Dear Kim Edwards,
your novel "the memory keeper's daughter" is amazing. i am so close to finishing and i cannot wait to figure out what happens in the end! this story has not only showed themes such as masks, regretfullness, grief, selfishness and lying but love. david henry gave his daughter away at birth which he regrets. but this selfish act forces him to lie to his wife and son which comprimises their relationship. phoebe, down syndromed daughter grew up with caroline, davids nurse. caroline loves phoebe and has fought and taught her very much. i feel that this novel has also taught me some lessons. what encouraged you to think of this topic? it is so thoughtful! do you have some similar instance that has happened? well i cannot wait to finish!
thanks,
Claire O'Neill
Monday, March 24, 2008
Week , Post A
Vocab
1.) giardiasis (174): an intestinal disorder characterized by abdominal discomfort and prolonged, intermittent diarrhea, caused by the protozoan
2.) meticulous (216): taking or showing extreme care about minute details
Fig Lang
1.) Metaphor. "Hands trembling, Caroline slid the newspaper clipping from her pocket. She had carried it for two weeks, her heart surging every time she touched it"(242). This quote is a metaphor because it describes how Caroline feels when she touches the clipping.
2.) Imagery. "The hillsides steepened and streams cascaded down and the houses grew steadily sparser, poorer"(263). This quote is imagery because i can imagine what this view looks like.
3.) Imagery. "The early light caught in her haid, frosted yesterday, glinting with red and gold"(276) This quote is clearly imagery because it describes her hair so that it is easy for the reader to imagine it.
Quote
"He had felt some darkness open up inside him when he saw his father's face, emotions that, at five, Paul couldn't explain or describe but that he knew already had to do with sorrow. His mother, too, when she'd taken the picture fromm his father, was touched with sadness but she slipped a mask over it"(213). This quote is another great part of this novel. masks. Paul knows that his parents are going through a rough time and he knows more than they think he does. His mother just slips over a mask of her true feelings whenever she is out or around anyone else because paul knows that, that is not how she really acts.
Theme
Another theme is masks. not literal masks, but pretend masks that hide your true feelings.
1.) giardiasis (174): an intestinal disorder characterized by abdominal discomfort and prolonged, intermittent diarrhea, caused by the protozoan
2.) meticulous (216): taking or showing extreme care about minute details
Fig Lang
1.) Metaphor. "Hands trembling, Caroline slid the newspaper clipping from her pocket. She had carried it for two weeks, her heart surging every time she touched it"(242). This quote is a metaphor because it describes how Caroline feels when she touches the clipping.
2.) Imagery. "The hillsides steepened and streams cascaded down and the houses grew steadily sparser, poorer"(263). This quote is imagery because i can imagine what this view looks like.
3.) Imagery. "The early light caught in her haid, frosted yesterday, glinting with red and gold"(276) This quote is clearly imagery because it describes her hair so that it is easy for the reader to imagine it.
Quote
"He had felt some darkness open up inside him when he saw his father's face, emotions that, at five, Paul couldn't explain or describe but that he knew already had to do with sorrow. His mother, too, when she'd taken the picture fromm his father, was touched with sadness but she slipped a mask over it"(213). This quote is another great part of this novel. masks. Paul knows that his parents are going through a rough time and he knows more than they think he does. His mother just slips over a mask of her true feelings whenever she is out or around anyone else because paul knows that, that is not how she really acts.
Theme
Another theme is masks. not literal masks, but pretend masks that hide your true feelings.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Week 6, Post B
Dear Paul,
You are the son of David and Norah in this novel. How does it feel to be able to get whatever you want (because your father is a doctor) but feel that it's not worth it? I feel that you paul, are a good boy. You enjoy music and are very active in school. You and your mother get along pretty well, but you and your father just does not work out. You feel that he doesnt get you,
"'I like music, it makes me feel alive. I guess i don't expect you to understant that.'
"'I understant it, but there's being alive, and there's making a living"(200). You and your father are on differend terms on how you feel about your music. I believe that you should keep doing what your doing because your father is wrong. He has always taken work before family and done things that do not benefit the family in a loving way rather just a money way. But your father is also a good role model so continue looking up to him but follow your dream.
Sincerely,
Claire O
You are the son of David and Norah in this novel. How does it feel to be able to get whatever you want (because your father is a doctor) but feel that it's not worth it? I feel that you paul, are a good boy. You enjoy music and are very active in school. You and your mother get along pretty well, but you and your father just does not work out. You feel that he doesnt get you,
"'I like music, it makes me feel alive. I guess i don't expect you to understant that.'
"'I understant it, but there's being alive, and there's making a living"(200). You and your father are on differend terms on how you feel about your music. I believe that you should keep doing what your doing because your father is wrong. He has always taken work before family and done things that do not benefit the family in a loving way rather just a money way. But your father is also a good role model so continue looking up to him but follow your dream.
