Summary
After Manara comes to get Faridah' Harif goes looking for her but after he arrives there he sees her dead. He cries and regrets that he never had the chance to be with her. Adil accuses Harif of Faridah's death even though he is the one who looked for Faridah. He tries to convince the villagers by saying that he saw Harif and Faridah when they were arguing. The village tries to trial Harif and punishes him. Ahmed revoked Tthe accusations by showing evidence that Harif could not have done. Faridah was killed with a poison, before she died her murderer knock her with a rock and after he sliced her throat. The leader of the village check Harif's hand to see if they could find the trace of the poison and it turns out he is innocent. After harif's innocence was proved, Jammana tells him the Adil, the leader's nephew is the ne who killed Faridah. Jammana also saw Faridah's death but did not understand it because she sees the past. Jammana burns Ein Fadr and the village becomes isolated. Her dad and her lives to the country while her mother stays to help other families. After two years her mother dies and she founds her own organization that fights for abused women.
Quote
"It's time. Time to speak up" (Hamilton 237)
Reaction
This is forshadowing, it shows Jammana as leader to woman. It predicted her future and shows that she a brave protagonist. I think this book is full of forshadowin because on the first fifty pages it mentioned that Jammana was afraid to leave her. And at the end when she leaves, she dies. After this quote that is when the women in Ein Fadr realizes that their society is an utopia. They takes the word of a little girl and put in practice because they see that a girl knows better than them. I think the theme of the book is that women can make changes which they did. If it was not for the women Harif would die but their dauntnessless saved him.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Staircase of A Thousand Steps(161-210)
Summary
When Ahmed comes and tries to make Jammana choose, he assumes that no one can turn her against him. He tries to force Jammana to tell where her mother was but Faridah sstands up to him. Jammana tells her father that her and her mother has a surprise him. Harif wed his wife because it was beneficial he never loved her. Faridah remembers the first night of their wedding. Harif came to her and left his wife at home. After that Harif refused to go back to her. When the villagers came in the morning to see the bloody sheet, she tricked them by cutting herself to make it seems like Harif spent the night with her. Hannan told Harif she would not leave. After that Faridah was able to bear a child since the offspring was Harif's baby, Hannan made Harif her something that killed the child. These factors provoked tension between Hannan and Faridah, the women never talked until Hannan became pregnant. Faridah had intension of poisonning Hannan while she was pregnant but didnt until she died of natural causes. These memories make Faridah wonders of what would happen if Harif had married her. In the morning Harif and Ahmed argued of why their generation had not been able to bear any boy. Rafa comes back and tells Ahmed why she is mad at him and wants him to give their saving to the family he had hurt.
Quote
"But actually, Faridah is a bit taller" (Hamilton 72).
Reaction
This quote is authorial explicit because the author is describing a character. I think the author uses it to emphases that Faridah has a lot of power and knowledge. It showing that she on top of all the people in the village. It is basically why she does not fit in with them. She does not belive in their tradition and has an advance knowledge of the world than them. All the people in the village are conservatives the want things to stay the way they were generations ago while the world is advancing foward. For example when a woman is in labor they have to drink water that their husbands wash their feet from. My perspective is that, that water has a lot of germs which will lead to diseases. But from their view, it protects the woman. I think most people from the village are inane and ignorant.
When Ahmed comes and tries to make Jammana choose, he assumes that no one can turn her against him. He tries to force Jammana to tell where her mother was but Faridah sstands up to him. Jammana tells her father that her and her mother has a surprise him. Harif wed his wife because it was beneficial he never loved her. Faridah remembers the first night of their wedding. Harif came to her and left his wife at home. After that Harif refused to go back to her. When the villagers came in the morning to see the bloody sheet, she tricked them by cutting herself to make it seems like Harif spent the night with her. Hannan told Harif she would not leave. After that Faridah was able to bear a child since the offspring was Harif's baby, Hannan made Harif her something that killed the child. These factors provoked tension between Hannan and Faridah, the women never talked until Hannan became pregnant. Faridah had intension of poisonning Hannan while she was pregnant but didnt until she died of natural causes. These memories make Faridah wonders of what would happen if Harif had married her. In the morning Harif and Ahmed argued of why their generation had not been able to bear any boy. Rafa comes back and tells Ahmed why she is mad at him and wants him to give their saving to the family he had hurt.
