Saturday, August 29, 2009
Group A Golden Lines
Golden Lines "Golden lines" are powerful quotes that automatically provide interesting discussion material. Many students find it much easier to select something the author said than to come up with their own reactions. Therefore, Golden Lines are an easy and effective strategy for gathering information to discuss.Post your Golden Lines for Marshfield Dreams to invite discussion.Please respond to each others' golden lines entry.
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The first page of this novel is beautifully written. It is full of sensory details and imagery such as “…the sand of Mahim beach gleamed like a golden plate in the afternoon sun. Whispers of heat rose from the tar road and shivered toward the slumbering Arabian Sea.” Later in the next paragraph she writes, “My brother’s brown legs were already wrapped around the roughness of the main trunk, clinging on like a monkey to its mother’s body.” This page set the stage for the rest of the book, and the imagery continued to be strong throughout.
ReplyDeleteThe part describing the beating of her father and the woman he protected was very powerful. On page 50 the sentence “Her song was suffocated like a lamp snuffed out in a sudden wind.” Page 51 was equally powerful “Then the lathi hit Appa’s skull again, with a sound like the priest cracking open a coconut at the temple- the sound of my father’s final sacrifice.” This scene was very vivid and tugged on my emotions. Throughout the story, Padma continues to use figurative language such as “Her toes squirmed like frightened worms” on page 110.
In the chapter called Mahim Beach on page 25, Padma describes the scenery with great imagery. It really helps the reader to experience the story and imagine that you are there. She stated, "waves crawled lazily up the beach..." I could imagine how relaxing the evening was for them and hearing the waves and smelling the roasted groundnuts made it seem like such a nice time for the family. It was a simple walk, yet it illuminates how close this family is and how they enjoy simple things in life like being together.
ReplyDeletePadma writes with imagery so that we can picture what is happening in our minds. The sentence on page 26, "the sun was slipping, red and tired, into the blue bed of the Arabian Sea" is beautifully written. It is like she is an artist with words painting the pictures in my mind. Sometimes authors write descriptions that are boring and seem to go on too long, losing the reader. Padma's descriptions leave you with an awe of her way with words. She continued to surprise me with her imagery and sensory details throughout the book.
On page 36, periappa says, "You can afford to be idealistic, Venkat. Most of us don't have that luxury." This quote makes me think of any sort of revolution. Some people can easily push for change. Venkat did not have to wear British clothes working as a doctor, but it sounds like periappa works for the British, and must conform to their dress codes. If he did not, he would not have a job. In the end, it comes down to what one is willing to give up for his or her cause. We saw Venkat give up everything for his belief, as well as Kitta, but in a different way.
ReplyDeleteOn page 44, Venkat tells Vidya, "They'll learn from us Vidya, slowly. We set an example the world follow." This shows such determination on Vidya's father's part. It also reminds me of the Civil Rights movement in our own country. I am sure this quote could be applied to many movements in many places, as it speaks of the hope that things will change and get better, while it acknowledges that change can be slow.
I really enjoyed the author’s descriptions in this book. I felt many scenes were described to the point that I was able to visualize the many settings in the story.
ReplyDeleteOpening paragraph:
“The drive was drenched with the juice of fallen jamun fruit and the sand of Mahim beach gleamed like a golden plate in the afternoon sunlight. Whispers of heat rose from the tar road and shivered toward the slumbering Arabian Sea.”
I am there! Sweaty and hot!!
Page 41
“As the car came closer to Victoria station, brown faces surrounded us, and I only saw a few dots of white in the crowd. The station was bustling with activity even early in the morning: sweaty, muscular rickshaw wallahs, pulling their fares behind them; hawkers peddling carts heaped with different types of bananas and mangos; beggars hunched over and dressed in rags whining, “Praise, sahib? Coins, sir?” “
I can feel this chaos. Description speaks to every sense. I can hear the noise, feel the chaos of all of the people and see the color of bananas, mangos and sweaty muscular rickshaw wallahs. Did she put the groups of people in order of their social class?
Page 128
“I took a pen from the writing desk and opened Raman’s gift. I began with the day of our arrival in the house at the end of September, describing in as much detail as I could the time that had passed since then. I allowed a flood of unspoken sentences to spill onto the white paper, splashing it with blue streaks, like summer sky piercing through a white wall of cloud. I spoke of the world that seemed to have suddenly opened itself to me after I had met Raman. I ended by describing the library—how beautiful it looked to me that day and every day. If someone had asked me then what human invention I valued the most, I would have told them without hesitation that it was the written word.
