CI 5442: LIterature for Adolescent

Abdullahi Bashir
CI 5442
12-14-09

1)



Morrison. Toni. (June 2004). Beloved.
New York: Vintage Books, A division of Random House, Inc.
ISBN: 1400033411

This novel is inspired by a real historical incident.  It takes place in post Civil War in Ohio.  Beloved deals with the tale of a woman (Sethe) who is haunted by her own daughter that she murdered in order to spare her from the trauma of slavery.  This novel gives the reader a portrayal of the cruel inhuman system known as slavery and its everlasting psychological damage.

2)



Roble, Abdi. Rutledge, Doug. (2005). The Somali  Diaspora: A Journey Away.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
ISBN: 0816654573

This nonfiction book is centered around the Somali Diaspora.  Abdi Roble is a photographer who works with Dough Rutledge the writer.  Together they document the lives of several Somali families as they accompanied them through their journey from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya and as they followed them through the United States.  This text included beautiful visuals/photos that will leave you gasping for more.  **** If you would like to see these photos, visit the Wiseman Museum (at the U of M) and explore the Somali Diaspora exhibition.

3)



Lewis. C.S. (July 1994). The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN: 0064471047

This fantasy novel is geared towards adolescent children.  The Chronicles of Narnia deals with four youths who travel through a wardrobe into the supernatural land of Narnia.  There they meet Aslan (the lion) and they decide to assist him as he battles against the white witch.  

4)



Clements. Andrew. (March 2004). Things Not Seen.
Penguin Group (USA). ISBN: 0142400769

This science fiction novel is centered around Bobby Phillips a 15 year old who feels invisible actually ends up being invisible.  His parents force him to keep this incident a secret.  He confides in a blind girl by the name of Alicia Van Dorn.  Together they try to investigate what lead to his invisible.

Abdullahi Bashir
12-07-09
CI 5442
                Graphic Novel: American Born Chinese
American Born Chinese is a great source of entertainment, with a wonderful lesson and superb characters.  It contains three tales that somehow merges together in the end.  As a high school student, I used to love reading comics.  Reading this graphic novel, reminds me of those comics.  I forgot that I was even reading.  I wonder why?  Just because it contains cartooned illustration we view it as entertainment rather than reading.  Perhaps graphic novels might be the remedy for "boys who don't like reading."  And don't get me wrong, I love reading but reading this novel felt more like an entertaining task rather than reading.

    Although American Born Chinese seems like a comic tale, it contains issues that adults have hard time grasping.   It deals with stereotypes and discrimination.  In the first tale, the Monkey King is denied access to a dinner party because he is a monkey and does not wear shoes.  In the second tale, Jin Wang struggles to fit in.  He is the only Chinese-American student in his school, he is bullied and he feels completely isolated.  As a Somali in America, I have felt this feeling of isolation numerous of times.  Furthermore, during the passage where Jin's teacher mispronounced his name, memories of my high school days came to mind.  Teachers mispronounced my name countless of times.  To some it might not seem like a big deal but to me it was a reminder that I didn't belong.  I know how Jim felt, it is an experience that most immigrants go through.  That is why many of them decide to change their name to an American name or just change  the pronunciation of their name--- in order for others to pronounce it more easily --- in order to fit in.

    In the third tale, we meet Danny's cousin Chin-Kee who fits the perfect stereotypical Chinese profile.  This is a testimony that our society in general is not color blind.  Such an ideology belongs in a utopian society.  Our society has categories for every individual, you either belong in one group or you don't.  We are constantly judging others based on our differences.  We rarely loot at our similarities.  There is this banner at work --- that I always read every morning and it points out that diversity (which is another way of saying our differences) is the one thing that we have in common for sure, so lets embrace that.

    It was sad to find out that the Monkey King is actually the most powerful Monkey on earth, his people admire him but he doesn't want to be a Monkey.  We (species) are never satisfied.  When we are cold, we want to be hot, when we are hot, we want to be cold.  We must learn to appreciate what we have and be content with it.  To be content is to be at ease, to be grateful and happy with what is provided to us, not what is missing.

    American Born Chinese had splendid illustration.  Those illustrations have a story to tell on its own.  It enhances the words on the pages and captures the readers attention.  The characters in the story are intriguing.  Although, the ending is confusing, it comes with a worthwhile message--- and that is tangled with the journey for self-identity, self acceptance and self love.  

    Memoirs of A Woman Doctor by Nawal El- Sadaawi is a thrilling novel based on a young Egyptian woman in search of her identity.  At an early age, she (the narrator) found out that women or rather "Girls" are treated and ought to behave differently.  She had to clean the house, wash the dishes, and make not only her bed but her brother's bed as well.  Her brother had more freedom than her, he went out into the street to play without asking permission and he would come back as he pleases.  She could only go out if her parents let her.  When it was lunch time the narrator would have to eat slowly, drink without making a sound and she had to hide her longing for food.

The narrator was simply trained to act in a way accepted of her in society.  Her mother was the "agent" of society.  She reminded her daughter that she was a girl and she had to cover up those "shameful" parts of her body.  Her mother had persuaded her that men where like "gods" which would imply that they were superior and women were inferior.  The narrator saw the life of her mother as a wife, who was always in the kitchen in order to fill up her husband's belly.  Thus the narrator despised the word "marriage" and she hated being a female.
 
