"The Fifth Child" p.90 "It's either him or us," said David to Harriet. He added, his voice full of cold dislike for Ben,"He´s probably just dropped in from Mars. He's going back to report on what he's found there." David shows the hatred he bears to Ben by telling a cruel joke. This surprised me a bit, since Ben earlier always had been the calm one of the parents. Now one totally understands what he has been thinking about Ben, and how separated he feels from him.
p.57 "What is materialized, Daddy?" Luke anxiously persisted. "It is when something that wasn't there suddenly is there." David has just told the children a story, where he mentions a girl who has materialized. To my way of thinking this section shows how skilled the writer is. Instead of letting David say out loud how he feels about the relationship to Harriet and how she is behaving, he is telling a story to the children about a mean girl. David's answer to the question is simple, but it's charged with strong emotions. p.137 "Ben makes you think- all those different people who lived on earth once- they must be in us somewhere." "All ready to pop up!But perhaps we simply don't notice them when they do," said Dorothy "Because we don't want to," said Harriet. Dorothy and Harriet now seem to be totally certain about that Ben is...something else. I found this conversation interesting and started to wonder myself what kind of creatures that may have been living on earth. Do aliens exist? Perhaps Dorothy and Harriet also are talking about that we all have a dark side, and that Ben can't control his.
"But what, that's the point, said Harriet. What is he?", page 66. This quotation is said about Ben and shows well how dissatisfied the mother is with her newborn child. It seems to me that Harriet's negative attitude towards Ben arised early during the pregnancy, in fact as soon as she noticed her carrying yet another child. Harriet didn't wan't this baby, at least not yet, and my conclusion is that she got depressed when she aquired the knowledge of her having her fifth child so soon. It is proved by researchers that women who are depressed during pregnancy pushes the foetus away, and has a harder time to attach themself to their child when the baby is born. That is why I came to the conclusion that Harriet said these horrible words about Ben due to the reason of her already hard feelings towards him. This is ought to be a result of how he behavied in her womb and her disappointment when he turned out to be an ugly, different and numb child.
"Poor Ben, whom no one could love. She certainly could not!" This is said Harriet, page 69. It is obvious to me that these sentences is mouthed with both bitterness and guilt. At this point of the novel I realized the seriousness of the situation since this is forbidden words to utter for a parent. It seems to me that Harriet is scared of what Ben is capable of doing to her family either physicly or phychologically, and does not dare to love this creature who might, or rather doubtlessly will tear her beloved family apart. Her love for David, Luke, Helen, Jane and Paul makes it tremendously hard to love this new son of hers. She's trying in all the ways that she can to take to her youngest boy, but Ben's behaviour and her fear of him is making it to an impossiblity.
"...Ben balanced on the window-sill. It was high - heaven only knew how he had got up there! The window was open. In a moment he would have fallen out of it. Harriet was thinking, what a pity I came in... and refused to be shocked at herself.", page 73. Yet again I am jolted of all this hate which lays lurking in the beautiful victorian house. After I read this quote I was convinced Ben isn't the only one in the house who is a wicked person. For a moment Ben's mother actaully wished him dead, and she wouldn't have any problems with letting it happen. Furthermore this is an indication of how much hard feelings that has been growing in their home. But luckily Harriet's moral duty prevents her for letting her child die, even though this obviously is what she desires.
“The fifth child” – page 55 “Suddenly the little girl found she was alone. She and her brother had lost each other. She wanted to go home. She did not know which way to walk. She was looking for another friendly deer, or a sparrow, or any bird, to tell her where she was and show her the way out of the forest.” Harriet, and David for that part, are suffering from what one might call emotional overdoses. This overdose of theirs confuses Harriet. Desperately she is trying to get peoples attention about her misery, she wants to shout in despair, but somehow, she can't. Harriet's carrying of this alien, this monster that is Ben, is shattering their previously so affectionate and unbreakable unit and, slowly but surely, forcing the two lovers apart. This is manifested by David's story.
Page 69 “Poor Ben, whom no one could love. She certainly could not. And David, the good father, hardly touched him.” This, in my opinion, clearly symbolizes Harriet's indecisive heart. On one hand she has the natural and motherly feelings for Ben, from which she can't escape. On the other hand she feels hate and repulsion against this strange and alienated creature. When reading the novel, I felt a clear sense of intertextuality between this and the classic horror movie from 1973, The Exorcist, which is based on the novel with the same name. And I begun to wonder if Ben really is that hateful by nature or if he is the devil's offspring here on earth.
