and told a lot about them as they grew up.  I am looking forward to seeing why the author may have given respective characters their names, and how well they play their role.  

Going After Cacciato: 3

“To call Going After Cacciato a novel about war is like calling Moby-Dick a novel about whales.”  This quote by the New York Times really stuck out to me.  I read it both before beginning the novel and again after I had completed the novel and it really highlights how differently I perceived the novel once completed, versus at the beginning.  Before reading it, I had this book pinned as another obvious bildungsroman, where there is a particular character who matures and develops into an individual who is able to rationalize and confidently make their own choices.  However, I honestly cannot say I found that in Going After Cacciato, or more particularly, in the character of Paul Berlin as I thought was going to happen.  I kept waiting for it; I kept waiting for a profound moment where Paul Berlin would just tap in to his inner self, but it never happened.  Surprisingly, this was one of my favorite books we have read this semester, but I cannot call it a bildungsroman.  Paul Berlin reflects throughout the book, but all of his reflections seem detached.  Granted, it is war, but I feel like Paul Berlin never actually matures into his own person.  Looking back on his character, I think of him as imaginative and full of possibility, but not as a person who knows himself.  He lives in a dream world where possibility can actually turn to action, but even in his dream world, he is following another person (Cacciato).  I thought this passage was a good representation of Paul Berlin’s character, “Paul Berlin, whose only goal was to live long enough to establish goals worth living for still longer, stood high in the tower by the sea, the night soft all around him, and wondered, not for the first time, about the immense powers of his own imagination.  A truly awesome notion.  Not a dream, an idea.  An idea to develop, to tinker with and build and sustain…It was not a dream.  Nothing mystical or crazy, just an idea.  Just a possibility…A truly splendid idea” (O’Brien 27).

Going After Cacciato: 1

I am about one-third of the way through Tim O’Brien’s, Going After Cacciato, and my opening thoughts about the novel are different than I expected, yet positive.  I have really enjoyed O’Brien’s character development and how you can almost feel like you are present with them in some of the scenes.  The character of Paul Berlin has been the main surprise for me, because when I picked up this book I just figured that naturally, the character of Cacciato would be the protagonist.  However, thus far, the personal reflections are those of Paul Berlin, a soldier from Cacciato’s squad.  Berlin’s character seems very reflective and more insightful than most of the other soldiers, but Lieutenant Corson has been by far my favorite character, as well as the most amusing.  As the novel progresses, I am interested to see what role the pretty young refugee, Sarkin Aung Wan will play, if any.  She was a surprising development to the plot, and I think it is interesting that there is an attraction between her and Paul Berlin.  Up until now, Sarkin Aung Wan seems to represent an inner strength and confidence that Berlin does not have, so perhaps she will help him find and develop this inner strength. 

The Violent Bear It Away

Flannery O’Connor’s, The Violent Bear It Away, is interesting to look at as a bildungsroman because the protagonist and his journey are not heroic.  The book is very dark and twisted, and it is not a novel that I would, on my own merit, think to categorize as a bildungsroman.  However, The Violent Bear It Away is considered a bildungsroman, and I believe it is the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Francis Tarwater that makes it such.  The novel follows Francis’ struggle between a religious life or a secular life, as pressed on him by his two respective guardians, Old Tarwater and Rayber.  Although it may be idealistic, I prefer to think of one’s coming-of-age as a positive process that comes about through a process of courageous decisions and self-cultivation.  On the contrary, the coming-of-age of Tarwater seems to be more of an attempt to escape his life than cultivate it.  This is seen in Francis’ actions of not burying Old Tarwater after his death,burning Old Tarwater’s farm, and drowning Bishop (although he does manage to quickly baptize him just before his death).  Another aspect of this bildungsroman that made it different than what we have read before is that in many ways Francis never actually seems choose for himself his life.  While he performs many actions, they are more mechanical impulses than decisive choices.  In the end, it seems to me that the development of Francis is less about his self-cultivation as his inaction and allowing destiny to take over.  

The Bear: A Bildungsroman

Well, I cannot say I am sad to be finishing our discussions on The Bear.  Although I did not enjoy this work very much, I did admire Ike’s coming of age experience.  Amidst all the hunting, lineages, and chaos of Faulkner’s style of writing, I was intrigued by Ike’s decision to renounce his inheritance.  This was interesting to me for two reasons: 1.) Ike has already been an orphan for large part of his life and by renouncing his inheritance he is, in a sense, renouncing a part of the family ties that are still accessible to him.  2.) The reason Ike renounces his legacy is because of the tainted past of his grandfather, which he does not agree with and does not want to be tied to.  This impressed me because a past is a past because it is done and over with.  Whether Ike renounces his inheritance or not, his the past of his family will not change and people will not forget.  In this case, it seems that taking the inheritance and living more comfortably would be the popular choice, but Ike seems to choose what he believes will give him freedom and fulfillment.

