Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Moon on Water Prompt #8
8) How important are mirrors? To us, or to you, personally? Have you ever considered how you often and for what purposes you use mirrors? Could you imagine life without mirrors? Discuss the significance of mirrors in your own life, or in the lives of those around you.
Moon on Water Prompt #7
7) Can knowing that we are going to die very soon-- as does Kyoko's first husband-- make us more appreciative of the beauty of life and love?
Moon on Water Prompt #6
6) Regarding the nature of romantic love, some people say that each of us has only one soul mate-- a person who is destined for us by the stars, a person who is such a perfect match that they bind with us perfectly, completing us, making us whole. Others say that there are many people out there who are perfect for us-- that there are many great loves available to us. Which do you think is true?
Moon on Water Prompt #5
5) Which love would you say is more powerful-- Kyoko's love for her first husband or for her second husband?
The Moon on the Water-- Main
Looks like some good posting so far. Check for my comments on your postings; I'll be evaluating some of them, indicating which responses I deem strong, adequate, and insufficient.
Kawabata's The Moon on the Water is a fascinating glimpse into the life of Kyoko, a young Japanese woman with a tubercular, bedridden first husband. The story takes place-- through an interweaving of current time with flashback-- both during and after World War II, a time of fear, anxiety, and great upheaval in Japan. Consider that hundreds of thousands of Japanese were killed when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima near the end of the war.
Because Kyoko's first husband falls ill only three months into their marriage, it's clear that most of their time together has been one of great suffering. Tuberculosis is an extremely painful and debilitating illness that requires constant stability and rest.
Kyoko, therefore, becomes her husband's full-time aretaker. She even remarks to her second husband that, despite not bearing any children during her first marriage, she feels as if taking care of her first husband was quite similar to raising a child:
" 'But it was like looking after a child all the time" (665). We learn, through this admission, that Kyoko really had very little, if any, life to herself, for much if not all of her time was consumed either directly caring for her husband or thinking about him.
This does not, however, seem to overburden Kyoko, as she comes across as a loving and quite devoted wife. A reader may, though, upon close inspection, find hints revealed in half-concealment that it was no easy task to look after her severely sick first husband.
But through all the obvious darkness of the story-- with the death of her first husband suffusing the entire piece with a pale, melancholy light-- there is also a romantic nostalgia, a deeply haunting sense that love-- Kyoko's love for her first husband, and her first husband's love for her-- outweighs and overcomes any of the more somber and heavy tones.
Questions for Discussion
What I think will work better, is if I make each one of these prompts its own Blog entry-- that way we can keep them better organized. So look below this posting; there should be eight more, one for each prompt.
Kawabata's The Moon on the Water is a fascinating glimpse into the life of Kyoko, a young Japanese woman with a tubercular, bedridden first husband. The story takes place-- through an interweaving of current time with flashback-- both during and after World War II, a time of fear, anxiety, and great upheaval in Japan. Consider that hundreds of thousands of Japanese were killed when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima near the end of the war.
Because Kyoko's first husband falls ill only three months into their marriage, it's clear that most of their time together has been one of great suffering. Tuberculosis is an extremely painful and debilitating illness that requires constant stability and rest.
Kyoko, therefore, becomes her husband's full-time aretaker. She even remarks to her second husband that, despite not bearing any children during her first marriage, she feels as if taking care of her first husband was quite similar to raising a child:
" 'But it was like looking after a child all the time" (665). We learn, through this admission, that Kyoko really had very little, if any, life to herself, for much if not all of her time was consumed either directly caring for her husband or thinking about him.
This does not, however, seem to overburden Kyoko, as she comes across as a loving and quite devoted wife. A reader may, though, upon close inspection, find hints revealed in half-concealment that it was no easy task to look after her severely sick first husband.
But through all the obvious darkness of the story-- with the death of her first husband suffusing the entire piece with a pale, melancholy light-- there is also a romantic nostalgia, a deeply haunting sense that love-- Kyoko's love for her first husband, and her first husband's love for her-- outweighs and overcomes any of the more somber and heavy tones.
Questions for Discussion
What I think will work better, is if I make each one of these prompts its own Blog entry-- that way we can keep them better organized. So look below this posting; there should be eight more, one for each prompt.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Who's Irish?
Looks like most of you signed up without much hassle if any. That's great. I appreciate how many of you already greeted everyone else. That's the sort of spirit that will keep this Blog running smoothly and engagingly.
Who's Irish is a story about an unnamed narrator who guides us through important events surrounding her and her more Americanized family. A nearly 70-year-old woman, she is asked to take care of her granddaughter Sophie. We can interpret from the story that the narrator was originally born in China but has been living long enough in the United States to become highly skilled at English, as well as to have built a successful restaurant with her husband, who is now deceased.
