Contemporary-Hansel and Gretel-Survival

I would have to say that the theme of both the Grimm's and Gaiman's version of Hansel and Gretel or "Hansel and Grethel"would be survival. Survival is a constant thing for everyone in today's society, whether you are consciously thinking about it or not. Everything you do, every single second of every day will either hurt or aid in your survival. Your choices really do affect your entire life.
       In both versions of Hansel and Gretel, the Stepmother/Mother wanted the children gone as a means of survival, so she and the father would have less mouths to feed and could hopefully survive. In turn, the children were on their own trying to figure out how to survive with being lost in the woods, and then how to survive and beat the witch. The witch too was also trying to survive because she needed food (why she didn't just eat her house and make a house out of something else, that I'm unsure..maybe I'm thinking too much into this, it is just a tale after all..)
       At any rate, there are so many contemporary connections I could make to this theme of survival for Hansel and Gretel. As a result, I ended up choosing The Maze Runner by James Dashner as my contemporary connection. The Maze Runner is both a book and a movie. There are four books in total, one is the prequel and then we have the trilogy. If you haven't read the series, I highly suggest that you do, as well as watch the movie (soon to be movies..)
     

This picture includes Dylan O'Brien who plays Thomas in The Maze Runner, James Dashner who is the author of The Maze Runner series, and Wes Ball who is the current director of The Maze Runner Movies.

        Moving right along, just as Hansel and Gretel were put to the test of survival by being put out on their own in the woods, so were these kids that were put out to survive with nothing but what they could make and find, as well as beat the maze and most importantly, survive against the grievers. The people who put Thomas and the other kids into the world of the maze connect with Hansel and Gretel's parents, the maze connects with the woods, and the grievers connect with the witch. At least, that is how I see it. My reasoning is Hansel and Gretel, and Thomas and the kids are all out on their own trying to survive in a place that is very large and confusing,  such as the woods and the maze, and the witch and the grievers connect because they are both the things that are trying to kill the kids in both stories. In the end of both stories, most of the characters survive. Who survives and who dies? Well, you are all aware of who dies in both versions of Hansel and Gretel, but in order to find out who survives and dies in The Maze Runner series, read the books. (Please don't just look it up, that isn't cool and takes away part of the magic of reading if you ask me.) In the end, we all are trying to survive just like the characters in these stories. 

        

Contemporary Connections: Hansel and Gretel

Guns or Butter: 

The Covert Role of Government Apathy and Institutionalized War in Hunger

      Our tale of Hansel and Gretel begins set in a time with a society ravaged by war. As is a true comparison to reality the low income sector of society is most easily susceptible to be negatively affected by the war... Low income sectors generally rely on resources depreciate at high rates. They are most dependent small amounts of income, existing acquired resources (housing, land), and their environment. During the time period H+G is set the "environment" can be defined as the literal space on earth they exist in and provides for them, therefore, the land around them and its animal, plant, and resource production possibility. In the Neil Gaiman and Lorenzo Mattotti version of Hansel and Gretel this is described as:

"Hansel and Gretel did not go to school, for schools were far away from the forest where they lived, and schools cost money, which the woodcutter did not have enough of... Hansel and Gretel thought nothing of it, as long as they could play in the forest... as long as there was freshly baked bread and eggs and cooked cabbage on their table. When wood sold well, their father would buy meat... there were rabbits in the forest... ducks [in the pond]... and chickens [out back]. There was always food " (9).

     This exemplifies the fragile state in which the working poor exist. The Woodcutter and his wife could only produce from the few resources they had around them. War was a factor outside the country dwellers control but ravaged their resources:

"War came, and soldiers came with it-hungry angry, bored, scared men who, as they passed through, stole the cabbages, chickens, and ducks. The woodcutters family was never certain who was fighting whom, nor why they were righting, nor what they were fighting about... barely fields became battlefields, and the farmers were killed,... the miller had no grain to mill to flour, the butcher had no animals..., and soon the only thing to eat to their fill, in those fields, were slugs" (13).

     At this time, however, charity and welfare were almost nonexistent. In modern society the "environment" can be used to describe the resources that can be obtained to the structure of the political society we live in. Since 1935 after the Great Depression a welfare system was put into place. 

     In contemporary society many people define social programs as "Entitlement Programs" and define them as the reason for our countries debt. They say helping the poor out of situations such as the story of H+G is the blight of out economic debt and should be considered sinful and contradictory to progress as a nation.

     However as shown in the graph this is a confusing accusation when THE TOTALITY OF ALL OTHER SPENDING is still dwarfed by the military budget in the United States.

The majority of US spending is on the Military-Industrial Complex

     There are many who say the defense spending of the United States is "normal" and "necessary for security"...