At the age of ten, the narrator had grown taller, she had had her period and she looked older than children of her age.  One day, her mother along with her grandmother had asked the narrator to put on her cream dress and to go say hello to her father's guest.  Upon meeting the guest, she noticed that his eyes were roaming all over her body until it landed on her chest.  Passages like this reminds me that we live in a patriarchal society, where women or in this case girls are seen as sexual objects whose purpose are to later on fulfill a man's desire.  To some parents, marriage is the best option for their daughters.  Marriage is acceptable by society and it protects a family from shame.  To other parents girls are a burden; they would some day get married and work for another man.

    I have also noticed that in most cases women such as the narrator's mother would accept their position in society.  But the few women like the narrator would rebel against the patriarchal system of oppression and they would defy society.  At ten, the narrator had cut her long hair as an act of resistance towards her mother.  After the narrator had cut her long hair, she recalled that "For the firs time in my life I understood the meaning of victory; fear led only to defeat, and victory demanded courage" (Saadawi, 18).  She would go on to study medicine to prove to her family that women just like men are capable of achieving anything they put their minds too.  And she wouldn't let "nature.... drag (her) into the ranks of illiterate women" (Saadawi, 24).



    While studying medicine, the narrator was dissecting naked human corpses.  This was the first time she saw men naked.  "And in the course of it men lost their dread power and illusory greatness in my eyes" (Saadawi, 25).  Science had helped her realized that women were just like men.  It was amazing to see how the narrator used science in order to explain how men and women are so similar.  Women had a heart, nervous system and a brain exactly like men.  Her mother was wrong; men were not "gods".  But the narrator seemed surprised as if she expected the bodies to be totally different.  This is due to the ways she was raised.  She was programmed to believe that men were superior and society accepted that.  But who is this society?  To which the narrator answers that society consists of men like her brother who are brought up to think of themselves as "gods" and "weak, ineffectual women" like her mother (Saadawi, 25).

    Later on, the narrator noticed that science cannot explain everything.  She regained her faith in humanity while helping a sick old country man.  She would go on and get married.  But she would soon get a divorce.  He husband had asked her to stop practicing medicine.  It seems that some men in our society are intimidated by women in power or women who earned more income than them because it contradicts the superior/ inferior belief.  Men are suppose to be the breadwinners while women are suppose to take care of the house and look after the children.

    After the divorce, the narrator kept practicing medicine.  She was respected by society because of her occupation and she was independent.  But she felt that something was missing in her life, something called love.  Love would come to her in the end.  This shows us (the readers) that some men a quite capable of loving and treating a women as she ought to be treated.  The narrator tells us that love does exist and she encourages us to search for it.  Nevertheless, we should never accept our inferior positions in society, we should always fight for change.




 




 

"The Circuit" by Francisco Jimenez was an easy read but the content found in this autobiography was hard to digest.  "The Circuit" is written as a collection of short stories, each short story can be read separately or it could be intertwined together and read as a whole.  It is written in chronological order, and it complements the idea that it is a coming of age story.  The author grows, as he goes on this voyage, from Mexico crossing the La Frontera and coming to California (which marks the beginning of a long process of migrating from one labor camp to another).  This autobiography was written in the first person point of view and through this we are able to capture the thoughts and the feelings of the author.  We are able to see things from a firsthand point of view.

The Circuit teaches us a lesson regarding perseverance.  And that is to endure difficulties that we might face in life, to be patient and to continue to work hard.  Francisco and his family live in a condition of poverty.  Due to their financial difficulties they must fight to survive, with nothing to eat sometimes and barely a roof over their head.  Nonetheless, one of the things that astonished me was how caring Francisco's family and this community became.  This group of people had one thing in common; they were illegal immigrants who traveled hundreds of miles in search for a better life.  When their mother was pregnant, instead of working at the fields she was able to cook for the camp (this is better than the hard labor required in the fields).   

Along with these obstacles that they must tackle, Francisco's family found themselves in a foreign land.  Within this foreign land, Francisco tries to learn the English language and has a thirst for education.  One of the saddest parts in these stories is when immigration authorities remove Francisco from his 8^th grade classroom.  Furthermore, Francisco's family must migrate from one labor camp to another and this serves as a testimony to how the occupational demand of migrant workers limits the educational opportunity of their children.  Moreover, I cannot imagine the psychological effects that this has on these children.  Imagine migrating from one place to another, never having the opportunity to adjust to it, ..... could this create issues later on in their lives?

One of the things that shocked me was the condition of livelihood for these migrant workers.  I wonder, if this is still going on?  And I can remember some discussion regarding migrant workers from some of the graduate courses that I took but now more than ever, I would like to get more familiarized with this group of people.  This reminds of the Somali community.  One thing that I realized as I am working with the Somali community is that most Somalis lived in refuge camps, and others experienced the civil war, and that creates a post traumatic stress syndrome for these Somalis.  Thus, as an educator and an agent of the community, I try to find methods of accommodations.  Leading up to such question as ...what sorts of accommodations are needed for Somalis?  If we apply this same question to our reading, we must ask ourselves, what sorts of accommodations are needed for migrant workers and their children both in our societies and in our schools.   

