Sunday, May 3, 2009
A Great and Terrible Beauty # 23
This is a book about class as well as sexism and magic and friendship. Gemma meets a boy named Kartik who is Indian. It's interesting to see how Kartik is viewed by society even though he is a man which means his status should be above Gemma's. But no, like anywhere, especially in this time, there is racism too. Gemma can never be seen in public with Kartic because he is Indian. However like I said earlier, Gemma is opinionated. She doesn't go with the crowd and has her own beliefs. She accepts Kartik as he is even though they get in fights all the time but that's not because of his skin color. They get in fights because their personalities clash and also they are kindof enemies. Kartik is suppose to keep an eye on Gemma because he works for a group who wants to control her power and so on. However, even though they are suppose to be enemies and hate each other (which they do a little) they end up becoming friends. The author implies that Gemma wants to maybe be more than friends but nothing really happens in that sense. There are two books after this one so probably they will end up getting together--these kind of books are so obvious ("his dark eyes looked at me through his long eyelashes. His full lips twisted into a grin as he retorted.."). But I like romances. I don't see how they could ever be together though, unless they eloped, because society couldn't except a proper, young lady with a Indian boy. Some of the issues in this book are so true in our lives even though we live in a different time than Gemma and I'm pretty sure no one has secret powers. I guess racism and sexism will always be with us, at least for awhile.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
A Great and Terrible Beauty #22
I'm running because I can, because I must. Because I want to see how far I can go before I have to stop.
These are the last 2 lines in the book. Obviously there is a literal meaning; Gemma is chasing after a deer in the previous lines. There is also a figurative meaning; the deer is Gemma. One of the themes of the book is self-discovery. Gemma desperately wants to figure out who she is. Gemma is chasing herself. Gemma is diving deeper into discovering the girl behind the curtain. She cannot see herself clearly, probably because she is young and a woman in the 19th century. She has little freedom to explore her likes, dislikes, emmotions, wants etc. It's a man's world and women are their puppets. Gemma has power that many women in her world do not. By power I mean two things; one, she has visions and magic that transport her into the realms which is filled with magic; two, she is unusually independent for a woman in her time. She is strongly opinionated and that gives her power. Other women are weak in this area because they have been brainwashed by society to believe that men are better than women and women have certain duties blah blah blah. But by having an independence and a strong head on her shoulders, Gemma is able to seek out who she really is and what she really wants, instead of what others what from her. This kind of power is never written word for word by the author but implied.
These are the last 2 lines in the book. Obviously there is a literal meaning; Gemma is chasing after a deer in the previous lines. There is also a figurative meaning; the deer is Gemma. One of the themes of the book is self-discovery. Gemma desperately wants to figure out who she is. Gemma is chasing herself. Gemma is diving deeper into discovering the girl behind the curtain. She cannot see herself clearly, probably because she is young and a woman in the 19th century. She has little freedom to explore her likes, dislikes, emmotions, wants etc. It's a man's world and women are their puppets. Gemma has power that many women in her world do not. By power I mean two things; one, she has visions and magic that transport her into the realms which is filled with magic; two, she is unusually independent for a woman in her time. She is strongly opinionated and that gives her power. Other women are weak in this area because they have been brainwashed by society to believe that men are better than women and women have certain duties blah blah blah. But by having an independence and a strong head on her shoulders, Gemma is able to seek out who she really is and what she really wants, instead of what others what from her. This kind of power is never written word for word by the author but implied.
Friday, May 1, 2009
A Great and Terrible Beauty # 21
Why is the book titled, "A Great and Terrible Beauty?"
I believe the title has to do with power. Gemma, Felicity, Ann, and Pippa are all girls in the 19th century. They do not have much power at all. This means that other people make choices for them and their lives are mapped out for them. If they do not follow 'the rules' they will be disgraced.
They find the realms where anything they want is possible unlike in real life. This power gives them another power that they bring back with them from the realms. They have discovered what they are capable of and when they return to the real world the discovery stays with them. Their minds are filled with a need for new discovery and that makes them powerful. They have become what men fear most; women with ideas in their heads. I believe men in that time tried to keep women shut in a tiny box where they had to behave and think properly because men were afraid that women would be more powerful than them. By making the rules and deciding exactly what women should be like, men were able to excercise control and relax. The girls in this story find their power (capability) and experience "greatness."