United States spending is exponentially greater than any other countries, in fact THE TOP 10 OTHERS COMBINED.

IN FACT, THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN IN PERPETUAL WAR SINCE OUR FORMATION...

(Source)

David Horsey - Cartoonist - (LA Times Collection)
     In the 2012 Presidential Race Republican candidate Mitt Romney became a laughable example of blaming government spending for public broadcasting ($445 million or 0.014% of the budget)  as a reason for deficit and naming it as one of many programs he would eliminate to "balance the budget".

 (Source) (Ave # Text Files / Gig = 64,872) therefore you would have to delete more than 50,000  9 page papers (must be taking a lot of credits this semester...) to make room for 1 Gig of a 500 gig hard drive (infinitesimally negligible in terms of space) (Source).

However, he plans on increasing military spending by a figure of "4% would mean an increase of around $100 billion dollars in defense spending in 2013" (Source).

     Some simple math (445million/1billion) x 100 = 44.5 % more money to be spent on the military under Romney in comparison to the total budget for ALL public broadcasting systems. 

Cost Of Military Jet Could House Every Homeless Person In U.S. With $600,000 Home

"The staggering fact, configured by Think Progress, is just one of several figures the news source put into perspective for taxpayers. For example, the amount spent per year to build the F-35 jets could easily fulfill a $16.7 billion request by the United Nations Office of Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs to save countless lives from preventable causes around the world — and then have enough left over to fund UNICEF's budget request, too. The full cost of the jets program could also fund the National School Lunch Program, which feeds about 31 million students annually, for the next 24 years."

 "Eisenhower on the Military Industrial Complex and the future of America in his Farewell Address"

"The Military Industrial Complex from Eisenhower to Obama" Gareth Porter (Credentials)

Representation of the flow of resources in the military industrial complex.

With this in mind... does it really seem like "SOCIAL PROGRAMS" are the reason the United States is experiencing debt issues? ....

Connecting class themes....

     Keeping this information at mind let's return to thinking about Hansel and Gretel. 

     Their society is a prime example of one that invested no money in social programs (obviously no welfare), education (no easy access or public schools "cost money"), healthcare (assuming no access to the prior two access to this is logically assumable to be absent), public broadcasting (they didn't even know why the war was being fought), adoption or state care programs (people ditching children in woods to survive), or in their people at all. Their government was purely focused on the profits for themselves and the industries that support those means. 

    Imagine then, if our society abruptly ended funding to all social programs much like politicians like Mitt Romney suggest... 

     How would it affect us? Well, for starters, the prices of all goods would skyrocket. Government involvement in industry subsidies, a common mute point considering its government private investment rather than public, balancing private activity ends and without this the cost for producers would skyrocket and therefore consumer burden, and therefore price, would skyrocket. These industries would lay off workers, increasing unemployment and poverty rates exponentially. Some industries would topple all-together. While the government would "save" money, it would be potentially catastrophic to the work force of America. In turn without taxes generated from said work force and their capital (ie. property/income taxes) the government would run out of money for their other programs... Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue? 

PEOPLE WOULD BE EATING CHILDREN, PEOPLE WOULD BE PILLAGING TOWNS, DITCHING THEIR CHILDREN IN FORESTS, PEOPLE WOULD TOPPLE THE POWER STRUCTURES BOTH PHYSICAL AND MORAL THAT EXIST BUT IT WOULD OCCUR IN A MORBIDLY DE-CONSTRUCTIVE WAY...

MAKING CONNECTIONS

1. What is your opinion on this topic?
1. Do you think society is better or worse off due to government involvement in personal economics? Ex) Taxes.
1. Comparing a individual household "feudal" society to an interconnected both locally and globally modern society.
1. Can individuals and society be modernly successful with an economically isolationist mentality? Ex) Can you obtain every modern convenience you enjoy through the power of you and your community alone (think broadly in terms of production of all goods needed food, clothing, housing, entertainment such as the computer I type on, medicine, etc...)
2. Can the destabilization of the structure of a just and moral society be seen in low income areas today?
1. Crime rates, % population incarcerated, education rates, suicide rates, income elevation rates, access to heath care, access to a healthy diet, access to economic opportunity, teen pregnancy rates, drug abuse rates, access to safe housing, access to livable wages, % low income people participating in military activity.
2. Interactions with these communities and power structures ie. government, police, military, industrial.
3. What should publicly generated tax money be spent on?
1. Are you a "guns" or "butter" economic person?
2. Is it normal to spend 57% of your total budget on military spending?
1. What role does story playing tell in the continuation of this society? Are we being truthful in the narrative presented and the actualization of our embodied ideal (capitalism, militarism...) to "the land of the prosperous and free"?
1. Why are these politicians so quick to blame the poor over inflated militarism?
1. WHO BENEFITS FROM WAR?
1. Is this an embodiment of our theme as Americans of "the land of prosperity" and "the home of the free"?
2. How is society used in terms of bodies to accomplish this goal? Are we being used to accomplish this goal?
3. What are the consequences of a militarized society to the people existing in that society and in the societies the conflict takes place in?
1. Does investing in military power have a return for the group of individuals ie. taxpayers that invest in it? 
1. What do they receive?
2. Is this proportionate the moral consequences of war?
1. What is more important economic or societal moral expansion and progression?
2. Thinking long term which offers a greater return... investing in communities or war
4. If the government of Hansel and Gretel invested in the people instead of focusing all resources on war would the story be the same?

