Kevin Manning Ms. Coppens Soph. Eng. (H) December 11, 2010
Life of Pi: A Rollercoaster of Words In many ways, Life of Pi by Yann Martel was like a rollercoaster: it had its low points and its high points with many twists and turns along the way. Life of Pi is the story of a young Indian boy named Piscine Patel (or Pi to his friends) as he grows up in India. His life is completely dominated by his three religions (Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam) and his family’s zoo. But at age 16 Pi and his family board a Japanese cargo ship and set sail to move to Canada. Along the way, however, the ship sinks and Pi barely escapes onto a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger. The book chronicles the adventures of Pi and these animals as they strive for survival on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Martel divides Life of Pi into three sections. The first focuses on Pi’s life in India as he discovers his many paths to God and roams the Pondicherry Zoo owned by his family. This section is only about 80 pages and is for a lack of a better word, quite boring. Fortunately for the reader, the remaining two sections of the book contain the real action of the story: Pi’s adventures and struggles at sea. Martel uses many short, choppy sentences and vivid description of every detail in this part to really draw the reader in. Also, Martel leaves many questions in the reader’s head, such as the status of Pi’s family and if Pi will ever be rescued. All of this leads up to a shocking ending which completely changed the way I looked at this book. To find out what happens to Pi during his voyage at sea, you will have to pick up a copy of Life of Pi and read it yourself. (308)
Emily Van Laarhoven Ms. Coppens Sophomore H December 11, 2010
The Red Tent: The Other Side of the Story
Reading an illustrated Bible as a little girl, I remember asking my mom if women did any cool stuff way back then. It seemed like men did all of the important things while women sat off on the sidelines. Reading this book changed my opinion of the role of women in Biblical times.
Anita Diamant presents Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, and sister to his many sons, as an observant, kind, and strong young woman. Dinah starts by telling the story of her mother and explaining the relationships between Jacob's four wives. As the story progresses she starts to tell her own story of how she felt growing up with ten brothers and includes many fascinating details about the logistics of female life in Biblical times. The best part of the book is by far the middle, when she falls in love and stands up to all of the oppressive and ignorant men in her life. I really like that Dinah makes a difference. Her love and the results of her love cause a massacre so horrific that it causes Jacob, a hero in the Bible, to change his name. The ending of the book, like the beginning, in my opinion, was rather boring compared to the middle. I would have liked it if less time was spent describing the lives of Dinah's mothers and her isolation in Egypt. Dinah's style as a narrator is detached, since the book is about Dinah looking back on her life after she dies. This makes the story easier to understand because she knows how events affected her and understands her emotions. Anyone who likes historical books with strong female characters should read this book.
After reading this book I realized that women were as important back then as they are today. They were jealous, manipulative, and lonely. They loved their sisters, children, and husbands. They were the pillars of ethics in their families. But what stuck out to me the most was that they made a difference, even if they didn't get credit for it in the Bible. (346)
Susanna Sigler Ms. Coppens English H December 11 2010
The Red Tent: Intensely Beautiful
This book, split up into three sections, tells the story of Dinah, whose story is only hinted at briefly in the Old Testament. Although this book is written as a fictional account, it is rooted in the actual Bible and has all the characters that are written about in those stories.
Dinah is a very strong female character; she is a hard worker, smart, observant, and most of all, extremely resilient. Her ability to move past the horrific massacre that takes place in the second section of the novel, “My Story,” and find a way to start over is amazing and shows how courageous she is. Dinah tells her story with grace and a slightly detached manner that at the beginning of the book, “My Mothers’ Stories,” almost made me forget that she is in fact relating to us the events that her mothers have told her. Dinah doesn’t seem like the majority of women that the Bible normally portrays as either dangerously seductive or dependable and obedient. She seems like she would fit in very well in today’s society, much like Jane Eyre from the novel of the same name. I enjoyed reading how much the ladies of the red tent seemed like women today; they gossiped just as much, laughed just as much, and were at times just as goofy.
Diamant’s writing style is partly what made me love the book as much as I did. The story was told with a lot of passion, the events were described with amazing intensity, and every word seemed carefully chosen. The pacing of the book was also great, and I liked how the book was split up into three sections. I liked all of the sections of the book equally, although I have to say that I don’t think it needed allll of the errr…special hugging…that the ladies talk about rather frankly in the beginning of the book. Seeing that this material made me slightly uncomfortable, I can only imagine what it must be like if a guy reads this book!
This book made me realize that women back during biblical times were quite similar to women today. They feel the same emotions, worry about a lot of the same things, and have a few of the same problems, like abusive husbands (Laban) and *lots* of complicated family issues. This book also made me wonder just how the Bible would have been written had it been from a woman’s point of view, and this leads me to think about just how much has been left out considering the fact that the Old Testament was written by men. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, strong female characters, or both. I would probably not recommend this to boys, as a lot of it would probably make them squeamish, although I can’t say for sure if they wouldn’t like it. Overall, I felt that this book was well-written, beautifully told, and one of the best books I have read in quite a while, and I will definitely be recommending it (I am not sure what the number at the end of the blog post is supposed to mean because I was not here Friday).
Kaitlyn Labich Ms. Coppens Sophomore H per. 1 December 12, 2010 The Red Tent: A Life Invented for A Name Every person on the planet has a story and a life, and everyone we catch a glimpse of is forgotten, and their story means nothing to us. Diamant changes that for the readers of The Red Tent by taking a name mentioned in The Bible and inventing a story, a life, and a personality for it. Not only is the foundation of the novel intriguing, but Diamant touches upon themes relevant in everyones lives from the past, and present: The burden of memory, the miracle of childbirth, healing, and familiar relationships. In The Bible, a woman named Dinah is mentioned in Genesis 34 with respect to Joseph, her brother. Diamant felt that The Bible did not fully encompass the life of Dinah, so she created a story for people to remember Dinah’s name. The book goes through Dinah’s family history, the tragedies she experienced, and the wonderful times she spent with her mother and aunts in the Red Tent. One of the most interesting yet subtle aspects of life in Biblical Times was the relationships between family members, and how each gender had a certain amount of power over the other. However, Diamant could have taken out the too graphic imagery while still keeping the powerful messages and themes. I did enjoy the fact that it came full circle, and at the end Diamant reminded us of its purpose, “Thus can something as insignificant as a name--two syllables, one high, one sweet--summon up the innumerable smiles and tears, sighs and dreams of a human life” (321). Reading The Red Tent takes a name and puts a face to it, then puts a story to that face. Diamant touches upon every aspect of life, even the ones consistently ignored. I feel that this novel is not age appropriate for High School students but adults would enjoy the lingering memories about each human life. However, the graphic images take away from what could have been a novel of lessons and meanings that our generation needs to discover. (347)
Katie Chute Ms. Coppens Sophomore English H December 11, 2010 The Red Tent: A New Twist on an Old Tale
This unusual novel by Anita Diamant, which follows the story of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, presents the lives of biblical women in a unique light. Broken into three parts, Dinah narrates her tale, from the lives of her mothers to her own death.
The first part, entitled “My Mothers’ Stories,” tells of the lives of her mother and three aunts, who become like three more mothers to her, before Dinah’s birth. She begins with this because “If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully, (2). Leah (her mother), Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah all marry Jacob, the well-known biblical figure. The first part of the book examines their evolution from being girls to becoming mature, married mothers. In the second and longest part, “My Story,” Dinah shares her own experiences of growing up as the only daughter in a family with twelve sons. She learns the secrets of women, passed from generation to generation, hears the stories of her mothers, and forms her own identity. From the move away from their homeland, to the emotional reunion of her father’s family, to discovering the joy and heartbreak of love and marriage, this is my personal favorite part of the book. The third and final part is “Egypt,” which follows Dinah as she moves to and establishes a new life in Egypt. In the last chapter of her life, Dinah becomes a mother, a respected midwife, and a beloved friend.
I applaud Diamant’s writing style in that she uses imagery and vivid vocabulary to effectively convey the essence of lives so distant from our own. Unfortunately, for a large portion of the novel I found myself unable to fully appreciate this because I was not really “into” the story. While I did find this unique interpretation to be interesting and creative, this was not the kind of book I typically read and is probably not one that I would have picked up on my own. I would recommend The Red Tent to readers interested in new twists on old history.