Page 90 “He's a little child” she said, “He's our child” “No, he's not” said David, finally. “Well, he certainly isn't mine.” Here David finally surrenders for his true feelings for Ben. At the same time, probably subconsciously, David takes a distance between himself and Harriet. Tragically, they are no longer on the same page. Harriet is still fighting with her split emotions while David completely resigns all responsibility for Ben. However, it seems to be with all rights since Ben is malice personified and evil in its purest form.
White Oleander p. 171 "Eighteen and out", Nadia said as she licked her fingers, "If I don't kill that bitch first". Based on the whole situation this book is build on, this quotation shows how eagerly some foster children are to get out of "the system" and start a life of their own. Too many children today are probably placed in what seems like good foster families but under the surface it's a nightmare, which Astrid sure is to find out.
p.176 "You should take in girls," I heard her tell her friend Constanza one day while I was polishing the silver. "It's easy money. You can remodel. I'm remodelling the bathroom next." This quotation just proves my first thought and like I mention previously, there are people in the foster system who just take advantage of the lives of children in severe situations. As Astrid is polishing the silver gives us an other hint of how wrong this is, sure, some housekeeping is not too much to ask, but slavery?
p.191 "Women always put men first. That's how everything got so screwd up." The novel is showing huge contrast between women and men, at least as far as I am in the novel. Her mother is imprison for life, due to the love and hate she felt for a man. The other men in the book are also showed in a negative perspective.
The fifth child “ she loved the look of him, the comical soft little face, with soft blue eyes – like bluebells, she thought –and soft little limbs…it was as if she were sliding her hands along them, and then enclosing his feet in her palms. A real baby, a real little child…” (Harriet describing how baby Paul looks like.) Page 68 line 2 This was at the time when Ben has just been born. Without utter a word about how alienated, strange and disgusting this baby Ben is to her, we as reader get informed about it in the way she describes her other son ,Paul, who is still a small baby. While Harriet is mentioning how sweet and wonderful Paul is with his small feet and soft skin we get a picture about Ben being the total opposite. He is nothing like a little baby should be. She describes Paul as a real baby and if reading between the lines you found out that she is saying: Ben is not a real baby: he is more like an alien, a monster. ” People are going to think twice about coming again” Page 76 line 11 Harriet´s biggest dream has always been a big house full of relatives and people she loves. The “alien” baby, Ben, has taken it all away from her. After him strangling the dog no one dared to come and see them. A barrier has been built up between her, her husband and her other four children. She is sure of the fact that the baby has come to destroy her loving family; despite this she tries her best to actually love this child. “… They were a family still! Happiness… they could hardly believe, any of them, that Ben could have taken so much away from them” page 78 line 31 There is now an official fact in the novel that the unhappiness depends on Ben. Harriet describes the feeling of recapture of her beloved family –which Ben is not a part of. David´s and Harriet´s big happy family-dream got crushed by their fifth child and hatred against the baby is growing stronger and stronger and can no longer be concealed. Something radically must be done…
My first quotation is on page 75 “He could silence a room full of people just by being there, or disperse them: they went off making excuses." Perhaps this is why this black-hearted child is acting in a certain way because his family is treating him like he would kill them just by giving them a glance, however both you and I know this is not viable. I personally believe you should treat this abnormal child like any other kid, as soon as Ben knows he is extraordinary he will most certainly act out situation that will cause great unhappiness for his family.
Second quotation page 75 “One morning when Harriet came down to start breakfast for the children; the dog was lying dead on the kitchen floor.” This is the part when the author writes about this wicked child Ben who has just strangled the unfortunate dog. Quickly as I read this part I felt how Shivers was sent down my spine especially when Harriet goes into Ben’s room and finds him laughing out loud in the cruelest way, it was like a horror movie you only see on TV. I can never visualize how difficult it most be for a mother to see their own child as an creature from outer space, an alien that choose to be abnormal (I believe that people always have a choice, if it is a good or bad choice does not matter, the important thing is that you have chosen something.)