The Bear: Wilderness

Faulkner’s, The Bear, is replete with ideas and experiences of “the wilderness,” yet this term, “wilderness,” is more ambiguous than I once thought.  In this novel, Faulkner creates a wilderness setting that is both physical and personal.  One can easily see the physical characteristics of the wilderness described in such things as the ruggedness of the landscape or hunting.  However, Faulkner also inspires a sense of wilderness in the individual, one that it somewhat indefinable.  As I see it, this type of wilderness seems to be different for each individual.  Someone suggested in class today that perhaps wilderness is just as much society and large cities for some people as the rugged woods and vast expanses of nature are for others, and I completely agree with this.  In this sense, of the many definitions that could apply to wilderness, one notion is wilderness as simply what is unknown to an individual, in the larger sense of society, habitat, or culture.  For example, while Ike is said to go into the wilderness and have a sense of freedom, maybe this only suggests the opposite, that the physical wilderness of the woods, nature, etc. are actually his home and where he feels most comfortable at, while his more cultivated home and life are truly his individual wilderness because he does not feel as at rest there.  One example from the novel that really emboldened this idea for me was how Ike had been waiting and anticipating his first hunting trip and journey into nature up until he was 10 years old.  Furthermore, when he was able to go, the whole situation seemed very natural to him.  Faulkner even writes, "It seemed to him that at the age of ten he was witnessing his own birth. It was not even strange to him. He had experienced it all before, and not merely in dreams" (Faulkner 189-190).

The Bear: 1

William Faulkner’s, The Bear, was the first work I have read by this author.  I found his writing style difficult to understand at times, and the subject of hunting somewhat hard to relate to.  However, I did enjoy Faulkner’s displays and descriptions of the awesomeness of nature.  The freedom and innocence portrayed through the wilderness, Old Bear, Sam Fathers, and Ike is so refreshing and pure.  I also enjoyed Faulkner’s inclusion of the Native American race and its tie to the land, which I feel is often overlooked.  Growing up in South Dakota has only proved that the Native Americans still very much feel this tie to their land, and it is incredibly destructive to their lives and pride when they are suppressed by the new people and development of what was once their land.  Although the character’s hard to keep straight and the narration seemed somewhat “stream-of-conscience,” I enjoyed this novel and its’ ties to nature.

Their Eyes Were Watching God, 2.

I guess I could say I am a little overwhelmed with the task of inferring the significance of the title of Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God.  In the novel, the phrase itself is used in Chapter 18 when Teacake and Janie are waiting out the hurricane in the shanty and Hurston writes, “…They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might aginst His.  They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God” (Hurston 160).  From this passage, and the book as a whole, it seems that Hurston is showing that nature, whether it’s physical or emotional is not in the hands of the people, but in a higher power such as God.  The book does not actually have large religious undertones, but in situations such as the hurricane, or in Janie’s pursuit of the true feeling and connection of love, there is definitely a source much more powerful and in control than the individual, and this higher source is God.   

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Although I have not yet had the opportunity to begin reading Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, I am truly looking forward to getting started.  Thanks to joyous exclamations by my roommate who had previously read it and some reviews I read about it, this book seems to include a number of themes that I enjoy in my literature.  Basing my assumptions off of reviews and the summary inside the cover, I am eagerly approaching this as a historical and cultural novel with a female protagonist, who lives out underlying themes of love, growth, and community.  While this seems like a very engaging skeletal structure for a book, I hope to go into reading it without too many expectations.  My weekend of reading awaits…

A Room with a View: A Bildungsroman

E.M. Forster’s, A Room with a View, easily qualifies as a bildungsroman.  The self-cultivation, characteristic of such novels, is clearly seen in the character of Lucy Honeychurch.  After today’s discussion, I cannot stop thinking about the incredible differences between the characters of Lucy and Cecil.  Their attitudes and outlooks on life differ so extensively, that by the end of novel one can almost feel the grinding of personalities.  However, Cecil proves very useful as a foil to the psychological, internal, and social growth and development of Lucy.  Cecil is so learned in his ways that he forgets to feel or to think for himself.  It is this static, pompous, mechanistic lifestyle that brilliantly emboldens Lucy’s thoughts, feelings, and passions.  While Lucy is torn between status and passion throughout the book, it is beautiful to see her walls of comfort and familiarity begin to crack and eventually crumble, as she takes baby steps outside of what is deemed and starts to truly experience life.  By the end of the novel, Lucy has learned to listen to her drives, her feelings, her intellect, etc. and is living HER OWN life.  What’s more is that she is HAPPY.  I find this exceptionally enlightening and refreshing.  

Marriage and Society

It is interesting to see the situation that Lucy goes through relating to marriage and society in A Room with a View, because it is not so different from some of the situations ladies today have to go through when they want to get married.  Although it is certainly not to the same extreme as it was in the book, and the classes of society are not as distinctly split; racial, financial, occupational, and familial characteristics/status are still very present today.  For Lucy, she had the choice of following her own heart, and marrying a man that she loves and that loves her, but was considered a bit “below her” in society.  Then there was Cecil, who was the “obvious choice” to her family because of his wealth, status, and education, but Lucy did not love him.  George seems to be the obvious choice today, and one would say to follow your heart.  However, I am still convinced, even through some personal experiences, that friends and families still take status into consideration.