ALL IN ALL...

1. What can we learn as a society from this tale?
1. Is the complete reduction of public resource a "healthy" decision for our economy? 

Nath Paresh - Cartoonist

Contemporary Connections: A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings & Student Debt



A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings discuss the idea of an old, seemingly senile man, who appears in the courtyard of the two characters, Pelayo and his wife Elisenda.Old and with wings, the two decide to take him into their coop, at which point the man begins attracting the townspeople of the two characters. The crowds grow, with the Bishop telling the two that the man must be an angel because he doesn't speak Latin is shabby. Because of this, Pelayo and Elisenda begin to charge a $5 dollar admission to see the unique individual, with the crowds growing at alarming rates. Upon their charging, the crowds soon flock to the so called "spider-woman," in which the people find her story more interesting than the winged, aged man. After having his feathers plucked and stones thrown at him, the man decides to stay in the coop, eventually retreating to their shed while ageing. When both Pelayo and Elisenda realize that the man is dying and nearing the end, he suddenly begins to regain his strength, and his feathers grow back. At full health, the man sings at night, for he eventually departs from the two's house, with Elisenda watching him fly towards the distant horizons.

My contemporary connection upon reading this literary fairytale is relating it to that of student debt. Like the man who is seen as an "angel" by the various crowds and allegiant following, kids of our generation view college in the same light. Not to the extent as a savior, but merely as a means to help further our career and potentially get us a stable job. The administration, like Pelayo and Elisenda, charge the students admission fees to the college, just like they did for seeing the man. Upon our speculation, college is seen as a door to a better life, but a costly one that's never guaranteed. Disinterested, certain kids flee from college--some not having the financial means to support themselves, others realizing that it isn't what they feel their paying for. Like the woman, people our age will "flock" to whatever school has their specialized major or connections. We, the adults, are merely the crowd, going about to what interests us, forgetting the other schools in the dust. Eventually, we depart--whether it be on our own terms or the schools, as the colleges have profited greatly, regardless of the outcome. The students are left either for the better or worse, but decide for themselves whether college was really the "angel" they thought, or just the ideal standard they were holding it to. In the end, its up to the individual reading this, to determine if they got what they paid for.

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/the-ball-and-chain-of-student-debt/?_r=0

Wolf Alice - Discussion

Brittany Perry, Daequan Starkes, Jack Erhard



SUMMARY: Wolf-Alice is a child that was raised by wolves. Although she is physically a woman, there is nothing about her that is human. She is taken in by nuns in a convent where they attempt to teach her how to cooperate and how to behave like a civilized human being. This attempt to break Wolf-Alice of her wolf habits fails and she is sent to live with a Duke. The Duke is a werewolf who cannot see his own reflection and devours humans on a full moon. Wolf-Alice is sent to work as his maid of sorts, although she can't really do much besides make the Duke's bed. She is confused by her own reflection (believing it is another wolf) and her first menstruation (until she learns to anticipate it and clean up after herself). After realizing her reflection is a "shadow" of herself, she finds a wedding dress and cleans herself up to put it on. She walks into town with it, where the townspeople believe that she is a risen bride that was killed by The Duke. The Duke is injured from a silver bullet fired by a townsperson, and Wolf-Alice jumps onto his bed and begins to lick the blood and dirt off his face. Little by little, the Duke's face begins to appear in its glass until it is reflected there fully.


Discussion questions:

1.) "She grew up with wild beasts. If you could transport her, in her filth, rags and feral disorder, to the Eden of our first beginnings where Eve and grunting Adam squat on a daisy bank, picking the lice from one another's pelts, then she might prove to be the wise child who leads them all and her silence and her howling a language as authentic as any language of nature. In a world of talking beasts and flowers, she would be the bud of flesh in the kind lion's mouth: but how can the bitten apple flesh out its scar again" (pg 121)

How does religion play a role in this story? (Regarding the treatment of Wolf-Alice and how others view her).