Third quotation page page 79 “You two are going to have to face it. Ben has got to go into an institution. He may be normal for what he is. But he is not normal for what we are.” I do not believe putting Ben into an institution is the true way out of this discontent, only coward ones choose to give up something without finding possible ways out that does not involve an institution. Everything in life should not be trouble-free, every family have their ups and downs but you know what, these difficulties are what makes you the world’s strongest person mentally.
“Big Sister complained, lowering her voice and motioning me to close the door. I obeyed with alacrity, happy to be included.” p. 50
Yen Mah was happy to be included and she obeyed her sister with eagerness. This shows us that Yen Mah does not usually obtain tasks from her siblings and therefore she reacts happily when her siblings are asking her for favours. This is a bit sad because Yen Mah’s siblings find it very simple to control her and treat her unfairly, and that is one of the things that the novel is about. To be treated dishonestly.
“My protest seemed to halt Niang in the midst of her frenzy. Niang glared at me. -How dare you!” p. 39
As the children’s grandmother (Nai nai) died, it is very clear who the new leader of the house is. Niang is the stepmother to the children and now she is taking control of the house. It is an obvious lack of respect for the children and again, everyone is treated unfairly.
“…Father suddenly pointed to my medal. –Is this for topping your class? He asked. I nodded eagerly, too excited to speak. A hush fell upon the table. This was the first time anyone could remember Father singling me out or saying anything to me.” P. 11, 12
How a simple conversation between a father and a daughter can mean so much to little Yen Mah is very surprising and poignant at the beginning of the novel, but as you keep reading you will understand why their conversation is so significant to Yen Mah. The children’s father is always busy working with important things for the family and he do not have a lot of time to spend with his children. As Yen Mah is the youngest member of the family and is treated dishonestly very often, she is having a lack of confidence and that is partly why the conversation with her father means so much to her.
The Kite Runner “I think I’ll major in English,” I said. I winced inside, waiting for his reply. “English?”Baba replied. “Creative writing.” Baba considered this. Sipped his tea. “Stories you mean. You’ll make up stories.” I looked down at my feet. “They pay for that, making up stories?” Baba said. “If you’re good,” I said. “And if you get discovered.” “How likely is that, getting discovered?” “It happens,” I said. Baba nodded. “And what will you do while you wait to be discovered? How will you earn money? If you marry, how will you support your khanum(child)?” p. 124
Baba is too harsh against his son. Even though Baba has the responsiblity, he can not know what truelly is best for his son. In my belief, breaking and critisizing your child’s dream is not right. Still, it is the parents duty to inform and talk sense into your child if it is a dangerous or very unrealistic dream. On the other hand, following your dreams is not an excuse for being selfish. For instance, the family and future child must no be forgotten. I personally think that both is behaving wrong. Baba is not open-minded, and his son is perhaps being too risky in his choice of career.
I found the Nguyens behind the counter, all the way against the wall, faces ashen, Mr. Nguyen’s arms wrapped around his wife. On the floor: oranges, an overturned magazine rack, a broken jar of beef jerky. And shards of glass at Baba’s feet. It turned out that Baba had had no cash on him for the oranges. He’d written Mr. Nguyens a check and Mr. Nguyen had asked for an ID. “He wants to see my license,” Baba bellowed in Farsi. “Almost two years we’ve bought his damn fruits and put money in his pocket and the son of a dog want’s to see my license.” p.118
The anger from Baba is understandable. This is a typical example of overusing laws and rules in society. Sometimes it is much wiser to think for yourself and be reasonable. Instead of stricktly following the law, the owner of the store should have shown a litte bit of trust to Baba. In the end it only gains ourselves. However, it was not right of Baba to act the way he did. Getting upset does not mean that it is allowed to destroy other’s things.
It turned out that, like Satan, cancer had many names. Baba’s was called “Oat Cell Carcinoma”. Advances. Inoperable. Baba asked Dr. Amani for a prognosis. Dr. Amani bit his lip, used the word “grave”. “There is chemotherapy, of course,” he said. “But it would only be palliative.” “What does that mean?” Baba asked. Dr. Amani sighed.”It means it wouldn’t change the outcome, just prolong it.” “That’s a clear answer, Dr. Amani. Thank you for that,” Baba said. “But no chemo medication for me.” He had the same resolved look on his face as the day he’d dropped the stack of food stamps on Mrs. Dobbins’s desk. “But Baba-“ “Don’t you challenge me in public son. Ever. p.143
Baba’s decision not to do chemotherapy, has both pros and cons. He will probably suffer during a shorther period by letting nature decide. On the other hand, not excepting chemotherapy will shorten his life radically. However, Baba seems both brave and rash, refusing chemotherapy. Why? Due to the fact that he does not escape nor fear death. At the same time it is foolish not to use today’s developed medicine. Hopefully, Baba had his son in his mind, while making the decision. Of course his son should not try and convince Baba. Still, he must not forget his son’s feeling, which can make his decision a bit selfish.