Andrea Bacon Ms.Coppens Sophomore Eng. (H) December 12, 2010
The Red Tent: A Twist on Womanhood The stereotypical degradation of women in history has long been studied by today’s generation. Though this obvious humiliation of women takes center stage when looking back upon history, Anita Diamant tells her interpretation in The Red Tent. She proves that though women were not up to par with their male companions, they could still make drastic advances in their own ways.
Dinah is a strong feminist who narrates the entirety of the novel. Starting with her parents meeting, and then going on to explain the complexities of Jacob’s relationship with each one of the sisters, the reader gets a sense of how marriages of biblical times dramatically oppose the customary relationships of today. Dinah then goes on to describe life with her many brothers, as well as her time spent in the red tent with all of her mothers, a custom of this time for when the new moon occurred. Learning from her mothers’ wisdom given during these special gatherings, Dinah grows into an independent, intelligent midwife who finds the love of her life but is soon struck with a succession of inopportune events that challenge her character.
Diamant’s writing proves to contain a lot of symbolism and flows with brilliant fluency. This was the main reason I enjoyed the book since it made it not only an easy read, but one that held my attention. Her writing also proves to be very deep, like when she writes, “But I was too young to understand that the changes were mine, not my mother’s,” (168).
I really appreciated the perspective this book had on the role of women, and it shows that women do have an essential role in life in every time period. The book was monotonous at certain points, especially during the introduction and ending. Also, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys intense twists and turns in the plot, though it does not contain much dialogue. The Red Tent glorifies women and shows the feminism that society still lacks today. (350)
Jonathan Tsai Ms. Coppens Soph. Eng. Per. 1 12/12/10
Life of Pi: Truly Irrational
In the prologue of the novel, Life of Pi is described as “a story to make you believe in God” (xi). Indeed the story is quite unique and there are events in which the only explanation for it seems to be that “it’s a miracle.”
Life of Pi is the story of the life of Pi Patel, a young Indian boy who grows up in India as the son of a zookeeper. He becomes very fond of the animals in the zoo, and they become almost as a family to him. However, when he reaches the age of sixteen, his family decides to move to Canada, so his family and all of the animals board the Tsimtsum, a Japanese cargo ship set to sail across the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately for Pi, the ship sinks, and he is forced to survive on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, a hyena, an orangutan, and an injured zebra. As grave of an event this may be, his struggles on the lifeboat provide a very entertaining story with some humor mixed into the formula as well. Although at several points of the novel it seems as if nothing significant occurs, there are a few plot twists, despite the improbability of those events. Other than these twists, the plot itself is not too complex and it is written in a relatively simplistic, yet enjoyable style.
Yann Martel has written a finely crafted novel with great humor and an engaging story that leaves the reader with a thought of wondering. After finishing the novel for a second time, I thoroughly enjoyed rereading through Pi’s struggles against the improbability of his survival. Martel’s simple writing style is effective in narrating the tragic, yet sometimes humorous life of Pi. It is a nicely written story which can be enjoyed by just about anyone. Yet still, even after a second read-through, I am left with one single question whose answer eludes me. I cannot explain it without spoiling the story, but I will say that it makes me wonder if the life of Pi is truly irrational. (348)
Samuel Brown Ms. Coppens Soph Eng. (H) period 1 12/11/2010
Ishmael: Priest of the Planet In the past, and even now, many have claimed Ishmael by Daniel Quinn changed their lives. The book falls nothing short of amazing when it comes to metaphorical and philosophical standards, however its characters and plot remain rather dry and boring.
A boy, whose name remains unmentioned the whole book, is in distress. He seems to loathe his life and is searching for answers to questions his mind bears. Upon finding the sign that reads: ‘TEACHER SEEKS PUPIL. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person’ he feels it is strange and investigates. To his amazement he discovers the Gorilla, Ishmael, behind a wall of glass in a dark office room. He accepts to be taught and is willing to learn. Ishmael plunges his mind into the beginning of time, and later the destruction our existence is causing to Mother Earth with our very way of life. Constantly questioning and testing, Ishmael uses his unique teaching style of leading the boy to the answers, but never giving them away, to help the boy uncover the truth behind humans and ‘How things came to be this way.’ Summarizing life, the universe, and everything in a nutshell, Ishmael leads the boy down a foggy road toward enlightenment that is ultimately lost with Ishmaels untimely death.
I felt no sadness with the ending, but more disappointment. The great philosopher was killed by pneumonia and shipped away like any ordinary spawn of nature. Brilliant beings like Ishmael deserved a more glorious fate in my opinion, but the hand of death does not care how it claims its victims. Before reading this book, I was already concerned with the well-being of our dying world; however Ishmael’s unforgettable lessons are now branded into my conscience forever. I learned my role in humanity is to raise the awareness of how our living leeches the life out of the planet that holds us, our only home in this black and timeless universe, and that we must put the planet before ourselves. (345)
Nolan Lescalleet Ms. Coppens English Period 1 December 13, 2010
Is the Human Race Actually Destroying their World?
Gorillas are the most closely related animals to man, however who would have thought that a single gorilla would teach human about life. Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn is about a gorilla who has observed the lives of humans for some time. He learns all about the ways and culture of human beings and preaches about it to his student in a philosophical type manner, questioning and challenging his thoughts. However, Ishmael does not speak the human language, so he communicates to his student telepathically. Ishmael had to be an animal because it provides a different perspective on life. Ishmael covers topics surrounding the basic fundamentals of ecology to how man kind is destroying their own world. Quinn simply wrote the story as a long conversation, rambling back and forth, but from the view of Ishmael’s student. “‘Among the people of your culture, which want to destroy the world?’ ‘Which want to destroy it? As far as I know, no one specifically wants to destroy the world.’ ‘And yet you destroy it, each of you. Each of you contributes daily to the destruction of the world.’” As the reader can see from this quote, the author uses strong thoughts and puzzling vocabulary for the character of Ishmael and average human grammar for his student, allowing for the reader to distinguish who is talking just by the change in tone. My personal opinion on this book was both good and bad. I enjoyed reading about the concept of an animal teaching a human about his own world, however towards the end of the book, I found it boring. The thoughts that Ishmael touched upon were interesting, however I feel as if Ishmael touched upon too much. I also did not enjoy the ending, having Ishmael suddenly die of pneumonia. If I were to recommend this book, it would be to anyone who enjoys learning about the faults in human culture. One thing that I personally questioned throughout the book was, do animals have the same thought process as humans? (344)
Emily Spiewak Ms. Coppens Sophomore Honors December 13, 2010
The Red Tent: An Original Spin on a Classic Story
In the Old Testament Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah was a sad girl who was defiled by Shechem, prince of the land. Dinah’s honor was avenged by her brothers Levi and Simeon. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant tells the story not of rape and dishonor, but of love and friendship.
At the beginning of this story Dinah, a young girl longs to hear her four mothers’ stories, which range from meeting Jacob, her father, to having their 1st children. As the story progresses she tells her own stories of growing up with her ten brothers and the life of women in Biblical times. As a young woman, Dinah presents herself as strong and independent willing to fight for what she believed in. Her strength is tested when her family did not approve of her love for Prince Shalem. Tragically, her brothers misunderstood Shalem’s intentions of marriage and massacred him and almost all of the men under Shalem’s father’s rule. Dinah curses her family and sets off to Egypt. While in Egypt, she finds family in a friend, overcomes the tragedy of her past and eventually finds love again.