  

2.) "The wolves had tended her because they knew she was an imperfect wolf; we secluded her in animal privacy out of fear of her imperfection because it showed us what we might have been, and so time passed, although she scarcely knew it." 

What is Carter saying about human nature and culture in this quote? What distinguishes us from animals? What connections can be made from this example of social acceptance to and human interaction?


3.) "She pawed and tumbled the dress The Duke had tucked away behind the mirror for awhile. The dust was soon shaken off of it; she experimentally inserted her front legs in the sleeves."

How does Wolf Alice leaving the wolves and going with the nuns play a role in her transition? What happens to her as she's living with human's for the first time?



4.) "She leapt upon his bed to lick, without hesitation, without disgust, with a quick, tender gravity, the blood and dirt from his cheeks and forehead. The lucidity of the moonlight lit the mirror propped against the red wall; the rational glass, the master of the visible, impartially recorded the crooning girl. As she continued her ministrations, this glass, with infinite slowness, yielded to the reflexive strength of its own material construction. Little by little, there appeared within it, like the image on photographic paper that emerges, first, a formless web of tracery, the prey caught in its own fishing net, then in firmer yet still shadowed outline until at last as vivid as real life itself, as if brought into being by her soft, moist, gentle tongue, finally, the face of the Duke" (pg 126)

The Duke is finally able to see his reflection in the end because of Wolf-Alice's tenderness and care. What is the author saying about what it means to be human? What defines humanity?

Contextual Material:

Role of religion and prejudice: Wolf-Alice and real-life situations
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2015/01/13/colorado-church-refuses-to-hold-funeral-for-lesbian-woman-after-dispute-over-affectionate-photos/

What does it mean to be human?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/philosophy-dispatches/201205/what-does-it-mean-be-human

Answer to Anti-Semitism in Grimm Brothers

Simply put: yes.

https://www.academia.edu/3223612/To_What_Extent_Do_the_Grimm_Brothers_Fairy_Tales_Promote_German_Ethnic_Nationalism

War and Familial Sacrifice

In class today we had a great discussion on what we think about the mother and her sacrificing her children.

While we never actually had a huge debate on it, I was just wondering what everyone thought. Sacrificing your children can be pretty extreme, but did anyone see her reasoning at least, even if they didn't support it? Did anyone think the mother sent her children into the forest because she figured they were strong enough to survive on their own?

War can have such a huge and lasting impact on culture, economies and families, and sometimes parents have had to make  decisions to ensure their child's safety or their own safety, and those decisions can be questionable.

Consider this clip from Sophie's Choice (Spoilers if anyone wants to watch this movie in full, but this scene is crucial so you should watch it, regardless)

Now, in the Gaiman version we read in class today and in Sophie's Choice, both families are greatly affected by war. The two mother figures in each both decide to give up their children for one reason or another. The only reason I bring this up is because in class we were so quick to condemn the mother's reasoning, but many people who have seen this movie see Sophie's decision as noble, brave and heart-wrenching, despite the fact that she made a similar choice to the mother in Hansel and Gretel. They both address the "one death is better than two" argument in some way or another.

What do you all think? Is one mother "worse" than the other? Do you think either of them were justified in doing this? Is one circumstance more "forgivable" than the other, and why? What do you think of the mother's decision to "lose" her children? What about Sophie's decision?

What might you do in either of those situations?



I would love to hear everyone's thoughts!
Brittany

Eva Luna- A Wrap-up

As I read the first couple of chapters of Eva Luna I wasn't sure if I would become comfortable the specific style of storytelling, 'her' voice.  Even though I was hesitant I continued on, reading with an open-mind. I believe it was around Chapter Five when Madrina gave birth to her still-born infant that I was able became comfortable with my own ability to interpret the words shared by the storyteller. As I became more and more comfortable I developed the confidence which I was lacking at the start of the book. It was once I felt this overwhelming sense of "I got this" that the book quickly wrapped-up all of its loose ends and ended. I was left feeling cheated and to be honest, annoyed.  Although the author was able to make sense of and tie together all of the various strings within Eva Luna's world I felt as though she delivered it in a hasty and abrupt fashion.  I also felt as though "The Final Word" was a fluffy made for TV ending that I was really hoping to sway away from within this novel. Yet given the fact that she was writing this for a telenovela I really should had expected it.  So when it comes down to it, if I were to be asked how I felt about this novel I would answer with the following statement,

"It was good until the end." 