p.111. "Perhaps Daisy and Rose really are an ailien life form and they sucked me up on board their spacecraft while I was innocently playing in the Back Yard" Ruby, four years old has just woken up and realizes that she's not at home but at her cusins house. How did she come here?? Just a typical child's thought which are quite funny to read. I enjoy these comic alements in the book.
p168. "Percy would have dealt with the hornet no bother- firmly like a policeman." Nell, the grandmother is reflecting on her choice of husband. Percy, her fiance died very suddenly and she married her third choise instead, Frank. It is sad to read about true love and that she later on settle for another man. However, it's deeply intriguing to read about her life.
p.185. "I expect that, like me, she feared to be alone when Gillian's vengeful spirit must be stalking Above the Shop, jealously guarding the kidney-shaped dressingtable... " Gillian has recently died and everyone are feeling sad, nevertheless, this comment makes you laugh because it describes Gillian correctly. She hated to share her stuff, alive or dead...
The fifth child Page 43 ”you know that everyone is expecting to come here for Christmas, she demanded heavily, not looking at them.” How could Dorothy be so cold hearted? She knew that her daughter was exhausted and that her relationship with David was frail. The fifth child, Ben, did not make the situation easier. Most surprisingly was that everybody else were expecting to come. Why did they always celebrate traditions at Lovatt´s house? When was Lovatt´s turn to visit somebody?
Page 60 “He´s a funny little chap, said David, and he sounded dismayed.” This was David’s first comment after seeing his fifth child for the first time. He did not know Ben but yet he expressed these words with such insolence. I simply do not understand how a father can be so heartless. I do wonder if David was himself when expressing these words because this cannot be the lovely father figure I read about in the beginning of this novel.
Page 94 “I´m going to see what they are doing to Ben” When reading this sentence I could not believe my eyes. Had Harriet finally reacted? Come to her senses? Is it really true that I felt humanity and motherhood towards Ben for the first time? She really cared about Ben after all and she even jeopardized her relationship with the family for Ben´s sake.
``This one time, the agent asked me where I saw myself in five years. Dead, I said. I see myself dead and rotting. Or ashes, I can see myself burned to ashes. I remember I had a loaded gun in my pocket. Just the two of us were standing in the back of a crowded, dark auditorium.´´ When I first started to read this book I found it quite interesting, but when I read this quotation from the novel, I suddenly started to look up some facts about the character, Tender Branson, which is a member of the Creedish Church, a death cult. In my point of view, I found it a bit interesting, but also in a strange. If you are a member of the death cult, like Tender, you are supposed to learn how to be a servant for the human race, and then wait a sign from God to tell them to deliver themselves unto Him, in another word, to commit suicide. After reading this quote, I finally started to understand, why Tender always said that.
Page 132 ``I remember I was planning to kill myself that night. It was the night of my first big public appearance. I told the agent, I figured I'd spend my first thousand years in hell in some entry-level position, but after that I wanted to move into management. Be a real team player. Hell is going to see enormous growth in market share over the next millennium, and I wanted to ride the crest.´´ To commit suicide, is a crime, and it doesn’t solve anything. I human is generally supposed to live their lives with happiness, and not ending them in a bad way. Those who commit suicide, they need support from the relatives, or help from the community, in purpose to get a better life. This is the best solution, comparing to commit suicide. Page 132 ``I see myself dead and in hell.´´ After reading this quote, I started to think about the life after death. This way of thinking is sometimes good, but also strange in some way, because you don’t really know what will occur in life after death.
"The Fifth Child" p.90
SvaraRadera"It's either him or us," said David to Harriet. He added, his voice full of cold dislike for Ben,"He´s probably just dropped in from Mars. He's going back to report on what he's found there."
