It's funny, how a few weeks ago I was starving for books, and now I'm swimming in books I'm dying to read.
I look at them, sitting patiently on my bookshelf. Stacked knee-high aside my bed, scattered on my desk, a few actually burrowed in my underwear drawer. [I don't know how.] All of them are silent. Content. Ready but not eager. They know their time will come. They know that one day, tomorrow or next year, they will be picked up, devoured, adored, relished, conquered, eventually destroyed. Though the total worship will only last a few days, weeks at most, they accept their fate. They know that they will be slid under a pillow, beneath a bed, forgotten in a locker or given to another person, their black ink is stamped in my mind. Their scent-- be it dusty; old like sunlit-rainy mornings slathered in sleep and easygoingness, or harsh and straight-edged; fresh from Barnes & Nobles--is safely hidden in the warmest corner of my [sensory] cerebrum. They understand that they will be left behind, but not forgotten. I build my world out of them, hide in the paper fortress and get lost in the sea of Carbon Font and Times New Roman. Comic Sans and Aria. As short lived as this love affair is, the effect is eternal.
Which is why I'm struck by A Thousand Splendid Suns. I didn't really like The Kite Runner, which is by the same author-Khaled Hosseini. It was magnificent, but there's a lot I could say about it. It needed some editing. What I love about Hosseini's books however, is that they seem to be the exact same books that sit in my room. Granted they're nothing like Nietzsche, or Dr.Suess, or Francis Bernard Shaw, but they seem to do the same thing the books slipped under the shag rug seem to do. They capture me when I need them, slip away when I'm done, but stay imprinted in my memory. They have a great deal of deep thinking, not only symbolically but ethically, morally, ect. You could read one page of A Thousand Splendid Suns, and be provided with conversational topics that would last you a week. Actually, I'm not sure about that. I doubt it's humanly possible to ONLY read one page of this book at a time.
Anyway, what I'm saying is, it's actually as impossible to find only ONE main thing to talk about in this book as it is to only read ONE page. One topic I'd like to talk about tonight though, is right at wrong. Perspective. Abuse. Violence.
We've been talking about violence, love, hatred and so on in our Romeo and Juliet text study, so this book actually helps me a little, in terms of finding important things in the Romeo and Juliet. What I've noticed and been thinking a lot about in A Thousand Splendid Suns, is what makes things wrong and right. Does believing something is right make it so? In this book, a man named Rasheed is physically abusing his wives, Mariam and Laila. At one point, he locks both women and Laila's child, Aziza, in a room for three days without food, water or sunlight. Afterwards, he doesn't regret, apologize, or question what he does. Simply says that they deserve it, that this is the consequence for their faults. Rasheed seems to almost symbolize the Taliban of this relationship, this family. He seems to be the epitomy of "An Eye for and Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth". Possibly much more extreme, actually. But what I don't understand, is why Rasheed seems not to understand the monstrosity and horror of what he's doing. All his abuse and evil doesn't even bother him. He doesn't realize what he's doing is wrong.
In Rasheeds eyes, hitting your wife, punching her, sticking a gun in her mouth, it's all totally acceptable. In Rasheed's eyes, this is alright. This is what a woman deserves if she misbehaves. Women are for bearing sons and taking care of their husbands and houses. And what makes Rasheed wrong? In Afghanistan, he's pretty much right. Women have no rights. They can't travel without a man, can't go out without a man, can't be out after a certain hour of night. Can't go to school, have to go to separate hospitals, can't go out without a burqua-a sort of robe that covers you head to toe-save for a mesh cover that allows you to see. Rasheed's world is totally in sync with the physical world he lives in. That surely doesn't make him right, though? Obviously, these monstrosities are exactly that-monstrous. They're unacceptable and unjust, right?
When I watch the news every weeknight with my mother, I seem to ask myself the same questions about the alarmingly increasing number of stories about murderers, arsonists, robbers, sex offenders and other criminals. Surely, they are insane. Surely , they're wrong in thinking what they're doing is acceptable. That's why they're going to jail-they're wrong!
But what happens in a place where the wrong things you're doing are concidered right? Or if not concidered right, simply overlooked? Are right and wrong really going to do a difference? What I mean is, if Rasheed is told ''What you're doing is wrong'', if he's arrested, sent to jail, for what he's doing, will he still believe he's right? Will he care if he is forced to see what he's doing is wrong? Is this situation even a matter of right or wrong?
Right and wrong seem to always come up in my conversations. I always seem to ask myself, is this right? is this wrong? It's almost like an obsession. I have to be on the right side of life. Which is fascinating AND creepy. It's also why I can't get through this book without questioning everything, and getting myself confused. I keep stepping into Rasheed's shoes and seeing why he would think he was right-even though it's totally corrupt and I don't agree with his thoughts at all. And it's not even like Hosseini paints Rasheed in a possitive light. It's just so easy to slip into Rasheed's mind and see what he sees, think what he thinks, hate what he hates and do what he does. (Not literally. I'm not that into any characters.)
