Final Blog Post: The Importance of women in history, relationships, education, their bodies, self-identity, progress, and expression

As the semester come to an end, I reflect on the certain aspects that are important to women in history, relationships, education, their bodies, self-identity, progress, and expression. While being enrolled in English 217 Women and Literature course, the students were assigned a number of novels to read during the semester. All of the novels dealt with women overcoming certain situations and finding their true self identity. Each novel show prime examples of strong women who express feelings about their intelligence, physical traits, inner identity, and the way they carry themselves. Through certain experiences, the women in these novels are able to get a better sense of self, who they are, and their role as women.

            Education seems to play a big part in women lives. In one particular novel that I have read this semester education was very important for a certain woman. For example, In the book “In The Time of The Butterflies” A  Mirabal sister and also one of the main characters Minerva wanted to go to law school and prove to the people in her nation that women can be successful in obtaining a higher education. Being the only female allowed to go to law school Minerva was able to successfully finish but was not being able to get her degree. “Here we all thought El Jefe had relented against our family and let Minerva enroll in law school. But really what he was planning all along was to let her study for five whole years only to render that degree useless in the end.” Education was limited to women in this novel because the only thing women were expected to do was be house wives and have babies. Even though Minerva did start a family of her own, she was still able to get an education. Women in this novel were deprived from their education because of their gender. Minerva rebelled against these limitations and proved that women are intelligent people who are able to do a lot more than expected.

            A women’s body is very important, Eve Ensler expresses how important a woman’s body is in the novel “The Vagina Monologues.” Ensler explores the deeper and inner thoughts on how women feel about their own vagina. Ensler made a women’s vagina more important than anyone has ever thought it to be. She used women’s personal stories to show how women felt about their vaginas. For example, “My first and only husband hated hair. He said it was cluttered and dirty. He made me shave my vagina.” Through the experiences of other women, Ensler tries to show the appreciation that women should have for their vaginas. Ensler shows the fact that having a vagina isn’t easy but it is what makes us a woman and women should appreciate it and their bodies.

            Identity seems to be something that women sometimes have trouble finding. For instance, in the novels “Fun Home” and “Two or Three Things I Know For Sure” both characters have trouble finding their true identities. Both main characters Bechdel and Allison tried to rebel against living up to the stereotypes and standards that their parents lived by. Bechdel did not want to hide her sexuality and just wanted to be true to herself unlike her father and Allison wanted to be more feminine than the women in her family ever were. Towards the end of each book, both characters ended up having certain characteristics that they resented in their parents. Women sometimes have trouble dealing with self identity because of the things that they learn and observe in their families.

Progression seems to be significant in most of the novels that I have read during this course. In the novel “PUSH” The main character Claireece Precious Jones made a lot of progression throughout the book. She works on becoming more educated and more eager to learn when she goes to the alternative school. She progressed from a woman who blamed herself for the bad things that happened to a hopeful mother who has overcome a lot. Precious shows how women can change and progress into a STRONG woman no matter how vulnerable a situation may make you.

These novels that I have read for this course have showed a lot about what is important to women. Many of these novels showed the importance of education, self identity, progression and the appreciation for ones body. This course overall expressed the significance of these concepts through novels and women experiences. In my completion of this course, I have come to see why these concepts hold much importance to women.

Similarities between “Two or Three Things I Know For Sure” & “Fun Home” (Self Identity)

After reading the book “Two or Three Things I Know For Sure” I found that the book had many similarities with the graphic novel “Fun Home”. Both novels’ not only shows images to help give detail to the story, but they both are based on family life and self identification. In the book “Fun Home” Bechdel uses comics to tell her life story, while Allison uses family photos; but both novels share the same concept.

Bechdel’s Father is the novel’s main focus. Bechdel tells her story about her father’s lack of love and affection and his trouble with finding his own identity. While as in the book “Two or Three Things I Know For Sure” Allison has trouble with not really being sure of her own identity.  In both novels, both families hide things from Bechdel and Allison which causes them to have trouble with identifying themselves in their older years. Bechdel’s family puts on a front like they are an ideal family because good image was everything. While the women in Allison’s family live into the stereotype of being housewives and baby barriers. It seems as if both families try to live up to the socials norms but fail to live up to their own self identity. In both novels, a lot of truth is hidden. Bechdel’s Father hides the truth about his sexuality and Allison’s mother hides the truth about the family and their past.

Throughout the book, both authors try their hardest to NOT become like their parents or the people in their family. Bechdel had a kind of resentment towards her father while Allison had the same feeling towards her mother. Bechdel did not want to be the type of person who shut the world out and wanted to be true to herself and her sexual orientation. Allison did not want to fall into the stereotypical ideal for women but she wanted to have a sense of femininity which the women in her family lacked.  For example, “Two or three things I know for sure, and one is that I would rather go naked than wear the coat the world had made for me.” I took this quote as Allison referring to how she will not live like the women in her family lived. Even though Bechdel and Allison wanted to be opposite from their parents, I felt after reading this book they ended up being similar to the people they were trying their hardest not to be.

The Beginning of Allison's Uncertainty

In the book “Two or Three Things I Know for Sure” the author Dorothy Allison writes about her family and the women in it. She touches on the roles women play in life and discuses the many things that are kept secret and hidden amongst her family.  Allison uses pictures to emphasize on the details she is writing about. Allison’s book is sort of a family portrait with words. Throughout the book she presents pictures of her family and herself from different years. Allison shows pictures from all different time periods. For instance, Allison has pictures of her mother in her younger and older years and she also presents pictures of herself in her older and younger years.  From reading the beginning of this short novel, I have come to learn that this book is going to speak a lot about family life.