David shows the hatred he bears to Ben by telling a cruel joke. This surprised me a bit, since Ben earlier always had been the calm one of the parents. Now one totally understands what he has been thinking about Ben, and how separated he feels from him.
p.57
"What is materialized, Daddy?" Luke anxiously persisted.
"It is when something that wasn't there suddenly is there."
David has just told the children a story, where he mentions a girl who has materialized. To my way of thinking this section shows how skilled the writer is. Instead of letting David say out loud how he feels about the relationship to Harriet and how she is behaving, he is telling a story to the children about a mean girl. David's answer to the question is simple, but it's charged with strong emotions.
p.137
"Ben makes you think- all those different people who lived on earth once- they must be in us somewhere."
"All ready to pop up!But perhaps we simply don't notice them when they do," said Dorothy
"Because we don't want to," said Harriet.
Dorothy and Harriet now seem to be totally certain about that Ben is...something else. I found this conversation interesting and started to wonder myself what kind of creatures that may have been living on earth. Do aliens exist? Perhaps Dorothy and Harriet also are talking about that we all have a dark side, and that Ben can't control his.
"But what, that's the point, said Harriet. What is he?", page 66. This quotation is said about Ben and shows well how dissatisfied the mother is with her newborn child. It seems to me that Harriet's negative attitude towards Ben arised early during the pregnancy, in fact as soon as she noticed her carrying yet another child. Harriet didn't wan't this baby, at least not yet, and my conclusion is that she got depressed when she aquired the knowledge of her having her fifth child so soon. It is proved by researchers that women who are depressed during pregnancy pushes the foetus away, and has a harder time to attach themself to their child when the baby is born. That is why I came to the conclusion that Harriet said these horrible words about Ben due to the reason of her already hard feelings towards him. This is ought to be a result of how he behavied in her womb and her disappointment when he turned out to be an ugly, different and numb child.
SvaraRadera"Poor Ben, whom no one could love. She certainly could not!" This is said Harriet, page 69. It is obvious to me that these sentences is mouthed with both bitterness and guilt. At this point of the novel I realized the seriousness of the situation since this is forbidden words to utter for a parent. It seems to me that Harriet is scared of what Ben is capable of doing to her family either physicly or phychologically, and does not dare to love this creature who might, or rather doubtlessly will tear her beloved family apart. Her love for David, Luke, Helen, Jane and Paul makes it tremendously hard to love this new son of hers. She's trying in all the ways that she can to take to her youngest boy, but Ben's behaviour and her fear of him is making it to an impossiblity.
"...Ben balanced on the window-sill. It was high - heaven only knew how he had got up there! The window was open. In a moment he would have fallen out of it. Harriet was thinking, what a pity I came in... and refused to be shocked at herself.", page 73. Yet again I am jolted of all this hate which lays lurking in the beautiful victorian house. After I read this quote I was convinced Ben isn't the only one in the house who is a wicked person. For a moment Ben's mother actaully wished him dead, and she wouldn't have any problems with letting it happen. Furthermore this is an indication of how much hard feelings that has been growing in their home. But luckily Harriet's moral duty prevents her for letting her child die, even though this obviously is what she desires.
“The fifth child” – page 55
SvaraRadera“Suddenly the little girl found she was alone. She and her brother had lost each other. She wanted to go home. She did not know which way to walk. She was looking for another friendly deer, or a sparrow, or any bird, to tell her where she was and show her the way out of the forest.”
Harriet, and David for that part, are suffering from what one might call emotional overdoses. This overdose of theirs confuses Harriet. Desperately she is trying to get peoples attention about her misery, she wants to shout in despair, but somehow, she can't. Harriet's carrying of this alien, this monster that is Ben, is shattering their previously so affectionate and unbreakable unit and, slowly but surely, forcing the two lovers apart. This is manifested by David's story.
Page 69
“Poor Ben, whom no one could love. She certainly could not. And David, the good father, hardly touched him.”
This, in my opinion, clearly symbolizes Harriet's indecisive heart. On one hand she has the natural and motherly feelings for Ben, from which she can't escape. On the other hand she feels hate and repulsion against this strange and alienated creature. When reading the novel, I felt a clear sense of intertextuality between this and the classic horror movie from 1973, The Exorcist, which is based on the novel with the same name. And I begun to wonder if Ben really is that hateful by nature or if he is the devil's offspring here on earth.