After reading this book I changed my view on Dinah. This was not a story of a defiled sad girl, but of a strong woman who was not afraid to stand up for what she believed in. My favorite part of this story is when Dinah meets Shalem, falls in love with him and fights for her love with her family. This beautiful story tells the importance of love and friendship in biblical times. The women helped each other in love, family, and all other aspects of life during that time. Dinah narrates this story after her death, which connects the reader on a more personal level with Dinah. Diamant makes this book tragically exciting with love, tragedy and optimism for the future and would highly recommend this to any woman to read. (343)
Akshay Thejaswi Ms.Coppens Soph. Eng. (H) 1 Dec 13, 2010
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, resembles the giant ocean its story takes place in: long, empty, and and mind bogglingly monotonous. But like in the story, there are a few interesting parts, literary carnivorous islands or schools of fish that make the whole book worth sailing through. Life of Pi is about an Indian boy name Piscine Molitor Patel, know to all as ‘Pi’ Patel. He is living his mostly normal life happily in Pondicherry, where his father runs a zoo. One fine day, Pi find out his family is moving to Canada, so his family packs up their belongings, including the zoo, and heads off on a Japanese Cargo ship. On the way, the boat sinks and Pi find himself in a lifeboat. Sharing his cramped quarters are an orangutan, hyena, most of a zebra, and a tiger. That’s where the fun begins. Although the story as a whole was very enjoyable; I must say I did not enjoy the first part. It was very slow moving and I had to push through it like it was a particularly boring set of math problems. In short, It was too descriptive. Fortunately, I managed to get through those 93 pages of unbelievable agony and get to part two. The second part of the story is about Pi’s time in the lifeboat. You would think a book about drifting across the ocean would be tedious, but it quite the opposite. Martel made the book interesting by adding in a lot of humor and extremely vivid emotion. One example of this is when Pi plays with the idea of his family being alive. I would highly recommend this book, and in fact, I already have. Next time I recommend it, however, I will remember to instruct the reader to have faith and persevere through the beginning. As a final thought, I will definitely remember this book for a long time, and after that, I will certainly read it again. (328)
Kristen Gagne Ms. Coppens Sophomore English (H) December 12, 2010
The Red Tent: A Story from the Past
The book revolves around the life of Dinah, the only daughter of the infamous biblical figure Jacob, it tells of her parent’s first meetings (includes the meetings of her “auntie-mothers”), her birth, travels and death. During these ancient times when a girl got her period they were inducted into what I see is a club, they would meet in the red tent and share old stories and traditions that were passed down by women of earlier generations. The men were not allowed in or near the red ten and were thus kept in the dark of knowing about the secret society. The only way these stories and traditions were passed down was through mother to daughter for years and it was the only way these stories come be heard by the next generation. The Red Tent is derived from the old biblical tale of Jacob; the full tale was about his life, but his daughter Dinah was once mentioned briefly in it. This was where the author Anita Diamant, got her inspiration for the story of Dinah. She took a biblical figure that was barely touched upon and brought her whole life story to life, from birth to death and everything in between within the confides of the pages. The book is exceptionally written with morals/values, symbols, descriptive language and imagery weaved into every one of the three hundred and twenty-one pages. After reading this novel, I felt as though I that I had been standing beside Dinah through her whole entire journey, when she was gloomy I felt the pain consume and eat away at her heart and I felt myself becoming joyful with each step she took towards to finding true happiness even after hardships had undertaken her life. This is truly an amazing story that I would recommend to anyone who would be willing to listen to the untold story of the young daughter of Jacob. (320)
Ishmael: With Gorilla Gone, Will there be Hope for Man?
If you had the opportunity to save the world, would you? It seems that the story Ishmael gives a logical and life altering answer to that very question.
A man reading the newspaper one morning stumbles upon an ad, "TEACHER seeks pupil. Must have earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person." Remembering his childhood dream to rescue the planet from humans, the man attends. In this room, he finds a gorilla named Ishmael who completely changes his life. Through various Socratic seminars, Ishmael takes the man through ideas he never thought could exist and eventually provides him with the knowledge to evidently save the planet. Though Daniel Quinn has brilliant ideas and effectively reveals each theory, much of the story is dialogue and you tend to get lost in the conversation. Quinn uses complex yet appropriate vocabulary to formulate the sense of insight and intelligence in the story. Subtly, Quinn also adds themes that you may not think of the first time you read it. The thing I enjoy most is that even though the theories are very difficult to understand at points, the readers are given examples and scenarios that help explain each idea. The most simplest of people could understand what exactly Quinn was trying to reveal through this text.
As I finished the last chapter of the book I felt entirely enlightened. Thought it lacked action, Ishmael greatly affected my thought process on human society. Quinn was able to hit the nail on the head when it came to the way logical humans process information. I feel the ideas absorbed through this reading will always stay in my mind and grow throughout my life. Obviously, this book is not for the romantic type but for those truly interested in saving the world. Ishmael will leave a lasting impression through its uniqueness on any reader. (309)
Haley Hughes Ms. Coppens Sophomore Eng. (H) December 12th, 2010 The Red Tent: Through the Eyes of a Woman
Through out time woman have been pushed to the side while the focus has been on men. Biblical times were no different. Dinah, the only girl of Jacob’s thirteen children, is the narrator of this fictional story which emphasizes the idea of men taking the spotlight. The importance of having sons is made clear and the insignificance and degradation of women is also described. The story is from the perspective of a woman rather than a man, which makes it different from many other historical stories. The first part of the story details the woman in her life. Dinah is close to her three aunts and mother and considers all of them her mothers. She shares their stories that they once told her. Next it describes the journey of her life from the moment she was born to the last moments of her life. This story of Dina’s life is full of love, betrayal, heartbreak and change. In retelling her story she finds her voice.
A large part of the story focuses on the mother’s lives rather than developing the story of Dinah’s life. Anita spends too much time having Dinah retell the stories told to her and by the middle of the book when Dinah is explaining her own life story her mothers are not present. One may wonder the relevance of going over the mother’s stories in such depth. She also uses a lot of symbolism with the ongoing cycle of the moon connected to the menstrual cycles of woman with the time spent in the red tent.
Overall I enjoyed this book, there was never a dull moment. Anita Daimant added unexpected and surprising events to keep you interested as well as in tune with the emotional journey of Dinah’s life. She also went into more detail than was needed and was too explicit and strange. I would greatly recommend this book to any one who is interested in an exceptional journey of a young girl who goes from being loved, looked after and influenced by her mothers to a woman finding herself and her own way. (350)
Corrine Ahrabi-Nejad Ms. Coppens Sophomore H December 12, 2010
Ishmael: The Adventure of One Gorilla and Hundreds of Men
The greatest writers in literature are those who have mastered the ability to blend analytical thinking in the reader while still bringing forth excitement from each page of the book. Daniel Quinn’s, Ishmael, an adventure of the mind and spirit seemed to have lack in any adventure and overloaded on vacuous dialogues and inquiries.
The story of Ishmael is the complex relationship between a man and a telepathic gorilla, Ishmael, who is trying to warn 'civilized' man that, though they believe it is their destiny to be the superior being, civilized man is the natural enemy of the world. Quinn uses Socrates Greek Socratic method of placing questions and debating, forcing the reader to think rather than lecturing. The gorillas Socrates like techniques of teaching combined with the use of extended metaphors, creates a blend of analytical inquiries, forcing man to question societies laws and ideas of the world. Quinn compares humans as ‘Takers’ and the rest of the world as ‘Leavers’ saying, “the premise of the ‘Takers’ story is ‘the world belongs to man’ … The premise of the ‘leavers’ story is ‘man belongs to the world.’” Quinn’s technique of comparing the reflexives forces the readers mind to question how humans live life and illuminate a new face of life.
Though Quinn’s thought provoking questions were both interesting and mind opening, the over use of questions and ‘mind adventure’ became monotonous after half the book. With little plot and great length, the stories monotonous dialogues between man and the gorilla grew dull. By adding adventure and cropping the mind and spirit, Quinn could have sweetened the dull book and truly opened the reader to a new look on life.
Corrine Ahrabi-Nejad Ms. Coppens Sophomore H December 12, 2010
Ishmael: The Adventure of One Gorilla and Hundreds of Men
The greatest writers in literature are those who have mastered the ability to blend analytical thinking in the reader while still bringing forth excitement from each page of the book. Daniel Quinn’s, Ishmael, an adventure of the mind and spirit seemed to have lack in any adventure and overloaded on vacuous dialogues and inquiries.
The story of Ishmael is the complex relationship between a man and a telepathic gorilla, Ishmael, who is trying to warn 'civilized' man that, though they believe it is their destiny to be the superior being, civilized man is the natural enemy of the world. Quinn uses Socrates Greek Socratic method of placing questions and debating, forcing the reader to think rather than lecturing. The gorillas Socrates like techniques of teaching combined with the use of extended metaphors, creates a blend of analytical inquiries, forcing man to question societies laws and ideas of the world. Quinn compares humans as ‘Takers’ and the rest of the world as ‘Leavers’ saying, “the premise of the ‘Takers’ story is ‘the world belongs to man’ … The premise of the ‘leavers’ story is ‘man belongs to the world,”(p. 57) Quinn’s technique of comparing the reflexives forces the readers mind to question how humans live life and illuminate a new face of life.
