IB Year One Reupload
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL I
Year I
(None of the below links work)
The House On Mango Street Chp. 1 (In) Esperanza's House
- Sandra Cisneros,Coming-of-Age,In,The House on Mango Street,Identity,
- Sandra Cisneros,Connections & Relationships,Coming-of-Age,In,Global Issues,Authorial Choice,Characters,Thematic Topics,The House on Mango Street,Identity,Creativity,Power,
- Transformation,Symbolism,In,Authorial Choice,Characters,Youth,Thematic Topics,Trauma,Creativity,Perspective,The Assault,Education,Theme,Henry Mulisch,Identity,Memories,Word Choice,
The Assault Episode 1(In) Darkness VS Light
- Perspective,The Assault,Symbolism,In,Characters,Authorial Choice,Theme,Youth,Trauma,Harry Mulisch,Creativity,
- Authorial Choice,Beliefs & Values,Characters,Connections & Relationships,Culture,Global Issues,Love,Memories,Perspective,Power,Symbolism,The Assault,Henry Mulisch,True War Story,Trauma,Transformation,
- Chronicle of a Death Foretold,Gabriel Marquez,Authorial Choice,Characters,Community,Connections & Relationships,Culture,Global Issues,In,Identity,IO,Love,Power,Symbolism,Thematic Topics,Transformation,
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Vintage Books, 2014.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
May 28 2021
Chronicle of a Death Foretold Three Core Concepts
The Restrictions of Women Freedom
Chronicle of a Death Foretold showcases how some communities suppress
women and their lives through the expectations forced onto the female
characters. Although many societies throughout the world have successfully
increased gender equality, there are many that remain oppressive of women. The
novel shows a model of one of these societies through its central town. Within
the town, women are raised to be the wives of men and little else. This fact is
exemplified through the Vicario family. Multiple times throughout the novel are
the women of the family described as ideal wives: "The girls had been reared to
get married. They knew how to do screen embroidery, sew by machine, weave bone
lace, wash and iron, make artificial flowers and fancy candy, and write
engagement announcements" (Marquez 31). Their upbringing reveals much of how
their society views women. First, their upbringing is described as being reared,
a term usually reserved for livestock. This wording represents how the women are
treated like animals, raised for a specific purpose while being given little
freedoms. The actions that the ladies are trained to do also reflect the
society's focus on marriage. Nearly all of the mention actions are related to
having a wedding. They are taught that getting married is the highlight of their
lives as well as their main purpose. They corral women into one path of life,
oppressing their other characteristics. The novel also illustrates how these
oppressive systems are maintained. The longer these systems remain, the more
that their participants come to accept it as reality. Eventually, even the
victims may begin to believe that the system is simply the way life it. This
notion can be seen through Pura Vicario. Although she is a woman, she is also
one of the strongest supporters of her system's gender roles. She completely
accepts her disgraceful role in society because that was how she was
raised.
How Societal Expectations Can Affect One's Identity
Chronicle of a Death Foretold develops how the expectations of others can change a person's identity through the characterizations and stories of its male characters. In the novel, the main expectation that affects the focal male characters is the expectation of masculinity. The actions of men like Bayardo and the Vicario twins are driven by the characters fulfilling the role given to them by their society because of their gender. The reason why Bayardo is so intent on getting married was because of his father. As a military general, Bayardo's father is a prime symbol of masculinity. As such, society pressures Bayardo into trying to match that masculinity as his son. Their expectations drive him to rush into a happiness-less marriage forged by convenience. When the marriage falls through, Bayardo becomes miserable and drowns his sorrow in alcohol. When his family retrieves him, he is a shell of the person he once was. His failure to meet the expectations of his society drives him to ruin. For the twins, their expectation as men was to avenge the honor of their tainted sister. To do this, they must commit the violent act of slaying Santiago Nasar. However, it is made clear that neither one wishes to fulfill that task: "She was certain that the Vicario brothers were not as eager to carry out the sentence as to find someone who would do them the favor of stopping them"(Marquez 57). They sincerely wish not to commit the crime, yet their duty as men forces their hand. The expectations of their society causes them to go against their nature.
True Love and Happiness Are Priceless
Chronicle of a Death Foretold contrasts Bayardo and the widower Xius in order to illustrate how true happiness can not be obtained through pure power. The main interaction that these two characters have is of business; Bayardo wishes to buy Xius's house in order to live in with his future wife. Xius does not sell the house, as he associates it with the happiness he had with his own wife. Eventually, Bayardo persuades Xius to sell it through an offer of an exorbitante amount of cash, much more than the house is worth. The large amount of money that Bayardo uses represents power. He uses his granted power in order to forcefully obtain a life of happiness. However, Bayardo's plan to obtain happiness is flawed, clearly illustrated by comparing the two men's marriages: "[Bayardo] carried his terrified wife off to his dream house, where the widower Xius had been happy"(Marquez 45). Angela's distress symbolizes how their marriage is already weak. Bayardo's attempt to emulate Xius's happiness is doomed from the start. Once Angela's secret is revealed and their engagement is broken, Bayardo falls into despair. He wallows in the house once filled with happiness, drinking beer as his only form of coping. The juxtaposition between Xius's house being happy and Bayardo's house being sad reflects Bayardo's fallacy: trying to easily obtain happiness with power. Xius and his wife's happiness was created over many years, represented by the many objects within that were hard earned by them. Bayardo attempts to skip this effort by throwing around his power; as a result, he instead creates a time of misery for himself. His power is unable to grant him happiness.
Works
Cited
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Vintage Books, 2014.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
May 9 2021
The Assault Three Core Concepts
The Lack of Perceived Importance of Voting (Global Issue):
The Assault portrays the lack of perceived importance of democratic voting through its protagonist Anton and his views on politics. There are people in democratic countries who do not perceive their individual vote as useful. Whether they do not care about politics or simply do not think a single vote will change much, these people do not appropriately exercise their right to vote. In chapter one of episode three, Anton is shown to be of the former category, those who do not see politics as important. When asked about which party he will vote for in a future election, Anton simply responds with the same party that his friends are voting for. Furthermore, it only takes his uncle a few minutes to change Anton's mind. The simplicity in which Anton makes his decision and the speed in which his decision changes illustrates bad voter procedure. It is a voter's duty to make a decision not only on personal bias, but on thoroughly researched information and after long deliberation. However, many still view their vote as unimportant and not worth this effort. After the election, Anton realizes that many followed the committed the same folly as he did: "nobody voted rationally, but simply out of self-interest, or because he felt an affinity for the members of a certain party, or because the leading candidate inspired confidence"(Mulisch 82). These people voted not by logic but by their whims. They failed as voters to make informed decisions as to ultimately better the country. Their failure stemmed from their inability to recognize the importance of their duty. This global issue can also be seen in The Things They Carried, where Tim blames his draft to Vietnam on those who voted in favor of the party that initiated the war, even if they didn't foresee this outcome.
The Connection of Perspective to Trauma:
The
Assault uses Anton's evolving perspective of the events of the assault to
portray a connection between one's perspective of an event and the trauma caused
by it. Trauma can be created when a person does not have a clear enough
perspective on the initiating event. For Anton, he lacks total comprehension of
the events of the assault. Primarily, Anton first lacks understanding of the
circumstances of the events. He only knows that Fake Ploeg was shot in his
neighbor's yard, and that they dragged the body over to his house. He didn't
know who shot Ploeg, nor why the Kortewegs dragged the corpse to his house and
not to the anti-social Aartes's lawn. In addition to a lack of context, Anton
misses many details of the actual assault as well. From his view from within the
car, Anton fails to see what is happening outside: "Anton tried again to see his
parents, but further away in the darkness, people were only shadows in the
flashlights darting back and forth"(Mulisch 27). Anton can only comprehend the
outline of the events occurring outside, mere highlights of people and action.