Along with the family work ethics, Francisco and his family had a strong religious faith and they took pride in the uniqueness of their culture.  Francisco Jimenez comes from this incredible family, and although he had to face lots of obstacles, he was able to educate himself and write his own story.  This collection of stories could be that voice that is needed, a voice for the children who suffer under these condition that is linked with migrant workers. 

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Abdullahi Bashir

CI 5442

11-23-09

                                                  Hope in the face of despair

Reading A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah was quite an experience.  It was filled with the gruesome account of the atrocity that is tied with civil wars.  There are hundreds of thousands of child soldiers around the world.  This is a fact that is never talked about.  Perhaps because there has not been a first person account from a child soldier himself.  But, now Ishmael's memoir will be a testimony on behalf of child soldiers who are affected, exploited, degraded, and tortured by war. 

At a young age of twelve, Ishmael is caught in a civil war between the rebels and the government.  This war is stemmed from a hypocritical and contradictory motives.  The rebels claim that this was a revolution war, to gain liberation of the people from a corrupt government.  "But what kind of liberation movement shoots innocent civilians, children, ...."  These rebels actions truly do not fit the motives of a liberation movement.  But what if the government is corrupted?  This creates a dilemma.  And what is worse is the fact that even the government recruited child soldiers (this is perhaps a sign that they are corrupted).  And it is not as if these children had any choice, if they do not join the government armies, they will be murdered.

As this civil war erupted, Ishmael is separated from his family and proceeds to search for them (this takes almost a year). At the age of 12-13 Ishmael becomes a witness of a calamity that no child's eyes should ever be exposed to.  He is able to see human corpses (bodies that were burnt or shot).   Upon seeing a woman carrying a dead child he states "I didn't want to go back to where that woman was from; it was clear in the eyes of the baby that all had been lost."  That feeling of despair is so common to my own people.  My country Somalia has now been in a civil war for nearly 20 years.  My mother, at the age of 17 decides to escape that life of hopelessness in order to survive, to live.  My mother reminisces on her childhood experience from time to time, thus, as I was reading this memoir, it reminded me of my mother's stories.

At the age of 13, the government army recruited Ishmael to avenge the death of his family.  At this period of time he finds himself in a dilemma "to kill or be killed."  Eventually Ishmael states that "My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector and my rule was to kill or be killed."  Living in this condition that was filled with violence, has corrupted the minds of these children.  At a rehabilitation center, Ishmael throws a grenade killing six boys.  It was during this sort of moments, that I didn't know what to think of Ishmael.  I know he is a victim but now he has become a merciless murderer.  Could these children be rehabilitated?  If Ishmael could be rehabilitated, so can those other child soldiers.  But then again, Ishmael received a chance of a life time, to speak at a convention in the UN and through the help of a caring nurse with a tape of Bob Marley and a walkman he was able to find joy through music.  Will the average child soldier receive these sorts of remedies and opportunities?

"If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen."  To find hope in this war torn country would be a miracle.  But somehow Ishmael was able to do so.  At first, he was able to hope that his family was alive, and he was able to feed off of that hope.  Later he found hope in his own speech.  He writes, "......I was also pleased to have met people outside of Sierra Leone.  Because if I was to get killed upon my return, I knew that a memory of my existence was alive somewhere in the world."  This is perhaps what lead him to write his own memoir.           

CI 5442
11-16-09
                                                  To endure is to Conquer

     Reading Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: the extraordinary true story of Shackleton and the Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong was an adventure in itself.  Nonfiction is among my favorite genres, thus it was a delightful experience to switch from fantasy and science fiction into nonfiction.  This tale centers on Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men and their determination to survive.  It is an adventurous tale and at times I was cheering for Shackleton and at other times I was rather unsympathetic, asking myself why on earth did he go on this adventure to begin with.

     I for one, am fond of nonfiction novels such as this one.  This novel deals with facts, based on a true event that took place in the real world.  Thus, automatically, I know that we are dealing with real people and real accounts, therefore, I am more curious about what will take place.  Furthermore, Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World has wonderful illustration.  These photos compliment the story and create a visual/mental picture that dances along with the words.  It is also told from the 3rd person point of view, and thus for me, this creates a different feeling, as if there is a third person that is retelling the story, which makes the story more believable and that much real.


  
     As I previously stated, I found myself either cheering/sympathetic for Shackleton and hoping that he will make it or I had this feeling of indifference.  Jennifer Armstrong does a great job of providing us with facts about Antarctica and about Shackleton.  As we are told, while the world thought that the age of heroic exploration was over, it wasn't.  Shackleton was yearning for an adventure.  At that time, Antarctica was merely a rumor, an undefined, un seen rumor.  It was said that Antarctica was a part of the super continent but it migrated south and it was too cold and too dry.  Learning about facts regarding Antarctica had made me more curious, now I want to do more research on that continent and learn more about it.  Moreover, the narrator states that countless of ships have been lost on their way there and countless of lives have been lost as well.  This fact alone should have deterred Shackleton from taking this journey but he had the urge for exploration and it would later turn into a fight for survival.  So should we label him as a hero (one of the first people to try to cross the southern continent- ......Antarctica from one side to the other) or a damn fool?.  Perhaps this is the only thing that he knew how to do, and he was good at it. ("Am just as good as an explore, nothing else.")       
    
