In this section, Gemma finally opens up to her friends and tells them about her strange powers, and her ability to visit another world, the realms. She takes her friends to the realms, and immediately her friends are intrigued and fascinated. Once the girls are in the realms, they realize they can do magic, and of course this delights them. Gemma is also quite interested, but mostly because in the realms she can visit her mother. Gemma's mother warns her about her powers, telling her she must not take them out of the realms, or else something terrible will happen. What this terrible thing is, Gemma's mother refuses to say. She talks about some kind of evil taking over the world, the usual doom, "It isn't safe yet. Once you do that, once you bring magic back through the portal, it's fully open. Anyone who knows how could get in" (Bray 291). Obviously Gemma is frustrated, because she wants to know the truth, and her mother is being quite vague. However, she follows her mother's orders. After all, she went through all the trouble of entering the realms for her mother in the first place, so she wouldn't want to bluntly disobey her in such a fashion.
Kartik continues to demand that Gemma stop using her magic. He sends Gemma a note, pleading with her to stop entering the realms. Gemma notices that "There's another word scribbled hastily, then crossed out. Please" (Bray 283). Previously we have only seen Kartik as a tool of sorts, some kind of force opposing Gemma and trying to prevent her from doing magic. However, after this, we can understand that Kartik is truly desperate, and actually cares that Gemma is safe. The fact that the words please is crossed out shows that he is trying to keep a strong image of himself, though he still cares about Gemma's well-being. Meanwhile, Gemma is starting to have somewhat tender feelings for Kartik. Even though she is often annoyed with his interference, she often has what she considers dangerous thoughts about him. When Felicity tells Pippa of the one time Gemma kissed Kartik to allow the other girls to get past the Gypsies, and that she was a "Noble, self-sacrificing girl who endured his kiss only to save us", Gemma thinks "It is so convincing that I almost believe her myself" (Bray 272). This proves that Gemma is denying the fact that she may have a bit of a crush on Kartik. This information makes the reader think that perhaps Gemma is afraid of her own feelings, and that even though she does tend to be rebellious at times, she still is fearful of associating with Gypsies, supposedly wicked people. Perhaps she is not as brave as we have once thought.
Later on there is an assembly day, when the parents of the girls at Spence Academy come visit. It is during this scene when the weaknesses and the longings of the other girls are emphasized. Felicity was so happy at the thought of her father for the first time in two years, but then completely broke down when she got a form letter from a secretary that her father would rather go to another event. This shows that even though she puts on a brave, happy face, inside she longs to have someone who cares about her. Pippa also is having troubles. Her parents have arranged her to be married to a fifty-some year old man. She absolutely loathes him, as the other girls well know. However, when they see the two of them together for the first time, they are stunned by how frail Pippa acts. Usually she is a spunky girl, but around her fiance she is quiet and withdrawn, and on the verge of tears. She is definately looking for true love, and now her dreams have been shattered. Ann also is hurting, because her parents have been dead for years. During the entire day Gemma notices how Ann is constantly nervous around all the other parents, and wishing she could be left alone. However, she puts on a brave face and tries to be optimistic. This shows that even though Ann usually seems plain and simple, she is undergoing much pain from the loss of her parents. Maybe there is more depth to her after all.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Outside Reading, post 3
As the school year progresses, Gemma gradually becomes closer to her friends, Felicity, Pippa, and Ann. Part of the reason is because they have all joined a little club, which they refer to as the "Order." Another reason, however, is that the girls are simply opening up to each other a bit more than before. Gemma learns that Pippa is not only the vain and slightly bratty. She is a dreamer, always thinking of true love and happiness. Unfortunately for her, her parents have arranged for her to be married to an old man whom Pippa detests. Pippa is growing thoroughly depressed and constantly dreads the day when she must marry the man she can't stand. She would much rather enjoy her life with her true friends than with some cranky old man. She tells her friends, "I'm only seventeen! My season has barely begun. I intend to enjoy it, not be married off to the first poxy old barrister with money" (Bray 164). Pippa is motivated by her dreams, and now that she knows that she's going to be stuck marrying some random old man, she is slightly downhearted. However, she still tries to be friendly, and always hopes that someday a perfect man will find her.