Though Quinn’s thought provoking questions were both interesting and mind opening, the over use of questions and ‘mind adventure’ became monotonous after half the book. With little plot and great length, the stories monotonous dialogues between man and the gorilla grew dull. By adding adventure and cropping the mind and spirit, Quinn could have sweetened the dull book and truly opened the reader to a new look on life.
Kate Sears Ms. Coppens Sophomore H December 12, 2010
Ishmael: Man’s View on Creation versus Gorilla’s Knowledge on Creation For class, groups were assigned a book to read that was based on stories told in the bible of how the earth was created based on beliefs of people many years ago. The book that was assigned to our group was the novel Ishmael, written by Daniel Quinn. This novel focuses on how man thinks on how the world came about and why humans act the way they act, and then the story shows how gorilla has the knowledge to teach man of how the world became the way it is today. The story is about a man who finds a sign in a newspaper of someone seeking a teacher who is willing to save the world. The man decides to answer to this ad, seeing what he is getting into to “save the world.” The man finds himself located in a room with this gorilla named Ishmael. What the man did not know was that Ishmael could communicate with him telepathically. The two would discuss important topics that relate to how the world was formed and how man became the way man acts today. The style of writing and dialogue in this novel is called Socratic dialogue, so Ishmael would ask the man question he knew the answers to so he can teach man why we are who we are. It was fascinating how Ishmael would teach the man how humans act the way they act through questions. I thought that Ishmael asking questions to get his point across really helped man understand his point about life. Also, it gave the man and the reader a new perspective of how to interpret creation in different ways based on what you believe in. Another thing that also was a significant part of the story was how Quinn never gave the man a name. This made the man symbolize any ordinary man and how they see the world, which made the book even more fascinating to read. In the end, it was very upsetting that Ishmael died from pneumonia, but this death was a significant ending because he could have been saved. This conclusion to the story showed that Ishmael was not going to be around forever, so the man should take the knowledge that he learned from Ishmael and should teach it to others so they can spread the knowledge too. At the end of the story two quotes that conclude are, “With man gone, will there be hope for gorilla?” (262) which shows can gorilla survive without man. The second quote was, “With gorilla gone, will there be hope for man?” (263) which shows can man learn about man without gorillas. (459)
JJ Courtney Ms. Coppens Sophomore English / H 12 December 2010 Life of Pi: The Unfulfilling Story
Yann Martel did everything right with his most famous novel, until the final moments unraveled and revealed the shocking twist. He kept me turning the pages since the very beginning, through his adventure and through the end. The story contained great imagination, several plot twists, yet involved cultural aspects such as religion to blend together to form one adventurous tale. The story is about an Indian boy named Piscine Patel, or “Pi” for short. He grew up, with his parents owning a zoo in Pondicherry. He was a devout follower of three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. He is living his life joyously encountering many people whom influenced his lifestyle. Then came the day where he and his family set sail on a Japanese Cargo Ship, to Canada. Shockingly, the ship sinks and Pi finds himself fighting for his life on a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger, Hyena, Zebra, and an Orangutan. His struggle begins here, and the reader is in for a treat. It will not be long until the reader is captivated by the strong descriptions from Martel.
Martel uses an immense amount of description and symbolism to accompany his great tale. “He looked panic-stricken. The water about him was shifting wildly. He looked small and helpless.” (97). Even more descriptions can be found like this throughout this novel, providing the reader the realistic visual of the experience of Pi. Along with the amazing descriptions, Martel provides a quality use of symbolism. The ocean, for example, represents the struggles that life may give you it extends in all directions and forces you into circumstances may not be desirable.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story throughout until Martel shocked me with the final plot twist of many. Endings of books speak volumes to me. I fret this ending ruined the book for me. Although, I do recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure. I didn’t enjoy the ending but I know people do, and people should experience this novel. I firmly believe, when I mature, I will appreciate this story more, unfortunately, that day has yet to arrive. (350).
Hannah Lindgren Ms. Coppens Sophomore H December 13, 2010 The Red Tent: A Biblical Story of Tragedy and Coincidence In The Bible, there are an incredible amount of stories and characters that shape the beliefs of many people. To single out one insignificant character and weave together bits and pieces of numerous accounts from The Bible to create a story of her life into what could have been, takes a writer with an amazing imagination and great intelligence. Anita Diamant, in her book The Red Tent uses Dinah, a biblical character, as the narrator of the story. She uses historical accuracy of the time period in which Dinah lived to expand on her life through certain stories in The Bible. This tale is like no other, informing the reader of culture and the life a woman. The Red Tent is a story of Dinah who, in her early years, lives at the knees of her four mothers and is doted upon for being the only daughter. She learns the many stories of her mothers who she spends every moment with, including the red tent. As she grows up to be a woman, her life abruptly turns into a tragedy. Through the lives of Dinah and her mothers, the reader discovers the general outline for the existence of a woman in biblical times. The red tent is the vital symbol of womanhood and is repeatedly brought up throughout almost every section in the book. The power of men over woman during these times is also a reoccurring theme in the book. As I read, the coincidences began to pop up everywhere towards the end of the book. Through powerful irony, symbolism, and picturesque moments I began to think of how small our world is and how quickly things change in a lifetime. This book is a beautifully written novel that captures ever instance extremely well. However, there were many graphic parts that may have been too advanced for readers my age and younger. Diamant shows how a minor character from any story can be the central individual in an elaborate reality of what someone perceived his/her life to be. (350)
Maddie McCuine Ms. Coppens Sophomore English (H) December 12, 2010
The Fine Line
Steven Wright once said, “There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.” A quote, which I find, fits the book Ishmael perfectly. Some think that this book is insightful and knowledgeable, however I think that it is the complete opposite. The lack of a story line and the use of a gorilla to symbolize the un-named main character’s thoughts makes Ishmael a painstakingly long read.
Remaining anonymous throughout the whole novel, the main character stumbles upon a gorilla in an abandoned building and befriends him. They start “talking” and somehow the gorilla reveals to this character, the meaning of life. The whole story is essentially dialogue and neither of the characters leave the building the entire time. Daniel Quinn’s style of writing, basically only dialogue, does not make me want to turn the next page and read on. It’s very easy to lose track of who is talking and is almost impossible to stay interested. Although I’m not a huge fan of Quinn’s, I respect his ability to be able to write about a whole new level of thinking. He is capable of describing to the readers his deep and analytical outlook on life, which some of the best writers would have trouble doing. Had the book been anything but just dialogue, I would have been able to appreciate more of what he was saying and possibly start thinking the same way he does. Throw in a plot and some excitement, and maybe I would not have had to force myself to read this dreadfully boring text. (264)
Dan Digilio Ms. Coppens Sophomore English (H) December 13, 2010
Ishmael: Taking interpretation to a whole new level.
I’ve been told by several people to read this book Ishmael, because I’m in to reading about all sorts of things like how people can interpret things their way, and why some people do the things they do. Ishmael delves deeper in to this concept, as it takes all the information and or beliefs of people, and paints something that in the book was described as a “Mosaic”, for a different aspect on the world.
The story’s main character revolves around a nameless narrator and an intellectually advanced gorilla named Ishmael. In the beginning, the narrator finds a newspaper ad about something that he originally sought after when he was younger, but then gave up his hopes, and originally laughed at the ad for the supposed unfortunate timing of this advertisement. His assumptions were wrong, as he meets the gorilla Ishmael, who takes him on a mental journey that completely changed the narrator’s and my own interpretation, of people, nature, culture, and the world itself. The novel itself is only around 250 or so pages, it takes fundamental ideas from stories, especially revolving around creation myths/stories, placing them into incredible metaphors. These metaphors put the story that would fit the perfect description of being “Eye Openers”. At times though, the story was very confusing at some parts. I would read a few pages, and then have to go back and read them again to try to grasp what I had just read, or at other times, I would have trouble distinguishing on who was talking, Ishmael or the narrator.