The darkness obscures the true details of the assault. Both the lack of context
and lack of details are the origin of Anton's trauma. In the future, Anton
attempts to avoid thinking of the assault and claims to have moved on from it,
but it is clearly not the case. When something reminds him of that time, he can
not help but to follow that connection in order to gain more clarity of that
night. As the novel continues and as Anton gains more clarity about the assault
through people like Takes and Karin, he slowly begins to truly move on.
Eventually, after his final conversation with Karin on the reasoning behind her
and her father's actions, Anton finally obtains the full perspective he needs to
move on. He walks confidently toward the future, now unburdened with the memory
of that fateful night. The connection between perspective and trauma can also be
seen in The Things They Carried. Within the novel, the narrator's
anecdote about the man he killed represents how his perspective during the war
led to his trauma.
Love is Strong Enough to Warp Ones Own Perception:
The Assault portrays love's ability to warp a person's perception through the character of Fake Ploeg Junior. Strong feelings of love or other attachments can affect how a person views another person. In the novel, Fake Ploeg Jr.'s (Fake) love for his father (Ploeg) makes him ignore the crimes he committed. When Fake and Anton discuss Ploeg's murder in Anton's house, Fake is highly defensive when Anton accuses his father of collaborating with the Nazis. At first, Fake outright denies much of what Anton is accusing Ploeg of, arguing that he was not a collaborator in the way Anton is suggesting. Then, as the conversation continues, Fake tries to balance out his father's supposed actions by stating that he was right about Communism, as if that fact excuses his horrible actions. Finally, Fake claims that his father was simply following orders, and that he was not to blame for his actions. Anton is puzzled by this rash defense of Ploeg, telling Fake that it was fine to love his father despite the things he did. Fake, however, still refuses to acknowledge certain truths. Eventually, Anton ascertains why Fake is so dedicated to his image of Ploeg: "How could anyone embroil himself in such a web of lies? Love was what caused it all-love, through thick and thin"(Mulisch 92). Love obscures Fake's perception of reality. He is too blinded by it to acknowledge the terrible things his father did, choosing rather to abide by what he feels is right. When confronted with the reality that his father could have been a bad person, Fake runs away to preserve that love. Another example of love blinding a person can be seen in My Brilliant Friend, where Lila's love for Stefano leads her to believe that she can overcome the class structure of her neighborhood. However, Marcello Solara arriving at the wedding wearing Lila's shoes showcases that her assumption was wrong.
Works Cited
Mulisch, Harry, and Claire Nicolas White. The Assault. Pantheon Books, 2002.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
April 30 2021
In The Assault by Harry Mulisch, darkness
has many uses within the story. Although its main purpose is as a symbol for the
unknown, it also plays a strong role in setting the tone of scenes. In many
scenes throughout the novel, particularly in the first episode, the prominent
feature of their settings is darkness. This darkness is integral to not only the
thematic meaning but to also the plot itself. In this post, I will theorize how
different scenes would go if they were fully lit instead of
dark.
Opening Scene: The only source of light in this scene is a small light bulb in the center of the table in the back room. This lighting not only leaves many details of the scene unknown, but also pushes its characters together. It makes the characters interact, helping us to understand their unique personalities and relationships. Without the darkness, the characters would not be forced into such close contact with one another. They wouldn't interact as much, revealing less of their characters. Additionally, the darkness sets the tone of the scene. It conveys the stress living during a war would cause. Being lit would add normalcy to the scene, which would hinder its thematic undertones.
Anton in the car: The main use of darkness in this scene is to contrast it with the blinding light of the fire as well as to represent Anton's trauma. The darkness prevents Anton from fully recognizing the events outside, while the light from the fire is too bright to reveal them. Additionally, the hazy-ness of the outside events symbolizes Anton's inability to fully-process those memories, a main sign of trauma. If the events were lit, then both of these symbols would lose their meaning. However, that doesn't mean that the events would lose all thematic meaning. In bright light, Anton would fully witness and comprehend the burning down of his house and the detainment of his parents. The vivid details of these events could eventually lead to Anton's trauma.
The jail cell: This scene would be the most different when lit up. In the original scene, the darkness allows Anton and the woman to closely connect while keeping their identities secret. However, if the cell was lit, a much different scene would have likely occurred. In the novel, Anton is initially afraid of the other person in the cell, but relaxes when he hears a woman's voice. The woman is then able to calm Anton and help him process the preceding events. It isn't until he exits the cell that he finds about the blood that covers her. If Anton saw a bloody women in a solitary containment cell, he would be afraid and not want to converse with her. This would only add to his stress and anxiety of the day.
Works Cited
Mulisch, Harry, and Claire Nicolas White. The Assault. Pantheon Books, 2002.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
April 27 2021
Episode 2 Creative Writing
After the
war had ended, the differences between Anton and his fellow children soon became
apparent. In contrast to the cheery boys who freely laughed outside and the
girls who smiled with true bliss, Anton never felt the nirvana of the war
ending. To him, his time in the war was a separate life, one at times shrouded
in darkness and at others filled with blinding light. At school, all of the kids
were sharing their war stories- who had the worst time, who experienced the
scariest moment, and even who lost family. To Anton, all of his war memories
seem distant and unimportant, so he was usually distanced himself from these
discussions.
As time
went on and as normalcy returned, however, new questions began to be raised. As
the war continued to fade into history, more often was it discussed from a
historical perspective. To his peers, the shrouded memories of the war became
revealed as the objective truths were revealed. Those dark memories became
common and unremarkable as they receded to the back of their minds. For Anton,
his memories of that time remained clouded as well, but he really didn't care.
Or at least, that is what he told himself. He tried to distance himself from
them, but repeatedly failed. His current life felt like an imitation, a bland
performance played after the showstopper. No matter how hard he tried, he always
returned to the darkness, to the fire, to the woman with the bloody fingers. And
so, his epilogue life continued.
Explanation:
The main element that this
anecdote uses is the theme of memories. As time continues, the memories of the
war begin to fade for most of the people in the story. However, Anton is unable
to easily forget his memories, despite not thinking about them. His failure to
resolve his memories results in his social isolation from his peers, just like
how he didn't celebrate with the boys his age when the war was finished. Used in
conjunction with memory is the element of darkness and light. It is mentioned in
Episode 2 how Anton's memories contain both pitch-black darkness and blinding
light. I used this as in the novel to convey Anton's lack of comprehension of
his memories. The dual use of darkness and light implies that Anton is unable to
adapt to the memories and will forever be unable to truly see them.