Problems begin to arise among the four girls. They have discovered the diary of a girl who died in a fire with her friend over twenty years ago. The diary speaks of magic and other realms, and the girls become intrigued by this. They experiment with spells, curious of the outcome. While Felicity, Pippa, and Ann are doing this out of fun, Gemma knows that all of this is real because of her visions. However, she continues not to tell anyone of her visions. This shows once again that she doesn't want anyone involved with her own troubles. She wants other people to be happy, and prefers to struggle alone to save others from stress and worry.
Later on, when she encounters Kartik yet again when he attempts to warn her to stop her visions, she finally defies him to his face. After viciously biting his hand to make him let go of her, she tells him, "From now on, I shall do exactly as I wish and you cannot stop me. Do not follow. Do not watch. Do not even attempt to contact me or you'll be sorry indeed" (Bray 246). This shows that Gemma is resilient and stubborn. Once her mind is set, everything must go her way, and if something attempts to stop her, she won't stop to make sure they know she isn't going down without a fight.
Problems begin to arise among the four girls. They have discovered the diary of a girl who died in a fire with her friend over twenty years ago. The diary speaks of magic and other realms, and the girls become intrigued by this. They experiment with spells, curious of the outcome. While Felicity, Pippa, and Ann are doing this out of fun, Gemma knows that all of this is real because of her visions. However, she continues not to tell anyone of her visions. This shows once again that she doesn't want anyone involved with her own troubles. She wants other people to be happy, and prefers to struggle alone to save others from stress and worry.
Later on, when she encounters Kartik yet again when he attempts to warn her to stop her visions, she finally defies him to his face. After viciously biting his hand to make him let go of her, she tells him, "From now on, I shall do exactly as I wish and you cannot stop me. Do not follow. Do not watch. Do not even attempt to contact me or you'll be sorry indeed" (Bray 246). This shows that Gemma is resilient and stubborn. Once her mind is set, everything must go her way, and if something attempts to stop her, she won't stop to make sure they know she isn't going down without a fight.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Outside Reading, post 2
After spending more time at finishing school, Gemma finally gets to make a few friends. Although she isn't very close to these girls due to contrasting personalities, she does spend a considerable amount of time with them. One of these girls is Ann. Ann is Gemma's roommate, and is very shy and plain, although she longs to fit in with the popular girls. There isn't much depth to her character; so far she hasn't said anything insightful or inspiring. She just seems to be a random girl that Gemma talks to. A slightly more interesting character is Felicity. After Gemma saved Felicity's reputation by covering up for her, Felicity's once hostile attitude towards Gemma changed dramatically. She sincerely tells Gemma, "I think we're going to be great friends" (Bray 117). Much more interesting than Ann, Felicity is lively, charming, and has a knack for wriggling out of trouble.
One main struggle Gemma goes through is the mysteriousness of Kartik. Kartik seems to pop up out of nowhere at random times and insists that Gemma concentrates on stopping her visions. Gemma is mostly irritated by this, wishing he would explain himself fully. However, Kartik's messages are just a cryptic as ever. She thinks, "I hate him, standing in my room as if he owns it and me, issuing warnings and insults, sharing nothing" (Bray 121). As much as she despises Kartik, Gemma does learn from him how vulnerable she is to the outside world, and she learns that she must be careful.
A slightly more bothersome struggle is the continuence of her visions. Gemma got several strange visions, one of a girl named Mary telling her about magic, visions, and much more that puzzled Gemma. Another vision was that of her mother calling to her. This made Gemma extremely anxious, because she becomes under the impression that her mother is out there somewhere, able to be reached. She becomes determined to somehow find her mother. Even after Kartik tells Gemma to ignore her visions, she tells him, "That was my mother in the woods today. And I'm going to find her" (Bray 123). This shows that when Gemma's mind is set, she can be very stubborn and refuses to take the advice of others, which may lead to trouble in the future.
