Montana 1918 and After

Finished Montana, and I liked it :) It was good, and some parts were pretty thrilling. It moved fairly fast, and kept my attention focused.

First, I'd like to explain my reaction to David's character and voice as the narrator. I think that it was a good idea to have they young twelve year old son as a narrator. He has an amazing capacity for sympathy and love, while maintaining his innocence, and giving the immediate, raw reaction a person might have to the situations. Because David is pretty young, and his life was comfortable prior to the event, he is a little short-sighted. When Uncle Frank commits suicide, he is happy, think that his death was a stroke of luck that will solve his family's problems. He says that people will grieve for a while, but things will return as they were. That was definitely not the case, because Gail, Wes, and David were ostracized from the Hayden family. That was also a sad ending to their lives in Montana.

The Jars. I could imagine Frank going crazy, smashing glass jars in the root cellar. Breaking glass makes a terrible sound. And the poor mother and father were terrified, sitting like children (according to David) on the couch. The father kept it together, and comforted the mother, who thought of how Frank was destroying their lives and efforts. Imagine waking up at 1AM in the morning, when its dark, the sound of a rapist smashing glass in the basement. I would be terrified. I came to love the character of the father, as he became the voice of morality, perseverance, and justice. He knew he had to endure the sound, and keep his family from collapsing.

I also admire the mother. She, too, tried to save her family, while doing what was right. She sent David to find his father, when the huge men of the grandfather came to forcefully break into the house and release the criminal. That was pretty impressive to me.

Montana 1948: Loving Air

For those reading, I am a little into Part II, so beware, because I might ruin some suprises.

Firstly, I can sort of sympathize with how the mother is unused to Montana. Montana weather seems very extreme, with the differences on both sides of the county. Personally, I think it would take a very long time for me to get acustomed to Montana. I like the suburban environment, with towns side-by-side and accesible. I like the weather here, with all four seasons (except maybe spring, because of the pollen). As for landscape, I think hills are nice; I live on one anyways. I now picture Montana to be very dusty, and flat, and brown, with rigid mountains surrounding it. The isolation of Bentrock does not suit me either. From the title, I am going to assume that the entire story that David will tell, happens in the year 1948, which only gives the time span a few months (the book starts in August).

I also noticed how the mother was standing outside, appreciating the smell of nature and wind. I hope this doesn't sound weird (it probably will), but sometimes I love the smell of air! I love how winter nights smell, especially in Vermont. I love the smell of summer nights, and the sense of "whoa" it evokes. Fall nights are also amazing too, in a different way. I can understand how the mother would want to take some time to enjoy the wind.

I think that Marie's name is a little ironic. She is Marie Little Soldier. David describer her not being little, but tall and full-figured. Maybe she is only little, because of the way people are prejudiced against Indians, diminishing their importance and role in the town's society. The "soldier" part indicates that she is tough and spirited, but she is "little," because society ranks her so.

I think I should start expecting that women are sexually abused in these novels. When I saw that the protagonist was a boy this time, I thought that there would be no undermining of women, oh well. I wouldn't call this a feminist novel. It focuese more on racial discriminations, not female independence and power. It just happens that in the books we read, the women are tradionally the victims of rape.

The House On the Corner of The Future and Past

I really actually enjoyed The House on Mango Street . Despite the vignettes, I feel like there was a structure and chronological progression over the course of the story, even though it was unclear oftentimes. For a while, I thought that Esperanza was 16, until I found out that Sally was only 13. And now thinking on that, Esperanza was pretty young to have such determined dreams, and to be told that she must leave Mango Street in order to return for others. That whole concept also now makes sense, because most of the story is spent either describing Esperanza's perspective and experience on things, or the tragic lives of others.

Among other things, I found the three sisters to be rather curious. Firstly, they seem unrelated, but there is a close connection between the three of them. They remind me of the three evil witches in MacBeth, because they juxtapose each other. The witches in MacBeth are messengers of the Devil, bringing about the demise of people and causing trouble. The three sisters seem to be good people, because they encourage Esperanza on her dream of escaping Mango Street, and tell her to save others. However, both sets of witches are "magical." Esperanza describes sisters to be strangely knowledgeable about her future and her thoughts. There is also sense that the three witches/sisters from both stories have very connected minds. Furthermore, the sisters vanish very suddenly, like the MacBeth witches. (whooosshhhhooshhosshhh *Anthony's vanishing sound effect*). The two sets of witches are opposites of each other.

At first, in the novel, I wasn't sure how each little story could possibly tell the life and maturing of Esperanza, but it has. I actually tried reading this book the summer before fifth or sixth grade, but I remember that I understood very little of the symbols and meanings behind each experience in the vignettes. Now, I am glad I can appreciate the creativity and emotion behind Esperanza's conclusions and perspectives.

I also find it coincidental that Esperanza wanted to be a femme fatale, like the beautiful but powerful women she saw in movies. Personally, I don't think she is a femme fatale, and I don't expect her to be. She is too considerate of others, and though she wants independence from men, she doesn't seem vengeful. On the other hand, Catherine, from Wuthering Heights, was nasty, and had little care for others. Catherine ruined Heathcliff and Edgar, but Esperanza did not do that to anyone. She took care of herself, and tried to help others, without putting herself in those type of femme fatale conflicts.

Oh, hahah, I almost forgot to address the title of my blog. Okay, so last blurb. By the end of the story, I think Esperanza finally understood that though she wanted Mango Street to remain in her past, Mango Street has defined her goals and future. Because of her experience there (the disappointment she felt and determination to escape), she will eventually find a way out, and come back to help others. Mango Street is essentially the greatest factor of her past, and the greatest force to bring about her future.