The Virgin Suicides

       I am at the beginning of the novel The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides but I have already noticed a lot. It is beautifully written yet still maintains the point of view of young boys intrigued in the neighborhood beauties--the Lisbon girls. It is no secret that all five girls commit suicide (it is stated in the very first sentence--and the title and blurb, for that matter). I believe that Eugenides didn't keep their deaths a secret for two reasons. First, the book is really a collection of memories told by the boys, and the suicides are really the most important part, so they wouldn't wait for the events to catch up to get to the climax. But secondly, the reader is enabled to focus more on the girls' actions and try to understand what drove them to kill themselves because the reader already know their fate. 
       
       I noticed that Eugenides describes the small town in Michigan as very dreary and the people in it homely and unattractive, all except the Lisbon girls, who are painted as very sophisticated and beautiful. This makes the girls stand out even more. For instance, Eugenides writes as the boys, "No one could understand how Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon had produced such beautiful children...Whenever we saw Mrs. Lisbon we looked in vain for some sign of the beauty that must have once been hers. But the plump arms, the brutally cut steel-wool hair, and librarian's glasses foiled us every time." And of Mr. Lisbon, he was thin and boyish, with a high voice and "girlish weeping." Other people were also described in quite a negative light: "We found Mrs. Buell much aged and hugely fat," and "...dark circles under his eyes and his mammoth hips..." This all accentuates the Lisbon girls' attractiveness and how they are so different from everyone else in the small suburban town.

       Another way in which the girls are separated from the rest of the town is because of the words used to reference the girls and the boys. The girls are always "they" and the neighborhood boys are always "we" or "us." But it seems that the whole town is actually behind the two small words that normally represent the boys, because the whole town is curious about the girls and enraptured in their mysterious beauty. The Lisbon girls are cut off from the daily life of teenagers because of their over-protective parents, and this makes them even more isolated. The boys and the town are on the outside, looking into their short, secretive lives.

       I am looking forward to continuing this novel. Although I already know the Lisbon girls' fate, I am still interested in analyzing their actions to attempt to understand why they would commit suicide. I wonder if the girls and boys will ever interact, and the "us" and "them" will dissolve into one.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

       The novel Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan is about a young adult named Clay Jannon, who begins working at a mysteriously intriguing bookstore. In the front, it just looks like a normal bookstore, but as you dig your way deeper, you discover ceiling-high shelves with obscure volumes that make up a sort of lending library that only strange repeat customers want to look at. Clay doesn't question anything, not wanting to stir up trouble by being too suspicious, and wanting to keep the job he landed after being laid off as a web-designer. But curiosity gets the best of him and he begins wondering what exactly the strange customers are checking out. Although I am at the very beginning of this book, I have noticed Sloan's clever writing craft that uses loose metaphors to relate to the plot and what Clay's emotions. The examples I noticed had to do with Clay and the mysterious bookstore.

       Early on in the book, we are introduced to Mat, Clay's roommate who is a movie set designer and eccentric artist. His latest project is "Matropolis," a miniature city made out of boxes, cans, paper, foam, wire, packing peanuts, glass--anything you can think of. Clay admires Mat's work-in-progress, although it does take up almost all of the living room. I think this city of scraps relates a lot to Clay and the bookstore. For example, the strange combination of materials is like Clay's knowledge and understanding of what happens in the store, little bits of odd information, like the fact that the customers are always in a hurry and the volumes they look at aren't even English or any recognizable language whatsoever. Plus, Mr. Penumbra always makes Clay keep detailed notes of what the customers are like when they arrive, from their attitude to what they are wearing. None of this makes any sense, to either the readers or Clay. Mat's different mediums come together nicely as a piece of art, but we still have to unravel the bookstore's mystery.
       