Sincerely,
Claire O
Week 6, Post A
Vocab
1.) cadences(154): The measure or beat of movement, as in dancing or marching.
2.) lentils (158): The round, flattened seed of this plant.
Fig Land
1.) Similie. "The machine sat in the driveway, as incongruous and odd as a steel-blue pig"(136). This is a similie because it uses as and compared the machine to a pig.
2.) Similie. "These days they were like two planets in orbit around the same sun, not colliding but not drawing any closer either"(142). This quote compared Norah and David's relationship to two orbits: far away and distant from eachother.
3.) Similie. "A simple encounter, yet he felt strangely agitated, exposed and vulnerable, like past rising up like the sea"(148). This quote is describing how David felt, just like a sea, and never knowing what wouuld happen.
Quote
"He'd thrown the photos out, negatives and all, but still they haunted him. He was afraid they always would. He had lied after all; he had given away their daughter. That terrible consequences would follow seemed both inevitable and just"(108).
This quote is all about things coming back to haunt you. David knows what he did was wrong and now he has to suffer the consequences of never knowing when Norah might be sad or angry. What he did will always stay with him and haunt him for the rest of his life.
Theme
One theme is doing something you regret doing and being haunted for it the rest of your life.
1.) cadences(154): The measure or beat of movement, as in dancing or marching.
2.) lentils (158): The round, flattened seed of this plant.
Fig Land
1.) Similie. "The machine sat in the driveway, as incongruous and odd as a steel-blue pig"(136). This is a similie because it uses as and compared the machine to a pig.
2.) Similie. "These days they were like two planets in orbit around the same sun, not colliding but not drawing any closer either"(142). This quote compared Norah and David's relationship to two orbits: far away and distant from eachother.
3.) Similie. "A simple encounter, yet he felt strangely agitated, exposed and vulnerable, like past rising up like the sea"(148). This quote is describing how David felt, just like a sea, and never knowing what wouuld happen.
Quote
"He'd thrown the photos out, negatives and all, but still they haunted him. He was afraid they always would. He had lied after all; he had given away their daughter. That terrible consequences would follow seemed both inevitable and just"(108).
This quote is all about things coming back to haunt you. David knows what he did was wrong and now he has to suffer the consequences of never knowing when Norah might be sad or angry. What he did will always stay with him and haunt him for the rest of his life.
Theme
One theme is doing something you regret doing and being haunted for it the rest of your life.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Week 5, Post B
Dear Caroline,
How is everything? Considering that 18 years ago you were told by your boss to take his child and bring her to an institution. It moved me that you had the courage to not listen to him and bring Phoebe, now your child home with you. After leaving to David Henry's office that snowy night, everything changed for you. You say that before you left, you were waiting. Waiting for a husband, just waiting. But after you left, you began to start your life. "Caroline stood still a moment longer. This was her life. Not the life she had once dreamed of, not a life her younger self would ever have imagined or desired, but the life she was living, with all its complexities. This was her life, built with care and attention, and it was good"(254). Its amazing how all that you ahve been through you still appreciate your life. I think about Norah Henry, how she is married to a doctor, and has everything she could possibly dream of but is still unhappy. Even depressed. But you appreciate everything that you have done.
Sincerely,
Claire O'Neill
How is everything? Considering that 18 years ago you were told by your boss to take his child and bring her to an institution. It moved me that you had the courage to not listen to him and bring Phoebe, now your child home with you. After leaving to David Henry's office that snowy night, everything changed for you. You say that before you left, you were waiting. Waiting for a husband, just waiting. But after you left, you began to start your life. "Caroline stood still a moment longer. This was her life. Not the life she had once dreamed of, not a life her younger self would ever have imagined or desired, but the life she was living, with all its complexities. This was her life, built with care and attention, and it was good"(254). Its amazing how all that you ahve been through you still appreciate your life. I think about Norah Henry, how she is married to a doctor, and has everything she could possibly dream of but is still unhappy. Even depressed. But you appreciate everything that you have done.
Sincerely,
Claire O'Neill
Week 5, Post A
Vocab
1.) Gregarious(145): fond of the company of others; sociable.
2.) Hostile (146): of, pertaining to, or characteristic of an enemy.
Fig Lang
1.) Similie. "A film closed over the past as she spoke, a barrier as brittle and fragile as ice forming"(88). This quote is a similie because it compares her past closing to ice forming.
2.) Imagery. " Norah was ahead of him, moving like light, flashes of white and denim amid the trees: there, and then gone"(106). This quote is clearly a similie, but i also thought it could be classified as imagery because it is describing where norah was in the forest.
3.) Imagery. "The sun forever in the sky and the dry leaves moving under his feet"(118). This is another imagery because it is describing how that day in the forest was for David so that the reader could imagine it.
