"The Blind Assassin" Post 2a

Vocabulary

bowdlerized (69): to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable

tam (69): a woolen cap of Scottish origin, short for tam-o-shanter

Figurative Language

Simile: "He's in his uniform; his medals are like holes shot in he cloth, through which the dull gleam of his real, metal body can be seen" (76). This simile acts to further the reader's understanding in several ways. Firstly, it gives us a perspective of Iris in which she has her own fantasies, such as her father as a robot, a metal man. As the book continues, these notions are dominated by Laura and Iris is left to be the sensible on, but she has her own unique way of looking at things as well. Additionally, this simile shows the man that Iris' father has become: cold, hard, stiff, not someone one would imagine as a loving father and husband. The image of holes in his uniform reminds the reader of what he has just been through, but one doesn't truly forgive him for the pain this is sure to inflict upon the rest of his family.

Simile: "It was as if they'd drunk some fatal potion that would keep them forever apart, even though they lived in the same house, ate at the same table, slept in the same bed" (78). This simile shows the transformation in the relationship between Iris' parents. After the war, each had changed in ways that the other could not comprehend even if they had tried. They were stuck knowing only a part of the other, not able to break away or learn of the other part.

Personification: "I think of my heart as my companion on an endless forced march, the two of us roped together, unwilling conspirators in some plot or tactic we've got no handle on. Where are we going? Towards the next day" (83). In this personification, Iris talks of herself and her heart as separate entities bound together to soldier on unwillingly towards a perhaps empty goal, "the next day". This shows the disconnect that she feels throughout her telling of her story, between her current condition and her past self. She is old now, but she does not have that view of her inside self. She is bound to her body, but not willingly. Perhaps not in the sense that she wishes to die: more that she cannot believe quite how time has passed. 

Quote

"There. It's over. The guns are silent. The men who are left alive look up at the sky, their faces grimed, their clothing sodden; they climb out of their foxholes and filthy burrows. Both sides feel as if they have lost. In the towns, in the countryside, here and across the ocean, church bells all begin to ring. (I can remember that, the bells ringing. It's one of my first memories. It was so strange - the air was so full of sound, and at the same time so empty" (75). This passage was particularily affecting because, although it is describing a supposedly joyous event, the end of WWI, it reminds the reader that the ending of the war couldn't account for the losses, the atrocities, and other tragedies which it had brought.

Theme

It's better to do something or almost anything, to have motion, to have the possibility of escaping, than to do nothing, to be stuck. 

"The Blind Assassin" Post 1b

When I first turned the page and entered the novel within the novel, the Blind Assassin by Laura Chase, I was confused. Not that I hadn't been expecting it: every review of the book that you read flaunts this unique fact. Its abruptness was what shocked me, the immediate entrance with no warning into a completely different story. This one relates to two lovers, just first beginning to know each other. Both seem to recognize their status as lovers as an eventuality, it's just attaining that state that may take some time. The male seems to write science-fiction stories as a career, and their meetings result in him telling her a story that he is making up, that she has requested of him. Its interesting to note in these segments that we never learn the couples' names. Iris' tale is quite explicit in telling us the names of the characters, but this one fails to mention them. Perhaps the author felt that their names weren't important in this novel and wished their awkward interactions to take the center stage, or for the reader to be able to imagine any person in their situation, not making it unique to them. Possibly they don't know the other's name, and the author is pointing out their unfamiliarity with the other. However, the constant omitting of the names actually draws more attention to their absence. Maybe the author is actually drawing attention to our need for a name, to label the characters. Why do we need to name things? Is it simply to remember them better, such as "red-haired Menelaus"? Or do we hold certain connotations with different names, and wish to apply these to a name itself? Names have almost become a thing of value, as calling someone "boy" or "woman" has become a derrogatory way to refer to someone. Its interesting how the absence of something draws attention to it.

"The Blind Assassin" Post 1a

Vocabulary

"Sibyl in the bottle" (42): a tale from Greek times by Ovid concerning a nymph forever imprisoned in a bottle to grow old but never die.

"enervating" (65): to weaken, deprive of force or strength

Figurative Language

Simile: "The orange tulips are coming out, crumpled and raggedy like the stragglers from some returning army" (42). This simile is interesting because spring and the return of flowers, especially tulips, is usually remarked upon as a joyous occasion, celebrating the beauty and return of life. Here, Iris remarks that her flowers are barely hanging in there, even in the spring as they begin to blossom. Perhaps she is remarking as to her own similar state, as she continues in the next line: "I greet them with relief, as if waving from a bombed out building; still, they must make their way as best they can, without much help from me... I can't kneel very well any more, I can't shove my hands into the dirt" (42). 

Metaphor: "I prefer to be upright and contained- an urn in daylight" (43). Iris is speaking of how she feels a desire to be melodramatic about the end of her life, as well as looking back on it, or "romantic" as she describes it. Instead, it's more her style to be "classical" like an urn in daylight: proud, on the verge of putting on a face, things concealed without be sly about it as in the darkness.

Simile: "They killed as softly as a moth brushing against your neck" (22). This simile of the blind children working as assassins builds a great but disturbing picture in the reader's mind: one can imagine how their killing would be gentle, delicate, just a little slice with their capable hands. At the same time, the idea of children working as killers is so horrible because death and destruction is something their innocence shouldn't be tainted by.

Quote

"That's unnecessarily cruel, she says coldly.

When is cruelty necessary? he says. And how much of it? Read the newspapers, I didn't invent the world. Anyways, I'm on the side of the throat cutters. If you had to cut throats or starve, which would you do?" (23)

This quote was interesting in the questions that it raised. When one says unnecessarily cruel, does that mean that cruelty to a certain level is "necessary"? Or at least to be expected? And if one was presented with the situation of stooping to acts not thought of as moral in order to survive, what would one do? Is cruelty "necessary" there because of the circumstances?