       Another example of the use of metaphors also has to do with Mat's Matropolis. Clay picks up a remote he finds on the couch, and realizes that it controls a miniature helicopter that flies around the small city. He tries to get it to land on the roof of the mini Empire State Building, but he says, "I can only make it bump against the windows" (24). I interpreted this as Clay's desire to figure out what is happening at the bookstore, but it is difficult because he doesn't want to jeopardize his job. Another metaphor that I believe has the same message is when Clay is at a party through video chat while actually working his shift at the bookstore. At first it started out okay, but as the party continued, the person lugging around the computer put it down and started a conversation with another person, who she seemed to be quite interested in (which wouldn't have been so bad if Clay hadn't developed a crush on his computer-lugging, party-throwing friend). Clay had to mute them while helping a customer, and was shocked and hurt when he found that they had muted him also. I thought this showed yet another example of how Clay was denied access or more information to something, like the curious library in the back of the bookstore. 

       These subtle metaphors may not even be on purpose, but I believe that they are a clever way to provide insight on the story. I am looking foreword to reading the rest of this book, and finding more interesting writing crafts that Sloan uses.  

Suicides Mounting, Golden Gate Looks to Add a Safety Net { non-fiction critical analysis }

       The article "Suicides Mounting, Golden Gate Looks to Add a Safety Net" by Carol Pogash was published one month ago in the New York Times. It described the recent progressions in the debate about adding a safety net onto one of the most famous bridges in the world. The Golden Gate Bridge is famous for its architectural beauty, but also because it is the most popular suicide location in the nation, and one of the top in the entire world. These factors have spurred the controversy about putting a up a safety net that has been going on for sixty years, while more and more people jump to their deaths.              
       I view the debate about putting up a safety net as ethics versus aesthetics. State assemblyman Mark Ammiano is appalled that a net hasn't been put up yet, describing the bridge as "a public health hazard." A record of 46 people committed suicide by jumping off the bridge just last year, and 118 more attempts failed as they were stopped by bridge workers. Putting up a safety net that would save so many lives seems like a very good thing to do, but the directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, have disagreed for 60 years, "reflecting the live-and-let-live ethos that animates this city," Pogash writes. Another point against the net is that it may mar the majestic bridge's beauty, which is where aesthetics come into play. The last point against a safety net is simple logic: if you really want to end your life, you're going to go find another place to do it. The counterargument is that the suicide impulse is transient, and the bridge provides such an easy way out that people don't have time to think it over as they should. 
       Carol Pogash definitely supports installing the net, and wants the reader to feel the same too. I can tell because she provides a lot of convincing support about why it is needed, using both statistics and stories that tug at your heart strings to her advantage. Pogash uses astounding facts to engage the reader and prove her point further, like when she states that there was a suicide or suicide attempt nearly every other day in 2013 on the Golden Gate alone. I was blown away by this tiny piece of information that highlighted the need for a safety net. Another fact was that the largest group of jumpers went down from 35-45 years to only 20-30 years, showing how "young people think the bridge is the perfect place to go." Pogash also includes the story of Manuel Gamboa and his son, Kyle, who committed suicide last year on September 20th at 18 years old. Manuel has attended every board meeting since, advocating for a solution with a photo of his son's smiling face framed next to him. Pogash also adds medical information that describes what happens when your body hits the water, disproving the myth that the jump is painless. "Those who jump plummet 220 feet and typically suffer rib collapse on impact, lacerating lungs and other internal organs...they die of internal bleeding or drowning," she writes, making the reader feel almost squeamish. I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone, which is probably the exact feeling Pogash was aiming to see in her readers.      
       I agree that a safety net should be put up, as it would prevent many deaths. While it is true some people might just find another way to end their lives, eliminating one of the easiest and most popular ways will make people rethink their decisions when finding it difficult to do it some other way. I am normally a stickler when it comes to how something looks, this is a matter of human life and I see no other solution. Many people will be pleased for the safety net to be installed, although 60 years was too long to wait and they can never get their loved ones back. Pogash's convincing and strategical writing influenced my opinion and taught me a lot, but I still want to know how exactly the net would work and if after the fact, other bridges or forms of suicide would become more popular.

Link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/us/suicides-mounting-golden-gate-looks-to-add-a-safety-net.html?_r=0

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

       The novel The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman recounts one Polish couple's brave attempts and successes of turning their zoo into a part of the Underground for Jews during the Holocaust. All of the animals from the zoo are killed or escape quite early in the story, but there are times when humans act like animals and times when you can see the connections between them. Antonina, the zookeeper's wife, "felt convinced that people needed to connect more with their animal nature" (34). The ideas and themes that Ackerman presents go along with Antonina's philosophy.
      