Works Cited
Mulisch, Harry, and Claire Nicolas White. The Assault. Pantheon Books, 2002.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
April 18 2021
The House On Mango
Street Three Core Concepts
Women being suppressed by men:
In The House On Mango Street, the story develops how women can be suppressed by men through various examples of trapped women. Throughout the novel, the trapped women are often kept locked within their homes or within a relationship because of a man. For example, in "Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice On Tuesdays", the titular character is kept within her house by her husband. She frequently gazes out the window, which allows her to view the outside world but not interact with it. Her desire to leave is illustrated through her desire to dance: "On the corner there is music from the bar, and Rafaela wishes she could go there and dance before she gets old"(Cisneros 79). It this section, dance is used as a symbol of self-expression and freedom. Rafaela is unable to dance and express herself all because her husband does not want her to do so. Although Rafaela is a primary example of women being trapped, the novel shows many other women is similar situations as well. In "My Name", it is explained how Esperanza's great-grandmother was forced into her marriage. She, similar to Rafaela, then spent most of her days staring out the window, reflecting her isolation. In "Minerva Writes Poems", Minerva is trapped into an abusive relationship. Even though she finds a form of self-expression of poetry, it is clear that she is trapped. Even after she manages to kick her husband out once, he returns and perpetuates her abuse. These women are all unable to truly live the way they want to, restrained by the men in their lives.
Childrens' struggles to find and accept their own identities:
The House On Mango Street uses its main character Esperanza to convey the difficulty young children face in coming to terms with their own identity. As children grow older, their perspective on the world advances rapidly. Eventually, they begin to wonder about their own place in it. The worry of one's own self stems from this realization. Esperanza's journey to find/reconcile with her own identity is one of the novel's main elements. This can be seen as early as the first chapter, "The House On Mango Street", where Esperanza must come to terms with her identity as a lower class citizen. When she describes the crumbling building, it is as she herself is recognizing her status. At the end of the chapter, she accepts that she will live there for a long time, signifying that she knows her current place in society. However, she also resolves to find a real house one day. A little later in "My Name" Esperanza must once again reconcile with another part of her identity; this time, it is her name. She complains about her name and its origins. Her namesake, her great-grandmother, was forcefully married and lived a miserable life. Esperanza is worried that having her name will mean that she will live her life as well. At school, her peers pronounce her name weirdly. These issues make Esperanza dislike her own name. She then comments on how her sister has a nickname, but she is "always Esperanza" (Cisneros 11). Her name is synonymous with who she is. When she says that she is always Esperanza, it means that she is who she is, no matter how much she does not like her current self. At the end of the chapter, Esperanza decides to give herself a new name in order to better reflect her identity. Esperanza manages to both recognize her current identity and gain the determination needed to change ones own identity. Her journey and actions represent many children who must realize who they are and what is their place in the world.
The importance of
freedom of self-expression:
The House On Mango Street uses Ruthie's situation in order to develop the importance of self-expression. Self-expression is important as it is a manner in which to solidify and display one's own identity. When one can not express themselves, they are unable to be true to themselves and move beyond their current selves. A primary example of this inability and its consequences can be found in the chapter "Edna's Ruthie". In the chapter, the focal character Ruthie is shown to have various health issues. These health issues prevent her from experiencing many things. For example, her bad teeth prevent her from eating hard candy. Ruthie's condition prevents her from fully enjoying her love of candy, suppressing a part of her identity. Another example appears later on in the chapter with Ruthie's inability to read. Although she loves books, she is unable to read them. Furthermore, she claims that "I used to write children's books once, did I tell you?"(Cisneros 69). Writing books is a direct form of self-expression, as writing requires one's own unique creativity. Being unable to write books anymore represents Ruthie's current inability to express herself. This lack of self-expression hinders her progress in life. She is multi-talented, and supposedly had received many job opportunities earlier in her life; however, her weaknesses prevent her from journeying beyond her current borders. Without self-expression to solidify her identity, she is unable to venture outside her comfort zone, symbolized by her reluctance to go play bingo with Edna's friends. Without self-expression, Ruthie will remain trapped by her own hand, never outgrowing her current self.
Works Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. Vintage Books, 1991.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
April 13 2021
Esperanza's House
This is a drawing of Esperanza's house that I have created based on its description in "The House on Mango Street". The house is important because Esperanza views it as a symbol of her status in life. Its decrepit condition causes her to feel unsatisfied.
Works Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. Vintage Books, 1991.
- Monkey Bridge, The Things They Carried, IO, Global Issues, My Brilliant Friend,
My Brilliant Friend pg. 27-107 (In) Lenu and Lila Relationship Timeline
- Connections & Relationships, Timeline, Transformation, Elena Ferrante, In, Education, Characters, My Brilliant Friend, Youth, Identity, Communication,
- Intersectionality
Intersectionality Day 2
- Intersectionality, My Brilliant Friend, The Things They Carried
- Transformation, Elena Ferrante, Symbolism, To Kill a Mockingbird, Authorial Choice, Characters, My Brilliant Friend, Youth, Out, Perspective, Coming-of-Age, Theme, Intersectionality, Community,
- Authorial Choice, Characters, Coming-of-Age, Community, Connections & Relationships, Education, Elena Ferrante, Global Issues, In, Love, My Brilliant Friend, Thematic Topics, Symbolism, Youth, Word Choice, Power,
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
March 26 2021
My Brilliant Friend: Three Core Concepts
Power:
My Brilliant Friend uses the lives and goals of Lenu and Lila in order to develop the struggle the oppressed face when trying to escape their systems of oppression. One major force that both Lenu and Lila face throughout the novel is the oppression from their neighborhood's class system. Those of the upper class-mainly the Solaras-dominate the neighborhood and those below them. One instance of this when Marcello and Michele harass and assault the young women of the lower class with little consequence. This abuse of power is commonplace in their community. Lenu and Lila, both of the lower class (though Lenu is slightly better off than Lila), realize their place and then try to escape their situation. While still in elementary school, they attempt to free themselves by writing a book; by writing a book, they believe that they could become rich and escape their oppression. Eventually, Lila writes the book and then Lenu presents it to their teacher, Maestra Oliviero. However, she reacts negatively when presented with the book. When Lenu returns later to ask whether the teacher has read it or not, Oliviero instead asks her whether she knows what plebs are. When Lenu affirms, Oliviero continues on with, "And if one wishes to remain a plebian, he, his children and the children of his children deserve nothing" (Ferrante 72). As a teacher, Oliviero is above Lenu and Lila due to her education. However, despite her role as a guide for the youth, she still insults Lila. She disregards Lila's hard work as she views it as a waste of time. If Lila was already well off, then her novel would have most likely been praised for the effort put into it; Lila's status determines her opportunities and how the people around her view her. As the novel continues, Lenu's and Lila's plans to escape poverty split apart from one another; Lenu pursues higher education, while Lila plans to support her families shoe business. These two paths come to a head at Lila's wedding at the end of the novel. For Lenu, the wedding seems to her a sign that her escape is impossible. She had advanced far enough to recognize the violence and vulgarity of her life, but not enough to escape it. When combined with the knowledge that the newspaper rejected her article, she loses hope that education will be able to save her. On the other hand, Lila experiences this same conclusion, but in a more devastating way. Her marriage to Stefano, one of the top businessmen in the neighborhood, and the upgrades to her families business supposedly represent how Lila has risen toward the top of the class struggle. Instead of escaping the system, she saw it fit to claim a spot at the top, as Lenu recognizes that, "Lila had remained there, chained in a glaring way to that world, from which she imagined she had taken the best"(Ferrante 322). She remains bonded to the unjust system, only her own situation has improved. However, even though she thinks that she beat the system, she is still apart of it. This results in the novel's final twist; Marcello Solara, in spite of being explicitly banned by Lila, enters the wedding reception wearing shoes that Lila made with her own bare hands. Despite all of her progress, she still fails to escape the oppression of those above her. Even with their entire efforts, Lenu and Lila fail to escape their unfair systems.