While reading this book, I noticed that there were a lot of things that the author Allison was not sure about when it came to her family. Which brings attention to the significant of the title; she repeats the title in some parts of the book followed by a statement added on. For example, “Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is the way you can both hate and love something you are not sure you understand.” Allison was referring to how she loves but hates her hometown Greenville, South Carolina. “Cut wet grass, split green apples, baby shit and beer bottles, cheap makeup and motor oil. Everything was ripe everything was rotting” Allison starts off with a nice imagery when describing her hometown then suddenly ends with a negative statement. This shows her uncertainty about certain things, which makes the title important to the book.

When it came to her family life, Allison shows even more uncertainty. For instance, she seemed completely oblivious to what goes on or who is who in her family. When she asked her Mom and Aunt Dot about her family, they gave her very little information like something was being hidden. It seems as if family was a forbidden topic to talk about. After the passage of Allison talking to her Mom and Aunt Dot, Allison states, “Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is just this—if we cannot name our own we are cut off at the root, our hold on our lives as fragile as seed in a wind.” Again this statement reflects off of the title and shows the things she is just not sure about.

Connections Between: The Shawl & When the Emperor was Divine

            
         
               After reading the two books “The Shawl” and “When the Emperor was Divine” I was able to make some connections between the two novels. Both novels show the hardship and the emotional damage that characters face with being discriminated and put in places they don’t belong. In the novel “When the Emperor was Divine” the characters suffered for three years in internment camps that they were sent to during the war in the 1940’s. When they returned from the camps, they experienced long lasting changes in their personality, appearance, and in life. While in the book “The shawl” similar changes took place. For instance, much distress comes upon Rosa as well from being placed in a death march during the holocaust. Both novels show characters changes and struggles while being in terrorizing conditions.

 In the novel “The Shawl” Rosa deals with much torture, pain and suffering. When she survives the camps and try to return to living a normal life she can’t move on from what she has faced. Emotionally, Rosa is damaged from the experiences that she has faced just like the woman in “When the Emperor was divine”. The woman who was also a victim of a horrible event that was more like genocide caused much emotional and physical damage.  The woman became very depressed and she was not as strong as she was in the beginning of the book.

Even though both characters in both novels face a sense of change, they both change in completely different ways. For example, Rosa cannot let go of what happened to her. She states, “Only Nazis catch innocent people behind barbed wire.” When Rosa seen the barbed wire by the beach at the hotel she immediately thought of her painful past. In “When the Emperor was Divine” the woman returns from being in internment camps for four years, her life back home is not the same. Emotionally the woman seems a little damaged but willing to move on from what she has faced.

In both novels, the author makes the reader get a sense of the terrible events that each character faces and how they deal with the situation. After reading both books I feel like I can’t fully empathize with what people really went through in these tragic events, but I can sort of understand the situations they faced.

Symbols: Magda & The Shawl

In the book “The Shawl” by Cynthia Ozick there seem to be certain people and objects that are major symbols that are mentioned throughout the novel.  In this book it seems as if there are two significant symbols which are Magda and the shawl. The book is titled The Shawl because one unique shawl seems to play an important role from the beginning to the end. Magda, who is Rosa’s baby girl who had died while residing in the camps, seem to be an important and big symbol in the book as well.

                Even though Magda dies in the first story of the book, Rosa still seems to write to her and make believe things about her. Rosa makes Magda out to be all these things that in reality Magda can never be because she is no longer living. For example, “To her daughter Magda she wrote in the most excellent literary polish.” Rosa was writing to Magda long after she was dead trying to keep Magda alive in her mind but in reality she is gone forever. When reading the paragraph where Rosa mentioned Magda I felt that Rosa uses Magda as a memory that symbolizes the past and what she had been through. Magda is the sad past that Rosa just can’t seem to let go of. Magda is used in the book as a false sense of hope and comfort. Even though it is putting Rosa in a comfort zone pretending Magda is alive, it is becoming an unhealthy way to cope with events that happened in her life. Another major symbol is the shawl itself.  Throughout the book Rosa holds on to the shawl because it also symbolizes the past. Rosa holds on to it when Magda was a live she holds on to it when she dies and she continues to keep it.

                There are so many symbols in the novel “The Shawl” that represents more than what they seem. Magda and the Shawl are two prime examples of symbols with a deeper meaning.

The Significants of the Shawl

In the book “The Shawl” by Cynthia Ozick, is a book that are based on fictional characters that experience true events. This book takes place during the holocaust and goes into great detail about what had went on during this tragic period. The book is broken up into to two parts; the beginning chapter which I have read is called The Shawl same as the title of the book. This title is significant because the author wraps the story around a baby and an important shawl.

The Shawl is important because Rosa uses it to cover the baby Magda. Rosa knows that if Magda is found she will be killed. Rosa and Magda became completely dependent on this shawl. For example, as stated in the book, “the shawl was Magda’s own baby, her pet, her little sister. She tangled herself up in it and sucked on one of the corners when she wanted to be very still. Then Stella took the shawl away and made Magda die. Not only did the baby Magda depend on the shawl for something to give her love to but she depended on it to keep her secure. Rosa depended on the shawl as well; she expected the shawl to keep Magda secure and fed. For instance, “Magda relinquished Rosa’s teats first the left, then the right; both were cracked, not a sniff of milk. The duct-crevice extinct, a dead volcano, blind eye, chill hole, so Magda took the corner of the shawl and milked it instead. She sucked and sucked, flooding the threads with wetness. The shawl’s good flavor, milk of linen.” When Rosa was not able to feed Magda she looked to the shawl for nourishment. Rosa also depended on the shawl to hold her sorrow. For instance, at the end of the first part of the book, Rosa looks to the shawl to hold in her pain when Magda died. “So she took Magda’s shawl and filled her own mouth with it, stuffed it in and stuffed it in, until she was swallowing up the wolf’s screech and tasting the cinnamon and almond depth of Magda’s saliva; and Rosa drank Magda’s shawl until it dried.