The story is told in a uniquely specific vernacular, that of the Chinese American who clearly learned English as a second language. We learn a great deal about her through her English, which is rendered magnificently by the author, Gish Jen. It's interesting to consider how different this story would be if it were told from the 3rd person perspective-- where we would view her from the outside-- rather than from the 1st person point of view, as it is, through which we see the events entirely through her subjective point of view.
There is, naturally, some discord between the narrator and her daughter, who appears to have been born in the United States. There is also discord between the narrator and the Shea family, since John, Natalie's husband, and John's brothers seems to take exception to some of the narrator's comments and actions. And the narrator has problems with much of the Shea family.
The story takes a critical turn when Sophie hides herself in a hole in the playground; the narrator is unable to extricate Sophie from the hole, and the narrator inadvertently bruises Sophie by poking a stick into the hole. Upon seeing the bruises, John and Natalie learn that the grandmother has spanked Sophie prior, and thus become very upset and angry, demanding the narrator find another place to live. The story ends with the narrator living with Bess Shea, who offers to take her in.
Questions for Discussion:
Respond to any or all of the following prompts. Remember, you are required to make at least four postings per week, but as I will be keeping track of each of your postings (don't forget, if you haven't already, to email me your real name and user name) your grade will only benefit by making more than the necessary postings. Please read the postings of others before you post-- you certainly don't want to repeat what others have said.
Please indicate when posting which number you are responding to. Or, if you are making a new thread (which I encourage), simply say "New Thread" and then proceed.
1) How would you describe the relationship between the narrator and the Shea family? How does the narrator view them?How do they view her?
Who's Irish is a story about an unnamed narrator who guides us through important events surrounding her and her more Americanized family. A nearly 70-year-old woman, she is asked to take care of her granddaughter Sophie. We can interpret from the story that the narrator was originally born in China but has been living long enough in the United States to become highly skilled at English, as well as to have built a successful restaurant with her husband, who is now deceased.
The story is told in a uniquely specific vernacular, that of the Chinese American who clearly learned English as a second language. We learn a great deal about her through her English, which is rendered magnificently by the author, Gish Jen. It's interesting to consider how different this story would be if it were told from the 3rd person perspective-- where we would view her from the outside-- rather than from the 1st person point of view, as it is, through which we see the events entirely through her subjective point of view.
There is, naturally, some discord between the narrator and her daughter, who appears to have been born in the United States. There is also discord between the narrator and the Shea family, since John, Natalie's husband, and John's brothers seems to take exception to some of the narrator's comments and actions. And the narrator has problems with much of the Shea family.
The story takes a critical turn when Sophie hides herself in a hole in the playground; the narrator is unable to extricate Sophie from the hole, and the narrator inadvertently bruises Sophie by poking a stick into the hole. Upon seeing the bruises, John and Natalie learn that the grandmother has spanked Sophie prior, and thus become very upset and angry, demanding the narrator find another place to live. The story ends with the narrator living with Bess Shea, who offers to take her in.
Questions for Discussion:
Respond to any or all of the following prompts. Remember, you are required to make at least four postings per week, but as I will be keeping track of each of your postings (don't forget, if you haven't already, to email me your real name and user name) your grade will only benefit by making more than the necessary postings. Please read the postings of others before you post-- you certainly don't want to repeat what others have said.
Please indicate when posting which number you are responding to. Or, if you are making a new thread (which I encourage), simply say "New Thread" and then proceed.
1) How would you describe the relationship between the narrator and the Shea family? How does the narrator view them?How do they view her?
2) What is the primary conflict of the story?
3) Do you think Natalie is justified at the end of the story when she kicks her mother out of the house? Should Natalie have acted differently?
4) What is the significance of the title, Who’s Irish?
5) What would you say is the point, or purpose of this short story?
As It Applies to Culture:
6) One of the major themes of this story seems to be that of American versus Chinese ways of raising a family. Discuss, from your own experience, how parent and child can encounter problems due to differences in cultural beliefs.
7) For immigrants, what is more important: to preserve aspects of your home culture, or to assimilate as much in possible into the new country?
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Welcome to English 1B Blogging
Hello English 1B Students,
I hope all of you made it here without any trouble. If you're reading this message, obviously you're in the right place. On Sunday, October 25th the first thread will be posted related to one of the assigned readings. Once that post appears, feel free to comment upon it.
DF
I hope all of you made it here without any trouble. If you're reading this message, obviously you're in the right place. On Sunday, October 25th the first thread will be posted related to one of the assigned readings. Once that post appears, feel free to comment upon it.
DF
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