Under the Feet of Jesus: Dreaming and "Feeling"

          The characters of this novel are spiritual people that believe in signs, metaphors, religious affiliations, and dreams. Perfecto particularly in the beginning of the second half has stronger dreams about his past lover and still born child calling him to return home. Perfecto knows he is getting to old to support this family, but why does he not only feel that he cannot support them but also have to leave them to return "home". The home Perfecto is searching for is not as clear or as vivid as the dreams and "feelings" he is receiving but he knows he must do it.  In his dreams his past lover or former wife Mercedes beckons him to come home and return to "us" which Perfecto feels is the unborn first child they had together (99). He must be feeling some guilt left over from the death of their first born because it is why Mercedes left him, mentally and physically, dying on the inside. 

        Perfecto also gets feelings of the death of Alejo when he is brought into their home withering away from a mysterious aliment. "He could feel the boy's death under his bare feet as he carried him" (101). Perfecto foresees Alejo getting worse, knowing he cannot ignore this feeling, only driving him at this point to want to leave more. Perfect also feels guilt over leaving the family because he knows Petra works as hard as she can and he is thankful for her, but somehow it is not enough. 

        Alejo before he feels sick, has a gravitational pull towards Estrella ever since he caught her taking a dip in the irrigation canal. He "feels" like he must get to know her. Alejo tries to take to her but she is standoffish in the beginning when he invites her into conversation, she starts to warm up to him when he offers a few sips from his soda. He tries to be around her and make small talk about tar pits, where he starting kissing her  hand and that once lead to something more. Alejo's cousin may have a sneaking suspicion something was going on with Alejo but cannot figure out what it is. Another "feeling".  

Under the Feet of Jesus: Comfort in Touch

     The second half of the book had an interesting section pertaining to touch and how it bridges the gap between young and old. Touch as key source of human interaction has been discussed in many other works, but in this book I found that it was human to human contact represents a feeling of comfort that is more important than in other stories. Due to the theme of relocation and trying to recreate a "home" any source of comfort is cherished, no matter how one-sided the comfort is. This idea can be further explored through a gendered lens as people of different genders often react oppositely when exposed to touch, even though the need or want to be touched is identical.
     The first discussion of touch happens when the young twin girls take their father's hands and he immediately recoils (p. 102). Viramontes says that Perfecto "recoiled his hands because he no longer liked the feel of the warm knots of fingers tying into his; but they anchored a hand each anyway, clamping their grasp and laughing" which shows that Perfecto is hesitant to accept the girls' touch. It's as if Perfecto feels disjointed in or a failure to his family and may be undeserving of their comforting touch. However, if he really didn't want to hold their hands, I don't think he would (as he is much stronger and has more authority) but he experiences a measure of calming when they take his hands, as if their little bodies are all that are holding him down to this place.
     The second discussion of this human to human interaction is when Estrella is carrying Perla on her shoulders. Although heavier than she used to be Estrella doesn't mind carrying her sister as it seems she knows she needs that protection. However, the sister appears to hold on tighter than necessary and Estrella says "Let go a little...You're not going to fall" indicating that Estrella will hold up the young girl (and the family) despite the challenges they face (p. 105). In the first scene, the young girls anchor their father, but then Estrella supports the young girls indicating that it is the cycle of healing touch that keeps this family going. It's not always good times and sunshine; and despite the strained relationships among them, without each other no one would have a hand to hold and soothe them.

Under The Feet of Jesus : Dehumanization

 It took me a little while to get into the book.  I was very lost with what was going on and it was hard to keep the characters straight in my mind.  As the novel progressed, however, the overall story line began to unfold.  As the story and character relationships revealed themselves, an overwhelming theme of dehumanization became very apparent.

