Getting a copy of This Is All

Shakespeare's has This Is All--nine copies. So, pick them up as soon as you can. See you Thursday. Best, Roni Natov

The Graveyard Book

The beginning of The Graveyard Book reminds me of a fireside ghost story, “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” That was the kind of story that could give me nightmares for weeks as a child but, after my initial visceral reaction, I found the creepy/scary beginning to be of minor importance. The scene passed quickly, and then I was absorbed completely into the world of the graveyard. I was thinking about the discussion in class with Zeta Elliot about what we all found appealing about children’s literature and what I realized is that The Graveyard Book encompasses a lot of the qualities that were important to me as a child. I looked to books often for guidance that was missing from my own childhood. The Graveyard Book offers a road map of sorts into adulthood. Bod is making the passage through the story from childhood, into adolescence, and finally, as he leaves the graveyard, into adulthood. He has guides who direct his emotional growth: Mrs. Owens, the poet and Silas. There are those responsible for his intellect: Mr. Pennyworth, Miss. Lupescu and Silas, and those who take care of him physically: Mr. and Mrs. Owens, Liza, when he breaks his leg and when he gets trapped, and, again, Silas. “It will ...take a graveyard [to raise this child],” says Silas. Silas seems to have the role of the omnipotent and infallible adult. I know these were qualities I often attributed to adults in my life when I was young. So, if I have any question for you guys, I guess it is, did this story resonate for anyone else as an allegory for growing up? Obviously, Bod’s story is of his development into a young man, but the ways in which Gaiman uses the graveyard and the inhabitants, echo for me, the challenge of trying to grow up in a complicated world.

Weeksville

I had to pick something up after class on Thursday from James Hall and in passing the Department of Africana Studies I noticed on their bulletin board a brochure for the Weeksville Museum with all kinds of information about visiting and tours. Just FYI.

Questions on Ronia

I think that Ronia is interesting in the sense of its unusual characters. The one question that I was thinking about when reading the book is how do we sympathise with the characters despite the fact that they are crooks? The overall picture is that they are thieves that steal from others and not in a "cute" way like Jack from the Giant or a "noble" way like Robin Hood. I wonder why Lindgren didn't really address this by at least giving more backstory on the clans. Maybe they steal due a reason we dont know about or else she felt that it wasn't important. I would have liked if she would have expounded on this point. I give kudos to Ronia for at least being better than her parents and enacting more selflessness by feeding Birk. In a way she is a foil to those around her but then I wonder again. If she is raised to be a thief then where does this charity come from? Was she just born with inherent goodness, since i find her behavior highly unusual seeing as what her role models are, its an interesting insight on childhood development.

Ronia, The Robber's Daughter

I wonder if anyone else was surprised that "Ronia" was written as recent as 1981. There is such an early twentieth century feel to the writing style, very modernist, and I wonder if Lindgren did the repetition and the restrained writing purposely. I think the style is the most distinct part of the story (at least to me), and when I noticed when it was written it definitely seemed archaic for a writer from Generation X, though it seemed prudent for the topic she was writing about, a Romeo and Juliet story among thieves, to sound a little old-fashioned to make the story fit.

On Food and Sharing (to be continued)

Somewhere in the bible, it says, "Charity shall cover the multitude of sins." We see the redeeming nature of charity the scene in which Ronia feeds Birk, thereby saving him from starvation. The food she uses is has a fair amount of original sin...

On Ronia, the Robber's Daughter

Please continue posting on Ronia, focusing on turning points in her journey and development from child into young adult.