       Throughout the novel, humans are associated with animal-like phrases and perform behaviors that are common in animals. One of the first examples of this is early in the story when Ackerman writes that "the Żabińskis invited artists of all stripes to come and uncage their imaginations"(35). Obviously Ackerman literally means that the Żabińskis welcomed a diverse population into their zoo to help them use their imaginations, but by comparing people to animals she supports Antonina's theory that all humans have an animal nature. Another instance of this is when Ackerman writes, "like other animal mothers, [Antonina] grew desperate to find a safe hiding place for her young" (55) in the midst of the war. This show how people embrace their animal instincts in times of need. An ironic example of when humans showed animal characteristics was when The Żabińskis hid Jews in their zoo, so the people almost took on the roles of the murdered animals. Ackerman writes, "[the zoos] inhabitants mastered the martial arts of stealth: tiptoe, freeze, camouflage, distract, pantomime. Some villa Guests hid while others hovered, emerging only after dark to roam the house at liberty" (120). These actions of stealth, like camouflaging, seems like something an animal would do. People that emerged "only after dark" took on the persona of nocturnal organisms. These are just a few examples of the ongoing comparison of people and animals.
     
       The actions of people against both humans and animals are remarkably or horrifyingly similar. Early in the book, Lutz Heck, a fellow zoo director who happened to be German, called on the Żabińskis with the promise to rebuild their zoo as the falling bombs destroyed it piece by piece. But Heck betrayed them and invited his German comrades over to the zoo for a little New Year's gathering that involved shooting each and every animal left at the crumbling zoo. The description of the innocent animals being brutally murdered in their own home for sport is very disturbing, but not unlike what happens later in the book to people. The perfect and famous example is the Holocaust in general, but The Zookeeper's Wife actually focuses more on the situations in the Ghetto. The wall separating the Ghetto and the Aryan side often had small holes in the masonry that allowed the smallest of children to pass in and out as smugglers and traders, "who risked death daily as their families' breadwinners" (137). A German major that patrolled the walls was given the nickname Frankenstein. One Ghetto child and renowned smuggler recalled, "he loved to hunt, but I suppose he must have become bored with animals and decided that shooting Jewish children was a more enjoyable pastime" (138). He then goes on to say that when there were no smugglers to kill, Frankenstein would summon random children who happened to be around, pull out his gun, and shoot them in the back of the head. This information takes a while to process because it is so brutally raw--one can't imagine how a person could end another's life for mere pleasure, much less an innocent child with their lives ahead of them. This is how the murders of the animals and children are linked: they're both so innocent.

       Antonina and Ackerman both believe that animals and humans are more alike than most people think. The zookeeper's wife shows it through her words and thoughts, while the author shows it through her writing.





 

Lord of the Flies

       The classic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of young boys that crash land on a desert island with no adults, and therefore, no order. Ralph and Jack, two of the "biguns" (as they had begun to call the older boys), both elected themselves leader, so they held a vote with all of the boys. Ralph won and became chief, but across the book there is an obvious power struggle between the two. People, objects, and other things can symbolize themes in books, just as these symbolize hope, intellect, and power in Lord of the Flies.
     
       As cliche is it is, the fire is one thing that represents hope, along with power. The boys make the fire and hope that the smoke will attract passing ships or planes that will save them. Of course, the young boys get distracted by more interesting things, like stuffing their stomachs with ripe fruit or the glory of hunting pigs with handmade spears. It seems that only Ralph and his trusty (although subject to ridicule) assistant nicknamed Piggy understand that their only hope is the fire. When the fire burns out, so should their hope. The fire was also Ralph's greatest contribution as leader, so when the boys abandon it they relay the message that his authority doesn't mean much to them. Jack, the losing candidate, was one of those boys. This is how the fire represents both hope for the boys and power for Ralph, and the opposite when it burns out.
     