     We are told that Shackleton was a loner as a child, and had a dream to gain fame and fortune.  He found his true calling as an explorer.  Shackleton boarded a ship known as the Endurance with his crew of 27 men.  As Endurance is icebound and sinks, Shackleton and his men must fight through ice, sea and land.  As a reader, you have no choice but to sympathies, you become intoxicated with this death mission and hope for the best.  Shackleton also realizes his role as a leader and that is what I admire about him.  He states that "if you're a leader, a fellow that other fellows look to, you've got to keep going."  The entire novel could be said to be a battle of Endurance.  It is stated that to endure is to conquer.  To endure is to undergo a hardship, to tolerate and to carry on.  If we are able to do this, we are true survivors.  And that is what Shackleton and his men are, true survivors.

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Abdullahi Bashir                                                                    Book Review
CI 5442                                                                           The King's Daughter
11-16-09                                                                         Genre: Folklore
                                                  The wisdom of the oral tradition

    The Kings Daughter is a tale that belongs in the genre known as the Folklore.  The title in its original version is Boqor GaBadhissa Laga Soo Doonay.  Folklore originates from the oral tradition.  This oral tradition is engrained in the culture of the people telling that story of The King's Daughter.  That people are the Somali people.  The Somali people are known for their power of words, and Somalia is regarded as the nation of poets.  There are also musicians and artists, taking on a mighty duty to preserve the value of their culture through the oral tradition.

    The King's Daughter is among the tales that derive from the tradition of folklore that are passed down from generation to generation.  Such stories differ depending on the audience.  Most folklore however are geared towards younger children and adolescents.  The purpose of these stories is to teach children a valuable lesson, whether that is to respect their elders or obey their parents or to teach them that lying is not acceptable.  Usually animals take on human characteristic in these tales and their mistakes and shortcoming are intended to teach the readers a valuable lesson.  However, the character in The King's Daughter were all humans except for the whip.  This tale is part of a collection of folklores intended to preserve Somali's rich oral culture and to ensure that it would not be lost in this ever-changing global world.


   
    In The King's Daughter, a very rich king had a beautiful and intelligent daughter.  The King ruled a wealthy city that had three roads connecting to the rest of the cities.  However, each road presented a rather peculiar problem.  The first road had a furious lion that would eat any living thing that passes by.  The second road had many thieves that would steal from any traveler and the third road had a whip that would beat whoever came by that road.  These extraordinary problems required a solution.  Thus, when the King's daughter reached the marriageable age, countless of suitors presented themselves to the king.  The king proclaimed that any man who gets rid of those three problems in the three roads would marry his daughter.  None of the men were able to solve those problems except for the daughter's lover.  Surprisingly it was not the lover who came up with those three solutions but it was the daughter who did.  Rather than spoiling those three solutions, the reader should pick up the book and read it on their own.  It is an easy read, and it serves as a great bed time story.

    The King's Daughter presents to the reader a great valuable lesson.  The lesson states that God blesses whomever he wants with knowledge.  And it is knowledge not beauty that is more valuable in this tale.  Furthermore, this tale is a Somali story and it belongs to them.  No single author can claim ownership of this story, it is a product of their ancestors.  It is retold in a way that translates the story rather than retelling to fit some other purpose.    

Abdullahi Bashir
CI 5442
11-09-09

                         The Giver and its obsession with obtaining a Utopian world.

     Utopia- an ideal, perfect community or society.  Is it a possible to achieve such a society?  If not, how far will a group of Elders go in order to paint such a perfect picture while suppressing all other emotions?  These were the questions that popped up in my mind as I read The Giver by Lois Lowry.  At the age of 12, Jonas must go through the annual December ceremony in which children his age receive a life assignment as chosen by the Elders.  Jonas is chosen as the "receiver of memory."  As I was reading this novel, I wondered whatever happened to an individual free choice.  If I were to construct an ideal society, free choice would have been a key ingredient in that society.  After all, we humans are created and given the privilege to do as we see fit.  At this point in the novel, I start questioning this utopian community, but like any other human being, I was intrigued with this society, it seems as if it was with out conflict, poverty, unemployment, divorce, and injustice.  Wow!

     As Jonas receives special training from the Giver (who alone holds the memories of joy and the pains of life), we learn Jonas' community has eliminated/suppressed emotions from their lives while adapting a concept of "Sameness."  This community and families share their dreams and feelings on a daily basis to stop emotions from building up.  Sharing each other's feelings seems like a great idea to me, but why does a society need to adhere to this concept of Sameness.  Perhaps it is because conflicts and injustices occur because it is hard to embrace each other's differences.  Human beings are intimidated when they come across another person or a people who are different from them.  To me, a utopian society is one that accepts and embraces people's differences.  