The shawl was an object that played a big part in the first part of the book. It became a necessity to Rosa and Magda and for that one moment when Stella stole the shawl everything seemed too changed.

Otsuka's Purpose

In the book “When the Emperor was Divine” there are many true events that occurred during the 1940’s. Many Japanese families had to live in Internment camps; in the novel, there was one family that the author told the story around. While this family was in these internment camps, they had to face many changes and overcome many hardships. It seems to be a tough time for the family living in those conditions left a permanent and damaging image in their minds. While this family spent three years of their lives in this environment, it seems to have taken a emotional and physical toll on them. It’s stories like “When the Emperor was divine” that America tries to hide and avoid but Julie Otsuka made sure that the reader got to get a feel of what it was really like for the Japanese living during these times.

After reading the book “When the Emperor was divine” it was obvious that Julie Otsuka had a clear purpose for writing this book. She wanted to show people the affect that the internment camps really had on the Japanese. She goes into detail about the physical and emotional changes that the characters experience. For instance, while the woman was in the internment camps she experienced a lot of physical and emotional changes.  The woman becomes depressed and her physical appearance starts to change. Her and her soon notices that changes that are going on in her face.

She stood in front of the mirror tracing the lines along her forehead and neck with her finger. “Is it the light.” She asked, “or are there bags under my eyes? “There’s bags.” She pointed to a wrinkle by her mouth. “See This?” He nodded.

I thought this quote was important because it really showed how much of a physical change that the internment camps caused for the woman. Throughout the book, Julie Otsuka uses much detail to describe many of the families hardships during their time spent in these camps. With Otsuka’s descriptive detail, the reader can almost picture their selves in the families’ shoes but can never relate. It would be hard to even imagine what many Japanese families went through but Otsuka gives readers an idea of what society was trying to hide.

Julie Outsuka's Imagery and Descriptive Detail

The book “When the Emperor Was Divine” is about a Japanese family, who had to evacuate California and leave their Americanized life behind to live in Internment camps in the Utah deserts.  When first reading this book, I noticed that the author presented a lot of imagery. The author goes into so much detail with the characters surroundings I can almost picture myself in the narrator’s shoes.  It was interesting how perfectly detailed the author narrated this book.

In the first chapter of the book “When the Emperor Was Divine” the author go into much detail about the dress the woman was wearing, her house, and her surroundings.  For example, “Outside the sun was warm and the palm fronds were clacking idly against the side of the house. She pulled on her white silk gloves and began to walk east on Ashby.” The author Julie Otsuka expressed so much detail from the warm sun to her silk gloves. Throughout the book there was much disruptive imagery. These descriptive details made me feel like I was in place of the character experiencing all these senses. I actually enjoyed the fact that the book was very detailed with the setting because it made me as the reader have a better understanding of where and when this book was taking place.

I believe that Outsuka’s purpose for making this novel so descriptive is because she wants the reader to feel like they are experiencing what the characters are experiencing. Even though nothing can compare to what these characters are and about to face, the reader can kind of get a sense of what the characters are seeing and having to go through. For example, when the 11 year old girl was on the train she was getting nausea on the train the woman was describing the smell that was making the girl sick. “Some of the passengers were sick from the uneven rocking of the cars and the crowded compartments smelled of vomit and sweat and faintly oranges.” This quote made me feel a little nausea reading it. Outsuka uses much imagery and descriptive detail to try to put the reader in the novel.

Questions I Have On The Novel "PUSH"

In the book “Push” there were a lot of situations and experiences that the main character Claireece Precious Jones goes through in her life. Precious’s life was not an easy one; she was basically born into a bad situation. Both Precious’s parents abused her in any way possible. Precious’s Father Carl Kenwood Jones repeatedly raped Precious, while her mother physically and emotionally battered her. After a while of dealing with this type of abuse, Precious’s self esteem was basically ruined.

After reading this book and seeing the experiences that Precious go through, it made me think of questions that I couldn’t seem to really find the answers to. For example, why did Precious’s Father hurt her by raping her? How can a man do that to his daughter? From what I have read, it seems as if Precious’s Father rapes her because it gives him a sense of power and control. But why did he take it as far as he did? He gave Precious not only one but two kids and basically ruined her childhood. To what extend can a father go to hurt his daughter? Even though this book is not based on a true story, this book shows real life events that do happen, especially to women. Other questions that I thought of are why was the mother so cruel to her own daughter? Why did she allow Precious Father to continuously rape her? It also shocked me that a mother can be so terrible to her own daughter; but with the pain Precious’s Mother caused, it seems as if there had to be a reason behind it. It seemed as if Precious’s Mother was jealous of the fact that Carl (Precious’s Father) wanted to sleep with Precious instead of her. Precious’s abuse from her mother was cruel; but it was the Mother‘s way of dealing with the situation.

As one can see, Precious had a very rough life which one would question, why was the parents making life so terrible for Precious?  It is a question that stayed on my mind throughout the whole book. I felt as if Precious was born into a bad situation with parents that just did not care about her, but how can two parents not care about their own child?

My First Reaction to "PUSH"

In the book “Push” the author Sapphire expresses some pretty graphic details of a young girl’s horrible experiences growing up. Claireece Precious Jones is the young girl presented in the novel “Push” that seemed to be failed by a lot of people in her life. When I use the word failed I am referring to all the people who let Precious down in her lifetime.  When I first started reading this book I was just shocked on how one person can be deceived by so many people.