Discussion- Hansel and Gretel

Discussion led by: MacKenzie Brooks, Morgan Moran, Molly Carriero, Madi Lisker


Summary:

      This changing tale begins with a family living through a horrific war. They experience a major decrease with income and food supply because of the battle. This family of four goes through the struggle of trying to make do with what they have on a daily basis. They live in a forest that slowly turns into a battlefield. The war never hits their home, but it affected their everyday life. The war burned fields, and a huge shortage of crops came about. The mother comes to the conclusion to kill the children because they cannot feed all four family members. The father who is more caring disagreed with this idea. She goes on to say they should "lose" them which would lead to potentially killing them. The son, Hansel, listens in on the parents conversation. The father took the children into the deeper part of the woods the following day. Hansel prepared himself and dropped stones as they walked to make sure him and his sister can find their way back home. When the children came back to the door step the parents were surprised. The father was excited, but the mother said nothing. The children were able to stay at the house for another week. Hansel was waiting for the parents to have another conversation about it, but they never did.
     One day, Hansel was surprised by another trip into the forest. This time he was not prepared. The two siblings were then lost in the forest. While they walked around trying to find their home, they were stopped by the smell of gingerbread. The smell lead them to a gingerbread house. The house belonged to an old woman. She found them and took them in immediately. She feed them and prepared beds for them to stay in. Little did the children know, she was preparing to eat them. Hansel and Gretel were then abused and trapped in the house. Gretel ends up saving the day by trapping the old women in the heated oven that was ready for Hansel. She locked the door and opened Hansel's cage that he was stuck in. The children then ran off and found their home and father.


Characters: Father, Mother, Margret (Gretel), Hans (Hansel), The old Women


Setting: Farm House, Forest, and Old Lady's gingerbread house.


Quotes:

Page 12:

       "That was in the good days, before the war, before the famine. War came, and the soldiers came with it - hungry, angry, bored, scared men who, as they passed through, stole the cabbages and the chickens and the ducks…But beyond the forest, fields of crops were burned and barely fields became battlefields, or made into soldiers in their turn and marched away."

     Connecting to today's generation, how do you think war affects our world/country? Or are there not as many issues as there were in the past?
   

Page 28:

    "And they were cold, and sad, and scared, of bears and of wolves and other things in the forest that might eat children."

      We thought this quote was a good example of foreshadowing. Why would the parents resort to putting their children's lives in jeopardy? Why is "losing" the children sound like the best idea for the mother? What makes for a good or a bad mother? Why?


Page 36:

    "She was tied to the table leg by a long chain. There was nothing sweet about the old woman, not any longer. She made Gretel clean and work for her, and if the girl did not obey her fast enough she would beat her and call her all manner of evil names."
        
    What was the reasoning for the old women's behavior? What was the purpose of this story and the moral of it?
     

Contextual Material:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/keyword/child-abuse

Child abuse has many different aspects: abandonment, physical, sexual, mental and verbal abuse are all common forms of child abuse. It is a very serious matter, and when seen someone should be notified.

Contemporary Connection: Eva Luna and Snapchat

 

 

As we already know, Eva Luna is all about story telling. Eva tells through stories, and Rolf  Carle tells through videos. On page 218 it says:

Rolf Carle, meanwhile had become a roving celebrity. He had filmed several documentaries that won him renown outside of the country...had been promoted to the directorship of the national television network, and who was an advocate of dynamic and bold programming, always sent Rolf to the source for the news....Carle filmed catastrophes, wars, kidnapping, trials, coronations, summit meetings, and other events that kept him far from his own world.

 

In the "modern world," our generation is known for being very tech savvy. In 2011, Evan Spiegel launches the app Snapchat. At first, it allowed users to take a picture and send it to their followers. Within twenty four hours the picture was erased. Now, the app uses pictures, video, instant messaging and can send money. A user can upload these pictures and video's to their "story." These stories are an easy and fast way to spread entertainment and news.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/27/us-snapchat-content-idUSKBN0L02DM20150127 

Final thoughts on Eva Luna

Hilton Weeks

Thoughts on Eva Luna

 To be honest this book peaked my interest barley. It didn't really suck me in and immerse me in something i wanted to read. I found it quite dull and not appealing. I would rate it a 3 out of 10 on my scale. I was more drawn into 1001 nights, and was disappointed that we only read four stories before going into Eva Luna. Though since we are switching to the Grimm’s tales next i am excited and would be pleased to interact in class more. That aside Eva Luna had several different traits that i was fond of, I liked how some of the story was told through Eva’s first person view; it made it easier to follow. I also liked the fast movement that the story provided, the Characters would be moving at a fast pace and always switching settings. Nobody would be in one place long and i feel thats what attributed to Eva’s story telling skills. Her wisdom she gained from bouncing from place to place and being exposed to different settings I believe aided her story telling because of the things she’s done and seen. I really had no interest in Eva’s love interest in the story, though i do feel like her and Rolf are good for each other and they work the best out of the other couple guys she had relationships with. All in all the story was okay and not my cup of tea. I didn't really bring me in or grab my attention but it was an okay book.