Daniel Quinn in my opinion is a very intellectual thinker, to put such things that the average person knows and completely twist it into something completely different. This is a book that can really change a person such as me, and after reading it, the way I think about certain things definitely has been changed thanks to this book. People who are interested in ethics that can be applied to almost anything, would enjoy this book, I most certainly did.(347)
Kevin Manning
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Soph. Eng. (H)
December 11, 2010
Life of Pi: A Rollercoaster of Words
In many ways, Life of Pi by Yann Martel was like a rollercoaster: it had its low points and its high points with many twists and turns along the way. Life of Pi is the story of a young Indian boy named Piscine Patel (or Pi to his friends) as he grows up in India. His life is completely dominated by his three religions (Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam) and his family’s zoo. But at age 16 Pi and his family board a Japanese cargo ship and set sail to move to Canada. Along the way, however, the ship sinks and Pi barely escapes onto a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger. The book chronicles the adventures of Pi and these animals as they strive for survival on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Martel divides Life of Pi into three sections. The first focuses on Pi’s life in India as he discovers his many paths to God and roams the Pondicherry Zoo owned by his family. This section is only about 80 pages and is for a lack of a better word, quite boring. Fortunately for the reader, the remaining two sections of the book contain the real action of the story: Pi’s adventures and struggles at sea. Martel uses many short, choppy sentences and vivid description of every detail in this part to really draw the reader in. Also, Martel leaves many questions in the reader’s head, such as the status of Pi’s family and if Pi will ever be rescued. All of this leads up to a shocking ending which completely changed the way I looked at this book. To find out what happens to Pi during his voyage at sea, you will have to pick up a copy of Life of Pi and read it yourself. (308)
Emily Van Laarhoven
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Sophomore H
December 11, 2010
The Red Tent: The Other Side of the Story
Reading an illustrated Bible as a little girl, I remember asking my mom if women did any cool stuff way back then. It seemed like men did all of the important things while women sat off on the sidelines. Reading this book changed my opinion of the role of women in Biblical times.
Anita Diamant presents Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, and sister to his many sons, as an observant, kind, and strong young woman. Dinah starts by telling the story of her mother and explaining the relationships between Jacob's four wives. As the story progresses she starts to tell her own story of how she felt growing up with ten brothers and includes many fascinating details about the logistics of female life in Biblical times. The best part of the book is by far the middle, when she falls in love and stands up to all of the oppressive and ignorant men in her life. I really like that Dinah makes a difference. Her love and the results of her love cause a massacre so horrific that it causes Jacob, a hero in the Bible, to change his name. The ending of the book, like the beginning, in my opinion, was rather boring compared to the middle. I would have liked it if less time was spent describing the lives of Dinah's mothers and her isolation in Egypt. Dinah's style as a narrator is detached, since the book is about Dinah looking back on her life after she dies. This makes the story easier to understand because she knows how events affected her and understands her emotions. Anyone who likes historical books with strong female characters should read this book.
After reading this book I realized that women were as important back then as they are today. They were jealous, manipulative, and lonely. They loved their sisters, children, and husbands. They were the pillars of ethics in their families. But what stuck out to me the most was that they made a difference, even if they didn't get credit for it in the Bible. (346)
Susanna Sigler
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English H
December 11 2010
The Red Tent: Intensely Beautiful
This book, split up into three sections, tells the story of Dinah, whose story is only hinted at briefly in the Old Testament. Although this book is written as a fictional account, it is rooted in the actual Bible and has all the characters that are written about in those stories.
Dinah is a very strong female character; she is a hard worker, smart, observant, and most of all, extremely resilient. Her ability to move past the horrific massacre that takes place in the second section of the novel, “My Story,” and find a way to start over is amazing and shows how courageous she is. Dinah tells her story with grace and a slightly detached manner that at the beginning of the book, “My Mothers’ Stories,” almost made me forget that she is in fact relating to us the events that her mothers have told her. Dinah doesn’t seem like the majority of women that the Bible normally portrays as either dangerously seductive or dependable and obedient. She seems like she would fit in very well in today’s society, much like Jane Eyre from the novel of the same name. I enjoyed reading how much the ladies of the red tent seemed like women today; they gossiped just as much, laughed just as much, and were at times just as goofy.
Diamant’s writing style is partly what made me love the book as much as I did. The story was told with a lot of passion, the events were described with amazing intensity, and every word seemed carefully chosen. The pacing of the book was also great, and I liked how the book was split up into three sections. I liked all of the sections of the book equally, although I have to say that I don’t think it needed allll of the errr…special hugging…that the ladies talk about rather frankly in the beginning of the book. Seeing that this material made me slightly uncomfortable, I can only imagine what it must be like if a guy reads this book!
This book made me realize that women back during biblical times were quite similar to women today. They feel the same emotions, worry about a lot of the same things, and have a few of the same problems, like abusive husbands (Laban) and *lots* of complicated family issues. This book also made me wonder just how the Bible would have been written had it been from a woman’s point of view, and this leads me to think about just how much has been left out considering the fact that the Old Testament was written by men. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, strong female characters, or both. I would probably not recommend this to boys, as a lot of it would probably make them squeamish, although I can’t say for sure if they wouldn’t like it. Overall, I felt that this book was well-written, beautifully told, and one of the best books I have read in quite a while, and I will definitely be recommending it (I am not sure what the number at the end of the blog post is supposed to mean because I was not here Friday).
- Susanna Sigler
Kaitlyn Labich
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Sophomore H per. 1
December 12, 2010
The Red Tent: A Life Invented for A Name
Every person on the planet has a story and a life, and everyone we catch a glimpse of is forgotten, and their story means nothing to us. Diamant changes that for the readers of The Red Tent by taking a name mentioned in The Bible and inventing a story, a life, and a personality for it. Not only is the foundation of the novel intriguing, but Diamant touches upon themes relevant in everyones lives from the past, and present: The burden of memory, the miracle of childbirth, healing, and familiar relationships.
In The Bible, a woman named Dinah is mentioned in Genesis 34 with respect to Joseph, her brother. Diamant felt that The Bible did not fully encompass the life of Dinah, so she created a story for people to remember Dinah’s name. The book goes through Dinah’s family history, the tragedies she experienced, and the wonderful times she spent with her mother and aunts in the Red Tent. One of the most interesting yet subtle aspects of life in Biblical Times was the relationships between family members, and how each gender had a certain amount of power over the other. However, Diamant could have taken out the too graphic imagery while still keeping the powerful messages and themes. I did enjoy the fact that it came full circle, and at the end Diamant reminded us of its purpose, “Thus can something as insignificant as a name--two syllables, one high, one sweet--summon up the innumerable smiles and tears, sighs and dreams of a human life” (321).
Reading The Red Tent takes a name and puts a face to it, then puts a story to that face. Diamant touches upon every aspect of life, even the ones consistently ignored. I feel that this novel is not age appropriate for High School students but adults would enjoy the lingering memories about each human life. However, the graphic images take away from what could have been a novel of lessons and meanings that our generation needs to discover. (347)
~Kaitlyn Labich
Katie Chute
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Sophomore English H
December 11, 2010
The Red Tent: A New Twist on an Old Tale
This unusual novel by Anita Diamant, which follows the story of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, presents the lives of biblical women in a unique light. Broken into three parts, Dinah narrates her tale, from the lives of her mothers to her own death.
The first part, entitled “My Mothers’ Stories,” tells of the lives of her mother and three aunts, who become like three more mothers to her, before Dinah’s birth. She begins with this because “If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully, (2). Leah (her mother), Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah all marry Jacob, the well-known biblical figure. The first part of the book examines their evolution from being girls to becoming mature, married mothers. In the second and longest part, “My Story,” Dinah shares her own experiences of growing up as the only daughter in a family with twelve sons. She learns the secrets of women, passed from generation to generation, hears the stories of her mothers, and forms her own identity. From the move away from their homeland, to the emotional reunion of her father’s family, to discovering the joy and heartbreak of love and marriage, this is my personal favorite part of the book. The third and final part is “Egypt,” which follows Dinah as she moves to and establishes a new life in Egypt. In the last chapter of her life, Dinah becomes a mother, a respected midwife, and a beloved friend.
I applaud Diamant’s writing style in that she uses imagery and vivid vocabulary to effectively convey the essence of lives so distant from our own. Unfortunately, for a large portion of the novel I found myself unable to fully appreciate this because I was not really “into” the story. While I did find this unique interpretation to be interesting and creative, this was not the kind of book I typically read and is probably not one that I would have picked up on my own. I would recommend The Red Tent to readers interested in new twists on old history.
oops forgot the word count... 350 exactly
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My word count is 512 (just the review)
ReplyDelete-Susanna
Andrea Bacon
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Sophomore Eng. (H)
December 12, 2010
The Red Tent: A Twist on Womanhood
The stereotypical degradation of women in history has long been studied by today’s generation. Though this obvious humiliation of women takes center stage when looking back upon history, Anita Diamant tells her interpretation in The Red Tent. She proves that though women were not up to par with their male companions, they could still make drastic advances in their own ways.