     As the novel continues however, it is apparent that this society is not as utopian as it seems.  People are assigned not only jobs but mates as well, and they are only allowed two kids.  Children are born to "birth mothers" and then family units can apply for children.  Once the family unit raises their children, the parents are sent to a communal home (they are forgotten) and their children start their assigned jobs and start a family of their own.  This peculiar and sad cycle is continued from generation to generation, and pills are used to suppress emotions.  It is at this point in the novel that readers realize that pain and injustice does exist in this community, but this society chooses to ignore it and suppress it.  Some people might view pills as a remedy, but it is the exact opposite in this case.  These pills numbs their feelings, thus, they are not able to express their pain.  Therefore, there is no conflict, and if a conflict is not brought up to the surface, no one will generate any solutions for it.  Which allows this cycle to go on and on.  Furthermore, I firmly believe that understanding the pains of life makes us more grateful and humble beings.

     If there is any other thing that I learned from The Giver, that would be that.... we must find fair systems of punishment and we must inform our citizens of such punishments.  We shouldn't phrase it as "released" but we should call it for what it really is and that is a death sentence.  As Jonas obtains memories of joys and pain of life, he escapes and hopes to restore memories back to the community (although I do not understand how this works). Nonetheless, communities might not be as perfect as they might appear to be.  We all have our shortcomings.  They will never be a utopian society but why must we strive for perfection?  I know that eliminating inequalities should be our top priority as community members but we must find reasonable ways to do that.
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Abdullahi Bashir
CI 5442
11-09-09

                         Dystopia- in The House of Scorpion

     My reading experience with the House of Scorpion was rather disturbing.  I read The Giver first; I do not know whether that had affected my reading of the House of Scorpion.  I found the topics and themes in this novel to be dark and troubling.  It dealt with an anti-utopia society - it depicted a society in a miserable state- a society in poverty, oppression, violence, pain and one that was filled with inequalities.  And I know that we do not live in a perfect society, but I can not imagine such a miserable society.  I am better off to digest a society such as the one in The Giver, but not the one in the House of Scorpion.  The setting of this novel is in an opium by Mexico and the U.S (in a cocaine/heroine state).  That setting is not an appropriate setting for a novel geared towards adolescents.

     This novel also deals with cloning.  I for one do not believe in cloning, and if it is possible, then humans should not try to mingle in anything that deals with creation (only God is the sole authority in that field).  Thus, it was rather difficult to read something that you do not believe exists.  And I know that this class provides us with wide range of adolescent literature and it courage us to read novels and genres that we wouldn't normally read (I appreciate that but science fiction and fantasy are and will never be a favorite genre of mine).  Most of the themes and topics clash with my beliefs.  Nevertheless, one interesting thing it brings out is the issue of mistreatment.  Matt is mistreated and cloned for the purpose of providing organs for El Patron.  I do not condone any mistreatment of any being.  But, if clones do exist, are they considered humans?  And what rights do they have to protect them?  Furthermore, inequalities between fellow humans exist, then why do we intend on cloning, this would bring a whole new category of inequalities.

     Another distributing factor in this novel has to do with the characteristics of El Patron's workers.  These workers are not only illegal immigrant, but they are transformed into mindless slaves with computer chips.  In addition to that, when Matt escapes, he joins the "Lost Boys," who are manual laborers working for The Keepers who operate Plankton farms and live a luxurious life style.  I wonder what Nancy Farmer's intentions are for creating these sorts of workers.  Did she invent them just to fit into that science fiction genre or does she have other reasons.  Nonetheless, I applauded Matt when he lead that rebellion against The Keepers and freed himself and the "Lost Boys."

     Perhaps another reason why this novel was unsettling has to do with all the twist and turns in the plot.  You could never guess what was coming up next and this world was far from ordinary.  Perhaps my reading of the House of Scorpion has to do with my personality.  I like to deal with reality, with ordinary lives.  And I know that life is filled with injustices, pain, poverty and oppression.  But all of these themes can be incorporated in a novel, and it could encourage readers to come up with possible solutions but if that world is far from our world, then we will second guess any solutions brought up in that novel.  Therefore, such novels are only good for entertainment... to escape from reality.  And we do need to indulge in that from time to time.  But that is not me.

Abdullahi Bashir

CI 5442

11-02-09

SKELLIG by David Almond

All readers tend to prefer one genre over the other.  And there are some genres that we refuse to come in contact with.  And in my experience, I will read anything except fantasy and science fiction.  Those two genres to me seem to be filled with unrealistic things.  As a reader, I always try to find a connection, some sort of relevance between the text that I am reading and my own life.  If a book is unrealistic, to a point where I cannot find any similarities between our own two worlds, then I disconnect.  I thought that would be the case when reading SKELLIG, but surprisingly, I found some themes that encouraged me to face my own adversaries and always hope for the better.  Moreover, reading SKELLIG also allowed me to look back at my childhood experience and try to figure out the reason why I am not fond of fantasy.   

Skellig is told through the eyes of a ten year old boy named Michael.  As Michael and his family move into a new house on Falconer road, an unfortunate event toke place.  His baby sister is born prematurely, has a heart problem and death might be around the corner.  Thus, Michael's parents are preoccupied with looking after the baby, and Michael is left alone, feeling helpless.  Any reader, who has ever faced any sort of hardship can relate to this part of the story.  And that was the case in my experience as I was reading this novel.  At this point, I was anxiously waiting to see what would happen next?  Will this family be able to make it through this hardship? 