One main struggle Gemma goes through is the mysteriousness of Kartik. Kartik seems to pop up out of nowhere at random times and insists that Gemma concentrates on stopping her visions. Gemma is mostly irritated by this, wishing he would explain himself fully. However, Kartik's messages are just a cryptic as ever. She thinks, "I hate him, standing in my room as if he owns it and me, issuing warnings and insults, sharing nothing" (Bray 121). As much as she despises Kartik, Gemma does learn from him how vulnerable she is to the outside world, and she learns that she must be careful.
A slightly more bothersome struggle is the continuence of her visions. Gemma got several strange visions, one of a girl named Mary telling her about magic, visions, and much more that puzzled Gemma. Another vision was that of her mother calling to her. This made Gemma extremely anxious, because she becomes under the impression that her mother is out there somewhere, able to be reached. She becomes determined to somehow find her mother. Even after Kartik tells Gemma to ignore her visions, she tells him, "That was my mother in the woods today. And I'm going to find her" (Bray 123). This shows that when Gemma's mind is set, she can be very stubborn and refuses to take the advice of others, which may lead to trouble in the future.
Monday, October 8, 2007
A Great and Terrible Beauty, post 1
The book I'm reading for my outside reading assignment is A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray. The main character is a sixteen year old girl named Gemma Doyle. Gemma has lived in India with her mother all her life, and she aches to go to London. Why she does is not fully explained, but her mother refuses to let her go, and Gemma is unhappily stuck in India. One day Gemma has a vision of something trying to attack her mother, and her mother committing suicide. The vision comes true soon after. Two years later, Gemma, who has mostly gotten over her mother's death, though still haunted by her one vision, goes off to London to attend finishing school. As soon as she arrives she hates it, thinking "I had wanted to come to London, and now that I'm here, I couldn't be more miserable" (Bray 22). Gemma is a free spirited girl, who can not stand the strict code of the school, or some of the students. Two students in particular, Felicity and Pippa, seem particularly malicious. One time they framed Gemma's room mate, Ann, trying to tell the teacher that Ann had stolen Felicity's ring. Gemma stood up for Ann, which proves that she is a kind girl who believes in sticking up for yourself.
However, she soon has troubles much greater than the drama at finishing school. Gemma sees yet another vision of a frightening monster attacking her in a dark alley. She is completely bewildered, with no idea what to make of it. She is even frightened, thinking "I'm going mad... Help me" (Bray 34). However, she does not want anyone to worry about her, and she keeps this frightening knowledge to herself. This shows that Gemma thinks she can take care of herself and does not want the pity of others. Whether she actually can or can't has not yet been determined. Later on, a strange boy named Kartik comes to Gemma and tells her to stop her visions.
However, she soon has troubles much greater than the drama at finishing school. Gemma sees yet another vision of a frightening monster attacking her in a dark alley. She is completely bewildered, with no idea what to make of it. She is even frightened, thinking "I'm going mad... Help me" (Bray 34). However, she does not want anyone to worry about her, and she keeps this frightening knowledge to herself. This shows that Gemma thinks she can take care of herself and does not want the pity of others. Whether she actually can or can't has not yet been determined. Later on, a strange boy named Kartik comes to Gemma and tells her to stop her visions.
Memoirs
People write memoirs for a few reasons. One is to help others learn from their own life experiences. After many years of living, people have gone through many tough times, and have most likely learned from many mistakes. By writing a memoir, people can describe in detail how they have went through those times, and how they learned from their past. Then readers can learn from other people, and hopefully they will not make similar mistakes, or if they do, they will know how to deal with them.
Another reason why people write memoirs is simply to tell history from a certain point of view. For example, in Black Boy, Richard tells his story about dealing with the segregation. Any history book will tell the reader plenty of information about how miserable the lives of African Americans were before segregation was banned. However, by reading a memoir, people can relate personally to those involved, and will understand the content to a greater extent. People write memoirs because they want people to understand how their life in particular was affected by a certain event. They want others to hear their story, and be able to see an event from a stance other than the viewpoint they were introduced to in history books.