As I was reading the novel “Push” I felt not only mad but surprised at the fact that the two people who caused the most problems in Precious’s life was her mother and father. Your parents are supposed to be the people who give you guidance love and affection, but in the book “Push” it was the total opposite. As in the book “Fun Home” Bechdel lacked love and affection from her parents but I felt they never failed her to the extent that Precious’s parents did. With having a mom who is jealous of you and a dad who is constantly forcing you into sex and creating babies with you, Precious had a life that one can only imagine.

I feel that everybody has a moment in their life that they feel as if their parents have failed them, but with Precious this feeling lasted a lifetime. Precious had to grow up real fast because of the situation she was born into and I found that fact to be real heart breaking. This book is not only an explicit book to read but it is a book that has many tragic experiences. My first reaction to this book after reading the first couple of chapters was WOW! This book is going to be a book I’m going to feel many emotions towards.

Bechdel's Identification of Sexuality

In the book “fun Home” there are a lot of issues with family attachment and sexuality that Bechdel points out to the reader. For instance, Bechdel mentions the fact that her father had a secret pertaining to his sexuality. Bechdel also mentions how she found her own sexuality in the novel. The book “Fun Home” presents people who are dealing with problems identifying who they are.  To be specific, there were two main characters who dealt with problems finding themselves throughout the book and that was the author Alison Bechdel and her father Bruce.

                Bruce used his obsession for decorating to escape from the unhappy life that he was living. Being married to a woman and having three children was not the life Bruce wanted to live, but it was a life that was presentable and to Bruce image was everything. Bechdel assumes that this hidden side of Bruce led to him feeling trapped and depressed which led to his so called “suicide” (which Bechdel is not really sure of). Bruce was not the only one who had a hard time identifying with who they are. Bechdel had a little trouble with finding herself as well. Towards the end of the book Bechdel starts to express the feeling and show the readers the feeling she had for women.

                In the book “Fun Home” there was a lot of quietness within Bechtel’s family, and I don’t mean real silence; there was a sort of emotional silence. Bechdel parents did not communicate well with her or her siblings. She grew up having parents who tried to escape the life they created.  Bechdel did not grow up in a household where she felt close to her family. At home is where one should feel the most love and affection but for Bechdel it was totally opposite.

Bechdel's weird family

In the book “Fun Home,” Bechdel goes into detail about the many problems that goes on in her very unique and awkward family. For example, Bechdel compares her family to the Addams family, which is a cartoon about a sort of strange family. “It was somewhere during those early years that I began confusing us with the Adams Family” Bechdel states while observing her family actions and personality.  

Bechdel’s relationship with her father was also a strange one. Bechdel’s Father (Bruce) had sort if an attachment problem with his family especially his children. Bruce spent more time on decorating his house than paying attention to his children. For example, Bechdel states, “I grew to resent the way my father treated his furniture like children, and his children like furniture.” Bechdel was showing the reader the way she felt about her father’s attachment problems. He showed more of an attachment to the material things in his house than the people he suppose to love. This problem eventually led to Bechdel resenting her father for a long time. When Bruce died, Bechdel did not have the normal reaction that a grieving daughter would have. For example, at her father’s funeral, Bechdel wondered what it would be like if people spoke the truth. She states, “There’s no mystery! He killed himself because he was a manic-depressive closeted fag and he couldn’t face living in this small-minded small town one more second.” Bechdel shows her inner feelings about her father’s death in that statement.

Bechdel wrote this book to show people how unique and weird her family was. She had a detached father who had a secret love for teenage boys; and a mother who was more interested in her master’s thesis and her play than her daughters first period. Throughout her life, Bechdel never got the love and affection that a child usually receives from their mother and father.

Bechdel's Purpose For Creating A Graphic Novel

In the book “Fun Home” Bechdel expresses her autobiography through pictures. This book was one of the first graphic novels I have ever read. This novel is unique because of the fact that Bechdel uses a sort of different way to tell her story. What was Bechdel’s purpose for using comics to write this novel? What was her purpose for writing and creating the novel “Fun Home”?

When starting to read this book, I really did not understand why an author would put pictures in a novel. As I continued reading the book I noticed that Bechdel’s pictures and comics went well with the emotion she was writing about. For instance, throughout the book the father’s facial expression was always plain and usually did not express any emotion.  I feel that without the comics that Bechdel presents in the novel, readers would not have realized Bruce’s (the father) detached emotion. Throughout the book Bruce seems distant from his family; he does not show the love and affection that a father usual shows towards their wife and children. Considering his job as an undertaker, he really had no choice but to have detached emotions, and the graphics really showed that.

I feel that Bechdel’s purpose of writing this novel was to tell her story in a way that was unusual but different. She was successful in separating herself from other authors and making her novel stand out from the ordinary autobiographies. My first reaction to the novel was that it was a weird book to read; but once I actually continued reading it and going through every chapter, I realized that this book is unique and an interesting read. This book not only kept my attention with its words but with its very detailed and descriptive pictures following the story Bechdel was telling. This book is a novel that sticks out from any piece of work I have ever read.

"Fun Home" My First Interpretation

The graphic novel “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel is a unique book that tells a lot through its graphic description.  Bechdel makes herself the main character in this novel because the book is about her childhood. Bechdel says a lot through not only words but through her comics presented in the book. Each picture gives a clear image of the emotion she is trying to express. With each quote she has a picture to follow which gives the reader a perfect sense of imagery. Even though this book was not like any novel I have read in the past, I seem to find a certain attraction to the details in the pictures that followed the words she wrote.

