In Lirael, by Garth Nix, a young girl of fourteen struggles to cope with patience. She is a Clayr, who have a power that enables them to See into the future. (Yes,I know, I capatlized the s on see, because that's how it's written in the book.) Alright, so now to my thinking. These girls have to wait until they get The Sight. They don't just wake up with it. Bored, Lirael begomes an Assissant Librarian. (my spelling is how they spell it, so there's nothing wrong with the name!) She creates a dog out of a statue. Her name is the Direputable Dog, or the Boring Bitch. This name seems quite innappropriate, but we are in the future, year 40089 A.D., so these types of words still exist. I'm trying to figure out why Lirael didn't get the Sight. You could say "maybe it's meant to be", but why? I think because Garth Nix wanted to set Lirael apart from the other Clayr. It's really quite interesting to be in the mind of a sort of soothsayer, but it seems to draw us in more to the pariah, or outcast of a group.
Why would he do this? Simple. He wanted the story to have suspense, to have multiple ideas floating around. A true Clayr, with the Sight, doesn't have to do very much, only See into the future and tell her superiors. A Clayr without the Sight must go on adventures, and find their inner self, before recieving the Sight.
This is why Nix focuses on Lirael, to follow her on her inner journey.
To find her true self.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Missing Perspective in The Catcher in the Rye
In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden, a boy of sixteen, tells of his experiences.
In the book, I noticed that his parent's perspectives of him are missing. He only mentions them inderectly, not even saying their names. So while he is flunking out of every school he is sent to, we don't get a view of what his parents think about that or how they see him as a person. I mean, he's already had sexual intercourse with quite a few ladies. I wonder if his parents think it's okay, or are they very angry, because they think he's not old enough or they don't like him being with ladies and getting drunk?
To me, the effect it has on the book is that it seems as if it's not his fault. He's only telling his side of the story, and who knows if it's all true? Can we always trust a sixteen year old? But I think that was why Salinger did it. If he only tells his side of the story, we're only interested in him. Should we really care about parents who are almost never mentioned or a boy who constantly gets drunk, has sexual intercourse and tells the tale? You decide.
I think this also happens with children in our community. Much of the time, we only tell our side of the story to make it seem as if we had no hand in it. We sometimes make something up on the spot to make it seem as if the other person was completley responsible, and you were just the victim.
Now we can see clearly why Salinger only wrote of Holden's views.
But why does Holden do all these things? What pushed him so far as to get himself out of every school he tries, have sexual intercourse with each lady he meets, and never contact his family?
Allie. Allie is Holden's brother, who was the star of the family, who made everyone happy. Once he died, Holden lost control of himself. So did his parents. They lost each other along the Path of Life. A line has connecting Holden and his parents has been severed, and will take forever to repair.
In this world, when we lose a loved one, we temporarily shut-off. We don't really care about anybody, and we spend all our time feeling sorry for ourselves. The phase after this turns to rogue, when you become what your parents had a fear of you becoming, and give up on yourself. You don't do anything, but inside, you're contemplating. You're taking time to slowly move your feet along the path of Life.
I think this is which phase Holden is in. The rogue phase. He's still getting over the loss of his beloved brother, Allie. It may seem to his parents that he is a lost cause and troubled boy, but really he's spending his time moving along.
In the book, I noticed that his parent's perspectives of him are missing. He only mentions them inderectly, not even saying their names. So while he is flunking out of every school he is sent to, we don't get a view of what his parents think about that or how they see him as a person. I mean, he's already had sexual intercourse with quite a few ladies. I wonder if his parents think it's okay, or are they very angry, because they think he's not old enough or they don't like him being with ladies and getting drunk?
To me, the effect it has on the book is that it seems as if it's not his fault. He's only telling his side of the story, and who knows if it's all true? Can we always trust a sixteen year old? But I think that was why Salinger did it. If he only tells his side of the story, we're only interested in him. Should we really care about parents who are almost never mentioned or a boy who constantly gets drunk, has sexual intercourse and tells the tale? You decide.
I think this also happens with children in our community. Much of the time, we only tell our side of the story to make it seem as if we had no hand in it. We sometimes make something up on the spot to make it seem as if the other person was completley responsible, and you were just the victim.
Now we can see clearly why Salinger only wrote of Holden's views.
But why does Holden do all these things? What pushed him so far as to get himself out of every school he tries, have sexual intercourse with each lady he meets, and never contact his family?
Allie. Allie is Holden's brother, who was the star of the family, who made everyone happy. Once he died, Holden lost control of himself. So did his parents. They lost each other along the Path of Life. A line has connecting Holden and his parents has been severed, and will take forever to repair.
In this world, when we lose a loved one, we temporarily shut-off. We don't really care about anybody, and we spend all our time feeling sorry for ourselves. The phase after this turns to rogue, when you become what your parents had a fear of you becoming, and give up on yourself. You don't do anything, but inside, you're contemplating. You're taking time to slowly move your feet along the path of Life.
I think this is which phase Holden is in. The rogue phase. He's still getting over the loss of his beloved brother, Allie. It may seem to his parents that he is a lost cause and troubled boy, but really he's spending his time moving along.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Eternal Smile: Part 1 (of 3)
I'm reading The Eternal Smile, by Gene Luen Yang. It consists of 3 stories, all completley different. I'm reading the first one, clled Duncan's Kingdom. It tells of a knight who adores a pricess, your basic romance story, and marries her after he kills the Frog King. It was a good story, right up to that, but I couldn't read any farther, because I profusley refused to look at pictures of them making out. Imean, it was the exact same thing with American Born Chinese. I personally don't think that a story is excellent if you incorporate hundreds of drawings of them kissing and doing their little boy-girl stuff. It adds a bit of flavor to the soup(the story), but too much can really ruin it. (This is my opinion, so you can comment if you have a comment to make. But it'd better be a nice one!
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