Love and Relationships:
My Brilliant
Friend shows how powerful love can lead to negative consequences by using
the families of the neighborhood. During the novel, its characters are shown to
have strong interconnecting bonds. The strongest of these bonds are the bonds
that tie the families together. These links of emotion cause the members of the
families in the novel to be extremely close to one another. However, this
emotional closeness comes at a cost. Due to their closeness, an insult against
one person becomes and insult against an their entire family. Not only that, but
some characters, especially the males, feel a sense of duty to protect their
family. When explaining this phenomena, Lenu states that, "There were no written
rules, everyone knew that was how it was" (Ferrante 113). In spite of not being
written, the importance in family is instilled into the characters from the day
they were born. As such, very few question whether these strong bonds come with
a downside. A problem with these strong bonds is that conflicts can get out of
hand quickly if one feels that they must protect/avenge their family. An example
of this can be seen in the aftermath of the student competition. After Lila
defeats Alfonso, his older brother Stefano threatens Lila. To protect Lila,
Rino, her older brother, fights Stefano. Then, Alfonso's mother came to Lila's
house to pick a fight with her mother. Eventually, the fighting stops when
Lila's father publicly apologizes to Alfonso's father. All of that violence is
caused by a simple competition between elementary school students, with each
combatant driven out of love and duty to protect their family. Although their
strong bonds keep the families together, it is that same strength that also
drives their community apart. The love that keeps them bound together also
severs their connections to others.
Education:
My Brilliant
Friend illustrates the endeavors low class women go through to attain a
higher education using Lenu's and Lila's quests for continued education.
Although modern families and cultures often give females an equal chance at
education, there are still some, especially in third world countries, that still
impede female education. Girls from these families and cultures often encounter
two common hindrances when pursuing education: the approval of their parents and
the money required for proper schooling. Lenu and Lila must contend with both of
these issues when they want to attend middle school. They must convince their
parents that schooling is a worthy investment of time and money. Lenu's parents
are initially unconvinced of the value of school. Eventually, however, they come
around and pay for the lessons Lenu needs to pass the middle school entrance
exam on the condition that she do well in school. Their condition shows that
they still doubt Lenu's need for education. Although education is a necessity,
to a lower-class family it only appears valuable if it can be used to better
one's own situation. In addition to this rule, Lila must also contend with
another force. There are two differences that separate Lenu's and Lila's
situations: Lila's status and her father. Lila's family is more impoverished
than Lenu's and her father is much meaner and more aggressive. This results in
Lila being unable to convince him to pay for her lessons. However, their is
another reason that Lila's father denies her studies; Lenu explains that, "it
didn't enter into his view of the world that [Lila] should continue to go to
school"(Ferrante 70). Fernando's beliefs led him to think that Lila shouldn't go
to school, that it wasn't her place to. Similar judgements were once widespread
throughout many cultures. Even today, there are some groups that don't believe
in women's education. The novel uses Lenu and Lila's struggles to illustrate
these obstacles that many women face in seeking higher education.
Works Cited
Ferrante, Elena. My Brilliant Friend. Childhood, Adolescence. Europa Editions, 2020.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
March 23 2021
Coming-of-Age Comparison
After finishing My Brilliant Friend by Elena
Ferrante, I could not help but compare it to other coming-of-age novels. On
specific novel that I thought of was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
I made this comparison because both novels focus on a young girl growing up and
learning more about the world around her. However, these two novels differ
greatly due to the different settings in which they occur. Due to this
difference, the main characters are affected differently and learn different
important lessons about world around them. However, there are some common
experiences shared by the protagonists that present themselves in different
ways. I want to explore the similarities and differences between what Scout and
Lenu experience during their journey of growth.
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the town of Maycomb in southern America during the Great Depression. The main character is Scout Finch, a white girl and the daughter of a lawyer. On the other hand, My Brilliant Friend takes place in 1950s Italy. It follows Lenu Greco, a girl and the daughter of a porter. Beyond these base descriptions, Scout and Lenu both share characteristics and differ in others. Both are unusually bright, with Scout learning to read before attending school and Lenu's attaining high marks. One major difference is their demeanors: Scout is a tomboy, while Lenu strives to appear feminine. These comparisons help to show that while they aren't exactly the same, Scout and Lenu aren't extremely different either. As such, they learn similar lessons throughout their journey.
One common experience that the girls share is the daily violence of their communities. For Scout, this means experiencing racism first hand. Thanks to her connection to Calpurnia, her black caretaker, Scout has insight into some of the challenges black people face during the setting of the novel. This conflict is further highlighted when her father defends a black man in court, directly connecting her to the racial violence of her community. As for Lenu, the violence in her community is based on class, not race. As part of the lower class, Lenu is often seen and treated as lesser by the people above her. As she matures, she begins to perceive that class violence and power is spread throughout her community, corrupting every part of it. The connection between these two lessons is that they both teach the protagonist that violence is deeply rooted in their communities.. For Scout, the racism she witnesses is the result of centuries of unfair treatment and crimes against black people; for Lenu, the class violence that affects everyone within her neighborhood originates in the "before" a time incomprehensible to her. They both learn that the violence they witness originates far before them, and that they must move beyond it or become a part of it.
Unlike how the girls learned about innate violence through different examples, they also experience similar situations with different outcomes. In both novels, their is a figure that the characters are taught to avoid. For To Kill a Mockingbird, this character is Boo Radley. The children of Maycomb are told by the adults around them to avoid his house at all costs. This superstition leads to many negative tall tales being created around him. However, as Scout learns little by little his true story, she and the reader come to understand that those stories are false, and that Boo Radley is simply a kind person, shunned by the town due to his past. Boo Radley and his story contrast with Don Achille in My Brilliant Friend. Similar to Boo, many negative rumors and warnings about Don Achille are told to the children of the novel. However, these warnings are justified, as we learn that Don Achille was a loan shark and worked with the mafia. Eventually, Lenu comes to understand his danger as well. Although Boo Radley and Don Achille both characters shrouded in mystery, their actual traits and affects on the protagonists are completely different. Scout gains a new understanding of perception and reality, while Lenu understands more about the violence that pervades her neighborhood.
Works Cited
Ferrante, Elena. My Brilliant Friend. Childhood, Adolescence. Europa Editions, 2020.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Grand Central Publishing, 1982.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
February 24 2021
Intersectionality Day 2: Intersectionality in Literature
In The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, Jimmy Cross's experience and role as platoon leader directly clashes with his love for Martha. As platoon leader, it is Cross's job to guide his soldiers according to the orders from his superiors. As such, he has a great amount of responsibility. He has the duty of organizing a group of rowdy soldiers in order to carry out missions with as few casualties as possible. This burden takes a heavy toll on Cross's mental stability. In order to alleviate this stress, he fantasizes about love. Specifically, he revels in the thought of being in love with a girl named Martha. Despite not actually loving Martha- he only loves the thought of being in love- it still inhibits his ability to lead. One day, one of the soldiers under Cross's command is killed while Cross is fantasizing about Martha. Even though the soldier's death is out of his control, Cross still blames himself heavily: "He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more that his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war" (O'Brien 16). This event alters Cross's view of his love. Before Lavender's death, Cross's dreams of Martha assuages the stress of leading a platoon. Afterwards, Cross's love for Martha instead reminds him of his failure to protect one of his own. He begins to believe that his love for Martha weighs him down. The connection between his duties as a leader and his guilty love for Martha provoke Cross to suppress his emotions in order to better serve his platoon.
