Throughout chapters 15-17 we see the strong love Tea Cake and Janie have for each other. They come across many obstacles, such as jealousy. The women who worked in the fields with Tea Cake, Mrs. Turner’s Brother, and other men and women of the town. In these chapters, they truly defined their love towards each other. In chapter 18, they come across Indian’s who warn them of a Hurricane coming among them soon. Tea Cake choose to ignore the warnings. Tea Cake and Janie along with other town folks decided to stay, little did they know what was soon to occur. As soon as the storm began Tea Cake and Janie were sheltered in their home, until their house went pitch black. “They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching god”(160). I interpret this quote as them awaiting their fate, they were uncertain if that were the last moment they would be alive. Tea Cake saw the terrible conditions of the Hurricane and decided to evacuate himself, Janie, and Motor Boat. They along with other town folk walked fighting the strong waves. Many people could not withhold the tough currents. They finally came across shelter where they rested, until the lake caught up to them. After excavating through the waters, Tea Cake decided to rest on the side of the road. When suddenly Janie saw a tar-paper to cover Tea Cake with (showing her massive concern for her husband). As she reached for the tar-paper, the wind lifted both of them lashing Janie into the water. She soon woke Tea Cake up with her desperate calls for him. This was when they encountered a vicious rabid dog. Personally, I saw this rabid dog as death itself. Death was presented throughout the inconvenient hurricane. “Corpses were not just found in the wrecked houses. They were under houses, tangled in shrubbery, floating in water, hanging in trees, drifting under wreckage”(170). Tea Cake himself soon became ill from the dog’s rabies. They became aware of his illness when it was too late for a cure, Tea Cake was destined to die. Janie viewed Tea Cake’s terminal condition as her own death. “Well she thought, that big old dawg with the hatred in his eyes had killed her after all” (178). Without Tea Cake she felt as if she herself were to die. It was one night when Janie fixed Tea Cake into bed, that she discovered his pistol under his pillow. That same night, after Tea Cake had continuous attacks, Janie saw a change in Tea Cake. “Tea Cake was gone. Something else was looking out of his face”(181). He was out of control, he was no longer thinking rationally. He falsely accused Janie of no longer loving him, which made him angry. He raised his pistol at her, luckily Janie had a rifle which she had to shoot. As he fell onto her he closed his teeth in the flesh of her forearm. Janie would be alone once again.
I feel the details about the bodies being under the houses and thrown about was to really make the reader sit back and just imagine what they had seen.
In the Chapter "The Lives of the Dead," he has been at war for four days when his group gets fired at by a near by village. They end up calling in an air strike and watch as the village burns. Without a care in the world, Dave Jensen makes fun of a dead old man. He sees it as a way to “show a little respect for your elders.” The main character is then asked if he had seen any other dead bodies before, but he has. He then relives memories of a girl named Linda who he had fell in love with at very young age. But I didn't quite understand what this had to do with him encountering a dead body. He then explains how she continued to wear a red cap to school everyday and he didn't know why until someone pulled it off and she was bald. Later on she dies of a brain tumor. After reading this part I realized why this played a part for the death scene of the old man. I like how even though she passed away, he enjoyed dreaming about her because she was alive to him, and it kinda compares to the Vietnam soldiers with their fallen brothers. He also talks about one of his dreams, "Sometimes I can even see Timmy skating with Linda under the yellow floodlights. I’m young and happy. I’ll never die. I’m skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story." I think this is just a way for him to cope with his traumatic past.
In the chapter “Field Trip” I was confused as to why O’Brien had to bring his ten year old daughter to the site where one of his best friends died during the war just for her to get a background of his life. But it does seem like it was more of a personal thing for him because he places kiowa’s shoes where he felt that Kiowa died. Kathleen and us the readers have to make the same connection to Vietnam. We have never been there during the time of war and have no personal history to make a connection with it. Where as her father lost one of his friends there and can remember it clearly. “The Ghost Soldiers” is for sure an interesting chapter. I thought it was crazy that O’Brien was shot twice and lived to tell both stories. But that the second time the new medic did not treat him properly and caused him a lot of pain. So then O’Brien decided that he would get back at him, which I understand, but never would’ve thought he would do it in the field. I was impressed with how much Jorgenson had matured and was able to keep his cool while O’Brien and Azar mess with him. I feel like they took it too far and ran the risk of being shot by one of their own.