Dinah is a strong feminist who narrates the entirety of the novel. Starting with her parents meeting, and then going on to explain the complexities of Jacob’s relationship with each one of the sisters, the reader gets a sense of how marriages of biblical times dramatically oppose the customary relationships of today. Dinah then goes on to describe life with her many brothers, as well as her time spent in the red tent with all of her mothers, a custom of this time for when the new moon occurred. Learning from her mothers’ wisdom given during these special gatherings, Dinah grows into an independent, intelligent midwife who finds the love of her life but is soon struck with a succession of inopportune events that challenge her character.
Diamant’s writing proves to contain a lot of symbolism and flows with brilliant fluency. This was the main reason I enjoyed the book since it made it not only an easy read, but one that held my attention. Her writing also proves to be very deep, like when she writes, “But I was too young to understand that the changes were mine, not my mother’s,” (168).
I really appreciated the perspective this book had on the role of women, and it shows that women do have an essential role in life in every time period. The book was monotonous at certain points, especially during the introduction and ending. Also, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys intense twists and turns in the plot, though it does not contain much dialogue. The Red Tent glorifies women and shows the feminism that society still lacks today. (350)
Jonathan Tsai
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Soph. Eng. Per. 1
12/12/10
Life of Pi: Truly Irrational
In the prologue of the novel, Life of Pi is described as “a story to make you believe in God” (xi). Indeed the story is quite unique and there are events in which the only explanation for it seems to be that “it’s a miracle.”
Life of Pi is the story of the life of Pi Patel, a young Indian boy who grows up in India as the son of a zookeeper. He becomes very fond of the animals in the zoo, and they become almost as a family to him. However, when he reaches the age of sixteen, his family decides to move to Canada, so his family and all of the animals board the Tsimtsum, a Japanese cargo ship set to sail across the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately for Pi, the ship sinks, and he is forced to survive on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, a hyena, an orangutan, and an injured zebra. As grave of an event this may be, his struggles on the lifeboat provide a very entertaining story with some humor mixed into the formula as well. Although at several points of the novel it seems as if nothing significant occurs, there are a few plot twists, despite the improbability of those events. Other than these twists, the plot itself is not too complex and it is written in a relatively simplistic, yet enjoyable style.
Yann Martel has written a finely crafted novel with great humor and an engaging story that leaves the reader with a thought of wondering. After finishing the novel for a second time, I thoroughly enjoyed rereading through Pi’s struggles against the improbability of his survival. Martel’s simple writing style is effective in narrating the tragic, yet sometimes humorous life of Pi. It is a nicely written story which can be enjoyed by just about anyone. Yet still, even after a second read-through, I am left with one single question whose answer eludes me. I cannot explain it without spoiling the story, but I will say that it makes me wonder if the life of Pi is truly irrational. (348)
Samuel Brown
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Soph Eng. (H) period 1
12/11/2010
Ishmael: Priest of the Planet
In the past, and even now, many have claimed Ishmael by Daniel Quinn changed their lives. The book falls nothing short of amazing when it comes to metaphorical and philosophical standards, however its characters and plot remain rather dry and boring.
A boy, whose name remains unmentioned the whole book, is in distress. He seems to loathe his life and is searching for answers to questions his mind bears. Upon finding the sign that reads: ‘TEACHER SEEKS PUPIL. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person’ he feels it is strange and investigates. To his amazement he discovers the Gorilla, Ishmael, behind a wall of glass in a dark office room. He accepts to be taught and is willing to learn. Ishmael plunges his mind into the beginning of time, and later the destruction our existence is causing to Mother Earth with our very way of life. Constantly questioning and testing, Ishmael uses his unique teaching style of leading the boy to the answers, but never giving them away, to help the boy uncover the truth behind humans and ‘How things came to be this way.’ Summarizing life, the universe, and everything in a nutshell, Ishmael leads the boy down a foggy road toward enlightenment that is ultimately lost with Ishmaels untimely death.
I felt no sadness with the ending, but more disappointment. The great philosopher was killed by pneumonia and shipped away like any ordinary spawn of nature. Brilliant beings like Ishmael deserved a more glorious fate in my opinion, but the hand of death does not care how it claims its victims. Before reading this book, I was already concerned with the well-being of our dying world; however Ishmael’s unforgettable lessons are now branded into my conscience forever. I learned my role in humanity is to raise the awareness of how our living leeches the life out of the planet that holds us, our only home in this black and timeless universe, and that we must put the planet before ourselves. (345)
Nolan Lescalleet
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English Period 1
December 13, 2010
Is the Human Race Actually Destroying their World?
Gorillas are the most closely related animals to man, however who would have thought that a single gorilla would teach human about life. Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn is about a gorilla who has observed the lives of humans for some time. He learns all about the ways and culture of human beings and preaches about it to his student in a philosophical type manner, questioning and challenging his thoughts. However, Ishmael does not speak the human language, so he communicates to his student telepathically. Ishmael had to be an animal because it provides a different perspective on life. Ishmael covers topics surrounding the basic fundamentals of ecology to how man kind is destroying their own world. Quinn simply wrote the story as a long conversation, rambling back and forth, but from the view of Ishmael’s student. “‘Among the people of your culture, which want to destroy the world?’ ‘Which want to destroy it? As far as I know, no one specifically wants to destroy the world.’ ‘And yet you destroy it, each of you. Each of you contributes daily to the destruction of the world.’” As the reader can see from this quote, the author uses strong thoughts and puzzling vocabulary for the character of Ishmael and average human grammar for his student, allowing for the reader to distinguish who is talking just by the change in tone. My personal opinion on this book was both good and bad. I enjoyed reading about the concept of an animal teaching a human about his own world, however towards the end of the book, I found it boring. The thoughts that Ishmael touched upon were interesting, however I feel as if Ishmael touched upon too much. I also did not enjoy the ending, having Ishmael suddenly die of pneumonia. If I were to recommend this book, it would be to anyone who enjoys learning about the faults in human culture. One thing that I personally questioned throughout the book was, do animals have the same thought process as humans? (344)
Emily Spiewak
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Sophomore Honors
December 13, 2010
The Red Tent: An Original Spin on a Classic Story
In the Old Testament Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah was a sad girl who was defiled by Shechem, prince of the land. Dinah’s honor was avenged by her brothers Levi and Simeon. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant tells the story not of rape and dishonor, but of love and friendship.
At the beginning of this story Dinah, a young girl longs to hear her four mothers’ stories, which range from meeting Jacob, her father, to having their 1st children. As the story progresses she tells her own stories of growing up with her ten brothers and the life of women in Biblical times. As a young woman, Dinah presents herself as strong and independent willing to fight for what she believed in. Her strength is tested when her family did not approve of her love for Prince Shalem. Tragically, her brothers misunderstood Shalem’s intentions of marriage and massacred him and almost all of the men under Shalem’s father’s rule. Dinah curses her family and sets off to Egypt. While in Egypt, she finds family in a friend, overcomes the tragedy of her past and eventually finds love again.
After reading this book I changed my view on Dinah. This was not a story of a defiled sad girl, but of a strong woman who was not afraid to stand up for what she believed in. My favorite part of this story is when Dinah meets Shalem, falls in love with him and fights for her love with her family. This beautiful story tells the importance of love and friendship in biblical times. The women helped each other in love, family, and all other aspects of life during that time. Dinah narrates this story after her death, which connects the reader on a more personal level with Dinah. Diamant makes this book tragically exciting with love, tragedy and optimism for the future and would highly recommend this to any woman to read. (343)
~Emily Spiewak
Akshay Thejaswi
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Soph. Eng. (H) 1
Dec 13, 2010
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, resembles the giant ocean its story takes place in: long, empty, and and mind bogglingly monotonous. But like in the story, there are a few interesting parts, literary carnivorous islands or schools of fish that make the whole book worth sailing through.
Life of Pi is about an Indian boy name Piscine Molitor Patel, know to all as ‘Pi’ Patel. He is living his mostly normal life happily in Pondicherry, where his father runs a zoo. One fine day, Pi find out his family is moving to Canada, so his family packs up their belongings, including the zoo, and heads off on a Japanese Cargo ship. On the way, the boat sinks and Pi find himself in a lifeboat. Sharing his cramped quarters are an orangutan, hyena, most of a zebra, and a tiger. That’s where the fun begins.
