Monday, March 3, 2008
Zenzele (Chapters 1-8)
I have always liked letter-style writing, perhaps because I am one of the only people I know that still actually writes letters instead of emails to people. But I think the thing that I like the most in Zenzele is how telling Shiri's letters are to her daughter. The first chapter is desperate, vulnerable, forgiving and informative all in a few pages. The emotion that Shiri writes to Zenzele with comes from the heart, and the stories that she recalls and informs her of in their culture, heritage and family allow Zenzele to learn about where she comes from. Shiri is constantly reminding Zenzele to stay true to herself, true to her roots and I think that is one of the lessons that can be applied to every single culture. I think that is one of the themes and points that Mairare wrote Zenzele around: always be true to your own heart, wherever its coming from, wherever its going.
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3/20/08
Hi Samantha – Great posts here on your blog! I'm commenting on all of your posts to date in this one comment since blogger.com requires entry of word verification, password, etc. with every individual comment.
Great observations about "coming of age"—you're right that in the space of a story there is often a "coming of age" "event" or experience. Of course, this is not always how it happens in real life—and even when it does, we don't always recognize it (not immediately, at least), as a "coming of age" experience. Part of this has to do with perspective—Miguel, in "On Sunday," clearly didn't emerge from the water thinking "I have just come of age"—but later in his life, he would probably come to recognize that day with Ruben as a central one in his growth and formation. You are right when you say that this story presents both an internal and external conflict—Miguel clearly has both—and this much he does recognize in the space of the story.
Your observation about the power of the repetition of "this is how" in "Girl" is great—that repetition builds and builds so that it feels as overwhelming and endless to us as it does to the girl. And that force of language, as you note, is part of what pushes the young girl into womanhood. Interesting.
Great to hear that you loved reading The Kite Runner so much. I agree that Hosseini does a great job creating suspense. It's wonderful to hear that you are so conscious of word choice and paragraphing—I look forward to reading more of your writing!
You pack a lot in your posts on The Kite Runner, which is great. You make a number of interesting and insightful observations, and I am glad to see that the novel had such an impact on you, not only from the perspective of how it was written, but of what it teaches us about Afghanistan's history and politics. Rape—both literal and figurative—as you observe—occurs frequently in these pages—one of the many ways Hosseini connects the personal and the political, private and public, individual and communal.
You mention that the fact that Amir lets himself love Soraya is a sign of his maturity—that is interesting—this is, indeed, one of the areas in his life where he seems to let himself be happy. But you note that he does in fact need something to "give him peace"—marriage, love, successful career—these don't do it. It's making peace with the past, as you note.
Your post about memory (ending of the Kite Runner) made me think about the movie "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"—if you've not already seen it, an interesting take on memory and forgetting. But of course, we can't selectively wipe out memories – would be nice, however, as you note, if we could all get the kind of second chances that Amir did.
Good work on your Persepolis post—you make some interesting and insightful comments here. If everyone could find "a little piece of themselves to identify with" (as you write) in the stories they read from other cultures, it would go a long way towards increasing cross-cultural understanding.
Great beginning thoughts on Zenzele—sounds like you appreciate (and still practice!) that "ancient" art of letter writing—glad to hear!
Overall, I really enjoyed reading your posts to date and look forward to hearing your thoughts on the rest of our readings!
Prof Durso
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