Death equaling Freedom

At first I didn’t like the story “Fun house” at all. After discussing the story in class, and doing some more reading I realized there’s a lot more to the story than I initially thought. One of the topics we discussed in class is one that I found extremely interesting. “Death equaling freedom”. I agreed with this statement, I think that the father committed suicide because he looked at death as the only way to achieve freedom. With situations in the story, and his facial expressions throughout the book, I believe this this is true. The father in the story started off carefree and happy, if not happy than content. He was not only in the army, but over sees, and traveling the world. He was also falling in love, with his lifestyle, and also the woman that soon became his wife. That freedom and independence was ripped away due to unfortunate family circumstances. Already we see that the father was beginning to be trapped in a lifestyle that wasn’t of his choice completely. The misery continued because throughout the story we see that he was also trapped within his sexuality. The father was forced by society, and fear, into not being able to express himself freely. He was trapped not only because he had a family, but because the time period the story takes place in, was not a time period when homosexuality was looked at as acceptable. The father finally comes out of the closet to his daughter, in the 80s, when being gay was starting to become in a way more known, and acceptable. I think all through the fathers life he was unable to relate to anyone, and one his daughter ‘came out’ it gave him the courage to do so also. This wasn’t enough however, because it was too late for him to start his life. Again the feeling of being trapped comes into play, the father is trapped in his own life, a prisoner of decisions he made in the past, and regret, and misery plagued his life, taking from his freedom. In my opinion the only way for him to feel alive again was for him to end his own life. Death became a way to become free again, the father believed he had to die, in order to be reborn, and this is why I believe he committed suicide.

A not so Fun House

I can tell already I’m not going to be into our new book "Fun House". It’s different than all of the books we've read this semester. The book is in the form of a comic, and honestly that makes it harder for me to get into, but the pictures help tell the story. In the book, a major theme is irony. Even the title screams ironic. The title is fun house but nothing about the story so far, is fun, or even a bit happy. The characters all look dark, depressed and upset. Even on the very first page, the father and son are engaging in an activity that’s supposed to be fun, but instead they're looking upset. Throughout the story so far, you can sense the extreme tension. This book, in my opinion is highly suspenseful; and although i don’t like the way it was written, I’m anxious to see what’s in store for the characters. So far i have no idea what's going to happen, but by the looks of things i predict the book won’t end well, or finish with a "fun house". 

Mate Timeline

October 15 1935 - Born

1943 - At age 8 wanted to become a lawyer like her older sister Minerva

1945-1946 - Age 10 began to keep a journal. She called her journal her "Little Book". This was also when she had her first communion.

Feb. 25 1946 - She starts to transform into a butterfly, and says "It is strange now, I know something...everything looks just a little different.." In a way she starts to wake up.

1946-  In a way she began to 'find herself' by questioning things around her, and understanding things that were once kept secret. Starts standing up for herself.

1947- Went away to boarding school. Introtuced to the opposite sex, and the fact of hidden agendas.

In the time of butterflies

"In the time of butterflies" is a book that’s filled with mystery, humor, and many more emotions. The fact that it takes the reader on an emotional journey makes the novel a page turner, and very enjoyable to read. All four of the sisters in this novel have different personalities, and characteristics, but in a way they are all so similar. For this blog entry I’m going to take a look at Minerva, the second oldest sister, and my favorite character. Minerva was truly an inspiration to most, and incredibly bold.  I see exactly why Mate looked up to her, and idolized her so much. In Minerva's narratives, every word is strong, and most readers may say that she’s extremely self-involved, and self-centered. I disagree because it’s evident throughout the book that Minerva cares a lot for her family, and is empathetic for the cause she’s fighting for. She knew she was risking her life to stand up for this cause, and ensure a better future for others. I consider this heroic, and not self-centered. Minerva is extremely strong willed, and determined; two qualities that I believe everyone should have in order to make things happen.

Females are emotional creatures : they need to talk!

People think that the way to educate children or young adults on the topic of sex, and sexual identity is by throwing out facts, and statistics. This has proven to be unsuccessful because the airway of communication is disintegrated. In addition to sex education classes, and pregnancy awareness in schools, teenage girls also need someone to talk to. A person in their life that won’t pass judgment, and a place where they can feel secure, bringing their issues and problems up without feeling as if it’s wrong for them to feel this way. We talked about this in class, and in the book, there’s  a section of facts, that state most girls say there isn’t one adult they could trust, or turn to if they needed help. This is a serious problem within the young community, because instead of turning to adults with knowledge, they confide in their peers which are most times just as clueless as they are. This can lead to numerous problems; one of the major problems would be all of the myths, and wrong ideas about sexual protection becoming a reality. Another thing that I think not only teenage girls, but teenagers in general need is, after school activity. I think we all need to come together, and find a way to better educate the next generation on sex, make all of the statistics, and fact, a reality.

Oh na-na, Domestic Violence is the name!

The story, ‘I am an emotional creature’ is a good one because it reaches out to a younger audience. Just like in TVM, Eve Ensler wanted to get not only the audience member or readers aware but more importantly females as well. Ensler wanted females of all ages to be in tune with their bodies, and understand sexuality, and acceptance. Both books took a stand against violence of any sort. I found it interesting that in the book, Ensler has a section dedicated to the singer Rihanna, and the domestic violence case between her and ex-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown. This sparked my interest because not only am I an incredible Chris Brown and Rihanna fan, but I found it interesting how Ensler added something so contemporary. In my opinion Ensler did this because the book is geared towards more so younger individuals, and younger girls have an extreme interest in celebrities. She also added in this story, because it dealt with an issue that most woman face, domestic violence. Having the story be about the celebrities show how this issue can happen to most anybody. The story of Rihanna and Chris Brown added to the main purpose of both emotional creature, and TVM , that violence against women and children need to stop!