"With great power comes great responsibilities," like spider-man's uncle said. People with power have the responsibilty of making choice. You live with the burden of these choices and that's where the "terrible" comes in. The girls experience this side of power also.
I believe the title has to do with power. Gemma, Felicity, Ann, and Pippa are all girls in the 19th century. They do not have much power at all. This means that other people make choices for them and their lives are mapped out for them. If they do not follow 'the rules' they will be disgraced.
They find the realms where anything they want is possible unlike in real life. This power gives them another power that they bring back with them from the realms. They have discovered what they are capable of and when they return to the real world the discovery stays with them. Their minds are filled with a need for new discovery and that makes them powerful. They have become what men fear most; women with ideas in their heads. I believe men in that time tried to keep women shut in a tiny box where they had to behave and think properly because men were afraid that women would be more powerful than them. By making the rules and deciding exactly what women should be like, men were able to excercise control and relax. The girls in this story find their power (capability) and experience "greatness."
"With great power comes great responsibilities," like spider-man's uncle said. People with power have the responsibilty of making choice. You live with the burden of these choices and that's where the "terrible" comes in. The girls experience this side of power also.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
A Great and Terrible Beauty #20
The girls of Spence (a boaring school) have a great deal of adult supervision, but there is a glaring absence of parental love. What role does this absence play in Gemma's and hr friends' lives and the choices they make? Do you think Pippa would have made a different choice had her parents behaved differently? How would Gemma's and Felicity's lives be changed if their fathers were available-in Gemma's case mantally, and in Felicity's case physically? What about Ann?
Gemma's mom is dead and her dad is an alcoholic and smokes opium. Perhaps Gemma wouldn't be so desperate to know herself if she weren't so insecure. The insecurity most likely comes from her parents' fates. She saw her mom kill herself and she lives with the certainty that her dad is drinking and smoking himself to death. So many questions--why did her mom kill herself? Why is she having visions? If Gemma's father was there mentally for her, she might be able to cope better with all of her overwhelming thoughts and feelings. She wouldn't be worried about him all the time.
Pippa wants to find love more than anything and I think that's because her parents are not around to show they love her. When they are around they seem more interested in marrying her off to a rich man than showing her any affection. She searches for love more than most people do because she does not have any at all except from her friends. Sometimes love from friends is not enough. Parents are suppose to provide a love that is neccessary for girls to feel safe enough with. The choice Pippa makes in the end--to stay in the realms which means basically dying in the real world--may have been avoided. Her parents didn't have to marry her off to a guy she didn't even like let alone love. Or her parents could have at least shown their love for their daughter which would give Pippa at least one reason to stay in the real world.
Ann is an orphan and so like Pippa she does not have the security of a parents love. There is an empty space inside of her that craves attention which she never gets. She isn't beautiful like Pippa but she believes that if she were, she would be happy because people would notice her. Pippa is beautiful but not happy so even though Ann thinks beauty is the answer to fill the empty void inside of her, that isn't true.
Felicity is wild. She does reckless things in the real world and especially in the realms. She is also very bold with other people because she wants to feel powerful and important. Maybe if her father wasn't always busy with work (or didn't always say he was busy with work) and visited her occasionally she wouldn't feel the need to perform in the way that she does.
Gemma's mom is dead and her dad is an alcoholic and smokes opium. Perhaps Gemma wouldn't be so desperate to know herself if she weren't so insecure. The insecurity most likely comes from her parents' fates. She saw her mom kill herself and she lives with the certainty that her dad is drinking and smoking himself to death. So many questions--why did her mom kill herself? Why is she having visions? If Gemma's father was there mentally for her, she might be able to cope better with all of her overwhelming thoughts and feelings. She wouldn't be worried about him all the time.
Pippa wants to find love more than anything and I think that's because her parents are not around to show they love her. When they are around they seem more interested in marrying her off to a rich man than showing her any affection. She searches for love more than most people do because she does not have any at all except from her friends. Sometimes love from friends is not enough. Parents are suppose to provide a love that is neccessary for girls to feel safe enough with. The choice Pippa makes in the end--to stay in the realms which means basically dying in the real world--may have been avoided. Her parents didn't have to marry her off to a guy she didn't even like let alone love. Or her parents could have at least shown their love for their daughter which would give Pippa at least one reason to stay in the real world.