Throughout chapters 15-17 we see the strong love Tea Cake and Janie have for each other. They come across many obstacles, such as jealousy. The women who worked in the fields with Tea Cake, Mrs. Turner’s Brother, and other men and women of the town. In these chapters, they truly defined their love towards each other. In chapter 18, they come across Indian’s who warn them of a Hurricane coming among them soon. Tea Cake choose to ignore the warnings. Tea Cake and Janie along with other town folks decided to stay, little did they know what was soon to occur. As soon as the storm began Tea Cake and Janie were sheltered in their home, until their house went pitch black. “They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching god”(160). I interpret this quote as them awaiting their fate, they were uncertain if that were the last moment they would be alive. Tea Cake saw the terrible conditions of the Hurricane and decided to evacuate himself, Janie, and Motor Boat. They along with other town folk walked fighting the strong waves. Many people could not withhold the tough currents. They finally came across shelter where they rested, until the lake caught up to them. After excavating through the waters, Tea Cake decided to rest on the side of the road. When suddenly Janie saw a tar-paper to cover Tea Cake with (showing her massive concern for her husband). As she reached for the tar-paper, the wind lifted both of them lashing Janie into the water. She soon woke Tea Cake up with her desperate calls for him. This was when they encountered a vicious rabid dog. Personally, I saw this rabid dog as death itself. Death was presented throughout the inconvenient hurricane. “Corpses were not just found in the wrecked houses. They were under houses, tangled in shrubbery, floating in water, hanging in trees, drifting under wreckage”(170). Tea Cake himself soon became ill from the dog’s rabies. They became aware of his illness when it was too late for a cure, Tea Cake was destined to die. Janie viewed Tea Cake’s terminal condition as her own death. “Well she thought, that big old dawg with the hatred in his eyes had killed her after all” (178). Without Tea Cake she felt as if she herself were to die. It was one night when Janie fixed Tea Cake into bed, that she discovered his pistol under his pillow. That same night, after Tea Cake had continuous attacks, Janie saw a change in Tea Cake. “Tea Cake was gone. Something else was looking out of his face”(181). He was out of control, he was no longer thinking rationally. He falsely accused Janie of no longer loving him, which made him angry. He raised his pistol at her, luckily Janie had a rifle which she had to shoot. As he fell onto her he closed his teeth in the flesh of her forearm. Janie would be alone once again.
ReplyDeleteI feel the details about the bodies being under the houses and thrown about was to really make the reader sit back and just imagine what they had seen.
DeleteIn the Chapter "The Lives of the Dead," he has been at war for four days when his group gets fired at by a near by village. They end up calling in an air strike and watch as the village burns. Without a care in the world, Dave Jensen makes fun of a dead old man. He sees it as a way to “show a little respect for your elders.” The main character is then asked if he had seen any other dead bodies before, but he has. He then relives memories of a girl named Linda who he had fell in love with at very young age. But I didn't quite understand what this had to do with him encountering a dead body. He then explains how she continued to wear a red cap to school everyday and he didn't know why until someone pulled it off and she was bald. Later on she dies of a brain tumor. After reading this part I realized why this played a part for the death scene of the old man. I like how even though she passed away, he enjoyed dreaming about her because she was alive to him, and it kinda compares to the Vietnam soldiers with their fallen brothers. He also talks about one of his dreams, "Sometimes I can even see Timmy skating with Linda under the yellow floodlights. I’m young and happy. I’ll never die. I’m skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story." I think this is just a way for him to cope with his traumatic past.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I was very confused when he first brought up the girl.
DeleteYeah, I thought that it had no correlation to what was going on during the event of the old man
DeleteIn the chapter “Field Trip” I was confused as to why O’Brien had to bring his ten year old daughter to the site where one of his best friends died during the war just for her to get a background of his life. But it does seem like it was more of a personal thing for him because he places kiowa’s shoes where he felt that Kiowa died. Kathleen and us the readers have to make the same connection to Vietnam. We have never been there during the time of war and have no personal history to make a connection with it. Where as her father lost one of his friends there and can remember it clearly.
ReplyDelete“The Ghost Soldiers” is for sure an interesting chapter. I thought it was crazy that O’Brien was shot twice and lived to tell both stories. But that the second time the new medic did not treat him properly and caused him a lot of pain. So then O’Brien decided that he would get back at him, which I understand, but never would’ve thought he would do it in the field. I was impressed with how much Jorgenson had matured and was able to keep his cool while O’Brien and Azar mess with him. I feel like they took it too far and ran the risk of being shot by one of their own.