Contemporary Connections Foster Care and Eva Luna

Hilton Weeks

Contemporary Connections: Foster Care

A connection i made from the text to the contemporary world is Foster Care. The way how Eva  bounced from place to place, and house to house. She never settled in one home. Whenever she settled down, she would move to a new place, and new work. In today’s society we have a term for that in which a child cannot live with their mother or father because they are ineligible to. In this case Eva’s mother and father passed away, and that term that describes Eva is a Foster Child, who is under Foster Care, which is living with somebody other than your biological parents due to serious reasons. Eva is forced to live with people other than her biological parents just like children under Foster Care have to do now a day. Eva ends up living with the Professor first, then the Madrina’s sister, etc etc. We can basically call these people her Foster parents since she lived with them because she was unable to live wither her parents. After a while we can throw the foster care title out the window as seeing she reaches an age where she can care for herself and take care of herself on her own. Through all my searching in Foster care articles i found one quote that describes Eva.

   

    “Foster children just like any children have enormous potential to thrive given love, patience, and a stable environment.” - http://www.families4children.com/adopt_myths.cfm

Eva despite her moving from place to place has had stable environments to live in, and she has definitely grown into someone who has thrived throughout her lifetime. She acts like a normal person, she loves, she gets mad, all just like a normal person, even without her biological parents around.

thoughts

I really enjoyed the ending of the book and how everything came together. One part that surprised me was when Eva stops at the Pearl of the Orient to see Riad Halabi and sees that he is married to a young girl. I really liked on page 274 when Eva said “I was happy for him, for how well he looked. From that moment I have thought of him as the father that in fact he was; the image fitted him much better then that of lover for one night.” Although the fact that an old man like Riad married a teenage girl is slightly disturbing, I think that it is important because it symbolizes Eva closing the Riad chapter of her life and moving on. I also liked how when Rolf and Eva finally came together, they had already been successful on their own and throughout the novel we got to see the obstacles that they overcame that led up to them being together. Throughout the novel I found myself constantly making predictions as to how and when Rolf and Eva would meet and I think the that Isabel Allende did an excellent job of fusing their stories together.

Eva Luna

After two weeks of reading about Rolf, Eva, Mimi, Riad...etc I have fallen in love with the characters and just the over all ideas that are placed with in this book by Isabel Allende. As mentioned in class, the author always sticks strongly to reoccurring themes like some of the ones we listed in class; such as the purity of love. What Eva said at the end, it left my heart melting and just yearning for a story like hers.
         "I understood then why from the first I thought I had known him before. Quite simply, it all came down to the element fact that I had found my mate, after so many weary years searching for him" (306).
         Her words, in my mind, tie in with the thought of past lives like in the Indian epic of the Ramayana, or this wicked cool movie Cloud Atlas. In both, the same people (no matter what life it was in) fell in love with the same person. Maybe she possibly felt that she knew him because centuries ago that was the man she fell in love with in another life time. It kinda ties into the theme of spirituality and beliefs through out the book. Madrina would be the spiritual impact on Eva due to her younger years of living with that holy women. Either way, all I know is that I wish I could feel that strong of a personal connection with a person!
         "Or maybe that isn't how it happened. Perhaps we had the good fortune to stumble into an exceptional love, a love I did not have to invent, only clothe in all its glory so it could endure in memory" (307).
          We mentioned in class the theme of relationship shifts through out the book and the yearning of love/ attention. Over the years of the life of Eva we get to witness multiple occasion where she physical yearns love of not just sexual but also of love. The love towards her mother, Madrina, Mimi and her Abuela was that of the compassion you show toward family. While her love to Huberto Naranjo grew over time to the infatuation and belief that she loved him as she gave herself up sexually to him. But Naranjo rather love his this revolution that he was controlling as he tried to change the world for people like him.This is kind of like her love for Riad, for it started of fatherly but she became infactuated with the man that showed so much trust toward her, and allowed Eva in ways that he would usually consider forbidden due to his deformity. But yet pushed her away saying shes to young, and ends up with a 14 year old anyway, kinda peeved me but I knew Eva had better coming her way in the form of Rolf. I liked the fact that she allowed he love for Rolf grow in this unknown exceptional love that she never received from anyone else by the end of the book. I won't have wanted it to end any other way. The ending doesn't leave off on the wandering thought of what possibly happen to the characters, and whether they end up happy and better off. This last chapter made the connection of Rolf and Eva so strong and honestly in proved the power of love. It leaves of at the moment where we ended in the beginning of Rolf's story. Since the beginning I had a feeling it would end this way.

Thoughts on Eva Luna-Bella

Truth be told, I didn't really care much for this book.At any rate, I think that love played a strong part throughout this entire book. 