Quote
"But actually, Faridah is a bit taller" (Hamilton 72).
Reaction
This quote is authorial explicit because the author is describing a character. I think the author uses it to emphases that Faridah has a lot of power and knowledge. It showing that she on top of all the people in the village. It is basically why she does not fit in with them. She does not belive in their tradition and has an advance knowledge of the world than them. All the people in the village are conservatives the want things to stay the way they were generations ago while the world is advancing foward. For example when a woman is in labor they have to drink water that their husbands wash their feet from. My perspective is that, that water has a lot of germs which will lead to diseases. But from their view, it protects the woman. I think most people from the village are inane and ignorant.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Staircase of A Thousand Steps (1-50)
Summary
Jammana is an eleven year old girl. She is travelling with her mother and her a family friend, Abu Sa'id. They departed on her father's absence, so he would not stop them from their journey. She is a misfit because of her special trait which enable her to see the past. Special trait is an inheritable trait of her family. Jamil was the only friend, she had and he died. She is journeying to Ein Fadr to get the meaniong of a vision she had. Her father is planning on moving to America soon. Jammana thinks that Allah wories more aboput men than women. When her grandfather was a boy he caused his father to make a deficit, when he gambled off his olives. Rafa does not want her granddaughter and daughter to move away from their native land. Her grandfather meets his long time friend, who revealed a secret of Harif uninttentionally. The people on the Village judge the Bedouin base on stereotypes, which upsets him greatly. The people in the village consider Faridah as someone who bring the dark angel shadow wherever she goes.
Quote
"Sometimes Jammana fears that if she's not paying sufficient attention, Mama will Disappear" (Hamilton 18).
Reaction
I think this quote forshadows that something bad is going to happen to her mother. In the other side it shows a daughter who worries deeply about her mother. The fact that she is always worry makes her play the role of a mother to her mother. I wonder why she married her husband? He does not seem like someone who cares aboput her deeply.
Jammana is an eleven year old girl. She is travelling with her mother and her a family friend, Abu Sa'id. They departed on her father's absence, so he would not stop them from their journey. She is a misfit because of her special trait which enable her to see the past. Special trait is an inheritable trait of her family. Jamil was the only friend, she had and he died. She is journeying to Ein Fadr to get the meaniong of a vision she had. Her father is planning on moving to America soon. Jammana thinks that Allah wories more aboput men than women. When her grandfather was a boy he caused his father to make a deficit, when he gambled off his olives. Rafa does not want her granddaughter and daughter to move away from their native land. Her grandfather meets his long time friend, who revealed a secret of Harif uninttentionally. The people on the Village judge the Bedouin base on stereotypes, which upsets him greatly. The people in the village consider Faridah as someone who bring the dark angel shadow wherever she goes.
Quote
"Sometimes Jammana fears that if she's not paying sufficient attention, Mama will Disappear" (Hamilton 18).
Reaction
I think this quote forshadows that something bad is going to happen to her mother. In the other side it shows a daughter who worries deeply about her mother. The fact that she is always worry makes her play the role of a mother to her mother. I wonder why she married her husband? He does not seem like someone who cares aboput her deeply.