But because of this, it's impossible for me to answer all of these questions honestly. So if you'd like, leave a comment answering one of these questions, or maybe just turn off your computer and read a book or eat a donut and watch T.V or something.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
I APPRECIATE BLOGS, PARENTHESES, AND THE ACTUAL WORD ''BLOG''.
General note to public, even though I don't think an introduction was mandatory (it's FUNdatory! HA--no, i hate when teachers say that) :
Blogging. *Dreamysigh*. So maybe people really don't like blogs, but I do. I love blogs, I love blogging. Maybe it doesn't seem like it, because this is a school blog and all, so it's mostly school-y stuff...but that's still fantastic. I really really love having blog(s). I have two right now, and had a few others a while ago, and there's something great about being able to just...be. To talk and post pictures and ask questions and be weird and computer-y. But what I love most about blogs, is finding good blogs. Whether they're David Bowie/Freddy Mercury/All things fabulous and flamboyant appreciation blogs, picture posting blogs (flickr-esque), poetry blogs, short story blogs, not-so-short-story blogs, personal blogs, or whatever kind of blog, I love it. I love when I love it, and I love that I love when I love it. I love blogs. Blogs are great that way. They're ever expanding and if done right show you the bloggers voice, and really get you thinking (about ramen...).
Now that I'm done using some variation of the word ''blog'' exactly 18 times in one paragraph (Go ahead and check for yourself...I'll wait), here are a few blogs I really really love. (By the way Ms.Robbins, this idea to make people make blog appreciation posts is magnificent.)
Here goes:
1. ANNEH ANNEH ANNEH ANNEH. ANNEH FUTTERWOMAN. India Futterman !(http://eveningswithdrfutterman.blogspot.com)
This girl is magical. She is simply amazing. She is the reason that I am able to get up in the afternoon, after my daily lazy-girl laze, and blog for homework well. She is reading response blog inspiration. The first Futterwoman Blogpost of Magic I ever read was PERFECT AND MAGICAL AND AMAZING AND I LOVED IT. I absolutely love how articulate and spot on she was. She's able to really relate her thoughts about her books to real life and make sense. She's able to keep the reader interested, and write in her own voice and with humor while still sounding professional and smart and amazing. The way that Annie grabs your attention, and keeps it, and makes sense is great. She's able to weave her paragraphs together with metaphors and honest emotions and thoughts and personal comments. Basically, she's a perfect blogger. She says what she feels, and what she feels is right. Her writing is unique and top-quality. YOU GO FUTTERWOMAN. YOU FLAUNT THOSE FUTTERLADY COLORS. Because you deserve your Futterness, you get a NATHALIE APPRECIATES THIS sticker. (Well, a mental one, I don't actually have any stickers).
2.LIKE WOW LIKE WOW LIKE NO WAY LIKE AHHHHHH!
Lilabet Johnston-Gil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've kind of been secretly stalking Lilabet's posts for a while, and I'm really glad I can openly recommend her writing to the world. She's a quirky writer, and very analytical. You can tell that she really cares and thinks deeply about the books she reads, and her responses are always packed with great insight and feedback. Her off-the-dotted-line personality shines through in her writing, and make her responses that much more enjoyable and interesting to read. Her writing is great. She can be more than a little funny, when needed, and is always so real. She's not afraid to tell it like it is. She's hilarious. And because of your originality, Lilabet, you too get a NATHALIE APPRECIATES THIS sticker. Just an example of Lilabet's supreme writing
3.FERNYNANDEZ FABULOUS TIME! (Isabelle Fernandez)
this blog is stupefying. And I'm not just saying that because ''stupefying '' is my favorite word in the English language. I really mean it. This girl is just so great when it comes to blogging. ESPECIALLY THIS IT'S A GREAT POST LIKE WOW! What I love about Ferny's blog is that she actually seems to be invested in it 130%. She's not just a status-quo blogger. She's not afraid to her all into that blog. She shows you the type of music she likes, little personal things...She reveals little things about herself in her writing and in her posts. Not to mention that her posts are really great. She picks up on things in books that most wouldn't. She's a clever rabbit. Her blog is 100% loveable, and really great. All of her posts are so ***smart***. She just seems to magically understand things, and notice things no one else would. I really adore reading what she has to say. She's a great blogger. AND BECAUSE YOU ARE SO FABULOUS IN YOUR MAGICAL MASTER PERFECT AMAZING STUPEFYING STUPENDOUS MAGNIFICENT WONDERFUL FABULOUS WRITING WAYS, ISABELLE, YOU GET A NATHALIE-APPRECIATES-THIS STICKER! BECAUSE I APPRECIATE IT!
I know this makes me seem like a clique-y blog girl. You know, the kind who only talks to a select group of people and only talks about them, and glorifies them, and use them in her project, but these really ARE great blogs. I'm not a clique-blogger. That's not me. A bunch of other blogs worth checking out:
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