the way this play ended was totally open, and of course, I have my own theory about what actually happened.
Manus leaves for good reason...he is nervous about the situation and everyone knowing that he likes Maire is not a good sign, especially if he say them together leaving the dance...
however! the fingers are pointing to the Donnelly twins...but the interaction between Hugh and Jimmy are telling me something different...especially when Marie arrives...I think that Hugh and Jimmy were somehow in on the whole thing...somehow I have to wonder if those romantic talks are all about Maire and Jimmy's secret emotions about her....
what do you guys think?
28 April 2009
22 April 2009
he said WHAT?!
okay...I'm kinda, but not really, understanding what the heck is going on here...
where are we at? in Ireland, got that, but what time and who is invading?? I understand that they speak English, so my guess would be England because Lancey is telling them that they (Irish people) should feel "privileged" (34)...but Owen doesn't translate all the information? why?
and then the final comments between Owen and Manus...anyone else thinking Shakespeare!?
and, of course, every play has to have romantic drama....Manus and Maire...I can see how this one is going to play out: starts off as an argument, some problem that lets everyone know that a romantic relationship is present...a problem arises (probably in this case the "Royal Engineers") and they make it through together and realize they are perfect for eachother and they will stay together and live "happily ever after"... yea, okay
where are we at? in Ireland, got that, but what time and who is invading?? I understand that they speak English, so my guess would be England because Lancey is telling them that they (Irish people) should feel "privileged" (34)...but Owen doesn't translate all the information? why?
and then the final comments between Owen and Manus...anyone else thinking Shakespeare!?
and, of course, every play has to have romantic drama....Manus and Maire...I can see how this one is going to play out: starts off as an argument, some problem that lets everyone know that a romantic relationship is present...a problem arises (probably in this case the "Royal Engineers") and they make it through together and realize they are perfect for eachother and they will stay together and live "happily ever after"... yea, okay
20 April 2009
a connection with Omishto
once again, I did not like the ending of this book! something is incomplete and I HATE it!!! I wanna know what happens!!!! is Ama actually waiting or will arrive at the tribe? or is she actually banished for the four years? did the world actually start fresh again?
one thing that was answered for me, however, was the power of place...I think that being in Ama's house helped Omishto root her beliefs, feelings and especially confidence in a way we did not see before about who she was and what she was doing...I don't think the transition was smooth because there are times when she wants to cry and feels weak and alone...and I found it interesting that these feelings were expressed with her sister and Annie Hide...I really wasn't expecting that, especially with her sister...
I also found the meetings with Omishto and her mother really...odd and interesting?...I could definitely see my mother acting the same way...thinking that I was either too young or not ready to be on my own yet...and how that would make her feel...and I don't picture it going too well...it was kinda surprising that Omishto thought about her interpretation of her mother's religion instead of her emotional feelings...
another thing that was interesting was that she called home to say she was going home...kinda ironic...I really feel like her mother knew she wouldn't be coming back to her house...that she would eventually returned to what she left...so why did she have to call at all?
what do you guys think? did you like the book or did it leave questions that you wanted answered? what do you make of the relationships and visits to Omishto in the last part of the book?
one thing that was answered for me, however, was the power of place...I think that being in Ama's house helped Omishto root her beliefs, feelings and especially confidence in a way we did not see before about who she was and what she was doing...I don't think the transition was smooth because there are times when she wants to cry and feels weak and alone...and I found it interesting that these feelings were expressed with her sister and Annie Hide...I really wasn't expecting that, especially with her sister...
I also found the meetings with Omishto and her mother really...odd and interesting?...I could definitely see my mother acting the same way...thinking that I was either too young or not ready to be on my own yet...and how that would make her feel...and I don't picture it going too well...it was kinda surprising that Omishto thought about her interpretation of her mother's religion instead of her emotional feelings...
another thing that was interesting was that she called home to say she was going home...kinda ironic...I really feel like her mother knew she wouldn't be coming back to her house...that she would eventually returned to what she left...so why did she have to call at all?
what do you guys think? did you like the book or did it leave questions that you wanted answered? what do you make of the relationships and visits to Omishto in the last part of the book?