         Most of the migrant workers speak a choppy mix of spanish and english, heavier on the spanish.  They are Spaniards who have come to America with that same idea all the characters in the other books we have read have shared as well.  The idea that America will give them the opportunity they desire to earn money and create a life for themselves.  Once here, however, these migrant workers find the only jobs they can get are in fields picking whatever happens to be ripe at the time.  The conditions these families are forced to live in are horrendous.  Small quarters, and unsanitary conditions are the norm for these families.  "The mother was disgusted at how the Devridges had no shame sun-drying the peed mattress in full view every morning" (29).  These workers are left with little choice but to accept this life style if they want to be able to eat.  One part in particular stuck out to me in the first half of the novel.

         When out in the fields the crop sprayers began making their rounds on the pants.  "Alejo slid through the bushy branches, the tangled twigs scratching his face, and he was ready to jump when he felt the mist.  He shut his eyes tight to the mist of black afternoon.  At first it was just a slight moisture until the poison rolled down his face in deep sticky streaks" (77).  People are out in the field trying to do their work.  There is no way that the crop dusters cant see them because the way they describe the deafening noise of the motor the small play must be close to the ground.  They spray this poison on the plants to kill insects, by not waiting for the workers to leave the field they are treating them like insects by equally spraying them.  This can cause serious damage and even death to the workers but the crop owners have no regard for the workers well being and treat them like insects.

Under the Feet of Jesus: Food & Identity

Throughout the first half of the story, a pattern linking important relationships/memories and food emerges with, what I believe, a great significance. Estrella often used food, not only as points on the timeline of survival, but as a symbol of other means of coping. As her family travels, she often focuses on when they are able to obtain food and cure their physical hunger, yet there is a deeper meaning. Family is important to Estrella; however, the fact that she wishes to have a real relationship with her father rather than an adopted one with Perfecto continues to pop up. By using food as a extension of her memories, she carries these pieces of her past with her to help tolerate her dislocation. Every time she comes into contact with certain types of food she remembers pieces of her past; whether she wants to or not. These memories keep her grounded in reality, consistently reminding her of what she has despite what she has lost. Everyday is a struggle to find new food and to form new memories in spite of the hard times she, and her family, must face. For example, when Estrella sees or eats an orange, she attaches that memory to her father (p. 12). The last time she saw him, he peeled an orange for her; aiding in her survival. Now that he is gone, Estrella must do this on her own, but she'll never forget this lesson as she carries on. The orange signifies, not only a tie to her father that she is desperately trying to keep in her memory, but also every act of living leaves some taste in one's mouth.

Under the Feet of Jesus: Not Father Daughter Relationship

        Between Star and Perfecto a constant reminder is always being brought up, "I'm not your father." Estrella's father left the family while she was still young which in turn made getting food on the table very difficult for her mother, so she found another man to be the provider for the family. In a sense Perfecto, having his nickname for doing a job well done on any task assigned to him, is going a good job of caring for the family by giving them the money he earns. Estrella holds on to the memory of her real father even though she understands he left her behind. But Perfecto and Estrella resist each other and deny what their relations are, as Perfecto as adopted father figure. "Perfecto Flores was not her papa" (28). When in arguments they remind one another that they have no blood ties. 

           Perfecto and Estrella do have a silent truce when it comes to him teaching her about all of the tools in his  tool chest.  The tools in the tool chest were an allegory for her trying to learn how to read and write in her education. "The curves and tails of the tools made no sense and shapes were foreign and meaningless to her as chalky lines on the blackboard, (25)" Perfecto took the time to teach her all of the "tools". When he took the time to teach her and wait patiently for her to understand she was then able to read. Reading is important in Star's life because she is able to read to Maxine. An odd friendship grows out of this practice until Maxine brings up Perfecto causing Star to be very upset and get into a fist fight with Maxine (35). Also distancing the relationship between Perfecto and Estrella. 