       Another object that particularly represents power and order is a conch that Ralph and Piggy find the very first day on the island. By blowing into the shell, they create a deep, echoing sound that can be heard for miles. They use this to call assemblies led by Ralph, and pass it around to determine who is allowed to speak. The ordinary, inanimate object suddenly had a lot of power on the island. But when touchy subjects came up like the "beast" that was rumored to live on the island or the fact that people kept letting the fire go out, the boys would start to speak out of turn and become rowdy with their urge to speak their opinion. As the boys became more accustomed to their situation, these unruly assemblies occurred more and more often. While the conch itself was passed around, it was controlled and blown by Ralph. The conch wasn't respected anymore, and Ralph was losing authority. When the conch is crushed under a boulder later in the book, all power it or Ralph ever held vanished.
     
       Lastly, Piggy and his glasses represent intellect and rational thinking. Piggy is smart yet he is often bullied by the other boys, being overweight and not exactly handsome. His ideas are intelligent and realistic, but nobody ever listens to him. Even Ralph makes fun of his loyal sidekick. Piggy is technically blind without his thick glasses, and the only way the boys can make fire is to shine light from the sun through them onto a pile of leaves and branches. This makes them very valuable. But the glasses are cracked during one physical skirmish and then stolen by a rival tribe that Jack forms much later in the book. The continuous decline in the quality of the glasses and Piggy's vision relates to what the boys have their eyes set on. They are letting the important things, like being rescued, out of their sight for immature games that turn deadly. What they should be focusing on is obscured by the need to gain power. Piggy was one of the victims of the violence of Jack's new tribe against what was left of Ralph's. He was killed by a boulder let loose by one of the boys, marking the end of all intellectual and rational thinking. Suddenly, full out war against Ralph is the only thing on the boys' minds. Their actions are nothing short of savagely without Piggy and his glasses.

       The fire, conch, Piggy, and his glasses all symbolize different ideas of the text. The fire represents hope of rescue and Ralph's power, like the conch does. Piggy and his glasses represent intellect that keeps the tribe running smoothly. These subtle symbols help the reader understand the text and even foreshadow what is to come. Lord of the Flies involves many complex themes that portray our society in an interesting yet disturbing way that has changed my point of view forever.

"Revised Blog Post" Literary Essay { Perfect Match }

Nina Frost is the main character in the novel Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult. Nina is the assistant district attorney in Maine and prosecutes child molesters day after day. When her five-year-old son, Nathaniel, shows signs of sexual abuse, Nina's home and work clash when her worst fears are confirmed. Nathaniel goes mute after he is raped and Nina struggles to cope and keep calm while trying to pinpoint a suspect. Nina makes decisions that show she will go to any extent for her little boy. Character’s actions always have consequences, whether positive, negative, or both, which shape the story and let both characters and readers learn.

Consequences that stem from desperate actions are mostly, if not always negative in Picoult’s novel. And often, these actions are taken out of love. The perfect example is when Nina took matters into her own hands, unlawfully, and shot Father Szyszynski, the rape suspect at the time. This also shows an example of how far Nina will go for a person that she loves. Nina is obviously a bright person, being the assistant district attorney, but she was blinded by her love and duty to protect her son when she committed homicide. Nina honestly believed that killing the suspect was the only way to protect her son. She thought that the consequences would be positive, but in fact they were just the opposite. Nina’s goal was to protect her son from further sexual abuse and keep him away from the intimidating courtroom by getting rid of who she thought was the perpetrator. Instead, Nathaniel is deprived of his mother while she stays in jail and he slips back into muteness. When the reader finds out, along with Nina, that Father Szyszynski was not in fact the abuser, we realize that her actions and their consequences took us many steps in the wrong direction. Nina attends the priest’s funeral in a disguise and Picoult writes, “…a woman in black is bent over at the waist, sobbing so hard she cannot catch her breath…Father Szyszynski was someone’s son, too…I cannot take away the truth that another mother has lost her son because of me” (164). Nina began to realize the painful consequences of her actions. She then must fight against a jail sentence while the actual rapist was still on the run. Nina shows that she will go far, too far, for somebody she loves. Unfortunately, her desperate actions had negative effects.