Page 90
“He's a little child” she said, “He's our child”
“No, he's not” said David, finally. “Well, he certainly isn't mine.”
Here David finally surrenders for his true feelings for Ben. At the same time, probably subconsciously, David takes a distance between himself and Harriet. Tragically, they are no longer on the same page. Harriet is still fighting with her split emotions while David completely resigns all responsibility for Ben. However, it seems to be with all rights since Ben is malice personified and evil in its purest form.
White Oleander
SvaraRaderap. 171
"Eighteen and out", Nadia said as she licked her fingers, "If I don't kill that bitch first".
Based on the whole situation this book is build on, this quotation shows how eagerly some foster children are to get out of "the system" and start a life of their own. Too many children today are probably placed in what seems like good foster families but under the surface it's a nightmare, which Astrid sure is to find out.
p.176
"You should take in girls," I heard her tell her friend Constanza one day while I was polishing the silver. "It's easy money. You can remodel. I'm remodelling the bathroom next."
This quotation just proves my first thought and like I mention previously, there are people in the foster system who just take advantage of the lives of children in severe situations.
As Astrid is polishing the silver gives us an other hint of how wrong this is, sure, some housekeeping is not too much to ask, but slavery?
p.191
"Women always put men first. That's how everything got so screwd up."
The novel is showing huge contrast between women and men, at least as far as I am in the novel. Her mother is imprison for life, due to the love and hate she felt for a man. The other men in the book are also showed in a negative perspective.
The fifth child
SvaraRadera“ she loved the look of him, the comical soft little face, with soft blue eyes – like bluebells, she thought –and soft little limbs…it was as if she were sliding her hands along them, and then enclosing his feet in her palms. A real baby, a real little child…” (Harriet describing how baby Paul looks like.) Page 68 line 2
This was at the time when Ben has just been born. Without utter a word about how alienated, strange and disgusting this baby Ben is to her, we as reader get informed about it in the way she describes her other son ,Paul, who is still a small baby. While Harriet is mentioning how sweet and wonderful Paul is with his small feet and soft skin we get a picture about Ben being the total opposite. He is nothing like a little baby should be. She describes Paul as a real baby and if reading between the lines you found out that she is saying: Ben is not a real baby: he is more like an alien, a monster.
” People are going to think twice about coming again” Page 76 line 11
Harriet´s biggest dream has always been a big house full of relatives and people she loves. The “alien” baby, Ben, has taken it all away from her. After him strangling the dog no one dared to come and see them. A barrier has been built up between her, her husband and her other four children. She is sure of the fact that the baby has come to destroy her loving family; despite this she tries her best to actually love this child.
“… They were a family still! Happiness… they could hardly believe, any of them, that Ben could have taken so much away from them” page 78 line 31
There is now an official fact in the novel that the unhappiness depends on Ben. Harriet describes the feeling of recapture of her beloved family –which Ben is not a part of. David´s and Harriet´s big happy family-dream got crushed by their fifth child and hatred against the baby is growing stronger and stronger and can no longer be concealed. Something radically must be done…
My first quotation is on page 75
SvaraRadera“He could silence a room full of people just by being there, or disperse them: they went off making excuses." Perhaps this is why this black-hearted child is acting in a certain way because his family is treating him like he would kill them just by giving them a glance, however both you and I know this is not viable. I personally believe you should treat this abnormal child like any other kid, as soon as Ben knows he is extraordinary he will most certainly act out situation that will cause great unhappiness for his family.
Second quotation page 75
“One morning when Harriet came down to start breakfast for the children; the dog was lying dead on the kitchen floor.” This is the part when the author writes about this wicked child Ben who has just strangled the unfortunate dog. Quickly as I read this part I felt how Shivers was sent down my spine especially when Harriet goes into Ben’s room and finds him laughing out loud in the cruelest way, it was like a horror movie you only see on TV. I can never visualize how difficult it most be for a mother to see their own child as an creature from outer space, an alien that choose to be abnormal (I believe that people always have a choice, if it is a good or bad choice does not matter, the important thing is that you have chosen something.)
Third quotation page page 79
“You two are going to have to face it. Ben has got to go into an institution. He may be normal for what he is. But he is not normal for what we are.”
