Free as a Butterfly

I love a free spirit. I find myself at times disappointed with the person that I am, because I tend to be hard on myself, uptight about things, and just generally over-analytical about life's circumstances. But Santiago represents the kind of freedom of spirit that I wish I could have: sleeping wherever I might land for the night, doing whatever comes along for me to do, and just soaking up life and all it has to offer. I love this book so far because it is showing that one can live freely and adventurously and still have a grasp on the important things in life.

The Courage to Change

There are several aspects of The House on Mango Street which I feel qualify it as a Bildingsroman. First of all, it is certainly a "coming of age" novel, as Esperanza has to grow up during the scope of the book in many ways, including emotionally, physically, and sexually. She goes from simply wanting a bike to ride to loving the notion of traipsing about in high heels and getting the fellows to notice her. She is faced with severe desperation and disaster in her everyday existence, and she must find her own identity within it all. She sees all around her women who are subjected to abuse and discrimination, and she makes an important decision that she will not be like her grandmother who simply sat at the window and accomplished nothing, she will not be like Sally who marries an abusive man and isn't even allowed to look out of the window. She will take her mother's family values and her father's culural pride; these she will choose to carry onward. But she will leave Mango Street and go out into the world and fin her true idenity. She will do it alone, not because some man comes and recues her. And then, maybe someday, she can come back to Mango Street and be an encouragement to others who are in the same plight. Although the novel ends before we are sure that Esperanza is going to fulfill these dreams and goals, it is still a Bildingsroman because she makes some big decisions among others who have not the courage.

Esperanza y Janie: Como Hermanas

Pienso que el personaje mas similar a Esperanza es Janie de Their Eyes Were Watching God. En mi examinacion de todas estas novelas, he dado cuento que muchos tienen conflictos con las culturas y discriminacion. Los dos mujeres, Esperanza, un joven, y Janie, una mujer mayor, tienen problemas porque son mujeres. Para Janie, es que los hombres en su vida no tiene respeto para ella, pero ella insiste que el amor puede ganar el guerro. Para Esperanza, es que los otros no tiene expactationes para ella porque es pobre, es hispanica y es mujer. Pero ella no acepta estas discriminaciones, y como Janie pelea para sus derechos. Por eso, pienso que estas mujers tiened mucho en comun.

Paul's Growth

I wish we had a specified list of qualities which make a novel a Bildingsroman, because we have read so many that are so different, and I am trying to find connecting aspects which would help me in my decisions. I tend to believe that each of these novels present a specific culture or situation that the characters are involved in, and that the decisions they make are really due to their circumstances, and not real personal growth. However, I see growth in this novel in Paul Berlin. He wrestles with the question of his own identity and his involvement in the war disturbs the depths of his soul. To me, what makes a "coming of age" novel is this very quality in the protagonist: asking questions about their self-worth and intentions in life. So, in the case of Paul Berlin, I do believe Going After Cacciato to be a Bildingsroman.

Humor Even in the Rain

So far I am thouroughly enjoying Going After Cocciatto for one promary reason: humor. I love a book that can make me laugh in the same way in which I love a person who can make me laugh, and this book certainly did the trick. The lieutenant reminds me of my grandad: an old man who does not really care about anything but his own current agenda, and does not care what anyone around him might think about him. The other soilders relentlessly poke fun of Cocciatto as well, but he tends to get the last laugh. I find it interesting, however, that humor is injected into a novel that concerns such serious material as the Vietnam War and a treck across the mountains, but I think that thematically this will be an interesting combination of grim reality and belly-shaking laughter.

A Sick Growth

At first, I was going to give a resounding NO to the question of whether or not The Violent Bear it Away is a Bildingsroman, but after pondering on it further, I think that in some ways it is. Francis cannot help his distorted and disturbing upbringing, but he does make a lot of choices for himself throughout the novel which define the person he becomes. He chooses to burn Powderhead and, he thinks, Old Tarwater's body, he chooses to go to Rayber, and then he chooses to reject Rayber's push for reason and continue to allow the influence of Tarwater's sickness affect him. So, whether or not the change and growth is positive, Francis indeed undergoes a lot of it in the novel.

Faith Unquestioned? Not a faith!