When The Emperor Was Devine vs Citizen 13660

These two books definitely paired up nicely together, I did, however, prefer the Emperor over Citizen.  I enjoy books that engage me more, have a plot line, intriguing character, and some action (even if that action is exaggerated).  I felt that Citizen was more informative, like a documentary rather than a story with an interesting plot line, beginning, middle, and end.  I blame the layout for my lack of interest.  By having short blurbs with cartoon-esk pictures it gives the book less power and forceful ness.  The Emperor had a family with children, carried us throughout their whole story from before they we taken, to living in the camps, to their transition back home.  It gave view points for each character so you could get to know them better and be able to properly form an opinion of them. The book had a backbone of emotion rather than a backbone information.

Irene Bloomer

When the Emperor was Divine: Structure

       A pattern in each chapter emerges where the focus of the character is shifted. All include the alien feel of being uprooted but through the different ages of the family. In the first chapter the focus is on the mother. It starts with the mother noticing the evacuation order no. 19. She immediately goes to start making preparations for this evacuation notice almost in an autonomous mode. She begins to pack up the house and store their valuables in a locked room, she takes care of the animals, giving away the cat, putting the dog out of its misery and freeing the bird. She moves about these tasks not really pausing too much for sentimental purposes. She only pauses to reflect on the Gleaners painting  (8) and to drink some of her homemade wine (20). As the provider of the family after the father is taken away she must do what needs to be done for her family, taking care of them before herself. Only later in the novel while in the camp does she lose this sense of being the provider does she revert into herself, almost giving up all hope. 

      The second chapter, Train, centers mainly around the daughter, she is in her early teenage years. In this chapter there is more young and naive feel. In this age group the daughter is inquisitive, stubborn, is a "know-it-all" and talks to a few strangers while riding on the train (32). She cares for her brother by answering any questions he may have and tries to keep up the morale while her fades as she thinks about her father and French blue scarf.  It is evident she understands this relocation is something that will not be over too quickly and that her spirits are being dampened while she is talking to the stranger Ted in the bathroom line on the train, "Last night it was too cold, but now it's so hot I can hardly breathe. Everything keeps on changing" (33). 

      In the third chapter, When the Emperor was Divine, the focus is on the young boy. The brother is younger than his sister in his older child years. The young boy takes in more than both the mother and daughter does by observing his surroundings like wild life in the desert and the conversations going on between neighbors as well as the windy dusty weather. In his view he also careful observes the behavior of his mother who gives up hope and does not emerge from the stall only to eat, which she too eventually stops doing. He also notes odd disappearing acts of his sister all day long. Since his mother has lost the care provider role because the camp has others doing it she stops even caring for herself, this is when the boy starts to get her to eat and have her return to normal with reassurances (94). He also has a very imaginative mind that reinforces his childlike wonder and tone for the chapter, things seems unreal and alien. While the son is dealing with his present family members he can't help but think of his father and partially blaming himself for his arrest. A childlike quality is the assumption it is one's fault for something that is truly out of one's control.  He blames himself for things that go wrong. 

Citizen 13660: Comparison of Two Texts

      After reading the graphic novel and comparing it to the memoir-like novel, When the Emperor was Divine, I found myself drawing many conclusions. Clearly these two texts were set at the same internment camp, recalling almost identical events, and the affects made to two different familial structures. However, upon completing both texts within a very short period of time (which allowed for the events to be fresh in my mind) I found myself with two key questions; one that I think I am able to answer and another I'm not so sure about.

     The first of these questions is, why were these two stories of the same life events so drastically different? Obviously, many of the events were told in the same order and with similar details, but the tonal quality of the stories were polar opposites. I'm positive that the different literary structures gave way to the contrast in tone (as the graphic novel allowed for more feeling via personalized illustration and the novel was lacking in the ability to consistently evoke emotion), but is that the only reason giving way to this difference?  I think what may have played a huge role in the story telling is the perspective from which the stories were told and the subsequent familial structures attached to those viewpoints. The novel was told from, what seemed like, the perspective of each member of the four-person family; while the graphic novel was seen from the eyes of one person. The family's story clearly relayed the perspectives of a mother, a father, a daughter/girl, and a son/boy, which displayed different values than the graphic novel. In Citizen 13660, the woman's perspective was that of a sister, not a mother or daughter, and I think her role in her family was less manipulated and altered by this period in her cultural history. Whereas one family felt trapped and torn apart, this single individual was better able to make it out all in one piece.