Ann is an orphan and so like Pippa she does not have the security of a parents love. There is an empty space inside of her that craves attention which she never gets. She isn't beautiful like Pippa but she believes that if she were, she would be happy because people would notice her. Pippa is beautiful but not happy so even though Ann thinks beauty is the answer to fill the empty void inside of her, that isn't true.
Felicity is wild. She does reckless things in the real world and especially in the realms. She is also very bold with other people because she wants to feel powerful and important. Maybe if her father wasn't always busy with work (or didn't always say he was busy with work) and visited her occasionally she wouldn't feel the need to perform in the way that she does.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A Great and Terrible Beauty #19
The realms are a place where anything seems possible. Each of the four girls wants one thing above all else: Felicity desires power, Pippa seeks love, Ann wants beauty, and Gemma craves self-knowledge. Does any of the charaters achieve her goal by the end of the story? Why or why not? What would you want?
All four girls get a taste of their goal but they do not fully achieve it. Felicity, who already has a sort of power in her real life (a sort of aura) , experiences herself having a greater power in the realms. However, she must let go of that power when they leave the realms. She must return to the real world where a man always has more power than a women; this book takes place in 1895.
Ann, who in real life is plain and a little chubby, desires beauty. Whenever the girls visit the realms, Ann beomes beautiful and thin. So she does achieve her goal for a short time in the realms but like felicity she must return to the world in which her apperance is not beautiful to the world.
Pippa, who is already beautiful, wants love. The realms present her with a perfect knight who loves her and does all the right things. In her real life her parents want to force her into a marriage with a man she does not love. This man is short and fat and rich and not at all what Pippa wants. I believe Pippa gets a taste of love but since the knight isn't real she doesn't get the full thing. Pippa chooses to live in the realms and escape her real world to live in the realms with her knight.
Gemma gets a big taste of her identity but like all of us at that age (15) she still has a lot to learn about herself. I believe Gemma was most successful and most satisfied with her acheivement. Even though Gemma still has a long way to go before she can get close to truely understanding herself, she has made progress unlike the others. Self-knowledge is more likely to stay with you unlike beauty or power or even love. I want self-knowledge above everything else because everything else seems t0 come with it. Beauty isn't as important because self-knowledge helps to accept your own appearence. And anyways even if a person is beautiful they may not know that which defeats the purpose because isn't beauty suppose to make you feel better about yourself? Also there are different kinds of beauty and self-knowledge gives you access to many of them. I believe the best power comes from self-identity. I also believe you can't have true love without self-knowledge.
All four girls get a taste of their goal but they do not fully achieve it. Felicity, who already has a sort of power in her real life (a sort of aura) , experiences herself having a greater power in the realms. However, she must let go of that power when they leave the realms. She must return to the real world where a man always has more power than a women; this book takes place in 1895.
Ann, who in real life is plain and a little chubby, desires beauty. Whenever the girls visit the realms, Ann beomes beautiful and thin. So she does achieve her goal for a short time in the realms but like felicity she must return to the world in which her apperance is not beautiful to the world.
Pippa, who is already beautiful, wants love. The realms present her with a perfect knight who loves her and does all the right things. In her real life her parents want to force her into a marriage with a man she does not love. This man is short and fat and rich and not at all what Pippa wants. I believe Pippa gets a taste of love but since the knight isn't real she doesn't get the full thing. Pippa chooses to live in the realms and escape her real world to live in the realms with her knight.
Gemma gets a big taste of her identity but like all of us at that age (15) she still has a lot to learn about herself. I believe Gemma was most successful and most satisfied with her acheivement. Even though Gemma still has a long way to go before she can get close to truely understanding herself, she has made progress unlike the others. Self-knowledge is more likely to stay with you unlike beauty or power or even love. I want self-knowledge above everything else because everything else seems t0 come with it. Beauty isn't as important because self-knowledge helps to accept your own appearence. And anyways even if a person is beautiful they may not know that which defeats the purpose because isn't beauty suppose to make you feel better about yourself? Also there are different kinds of beauty and self-knowledge gives you access to many of them. I believe the best power comes from self-identity. I also believe you can't have true love without self-knowledge.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Just Listen #18
And then, finally, I saw what my sister had done to herself. She was all bones. That was the first thing I thought. Bones and knobs, every bump of her spine protruding and visible. Her hips poked out at angles, her knees were skinny and pale. It seemed impossible that she could be so thin and still be alive, and even more so that she'd been able to somehow hide this.