Theme

Cruelty is a fact of the world.

The Odyssey: "Girl Sailor" The Shins

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"Special Topics" Post 7b

In this section of the book, I was a little confused. Special Topics In Calamity Physics had been so logical, and even at its most exciting one could follow Blue's path of thinking. She seemed like an entirely reasonable character, so the "feeling" that she had that Hannah's death had not been suicide seemed unlike her, if all the evidence was pointing to this conclusion. Then, her theory as to the Nightwatchmen being involved seemed out of the blue. Although Blue had referenced them throughout the novel, I'm not sure if she built up to this conclusion quite enough. She connected so many pieces of information in one instance; it had the same problem as Ocean's 12: way too many things being revealed at one time for one to comprehend all of the processes and logical paths. I just felt it was way to random; a tag on by the author to wrap up the novel. Obviously, I was not expecting the next surprise of Blue's father disappearing. However, this one I felt was a necessary step in the novel for Blue to break from the past and start anew as her own person at Harvard. Perhaps in a way this year in which she became involved with the Bluebloods was simply preparing her to cope without her father. This investigation was another step of independence as she worked at something that her father did not believe in in the least. I'm not sure about the ending; once again, the reference back to Zach seemed too random, too obscure. However, I'm glad at the surprise of Blue's father departing for whatever Grecian island she supposed. There were only two things which I felt weren't really explained fully: why Hannah had to be killed and whatever happened to Blue's dreams. Regarding the first, Hannah may have become the cause of suspicion but that doesn't seem to be a reason for the Nightwatchmen to kill her: perhaps they could have taken her away much as Blue supposes they did to her father, rescue her and take her to Greece perhaps? It just seems so radical to hang her on a mountain while she is taking her kids on a camping trip. Secondly, in the beginning of the novel Blue talks about how she has started to see visions of Hannah and realizes she is a rather morose person. This is never concluded. Perhaps the author simply meant to explain her reason for writing the book, but at the end of her senior year Blue seems if not happy at least content, at peace. I hope she continues this at Harvard for she seems like a character to truly change the world.

"Special Topics" Post 7a

Vocabulary
Irish tweed (437): a sturdy woolen fabric of light warp and dark filling, made in Ireland and used in suits and coats
wino (438): a person who is addicted to wine, esp. a derelict

Figurative Language
Metaphor: "Dad's voice was a pack of ice on a sprain" (438). Blue tells us how her father's voice or presence has a calming and pain relieving quality for her, as talking to him on the phone calms her down. The ice may also relate to how it cools her and makes her think more logically about the situation regarding Hannah's death.
Simile: "Dad always purchased five copies of any Federal Forum issue in which he was featured, not unlike a paparazzi-hungry starlet when her picture graces 'Around Town' in Celebrastory Weekly" (438). Not only does Blue wittingly depict part of her father's vanity with this simile, she also shows her understanding of her father as not one of the main stars of the academic world but one on the fringes, which complements her sometimes obsessive praise and defense of him. She has a lot of respect for him, but she definitely doesn't idolize him quite as much as she used to, nearer to the beginning of the novel.
Metaphor: "My heart thumping excitement was not simply because I knew so much about The Nightwatchmen I felt oddly confident I could deliver a Dadified lecture on them, my voice a tidal wave, rising up, up over the shabbily combed heads of his students..." (439). I enjoyed this sentence not only because of the metaphor comparing Blue's hypothetical lecture voice and a tidal wave, swamping and with immense power, but the use of the adjective "Dadified" as a high standard, the standard. It was nice to see Blue still holds her father at a high level.

Quote
"My heart-thumping excitement...and not because, incredibly, Ada Harvey's information had held up heroically upon further examination like hte British blockade against the Germans... My exhilaration wasn't even because Hannah Schneider- all that she'd done, her strange behaviors, her lies- had suddenly come crashing open at my feet like the outer stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Heteraah-mes..(For the first time, I could crouch down, take my oil lantern directly to Hannah's bone-smooth face, see, in startling detail, its every angle and plane.)" (439). This quote was funny because Blue's use of figurative language increases exponentially when she is excited. Although most would be reduced to shorter words, Blue combines five allegories/metaphors into a short paragraph describing her exhilaration over discovering the cause of Hannah's death.

Theme
Sometimes irrational thinking can lead to the answer.

"Special Topics" Post 6b

The death of Hannah was a completely surprising event. You could see something was mentally imbalanced with her, but she has really been the focus of the book. Even though Blue has been speaking about her death since the beginning, it was hard to imagine her truly being gone. Blue doesn’t seem to have a lot of remorse for her death, but more puzzlement, anger, surprise, and confusion. I’m not sure if the rest of the book will focus on her recovery and her relationship with her father, which seems to be fraying, or her examination of the circumstances regarding Hannah’s death. Based on the events so far, which consist of her downplaying her role and focusing solely on the plight of her friends, I think it will be the latter. Also interesting was her extreme desire not to arise any sympathy from anyone. Instead of feeling lucky to have been rescued but worried for her friends, she wants to be back up on the mountain with them. This seems to be taking it a little far; her anger at her father is another thing that one hasn’t seen before and this obsession regarding the outcome of her friends appears to have sparked it. I’m not sure if she wants them to be rescued truly; it almost seems as if she is worried about it, that they will be angry with her that she was rescued first. One can imagine that a drama queen such as Jade would wish the spotlight on her. However, perhaps this is Blue’s bid for her spotlight time, as if she does not want to be the one who took the easy route but struggled through traumatic events and survived; as if she feels the need to be interesting, unique, like the stories that Hannah fed her regarding the backgrounds of her friends.