    The second question I have, the one in which I don't think I can answer, is did these two families ever cross paths? I'm not sure if the events in the novel were as biographical as the graphic novel, but one has to wonder. These two families were at the same place, at the same time, and recalled identical events that probably only happened once (i.e. the brick thrown through the window of the train), so is it possible they knew one another? Clearly the roles of these two families within the internment camps were dissimilar, but there could be a greater connection between these two stories than place and time. If these two families did cross paths, was that reflected in these two works? We may never know.

When the Emperor Was Divine: Forgetting An Identity

     Although there was great suffering during the three years and five months this family spent in internment camps, readjusting to their lives as "normal" Americans had to have been equally, if not more, difficult. Throughout the novel, the theme of hiding one's identity, but being constantly reminded that you just don't fit in, is one that haunts every member of this family. Upon returning to school, the kids are looked down upon; none of their old friends try to remember them, none of their friends' families invite them to join, and no one calls out to them to play. Even children are ashamed or afraid of a culture that society has told them is bad; they haven't even made an effort to come to learn that on their own terms.
     However, in spite of the way the child were affected, the parents' pain seemed to be of greater burden. Not only did they have to try and hide their own identities, but they also had to protect those of each other and their children. And trying to support and provide for a family was made that much more difficult by society because while this family was trying to "forget" and hide who they were, the rest of the country was trying to make sure everyone knew. For example, when the mother tries to find a job she was turned away multiple times because the owner of each establishment did not want to "offend" their clientele or customers. It was so discouraging that even she said, "I was afraid I might accidentally remember who I was and...offend myself" (p. 129) which, I'm sure was meant in a sarcastic manner, but it is also clear that she needed no reminder of just how much she didn't belong; now, then, or ever.
    This feeling was shared by her husband upon his return to the family, but his was more that he was just trying to forget. He didn't share with his family why he had been taken, where had been taken, or if any of the claims against him were true. "All he wanted to do, now that we were back in the world, was forget," Otsuka described; and it wasn't just the accusations that she was suggesting (p. 133). The father wanted to forget his culture, his damaged reputation, and the fact that he would never find a place in society.
     Unlike the other books, which do explore areas of forgetting one's identity, this book emphasized that theme to a much greater extent. These people were forced to abandon their culture, much in a way that America had abandoned them. They were stripped of their names, their traditions, and their memories and were forced to carry a number of identification, a strong disposition, and fake smiles. Faking became their way of life, and even when they weren't supposed to have to forget anymore, they knew no other way than to hide who they were; and who they are.

Citizen 13660: Open Privacy

     "Those who wished privacy went into the wide open spaces" (140). To go into open spaces for privacy seems to be a large contradiction, but can be normal under the circumstances of an internment camp. Not only did people have to be in the wide open spaces to be alone other tasks that are a norm to do in the privacy are everyday things like dressing and undressing, using restrooms, and bathing. Other tasks like sleeping also had to be done in the public eye (132). These things are all done in private but while in a camp, privacy is just not an option. Although many tried to put up partitions for the bathing rooms and latrines they could only manage to be partial partitions. Older men would openly change in front of one another not really caring who could see. 

     Privacy could never really be achieved because the Japanese prisoners were all in the same position experiencing the same experiences and sharing in them. No one is truly alone as they must shoulder these burdens together. Wide open spaces were the only places people were not crammed into together and forced to live upon one another hence some sense of privacy, but never alone still. These events make it so the people must remain as a community because their pains are not entirely there own because they all have the same pains, privacy in those feelings cannot be privatized. 