14 April 2009
who has the "power"?
I finished reading the assignment last night and I was actually shocked the way the court trial ended...Omishto described many of the whites as descendants of destroyers of the land and her people...they wanted Ama in jail and she partially agreed, but on the other hand, "her people" also bring a form of tension because she doesn't know what or how to believe in this situation...
Ama wants to be convicted, take the blame for what she had done, be it right or wrong...and flat out says "I KILLED IT"...would that not be enough evidence to put her away? what do you think about the need to have enough physical evidence to condem her? what is the reason they let her go even though she admitted to the act? therefore, is the power in truth or in evidence and logical thought?
Omishto thinks they let her go because she wanted to be convicted...she thinks they were compelled because of their animal nature..."It seemed we went against our wills, and who am I to judge, me being such a part of this other world, both these other worlds" (143). I have the same question Professor asked us: what are these two worlds? are they the ones she described between Americans and Taigas, or is it the traditional nature of the Taiga and what she has learned in school and the modern world? or is it simply between what Omishto wants to believe and what she is told to believe?
Ama wants to be convicted, take the blame for what she had done, be it right or wrong...and flat out says "I KILLED IT"...would that not be enough evidence to put her away? what do you think about the need to have enough physical evidence to condem her? what is the reason they let her go even though she admitted to the act? therefore, is the power in truth or in evidence and logical thought?
Omishto thinks they let her go because she wanted to be convicted...she thinks they were compelled because of their animal nature..."It seemed we went against our wills, and who am I to judge, me being such a part of this other world, both these other worlds" (143). I have the same question Professor asked us: what are these two worlds? are they the ones she described between Americans and Taigas, or is it the traditional nature of the Taiga and what she has learned in school and the modern world? or is it simply between what Omishto wants to believe and what she is told to believe?
06 April 2009
momma says...
I don't know about you guys, but a section of the reading reminded me of the infamous "Momma said" on page 19...the judgment from her mother is one reason why she feels "called" and connected to Ama...
in this reading, we learn a lot about Omishto...the relationship with her mom, her mother's husband, with Ama, and her feelings about herself...at such a young age, she is so descriptive!!!! she personifies everything; the house, the wind, the earth...
I also found it interesting that she is caught between two different religious beliefs and seems to associate with both...she rebels against her mother and her religion, but as she describes Ama against her house she says she seems "crucified" (37). on the other hand, she associates with Ama and the elders beliefs of nature and its representation of God...
finally, I wonder if both Ama and Omishto are prophets...with the apparition of the "messengers" (25) and in the feeling they both get at the end of chapter two...what do you guys think? is the title an indicator of a common bond/experience the two have, or is it only the description of the world around them?
in this reading, we learn a lot about Omishto...the relationship with her mom, her mother's husband, with Ama, and her feelings about herself...at such a young age, she is so descriptive!!!! she personifies everything; the house, the wind, the earth...
I also found it interesting that she is caught between two different religious beliefs and seems to associate with both...she rebels against her mother and her religion, but as she describes Ama against her house she says she seems "crucified" (37). on the other hand, she associates with Ama and the elders beliefs of nature and its representation of God...
finally, I wonder if both Ama and Omishto are prophets...with the apparition of the "messengers" (25) and in the feeling they both get at the end of chapter two...what do you guys think? is the title an indicator of a common bond/experience the two have, or is it only the description of the world around them?
02 April 2009
Lucy
this last section of reading was perfectly titled, "Lucy". I felt like she let herself open up in a way we had not seen before...instead of being cynical to others, she was describing herself, her emotions and really describing how or why she felt that way...instead of completely ignoring and neglecting her feelings toward her mother and her home, she let her true emotions play a role...
her relationships all changed as well...one line in particular, the remarks about her and Paul's relationship, really reminded me of her life...the life in her past that she was now willing to acknowledge, but, like Paul, no longer willing to let it possess her..."He loved ruins; he loved the past but only if it had ended on a sad note, from a lofty beginning to a gradual, rotten decline; he loved things that came from far away and had a mysterious history" (156).