As I began to read The Violent Bear it Away, I became very excited, because I can tell that this book is truly going to explore the questions and doubt associated with the Christian faith. Having grown up in a very conservative and closed-minded Southern Baptist tradition, I have personally wrangled and wrestled with my faith in God many times, and often intellect and reason wins the battle. I can see that "the nephew" and schoolteacher in this novel represents that side of me, while the old man and his blind, relentless faith in God represents the other, and perhaps what I wish I could have. It will be very interesting for me to see these two opposing viewpoints, and these two characters and their influences, hash it out in this novel. I wonder who will win, intellect or faith?

Who am I??

The reason I believe The Bear to be a Bildingsroman is that it is about finding out an answer to the question "Who am I?" I think that this is the key question involved in the concept of the coming of age or rite of passage novel. We have read so many extremely different works, but they are all tied together in that the main character is seeking themselves, seeking their purpose in life. In this novel, Ike learns a lot from the hunting expeditions and from the experience of the wilderness, but the most important thing he learns is about who he is and what he stands for. When he decides to reject his inheritance because of the sins of his ancestors, he is making a bold statement about his own morality and value system. He is a part of something really big in his hunt for Old Ben, but the reason this novel shows qualities of a Bildingsroman is that Ike finds out a lot about himself.

My Hunting Family

The Great Outdoors: A Culture of its Own

As a member of a family who is extremely obsessed with hunting and anything to do with the great outdoors, I can appreciate that this story is set in this whole different culture that is the hunting life. I have always had issues with my younger brothers shooting poor innocent deer and other creatures, and it is interesting that in the story the bear himself is given respect and a name, because I tend to give that same respect to the animals that I see my younger brothers scope in their rifles toward. However, this young boy is coming of age in a way that can only be seen in the hunting lifestyle: to have one's first kill is an extraordinary experience that one learns a great deal from. The outdoor world has a whole different moral code and set of ethics, and it will be interesting to see how this new version of the bildingsroman develops.

Embracing ones' Heritage

One thing I find interesting as I reflect upon all of the novels we have read is that they all, except Harry Potter which is fantasy, have a main character that is a product of their culture and struggles with that. Huck is the typical poor white orphan and his companion Jim a runaway slave, and their experiences have much to do with this fact, as does Huck's growing process. If it had been someone else besides Jim teaching him, he would have turned out a lot differently, I feel. Then Lucy is a product of Victorian English society, but the key element to her growth is that she rejects those conservative values for a more liberal and passionate Italy. Finally, Janie is a woman who is between black and white, and a woman who is alone and beaten by her husband; her struggles and experiences all stem from these gender and race issues. However, she overcomes each obstacle. The thing I am wondering, though, is if these characters should qualify as part of a Bildingsroman, because the growth they achieve is circumstantial to their walks of life and their cultures. I think this would be an interesting issue to discuss as we continue.

Their Eyes Were Watching God, and God IS Love

I agree with my fellow classmates that the title comes from the hurricane scene and that it is a representation of the fact that Janie is shaped by uncontrollable forces in her life. Like a weak structure in a hurricane, her emotions and dreams are vulnerable to every external and unchangeable force around her. However, even before I reached the scene in which the exact line "their eyes were watching God" appeared, I pondered its significance to a novel written about a black woman in the early twentieth century. God is a manifestation of love, and of love that is unconditional and pays no attention to things like race, gender and class, which we discussed as so crucial to this novel. Janie is oppressed by her society because of her identifying factors which are beyond her control, but she seems to have something that keeps her holding on. Perhaps that something is the knowledge in her heart that there is a higher power which pays no regard to the prejudices and ignorance of this world.

Las lenguas inspira; Las personas cambian

Ahora, con el leyendo del "blog" de Kat, estoy inspirada para usar mi español. Me encanta la lengua de español porque es una lengua romántica. En este libro, Lucy también está inspirada por la pasión y el espíritu de Italia y de Jorge. Por eso, ella cambia su vida y su perspectiva por la oportunidad de mostrar su misma pasión y espíritu. Pienso que, por eso, “A Room with a View” es un bildingsroman. Lucy decide que las expectaciones de otros y de su cultura no son tan importantes como su corazón y su deseos altos. Lucy gana fuerzo y bravado para hacer una cosa grande en su vida, y aunque eso no es una cambia muy notable o entendido para otros, es muy importante y significante para Lucy. Eso es la razón principal para un “bildingsroman”—una cambia interior.