This is such a common problem especially among girls 12-23. There is so much pressure to be thin and perfect and beautiful. Looks and weights are talked about everyday, too much. Our culture is obsessed and obsession messes around with the brain. Reality becomes distorted and that can have serious consequences. Hurt self esteem and uncertainties linger until action is the only course. Our world tells us be thin or die so we do just that. Bulimia and anorexia are forced upon girls. Yes, throwing up or not eating is their own decision but the distorted reality is not. We cannot just tell someone to stop throwing up, they will not listen. Culture has to step in and stop this but that's not going to happen for a while if at all. Just like how a baby leans how to walk, a girl learns what society values and act upon it, simple as that. There is nothing wrong with the girl to begin with but after spending time in society, especially American, a disease is inevitable. The disease could be anywhere on the spectrum but a disease is a disease and it will possibly get worse as time goes on.
This is such a common problem especially among girls 12-23. There is so much pressure to be thin and perfect and beautiful. Looks and weights are talked about everyday, too much. Our culture is obsessed and obsession messes around with the brain. Reality becomes distorted and that can have serious consequences. Hurt self esteem and uncertainties linger until action is the only course. Our world tells us be thin or die so we do just that. Bulimia and anorexia are forced upon girls. Yes, throwing up or not eating is their own decision but the distorted reality is not. We cannot just tell someone to stop throwing up, they will not listen. Culture has to step in and stop this but that's not going to happen for a while if at all. Just like how a baby leans how to walk, a girl learns what society values and act upon it, simple as that. There is nothing wrong with the girl to begin with but after spending time in society, especially American, a disease is inevitable. The disease could be anywhere on the spectrum but a disease is a disease and it will possibly get worse as time goes on.
Just Listen #17
The stereotype for girls is that they talk a lot. They talk about shopping, feelings, future happenings (like getting married, how many kids they want, etc), and especially gossip. I don't believe this stereotype is true for everyone but it has some truth to it. However, sometimes there are secrets about something that has happened to them that is too big to talk about. Maybe the secret seems dirty or shameful. Somehow the girl normally (maybe unconciously or conciously) ends up blaming herself for the thing and this is part of the reason for keeping it a secret: guilt.
Annabel is at a party and she gets raped by her best friend's boyfriend. Why doesn't she tell anyone until almost a year later? I've been trying to fully understand the reason for holding this terrible truth back. Maybe the truth is so terrible that it's too scary to let it go free. It's much easier to keep it away inside and hidden. Maybe she doesn't want people to look at her differently, especially her parents. Annabel does mention that she doesn't want to add any stress for her mom in case it sends her over the edge and she (her mom) sinks back into depression. I believe that Annabel is the kind of person who would rather suffer alone then with others because she can't stand seeing people in pain. It's ironic because if she could tell her story to someone, the burden on herself would be lifted.
Every person is different. Some girls would go right to the police or whoever and tell them straight out. Some never tell anyone ever. Some (i think the majority) don't want to tell and delay the telling but eventually open up and let it out. And of course it depends on who abused them. It would be much harder of course if a family member or friend did the abusing. I can't imagine how terrible any of it would feel but I do think that we have a strength inside of us that comes out in those times. We cope even if we don't totally get past the past and how could you?
Annabel is at a party and she gets raped by her best friend's boyfriend. Why doesn't she tell anyone until almost a year later? I've been trying to fully understand the reason for holding this terrible truth back. Maybe the truth is so terrible that it's too scary to let it go free. It's much easier to keep it away inside and hidden. Maybe she doesn't want people to look at her differently, especially her parents. Annabel does mention that she doesn't want to add any stress for her mom in case it sends her over the edge and she (her mom) sinks back into depression. I believe that Annabel is the kind of person who would rather suffer alone then with others because she can't stand seeing people in pain. It's ironic because if she could tell her story to someone, the burden on herself would be lifted.
Every person is different. Some girls would go right to the police or whoever and tell them straight out. Some never tell anyone ever. Some (i think the majority) don't want to tell and delay the telling but eventually open up and let it out. And of course it depends on who abused them. It would be much harder of course if a family member or friend did the abusing. I can't imagine how terrible any of it would feel but I do think that we have a strength inside of us that comes out in those times. We cope even if we don't totally get past the past and how could you?
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