Staircase of A Thousand Steps (101-160)
Summary
Rafa thinks of all the decisions she has to make on her own. She thinks of her daughter's future and how life will be different for them, if she divorces her husband. Faridah says that she did all she could to save Rafa's mother but she failed. Even though she tried everything in her power, the people in the village comdenmed her ever since. Rafa takes all of her husband's saving in before she left him. While they are in the cave Adil and his nephew come and leave without spotting Rafa. Harif and Faridah look back in the past they had for the first time. Faridah still loves Harif and wishes that she was his wife. Jammana goes back to the past and sees a mysterious woman. Her grandfather quotes the same thing the woman says. Jammana suspects that the adults are keeping a secret from her. She follows her grandfather secretively and he does not notice her until she gets there. Harif was banished from the village after his second vision because the villagers think that he brings misfortune to the village. Jammana exposes the memory she is been having about her mother's birth. Tension builds between Faridah and Rafa, which pressures Faridah to explain her dream. When Harif returned to the villager Faridah was unhappy because he returned with a fiance.
Quote
"The most spontaneous act of her life, i would guess" (Hamilton 141).
Reaction
After Faridah says that it shows that she was jealous of Rafa's mother. This is figurialexplicit because through her words, anyone can describe Faridah. This quote also shows that there is a lot of history between Faridah and Harif. This shows that Faridah and Harif were lovers and were ashamed of it because she had married before and she is six years older than him. All her jealosie is because of Harif.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Staircase of A thousand Steps (51-100)
Summary
Faridah delivers Adil's baby for him. After the delivery they accuse her of being a devil. Even though the wife had a cough before, they denied and tell it was her fault. After Faridah's long day the Bedouin proposes to her and she rejected him by insulting him. The Bedouin's presence had causes Harif troubles because he told the village the truth about him saving Harif unintentionally and now they co a liar. Faridah finally knows that Jammana does not have any friends her. Any time Jammana ask Faridah her questions about her dream, she switches subject. Harif and Faridah met when he was thirteen and she was eighteen after his mother died. Both them were misfits and Faridah was still a bold woman. She told Harif her life story as a beginning of their friendship. Harif's mother was the one who prevent the elders of the village from banishing her after her divorce with her husband. He divorced her because she could not bear any children. Jammana's mother ran away from her husband and Harif feared of the people in the village gossiping about their family. The village judges people from generation to generation. The people from the village start to make Harif feel more like an outcast after he told them about his vision when he was seventeen. Nabeel threats Faridah because his nephew's wife is worsened.Quote
"Pampering a girl disgraces you" (Hamilton 77-78).
Reaction
This quote reinforce sexism, it show the inequality between boys and girls. In the village boys and men are condsider to be better than a girl or a women. Anyone can see that because when someone has a boy they give that person a title. They put the prefix Abu in front of the person's name which is unfair because they are segregating parents by the gender of their kids. It is shown vividly in the book and it also reminds me of an article that i read. The article explained how people in Somalia which Muslim is their religion value boys more than boys and are willing to make their girls dress as boys to become a replacement.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Chinese Cinderella (83-122)
Summary
When her decides to test the family dog, her big brother chooses her duckling. During the testing the dog breaks her duckling's wing and the wound kills it. Her dad and her stepmother are marrying her sister, who is only seventeen years to someone who is almost twice her age. She feels sad for hr sister and fears that one day they will do th same thing to her. Before her sister's wedding her stepmother takes all the best gift from her sister for herself. During her sister's wedding, all her siblings from her mother's side feels ashamed of their clothing including herself because they are dressed poorly. When her grandaunt tells her stepmother about the gift she gives her big sister, her big sister lies on her aunt just to keep her loyalty to hr stepmother. She tells her that her aunt tells her not to keep it a secret from her since she knows her stepmother will take it away. Her grandaunt is a very successful and educated woman. Her family is high. As a result of sneaking to her friend's house, her stepmother punishes her. After she runs for class president she wins and helds a party without anyone's consentment. Her father thinks that her aunt tolerates her too much and considers of separating them.