A Room with a View: First Thoughts

E.M. Forster’s novel, A Room with a View, is a welcome change from Twain’s, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Call me a romantic, or maybe just girly, but a story line filled with love and romance would sell me any day, much more than a descriptive adventure tale.  A Room with a View was a refreshing read in that it was quick and easy to follow, yet still hit on some deeper issues.  Through his unconventional characters and well-developed plot, Forster offers an almost humorous critique of England society in the early 19^th century.  While I did not read the background on this book and how the people received it, I would imagine that it was a wake-up call to the people of that time period.  Furthermore, while it may seem cliché today, it was enjoyable to have Lucy choose her own path over the more conventional or “suitable” one.  

Huck Finn: A Bildungsroman?

After reading the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I did not find as strong of evidence to classify it as a bildungsroman as I did for Harry Potter.  However, this is not to say that the book should not be classified as such.  While one can observe definitive growth in the character of Huck Finn, it may be the less fantastical light in which he is portrayed, as compared to Harry Potter, which distracts from his overt “growth.”  The dynamic changes that can be seen in Huck’s character are much more human, and therefore, more fluctuating and less dramatic than the gradual, climatic growth of Harry Potter.  Although Huck developed into a more conscientious and civilized person by the end, one can hardly say that Huck grew from a boy to a man.  As evidenced in the book, there is still plenty of things to be learned and development to be had by Huckleberry Finn.  The book also ends with Huck desiring to head West, seeking more adventures, which only leaves the reader questioning into what kind of character Huck Finn will continue to develop.

Jim and Huck

It is obvious that Jim and Huck play two of the lead roles as characters in the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Huck, who plays the lead protagonist, has an important role as the dynamic character who one can see change and grow throughout the book.  At the beginning, Huck is presented as an uneducated, rather careless and uncivilized runaway young man, who prefers life alone in wilderness than with his drunkard father or the widow.  However, this begins to change as Huck receives a little education and following his adventures down the Mississippi with Jim.  Jim is also an interesting character in that he plays Huck's sidekick.  While Jim is a more static character than Huck, he is an unsuspecting companion and as an outcast of society as well, he seems a positive and loyal addition to the Huck-Jim relationship.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

I have just started Mark Twain’s, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  As of now, I am only 60 pages into the reading and it is good, but I am hoping that it will continue to pick up.  I have never read any Mark Twain before, and I am impressed with his ability to weave a story and create characters.  So far, I am most impressed with the way that Mark Twain created the slang and broken English in the text.  Furthermore, not only does Twain give Huck Finn slang speech at the beginning, but one can see how Huck’s speech continues to improve with his schooling, which I found very impressive.  Whether Huck, Jim, Huck’s drunken father, or the widow, the way Twain develops his characters is very helpful to the readers’ understanding of the novel. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Bildungsroman

J.K. Rowling’s, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, should definitely be considered a bildungsroman.  Harry, as well as other characters, such as Hermione and Ron show a distinct development and/or maturity in the sense of a “self-cultivation” as the novel (or in this case series) progresses.  Taking Harry as an example, he shows an increased understanding of his powers and people skills from the beginning of the series to this seventh book.  He also seems to grow from a boy on reckless adventures into a young-adult who becomes aware of how he needs others as much as they need him and also finds the importance of having more of a plan in his quest to defeat Voldemort.  Ron shows a turning point in his character when he saves Harry and uses the sword of Gryffindor to destroy one of the horcuxes.  This event seemed to symbolize a sense of self and from there on out, Ron was more comfortable in his own skin.  Finally, Hermione seemed to grow into herself in this last book as well by finally showing comfort in her brains and skill as a witch, as well having as a confident attraction to Ron.  

Ron as a Key Player

I really enjoyed the development of Ron’s character in this seventh installment of the Harry Potter series.  While Ron again plays Harry Potter’s sidekick and best friend, this book brought out Ron as an individual as well.  After living in the shadow of his best friend for the last six books, it added to the plot to see the internal struggle and triumphs that Ron went through and how they differed from Harry.  Naturally, Harry shines in every book, but this last book seems to offer a sort of closure with Ron growing into himself.  This is seen clearly in his feelings towards Hermione, his momentary departure from Harry and Hermione in their quest for the 7 Horcruxes, his return, saving Harry, and his destruction of a Horcrux.  Also, through this process, Ron seems to gain a small insight into the life of Harry and recognize that it is not as glamorous as it may seem.  The development of Ron was definitely a crucial sub-plot in this book.

Harry Potter

One of the themes that really stood out to me as I read J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was that of courage.  Through Harry Potter's character, Rowling puts a special emphasis on courage, as a positive trait.  I found it encouraging to see the type of selfless courage that is displayed by Harry throughout the book and series.  It is a courage that does not focus merely on himself, but a type of courage that places the well-being of others first and foremost.  I believe that this type of courage still exists today, but it is all too often forgotten for more selfish types of courage.  It would be nice to see such a positive trait put into practice more today.