Mine Okubo Citizen 13660 : sudden enemies

        I cant imagine being a person of Japanese decent during this time.  You can be an American and life a totally normal American life one day, then the next "people looked at all of us, both citizens and aliens, with suspicion and mistrust" (12).   Mine Okubo was very lucky that her friends didn't abandon her as well but the unjust treatment forced upon her and her brother must have been very scary and confusing.  It seems that they got the best case scenario however.  They were both able to stay together, and while the living conditions and restriction were awful compared to the freedom they were use to, it all didn't seem as bad as I would have expected.  Its possible that having small narrations accompanied by cartoon styled pictures lessoned the blow of the whole experience for the reader.  Perhaps if the layout of the story was done in a more formal way it would have given more intensity to the story and pulled more of a reaction out of me than it did.  I found myself saying at the end of the story "okay?  Is that it?".  The only part that really struck me out of the whole narration was the idea of having to leave your hard earned home for an unknown location all because of something people that look like you did.

Irene Bloomer

Lakota Woman : Generational Differences

 Mary Brave Bird lives in a generation that is all about embracing the lifestyle and traditions of their pasts.  Their parents, however, try to forget and lead a "white mans life".  These two generations have a huge difference in what they believe is best in the long run.  The older generation grew up living the native american life style the current generations whats to be a part of so badly.  This older generation, however, as also been through so much suffering as they have been forced to abandon all they know.  The pain inflicted upon them was so great they firmly believe that in order to protect their family they "tried to to raise us as whites, because she thought that was the only way for us to get ahead and lead a satisfying life" (19).  Mary Brave Bird's only mission in life, however, is to learn more about her culture and try to gain Native Americans more respect rather than giving in.  When she has her son she is still determined to continue with the cause.  She believes that the old lifestyle is what is best for her children, not the new white man life style her mother's generation was given into.  

~Irene Bloomer

Lakota Woman: An Educational Experience

     A theme that hasn't been discussed in any of the novels since Danticat's was that of education; particularly a young girl's experience with it. Like Sophie, the act of getting an education was thrust upon Mary as something expected and decided for her. However, unlike Sophie, Mary didn't stand for such control despite the opportunities she knew she would lose if she stopped her education. Throughout her memoir, especially the beginning, her experiences at boarding school (the place Mary and her siblings must go after being ripped from her grandparents' care) are anything but positive. Mary does not conform in the same way that other girls both in and out of her family did; and she had a very difficult time breaking away from the culture she wanted to carry and the one being pushed upon her. Mary was strong like her Native American female ancestors and she didn't want that to be brain washed out of her.

     On page 40, Mary announces the day that she is to quit school. She says, "Today I quit school. I'm not taking any more of this...None of this treatment. Better give me my diploma. I can't waste any more time on you people," which indicates that, not only does Mary wish to further separate herself from white Christians, but also that the education she receives at school is not the kind that her personality needs. Just like the teacher she punched in the face, Mary wanted more respect despite being young and inexperienced. However, although Mary was proud of her decision to quit and never look back, closing that door opened others that were not as pleasant. I feel that her quitting also fractured her imperfect family as she was going to have to continually struggle in bridging her two cultural worlds. Note that many times throughout the memoir, Mary uses the day she quit school as a key point in her timeline; and I believe that's because she knows it was a fork in a road she could never look back on after that day.

Lakota Woman: Hearts of its Women

     The very first quote stuck a nerve that set a tone for the entire memoir. "A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is done, no matter how is brave its warriors nor how strong their weapons" (3). Particularly the line about the women's hearts being on the ground is powerful. Women in many cultures tend to be the heart and song of the society and are responsible for keeping the families going, supporting the men and keeping peaceful ties within the group and outside of the group. When the community of women are disbanded and can no older assemble to perform these duties the nation must truly be irreparable. Especially in the tribal Native American culture the women have the role of cooking for visiting friends and acquaintances "keeping the peace", tending to the families even extended families, like grandchildren, children etc. and being strong guiding hand for men and reliable for running the household. 