Great description of this cathartic event! I feel like Vidya needed to receive this journal and experience this writing to unload her feelings somewhere before she had a breakdown. I love it that Raman gave her the journal. I love the authors use of simile…it helps me visualize her journal pages.
Page 156
Description of Periamma:
“It was as if a stone fruit had cracked, exposing the soft, vulnerable flesh beneath its armor-hard exterior.”
Excellent description. This fits with what we know of about periamma.
So does her response… Periamma would make Vidya feel bad for trying to help.
“It was if I was an intruder in their private grief.”
This book was beautifully written! I think we all choose really powerful lines, but there were so many more that we could have picked. The textbook says that an author's ability to use figurative language adds "...specificity, clarity, power, and layers of meaning" (21). As I turned each page I continued to get wrapped up in her words and the author's use of imagery and similes made this book so powerful. The textbook on page 20 also quotes Mark Twain's statement that "the difference between the right word and the almost right word is like the difference between lightning and lightning bugs." This is absolutely true with this book. The author was able to choose the perfect words that created the precise image the author wanted her readers to create. For example, in the first paragraph she could have said the heat fell toward the sea, but instead she described it as shivering which created a much clearer and lasting vision in my mind.
ReplyDeleteAshley-I agree totally! I thoroughly enjoyed her high quality writing from the first to last page! I feel her writing made me believe these people were real. I actually was surprised to find out in the author's notes that this was primarily fiction. I really liked the main characters. The author made me wonder if Vidya would become a doctor and help her father. I felt that she foreshadowed this on page 100. I agree with you all her use of high level craft in her writing was amazing and consistent throughout.
ReplyDelete“Inside me was an emptiness that cried our for Raman, an emptiness that even the promise of college could not fill.” (229) After reading this quote I felt as though we were seeing a turn in Vidya and how much she had changed within the story. At first when we met Vidya she had wanted nothing more than to go to college, then things drastically changed and that dream seemed shattered. Yet, now with the opportunity present once more, she still had felt emptiness inside of her. It made me realize that even though we think we have what we want, it somehow isn’t always what we expected. Vidya had lost her father, her brother, and now the one friend and love she had in the house. At this point in the book, she has realized how she cares for Raman. The quote summarizing to the reader the piece within her that once again will be lost if she doesn’t speak to Raman again.
ReplyDeleteThe author seems to present the idea that life isn’t always what we expect it to be, and experiences and people we meet will forever change our lives. My favorite part of reading is reflecting on the text and the lessons it teaches us. It keeps things in perspective. I think that is one way we can continue to interest our students through the lessons in stories and how they relate to our lives. The lesson I learned was to remain grateful for all of the wonderful things in life. In a second things can change and we will never be the same.
Dianne, I agree that the author's word choice with the beach scene does help the reader relize the relaxing mood of the family. Yet, I found this comment even more powerful as I reflected upon it when reading your comments. Those special moments that they experienced together that are no longer. It makes me think how we really need to appreciate each moment, because life can change in an instant and we can never get those moments back. What we think is simple at the time, becomes a treasured memory.
ReplyDeleteAshley I also agree with Mark Twain's comments. I often try to focus on this with my students when we are writing. Painting a picture with words is not always easy. I find myself as a writer stuck at times looking for just the write word.
Sarah, I'm glad you picked that quote about Raman. While reading I couldn't believe how naive Vidya was being about the proposal. Raman was a great man and he understood and respected her. He nurtured her desire to learn and gave her the journal to help her deal with the absurdities of the household and injustices of the time. I felt that Raman was similar in mind to Appa, which is exactly what Vidya needed. When she rejected his proposal I was afraid that she would be arranged with some awful man who didn't respect her. I understood why she said no, because he failed to talk to her about the matter first, however, I was shocked that Vidya actually rejected the proposal. This speaks to how powerful and engaging Padma keeps the story throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteLynn, I also hoped that Vidya would somehow cure her father and kept waiting for a miracle.
Ashley, I like the quote you picked out from Mark Twain. I just read that today and it does describe this book. I noticed many of you chose descriptive passages, whereas I chose quotes. In reading some of the passages you chose, it made me realize how much I relied on the author's imagery to help me figure out what India must have looked like to Vidya at the time. I have never been to that part of the world, and have limited knowledge of their climate and geography. The descriptions of their house in Bombay and the beach were powerful enough for me to not feel lost because of my limited background knowledge.
ReplyDelete