Hassan's Form of Revenge

As I continue to read Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the actions of Hassan troubled me.  His "best friend" Amir had betrayed him in numerous ways, and yet Hassan refused to turn him in.  And in the end, Amir felt worse about his actions.  This is because he felt Hassan was so much better than him.  Because if this, Hassan's acts of loyalty to his traitorous friend make me think about the importance of being a good person.

In the book, Amir had run away from Hassan being sexually harassed rather than stick up for him.  All Amir wanted was for Hassan hurt so they'd go back to being friends.  Amir threw fruit at Hassan and begged Hassan to throw one at him, but Hassan refused out of being a loyal friend.  This made Amir feel worse.  Amir then framed Hassan for stealing his birthday presents.  After Hassan told his father what happened, he begged him not to turn Amir in out of being a "good samaritan." In turn, this was his revenge.  Amir realized he loved Hassan "more than anything," and realized how he let such a valuable person slip through his life.  Because Hassan stayed on the side of loyalty and friendship, he proved to be a much stronger and better person than Amir.  While Amir ran and willingly hurt his friend, Hassan stood up for him.  He was actually able to take revenge on Amir unwillingly by showing his good side.  In conclusion, I think this book gives a great example of how you should always try to be the best person you can be.  In the end, it might turn out best for you in some way.

Just Fun, No Rules

451 degrees fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns.  In the book I am reading, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, the main character Montag is a fireman.  However, in his life, firemen are people who start fires and burn all books so that nobody gets crazy ideas besides basic facts such as names of states.  Also in his world, there are basically no rules.  Kids can go around killing each other, and are encouraged to go to the amusement park 24/7.   However, although many people in the book don't realize it, this form of chaos and fun doesn't actually make them truly happy.  This makes me think about the difference between having fun and being happy.

In the book, although Montag said he was happy at first, a 17 year old girl helped him realize otherwise.  For example, because of the no rules and ample amount of fun to have, people in Montag's life never get to know each other.  Barely anyone ever talks to one another. Montag realizes this when his own wife had a near death experience, and he realized he wouldn't have cried if she had died.  In truth, they were complete strangers not worth caring about.  Also, through this lack of conscience because of the no rules policy, people are left to take horrible actions while "having fun."  For example, while Montag and other firemen filled up on glee from burning the books of a house, they burned and killed a women.  Beatty, another fireman's excuse was that she was crazy for having all those books and she would have committed suicide anyways.  Overall, I think there is a fine line between having fun and being happy.

In conclusion, although being happy and having fun can often go together, sometimes it's the opposite.  When people say that they wish there were no rules, I think that they should reconsider that.  If having fun is taken too far, it can often lead to supporting chaos and no rules.  And that, as exemplified by people in Montag's life, can lead to a very unhappy life where people die and get hurt.  A place where no one cares for each other.  This book has also made me think about the importance of having a stable set of rules, so that the world isn't chaotic and so dangerous.

Be Your Own Person

     "In serving you father and mother, remonstrate with them gently.  On seeing that they do not heed your suggestions, remain respectful and do not act contrary.  Although concerned, voice no resentment."  This is just one rule Frances, from the book Bitter Melon, by Cara Chow has to follow.  Like many other things in her life, it demonstrates that others must control her life, and that she must bend her wants to the wants of others.  Throughout the book, I have realized the importance of doing things just for yourself.  This does not mean I believe in being selfish, but I think that we shouldn't always do things for others because it can end up hurting us.

     The reason I think this is because of how others have impacted Frances' life by making her do just that. For example, although she doesn't really want to become a doctor, she is working herself to get into UC Berkeley to take up medical practice.  The only reason for this is that her mother wants her to become a doctor, fix her stomach, and her mom wants to live with Frances in a nice house.  Frances' whole life is planned out by her tiger mom, and is afraid to do anything she actually wants to do because it would displease her mother.  Another example that affects Frances slightly less, was when her teacher told her to join the speech team.  Although she didn't want to, she didn't want to upset her teacher by declining.  And when her teacher asked her if she could practice after school that day, she didn't want to say no, even though she had her expensive Princeton Review class.  "Ms. Taylor is already going out of her way for me.  How can I inconvenience her any further?"  Frances had thought.  These things have all affected her negatively.