     In the long run, Nathaniel’s sexual abuse had both positive and negative effects. Or on the flip side, the fact that Nina was both his mother and the assistant district attorney may have had good and bad consequences. Of course the actual abuse was horrifying and sickening, but the effects on Nina could either make her feel helpless or actually help her. On one hand, it would render Nina helpless because she can’t try her own son’s case and represent him in court. Knowing that Nathaniel’s fate is in someone else’s hands, hands that are probably not as experienced as hers, might drive her crazy. But the experience may help Nina do her job even better because she will be more empathetic to her clients. She thinks, “…now I’m the parent, and it is my child, and that changes everything” (60). Remembering her fear and apprehension when it was her child in that situation would drive her when trying other people’s cases. This shows how the effects the sexual abuse had on Nina could be both positive and negative.

     Teaching Nathaniel sign language after he went mute had both positive and negative effects too. Nina did it out of her love for Nathaniel, but she secretly hoped that he would be able to communicate some information to locate the criminal. And he was, however misinterpreted it was. He signed “father”, and Nina thought he was referring to his dad, Caleb, when in fact he signed it as in “priest”. After hearing this information, Nina told Caleb, “Don’t come home tonight” (69). She walked away after that, pretending “as if my heart had not gone to pieces inside of me” (69). This shows how much she loves both Caleb and Nathaniel, but she is pushing her husband away to protect her son. When Nina realizes that Nathaniel meant to expose “Father” as in a priest, it results in the death of an innocent man. That is the negative consequence of Nathaniel learning sign language, but the positive side is that they did figure out who the criminal was with the same evidence later. The one little thing that Nina did for Nathaniel out of love created much bigger waves than originally thought.

     These are all examples of how actions, however mundane or important, always have consequences. The effects can be positive, negative, or a mixture of the two. Nina shot Father Szyszynski and taught Nathaniel sign language out of her love for him, both of which had negative effects but the latter also had positive ones. Nina dealing with her son being molested may have changed her for the better or for the worse, but either way she has learned a valuable lesson. This repetitive theme of action with consequence can help readers understand that they can make an impact on the world with just one endeavor. The lesson may also warn readers that they must think of the consequences if they do something extreme for someone they love.

http://sophieandhercats.blogspot.com/2014/01/perfect-match.html

Time for a Raise? { non-fiction }

       The article titled "Time for a Raise?" by Patricia Smith discusses "the battle over minimum wage." This article caught my eye because I have always wondered how much the minimum was, what kind of jobs are paid that, and if it varies between city or state (not to mention there is a teenager in a chicken suit on the front cover of the magazine--that's pretty intriguing). There are two very clear sides to the debate: raise minimum wage or keep it as it is. President Obama, and most other Democrats, believe in raising it while most Republicans argue to keep it at $7.25 an hour. There are positive and negative effects to both ideas.

       The two arguments about minimum wage seem to have the good of the people in mind, which is probably why there is such a debate. Democrats want minimum wage to be raised--to $8.75 by 2015 to be exact--simply because it is difficult to live off minimum wage, not to mention supporting a family. President Obama says, "No one who works full-time in America should have to live in poverty." Also, the economy will strengthen if people have more money to spend. Republicans, on the other hand, believe minimum wage should not be raised. Their logic is that businesses will lay off workers if the have to pay their employees more. So while some people will be earning more money, others will have none. Personally, I agree with both sides. 

       Statistics and numerical amounts are very important in this article because it lets the reader begin to picture the numbers being dealt with. Numbers can also be a little deceptive and get the reader to lean to one side if the readers don't process the information carefully. For example, Smith includes the information that the Congress first established minimum wage in 1938, at 25 cents an hour. This makes the $7.25 today seem like so much! But what we have to remember is that with the inflation that occurred in the past 70-some years, it evens out. Another example of this deception is when Smith includes the fact that with the new minimum wage the president want to pass, people working full time will earn $6,000 more each year. This is an estimation made by the Economic Policy Institute so it is most likely mathematically sound, but what readers probably won't infer is that the additional $6,000 paycheck will only go to the people who still have jobs, assuming some workers are laid off after minimum wage goes up. This shows how important it is to process the information you are reading.

        I really enjoyed reading this article because I wanted to know both sides of the debate before I chose one side. I learned a lot, but unfortunately I have not decided who I agree with. Both arguments are solid and have the people of American in mind. Patricia Smith shows how important and informational statistics can be and keep an open mind when writing about minimum wage.