    This quotation returned later in the memoir with the declaration the author feels for her surviving nation, "Well, the hearts of our old full-blooded women were not on the ground. They were way up high[literally on top of Mount Rushmore and figuratively] and they could still encourage us with their trilling, spine-tingling brave-heart cry which always made the hairs on my back stand up and my flesh break out  in goose pimples whenever I heard it, no matter how often" (80).  The author here directly says that her people were not laying down and being submissive or baking down. They have fight in their hearts, she also mentions how older generations, such as grandmothers are joining their AIM movement to reinforce culture and tradition as well as add new tradition. They are in the process of rebuilding and reconstructing their culture, qualities driven by women who are natural multi-taskers and problem solvers. The women the author was talking about in this instance was a 90 year old woman standing on Mount Rushmore trying to take back the Black Hills, these are the women who take a stand and beat the truest of the true blood through their hearts for their people. 

Bone : Most Powerful Figures

     The one person that is consistent throughout the entire book is the one character we have never really met.  Ona has a power over the entire family because of her suicide.  Ona was the one that helped keep the family together.  After her death, Nina moved out.  She was the one who always brought Leon back home, after her death Leon leaves longer than he ever has.  The guilt everyone feels over Ona's suicide runs the entire book.  Each chapter is either in what is assumed the present, and then the rest is flash backs.  Some are from growing up and Ona is alive and a little girl.  Some are from the days leading up to Ona's death.  One of he final flash backs is the climax of the entire book, the actual day of Ona's death and the few days following it.  Everything in the book leads up to that crucial moment.  Whenever characters appear to be doing fine, their brake downs are because of the guilt surrounding Ona.  Everyone wonders if there was something they could have done, wishing that they had told her something while she was still alive.  They all believe that if they had only known and said something they could have saved her life.  The guilt tears the whole family apart.  The one person we don't get to really meet in the navel, is the one person the novel really revolves around.  The one person that has a special power and control over every single character.

Irene Bloomer

Bones: Backward Memories

     What I found most evident throughout the course of this book is Leila's inability to properly cope with the loss of her sister and her broken family. As she is trapped between two cultures and strives to be different from her ancestors (Mah, in particular), Leila is also trapped in the past. I believe this is why the author uses the technique of writing the narrative backwards, because the farther back she goes, the harder it is for Lei to process. I think because of both the author's and the character's cultural background, they way in which emotions are expressed is not as bold as a traditional American would. Yes, Lei and her family are grief stricken, but they focus on tiny moments of silent communication rather than using their words to talk things out.  When Lei says, "None of us were ready. Ona was dead before we had a chance to save her. We hadn't had time to catch up. To let go, I know we had to let our memories out," (p. 126) she is further proving that by going backward in her mind she is no closer to accepting her sister's death. She was stuck and trapped by her memories just as she felt trapped in many other aspects of her life.
     The silent communication Lei focuses on is also very key for she, herself, is not good with her words. I'm not sure if the author meant to do this but the text itself is somewhat dry; one must read between the lines a bit to see hidden meanings, emotions, and themes. When Leila is with Mason at one point (p. 122) she said, "Mason shook his head in that way that meant everything, but I knew just by the way he was standing that he wasn't going to talk about it." At so many points in this novel, people opt to use silent communication via facial expressions, wordless emotion, or body language to express how they feel. In a way it does hold them back from expressing themselves fully in a traditional sense, but it also supplies a level of intimacy that so many people often overlook. Because she is so lost in her own mind, Lei can't find herself in her world, in her family, or in herself.

