At the beginning on this narrative, the readers are given a small background of the author. This helps the readers understand what life was like for the author at a young age. Nemat used descriptive words all throughout the story and accomplished the goal of "show, don't tell". I did find some small bits of information to be pointless for the readers to know. For example, why is her father's career important? His job has no significance to her love of reading, except that he was not home when she wanted to go to the bookstore. She also starts out the passage saying that she wanted to stay out of her mother's way. Why? How did books save both her and her mother? I feel like she should have elaborated on these topics, or left them out completely. The author showed a point of struggle by explaining to her readers that she was ready to start reading the second book in the series, but she did not have the money to buy it. She went through great details such as what the pencil box looked like and the neighborhood where her classmate lived so that readers could be more engaged. Finally, Nemat proves to readers why the man at the bookstore had such a big impact on her life. Readers can guess that she and this man developed a strong relationship because she visited him so often. She concludes by calling him "an angel named Albert" from which readers feel that she truely looked up to this man.
I didn't know what to expect when I began reading. Obviously we were given a little insight at the beginning of the text, but I was still unsure of what I was about to read. Starting out with the sunset, I became a little confused. I didn't quite understand the relationship between death and the setting sun. I love that she states that her father had a certain radiance because of his obsessive sunbathing (something that I can relate with) and how it tied in with his "unknown" sexuality. The fact that she was wanting everyone around her to be blunt about her father's death was puzzling though. Was she the only one who realized how trapped her father was? I really enjoyed how she described the geology and showed the obituary of her father to prove to readers how small minded and conservative the town was. Throughout the story, I felt the common point was being alone, isolated. She explains that, even though the interstate was only four miles away, there was still no sounds to be heard. She also brings in isolation at the end of the story when she describes her family life. Bechdel also explains that because there was so much isolation, they all started to become slightly compulsive. I feel like the autor did a great job of showing the readers the anger that her parents possessed. We can see this by reading about her mother ignoring her when she is hungry and spending all of her time at the piano.
Juno While reading "Juno", I was running through the movie in my head. The chair is so symbolic and it stands out to viewers, I still remember what that dated chair looks like. I found this review to have a bit of a negative tone to it. She has more negatives than positives when she speaks about the dialoge. I enjoyed the dialoge and thought that it showed viewers that Juno is still immature and young. I like that Heinkekamp points out the small deatils such as the licorice and the hamburger phone. I never noticed those items while watching the movie but as I look back, they do stand out. I loved the movie Juno, and have never gotten tired of watching it. One of my favorite lines is when Bleeker and Juno are talking, "I still have your underwear." "Yeah, well I still have your virginity". An aspect of the movie that Heinekamp didn't focus on was Bleeker and Juno's relationship. They both developed as characters and we can see the struggles between the two of them because she thinks he is seeing someone else. This is also a moment when we see her wonderful mood swings. I enjoyed reading this because it pointed out new things that I didn't see before. It was easy to read and relate to, because we've all seen Juno. Now I just want to go watch it again!
Nemat's "The Secondhand Bookseller"
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning on this narrative, the readers are given a small background of the author. This helps the readers understand what life was like for the author at a young age. Nemat used descriptive words all throughout the story and accomplished the goal of "show, don't tell".
I did find some small bits of information to be pointless for the readers to know. For example, why is her father's career important? His job has no significance to her love of reading, except that he was not home when she wanted to go to the bookstore. She also starts out the passage saying that she wanted to stay out of her mother's way. Why? How did books save both her and her mother? I feel like she should have elaborated on these topics, or left them out completely.
The author showed a point of struggle by explaining to her readers that she was ready to start reading the second book in the series, but she did not have the money to buy it. She went through great details such as what the pencil box looked like and the neighborhood where her classmate lived so that readers could be more engaged.
Finally, Nemat proves to readers why the man at the bookstore had such a big impact on her life. Readers can guess that she and this man developed a strong relationship because she visited him so often. She concludes by calling him "an angel named Albert" from which readers feel that she truely looked up to this man.
Bechdel's "The Canary-Colored Caravan of Death"
ReplyDeleteI didn't know what to expect when I began reading. Obviously we were given a little insight at the beginning of the text, but I was still unsure of what I was about to read.
Starting out with the sunset, I became a little confused. I didn't quite understand the relationship between death and the setting sun. I love that she states that her father had a certain radiance because of his obsessive sunbathing (something that I can relate with) and how it tied in with his "unknown" sexuality. The fact that she was wanting everyone around her to be blunt about her father's death was puzzling though. Was she the only one who realized how trapped her father was?
I really enjoyed how she described the geology and showed the obituary of her father to prove to readers how small minded and conservative the town was. Throughout the story, I felt the common point was being alone, isolated. She explains that, even though the interstate was only four miles away, there was still no sounds to be heard. She also brings in isolation at the end of the story when she describes her family life. Bechdel also explains that because there was so much isolation, they all started to become slightly compulsive.
I feel like the autor did a great job of showing the readers the anger that her parents possessed. We can see this by reading about her mother ignoring her when she is hungry and spending all of her time at the piano.
Juno
ReplyDeleteWhile reading "Juno", I was running through the movie in my head. The chair is so symbolic and it stands out to viewers, I still remember what that dated chair looks like. I found this review to have a bit of a negative tone to it. She has more negatives than positives when she speaks about the dialoge. I enjoyed the dialoge and thought that it showed viewers that Juno is still immature and young. I like that Heinkekamp points out the small deatils such as the licorice and the hamburger phone. I never noticed those items while watching the movie but as I look back, they do stand out. I loved the movie Juno, and have never gotten tired of watching it. One of my favorite lines is when Bleeker and Juno are talking, "I still have your underwear." "Yeah, well I still have your virginity". An aspect of the movie that Heinekamp didn't focus on was Bleeker and Juno's relationship. They both developed as characters and we can see the struggles between the two of them because she thinks he is seeing someone else. This is also a moment when we see her wonderful mood swings. I enjoyed reading this because it pointed out new things that I didn't see before. It was easy to read and relate to, because we've all seen Juno. Now I just want to go watch it again!