Although the story as a whole was very enjoyable; I must say I did not enjoy the first part. It was very slow moving and I had to push through it like it was a particularly boring set of math problems. In short, It was too descriptive. Fortunately, I managed to get through those 93 pages of unbelievable agony and get to part two. The second part of the story is about Pi’s time in the lifeboat. You would think a book about drifting across the ocean would be tedious, but it quite the opposite. Martel made the book interesting by adding in a lot of humor and extremely vivid emotion. One example of this is when Pi plays with the idea of his family being alive.
I would highly recommend this book, and in fact, I already have. Next time I recommend it, however, I will remember to instruct the reader to have faith and persevere through the beginning. As a final thought, I will definitely remember this book for a long time, and after that, I will certainly read it again.
(328)
Kristen Gagne
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Sophomore English (H)
December 12, 2010
The Red Tent: A Story from the Past
The book revolves around the life of Dinah, the only daughter of the infamous biblical figure Jacob, it tells of her parent’s first meetings (includes the meetings of her “auntie-mothers”), her birth, travels and death. During these ancient times when a girl got her period they were inducted into what I see is a club, they would meet in the red tent and share old stories and traditions that were passed down by women of earlier generations. The men were not allowed in or near the red ten and were thus kept in the dark of knowing about the secret society. The only way these stories and traditions were passed down was through mother to daughter for years and it was the only way these stories come be heard by the next generation. The Red Tent is derived from the old biblical tale of Jacob; the full tale was about his life, but his daughter Dinah was once mentioned briefly in it. This was where the author Anita Diamant, got her inspiration for the story of Dinah. She took a biblical figure that was barely touched upon and brought her whole life story to life, from birth to death and everything in between within the confides of the pages. The book is exceptionally written with morals/values, symbols, descriptive language and imagery weaved into every one of the three hundred and twenty-one pages. After reading this novel, I felt as though I that I had been standing beside Dinah through her whole entire journey, when she was gloomy I felt the pain consume and eat away at her heart and I felt myself becoming joyful with each step she took towards to finding true happiness even after hardships had undertaken her life. This is truly an amazing story that I would recommend to anyone who would be willing to listen to the untold story of the young daughter of Jacob. (320)
Stephanie Pierce
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Sophmore H
December 12, 2010
Ishmael: With Gorilla Gone, Will there be Hope for Man?
If you had the opportunity to save the world, would you? It seems that the story Ishmael gives a logical and life altering answer to that very question.
A man reading the newspaper one morning stumbles upon an ad, "TEACHER seeks pupil. Must have earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person." Remembering his childhood dream to rescue the planet from humans, the man attends. In this room, he finds a gorilla named Ishmael who completely changes his life. Through various Socratic seminars, Ishmael takes the man through ideas he never thought could exist and eventually provides him with the knowledge to evidently save the planet. Though Daniel Quinn has brilliant ideas and effectively reveals each theory, much of the story is dialogue and you tend to get lost in the conversation. Quinn uses complex yet appropriate vocabulary to formulate the sense of insight and intelligence in the story. Subtly, Quinn also adds themes that you may not think of the first time you read it. The thing I enjoy most is that even though the theories are very difficult to understand at points, the readers are given examples and scenarios that help explain each idea. The most simplest of people could understand what exactly Quinn was trying to reveal through this text.
As I finished the last chapter of the book I felt entirely enlightened. Thought it lacked action, Ishmael greatly affected my thought process on human society. Quinn was able to hit the nail on the head when it came to the way logical humans process information. I feel the ideas absorbed through this reading will always stay in my mind and grow throughout my life. Obviously, this book is not for the romantic type but for those truly interested in saving the world. Ishmael will leave a lasting impression through its uniqueness on any reader. (309)
STEPHANIE PIERCE!!!!!!!!!!
Haley Hughes
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Sophomore Eng. (H)
December 12th, 2010
The Red Tent: Through the Eyes of a Woman
Through out time woman have been pushed to the side while the focus has been on men. Biblical times were no different. Dinah, the only girl of Jacob’s thirteen children, is the narrator of this fictional story which emphasizes the idea of men taking the spotlight. The importance of having sons is made clear and the insignificance and degradation of women is also described. The story is from the perspective of a woman rather than a man, which makes it different from many other historical stories. The first part of the story details the woman in her life. Dinah is close to her three aunts and mother and considers all of them her mothers. She shares their stories that they once told her. Next it describes the journey of her life from the moment she was born to the last moments of her life. This story of Dina’s life is full of love, betrayal, heartbreak and change. In retelling her story she finds her voice.
A large part of the story focuses on the mother’s lives rather than developing the story of Dinah’s life. Anita spends too much time having Dinah retell the stories told to her and by the middle of the book when Dinah is explaining her own life story her mothers are not present. One may wonder the relevance of going over the mother’s stories in such depth. She also uses a lot of symbolism with the ongoing cycle of the moon connected to the menstrual cycles of woman with the time spent in the red tent.
Overall I enjoyed this book, there was never a dull moment. Anita Daimant added unexpected and surprising events to keep you interested as well as in tune with the emotional journey of Dinah’s life. She also went into more detail than was needed and was too explicit and strange. I would greatly recommend this book to any one who is interested in an exceptional journey of a young girl who goes from being loved, looked after and influenced by her mothers to a woman finding herself and her own way. (350)
Corrine Ahrabi-Nejad
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Sophomore H
December 12, 2010
Ishmael: The Adventure of One Gorilla and Hundreds of Men
The greatest writers in literature are those who have mastered the ability to blend analytical thinking in the reader while still bringing forth excitement from each page of the book. Daniel Quinn’s, Ishmael, an adventure of the mind and spirit seemed to have lack in any adventure and overloaded on vacuous dialogues and inquiries.
The story of Ishmael is the complex relationship between a man and a telepathic gorilla, Ishmael, who is trying to warn 'civilized' man that, though they believe it is their destiny to be the superior being, civilized man is the natural enemy of the world. Quinn uses Socrates Greek Socratic method of placing questions and debating, forcing the reader to think rather than lecturing. The gorillas Socrates like techniques of teaching combined with the use of extended metaphors, creates a blend of analytical inquiries, forcing man to question societies laws and ideas of the world. Quinn compares humans as ‘Takers’ and the rest of the world as ‘Leavers’ saying, “the premise of the ‘Takers’ story is ‘the world belongs to man’ … The premise of the ‘leavers’ story is ‘man belongs to the world.’” Quinn’s technique of comparing the reflexives forces the readers mind to question how humans live life and illuminate a new face of life.
Though Quinn’s thought provoking questions were both interesting and mind opening, the over use of questions and ‘mind adventure’ became monotonous after half the book. With little plot and great length, the stories monotonous dialogues between man and the gorilla grew dull. By adding adventure and cropping the mind and spirit, Quinn could have sweetened the dull book and truly opened the reader to a new look on life.
Corrine Ahrabi-Nejad
ReplyDeleteMs. Coppens
Sophomore H
December 12, 2010
Ishmael: The Adventure of One Gorilla and Hundreds of Men
The greatest writers in literature are those who have mastered the ability to blend analytical thinking in the reader while still bringing forth excitement from each page of the book. Daniel Quinn’s, Ishmael, an adventure of the mind and spirit seemed to have lack in any adventure and overloaded on vacuous dialogues and inquiries.
The story of Ishmael is the complex relationship between a man and a telepathic gorilla, Ishmael, who is trying to warn 'civilized' man that, though they believe it is their destiny to be the superior being, civilized man is the natural enemy of the world. Quinn uses Socrates Greek Socratic method of placing questions and debating, forcing the reader to think rather than lecturing. The gorillas Socrates like techniques of teaching combined with the use of extended metaphors, creates a blend of analytical inquiries, forcing man to question societies laws and ideas of the world. Quinn compares humans as ‘Takers’ and the rest of the world as ‘Leavers’ saying, “the premise of the ‘Takers’ story is ‘the world belongs to man’ … The premise of the ‘leavers’ story is ‘man belongs to the world,”(p. 57) Quinn’s technique of comparing the reflexives forces the readers mind to question how humans live life and illuminate a new face of life.
