Reading Notes 4

1) identifying characters, 2) summarizing the plot, and 3) offering some personal response/ideas about the story

Nineteen Seventy Four

1) There are three main characters in this story,  Josephine, Stephine, and Stephine's mother. Stephine's grandmother was killed during the Massacre. Stephine's mother gave birth to her on the same day as the Massacre after successfully escaped to the other side of the river. Stephine's mother and Josephine are both parts of a secret religious group. 

2) This story is told from the perspective of Stephine. She described the times that she visited her mother and how her mother was tortured both physically and mentally. The only connection between her mother and she was her mother's Madonna. Stephine also said in the story the reason why her mother was arrested: they were new to the city and they lived in her mother's friend's house. Her mother helped taking care of that friend's ill son. One day morning, the child died. And that was the morning when Stephine's mother was arrested. One night after a few more visits Stephine made to her mother, a woman called Josephine showed up in front of her door in the middle of the night. Josephine told Stephine "your mother has died. If she's not died now, she will be before we get to see her again". Stephine didn't believe Josephine's sentence at first. Then, she asked Josephine some questions that only the member of the secret religious groups know and believed her. They went to visit Stephine's mother. When they arrived at the prison, Stephine's mother has died already and was determined to be burned in the afternoon. Stephine stood and watched as her mother was burned. 

3) This story was confusing to me at first. It is still confusing to me now. However, after discussing with my classmates, I understand it better new. I still don't quite get the meaning of the first paragraph and how does the author want readers to think of it.
All in all, the story shows a lot about how woodoo was practiced among the secret female group in Haiti. People know getting into this group can get themselves into lots of troubles, or even get themselves killed. However, they still decide to join this group to remember the ones they loved and their forever lasting spirits.

A Wall of Fire Raising:

1) There are three main characters in this story, Guy, Lili and their son little Guy. This family lives in poverty. They only had enough to support their lives but not much more. Guy always wanted to do more for his family and live a better life with them. However, he doesn't have a stable job. The workplace is always full, and he only gets to work once a while. Lili is happy with what they have now. She wishes her son can stay in school and stay in school when he grows up as well. Little Guy is passionate about the play that his school is preparing. He will be playing as the revolutionary leader for freedom. He's always so enthusiastic about his character and his lines.

2) Little Guy gets all excited about his lines in the play. He recites the lines to his parents and practices them over and over again. After dinner, the whole family went out for a walk. One the fields that they went, the hot balloon stays still. Guy has always been so attracted by the hot air balloon. He just can't take his eyes off from it. He tells Lili that he gets a job at the workplace for the next day. He wouldn't say what that work is until Lili asked repeatedly. He gets to clean the bathrooms for a day. Lili tells him that she's satisfied with what they have now. She doesn't want him to put too much pressure on himself. However, Guy always wants more. He wants to ride the air balloon and take his family to some better place. He wants to earn more money so that his wife and his son will have a wealthy life just like the family who owns the hot air balloon does. But he just can't get a chance to do so. Little Guy's scream distracted their conversation. They went to ask him what's wrong, he said that he can't remember his lines anymore. They finally put little Guy back to sleep. The next afternoon, Little Guy comes home with more lines. He resites them again to his parents. Guy cries while his son gives the speech. Later that night, Guy tells Lili that he wants to put little Guy on the list so that he will get a job when he grows up. Lili wouldn't let him do that because she wants Little Guy to stay in school to seek for a better life. Guy agreed. The next morning, Lili and Little Guy are still in the house. They run out of the house and see Guy flying the hot air balloon so high above the sky. They don't know what's going on. Then, suddenly, Guy jumps off the balloon. He's dead. Little Guy and Lili went up to his dead body. Little Guy started to recites his lines again. But it seems that, except for his wife and his son, his life doesn't matter to anyone else.

3) This story can be interpreted by people in so many different ways. In my opinion, Guy is a coward. He wants his family to have a better life, but he doesn't have a chance to do it. Instead of seeking more opportunities, working harder, he decides to leave everything behind and got himself a release. He says it so perfectly, to bring them to a land with a better life, but he doesn't even take them on the hot air balloon with him. He knows it's not realistic, but he fools himself around to gain self-comfort anyways. That selfishness really makes me look down on him. I wonder more and more about what will happen to Lili and Guy and got an image of their life after reading the story of the Night Women.

Night Women:
1) There are two characters in the 4th story, the night woman and her son. The night woman is around 25 years old. Her husband died after they had a child together. Therefore, she has to rais her son on her own. She works as a night woman to make money. Her son is 7 years old. He lives in the same one-room house with his mother. His mother protects him well. He dreams about angles coming taking him to a better place all the time.

2) The woman describes her living conditions at the beginning of the story. She is stunned by how much her son had grown. She wants him to stay innocent and pure like other kids. It seems that her son doesn't know what her job is. She always sings songs to her son to put him to sleep. She dresses herself up at night to please her guests. Her guests have different jobs. Some of them are married as well. They come to her on certain days, spend a night with her and leaves. Another night has passed, her son wakes up, asking her if he missed the angles again.

3) I actually didn't think too much about the connection between the 3rd and the 4th story when I was reading it for the first time. I thought, like all the other stories in this book, each story have its own characters in it. However, after the class discussion yesterday. I think this night woman can be Lili, or I mean, how Lili will end up to be. Being aware of this connection, I read the story again, and somehow I think it made more sense to me. The way she cares for her son is just the same as what I expect to be what Lili would do for her son.