The story was written in the first person, narrated by an unnamed, little, Chinese girl. Her mother believes that anyone in America can become anything, and wants her child to be famous. So she tests her daughter every night with crazy things in attempt to find her hidden talent, what she calls her "prodigy". After seeing a child muscician prodigy on the Ed Sullivan Show (who is also a little Chinese girl with a Peter Pan haircut), she arranges to have her daughter take piano lessons with Mr.Chong. The narrator doesn't want to play the piano and doesn't try, she gets away with this because her teacher is deaf. At a talent show the narrator tries her hardest, but is so used to failing that she plays it poorly and is horrible.Her mother tells her that there are two kinds of daughters, obediant and disobediant. Years later the narrator returns to her old home (her mother has died recently)and plays the piano again, the songs: "Pleading Child" and "Perfectly Contented". She realizes that they are both parts of the same song.
The story is about trying to be someone you're not. It tells of a little girl who just wants to be what she is, nothing more, which is an unusually enlightened point of view for someone. She ends up being less than she can be because of trying to not live up to her mother's impossibly high expectations. I found this story very sad, but I still liked it. I also enjoyed the ending where she is finally at peace with herself and both parts of her personality. At the end she compares herself to the two songs and how they are different, but also just parts of the same song.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
#23 Week 5- The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant pg. 187-192
Mrs. Loisel is a beautiful, charming woman who was born to a poor family of "clerks and copyists". She finally marries a "minor clerk in the Ministry of Education", and lives a humble life, believing that she deserves more. One day they are invited to attend a dinner, which her husband believes she will be delighted by, but she isn't, instead she worries about her lack of good clothing and jewelry. So she buys a dress and borrows a real-looking diamond necklace from her friend Mrs.Forrestier. The day of the dance she is a hit, but loses the necklace, so she buys a real one and spends ten years paying it back. At the end of the story her friend reveals that the necklace was a fake.
I think that this story was about being grateful for what you have because your situation could always be worse, and everything you have could be taken away. I did not like the character of Mrs.Loisel because she was so ungrateful and put such stress on her husband who loves her. She finally begins to realize what she had and what she lost, and becomes grateful for her life. I thought that the ending was comical, yet horrible. All that work that Mr. and Mrs. Loisel had to do was for nothing. Mrs. Loisel should have told her friend what happened at the beginning, and I think that was another lesson: be truthful, it will save you a lot of trouble.
I think that this story was about being grateful for what you have because your situation could always be worse, and everything you have could be taken away. I did not like the character of Mrs.Loisel because she was so ungrateful and put such stress on her husband who loves her. She finally begins to realize what she had and what she lost, and becomes grateful for her life. I thought that the ending was comical, yet horrible. All that work that Mr. and Mrs. Loisel had to do was for nothing. Mrs. Loisel should have told her friend what happened at the beginning, and I think that was another lesson: be truthful, it will save you a lot of trouble.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
#22 Week 4- Miss Brill Katherine Mansfield pg. 183-186
Miss Brill, the narrator of the story, goes to the "Jardines Publiques" [Public Gardens] during "the Season". She wears a fur coat and sits in her usual spot. She watches the lives of others unfold. An elderly couple sit on the bench next to her, but don't speak, children play and couples reunite. She comes to the realization that everything going on around her is a play and she is an actress. Then a young couple sit next to her, and make speak rudely of her. She leaves quickly, going home without getting her usual bread. She puts her coat away and is crying.
I thought that Miss Brill was young, at first. Nursing an older man, possibly her father, or maybe she is a nurse helping a rich elderly man. I find her strange, so interested in the lives of others, and they don't even pay attention to her. By the end of the story I finally pieced together who Miss Brill is. I believe she is an elderly English teacher whose husband she nursed until he died, and seeks the comfort and joy of people so she goes to the park and watches them. The story was very sad and I really didn't like the young couple that was very mean to her.
I thought that Miss Brill was young, at first. Nursing an older man, possibly her father, or maybe she is a nurse helping a rich elderly man. I find her strange, so interested in the lives of others, and they don't even pay attention to her. By the end of the story I finally pieced together who Miss Brill is. I believe she is an elderly English teacher whose husband she nursed until he died, and seeks the comfort and joy of people so she goes to the park and watches them. The story was very sad and I really didn't like the young couple that was very mean to her.
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