In My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, Fernando Cerullo's flawed personality can be explained through his role as a father and his status in society. As a father, Fernando's primary job is to provide for his family. This entails working a job to earn money as well as being the primary decision maker in his house. However, this role is difficult due to his status in society. Owning a shoemaking business (that really only repairs shoes), Fernando and his family are among the impoverished within their society. In order to survive, Fernando has to struggle and make difficult decisions. These hardships only increase the burden that being the man of the house places on Fernando's shoulders. This heavy burden is illustrated through Fernando's unstable personality. On one hand, Lenu and Lila describe Fernando as a kind man who works hard and cares very much for his family. However, when something angers him, Fernando erupts in anger. Although the wrath and violence of men is common throughout the novel, Lenu accentuates that Fernando's outbursts are different by comparing him to her father: "My father was restrained even when he was angry, he became violent quietly, keeping his voice from exploding... Fernando instead yelled, threw things; his rage fed on itself, and he couldn't stop" (Ferrante 82). Fernando's immense rage leads him to beat his wife and abuse his children. Fernando's abnormal anger is a result of his role and status. Being the provider in a poor family creates an enormous amount of stress for Fernando. His duty forces him to forsake his shoemaking passion as it would not be profitable enough for them. He instead simply repairs shoes, barely using the skills he has so much pride for. Despite his diligent work, his family still struggles to survive. Fernando is stuck in a job that he has little passion for all because it is the only way he can provide for his impoverished family. Although this mental anguish does not excuse Fernando's actions toward his family, it does help the reader to understand them. He is a victim of his society, and he takes his misery out on his family through outbursts of rage. The place that Fernando is trapped in as a provider and as part of the lower class corrupt his personality, creating his ruthless fury.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
February 19 2021
To me, intersectionality is way in which different aspects of one's life and oneself interact. Due to these intersections, they uniquely affect someone compared to when they are separated. These special interactions are at the core of each person's individuality.
One example of intersectionality that I believe has had a considerable effect on me is the connection between my mental issues and my status as a military child. I suffer from a mental condition called Asperger's Syndrome, which is basically a less severe form of autism. Its main symptom is the impairment of social and communication skills. For me, this meant that when I was younger, I had trouble making friends and talking to new people. At social gatherings, I usually stayed by my parents' sides despite their attempts to send me off. At school, I always sat by myself during lunch or hung out alone during recess. This isolation was-and still is- the part of myself that I wish to change the most. My doctor said that I would improve at socializing with enough practice, but this was hindered by my experiences in a military family. My father was once a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines. As such, up until recently, our family never remained in one place for very long. The amount of time we spent in a specific place was a maximum of three years. Although three years is a decently long time, it seemed to flash by as a kid. Whenever I began to feel comfortable with those around me, we moved away from the people that I had worked so hard to connect to. Eventually, I gave up trying to make real connections to those outside my family. My innate social inability combined with a unique military childhood made me relatively alone and closed off from most of the world. Although I was content, I always wanted some friends to talk to. Fortunately, after my father retired, I realized something. Many parts of my identity-like my status as a military child- will come and go as I go through life. However, my mental condition is a part of me that will never go away unless I put in the effort to change myself. Despite my military childhood being behind me, I will enroll in a university soon, which I predict will persuade me back into isolation. In spite of this, I still plan to practice my socialization. By showing me what a solitary life is like, this intersection of my identities has given me the determination to avoid that life. My new resolve is due to my experiences as a military child affected by Asperger's.
A consequence of my isolation and the bonds that my family shares is that I feel excessively attached to the bonds I have. Over the years, it has stuck out to me that my family is more connected when compared to others. Despite the size of my extended family, I never feel disconnected from any of them. On my mom's side, our family hosts an annual reunion that often gathers more than 50 people! On my dad's side, our family and the families of his three siblings are almost in constant communication and gathering. Being a part of these closely connected families, I believe that I tend to have stronger bonds to those around me. The strength of my bonds is only enhanced by my isolation. Due to making few new connections, I deeply cherish the bonds I already have. Although I thankfully have not had to go through this yet, I deeply fear the day that I lose my bond to even a distant family member. I also dread the time when I will have to leave them to live on my own. My profound attachment to the bonds that I have is due to my relation to a close-knit family along with my lack of connections elsewhere.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
February 12 2021
Within the link above is a timeline that details the major events of Lenu and Lila's relationship throughout pages 27 to 107 of My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Each section contains a brief description of the event and its significance/effect on their relationship.
Works Cited
Ferrante, Elena. My Brilliant Friend. Childhood, Adolescence. Europa Editions, 2020.
Potential IO Passages
Monkey Bridge:
Treatment of Veterans (pg. 64-65) ("She was keeper... who hadn't".) Mai explains why so may Vietnam veterans come to the Little Saigon store. Due to their experiences, they have been cut off from their fellow Americans. At the store, they are welcomed among the immigrants, in contrast to how their fellow citizens treat them.
Adaptation of Immigrants to Their New Homes (pg. 146-147) ("Detached... and exotic".) Mai describes how the old immigrants of Little Saigon stand out in America. Mai also describes how they can use stereotypes to their advantage by tweaking them. She needs to make them resonate with America's culture.
Keeping Secrets Within Families (pg. 167-168) ("I knew what... be in that?") Mai is sneaking into Thanh's room to take a peak at her journal. She is doing this because she wants to understand her better. However, Mai is nervous as she feels guilty for doing so without Thanh's permission.
The Things They Carried:
Expectations Society Places on Men (pg. 20-21) ("They carried all... geisha nurses".) Tim explains how the soldiers of Alpha Company hid their true emotions from their comrades. On the outside, they act tough and brave; however, on the inside, they carry all of their fears and worries. It was their will to hide these emotions that drives them forward.
Treatment of Veterans (pg. 80-81) ("Now and then... never listen".) Tim explains the reason why veterans often change the details to the war stories they tell. Their audience is often unable to understand the true meaning of their stories. In order to convey their experiences, they add and remove details to their stories.
Proper Support for Veterans (pg. 149-150) ("In the spring... Who needs it?") Tim writes about the letter he received from Norman Bowker. He explains how Norman has been doing since returning from the war. He also gives a little excerpt from the letter.
My Brilliant Friend:
The Consequences of a Strong Familial Connection (pg. 52-53) ("Because almost... the feuds ended) As a result of the student competition, a successive series of violence occurs throughout the town. What starts with a feud between two children escalates to a battle between two whole families. Eventually, one character sacrifices himself in order to stop the fighting.
Women's Education in Undeveloped Communities (pg. 68-69) (But Rino... economic possibilities) Lila wants to move on to middle school, but doing so would require money. Rino argues with their father on whether they should pay for her extra lessons. However, Fernando refuses to listen.
The Struggle to Escape Unjust and Immoral Systems (321-322) (Near her... school wrote) Lenu reflects on how she no longer fits in to her neighborhood's system of violence due to her education. She also notices that, despite their progress, neither her nor Lila have been able to escape the system.
Casual Sexual Harassments (Gender Power) (134-135) (The Solara's... realized it) Lenu and Lila are harassed by the Solara brothers. Despite the girls showing disinterest, the brothers continue to follow them. After Marcello grabs Lenu, Lila is forced to pull a knife in order to protect her.
Class Conflict (194-195) (The girl... a hick) While in a upper-class area of town, Rino insults a girl in a peculiar outfit. After being insulted due to his status, he starts a fight with a member of the upper class.