I do not believe putting Ben into an institution is the true way out of this discontent, only coward ones choose to give up something without finding possible ways out that does not involve an institution. Everything in life should not be trouble-free, every family have their ups and downs but you know what, these difficulties are what makes you the world’s strongest person mentally.
Chinese Cinderella
SvaraRadera“Big Sister complained, lowering her voice and motioning me to close the door.
I obeyed with alacrity, happy to be included.” p. 50
Yen Mah was happy to be included and she obeyed her sister with eagerness.
This shows us that Yen Mah does not usually obtain tasks from her siblings and therefore she reacts happily when her siblings are asking her for favours. This is a bit sad because Yen Mah’s siblings find it very simple to control her and treat her unfairly, and that is one of the things that the novel is about. To be treated dishonestly.
“My protest seemed to halt Niang in the midst of her frenzy. Niang glared at me.
-How dare you!” p. 39
As the children’s grandmother (Nai nai) died, it is very clear who the new leader of the house is. Niang is the stepmother to the children and now she is taking control of the house.
It is an obvious lack of respect for the children and again, everyone is treated unfairly.
“…Father suddenly pointed to my medal. –Is this for topping your class? He asked.
I nodded eagerly, too excited to speak. A hush fell upon the table. This was the first time anyone could remember Father singling me out or saying anything to me.” P. 11, 12
How a simple conversation between a father and a daughter can mean so much to little Yen Mah is very surprising and poignant at the beginning of the novel, but as you keep reading you will understand why their conversation is so significant to Yen Mah.
The children’s father is always busy working with important things for the family and he do not have a lot of time to spend with his children. As Yen Mah is the youngest member of the family and is treated dishonestly very often, she is having a lack of confidence and that is partly why the conversation with her father means so much to her.
The Kite Runner
SvaraRadera“I think I’ll major in English,” I said. I winced inside, waiting for his reply.
“English?”Baba replied.
“Creative writing.”
Baba considered this. Sipped his tea. “Stories you mean. You’ll make up stories.” I looked down at my feet.
“They pay for that, making up stories?” Baba said.
“If you’re good,” I said. “And if you get discovered.”
“How likely is that, getting discovered?”
“It happens,” I said.
Baba nodded. “And what will you do while you wait to be discovered? How will you earn money? If you marry, how will you support your khanum(child)?” p. 124
Baba is too harsh against his son. Even though Baba has the responsiblity, he can not know what truelly is best for his son. In my belief, breaking and critisizing your child’s dream is not right. Still, it is the parents duty to inform and talk sense into your child if it is a dangerous or very unrealistic dream.
On the other hand, following your dreams is not an excuse for being selfish. For instance, the family and future child must no be forgotten.
I personally think that both is behaving wrong. Baba is not open-minded, and his son is perhaps being too risky in his choice of career.
I found the Nguyens behind the counter, all the way against the wall, faces ashen, Mr. Nguyen’s arms wrapped around his wife. On the floor: oranges, an overturned magazine rack, a broken jar of beef jerky. And shards of glass at Baba’s feet.
It turned out that Baba had had no cash on him for the oranges. He’d written Mr. Nguyens a check and Mr. Nguyen had asked for an ID. “He wants to see my license,” Baba bellowed in Farsi. “Almost two years we’ve bought his damn fruits and put money in his pocket and the son of a dog want’s to see my license.” p.118
The anger from Baba is understandable. This is a typical example of overusing laws and rules in society. Sometimes it is much wiser to think for yourself and be reasonable. Instead of stricktly following the law, the owner of the store should have shown a litte bit of trust to Baba. In the end it only gains ourselves.
However, it was not right of Baba to act the way he did. Getting upset does not mean that it is allowed to destroy other’s things.
It turned out that, like Satan, cancer had many names. Baba’s was called “Oat Cell Carcinoma”. Advances. Inoperable. Baba asked Dr. Amani for a prognosis. Dr. Amani bit his lip, used the word “grave”. “There is chemotherapy, of course,” he said. “But it would only be palliative.”
“What does that mean?” Baba asked.
Dr. Amani sighed.”It means it wouldn’t change the outcome, just prolong it.”
“That’s a clear answer, Dr. Amani. Thank you for that,” Baba said. “But no chemo medication for me.” He had the same resolved look on his face as the day he’d dropped the stack of food stamps on Mrs. Dobbins’s desk.