I also feel like Lucy's decision to move out and throw herself into things that didn't make her happy was purposeful...she "was sure none of it was good for [her], and [she] liked that" (160). Even though the concept of self guilt was new to her, she filled the role; whether consciously or subconsciously.
what do you guys think? is this new life Lucy's attempt to try and start over again, or a way of dealing with her guilt?
her relationships all changed as well...one line in particular, the remarks about her and Paul's relationship, really reminded me of her life...the life in her past that she was now willing to acknowledge, but, like Paul, no longer willing to let it possess her..."He loved ruins; he loved the past but only if it had ended on a sad note, from a lofty beginning to a gradual, rotten decline; he loved things that came from far away and had a mysterious history" (156).
I also feel like Lucy's decision to move out and throw herself into things that didn't make her happy was purposeful...she "was sure none of it was good for [her], and [she] liked that" (160). Even though the concept of self guilt was new to her, she filled the role; whether consciously or subconsciously.
what do you guys think? is this new life Lucy's attempt to try and start over again, or a way of dealing with her guilt?
31 March 2009
The Problem Revealed
I don't even know where to begin...so why not at the end...?
"My life was at once something more simple and more complicated than that: for ten of my twenty years, half of my life, I had been mourning the end of a love affair; perhaps the only true love in my whole life I would ever know" (Kincaid, 132). This quote finally reveals what I have suspected throughout the whole book! If you were to go back and see everywhere Lucy recalled "mother" in her present experiences, you get the feeling that no matter how hard she wants to, her past will always be a part of who she is...even if it something she is trying to change/challenge...
Lucy is no longer the cold hearted, miserable person I permanently stamped for her...somehow, in realizing that her mother was not able to connect with her the way she wanted, she becomes an inspiration and very intelligent individual...but she just doesn't know how to deal with it...the story Lucy recalls to Mariah explains so much more than what we have seen about her personality...this girl, at ten, understood that there has to be more than what she is having wished for her...being raised in an environment where we have been taught to be strong, ambitious and adventurous is the norm, and Lucy secretly feels these too...to feel rejected and betrayed by your mother at such an influential age can be a life changing experience...her desire to break the mold and severe relations with those feelings is not only very hard, but for her, is virtually impossible...
the society she had dreamed of since she was little quickly changes and seems unimportant...what's important is her mother and the woman she is and how she is present in Lucy...
does the last bit of reading today change anyone else's persception of Lucy?
"My life was at once something more simple and more complicated than that: for ten of my twenty years, half of my life, I had been mourning the end of a love affair; perhaps the only true love in my whole life I would ever know" (Kincaid, 132). This quote finally reveals what I have suspected throughout the whole book! If you were to go back and see everywhere Lucy recalled "mother" in her present experiences, you get the feeling that no matter how hard she wants to, her past will always be a part of who she is...even if it something she is trying to change/challenge...
Lucy is no longer the cold hearted, miserable person I permanently stamped for her...somehow, in realizing that her mother was not able to connect with her the way she wanted, she becomes an inspiration and very intelligent individual...but she just doesn't know how to deal with it...the story Lucy recalls to Mariah explains so much more than what we have seen about her personality...this girl, at ten, understood that there has to be more than what she is having wished for her...being raised in an environment where we have been taught to be strong, ambitious and adventurous is the norm, and Lucy secretly feels these too...to feel rejected and betrayed by your mother at such an influential age can be a life changing experience...her desire to break the mold and severe relations with those feelings is not only very hard, but for her, is virtually impossible...
the society she had dreamed of since she was little quickly changes and seems unimportant...what's important is her mother and the woman she is and how she is present in Lucy...
does the last bit of reading today change anyone else's persception of Lucy?
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