Works Cited
Cao, Lan. Monkey Bridge. Penguin, 1997.
Ferrante, Elena. My Brilliant Friend. Childhood, Adolescence. Europa Editions, 2020.
O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. First Mariner Books, 2009.
The Things They Carried Chap. 1 (In) Reader Response and Initial Reactions
- Connections & Relationships, Tim O'Brien, Symbolism, In, The Things They Carried, Love, Characters, Theme, Identity, Reader Journal
The Things They Carried Chap. 1-9 (Out) Thematic Example with Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War
- Tim O'Brien, Perspective, The Things They Carried, Global Issues, Theme, Representation, Creativity, Nagasaki, True War Story, Communication, Out
The Things They Carried Chap. 15 (In) In Depth Authorial Choice Analysis in "Speaking of Courage"
- Tim O'Brien, Symbolism, The Things They Carried, In, Characters, Authorial Choice, Theme, Speaking of Courage, Norman Bowker, Trauma, Word Choice, Communication
The Things They Carried Final Chapter (In) Word Choice Analysis
- Tim O'Brien, Transformation, The Things They Carried, In, The Lives of the Dead, Authorial Choice, Characters, Theme, Trauma, Word Choice, Communication
The Things They Carried (In) Final Portfolio
- The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien, Global Issues, Thematic Topics, Characters, Authorial Choice, In, Perspective, Justice, Community, Theme, Connections & Relationships
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
January 19 2021
TTTC Final Portfolio
One global issue that Tim O'Brien touches on in The Things They Carried is the concept of justice. The chapters that focus on justice are "Enemies", "How to Tell a True War Story", and "The Ghost Soldiers". Each of these chapters depict how one's sense of justice can make them act irrationally and/or against their better judgement. Within "Enemies", there are two instances of actions influenced by a sense of justice. First, Dave Jensen attacks Lee Strunk because he believes Lee stole his knife, which results in Dave breaking Lee's nose. Then, wracked by guilt, Dave slowly becomes mentally unstable and ends up breaking his own nose in order to become even with Lee. In the first instance, Dave's sense of justice caused him to react violently to theft of his knife, an event described as "stupid" (O'Brien 59). His desire to uphold justice led him to overreact to a rather unimportant event. Later, after the fight, Dave acts erratically as a consequence of of his guilt. Finally, he breaks his own nose as a way to become even with Lee for breaking his nose. It is because of his sense of justice that Dave does these irrational things. In "The Ghost Soldiers", Tim is affected in a similar way by his sense of justice. After he is improperly healed by Bobby, Tim feels like he needs to get payback for it. His desire for justice caused him to carry out a complicated and unnecessary revenge prank. Within the chapter, Tim comments on how much he had changed since joining the war: "I'd come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person... I'd turned mean inside. Even a little cruel at times"(O'Brien 190-191). While this quote mainly relates to the war's effects on Tim, it can also relate to the effects of justice. Tim's sense of justice has changed both his perspective on Bobby and his actions against him. Some other, smaller examples of justice compelling characters action is Alpha company decimating a village after a victimless sniper attack in "The Lives of the Dead" and Azar being threatened for mocking a girl's dancing in "Style". All of these occurrences support the recurring theme that the desire to uphold justice can make one act irrationally.
The Things They Carried showcases the importance of perspective to understanding it is written. This is explained in the chapter "Good Form", where O'Brien admits to fabricating many parts of his stories. He does this so that we as the readers can better understand his experiences: "I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth" (O'Brien 171). O'Brien claims that if he tells the story the way it actually happened, the reader wouldn't be able to fully comprehend the story's significance. In order to convey his experience, he alters his stories by changing facts and adding details. These changes help us understand the stories' true meaning by changing our perspective. Two chapters where we see this focus on perspective are "How to Tell a True War Story" and "The Man I Killed". At the end of "How to Tell a True War Story" O'Brien gives an example of the usual response to his story about Rat Kiley and Curt Lemon's death. He writes that the usual response is to disregard it as a typical sad, bloody war story, save for the part with the baby buffalo. When relating to that part, they often convey a sense of sadness and empathy for the creature. However, O'Brien states that they are missing the point of the story entirely: "It wasn't a war story. It was a love story" (O'Brien 81). When he tells the story as it is, the audience doesn't understand what the purpose of the story is: to convey Rat's grief at the loss of his Curt. However, the part about the baby buffalo- which can be reasonably assumed to be fiction- helps the audience more closely understand the true meaning of the story. The connection to and empathy for the baby buffalo that the audience develops helps to induce the same emotions of sadness and loss that O'Brien intends the story to have. By shifting the focus to the Baby Buffalo, O'Brien uses a change in perspective to convey the true purpose of the story. Another example of using details to shift perspective comes in the form of the chapter, "The Man I Killed"; O'Brien uses perspective by making us focus on one specific, fictional person to describe Tim's guilt over being in the war. Due to the contents of "Good Form", we are able to reread the chapters before it in order to speculate what details have been fabricated. Each chapter contains details included to shift our perspective, which helps us understand them better. The frequent alteration of perspective in The Things They Carried to enhance the reader's experience shows its importance to understanding.
Within a few chapters of The Things They Carried, characters are seen under the influence of communities. More specifically, characters are strongly motivated to become apart of communities and gain camaraderie. The chapters where this theme is most prominent are "On the Rainy River", "Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong", and "The Ghost Soldiers". In "On the Rainy River", we see the power of camaraderie through Tim's internal conflict. Initially, Tim's dislike of the war is strong enough to make him attempt to flee into Canada to avoid the draft. However, when he gets near the border, he begins to think about what his family and neighbors back home will think about him. He becomes embarrassed the thought of being disgraced for abandoning his supposed duty, which leads him to his final decision: "I would go to war- I would kill and maybe die- because I was embarrassed not to" (O'Brien 58). In the end, despite all of the arguments and excuses he makes for himself, Tim still succumbs to his shame. The thought of being ostracized from his community- the one he himself claimed to hate- overpowered his own rational thought. He was more scared of the opinions of others than even potential death. The other chapters also show the drastic affects community and camaraderie can have on a person's judgement. "Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong" has Mary Anne lulled into the dangerous community of the green berets, while Tim feels shattered after learning that he is no longer considered a part of alpha company in "The Ghost Soldiers". The Things They Carried uses these events along with numerous smaller examples in order to develop how communities and the desire for camaraderie can significantly influence one's judgement.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
January 14 2021
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
January 6 2021
Authorial Choice Analysis of "Speaking of Courage"
In the chapter "Speaking of Courage", O'Brien uses the character of Norman Bowker to explore the effects of trauma and the urge to communicate said trauma. The chapter follows Norman as he rides around the lake in his home town while imagining telling other people about his experience in a shit field in Vietnam. The author uses many select word choices and imagery in order to convey Norman's conflict of wanting to communicate his trauma but not being able to. Some examples of this are the similarities between the lake and the shit field and the various people Norman sees while driving. However, I wish to go in depth on one specific word choice that I believe has a couple interesting implications.
One of the immediate conflicts in this chapter is Norman's repeated drives along the edge of the lake. Each time around he says that it will be the final loop, but each time he goes around again. The use of these repetitions is to symbolize Norman's repeated attempts to communicate his trauma and repeated failures to do so. During these events, the author describes Norman's loops as an orbit: "Clockwise, as if in orbit, he took the Chevy on another seven-mile turn around the lake" (O'Brien 133). I think that this choice of words can have two different meanings, both uniquely enhancing the overall theme of the chapter.