Love and Marriage

I believe that all of us are in a critical time period in our lives, one in which we can sympathize with Lucy's plight. She is under an immense amount of pressure and expectations as an English lady in the Victorian Era, but she is exposed to many things in Italy that open up an entire new part of herself, a part that is passionate and unruly and unpredictable, three things that Victorian England certainly is not. I see this as thematic to life in general, as a "head vs. heart" dilemma. Like Lucy, we all come to crossroads in our lives when we can either go along with what our families, our loved ones, even our fiances expect of us, OR we can follow our hearts to the ends of the earth, no matter how badly the world perceives it. I love this novel because Lucy shows us that if she can do it, with her situation, then anyone can.

You've got "class"

I love reading novels like this one because I enjoy seeing the importance of class in the Victorian Era. Something as simple as a gesture, a seat at the table, or the view from a bedroom window carried so much weight in this time period, and it is difficult, I believe, for us to understand that in our modern world. Lucy is a great example of someone who is torn between what society expects of her and what she truly wants for herself. I don't know if this novel qualifies for the genre "comedy of manners," but there are definitely some comic, ironic twists that deal with the importance of mannerisms and social expectations. This novel gives us a delicious slice of the Victorian Era, and I am anxious to read more.

Huck Finn: A Bildingsroman?

When I think of the book as a whole, I can see some elements that are similar to the ones we gave as defining characteristics for a Bildingsroman, but I am not sure if that means that it is one. Huck does learn a lot through his journeys, for example he learns a lot about morality and what is honorable and dishonorable, and he learns about believing in a higher power and believing in himself. However, he learns these things simply because he is on the journey, having a classic American adventure, with a runaway slave who takes him under his wing and teaches him things. He is not "coming of age" to the same degree as, say Harry Potter. So when it comes down to it, I don't believe I would classify this novel as a true Bildingsroman.

Huck and Jim: Who's "protecting" Whom?

One thing that really stuck out to me as I continued my reading of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was that Huck and Jim seem to be in a very CO-dependent relationship; that is to say, where at first I thought that Huck really depended and relied upon Jim to fill his void for a father figure and give him life advice along the way, it seems that there are many times in which Jim needs Huck as well. At the very least, Huck is extremely concerned for Jim's well-being, and he protects him with urgency many times throughout the novel. In return, Jim helps Huck to see things in a more rational, logical manner instead of only seeing things in a short-sighted way. In short, I've noticed that the two truly "balance" each other out, and although I am uncertain if they are exact "yin yang" opposites, they definitely have some opposing tendencies and character traits.

I love Huckleberry

I read both The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a middle school aged student. Reading it the was just interesting and the book truly "caught me up in a world" where things were always full of adventure. However, now that I am reading the novel with the eyes of a Senior Literature major who has been specifically trained to notice themes and motifs in works, I cannot help but notice that the theme of love and suffering (and the relationship between the two) are over-arching and emphasized greatly in this novel. Huck is always looking for the kind of love he needs: he receives tough love in the form of the widow forcing him to have manners, and he receives extremely tough "love" from his pap who is cruel to him, and then he meets Jim, a runaway slave who has experienced extreme suffering, and finds the love of a companion that he has always needed. Does love bring suffering, or does suffering bring love, or neither? I think that this theme would be interesting to explore throughout the entire work.

This is my very first time to read any of the Harry Potter series, and although I would rather have been able to read the series in sequence instead of reading the last book first, I do have a different perspective to offer, perhaps, than those students who have read the entire series. One thing that really struck me about this book is Harry's passionate hate and desire for revenge on those who are his enemies. True, his enemies are cruel and some may say deserve their fate, but some of the spells Harry casts and the torture he invokes on others seems a little excessive, and a little far removed from the lovable boy who I assumed Harry must be. Perhaps if I had seen his character develop from the beginning, I would not be so taken aback by his meanness. Harry does seem to grow and mature throughout the book, but taken as an individual book and not as an entire series, I am not sure if I am able to see his true character development.