Quote
"I'll never forget this kindness on your part. Thanks for the tipoff. You're the best sister in the world and i'll always be indebted to you." (Yen Mah89)
Reaction
I think this is situational irony because this is not her sister's usual behavior toward her. She is usually mean to her and always reminds her that, their mother died because of her. She is always the one who makes her life the most miserable. I think her sister is a hypocryte because she just switches character which is incredible. If she loves her sister the way she says in the quote, she would not lie about her aunt because she knows how much her aunt means to her sister. Her sister is a really self-centered person, she will do anything to get herself out of trouble including lying on someone innocent.
When her decides to test the family dog, her big brother chooses her duckling. During the testing the dog breaks her duckling's wing and the wound kills it. Her dad and her stepmother are marrying her sister, who is only seventeen years to someone who is almost twice her age. She feels sad for hr sister and fears that one day they will do th same thing to her. Before her sister's wedding her stepmother takes all the best gift from her sister for herself. During her sister's wedding, all her siblings from her mother's side feels ashamed of their clothing including herself because they are dressed poorly. When her grandaunt tells her stepmother about the gift she gives her big sister, her big sister lies on her aunt just to keep her loyalty to hr stepmother. She tells her that her aunt tells her not to keep it a secret from her since she knows her stepmother will take it away. Her grandaunt is a very successful and educated woman. Her family is high. As a result of sneaking to her friend's house, her stepmother punishes her. After she runs for class president she wins and helds a party without anyone's consentment. Her father thinks that her aunt tolerates her too much and considers of separating them.
Quote
"I'll never forget this kindness on your part. Thanks for the tipoff. You're the best sister in the world and i'll always be indebted to you." (Yen Mah89)
Reaction
I think this is situational irony because this is not her sister's usual behavior toward her. She is usually mean to her and always reminds her that, their mother died because of her. She is always the one who makes her life the most miserable. I think her sister is a hypocryte because she just switches character which is incredible. If she loves her sister the way she says in the quote, she would not lie about her aunt because she knows how much her aunt means to her sister. Her sister is a really self-centered person, she will do anything to get herself out of trouble including lying on someone innocent.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Chinese Cinderella (42-82)
Summary
After Their stepmother gives them new clothes for Chinese new all the sudden, They rest vof her siblings realize that, she shows nepotism toward her children. They all unite to protest against her unfairness. After their unity, she realizes the only way to break them away from each is to take their leader away from who is their big sister. After her big sister moves to the other floor, she betrays them, which makes her a hypocryte. After all that happens Wu Mei begans to realize that her big sister is self-centered. During a picnic at the public park she sees another side of her third brother, a side that proves to her that he can be trustworthy. During the time that her stepmother, her big sister and her father is out, everyone extended their rights. Her big brother takes advantage of eating better type of food, instead of daily vegetables. At school she befriends a girl but never has the strength to tell her about her family. During her second year primary school she wins a news paper contest, she is congradulated by ther teachers and classmates while her brothers tricks her because of her achievement. After the dog bits her, her aunt shows her her safe-deposit box and tell her that she can become anything if dshe continues to get good grades that gives her hope.
Quote
" I was pleased to note that PLT had grown quite big and strong and was holding her own against the rest." (Yen Mah 75)
Reaction
I think this is quote is forshadowing because It says that all the other ducklings do not like her duckling PLT, which is the same thing with her siblings. I think she is proud of her because she is able resist them. After all she does great in school which is her only way to get away from them and get a better. This quote is saying that out of all her siblings she will be the most successful one and some of them may not even succeed in life. This quote projects the character's courage of enduring all these humiliations from her own family.
After Their stepmother gives them new clothes for Chinese new all the sudden, They rest vof her siblings realize that, she shows nepotism toward her children. They all unite to protest against her unfairness. After their unity, she realizes the only way to break them away from each is to take their leader away from who is their big sister. After her big sister moves to the other floor, she betrays them, which makes her a hypocryte. After all that happens Wu Mei begans to realize that her big sister is self-centered. During a picnic at the public park she sees another side of her third brother, a side that proves to her that he can be trustworthy. During the time that her stepmother, her big sister and her father is out, everyone extended their rights. Her big brother takes advantage of eating better type of food, instead of daily vegetables. At school she befriends a girl but never has the strength to tell her about her family. During her second year primary school she wins a news paper contest, she is congradulated by ther teachers and classmates while her brothers tricks her because of her achievement. After the dog bits her, her aunt shows her her safe-deposit box and tell her that she can become anything if dshe continues to get good grades that gives her hope.