Bone: Transititon into Adulthood

      Throughout the entire novel Leila  does not make a clear transition into adulthood because she was forced into adulthood at such an early age while there are keep child-like qualities that didn't disappear. Leila made her way into adulthood at an early age because of the cultural transition her mother choose to make into Amercia culture. In order to survive Mah had to take on the very grueling and demanding job of sewing and cloth making, in order to get her load done on time her enlisted the help of Leila, who was only a young child (185). Leila was also taught how to run the entire household if needed and soon when she gained two younger sisters she then learned to take care of them (175).
       This is where the Chinese culture stayed intact of family taking care of family and every member being completely self-sufficient. In an American culture child were meant to play and have fun and not taught all those skills at once. Later in the novel Leila even took on the parental role of looking after her parents, like locating Leon if he went missing or calming down Mah if she is upset.
      Leila also remained child-like by remaining completely obedient to her family members and doing as they say like a child would. She would hang on their every word and come to their defense if Nina tried speaking out against them. She was also child-like when it came to what her Mah wanted, when Leon left she asked her daughter to live with her, but Leila wanted to live with Mason (89). Mah didn't want to be alone but Leila couldn't tell her mother no. Lelia also couldn't tell her mother that she wanted to move in with Mason (181) or that really wants to leave.

Bone: Value of Family

         Lei has the traditional sense of family, meaning she has the understanding of the support you must give in your family and what you can forgive them for. Although she seems to resent her ties to them. The family teeters based on the events that had happened within their family. Lei supports her family by being the mediator between Leon and Mah because they are constantly fighting and not speaking to each other. "Who shook them? Who made them stop?", when they were fighting Lei did her best to lessen the heated arguments and discussions (33). Leon is Mah's second husband who she had married in order to keep the family out of disgrace, but Mah and Leon are not even living together (32). In the Chinese culture this is still a taboo family structure that causes their name to be talked about. When Leon initially moved out Mah wanted Lei to move back with her to help her cope which Lei did as an obedient daughter. Lei has a loyal to her family she values the individual familial ties, mother to daughter, sister to sister, but as the family on the whole the value is lost.

        Lei's family has several strains and disturbances. Lei's mother and step father Leon are living in separate households, whereas her younger sister Ona  had committed suicide for reasons unclear and Lei's youngest sister, Nina, left the family as soon as she could (23). Lei resents the ties between the families because they value the individual relations over the whole family relation. There is not a true sense of united family.  Nina tries to keep herself separate of family affairs and avoids guilt from the mother trying to make her come back home. Lei herself is even removing herself from the situation by marrying Mason (1). Lei finds her mother to be a burdern always blaming Lei for her sisters absence and nagging about Leon and his half schemes. This family's ties are very thin and almost invisible but as strong as spider's silk, as much as they try to isolate they are still bound together. The strain of the family started with the death of Ona. At this point in the story it seems as if the family has damage that is past the point of being fixed. It is partially destroyed.

Bone: The U.S. idealized as a place of escape

                   People picture the United States as the promised land.  The roads are paved in gold and well paying jobs are handed out to everyone and anyone.  Many leave with these high expectation only to face huge struggles one they arrive. "Secretly I was glad I didn't have to go.  I felt for Mah; I felt her shame and regret, to go back for solace and comfort, instead of offering banquets and stories of the good life.  Twenty-five years in the land of gold and good fortune, and then she returned to tell her story: The years spent in sweatshops, the prince of Golden Mountain turned into a toad, and three daughters: one unmarried, another who-cares-where, one dead.  I could hear the hushed tone of their questions: 'Why? What happened? Too sad!'" (22).   Its humiliating for this family, nobody else understands how a family could not succeed in the United States.  It takes a lot of courage to uproot your life and even more courage to be able listen your peers judge you and your family. 

Irene Bloomer

Bones: Generational & Gender Differences

     From the beginning of the text the disparity between young and old generations, as well as males and females is quite obvious. Throughout my reading I found a couple of quotes that really stood out for me, and helped gauge my focus throughout the remainder of my reading. On page 1, it is Leila's father figure Leon who says "Five sons don't make one good daughter" after the gossip of other community members who called Leila's a "failed family...Nothing but daughters". Not only is the older generation stepping in for the younger generation, but it is Leon, the stepfather to the three girls, who explains that their gender does not make them any less than three sons; in fact, in some ways it makes them better. This special bond between Leon and "his girls" is a theme present throughout the first half, but also leads me to my second point concerning Leon and his ex-partner, Leila's mother.

