Ono is a very mysterious character. So far, the novel doesn't really told us a lot about his past mistakes, but there are a lot of characters who seem to have something against him. The surprising thing, though, is that Ono doesn't seem to realize it.
The narration seems to be using language that only excuses Ono, and doesn't go further into the accusations made against Ono by people like her daughter. However, this only seems to lead to the idea that Ono is trying to either hide or ignore that. Maybe he could also simply be on the “bridge of hesitation”.
In the beginning of April 1949, there is a small quarrel going on between the proposed Noriko and Ono. Of course, the argument is about the positioning of the tree, but what does this really mean? On page 106, Noriko says, “The azaleas have never regained their looks. That's what comes of Father having so much time on his hands. He ends up meddling where it's not required.”(Ishiguro 106) Azaleas are supposed to be pretty flowers, but Noriko keeps saying that they never regained their looks. Noriko is trying to hint at Ono how he messed up their last engagement, and she hasn't regained her status or image as beautiful. Ono messed it up when he gave away information about the military, and know Noriko is afraid he will do the same with the Saito's.
The history of Ono comes back to haunt him whenever he tries to revisit his old friend, Mr. Kuroda. I found it very strange how Mr. Enchi, the young painter under the mentorship of Mr. Kuroda, treated Ono with the most polite of manners, listening to every comment with high regard and detail. However, whenever he hears about his history with the war, Enchi treats him as low as someone has been treated this book. I found it funny how Ono acted as if he didn't know what was going on, “Most things are more complicated than they appear, Mr. Enchi. Young men of your generation tend to see things far too simply.”(113). Ono is trying to defend himself by stating that the past in something not understood by youngster, but the truth is that he needs to get on with this new generation because Enchi was serious when he said Kuroda didn't want to see him. I think Ono is having a difficult time admitting his past mistakes.
I think that the truth behind Ono is that his past decision to go into the military causes everyone to hate him. Even Mr. Saito and his family seems to have something against him. Ono seems a bit stubborn though, and he doesn't appear to change his mind anytime soon. Who knows what consequences he will have next.
Showing posts with label Marcos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marcos. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Classifying to elighten
Anyone can classify or categorize; people do so in their daily routines at school or the workplace. Categorizing with style, though, is something only a few can do. Susan Allen Toth's "Going to the Movies" is a perfect example of this. She classifies the different elements that make up going on a movie date- the type of guy, type of movie, and the interaction between themselves- and uses 3 different dates to represent different categories of movie dates.
Toth doesn't only point out the positives attributes that these 3guys have, she also discusses their downsides. With the exception of Aaron, who doesn't appear to have any good date qualities, Toth points out what these guys do during the date, avoiding bias. A perfect example is Bob, "Inside the theater Bob will hold my hand when I get scared if I ask him. He puts my hand firmly on his knee and covers it completely with his own hand. His knee never twitches"(Toth Paragraph 5). At this point, many readers would think that she would simply keep listing all the positive things that Bob has, but in the next paragraph she addresses how Bob refused to stay for one more drink after a movie because "relationships tend to move too quickly".
Toth does the same thing with the other guys, listing their characteristics and what sets them apart from each other. For example, while Bob likes to watch more documentary-style movies about war, poverty, and other social problems, Sam likes to watch entertaining movies. Again, Toth starts to describe several things about Sam that make him interesting, but then she plays the cards down as explains how he has another girlfriend Duluth. Toth is trying to say that there is no perfect match, up to this point.
In her last paragraph, Toth describes how she sometimes goes to the movies on her own and watches romantic films. Instead of categorizing what she does at the movies, she categorizes what the characters do in the romantic movies- "They smile at each other, I smile at them, I feel they are smiling at me." Toth puts herself in the female character's role in the movies, wishing that it was her living the dream. Toth is trying to convey how a perfect date is only seen in movie films, not in real life.