Another reason why people write memoirs is simply to tell history from a certain point of view. For example, in Black Boy, Richard tells his story about dealing with the segregation. Any history book will tell the reader plenty of information about how miserable the lives of African Americans were before segregation was banned. However, by reading a memoir, people can relate personally to those involved, and will understand the content to a greater extent. People write memoirs because they want people to understand how their life in particular was affected by a certain event. They want others to hear their story, and be able to see an event from a stance other than the viewpoint they were introduced to in history books.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Richard's Hunger
What types of things does Richard "hunger" for and what are the effects (positive and negative) of hunger?
Richard is hungry in different ways. He is almost always literally hungry, as in lacking food. It is constantly on his mind, and he thinks, "I began to wake up at night to find hunger standing at my bedside, staring at me gauntly" (Wright 14). However, Richard is hungry for things other than food. After learning to read, Richard often makes a pest of himself by asking incessant questions, "I soon made myself a nuisance by asking far too many questions of everybody. Every happening in the neighborhood, no matter how trivial, became my business" (Wright 23). This proves that Richard is developing a hunger for knowledge. He becomes eager to learn new things, and wants to understand the ways of life.
There are several different effects from Richard's hunger, mostly from his figurative hunger. From his physical hunger, he develops a bitterness towards the cause of his hunger, "As the days slid past the image of my father became associated with my pangs of hunger, and whenever I felt hunger I thought of him with a deep biological bitterness" (Wright 16). Because his father is neglecting the family and therefore causing them to starve, Richard feels great animosity towards the man. Richard's hunger for knowledge leads very different results, both good and bad. The good is that Richard begins to understand the problem of racism in his city, such as the newspaper sympathizing the Ku Klux Klan (Wright 132). The bad is that he grows to be rebellious with his family, disagreeing with their points of view. While Richard's grandmother is highly religious, Richard decides, "Before I had been made to go to church, I had given God's existence a sort of tacit assent, but after having seen His creatures serve Him at first hand, I had had my doubts" (Wright 114). He begins to think for himself, choosing to follow his own path rather than his family members. While it is good that he doesn't blindly follow others' leads, it does lead to tension in the family which often results in violence. Grandma, Aunt Addie, and Richard's mother all punish him when he disagrees with their ideas, and this makes Richard even more rebellious than before.
Richard is hungry in different ways. He is almost always literally hungry, as in lacking food. It is constantly on his mind, and he thinks, "I began to wake up at night to find hunger standing at my bedside, staring at me gauntly" (Wright 14). However, Richard is hungry for things other than food. After learning to read, Richard often makes a pest of himself by asking incessant questions, "I soon made myself a nuisance by asking far too many questions of everybody. Every happening in the neighborhood, no matter how trivial, became my business" (Wright 23). This proves that Richard is developing a hunger for knowledge. He becomes eager to learn new things, and wants to understand the ways of life.
There are several different effects from Richard's hunger, mostly from his figurative hunger. From his physical hunger, he develops a bitterness towards the cause of his hunger, "As the days slid past the image of my father became associated with my pangs of hunger, and whenever I felt hunger I thought of him with a deep biological bitterness" (Wright 16). Because his father is neglecting the family and therefore causing them to starve, Richard feels great animosity towards the man. Richard's hunger for knowledge leads very different results, both good and bad. The good is that Richard begins to understand the problem of racism in his city, such as the newspaper sympathizing the Ku Klux Klan (Wright 132). The bad is that he grows to be rebellious with his family, disagreeing with their points of view. While Richard's grandmother is highly religious, Richard decides, "Before I had been made to go to church, I had given God's existence a sort of tacit assent, but after having seen His creatures serve Him at first hand, I had had my doubts" (Wright 114). He begins to think for himself, choosing to follow his own path rather than his family members. While it is good that he doesn't blindly follow others' leads, it does lead to tension in the family which often results in violence. Grandma, Aunt Addie, and Richard's mother all punish him when he disagrees with their ideas, and this makes Richard even more rebellious than before.
Works Cited
Wright, Richard. Black Boy. New York: Perennial Classics, 1998.
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