The first meaning that comes to mind for the word orbit is the distance it puts between Norman and his goal. Just like a satellite revolves around the Earth high above its surface, Norman drives around the lake and only enters it at the end of the chapter. When connected to the parallels between the lake and the shit field, Norman's revolutions can symbolize the distance between Norman and the story. Although he wishes to tell it, he can never properly approach it, instead carrying it out through conversations in his head. The second and my preferred interpretation relates to the physics behind orbiting. When a satellite is orbiting a planet, it has two forces acting on it: its momentum propelling it parallel to the surface, and the gravity of the planet pulling it down. The circular arc of an orbit is caused by the conflict of these two forces. The satellite is constantly being pulled down to the surface, but its horizontal momentum makes it miss. With this logic, Norman's situation takes a slightly different meaning. Just as a satellite tries to hit the planet's surface but fails due to its speed, Norman tries and fails to properly communicate his shit field story. He opts out of telling the story to the fast food employee, barely gives any effort talking to the workers, and never stops to talk to Sally. Each revolution is another chance to communicate, another chance to quell the trauma pulling at his heart, and yet he fails every time. It isn't until the end of the chapter that Norman is able to somewhat reach that goal, symbolized by him entering the lake, the object pulling him in, and temporarily relieving his trauma.
Works Cited
O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. First Mariner Books, 2009.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
December 16 2020
Application of "How to Tell a True War Story" to Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War
Within the chapter "How to Tell a True War Story", the narrator explains what he believes defines a true war story. In my history class I am currently reading a book by the name of Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War. Within it, the author Susan Southard compiles real life evidence and testimonies to explore the time after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Although the type of war stories Nagasaki provides aren't quite the same kind of stories that Tim describes, I still believe it to be worthwhile to compare Tim's beliefs of what defines true war story with a novel containing non-fiction stories of war. Throughout the chapters I have read so far (1-3), Nagasaki provides many of the requirements for a true war story as stated by Tim.
One main
characteristic of a true war story that Tim states is "its absolute and
uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil"(O'Brien 66). This means that a
war story always focuses on the negatives. Any story that gives light to gritty
events breaks this rule. Within Nagasaki, Southard constantly describes
the decrepit state of Nagasaki and its people as if to make sure the reader
doesn't forget to happened to them. One frequent example of this is the
descriptions of random people caught in the blast: "Hundreds of field-workers
and others staggered by, moaning and crying. Some were missing body parts, and
others were so badly burned that even though they were naked, Yoshida couldn't
even tell if they were men or women. He saw one person whose eyeballs hung down
his face, the sockets empty" (Southard 49). Southard doesn't hold back any of
the gritty details. Her descriptions of the victims help to create a graphic
image that few wish to visualize. Descriptions like these are inserted
throughout the novel, each one as or more disturbing than the last. The repeated
vile imagery shows the novels dedication to showing the horrific reality of
atomic warfare.
Another characteristic of a true war story that Tim mentions is "the way it never seems to end"(O'Brien 2). Although a war story may finish, it often doesn't give a sense of conclusion to the listener; they are left unsatisfied by it. Throughout Nagasaki, the perspective shifts between multiple people. Due to this, we continuously learn of even more sides of the devastation of Nagasaki. The further into the novel, the more death and destruction we learn of. Additionally, the novel suggests that even if some of the people managed to survive, they would be forever scarred both physically and mentally from the bomb; they would never be free from it. The sense the novel gives that there will be no end to the effects of the Nagasaki bombing supports its case for being a true war story.
Although Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War is not the type of war story Tim mentions, the novel seems to follow many of Tim's rules for a true war story. Its adherence to evil and seemingly everlasting story connect it directly to Tim's descriptions. Even if Nagasaki deviates a little from Tim's definition (such as when Southard mentions some of the positive miracles that occurred during the aftermath), I believe that it closely enough follows Tim's guidelines for being a true war story.
Works Cited
O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. First Mariner Books, 2009.
Southard, Susan. Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War. Penguin Books, 2016.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
November 25 2020
The Things They Carried Journal Entry 1.
This
chapter has given me high hopes for this novel. Firstly, there is the actual
content. My favorite thing about this chapter is the way O'Brien organizes how
the story gives characterization by connecting the information to the main theme
of the chapter. The first paragraph immediately starts with the main thing
carried by Jimmy Cross, our focus point for the chapter. Not only does it
introduce the main character for the chapter, but also the main theme of what
the men carry. As the chapter goes on, O'Brien repeatedly uses this format of
using the things the soldiers carry to introduce and characterize them. For
example, we learn from the things that Kiowa carries that he is a Native
American (hatchet) and a devout Christian (Bible). More subtle
characterization is used for the less important characters, like Rat Kiley
carrying comic books to signify that he is one of the younger soldiers in the
group (O'Brien 3). To me, this mixture of theme and characterization helps to
both enhance the theme and deepen the characters, and I like it. I think that it
is a brilliant to emphasize the theme by connecting it to the
characters.
The second big part of this chapter that I like is the many symbols it contains. Besides the things they carry, a few of the ones that I particularly like are Jimmy's connection to Martha, Lee Strunk's trip through the tunnels, and Ted Lavender's death. All of them represent their deeper meaning clearly. Jimmy's love for Martha is a more effeminate emotion, which contrasts with the soldier's efforts to appear manly. This trait is especially pronounced when Jimmy's love gets Ted killed. The use of various descriptors for the tunnels help to convey their symbolism of death. The emphasis on the crowdedness of the tunnels really resonated with me. I think that Ted's sudden death when combined with his characterization is a potent symbol relating to the main theme of the chapter; the things we carry affect us, just as the drugs Ted was carrying lead to his death. I also like how the symbols interconnect with each other. Jimmy's love for Martha connect with Ted Lavender's death to support the combined theme of being a "man". Likewise, Ted's death and the tunnel crawl support the general theme of death. I like the way O'Brien manages to interweave all of these symbols to support the various themes this chapter presents.
Overall, I really liked this chapter as an introduction to the novel. It successfully set the tone, introduced some of the characters, and conveyed its themes well. If the rest of the chapters are like this one, then I am excited to see the rest of what this book has to offer, even if the subject matter isn't one of my favorites.
Works Cited
O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. First Mariner Books, 2009.
Junior Year MP 1 Index
Monkey Bridge Chap. 1-5 (In) Character Map and Analysis
- Connections & Relationships, Beliefs & Values, Character Map ,Monkey Bridge, Lan Cao, Identity, Culture, In
Monkey Bridge Chap. 9 (In) Connections with Self, Self-Concept, and Identity Reader Journal
- Perspective, Transformation, Monkey Bridge, Lan Cao, Identity, Reader Journal, Culture, In, Thematic Topics
Monkey Bridge Final (In) Global Issues and Thematic Topics
- Connections & Relationships, Transformation, Monkey Bridge, In, Lan Cao, Global Issues, Thematic Topics, Identity, Culture, Perspective,
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
November 2nd 2020
Final Monkey Bridge Portfolio
Topic 1: Identity
Monkey Bridge uses the characters of Mai and Thanh to showcase the impact of their identity on their lives and actions. Both Thanh and Mai are Vietnamese immigrants fleeing from the Vietnam war. However, both view themselves in two different lights. Thanh is Mai's mother and bases herself almost entirely on her previous life in Vietnam. Mai is Thanh's daughter and bases herself on her new life in America. These different viewpoints translate to a noticeable difference between their lifestyles. One significant example of this occurs soon after Thanh first moves to America. During their first Autumn in America together, Mai notes the difference in their clothing options: "I was wearing a bulky wool sweater, but my mother was still in her tropical garb" (Cao 70). Thanh wears traditional clothing of Vietnam rather than more weather-appropriate clothing, showing how she views herself. On the other hand, Mai wears more normal autumn clothing, showing that she has adapted her identity to her life in America. While both characters seem to have set their identities at the beginning of the novel, it should be noted that both slowly change their identities as well. During a college interview, Mai uses her Vietnamese heritage to not only impress the interviewer, but also use strategies from an old Vietnamese tale to help her succeed. Additionally, Thanh eventually decides to co-start a business, showing that she has adapted a little to America as well. Ultimately, Mai's and Thanh's separate identities help develop what an identity is and how it relates to a person.