Quote
" I was pleased to note that PLT had grown quite big and strong and was holding her own against the rest." (Yen Mah 75)
Reaction
I think this is quote is forshadowing because It says that all the other ducklings do not like her duckling PLT, which is the same thing with her siblings. I think she is proud of her because she is able resist them. After all she does great in school which is her only way to get away from them and get a better. This quote is saying that out of all her siblings she will be the most successful one and some of them may not even succeed in life. This quote projects the character's courage of enduring all these humiliations from her own family.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Chinese cinderella (p. 1-41)
Summary
During Wu Mei first week of kindergarten, she receives an award for her leadership. At home she is only close to one person, her aunt Barbara. Every question she asks her aunt about her mother, she refuses to answer them completely. During a conversation with her grandma, she learned that small feet used to be a custom in China. Someone with big feet would be excluded from doing from other people, the same way her family excludes her from them because they consider her as a curse because her mother died giving birth to her. Both her second brother and her big sister are the ones who expressse their hatred toward her the most. For several weeks she wins a medal consecutively and both and her sister and brother make her life miserable. Even though her stepmother consider all her father's kids inferior to hers, she treats the other better than her. Once they move to Shanghai, to rejoin with their father again after his mysterious disapearance everything changes for the worst. Even though their father still sends them to an exorbitant school to get a good education, he lacks responsabilities to provide for their personal needs.
Quote
"You don't know because you are stupid! And you don't deserve to wear this!" (Yen Mah14).
Reaction
I think this quote expresses a lot of jealousy and as well anger. It shows the anger Her sister has toward her and it is really deep. I was surprise to see how much a sister can hate another base on accomplishment and belief. Her sister is jealous of gift to learn well at school and at the same time hate her because she thinks she is the cause of her mother's death. Based on her sister's belief Wu Mei is the who murdered her mother and gives them a stepmother who will never love them as her own children. i think it is unfair to blame a child for something she did not do and make hr/him struggle during their childhood. She was a baby and she could not hit a fly which makes her innocent of all their accusation
During Wu Mei first week of kindergarten, she receives an award for her leadership. At home she is only close to one person, her aunt Barbara. Every question she asks her aunt about her mother, she refuses to answer them completely. During a conversation with her grandma, she learned that small feet used to be a custom in China. Someone with big feet would be excluded from doing from other people, the same way her family excludes her from them because they consider her as a curse because her mother died giving birth to her. Both her second brother and her big sister are the ones who expressse their hatred toward her the most. For several weeks she wins a medal consecutively and both and her sister and brother make her life miserable. Even though her stepmother consider all her father's kids inferior to hers, she treats the other better than her. Once they move to Shanghai, to rejoin with their father again after his mysterious disapearance everything changes for the worst. Even though their father still sends them to an exorbitant school to get a good education, he lacks responsabilities to provide for their personal needs.
Quote
"You don't know because you are stupid! And you don't deserve to wear this!" (Yen Mah14).
Reaction
I think this quote expresses a lot of jealousy and as well anger. It shows the anger Her sister has toward her and it is really deep. I was surprise to see how much a sister can hate another base on accomplishment and belief. Her sister is jealous of gift to learn well at school and at the same time hate her because she thinks she is the cause of her mother's death. Based on her sister's belief Wu Mei is the who murdered her mother and gives them a stepmother who will never love them as her own children. i think it is unfair to blame a child for something she did not do and make hr/him struggle during their childhood. She was a baby and she could not hit a fly which makes her innocent of all their accusation
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