When I first started reading the book “Fun Home” I already had certain implications and assumptions about the novel. For instance, when I read the title Fun Home, I assumed that the book would be for a younger audience.  Also after seeing the pictures I thought the author was implying that this book was going to be for younger readers. When I got into the novel, I saw that the dialect was definitely not written for a younger audience.  When I read the fact that Bruce (Bechdel’s father) had a liking to teenage boys I knew that Bechdel was definitely writing a story that was meant for adult crowd.  

My first interpretation of the book was that this book was weird and very out of the ordinary. Once I got into reading the first couple of chapters, I thought that this was a unique way to tell a story. Bechdel chose a unique style to tell her family’s life and story. Not only was this book full of graphics but it is a true story about the author’s life. I found it very interesting how an author can tell a true story through pictures.

Alvarez Accomplishments With Writing "In The Time of the Butterflies"

Reading “In the Time of the Butterflies” was not only an interesting novel to read but an inspiring story that tells a lot about women rights. When I first started reading this book, I did not really understand what the author Alvarez was trying to accomplish with writing this piece. Now that I have finished this book, the message Alvarez was trying to express became obvious to me.

For a long time women have been limited to certain rights but no one ever speaks up. In the novel “In the Time of the Butterflies” one of the main characters named Minerva spoke up and fought for what she believed was right. Desperate to prove people wrong, Minerva went off to law school to show people in her nation that women can be just as successful in practicing law as well.  After finishing law school but being denied a degree, Minerva felt even more ambitious about over throwing the government.  Alvarez was trying to address the problems with women rights by showing the conflicts women go through just to be heard. Alvarez used this true story based on the death of the Mirabal Sisters to express the true life conflicts with women.

With writing this piece, Alvarez addressed the roles of women back in those times and certain roles of women that still are followed today. For example, in the beginning of the book, when discussing Patria’s idea of becoming a nun, Papa the (Mirabal Sister’s father) states in this quote “More than once, he said that Patria as a nun would be a waste of a pretty girl.” This statement implied that the only expectations Papa had for his girls were to be some man’s wife one day.  Alvarez pointed out the fact that women in those days were meant to only be mothers and wives and not lawyers like Minerva hoped to be. Alvarez showed readers that women are told not to have a voice but through the character Minerva she also shows the moral of speaking up and standing for what is right. Alvarez accomplished getting across an important message to women and to all readers.

"Minerva"

The book “In the Time of the Butterflies” is a tragedy that is based on a true story. The book goes into details about a number of events that happen involving a leader who also came off as a dictator named Trujillo.  Maribal Sister’s lost their lives (except Dede)  trying to fight against an unfair government. After reading this novel there was one sister that stuck out the most and that was Minerva.

Minerva shows her strength throughout the book by not living by the limitations that are put on women. Minerva was out spoken and wanted to do things she was told that should could not accomplish because of her gender. For instance, in chapter twelve Minerva states, “Papa always complained that, of his four girls, I should have been the boy born to cut loose. First, I wanted to go to boarding school, then university.” Throughout the book Minerva seemed to be the sister that never settled for less than what she wanted.

Even though Minerva was not the oldest out of the three sisters, she definitely seemed like the leader. Minerva played a big role in trying to fight for what she believed. Minerva did not let anyone stop her not even Trujillo, the person everyone feared; she did not give in to the fear that he had put upon many people.

In this book Minerva’s strength is shown through the events that she faces. For example, “Here we all thought El Jefe had relented against our family and let Minerva enroll in law school. But really what he was planning all along was to let her study for five whole years only to render that degree useless in the end.” After being able to attend law school and actually finishing, Minerva was withheld from getting her degree. This situation just made Minerva stronger in the long run and more eager to fight against Trujillo and his government.

Dede's Timeline From "In the Time of the Butterflies"

v  Around 1925 – Dede’s birth

v  1938 – Dede goes away to Immaculada Concepcion

v  1943 – Dede’s Father gives fortune of Dede; beginning of the end, resistance beginning of the involvement of the Las Mariposas

v  1948 – Dede Marries Jaimito (who is also her cousin)

v  1949 – (October 12) Dede goes to the discovery day dance with Minerva which is where there conflict starts with the Maribal Sisters and the government

v  1954 – Dede and Jaimito moves back to family farm and they already have  2 children

v  1950 – Ice cream shop fails

v  1959 – Patria ask Dede if group could be held at the family farm

v  1960 – The Maribal sisters continued to ask about using property; Dede did not get involed

v  1994 – Dede is now living in Dominican Republic in Ojo De Agua, At the Family Farm house while running the museum and is still involved with her nieces and nephews, she is the only sister left alive

      Dede’s Life

"In The Time of The Butterflies" The Role of Mama and Papa

The book “In the Time of the Butterflies” presents four girls from the Dominican Republic who are sisters. This novel says a lot about the role people play in family life. For instance, when Patria was discussing with her father (Papa) her plan to leave to go to Inmmaculada Concepcion to become a nun, Papa had a sort of a protective attitude. Papa had a reaction that a father would usually have with his daughter(s). Minerva insisted that her Dede should follow to look after one another but Papa still had his fatherly doubts. For example, in this quote where Minerva is talking to Papa, “He pulled me to his lap and said, “And who is going to chaperone you? “ “Dede,” I said, so all three of us could go together. He pulled a long face. If all my little chickens go, what will become of me?”  Papa sounds like he is highly disappointed that his daughters are thinking about leaving him.