Eva had always felt her mother's love. While yes her mother had passed away, it was obvious that Eva carried the memory and love of her mother with her always, especially when it came to telling stories. Eva also felt love from her madrina who taught her things she knew. Those sorts of love was different than the love she felt for Huberto when she was a teenager. He saw her in a more related sort of way. That obviously changed when they became adults and found each other again. Then we met Riad who had the relationship with Eva as a guardian would with their child. Then it turned into something more and the two made love and kissed. She lost her virginity to him, and that's a bigger deal than some people make it out to be if you ask me. Eva felt that with Riad, is when she finally became a woman, at least, that's what I made it out to be. I personally don't think having sex or not having sex yet determines if you are a woman or not.
Lastly we had Eva and Rolf which was a different love than the others. I think that part of it was yes, a romantic love but then the other part was that they both had this sort of sense that they knew each other from somewhere else. I remember someone saying something about they seemed familiar in a family sort of way, which I think would make sense. 
I thought that it was interesting how the book could be so easily tied to issues that are big in modern day such as the suicides, the transgender, how fear played a role, etc. (Ex. Frau Carle and how her husband was killed by the school children. Fear had to be involved because she had talked about killing him but that she couldn't do it.) 

I did like the quote(s):
 "But if he can't change things, who can?"
"You and I, for example. What has to change in this world are attitudes." I agree with that quote to an extent, the only part of it that I don't agree with is when it comes to mental illnesses. Sometimes it's not a matter of attitude, but an illness, a disease that affects the mind and takes away control from you. Most people don't seem to understand that someone with depression for example, can't just be happy and in a good mood a lot, it's not their choice, it's what is attacking their mind. Same with someone who has anxiety, they may worry or panic and cannot just calm down. In cases like that, it isn't a matter of attitude, otherwise, I think that the quote would be fitting to the world.

I did like how, as Marcus also stated, that Mimi, Eva, Rolf, and Huberto were able to push through and succeed in their elements.

Also, quick question, how is the actual pronunciation of "Eva"? I've heard people say "A-va and E-va". 

Those are just some thoughts I had, whether they are correct or not, those are just what I was thinking.

Contemporary Connections: Eva Luna and Finding True Love

Text in blue taken from the Washington Post article, “Does online dating work? Let’s be honest: We have no idea.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/09/30/does-online-dating-work-lets-be-honest-we-have-no-idea/

Throughout Eva Luna’s journey as a young woman, she finds it difficult to make connections with men that will lead into a long-lasting, loving relationship. At times, she is discouraged by the things men do to her and is uncertain if she will ever find her “true love.” This can be connected to something in the modern day—online dating. In the age of computers and technology, online dating has become something that people look towards to find their soul mate.

Eva’s relationship with Riad escalated from her loving him as a father-figure to wanting to become his lover. This is the first time in the novel that Eva encounters someone who she loves in this way. According to the Washington Post Article, there are many reasons why relationships fail and some of these reasons are applicable to both online and offline relationships. The reason Eva and Riad’s relationship failed was because Riad thought of her as a child and he couldn't see a future with her and also because of the situation with Zulema.

“…I was still blinded by the discovery of love. I knew intuitively that for the rest of my life every time I thought of Riad Halabí, my gratitude would be renewed—and, in fact, it has been so….I recalled every word of the previous night, and realized that the man I had loved for five years as a father, and now desired as a lover, was lost to me.” (203)

It’s a question that applies equally well to offline dating, too: When a relationship fails, what or who is ultimately responsible? The place where the couple met? The length of time they took getting to know each other? Or something squishier, something less precise — a factor not captured in charts and telephone surveys?

Eva’s next relationship was between her and Huberto, but this relationship didn't give Eva the kind of love she was looking for. Huberto was content coming and going when it was convenient for him and Eva wanted more compassion and feelings out of the relationship. Eva’s perception of what is a successful and loving relationship is provided with the quote on page 229, and this can be compared to what people nowadays view as a “relationship.” Marriage between a husband and a wife is what Eva believes is true love and happiness, but nowadays, marriage isn't as much of a necessity for some people.

“I dreamed of a place where we could be together; I wanted to cook his meals, wash his clothes, sleep with him every night, and stroll through the streets hand in hand, like man and wife. “ (229)

“I was desperate, wild, possessed, by a compulsion to enslave him, never let him leave my side.” (230)

For starters, there’s this greater cultural issue of how we define relationship success: Is it marriage? Is it monogamy, a la Patti Stanger? Is it what OkCupid’s data team calls a “fourway” — four messages back and forth between two semi-interested parties?

A record number of Americans have never been married, and only a scant majority — 53 percent — want to be.