Though Quinn’s thought provoking questions were both interesting and mind opening, the over use of questions and ‘mind adventure’ became monotonous after half the book. With little plot and great length, the stories monotonous dialogues between man and the gorilla grew dull. By adding adventure and cropping the mind and spirit, Quinn could have sweetened the dull book and truly opened the reader to a new look on life.
Sorry i forgot to put the page number!!!
Kate Sears
ReplyDeleteMs. Coppens
Sophomore H
December 12, 2010
Ishmael: Man’s View on Creation versus Gorilla’s Knowledge on Creation
For class, groups were assigned a book to read that was based on stories told in the bible of how the earth was created based on beliefs of people many years ago. The book that was assigned to our group was the novel Ishmael, written by Daniel Quinn. This novel focuses on how man thinks on how the world came about and why humans act the way they act, and then the story shows how gorilla has the knowledge to teach man of how the world became the way it is today.
The story is about a man who finds a sign in a newspaper of someone seeking a teacher who is willing to save the world. The man decides to answer to this ad, seeing what he is getting into to “save the world.” The man finds himself located in a room with this gorilla named Ishmael. What the man did not know was that Ishmael could communicate with him telepathically. The two would discuss important topics that relate to how the world was formed and how man became the way man acts today. The style of writing and dialogue in this novel is called Socratic dialogue, so Ishmael would ask the man question he knew the answers to so he can teach man why we are who we are. It was fascinating how Ishmael would teach the man how humans act the way they act through questions. I thought that Ishmael asking questions to get his point across really helped man understand his point about life. Also, it gave the man and the reader a new perspective of how to interpret creation in different ways based on what you believe in. Another thing that also was a significant part of the story was how Quinn never gave the man a name. This made the man symbolize any ordinary man and how they see the world, which made the book even more fascinating to read.
In the end, it was very upsetting that Ishmael died from pneumonia, but this death was a significant ending because he could have been saved. This conclusion to the story showed that Ishmael was not going to be around forever, so the man should take the knowledge that he learned from Ishmael and should teach it to others so they can spread the knowledge too. At the end of the story two quotes that conclude are, “With man gone, will there be hope for gorilla?” (262) which shows can gorilla survive without man. The second quote was, “With gorilla gone, will there be hope for man?” (263) which shows can man learn about man without gorillas. (459)
JJ Courtney
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Sophomore English / H
12 December 2010
Life of Pi: The Unfulfilling Story
Yann Martel did everything right with his most famous novel, until the final moments unraveled and revealed the shocking twist. He kept me turning the pages since the very beginning, through his adventure and through the end. The story contained great imagination, several plot twists, yet involved cultural aspects such as religion to blend together to form one adventurous tale. The story is about an Indian boy named Piscine Patel, or “Pi” for short. He grew up, with his parents owning a zoo in Pondicherry. He was a devout follower of three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. He is living his life joyously encountering many people whom influenced his lifestyle. Then came the day where he and his family set sail on a Japanese Cargo Ship, to Canada. Shockingly, the ship sinks and Pi finds himself fighting for his life on a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger, Hyena, Zebra, and an Orangutan. His struggle begins here, and the reader is in for a treat. It will not be long until the reader is captivated by the strong descriptions from Martel.
Martel uses an immense amount of description and symbolism to accompany his great tale. “He looked panic-stricken. The water about him was shifting wildly. He looked small and helpless.” (97). Even more descriptions can be found like this throughout this novel, providing the reader the realistic visual of the experience of Pi. Along with the amazing descriptions, Martel provides a quality use of symbolism. The ocean, for example, represents the struggles that life may give you it extends in all directions and forces you into circumstances may not be desirable.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story throughout until Martel shocked me with the final plot twist of many. Endings of books speak volumes to me. I fret this ending ruined the book for me. Although, I do recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure. I didn’t enjoy the ending but I know people do, and people should experience this novel. I firmly believe, when I mature, I will appreciate this story more, unfortunately, that day has yet to arrive. (350).
Hannah Lindgren
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Sophomore H
December 13, 2010
The Red Tent: A Biblical Story of Tragedy and Coincidence
In The Bible, there are an incredible amount of stories and characters that shape the beliefs of many people. To single out one insignificant character and weave together bits and pieces of numerous accounts from The Bible to create a story of her life into what could have been, takes a writer with an amazing imagination and great intelligence. Anita Diamant, in her book The Red Tent uses Dinah, a biblical character, as the narrator of the story. She uses historical accuracy of the time period in which Dinah lived to expand on her life through certain stories in The Bible. This tale is like no other, informing the reader of culture and the life a woman.
The Red Tent is a story of Dinah who, in her early years, lives at the knees of her four mothers and is doted upon for being the only daughter. She learns the many stories of her mothers who she spends every moment with, including the red tent. As she grows up to be a woman, her life abruptly turns into a tragedy. Through the lives of Dinah and her mothers, the reader discovers the general outline for the existence of a woman in biblical times. The red tent is the vital symbol of womanhood and is repeatedly brought up throughout almost every section in the book. The power of men over woman during these times is also a reoccurring theme in the book. As I read, the coincidences began to pop up everywhere towards the end of the book. Through powerful irony, symbolism, and picturesque moments I began to think of how small our world is and how quickly things change in a lifetime.
This book is a beautifully written novel that captures ever instance extremely well. However, there were many graphic parts that may have been too advanced for readers my age and younger. Diamant shows how a minor character from any story can be the central individual in an elaborate reality of what someone perceived his/her life to be. (350)
Maddie McCuine
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Sophomore English (H)
December 12, 2010
The Fine Line
Steven Wright once said, “There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.” A quote, which I find, fits the book Ishmael perfectly. Some think that this book is insightful and knowledgeable, however I think that it is the complete opposite. The lack of a story line and the use of a gorilla to symbolize the un-named main character’s thoughts makes Ishmael a painstakingly long read.
Remaining anonymous throughout the whole novel, the main character stumbles upon a gorilla in an abandoned building and befriends him. They start “talking” and somehow the gorilla reveals to this character, the meaning of life. The whole story is essentially dialogue and neither of the characters leave the building the entire time. Daniel Quinn’s style of writing, basically only dialogue, does not make me want to turn the next page and read on. It’s very easy to lose track of who is talking and is almost impossible to stay interested. Although I’m not a huge fan of Quinn’s, I respect his ability to be able to write about a whole new level of thinking. He is capable of describing to the readers his deep and analytical outlook on life, which some of the best writers would have trouble doing. Had the book been anything but just dialogue, I would have been able to appreciate more of what he was saying and possibly start thinking the same way he does. Throw in a plot and some excitement, and maybe I would not have had to force myself to read this dreadfully boring text. (264)
Dan Digilio
ReplyDeleteMs. Coppens
Sophomore English (H)
December 13, 2010
Ishmael: Taking interpretation to a whole new level.
I’ve been told by several people to read this book Ishmael, because I’m in to reading about all sorts of things like how people can interpret things their way, and why some people do the things they do. Ishmael delves deeper in to this concept, as it takes all the information and or beliefs of people, and paints something that in the book was described as a “Mosaic”, for a different aspect on the world.
The story’s main character revolves around a nameless narrator and an intellectually advanced gorilla named Ishmael. In the beginning, the narrator finds a newspaper ad about something that he originally sought after when he was younger, but then gave up his hopes, and originally laughed at the ad for the supposed unfortunate timing of this advertisement. His assumptions were wrong, as he meets the gorilla Ishmael, who takes him on a mental journey that completely changed the narrator’s and my own interpretation, of people, nature, culture, and the world itself. The novel itself is only around 250 or so pages, it takes fundamental ideas from stories, especially revolving around creation myths/stories, placing them into incredible metaphors. These metaphors put the story that would fit the perfect description of being “Eye Openers”. At times though, the story was very confusing at some parts. I would read a few pages, and then have to go back and read them again to try to grasp what I had just read, or at other times, I would have trouble distinguishing on who was talking, Ishmael or the narrator.
Daniel Quinn in my opinion is a very intellectual thinker, to put such things that the average person knows and completely twist it into something completely different. This is a book that can really change a person such as me, and after reading it, the way I think about certain things definitely has been changed thanks to this book. People who are interested in ethics that can be applied to almost anything, would enjoy this book, I most certainly did.(347)
-Bah, day late, hope this won't hurt me too much.