As Michael and his family are battling this circumstance, he meets a mysterious, miraculous creature, part human, part angel who goes by the name of Skellig.  This mysterious creature is able to work miracles, has wings and due to the many references to William Blake, all signs point to the fact that he is an angel.  Everything else in the novel appears to be normal except this creature.  And although I should be able to see beyond this, I can't help but feel a little disconnected from the novel.  At this point in the novel, I can't help but look back into my own childhood experience and wonder why I am not fond of fantasy. 

My preference has a lot to do with my culture and how it shapes who I am.  In my culture, we have stories similar to the stories told in the fantasy genre.  However, our stories have different themes.  They do not bother with miracles or "good" magic or any tales where the protagonist obtains some powers and miraculously frees himself/herself.  Our tales deal with ghosts, witches, cannibals and devils.  There is a fine line between good and evil.  Therefore these stories terrified me as a child, thus I have come to despise any stories that deal with magic, miracles, ghosts or any other supernatural beings. 

Another reason why I am not fond of fantasy has to do with the differences between my culture/religion and the beliefs of the western authors.  For example, in Skellig, Michael's mother states that "they say that shoulder blades are where your wings were when you were an angel."  Therefore, Michael believes that he might have been an angel and furthermore, she states that "they say they're were your wings will grow again one day."  Due to my religious background, it is hard for me to read such things, when I believe that we were never angels, nor shall we ever be.  Thus, we must ask ourselves, who is the audience.  Who are these fantasy books geared to?  Are they geared to a Somali boy, born and raised in Uganda?  I don't think so?  I don't know what the remedy is.  Or if I will come to like fantasy books.  I wish I could see past this, but it is ingrained in my memory and in who I am.

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Abdullahi Bashir
CI 5442
11-02-09
                                                  Troy by Adele Geras
       We are all familiar with Homer's great epic and the tale of Troy.  One of my fondest memories of high school lit class is when Ms. King had as read and perform some of the scenes in Homer's epic.  To this day I still applaud the Greek for their great war strategy... of hiding in a wooden horse, waiting patiently until it was time to attack.  I had this background experience before reading Troy by Adele Geras.  This re-telling of the traditional epic brought different perspectives and it focused more on the romantic rather than the war.
        Troy is centered around Xanthe and Marpessa.  These two are sisters live in Troy during the way.  Marpessa was Helen's maid and Xante works for Paris' brother and his wife- and in the blood room.  In Geras' version, the gods walk among the mortals.  Aphrodite, bored with the war, causes a twisted love affair/triangle between the sisters- a wounded soldier and - xanthe's male friend.  This re-telling of Troy turns the tale into a different direction.... It becomes a love affaire/romantic rather than a war epic.  And the reason why I loved Homer's classic epic is due to the fact that it centered around the war.  It had powerful characters such as Achilles who was caught in a dilemma.  The battles, the conflicts, and the characters is what made that epic so rich.  And to turn that into a novel dealing with love might just be an injustice.
         As I am writing this response, I can't help but think of this idea of .....of re-telling a traditional tale from a different perspective and how much it reminds me of a book that I read called Beauty. In Robin McKinley's Beauty, Beauty is the youngest child of a rich merchant.  Her birth name is Honour.  At five, she wanted to be called Beauty.  Beauty is a coming of age tale.  Beauty is not portrayed as exceptionally beautiful.  In fact she has traits similar to what we would consider a geek.  She loves reading books.  Moreover, she is humble and not very fascinated with jewels and other worldly materials that her sisters are indulged in.  She would rather have rose seeds than pears and gowns.  She is simple to please, and not a rich spoiled brat.  In the traditional fairy tale, I can picture Beauty wearing an exquisite gown with pearls, with her bright blue eyes and long blond hair.  But in this retelling of the story of Beauty, I can picture her as nerdy and insecure young female.
    Beauty is fond of Greek tragedies, she loves riding horses and she strives to be a scholar. We can say Beauty has agency.  She has the ability to act.  When her father informs her of his agreement with the Beast, it was Beauty who insisted on going to the Beast to save her father's life.  This was her decision.  Furthermore, to read is also her decision.  And I think the author does a brilliant job of making sure that Beauty is first seen as intelligent and then later on as she develops, she becomes beautiful. It is also important to note that Beauty is written from Beauty's point of view.  Thus Beauty displays agency and voice.  We see things through her perspective and it is Beauty's self determination that drives the plot.  
    The author of Beauty, re-told that classic tale in order to give his character a voice, and agency.  That original character was helpless and clueless.  However, I am not able to find the reason why Geras retold Homer's great epic.  What was his intention?  Perhaps there was something that I must have missed or I am just a die hard fan of Homer's epic and I purposely blurred my vision. 

