This essay begins with a statement, "A monster is a relative thing."
Mary Roach is a writer visiting Japan and this is about her experience in a Japanese inn called a 'Ryokan'.
It began with her wearing her wet muddy shoes inside, making all the people working there cringe. Then she continued wearing the wrong slippers in the wrong rooms and tripping over all the low laying furniture feeling more and more like Godzilla in a very fragile world.
Thinking that she can finally relax and take a bath, she gets into the tub, washes up, and rinses. Only on her return to her room does she see the pamphlet of "how to's in Japan" discovering that washing with soap in the tub is a big, big no-no. She is almost relieved when she notices that she is wearing the toilet slippers in the bedroom, knowing that she can't break anymore customs, as she has already broken them all.
1. "A monster is a relative thing" was a great way to give an effective feel for the rest of the essay and give the reader the viewpoint she is writing from.
2. The comparisons she gave between American and Japanese culture were great examples anyone would have understood the point of her observation, regardless if they knew a lot or nothing about Japanese culture and customs.
3. She presents herself as Godzilla in Tokyo. Not only is her body build differently, her mannerisms are American made. She depicts herself from a Japanese viewpoint of loud, clumsy, and messy.
4. We enjoy one an others travel stories because they are something that everyone has and can share to bring people together.
Showing posts with label summary and questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summary and questions. Show all posts
Friday, January 15, 2010
'let it snow'
'Let it Snow' is based in North Carolina in winter. David(the narrator) is currently a fifth grade boy and describes a time in that season that he and his sisters were locked out of there home by their mother during a snow day. It goes on the explain his mother's drinking and his fathers probable indifference to their predicament.
David comes up with a plan to gets an adults attention(mainly his parents) and tells his sister to go lay down in the road. The first car that comes by happens to be a neighbor. They tell him their dilemma and their solution. He "told on them" by going to talk to their mother, whom they noticed had come outside without pants or shoes on. She explains when they ask, that she was wearing loafers just a second ago and one had been lost in the snow. As they return inside, the children use one of their scarves and hats to make a shoe for her; encircling her as they walked.
1. The snowstorm gives a scene for this reflection from a child's view. A snow day would be a strong memory for a child.
2. David wrote an entire paragraph describing the affection-starved youngest sister(the one in the road) showing that he now sees that using her was a mistake and an abuse of his elder-sibling authority.
3. Without the humor of the essay, the passage would have only reflected the memory of neglected children from their standpoint. the humor reminds the reader that the solution was thought up by a child.
4. The tone of this essay is crucial to understanding the writers current feelings about the memory. His tone gives the impression that he has accepted the errors he and his parents made in the reflection. and the description of the around their mother, "encircling her tightly as they walked" says that they have already accepted their mother's problems and will provide for her anyway.
David comes up with a plan to gets an adults attention(mainly his parents) and tells his sister to go lay down in the road. The first car that comes by happens to be a neighbor. They tell him their dilemma and their solution. He "told on them" by going to talk to their mother, whom they noticed had come outside without pants or shoes on. She explains when they ask, that she was wearing loafers just a second ago and one had been lost in the snow. As they return inside, the children use one of their scarves and hats to make a shoe for her; encircling her as they walked.
1. The snowstorm gives a scene for this reflection from a child's view. A snow day would be a strong memory for a child.
2. David wrote an entire paragraph describing the affection-starved youngest sister(the one in the road) showing that he now sees that using her was a mistake and an abuse of his elder-sibling authority.
3. Without the humor of the essay, the passage would have only reflected the memory of neglected children from their standpoint. the humor reminds the reader that the solution was thought up by a child.
4. The tone of this essay is crucial to understanding the writers current feelings about the memory. His tone gives the impression that he has accepted the errors he and his parents made in the reflection. and the description of the around their mother, "encircling her tightly as they walked" says that they have already accepted their mother's problems and will provide for her anyway.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