“But Baba-“
“Don’t you challenge me in public son. Ever. p.143
Baba’s decision not to do chemotherapy, has both pros and cons.
He will probably suffer during a shorther period by letting nature decide. On the other hand, not excepting chemotherapy will shorten his life radically.
However, Baba seems both brave and rash, refusing chemotherapy. Why? Due to the fact that he does not escape nor fear death. At the same time it is foolish not to use today’s developed medicine.
Hopefully, Baba had his son in his mind, while making the decision. Of course his son should not try and convince Baba. Still, he must not forget his son’s feeling, which can make his decision a bit selfish.
jääääääklar vad lång :P skyller på de långa citaten...
SvaraRaderaBehind the scenes at the museum.
SvaraRaderap.111. "Perhaps Daisy and Rose really are an ailien life form and they sucked me up on board their spacecraft while I was innocently playing in the Back Yard"
Ruby, four years old has just woken up and realizes that she's not at home but at her cusins house. How did she come here?? Just a typical child's thought which are quite funny to read. I enjoy these comic alements in the book.
p168. "Percy would have dealt with the hornet no bother- firmly like a policeman."
Nell, the grandmother is reflecting on her choice of husband. Percy, her fiance died very suddenly and she married her third choise instead, Frank. It is sad to read about true love and that she later on settle for another man. However, it's deeply intriguing to read about her life.
p.185. "I expect that, like me, she feared to be alone when Gillian's vengeful spirit must be stalking Above the Shop, jealously guarding the kidney-shaped dressingtable... "
Gillian has recently died and everyone are feeling sad, nevertheless, this comment makes you laugh because it describes Gillian correctly. She hated to share her stuff, alive or dead...
The fifth child
SvaraRaderaPage 43
”you know that everyone is expecting to come here for Christmas, she demanded heavily, not looking at them.”
How could Dorothy be so cold hearted? She knew that her daughter was exhausted and that her relationship with David was frail. The fifth child, Ben, did not make the situation easier. Most surprisingly was that everybody else were expecting to come. Why did they always celebrate traditions at Lovatt´s house? When was Lovatt´s turn to visit somebody?
Page 60
“He´s a funny little chap, said David, and he sounded dismayed.”
This was David’s first comment after seeing his fifth child for the first time. He did not know Ben but yet he expressed these words with such insolence. I simply do not understand how a father can be so heartless. I do wonder if David was himself when expressing these words because this cannot be the lovely father figure I read about in the beginning of this novel.
Page 94
“I´m going to see what they are doing to Ben”
When reading this sentence I could not believe my eyes. Had Harriet finally reacted? Come to her senses? Is it really true that I felt humanity and motherhood towards Ben for the first time? She really cared about Ben after all and she even jeopardized her relationship with the family for Ben´s sake.
The Survivor page 132, chapter 25
SvaraRadera``This one time, the agent asked me where I saw myself in five years. Dead, I said. I see myself dead and rotting. Or ashes, I can see myself burned to ashes. I remember I had a loaded gun in my pocket. Just the two of us were standing in the back of a crowded, dark auditorium.´´ When I first started to read this book I found it quite interesting, but when I read this quotation from the novel, I suddenly started to look up some facts about the character, Tender Branson, which is a member of the Creedish Church, a death cult. In my point of view, I found it a bit interesting, but also in a strange. If you are a member of the death cult, like Tender, you are supposed to learn how to be a servant for the human race, and then wait a sign from God to tell them to deliver themselves unto Him, in another word, to commit suicide. After reading this quote, I finally started to understand, why Tender always said that.
Page 132
``I remember I was planning to kill myself that night. It was the night of my first big public appearance. I told the agent, I figured I'd spend my first thousand years in hell in some entry-level position, but after that I wanted to move into management. Be a real team player. Hell is going to see enormous growth in market share over the next millennium, and I wanted to ride the crest.´´ To commit suicide, is a crime, and it doesn’t solve anything. I human is generally supposed to live their lives with happiness, and not ending them in a bad way. Those who commit suicide, they need support from the relatives, or help from the community, in purpose to get a better life. This is the best solution, comparing to commit suicide.
Page 132
``I see myself dead and in hell.´´
After reading this quote, I started to think about the life after death. This way of thinking is sometimes good, but also strange in some way, because you don’t really know what will occur in life after death.