Toth categorizes all the 3 guys to somehow represent three different kinds of men in America. By explaining what each men does, Toth shows the reader how men do both good and bad things, in the dates. This way, categorizing the actions does the job of telling the whole story instead of her having to explain how she doesn't like the guy. Since, to Toth, there is a right way to do things (most likely what people do in the romantic films she watches on her own), Toth is showing how most guys don't do enough to make her completely happy.
Toth doesn't only point out the positives attributes that these 3guys have, she also discusses their downsides. With the exception of Aaron, who doesn't appear to have any good date qualities, Toth points out what these guys do during the date, avoiding bias. A perfect example is Bob, "Inside the theater Bob will hold my hand when I get scared if I ask him. He puts my hand firmly on his knee and covers it completely with his own hand. His knee never twitches"(Toth Paragraph 5). At this point, many readers would think that she would simply keep listing all the positive things that Bob has, but in the next paragraph she addresses how Bob refused to stay for one more drink after a movie because "relationships tend to move too quickly".
Toth does the same thing with the other guys, listing their characteristics and what sets them apart from each other. For example, while Bob likes to watch more documentary-style movies about war, poverty, and other social problems, Sam likes to watch entertaining movies. Again, Toth starts to describe several things about Sam that make him interesting, but then she plays the cards down as explains how he has another girlfriend Duluth. Toth is trying to say that there is no perfect match, up to this point.
In her last paragraph, Toth describes how she sometimes goes to the movies on her own and watches romantic films. Instead of categorizing what she does at the movies, she categorizes what the characters do in the romantic movies- "They smile at each other, I smile at them, I feel they are smiling at me." Toth puts herself in the female character's role in the movies, wishing that it was her living the dream. Toth is trying to convey how a perfect date is only seen in movie films, not in real life.
Toth categorizes all the 3 guys to somehow represent three different kinds of men in America. By explaining what each men does, Toth shows the reader how men do both good and bad things, in the dates. This way, categorizing the actions does the job of telling the whole story instead of her having to explain how she doesn't like the guy. Since, to Toth, there is a right way to do things (most likely what people do in the romantic films she watches on her own), Toth is showing how most guys don't do enough to make her completely happy.
Friday, September 24, 2010
I Caught You Red-Handed
"Trembling with rage, al-Sayyid Ahmad began to examine Yasin's face grimly and silently, dragging out the silence. Without taking his pitiless eys off Yasin, he pointed with his han to the door, ordering him inside. Although at that moment disappearing would have been dearer to yasin than even life itself, he was paralyzed by fear and confusion. The father was outraged, and his scowl showed he was about to explode.... He rebuked him loudly,'Go upstairs you criminal...'"- Page 279
In this passage, Mahfouz uses pathos rethoric to illustrate both Ahmad's strong reply to Yasin's madness for trying to rape the house servant and Yasin's reaction to a horribe nightmare.
Mahfouz's most used method in this section is body movement. From "trembling" to "paralyzed", Mahfouz does a wonderful job in using body movement in his writing to set up the tone and mood of the scene. He shows Ahmad's anger simply by the way he stares at Yasin's. Yasin, on the other hand, shows fear through silence. That is something I found very peculiar in this scence- There is a lot of silence going on. In fact, there are only two shorts sentences of dialog. Mahfouz does this because he wants to emphasize the importance of silence in this scene. Not only does it contribute to the gloomy mood, but it shows the huge respect and fear that Yasin has for his father's mere presence.
Looking at the entire chapter, Yasin committed a deadly mistake. Obviously. But that's not the whole point of the passage. Mahfouz wants to convey to the readers how body language solely does the trick in a Muslim patriarchy. What does it signify? Fear. Respect. Authority. Power.
Afterwards, Ahmad can't hold back his tounge and uses very, very strong langauge. Calling your son a "criminal" isn't something a father does often. Mafhouz wants to show how Ahmad takes into account that Yasin defiles the family name. He probably wouldn't care less if Yasin wasn't his son, but since he is has a big problem in his hands. As soon as the word gets out, Ahmad is going to be looked upon. This is a big influence in his tantrum.
I also found it a bit ironic. Ahmad does this all the time, except it isn't rape. A clear sign of hypocrisy.