                The mother of the daughters who is also known as Mama, sort of convinces Papa that their daughters need education. She explains how without education having cash does not really mean much. Also it seems as if the mother is more in favor of her daughters getting an education because of the education she lacks. For example, “Enrique, those girls need some learning. Look at us” Mama had never admitted it, but I suspected she couldn’t even read.” In their family it seem like the Mother (Mama) is the parent who wants her daughter s to have what she did not receive such as an education. And the Father (Papa), who also wants the best for his daughters, often show an over protective side. In my opinion it is common for a Mother and Father to act like Mama and Papa in the novel “In the Time of the Butterflies.”

While reading this chapter where Minerva is speaking, I realized another character trait that Papa seems to have. I got a sense of a little insecurity in his personality from this quote, “Papa caved in again, but said one of us had to stay to help mind the store. He always had to add a little something to whatever Mama came up with. Mama said he was just putting his mark on everything so no one could say Enrique Mirabel didn’t wear the pants in his family.” This quote shows how insecure Papa was when it came to being the head of his family. Even though Papa brought in the money, he still felt like he had to prove that he was the one that was in charge of his family.

Questions I asked myself after reading "The Epilogue"

The book I Am an Emotional Creature, says a lot about young girls and the feelings they have as emerging women. In the epilogue, Ensler goes into details about what is expected of women and what women should expect from their selves. For instance Ensler states many sayings and quotes that young females will be told in their life. The epilogue implies that people make the world seem like a scary place where women can’t express who they are nor can show independence.  For instance, Ensler sates quotes like, “find a man, the world is a scary place, and you can’t trust anyone.”  This shows the many scary thoughts that are put in the minds of many young girls.

After reading the epilogue, a number of questions appeared in my mind.  Who makes up these implications that Ensler addresses? Why women are told these things and are expected to follow these unofficial rules? For instance, Ensler states, “Don’t be so intense don’t cry so much.” Who expects women to be this way and act a certain way?  Why can’t women (girls) cry so much and be intense?  Why should women or girls be told how to act and how to express their own feelings? These are the many questions that I instantly thought of when reading Ensler’s epilogue to the piece I Am an Emotional Creature.

In my opinion, it is wrong that women have so many limitations to how to feel and how to act. It is very rare for men and boys to have limitations on what to say or do. Women have to be afraid of being ridiculed by men about how they act or look. For example, the poem “My Short Skirt.” addresses the problem with people especially men assuming that a woman wearing something short is implying that she wants sex. So because of that implication, women are told often to cover up in a society where it is okay for men to walk around shirtless.

In the second part of the epilogue, Ensler rebels against what women are told with what she is telling them. She attacks every thing that women are told and tells women to think for them self, never be afraid to express your feelings, and don’t be afraid to be you.

"Bad Boys" Versus "What's A Good Girl"

In the book, I Am an Emotional Creature, Eve Ensler who is also the author of The Vagina Monologues, creates a book for young women filled with many short stories and poetry. Ensler goes into detail about the experiences and problems that young women go through in life. This book was not as explicit and a little more toned down from The Vagina Monologues to fit a younger audience. Ensler focuses most of her ideas and topics on women in many of her books, she explores their personal feelings and experiences as a women. She creates really interesting pieces that all women ranging from the ages of 10 to 70 can relate to.

In the book, I Am an Emotional Creatures, there were two poems that really caught my attention and that was “Bad Boy” and “What’s A Good Girl.” These two poems caught my attention because they seemed to relate to one another. For instance, “Bad Boy” is a poem that is being told by a female narrator who begins describing a bad boy just like her and then starts describing her bad traits; but the poem “What’s A Good Girl” seem to discuss the opposite. The poem “What’s A Good Girl” which also seem to be told by a female narrator, describes what a good girl is supposed to be. For example, In “Bad Boy” the narrator states, “I’m not the person they want me to be my mother wants a perfect family I don’t believe in perfect.” I found this quote to be similar to “What’s A Good Girl” because there are many quotes that the narrator say that implies that there is a sense of being pressured to be perfect. For example, in “What’s A Good Girl” it states, “Follows her parents in everything even though she disagrees.” After reading these two poems, I felt as if the poems were going against each other. With the girl in “Bad Boys” rebellious ways versus a girl who follows her parents expectations these poems seem to have different views but same concept.

Even though “I am an Emotional Creature” seem like a less mature version of “The Vagina Monologues,” I felt that there were certain stories and poems that I was able to relate to as an adult women. Some stories reminded me of experience and feelings I had as a female emerging into womanhood.

In the book The Vagina Monologues, there are so many interviews and stories that are very personal and openly discussed.  This books purpose was to open women’s eyes to the word vagina, and as a reader, this book definitely caught my attention. With Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Facts” and unique questions, she really nailed it with the true definition of Vagina.

As Ensler tells these stories that are inspired by other women and conduct these interviews, she catches a lot of the reader’s attention. For example, one interview that caught my attention was “The Flood” which was an interesting but kind of funny story to me. The female presented in that story was embarrassed by something that is natural for women when excited. The narrator states, “I couldn’t control it. It was like this force of passion, this river of life just flooded out of me right through my panties.” The boy in this particular story was discussed by her when it was a normal reaction. I also thought it was funny that she was even embarrassed considering it was a natural thing that happens to women.  Some of the interviews were also interesting. For instance, the interviews that Ensler took when she dealt with young teen women. In “I was twelve. My mother slapped me” many young girls expressed their feelings about the first time they stepped into women when they experienced getting their period.  One of the young girls sates, “In junior high—brown drips before it came. Coincided with a little hair under my arms, which grew unevenly: one armpit had hair, the other didn’t. “Ensler never held back with the information she received from these girls when it came to writing and publishing The Vagina Monologues.

The Vagina Monologues was a book that opened my eyes to the true meaning of the word “Vagina.” Finally, someone has created a voice for women. The vagina is a body part that women keep secret and don’t talk about and Ensler changes that through this piece.