Eva’s final major relationship is with Rolf. At first, it seems as though their relationship is one between friends and isn't going to develop into true love. The end of the novel shows that the relationship does escalate into the “true love” that Eva has been looking for. Although it is not made completely clear, the reader can guess that the rest of Eva’s life exists as one big happy ending.

Does online dating actually work?

It’s a simple question and a common one — one whose answer could determine the fates of both a multi-billion dollar industry and millions of lonely hearts….And yet, just this week, a new analysis from Michigan State University found that online dating leads to fewer committed relationships than offline dating does — that it doesn’t work, in other words….Plus a whole host of dubious statistics, surveys and case studies from dating giants like eHarmony and Match.com, who claim — insist, even!! — that online dating “works.”

This much should be obvious: We don’t actually know.

The uncertainty of the success of online dating leads to questions being raised as to whether “true love” can be found and if this love will last someone an entire lifetime. 

Thoughts after finishing the book - Marcus

I’d say that we can see a lot of characters evolving and growing throughout the book. In the end, many of the main characters are at the top of their respective fields; Rolf is one of the biggest documentary film makers, Mimí one of the most famous actors, and Huberto Naranjo the leader of the whole guerilla movement. Eva has grown into a writer and she can now tell stories for living.

I do like the quote that in a way points this out to the reader, and summarizes it, on page 266. “Remember where we started, Eva! I was cursed by being born a woman in a man’s body, I’ve been persecuted for being homosexual. I’ve been raped, tortured, put in prison, but look where I am now – all on my own effort. And you? All you’ve ever done is work, work, work. You were born a bastard with blood of every color in your veins, you never had a family, no one sent you to school or had you vaccinated or gave you vitamins. But we’ve come out on top.”

How the characters are growing is very different from novels and tales. In the tales from One Thousand and One Nights that we were reading, a lot of things went on despite the short stories. I think it’s clearer now that novels in a way focus more on the development of characters and tales on the development of the plot. The two ways of telling stories make you feel in different ways.

When Eva was nervous about the guerilla attack, she begged her mother to be there for her, but she wasn’t. Sometimes her mother just wasn’t there to help. It reminded me of how it is to grow up. You get older and you have to deal with your problems by yourself.

However, in the end, Eva found someone to be there for her. Both Rolf and Eva have had tough backgrounds but with the ending it seems like Allende says that despite that, love can help us heal. Kind of a strong message when one thinks of all the horror in both of their lives. 

Overall: very well-written book, many interesting parts, sometimes a bit slow.

Ending of Eva Luna-Thoughts 

The ending was pretty good.
I'm probably not going to read it ever again, but for what it is the novel is well crafted.

Of course, in the final chapters there were my favorite moments, because in my opinion any good novel has a good ending.
I liked how Eva was able to not only put her script out there, but her work had historical/personal significance. She created a work that not only had stories within stories like One thousand and One Nights, but it had characters that had a base on her own life. They also incorporated Rolf's footage of the Guerrillas into their work, getting the truth of their revolution out there. This union of their work could be seen as symbolic as their eventual relationship together, and this is what I interpreted this to mean. Also, the imagery of all of the past and present versions of everyone she's ever known coming to life and hanging around her house, only to have her abuela brush them away was amazing imagery.

Overall, very good book.  

Contemporary Connections- Eva Luna and the Power Gap Between Men and Women

 Text in blue taken from consumerstar.org: http://www.consumerstar.org/resources/pdf/Gender_4.pdf

Throughout the novel men are shown to have power over women. Isabel Allende wrote the novel to take place in the nineteen thirties and forties, and during this time women relied on men. They were viewed as sexual objects, and according to the study “women have come a long way,” but both men and women view men as the dominant gender.

 

“In his eyes, I would never be independent. Huberto had thought that way since he could think at all” p. 233

 “At work I earn more than women in the same job function and receive more opportunities
for advancement than my women colleagues.”

Men have always had power over women and it clearly still exists today in the workforce, home and other aspects of society.

“His submissiveness lasted until one winter night when Lukas Carté felt the mood coming over him to use the red boots. The boys were old enough to guess what that oppressive atmosphere meant, those strained looks, the silence heavy with portents. As he always did,  Carté ordered the children to leave them, to take Katharina and go to their room and not come out for any reason.  Before they left, Jochen and Rolf glimpsed the terror in their mother’s eyes, and saw her shivering.” P. 39

“I am unlikely to be the target of sexual harassment at work, sexually motivated attacks in public or domestic violence at home. As such, my personal safety is not a daily concern for me, as it is for many women. “

Rolf’s mother was mentally tortured, she was forced to walk around her house in red high heels and nothing else.  In fear she answered to Carte’s wishes. He treated her more like an object than a human being. In today's society women are still subjected towards objectification sexual harassment even though the gender gap has  “come along way."