In this passage, Mahfouz uses pathos rethoric to illustrate both Ahmad's strong reply to Yasin's madness for trying to rape the house servant and Yasin's reaction to a horribe nightmare.
Mahfouz's most used method in this section is body movement. From "trembling" to "paralyzed", Mahfouz does a wonderful job in using body movement in his writing to set up the tone and mood of the scene. He shows Ahmad's anger simply by the way he stares at Yasin's. Yasin, on the other hand, shows fear through silence. That is something I found very peculiar in this scence- There is a lot of silence going on. In fact, there are only two shorts sentences of dialog. Mahfouz does this because he wants to emphasize the importance of silence in this scene. Not only does it contribute to the gloomy mood, but it shows the huge respect and fear that Yasin has for his father's mere presence.
Looking at the entire chapter, Yasin committed a deadly mistake. Obviously. But that's not the whole point of the passage. Mahfouz wants to convey to the readers how body language solely does the trick in a Muslim patriarchy. What does it signify? Fear. Respect. Authority. Power.
Afterwards, Ahmad can't hold back his tounge and uses very, very strong langauge. Calling your son a "criminal" isn't something a father does often. Mafhouz wants to show how Ahmad takes into account that Yasin defiles the family name. He probably wouldn't care less if Yasin wasn't his son, but since he is has a big problem in his hands. As soon as the word gets out, Ahmad is going to be looked upon. This is a big influence in his tantrum.
I also found it a bit ironic. Ahmad does this all the time, except it isn't rape. A clear sign of hypocrisy.
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Coffee Hour
I'm sure that most people associate "Coffee Hour" in the beginning of the day. It's usually taken to start off the day with energy. What I found to be very intriguing is how Mahfouz depicts the family's coffee tradition in the beginning paragraph of Chapter 9 to take place right before sunset.
Looking at the storyline, it appears that the coffee hour scene takes place at the end of the first day of the novel. From the first sentence, there is already a clear point that Mahfouz wants to convey. The passage starts off with, "Except for the father...."(Mahfouz 52) It might sound obvious, but Mahfouz didn't include that there for no reason. He wants to emphasize how important the father's absence will be throughout this chapter. Up until this point in the book, this is the first time that the reader gets to see the family congregating.
The setting describes Amina sitting in the center of the room with the children facing opposite her. This portrays a powerful mother who takes the position of head of the house. Surprisingly, Amina shows loyalty to the tradition imposed by Ahmad, only allowing Yasin and Fahmy to drink coffee with her and making Ahmads influence visible even though he isn't in the household. Aside from that, there is still a sense of bonding in the family since the passage does show that the rest of the children thought the conversation itself was enough to be "contented"(52).
Mahfouz sticks this paragraph in the novel to demostrate a sense of the lifestyle right before sunset. As we all know, Ahmad day really starts when he gets to party with his friends. Mahfouz uses the text to show that for Ahmads family, the day really starts when their father is absent.
Looking at the storyline, it appears that the coffee hour scene takes place at the end of the first day of the novel. From the first sentence, there is already a clear point that Mahfouz wants to convey. The passage starts off with, "Except for the father...."(Mahfouz 52) It might sound obvious, but Mahfouz didn't include that there for no reason. He wants to emphasize how important the father's absence will be throughout this chapter. Up until this point in the book, this is the first time that the reader gets to see the family congregating.
The setting describes Amina sitting in the center of the room with the children facing opposite her. This portrays a powerful mother who takes the position of head of the house. Surprisingly, Amina shows loyalty to the tradition imposed by Ahmad, only allowing Yasin and Fahmy to drink coffee with her and making Ahmads influence visible even though he isn't in the household. Aside from that, there is still a sense of bonding in the family since the passage does show that the rest of the children thought the conversation itself was enough to be "contented"(52).
Mahfouz sticks this paragraph in the novel to demostrate a sense of the lifestyle right before sunset. As we all know, Ahmad day really starts when he gets to party with his friends. Mahfouz uses the text to show that for Ahmads family, the day really starts when their father is absent.
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