Glossary Term

I want to present my glossary term tomorrow since I found the actual word in our reading of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. There are also a few examples, which I find helped me out a lot as far as presenting the term goes. The word is "idiom." It means, "a phrase established by usage and not immediately comprehensible form the words used." That was the definition from the Oxford Dictionary. Oskar's Grandma's examples from the novel we're reading are, "Chew the fat. Blow off some steam. Close but no cigar. Rings a bell" (80). Oskar himself often uses an idiom when he talks about things making his boots heavier of lighter. So I tought it seemed like a decent time to share my glossary term!

My First Encounter With a Graphic Novel

Satrapi's "Persepolis" was the first graphic novel I have ever even picked up. It was a good experience, I really enjoyed it and could see myself getting into her other 3 follow-up stories, or some other graphic novels. I still like regular, written novels better just because it leaves the scene and characters up to the reader's imagination. However, I think it was an interesting experience being able to see the characters' reactions based on the memory of the author. The fact that this was a memoir made the story more intriguing for me because it was about a history and culture I am pretty clueless about, so I felt like it was for my educational benefit to read this "comic book." I guess I felt a little more justified in sitting around at Hillside reading it while everyone gave me strange looks for reading a picture book, because of the historical context. I think it's also an important culture to be introduced to as an American; we have so much background in the Middle East yet not many Americans know anything at all about that culture. Marjane's age was important to the story as well; since it began when she was so young, you could see her opinions and values changed throughout the story like any normal child's development into the person they grow to be. I think she was the main character but the story wasn't just about her, it was a kind of history and since she was a child, Satrapi found ways to bring her parents secretly into the main picture. They were the ones who explained most of what was going on in the country, and they helped shape her political activism. As Americans I think we can find it easy to read about what we think of as such a different, distant place. From Satrapi's eyes, Iran seemed similar to America, minus the religious revolution and dictatorship. In this way, readers are able to sympathize with the "actual" people of Iran, instead of focusing on the religious extremists. I think if many young Americans get their hands on this book, it might help us understand the history of Iran more and get our minds out of the immediate "terrorist" mode. It's interesting that Marji wanted to be a prophet because in way she kind of is. She has written down her version of a period in history, and in such a way that makes it easy and fun to read.

Strange Fantasy

Having read Susanna Clarke's novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel, I think I probably enjoyed her short story more because I was used to her writing style. She jumps around from place to place quite often, which I think is meant to inspire a sense that something mysterious is going on in each place, but the reader is allowed the ability to secretly view the mystery. Still, the reader isn't in on everything, the characters' personalities and secrets are usually pretty hard to read. Also, I think if I hadn't read her novel, I would be thoroughly confused reading this short story. A lot of the plot and characters revert back to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Jonathan Strange is actually one of the main characters in this short story, which I found intriguing but also kind of unoriginal. The short story actually seems to have taken place before the end of her novel, which makes me feel like this story was supposed to be in the novel, but the novel was too long already so she had to make them separate! Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was one of those books I could have read every day for the rest of my life, though, so I really enjoyed hearing more of the story. I just love the way Clarke writes about magic, like it's a well-known fact that it exists and if you try really hard you can find a gateway to the fairy world. She definitely made me believe in the Raven King, what can I say.

On another note, I ended up being pleased but saddened at the ending of Never Let Me Go. The last couple pages were beautiful, I certainly cried. I was upset at how nonchalantly Kathy left Tommy for the last time, though. There did not seem to be enough emotion in that scene, and it made me think maybe these kids do have a little less soul than others. But the last couple pages kind of made up for that I suppose. I love the fact that they were let down by the reality of no deferrals, and how Miss Emily and Madame explained the truth to Kathy and Tommy. This was like when a child, being told by your parents that there is really no Santa Claus...sorry if I spoiled it for someone. It is also like realizing that we really don't have much time to live; we can't get deferrals in real life either. Of course, I still have no answer as to why Kathy and Tommy didn't just run away from it all. I must admit I had my doubts about this book in the beginning, but I felt myself really involved in the characters' lives and very saddened by the idea of them having to go through what they did.