Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Week 3, Post B

Dear Miss Lily,
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your cousin, Beautiful Moon. Her death was so sudden and shocking that it is difficult for anyone to grasp what happened in just a few short minutes. I hope you have some comfort in knowing that she passed quietly and quickly. Not only am I surprised at how you handled yourself at her death, but I am absolutely shocked how your aunt was able to remain composed and never shed a tear during in front of you during your mourning. Snow Flower’s willingness to help during this time of loss seemed so helpful and reassuring to you and your family. On a lighter note, I am curious as to what you define the Yao nationality as, because I have learned a lot about different cultures and religions this year in my history class. I also found your quote “There is no life without death,” (99) really interesting because it is such a perplexing statement. I like it because it conveys the idea that no one will live forever, which makes our time alive that much more special. I also would like to congratulate you on your recent wedding! I can’t believe that you were able to go ten days without eating a substantial amount of food, I barely went seven hours without eating today and I was really hungry already! Your husband and new family seem so welcoming, I hope you share many wonderful memories together.
Sincerely,
Rachel

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Week 3, Post A

“We may be worthless. We may be raised for another family. But often we are loved and cherished, despite our natal families’ best efforts not to have feelings for us” (96). In Chinese society, the women are thought of as useless, because they are burdens to their birth family and later, their husband’s family. This contrasts greatly to American society, where male and females are thought of equally. It is difficult to imagine how girls must have felt in China, because the only value they have to society is bearing male children. In addition, it would be disheartening to find out that you were to be shifted from one family to another and that their feelings for you would only come out on rare occasions.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Week 2, Post B

Dear Miss Lily,
I just recently started reading a novel about your life growing up in China and I love it! At first, I didn’t think your relationship with Snow Flower was that strong, it seemed like you idolized her much more than she liked you. You always seemed to follow in her footsteps and waited for her to make the first judgment, “Thankfully Snow Flower took charge again” (52). Were you intimidated by Snow Flower? Were you ever jealous of her education? It seemed to me that Snow Flower always took control of you and guided you to believe and want the same things you did, which really bothered me because she seemed like such a control freak! Did you ever feel you were being completely overpowered by her? Were you bothered that you always had to be the first one to give an act of hospitality, after all you always had to initiate sending gifts and letters, and even welcoming her into your own house? This quote that you said really intrigued me, “...It didn’t disturb me, because I knew I didn’t deserve Snow Flower’s affections” (66). This is really hard for me to imagine someone saying this, because here in America it doesn’t really matter the class difference between you and your friend. But more importantly, I feel that in any kind of relationship, both people have to give the same amount of effort into it! It’s not fair if you feel you aren’t worthy of Snow Flower’s love, if it’s a true relationship you would both give each other the same amount of love. As the chapters went on, I came to enjoy both you and Snow Flower a lot, even though I found your relationship hard to understand at first.
Sincerely,
Rachel

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Week 2, Post A

“My talking always gets me in trouble because I often don’t think before I speak, while you will be an ideal wife, always choosing your words with great care” (49). This line was spoken by Snow Flower, Lily’s “laotong”, to Lily. A “laotong” means “same-old” and the two girls basically had an arranged friendship that is extremely strong. Snow Flower is aware of her excessive talking and how that will probably lead her into problems in the future, especially with men. It is obvious through Snow Flower’s speech that in Chinese society, a man values a wife who is quiet and subordinate to him. This is really interesting because in American society, it isn’t absolutely necessary for a woman to marry a man and if there is a marriage, the roles of men and women in a family are fairly equal.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Week 1, Post B

Dear Ms. Lisa See,
I just started reading your novel, “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” and it is absolutely enthralling! I literally cannot put it down, and it was really hard to force myself to stop so I could blog about it. Your writing style really captivates me, I love the details you put into each character yet there are not so many as to clutter the characters identities. I am curious as to why you don’t use the first names of the family members? Is it part of the Chinese culture to call your siblings by birth order? I am also wondering if you chose the names of the characters, like Lily and Snow Flower, because you enjoy flowers or if that too is also part of the Chinese culture? One of the smaller details I noticed was the way you dated Lily’s birth date, “the fifth day of the six month of the third year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign” (9). It reminded me of a novel I’m reading in school, “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez, because she too dated events in the year of the dictator Trujillo’s rule in the Dominican Republic. Anyways, you can really pull the reader’s heart strings and I think that is an excellent trait for an author to have. I felt absolutely horrible for Lily when her feet were bound, even though she was rather old at just seven years of age. When you described the situation through Lily’s eyes it made it even worse, “The freshly created space where once there had been a joint was now a gelatinous infinity of torture” (30). That quote made me realize just how horrifying that experience must have been for Lily, and millions of other young girls. Why did you decide to write a novel about a young Chinese girl? Did you apply characteristics of yourself into Lily? I cannot wait to read more of the novel and find out what happens to her and her family, hopefully their future is filled with happy events!
Sincerely, Rachel

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Week 1, Post A

“The word pain does not begin to describe the feeling. My toes were locked under my feet so that my body weight fell entirely on the top of those appendages. I tried to balance backwards on my heels. When Mama saw this, she hit me” (28). This quote is Lily’s thoughts just after her mother has bound her feet for the first time. Middle and upper class women in China routinely have their feet bound as young girls and the smaller their feet are bound the more attractive and expensive they are for men. The lower class women do not have their feet bound because they need to be mobile and work in fields, while the middle and upper class women use foot binding as a sign of wealth and high social status. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain Lily endured as her feet were compressed, smaller and smaller! When she described the day that each of her toes broke as she walked, I was absolutely horrified and felt terrible for her too. I am really glad that foot binding isn’t necessary in our culture, because I love being able to walk around and play sports.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Outside Reading Choice: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I chose to read the novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See for outside reading this quarter. My friend absolutely loved the book and recommended it to me, because she read it for third outside reading, so when I saw it on the list I decided it was the right choice. This was the main reason I chose the novel, but it also intrigued me because we have learned so much about Chinese history and culture in AP World History this year. In addition, the Asian culture is really interesting to me because last summer I went on a trip to Japan for two weeks. I am really excited to read this novel because of the recommendation I have received for it and the connections I may have with it.