     Overall, by only doing what others wish of her, Frances has made her own life worse for herself.  She has to miss her class and take a job she doesn't want, and go to a college that she doesn't actually care if she gets into or not.  Although, her mom may beat her for doing so, I hope that later in the book, Frances will stand up for herself.  Why should everyone be happy but not her?  This is why I now realize how just doing some things for yourself is sort of mandatory for your own health and happiness.  You shouldn't always be miserable to just please others.

Thoughts Come With A Price

As I finished the book "Specials," by Scott Westerfeld, I realized a connection between empty-headed bubbleheads and the fact that there are no wars or arguments between them.  In the book, there is a city called Diego where the people are given the choice of whether or not they want lesions in their brains or to be "random-minded" and think for themselves clearly.  Unfortunately, in the city where Tally comes from is against having clear and open minds, so they saw Diego as a threat and sparked war.  This makes me think that ideas come with a price: arguments and war.  Because the minds of pretty bubbleheads are too muddled to form clear ideas, there is no room for war or disagreement.

I think this because when the main character Tally listened to conversations of people in Diego, she realized that most of it was arguments.  However, back in her city, it was very uncommon to have any disagreement between people.  This makes me feel upset that in order to have a personality and have your own thoughts, you can spark disagreements that could end up killing people.  This happens because when everyone has their own opinions, they might think that they are right and try to argue with people who think otherwise.  This makes me think about how you can't only have good or bad, because they can't exist without each other.  Is this the reason behind those who invented the lesions?  This just ads to my previous conflict expressed in an earlier post about how I feel about Pretties and Uglies and the Smokies.  Would it really be bad to just live in a peaceful world without wars?  Or is having your own mind fully to yourself worth the risk?

Risks Are Part of Life

     Remy Starr's life has always been organized.  In the book This Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen, Remy said herself that vacuuming in straight lines was a second nature to her, and her room had not one thing out of place.  However, when she started dating Dexter, she realized and was frightened by the idea that she was letting things "get out of hand" because she started to let some things slide.  However, throughout the story, Dexter always persuaded her to take risks and stop being so controlling over her life.  This made me realize that life would be boring and meaningless if you never took risks.

     Overall, I realized how boring Remy's life was because of all the rules she set for herself.  For example, she allowed no one to eat in her car, she had a plan for the summer (a summer fling that would have to end before college) and, well, she did the same things and went to the same places all the time.  Although she enjoyed a good party, she was generally afraid of stepping out of the lines.  However, Dexter tried to show her that eating a few french fries in the car wasn't going to kill her, and he taught her how to lay back a little.  He even made a speech once in the story about how he pitied those who never even wanted to try something.  I totally agreed with this because I always like to try things that my friends might be too scared to do.  Life has to have some meaning to it.  We can't always be robots.  I feel that life is a gift that offers you the chance to do things and most importantly, try things even if it means taking a risk.

     In conclusion, I think that you can't really live unless you take some risks.  This doesn't mean you have to be reckless, but I think you should make the most of your life.  I believe that people who are like Remy and are always very rigid may end up being very upset.  Afterall, Remy always seemed insecure in the book, while Dexter, who was up for anything, always seemed so happy.

Home is Where The Memories Lie

Originally written and posted on Thursday, September 13th, 2012

  For most of her childhood, Anita from the book Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez, lived on her family's land in the Dominican Republic.  To her, that was her beloved home.  Even when she found out that her father and uncle were involved in a plot to kill the dictator, it was her beloved home.  When spies came and trashed her house, when she had to hide in a closet for months, and even when El Jefe's nephew murdered her uncle and father, the Dominican Republic was her beloved home.  Despite all of those horrible events that Anita faced in her native country, she kept saying that she wanted to return there even after she had escaped to the USA.  If I was Anita, I would not think that the Dominican Republic is my beloved home.  I believe that the true meaning of home is a place that is safe and where your loved ones are, and I don't think that Anita's home is very safe at all.  And her loved ones had escaped to the USA before her.  Because of this, she has made me wonder if home is also where the cherished memories lie.
     I think this because the majority of Anita's memories of the Dominican Republic reflect good times. For example, it is where each part of her family built their homes when they married.  On that land is where Anita remembers Chucha (her maid) with her purple clothes.  It is where she developed her first crush, shared everything with her cousin and sat on her father's lap.  I think that these memories are the reason why Anita refused to call the Dominican Republic anything other than her beloved home, even through all the hardships, panic attacks, and stages of fear she encountered, and even when she didn't live there anymore.  To Anita, home isn't necessarily a safe place.  Home is where the memories lie.  Maybe, when Anita develops many new fond memories in the US, America will become a second home for her.