Topic 2: Trauma
Monkey Bridge uses the trauma of Mai and Thanh to develop how trauma affects people. In the novel, both Mai and Thanh have deeply rooted sources of trauma. Mai's experiences in a Vietnam volunteer hospital give her PTSD and frequently induce nightmares of the horrid imagery she saw there. For Thanh, the combined trauma of her broken family and watching her father kill a man in cold blood caused her to fall into a depression she would never fully recover from. Both of their situations have one thing in common: the trauma caused by past incidences affects their present lives heavily. Mai frequently deals with anxiety and hallucinations of war. One such example of hallucination is when Mai imagined that the sky was "shrinking fast, closing in on us like the gray metallic roof of an airless bomb shelter sunk deep inside the earth" (Cao 15). This hallucination, caused by the stress of visiting Canada, represents all of Mai's repressed memories of the true brutality of the Vietnam War. When Thanh was still a little girl, she found out that she was the biological daughter of a landlord created after her mother sold her body to pay of debts. Soon after, she witnesses the man who raised her kill her biological father over his own wife's grave. These events would permanently scar Thanh, symbolized by the new burn mark on her face and with the admission that, "A part of me died forever by that river's edge" (Cao 250). Ever since that night, Thanh would never be the same again. These traumatic events greatly influenced Thanh's decisions as they propelled her to support her daughter Mai so that she wouldn't have to face the negative karma in their family. Overall, the trauma of both Mai and Thanh are examples of how negative experiences affect people.
Topic 3: Power
Monkey Bridge uses the subversion of Mai and Thanhs' roles as a way to showcase how typical power dynamics can be flipped through special circumstances and how power plays into relationships. Mai and Thanh have a special familial relationship, being daughter and mother respectively. Usually, one would expect the mother to the one with power in a relationship like theirs. This is so the mother can help guide and protect the daughter. However, their mother-daughter power dynamic is flipped due to their status as immigrants. Since Mai had lived in America for sometime before Thanh arrived, she had a better understanding of the language and culture of America. This forces Mai to guide Thanh around life in America rather than the other way around. One of the first examples of this is when Mai translates for Thanh when she is talking to the landlord. Thanh wished to move to another apartment since she believed their current one had a curse on it. Mai, knowing that she would be considered delusional by the American landlord, managed to secure a new apartment by giving a different excuse. From then on, Mai had always had to guide Thanh in America. Some more examples are when Mai helped Thanh through her recovery and went to give her a jacket in case that she forgot one. On the other hand, Thanh is bothered by the reversal of roles. She wishes nothing more than to help set her daughter on the correct path, but she finds this difficult when Mai refuses to listen to what she has to say. Their shared uncomfortableness of their reversed roles creates a rift between the two. It isn't until the two allow themselves to change do their roles realign and their relationship improves. The imbalance of power created by their reversed roles split Mai and Thanh from each other, showing how power has the ability to forge and affect relationships.
Work Cited
Cao, Lan. Monkey Bridge. Penguin, 1997.
Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
IB English HL
October 23rd 2020
Monkey Bridge Chap. 9 Journal
In this chapter, we learn about Thanh's childhood and how she met her husband. As I read, I noticed that the concept of who Thanh was and what she thought of herself were frequently mentioned. This led me to the conclusion that Thanh's self and self concepts are a thematically important part of the chapter. At one point in the chapter, Thanh refers to herself as a "very traditional wife" in contrast to her modern husband (Cao 189). She calls herself this because she was raised in a very traditional farming household, making this a past based version of herself. However, when becomes apart of the Binh family, she is forced to change her role identity (based on what role she plays) from a farmer's daughter to a housewife/store runner of a modern family. I like that this is symbolized by the changing of her name from Thanh to Binh.
After looking at the way Thanh has behaved towards life in America, I believe this change in identity helps to explain Thanh's actions in America. In America, Thanh refuses to leave her traditional culture and identity behind in order to adapt towards her new life, despite many nudges from Mai. In the Handbook of Self and Identity, the authors give evidence that says that "people go to great lengths to protect the images they have of themselves" (Oyserman 80). In other words, people don't like a change in their identity, even though identities are naturally adaptable. While this helps to explain her actions a little, I think that her negative experience with a change in identity majorly influenced her actions as well. When talking about her second wedding ceremony, she comments that there was more of everything than her first one except "more of home, more of Baba Quan and Mama Tuyet,, more of Auntie and Uncle Khan, more of my little hamlet, more of the sights and sounds of the Ba Xuyen I had known and loved since I was a baby in my bamboo crib on the bamboo floor by my mother's bed" (Cao 185). Having to leave the home she loved behind and change her identity was obviously very difficult for her. One could only imagine how she must have felt when she learned that she had to do it again in order to live in America. Her traditional ways of thinking are a part of her old identity which she wishes to keep stable and secure after already leaving her old self behind once. This idea is further backed up as she continues, "This, of course, was the beginning of my emigration, years before my second one, to the United States" (Cao 185). Thanh views her leaving Ba Xuyen behind as a part of her emigration to America, showing that the memories of leaving her identity and home behind are integral to her mindset. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this chapter and what it revealed about Thanh as a character.
Work Cited
Cao, Lan. Monkey Bridge. Penguin, 1997.
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Daniel Arcega
Mr. Emerick
Character Connections and Conflicts
Based on what I have read thus far, I have come to the conclusion that the connections between the characters in the novel are integral parts of the novel and its theme. At the center of my character map are two characters: Mai and Thanh. This is because their connections are an important driving force behind the plot. Additionally, their relationships make up a large portion of their characterization. Thanh's main connections are all based in Vietnam. Mrs. Bay, Baba Quan, her husband, and Mai were all born in Vietnam and have lived there for some time. This symbolizes her connection to Vietnam and her refusal to leave her old ways behind. One significant example of this symbolism is her crying out to Baba Quan. "'Baba Quan. Baba Quan,' she repeated, his name coming out of her throat as a long infernal moan" (Cao 4). Since Baba Quan is in Vietnam, this represents her deep desire to keep her ways of the old world. On the other hand, Mai has connections based in Vietnam and America. While her familial connections are from Vietnam, she also has important connections in America like Uncle Michael and Bobbie. Both of these characters helped Mai to adapt to life in America, making their connections symbolize Mai's mindset of moving forward in life and adapting to your circumstances. The difference between Thanh's and Mai's connections parallels the main conflict between them. Thanh's reluctance to move on from her old life in Vietnam frustrates Mai, while Mai's eagerness to leave her past behind in America frustrates Thanh. Their relationships are representative of that conflict, making them important.
Work Cited
Cao, Lan. Monkey Bridge. Penguin, 1997.
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