The Word "Vagina" !!!

In the book The Vagina Monologues, the author Eve Ensler goes into deeper meaning about the word vagina and how it is a word that is really kept sacred. Ensler explores the word vagina going into detail about her own experiences and expressing her opinions about her vagina. Ensler interviews all types of women from many different places and who have many different ethnic backgrounds. The interviews are very opinionated, explicit, and openly discussed, which makes this piece of work very popular and an interesting read.

In The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler interviews women and gets very opinionated and personal thoughts about what women think about their vagina. For example, in the monologue “Hair,” the narrator went into a personally discussion about shaving her vagina. The narrator states, “My first and only husband hated hair. He said it was cluttered and dirty. He made me shave my vagina.” These are thoughts that I would never share with anyone if I had the same issue as the narrator in this particular monologue. Throughout the book the monologues just gets more personal and more opinionated about the vagina.

When I first started reading the Vagina Monologues I thought to myself “WOW! The word choice of this book is pretty explicit. As I got into the book and continued reading more monologues, I couldn’t even put the book down. This book made me look at the word “vagina” in a whole new light. Even though as a women I wouldn’t be able to openly talk about my vagina as the women presented in the monologues, but this book is starting to make me feel more comfortable with the word “vagina”. When talking about anything having to do with a women’s vagina many people make it seem like the vagina is a forbidden thing to talk about. Ensler changes that in her book. She makes the word “vagina” seem as a regularly used word that nobody should be ashamed of especially women. After realizing Ensler’s purpose of the book, it made me feel happy to read this piece of work.

As a college student, I have to buy many books for my classes that I usually return when the semester is over. After purchasing and reading The Vagina Monologues, I have come to the conclusion that this is a book I may have to keep. I’ve only read a part of the book and now I have a whole new insight on the word “vagina.”

Final Thoughts on Krik? Krak!

In the book Krik Krak, there are many stories about Haitian women who experience challenging situations. For example, the book presents stories about women who deal with prostitution, failed pregnancies, love, incarceration, and death. None of these stories have any relations to each other except the fact that they all present a woman as a significant character.

The author, Edwidge Danticat, uses women in her stories to show how women are related through the problems they face. For instance, in the epilogue, Danticat mentions the importance about woman and their mothers and grandmothers who made the way for them. For example, the narrator states, “Your mother who looked like your grandmother and her grandmother before her. Your mother had two rules for living. Always use your ten fingers, which in her parlance meant that you should be the best little cook and housekeeper who ever lived.” In this statement, Danticat was showing the reader how significant women are in family. Danticat refers to a mother daughter or grandmother and granddaughter relationship throughout the book. For example, in the story, “Between the Pool and the Gardenias,” Danticat writes about a woman who finds a dead baby and out of desperation to be a mother she keeps the baby as her own. In the story, “Nineteen Thirty-Seven,” a woman named Josephine experienced the death of her mother who was killed in a prison. All these stories show the role woman play in family.

Overall Krik Krak was an enjoyable book to read with many heartbreaking but inspiring stories about the struggles of Haitian women. Each story had a deeper meaning that caught my attention. For example, the story “Children of the sea,” was not only about the attack of the tonton macoutes, but it was a love story between two teenagers. Danticat’s usage of metaphors and imagery really gave me a better understanding of this reading. Danticat succeeded with writing an interesting piece of work.

Marie: The Mother who Never had a Chance

In the book Krik Krak, the story, “Between the Pool and the Gardenias,” presents a woman named Marie, who is a maid that finds a dead baby on a dusty curb. Marie takes the baby and treats her as her own. She acts as if she is alive and even gives her the name Rose. Marie has dealt with a cheating husband and had many miscarriages in her past. As Marie keeps the baby, she tells her stories and admires her as if she was alive. As the baby starts to decay, Marie finally decides to bury the dead baby but she gets caught be the Dominican pool cleaner that she once slept with. He accuses Marie of killing the baby.

In the story, “Between the Pool and the Gardenias,” Marie seems to be a woman who is desperate to be a mother. Due to her constant failed pregnancies, she feels as if she has a second chance when she sees Rose on the curb. For instance, Marie states, “She looked the way that I had imagines all my little girls would look. The ones my body could never hold.” Marie took the baby knowing she was dead because she wanted a baby very badly; it was like she was able to live out her dream to be a mother for one day. For example, Marie goes into more detail about giving Rose all the things she was not able to give the children that she miscarried. “I could give her all the clothes that I had sewn for them. All these little dresses that went unused.” From this quote one can tell that not only was Marie desperate for a child, but she was hoping to give birth to a little girl.  

In this story it is obvious to the reader that Marie has lived a hard life. She has tried many times to have children of her own but had them taking away. She had accepted the fact that her husband was cheating on her. For example, when Marie observes the baby she thinks it could be a trap, “She might have been some kind of wagna, a charm sent to trap me. My enemies were many and crafty. The girls who slept with my husband while I was still grieving over my miscarriages.” Not only does Marie experiences heart break with her husband, but she made love with the Dominican pool cleaner who never spoke to her afterwards. Now as Marie tries to bury the dead daughter she that imagined was hers, The Dominican pool cleaner assumes she is doing something evil and threatens to get her in trouble. It is obvious to the reader that Marie’s life never gets better.  

Thought's on the story "Night Women"

In the book “Krik Krak” the story “Night Women,” presents a woman that is a prostitute who sleeps with men in front of her sleeping son. After she puts her son to sleep every night, the women brings in married men on certain days of the week. The woman makes up fabrications to tell her son just in case he awakes while she is working. She tells her son that his father, who is her dead husband, will be brought from heaven by an angel.