Abdullahi Bashir  
10-26-09
                    Literature

Jennifer Donnelly's "A Northern Light" is a classic of its own, a timeless novel.  It's characters, places and events seems real, relevant and it intrigues the reader. Although "A Northern Light" is a coming of age story and although it contains a murder mystery, the thing (for lack of a better word) that captivated my eyes and mind was the author's love of literature and how that love is dazzles all over the novel.
    Literature is powerful, it's power is equivalent to a bullet as depicted in the passage when Mattie and Weaver had a duel with words "cocking the thumbs on [their] right hands and sticking out [their] pointer fingers to make guns."  Weaver and especially Matti understand the power and importance of words.  This is shown in the way Matti cares for her mother's dictionary or her excitement whenever she has an opportunity to use her word of the day or whenever she is engulfed in literature "listening as the words become sentences, and the sentences become pages and the pages become feelings and voices and places and people."
    Like Matti and Weaver, I am fond of literature.  The ability to read is a privilege.  And wherever you read a classic book such as Frankenstein, or Things Fall Apart, you gain a whole new access into other people's lives and thoughts.  That is the power of literature.  It provides a voice for the voiceless, it sparks curiosity on the reader's part, and it invites us to explore topic/issues that we would have never dared to on our own.
    I am also a writer.  I have written countless of free verse poetry, a couple short stories and an unfinished silly novel about love and friendship that I started at the age of sixteen.  Donnelly and I share the love of literature.  It was amazing to see how she conveyed her love of literature through her characters and their conversation.  One interesting conversation in particular took place between Matti and her former teacher Miss Parrish centered around the purpose of literature.
    Literature, according to Miss Parrish, is meant to "uplift the heart."  And a young woman such as Matti should write about topics that are joyful and inspiring not about dead children and hermits.  First and foremost, if that was the purpose of literature, then we would be living a lie.  Literature should be realistic, it should display the joy of life as well as life's turmoil.  Moving on, if we say that the ability to create literature should be limited by one's gender, then we would be doing a disservice to our writers and to ourselves as readers.  By limiting their words, we would be violating the purpose of literature- that is to give a voice to the voiceless.  
    Literature to me is a powerful non-violent revolutionary weapon.  It's influence is infinite, there is no telling what or who it could inspire.  Make no mistake about it, words could be used to praise an individual or a people.  My love of literature, my love of words is what inspired me to become an English teacher.  I love to play with words; I love manipulating words to fit my desires- you can get away with nearly anything just as long as you know the right thing to say.  Literature can also be used to criticize a system or condemn a practice.  Make no mistake about it, nations have gone into wars due to the exchange of unpleasant words.
    Literature is the art of written works.  If it is translated, it literary means "acquaintance with letters."  It is from Latin - littera = letter.  (wikipedia)...
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Abdullahi Bashir  
10-26-09
                    Freedom
    Chains by Laurie Anderson is filled with detailed information about the Revolution war and it deals with freedom (an inalienable right/gift bestowed upon us by God).  Chains is a great example of an historical fiction.  It educates the reader about the Revolutionary war.  The author must have done a great deal of research.  I especially admire how she told this story through the eyes of a 13 year old slave girl.
    As we have learned through our American History courses, the Revolutionary war involved the 13 united former British colonies in North American and the Great Britain.  It was a fight for independence- a fight for freedom.  The story of Isabel, who was promised freedom on the death of her mistress, and then sold again into slavery, shows the contradictory and the hypocrisy of the Revolutionary war.  These 13 colonies in North America were fighting for their freedom, while enslaving their fellow human beings- their fellow Americans.  How can one group who understand the necessity and have the thirst for freedom- set to enslave others?
    Anderson's novel also shows the profound truth that African American fought/served for both sides (the Patriots and the Loyalists) during the war.  Some individuals might find this circumstance rather problematic and peculiar.  But we must take into account the fact that neither group looked out for the best interest of the African Americans.  Thus, they had to find whichever side benefited them the most.  Isabel, becomes a spy for the Patriots but she realizes that they only wanted freedom for themselves.
    What is freedom?  And what is the price of freedom?  Perhaps, we might never know the answer to the former question because we take our freedom for granted.  And the latter question must have been on the author's mind because the novel does not end- we still do not know Isabel's fate- does she escape and obtain her freedom?
    Back to the hypocrisy of the Revolutionary war.  We have also learned that there was a ban on Black enlistment and George Washington lifts that ban only because there is a shortage.  It is also important to note that African Americans have always served in most of the American civil wars and world war I and II- even when they were in chains.  Blacks have been the backbone of this country- their dedications could never be measured and no compensation could ever be sufficient.
    Another issue that sparked my thoughts is the issue of authorship.  I have read countless of articles that states the importance of having Black authors writing about issues that has or is affecting Black people.  Anderson depicts the struggle of Black people and does a fine job.  But I wonder, did she face some difficulties dealing with some topics/issues regarding Black people as a white author?  And would a Black author have done anything differently?
    On the country, I firmly believe that anyone who dedicates their time in shedding light to any truth is worthy of praise and admiration.  But there is a need for a people who have been or is oppressed, to stand up and SPEAK on behalf of their people.

Reading The People Could Fly was a delightful experience.  These folktales were filled with creative tales from an oppressed people expressing their fears and hopes.  African Americans were forcefully brought to America; they were torned from their culture and their homeland.  However, one of the few things that they were able to bring with them was their oral tradition.

