"Rock the Junta" relates to The Kite Runner in the fact that both of them take place in different countries other than the US, and they both have very strict governments. They also allow us Americans to see their cultures and how different they are compared to ours. Also, in "Rock the Junta," the fact that they all seemed happy yet won't exactly talk about anything, reminded me of the scene in The Kite Runner where Hassan gets raped but doesn't tell Amir, he just acts as though nothing has happened, even though Amir knows and treats him like crap anyway.
The graphic comic and "Toga party" were very similar. Both dealt with death as if death is no big deal. No one had a problem with anyone dying, and equally shared suicide in each story; the old people killing themselves in the garage in "Toga party" and the father "killing himself" in the graphic novel. I think that these two stories are emotional in the fact that we don't want the characters to die, we want them to live and have that perfect happy ending like in fairy tales. But they don't, and it makes these emotionally detached at the same time knowing that no one else in the story really cares, so why should we?
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Cultural Barriers
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
A cultural barrier I noticed, is the fact that the book is laid out or written like a spanish book. In a spanish book, there are no quotations which can also be a bit confusing, but you do get the hang of it.
I really liked the ending, how Yunior basically has Oscar's life if you think about it, only a good one. He's an english teacher and I'm assuming his students like him, he even started writing, like Oscar. Speaking (or typing) of Oscar, it was pretty awesome, about last thing Oscar said to the two guys beating him up, the book said something about him speaking more fluently in spanish than he ever has in his life, but what he says is actually translated. I would have understood it either way, but it was nice how it was in english so the other people in class could understand it.
I hated how Yunior didn't end up with Lola, but I guess he got what he asked for since he kept cheating on her and he still cheats on his wife once in a while. It was still a lovely ending because I guess you always have those books with the "perfect" ending with the guy getting the girl (not including Water for Elephants because that really was a perfect ending), and this one was just more realistic.
One thing that sucked was that no one ever got the second package from Oscar! I wonder what it was...did it say? And what was up with the faceless man? And that aslan-look-a-like black lion? The faceless man must have been from one of the past wars, but Oscar and Bellie both saw him? Pretty awesome slash confusing!
A cultural barrier I noticed, is the fact that the book is laid out or written like a spanish book. In a spanish book, there are no quotations which can also be a bit confusing, but you do get the hang of it.
I really liked the ending, how Yunior basically has Oscar's life if you think about it, only a good one. He's an english teacher and I'm assuming his students like him, he even started writing, like Oscar. Speaking (or typing) of Oscar, it was pretty awesome, about last thing Oscar said to the two guys beating him up, the book said something about him speaking more fluently in spanish than he ever has in his life, but what he says is actually translated. I would have understood it either way, but it was nice how it was in english so the other people in class could understand it.
I hated how Yunior didn't end up with Lola, but I guess he got what he asked for since he kept cheating on her and he still cheats on his wife once in a while. It was still a lovely ending because I guess you always have those books with the "perfect" ending with the guy getting the girl (not including Water for Elephants because that really was a perfect ending), and this one was just more realistic.
One thing that sucked was that no one ever got the second package from Oscar! I wonder what it was...did it say? And what was up with the faceless man? And that aslan-look-a-like black lion? The faceless man must have been from one of the past wars, but Oscar and Bellie both saw him? Pretty awesome slash confusing!
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