In the story “Night Women,” the reader gets a sense of how beautiful the woman is and that she uses that to her advantage to get work. For example, when the woman asks one of the married men that come on Tuesdays and Saturdays, “How is your wife?” He simply replies, “Not as beautiful as you.” I feel that the woman feels like she has to sleep with men because there is not any other job for her available. For instance, The woman states, “These women, they destroy their toil so that they will always have more to do. And as long as there’s work, they will not have to lie next to the lifeless soul a man whose scent still lingers in another woman’s bed.” In this quote, I felt as if there was a sense of guilt the woman was feeling from sleeping with married men.

Even though the women presented in the story calls herself a day and night women, there is a reason for the title “Night Women.” In this quote, the woman explains that she is a day and night woman, “There are two kinds of women: day women and night women. I am stuck between the day and night in a golden amber bronze.” She is describing her physical appearance in this quote. But in my opinion, the title of the story is not named “Night Women” because of the woman’s appearance. The significance of the title is that the woman does her work at night next to her sleeping son. The women don’t work during the day like women would regularly do at a regular job.

In my opinion, this story shows what women sometimes feel like they have to do to make a living for their children and them self. From practicing her prostitution profession next to her sleeping son, to making up fabrications about her work to her son; this woman was doing what she felt like she had to do.  

 

Teresa's Beginning Interpretation of “Krik Krak”

In the book “Krik Krak,” there are two narrators, a male and a female, who are very much in love. As tonton macoutes took over their home town, the male narrator tries to escape on a boat with many others. As the two are apart, they write journals that record every little detail on everything going on in each other’s lives hoping to exchange journals when reuniting.

In this book, the tonton macoutes seem to be torturing many people and taking over Haiti. While reading this book, I was reminded of many other massacres that took place in the world. In the book “Krik Krak,” the author goes into great detail on how the soldiers killed and forced people to do things. For instance, the female narrator explains what the soldiers would do, “If they come into a house and there is a son and mother there, they hold a gun to their heads. They make son sleep with his mother. If it is a daughter and father, they do the same thing.” These stories that both narrators tell reminds me of all the war related violence that happened in other nations such as Africa, Iraq, and Asia etc. While reading this book, I thought about genocides that has taken place in certain nations in the past and even today.

It amazes me how despite everything going on in Haiti, the two narrators are able to keep a love so strong in the beginning of the book. But the female narrator fails to work on the relationship she has with her father. It seems as if the father always resented her for choosing to love a man he disapproves of. Just from reading the beginning of the book it seems as if the father has a dictator personality towards his family. For instance, as the female narrator’s mother (manman) states, “The soldiers can come and do with us what they want. That makes papa feel weak, she says. He gets angry when he feels weak.” The father has a problem with feeling weak when he can’t protect his family and he shows his controlling side when he opposes his daughter’s love for the male narrator. The book “Krik Krak” has many connections that can be made to true life situations.

Teresa's interpretation of the poem, “Biography of an Armenian School Girl”

In 19 Varieties of Gazelle, the poem “Biography of an Armenian School Girl,” explains how Nye’s culture and gender keeps her from advancing in life. Nye explains how one day she is going to have to marry a man that is chosen for her. For example, Nye states, “What is the history of Europe to us if we cannot choose our own husband?” Nye also explains how strict her culture can be. For instance, Nye says in this quote, “But they teach algebra. They pull our hair back and examine our nails.” Nye later goes into detail about how she would like to travel away from that life and the culture she follows. “I would fly out of here travel, I say I would go so far away my life would be a small thing behind me.” Nye shows how she wants to explore other cultures than her own in this poem.

There are many cultures that engage in arrange marriages, just as Nye feels, not every women are happy with the husband that is chosen for them. Nye explains how she feels, “How will I sleep with him, I who have never slept away from my mother.” Nye obviously does not feel positive about having a man chosen for her.

The purpose of this poem was to show how Nye feels towards her culture. For instance, she explains the fact that one day she will have a husband chosen for her and how strict school is. She explains how her life is as an Armenian school girl. In my opinion, Nye felt negative towards the strict schools and the arranged marriages. She says she wants to “travel” but I interpret that as running away. After reading this poem, it seemed as if Nye wants to run away from the culture she is taught to follow.

Father & The Figtree

In the 19 Varieties of Gazelle the writer’s Father is presented in the poem “My Father and The figtree.” This poem expresses a lot of information about the father’s personality and how important the figtree is to him. Nye, the writer and narrator, states how her father always found a way to mention the figtree in all his folktales he use to recite to her. For example, Nye states, “Even when it didn’t fit, he’d stick it in.” referring to her father’s obsession with mentioning the fig tree. In this poem it is obvious that the figtree holds much importance to the Father.

            In the text, the figtree is a symbol that represents the Father’s Arabic culture, childhood, and innocence. The father had shown a certain dedication to the figtree because of what it represented to him. But there was never a real figtree, for example, Nye states, “Years passed, we lived in many houses none had figtrees.” Which brings up the question, if figtrees were so significant to the Narrator’s father, then why he never planted one?

            In my opinion, the Father never wanted to plant a figtree but it was a huge symbol for generosity of the world. For instance, After Nye’s father chanted a song to her she states, “It’s a figtree song! He said, plucking his fruits like ripe tokens, emblems, assurance of a world that was always his own.” Nye’s Father symbolized the figtree as a gift that was naturally given to him.

The poem “The Father and the Figtree,” was presented to show a significant symbol and to shows the father’s dedication to his home and his culture. The father comes off as nostalgic, and he uses the figtree to remember his childhood. The father always found a way to mention the figtree because of its importance to him and his family’s culture.