            Africans are known for their oral tradition.  This is a practice that is found in our rich culture and its purpose is to preserve our culture while teaching our children about our values and our morals.  I pride myself in being an agent of the oral tradition.  I, along with some of my peers created a poetry group called Ka Joog's The Last Poets.  Our purpose is to continue the legacy of our ancestors.  Our ancestors were orators, musicians and poets skilled in the art of speaking.  Our poems serve as a means of conveying our culture, our past, and our present (along with the current social and political issues).

            During slavery and post-slavery era, African Americans were powerless, voiceless and oppressed.  Therefore, they had to find ways to survive.  Folktales (which derive from the oral tradition) were creatively used as a survival tactic.  The tales in The People Could Fly is testament that folktales is a product of its time.  All of these tales deals with the issues that affected the African Americans and all of these issues derives from the injustices caused by the institution of slavery.  The folktales in The People Could Fly includes animals such as rabbits, fox and turtle that take on human characteristics.  The rabbit is an animal that is small and helpless but it is smart, tricky and clever.  It always got in trouble but it could free itself in the end.  It is important to realize that during the slavery era, conversations dealing with freedom were forbidden and anyone who indulged in that would be severely punished.  Thus, the rabbit and other animals alike were a representation of the slaves- weak, powerless and yearning for freedom.  This tactic is rooted in the art of the double-entendre.  Double-entendre usually deals with words or phrases with double meaning.  Therefore, in these stories, the rabbit's ability to trick his peers and gain his freedom serves as a double-entendre (the rabbit also represents the slave, thus, the rabbit and the slave both obtain their freedom).

            I truly enjoyed all of these tales however, a lot of it seemed to be tales of fantasies - wish fulfilling fantasies.  Many of these characters obtained their freedom because they were either tricky, lucky, or clever.  For example, Nehemiah attained his freedom because he made the slave owner laugh, in "The Riddle Tale of Freedom," a slave solved a slave owner's riddle and then the slave owner couldn't solve the slave's riddle thus he was free and in another tale, Jim obtained his freedom because of a talking turtle.  These sceneries are far from reality and they might send the wrong message to some of the young generations.

            On the other hand, although these tales are filled with wish-fulfilling fantasies, they teach the young generations an important lesson.  That is to be smart and clever.  If you are unable to fight for your freedom, then you should find other ways to survive.  If all fails, folktales carries the hopes of an entire people and that could be summed up in one word- FREEDOM.  Besides, is it wrong to dream- to escape- to fly toward freedom?  All of these tales of magical powers might be one of the few strings of hope for those who can't fly away.

 

Reading "Looking for alaska" was a delightful experience. Usually, readings that are assigned from classes are a torture or should I say a labyrinth experience.  John Green's novel welcomes the reader to explore the characters and whether it was Miles aka Pudge and his obsession with dying declaration or chip and his hatred for rich people or the peculiar and confused Alaska, the reader has no choice but to fall in love with them and the novel.  Other than characterization, Green also excelled in creating a setting and a plot that is deeply rooted on the obsession of social status, with one main social norm (never ever rat).  And all of these were the mouth-watering ingredient that kept me reading for hours and hours.

The novel begins with a six foot; skinny, geeky Miles, who decided on going to boarding school in hopes of "seek [ing] a Great Perhaps."  Even in the beginning of "Looking for alaska," the importance of social status is apparent.  Miles mother had decided to throw him a goodbye party even though Miles declined her offer.  And only two other people attended that party.  Thus, we learn early on that Miles was not that popular.

Perhaps Miles wanted a new beginning, a new life with a different social status and he thought that he might find that in Alabama.  As soon as he get there, Chip explains to him that there are only two groups in Culver Creek and those are regular boarders (consists of poor kids or those who could not afford to go home every weekend) and Weekday Warriors (those rich, preppy kids).  Now, our high school students can relate to this novel.  They are well aware of the social status in schools.  They know the difference between the popular student and the geeky student. They know where they are welcomed and when they are intruding.

However, this novel is filled with incidents were characters drink and smoke.  Furthermore, the topic of sex comes up often.  As we know this novel is geared around high school teenager.  And if they are reading about Miles hanging around the wrong crew (drinking and smoking) who is to say that these teenagers wouldn't want to try that?  Perhaps many teenagers have tried smoking, but this sort of novel would influence them further.
One thing that caught my attention in the novel was the fact that both the poor kids and the rich kids drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes and joints.  But in our society, we have created a negative stereotype of joint smokers that usually fit a profile of a poor, black boy. Thus, the rich kids hardly ever get caught.

Now back to the novel, although miles hangs out with the wrong crowd, he learns a lesson in loyalty, the importance of family, and how he falls in love for the first time ever, he has friends and a circle that he belongs too.

As I was reading this novel and as I reflected on how I would address issues of drinking, and smoking cigarettes/drugs to my students, I recalled a discussion that took place during my student teaching placement class.  I had the privilege of teaching a 9th grade English course to struggling students in an urban public school.  We read a text that outlined the harmful consequences of selling drugs.  A huge debate took place were more than 70% of my students said that it was okay to sell drugs as a means for survival.  The remaining 30% of my students tried to convince the majority of the students that selling drugs leads to failure and incarceration or death.  Now lets think about this for a moment, if a text like that showed the negative consequences, imagine what a text like "Looking for alaska" (which depicts drugs and smoking as a social-cool-thing) imagine how that can impact students.