Post #8 -- Chosen Text for Mini-Project

The book Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas is about Anke and her family experiencing the push and pull of their abusive life with her father. Anke finds refuge in playing volleyball, a distraction from her very difficult life. Anke finds her voice in volleyball, and soon she finds her voice and her courage at home. Symbolism is a very big part of this book, and almost every little thing has a big affect. Volleyball is not only a distraction and a refuge from Anke's turbulent life, but a symbol of her growing confidence.
One example of the confidence that Anke is developing through volleyball is during practice, when the coach is telling them to claim the ball. "When he turns to me, the heat I'm just discovering screams, 'MY BALL!' Hair on my arms stands up and about to burst into flame. My lungs are claiming expanding territory. This is my voice. It is MY BALL." This line is so powerful and beautiful because it shows how Anke's sensations are burning up in this glorious sensation of discovering her voice. She realizes she can be strong and powerful. That it is her life she has to reclaim with her voice. It is her life, and it is her ball.
Although Anke's confidence is growing and she is becoming happier, her father wants her to quit. Anke expresses her concerns that her father has noticed the change in her behavior. I think that her father does not want her to play volleyball because he is slightly scared of her newfound confidence. He doesn't want her to speak up; to voice her opinion and maybe have some power over this ausive situation. I think this shows how weak Anke's father really is in comparison to Anke speaking up for herself. This shows me that Anke's father really isn't as big and strong as Anke thinks him to be, and Anke's father is scared of her realizing that.
In conclusion, I think that the symbol of volleyball is a very big symbol in this story; it affects the lives of not only Anke and her father, but her entire family. When Anke has her big outburst at the end of the book, that was a shear result of the confidence gained from volleyball. I think that the symbol that volleyball is not only shows that Anke has always had the confidence in her that she needed to break out of this really horrible situation, but that the abuse she was experiencing daily in her life was only a result of fear. This connects to the poem Life Doesn't Frighten Me by Maya Angelou; in the poem, Maya is saying how she won't give the power of being the source of fear to anything in life, because she knows that fear is what makes this fearful. This connects to Anke because she finally stopped fearing her father, and he was then no longer anything scary. She found the courage and confidence to stop being afraid. Volleyball is much more than a sport in the book Because I am Furniture, it is a symbol of confidence and fearlessness.

Blog Post #7 -- Fox

      The picture book Fox by Megan Wilde is a bitter, heart-warming story about Dog and Magpie. In this book, Magpie has burnt her wing and can no longer fly. Dog is blind in one eye and cannot see to the best of his abilities. Magpie sits on Dogs shoulders as Dog races through the woods, and this is the substitute to flying for Magpie. As Dog and Magpie sit outside one night, Fox arrives. Dog invites Fox to take shelter with him and Magpie, and Fox agrees to stay. Fox then tells Magpie to come with him, because Fox runs much faster, and promises Magpie that she'll be happier with him. Fox convinces Magpie to leave Dog after 3 requests. Fox runs through the forest at break-neck speed, leaving Magpie awed and speechless as Fox stops to catch his breath. Fox tells Magpie she'll now know what it truly feels like to be alone, and then leaves her in the desert. Magpie stops for a few beats, and then begins her "long journey home."

      Although every character in the book has an adept personality, Fox's is the most complex and compelling. When Fox first comes into the book, it reads: "After the rains, when saplings are springing up everywhere, a fox comes into the bush. Fox with his haunted eyes and rich red coat. He flickers through the trees like a tongue of fire, and Magpie trembles." The part of this that reads that Fox flickered through the trees like a tongue of fire to me seemed like a connection tot eh past reference to Magpie and her burnt wing: just like fire destroyed Magpie's wing, Fox (the tongue of fire) destroyed Magpie's friendship. This is one idea of what Fox represents-destruction.

      Another thing that Fox represents is loneliness. When he abandons Magpie, he says: “Now you and Dog will know what it is like to be truly alone.” This statement not only tells readers that Fox planned to separate the two, but also suggests that Fox himself has experienced what it's like to be lonely, and maybe what it's like to be separated from someone you love. Fox spread the feeling of being alone to Dog and Magpie, and attempted to make them feel as lonely as he has/had felt. This shows that Fox represents loneliness. 

     Finally, Fox represents is jealousy. Fox has experienced so much pain and grief, and then he finds Dog and Magpie. Although Magpie has a burnt wing and can't fly, and Dog has lost sight in one eye, both are happy. Fox feels jealousy that he does not have the happiness that Dog and Magpie have. I think that that also connects back to the previous paragraph, were he's so jealous and bitter he separates the two, believing it will bring him happiness.

      In conclusion, I find that I am both sorry for and angry at Fox. I feel pity for Fox because of his baggage and pain. He is loneliness and pain, and it so bitter that he enforces his pain on others. I feel a stronger sense of anger toward Fox. This is because while he may have pain and sadness and represent loneliness, he also represents destruction and jealousy. Fox did not have to enforce his misfortune on others. I also find that although Fox brought much destruction and damage, he also brought a bit of good. In the beginning, Magpie was unhappy she could not fly, and in the text it reads: "Days, perhaps a week later, she wakes with a rush of grief." Magpie feels grief because she cannot fly. After Fox abandons her, it says, "Magpie huddles, a scruff of feathers adrift in heat. She can feel herself burning into nothingness. It would be so easy just to die here in the desert.

But then she thinks of Dog waking to find her gone. Slowly, jiggety-hop, she begins the long journey home." This shows that although Magpie wants so badly to give up - something she's been doing all through the book - she thinks of Dog and how much she loves him and walks home. This small thing shows that Magpie accepts that she can no longer fly. I can connect this book to the real world, because, like Fox separating Dog and Magpie, there is always good with bad. 

Blog Post #6 -- Favorite Books

Reading is a very big part of my life. I find comfort and consonance in mutual issues I share with characters. I build a sense of empathy with main characters, both protagonists and antagonists. When I read a book, I connect with it. That's why favorite books of mine have the ability to stir up deep, sincere feelings and beliefs and teach me important lessons that largely affect my decisions.
For example, the book the Anne Of Green Gables made me feel frustrated when Anne acted vain and valued her pride over Gilbert's friendship. This book taught me that I can follow my dream and still help those that I love. I also learned to pay attention and care into everything that I do.
Another one of my favorites is 13 Reasons Why. From this book I drew powerful, deep and bitter emotions. I felt like I really could plunge my hands into the book, and into the story, and pull out Hannah Baker from her inevitable suicide, even though my conscious recognized that she wasn't real. I felt like I was the one listening to the tapes she left. I learned from this book the consequences of being inconsiderate. I learned to value everybody, and that someone always has a story to tell, and something that is paining them.
Finally, from the book I Am Malala I got righteous feelings of rebellion. I get angrier and angrier every time I read about the insufferable negligence that woman's rights receive, but I also become more appreciative I am able to live in a clean, warm home with clean water and am able to get an education. This book taught me to value everything - small and big - that I have and have encountered. It taught me that I should always fight for my rights, no matter who stands in my way and what they attempt to do to me. This book told me that I have a voice that deserves to be heard.
In conclusion, my favorite books have taught me, have made me feel strong emotions and cause me to see my world differently. My views are constantly changed by the literature that I read - be it a book, and article or a poem. In the future, I look forward to finding a new book in which I can relate. Even more though, I look forward to finding a book that will change the way I see the world.