     The character of "Mah" is one who further illustrates the gender and generational gaps in Leila's life and culture. At the introduction of sister Ona's death, Leila points out her mother's grief surrounding her suicide. Found on page 13, Ng is quoted as saying "'Better a parent before a child, better a wife than a husband...Everything's all turned around, all backward'" which really opens up this as a main theme. Leila's mother feels guilty that her daughter felt the need to take her own life, and carries the grief with her as she feels she should have been taken before her. She also expresses that a woman should go before a man, which leads me to wonder if, had Ona been a son instead of a daughter, would this grief be any greater or lesser? In Leila's society, cultural heritage, and within her own small, but disjointed family, is there one "superior" gender? As often discussed in many works focusing on people of Chinese, Asian, or Oriental decent, does the older generation reign supreme in all matters? I'm not sure if these questions were, or will ever be, answered through this reading, but it was a point that stayed with me throughout my time spent with the first half of Ng's novel.

19 Varieties of Gazelle (Section 2): Constancy

     For Section Two, the two poems I chose to compare/contrast were "The Tray" (p. 105) and "Ducks" (p. 110-111) due to the shared theme of constancy. Both poems discuss heavy issues of sorrow and war, but at the close of each work a bit of hope is sprinkled in to show that even when there is individual pain, the companionship of others will provide a gateway to better times.
    In "The Tray," the structure of the poem differs from "Ducks" in that it is one long sentence broken down into a stanza of eleven lines. Although the couplets do not rhyme, there is a fluidity in the structure that is less choppy than in "Ducks." I think that the fluid structure is mirroring the constancy and comfort Nye is trying to express as she describes how the presence of tea in their culture is always something one can count on. She uses simple language to further illustrate the beauty of shared silence and the unity felt among the drinkers of the tea. This simple expression is one also portrayed in "Ducks," just to a different degree.
    "Ducks" represents the theme of constancy in a slightly different way than the first poem. In "The Tray," that sense of unchanging comfort is present throughout the poem without hesitation or conflict. However, in "Ducks" the main character, a young girl, discusses how when she is worried or has questions about her life she always goes back to the ducks in a nearby pond (as mirrored in the structure made up of several stanzas). Despite her worry and questions for the ducks themselves, "She stayed quiet with the ducks/Some days they huddled among reeds/or floated together" (l. 22-24) for she saw hope in their existence. In much the same way the tea and social support soothed the character of the first poem, the reader was able to get that sense of ease when the character of "Ducks" noted that the three ducks in the pond were starting to build a nest. Whether solace is an inherent part of a culture or it must observed from an outside source, Nye was able to show how, no matter the situation, one can always find something to count on. 

19 Varieties of Gazelle : comparison section 2

           The poems "19 Varieties of Gazelle" (87) and "A Single Slice Reveals Them" (124) appear at first glance to be nothing alike.  Their structures, however, are very similar.  While the first poem is much longer, they are both set up in small chunks causing a somewhat choppy reading.
           "19 Varieties of Gazelle" is about freedom.  The Gazelle has this grace and elegance and may roam wherever it's heart takes it.  A sense of jealousy for this Gazelle is given off.  The idea that people are more restrained, they are told "Don't bother to go there,...It's too far" (88).  This sense of reservation and being compared to something that lacks all restraints.
          "A Single Slice Reveals Them" also compares people to something else, in this case it is the apple.  This poem also illustrates peoples restraints.  In this poem Nye keeps it short and broken up.  People are like this contained apple.  While you bite the apple to reveal the inside, people must "talk and talk and talk to let somebody in" (124).  This same idea of peoples reservations and a kind of shell around them stoping them from being as free as the Gazelle are themes these two seemingly different poems share.

Irene Bloomer