Quote
"Paul would not grow up as David had, suffering the loss of his sister. He would not be forced to fend for himself because his sister couldn't"(113).
This quote is very ironic to the whole novel. David lost his sister when he was younger to heart failure and that was why he decided to give his daughter away. He could not have to deal with the grief of going through that period in his life again and he did not want to put Paul through it.
Theme
A very important theme is grief and selfishness. Grief because amny characters are put through grief in this novel but do not back down. Another aspect is selfishness because firstly, David is very selfish and does not want to go through that horrible time again with his daughter so he gave her away without anyone's consent.
1.) Gregarious(145): fond of the company of others; sociable.
2.) Hostile (146): of, pertaining to, or characteristic of an enemy.
Fig Lang
1.) Similie. "A film closed over the past as she spoke, a barrier as brittle and fragile as ice forming"(88). This quote is a similie because it compares her past closing to ice forming.
2.) Imagery. " Norah was ahead of him, moving like light, flashes of white and denim amid the trees: there, and then gone"(106). This quote is clearly a similie, but i also thought it could be classified as imagery because it is describing where norah was in the forest.
3.) Imagery. "The sun forever in the sky and the dry leaves moving under his feet"(118). This is another imagery because it is describing how that day in the forest was for David so that the reader could imagine it.
Quote
"Paul would not grow up as David had, suffering the loss of his sister. He would not be forced to fend for himself because his sister couldn't"(113).
This quote is very ironic to the whole novel. David lost his sister when he was younger to heart failure and that was why he decided to give his daughter away. He could not have to deal with the grief of going through that period in his life again and he did not want to put Paul through it.
Theme
A very important theme is grief and selfishness. Grief because amny characters are put through grief in this novel but do not back down. Another aspect is selfishness because firstly, David is very selfish and does not want to go through that horrible time again with his daughter so he gave her away without anyone's consent.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Week 4, Post B
Dear Norah,
I am very sorry about your daughter. It must be tragic to find out that your daughter died but you have no proof, no sureness how she died. I know you think that she is somewhere out there in the world . You feel her sometimes and it always comes back to that day in the hospital. That day that you gave birth to two babies. You know its a mystery and i believe you are rig ht. You feel sad all the time because of many reasons but many because of Phoebe. For awhile, you were becoming a person, " Set loose by grief into a world that made no sense"(77). Because of this tragic mystery, you have been moving further and further away from your husband. Its very sad because you feel like you do not know much about him. And when you went on your vacation in Aruba, you feeling left out, you decided to do something very uncalled for and i hope you learn from that mistake, because your husband and son were very unhappy about that. I cannot wait to see what else happens between you, Paul, David and possible Phoebe!
sincerely,
Claire O'Neill
I am very sorry about your daughter. It must be tragic to find out that your daughter died but you have no proof, no sureness how she died. I know you think that she is somewhere out there in the world . You feel her sometimes and it always comes back to that day in the hospital. That day that you gave birth to two babies. You know its a mystery and i believe you are rig ht. You feel sad all the time because of many reasons but many because of Phoebe. For awhile, you were becoming a person, " Set loose by grief into a world that made no sense"(77). Because of this tragic mystery, you have been moving further and further away from your husband. Its very sad because you feel like you do not know much about him. And when you went on your vacation in Aruba, you feeling left out, you decided to do something very uncalled for and i hope you learn from that mistake, because your husband and son were very unhappy about that. I cannot wait to see what else happens between you, Paul, David and possible Phoebe!
sincerely,
Claire O'Neill
Week 4, Post A
VoCaB
1.) Geode (78): a hollow concretionary or nodular stone often lined with crystals.
2.) Catalpas (145): Any of various, usually deciduous trees of the genus Catalpa, especially C. bignonioides or C. speciosa, native to the United States and having whorled, heart-shaped leaves, showy clusters of white flowers, and long, slender, cylindrical pods. Also called Indian bean.
Figurative Language
1.) Similie. "Now, wide-eyed, he watched the streamers, as beautiful and elusive as butterflies"(73). This quote is clearly a similie because it uses as but also, it compares the streamers to butterflies.
2.) Similie. "Ofter, still, her sense of loss stirred up, like flames out of embers"(75). This quote is another similie because it uses like and it compares her sense of loss because of phoebe to how it stirred up like flames.
3.) Metaphor. " Her new house was ablaze with lights in every window, upstairs and down, light pouring out liek something liquid, something that how overflowed and could no longer be contained"(86). This quote is a metaphor because it shows how Norah is feeling. Her new house may be better and nicer than the old one, but she felt more overwhelmed in it and out of control.
Quote
"Norah wanted to speak and set things in motion again. The right words hovered in her mind, but she could not seem to find her voice. She sat silently, and the silence became a lake, an ocean where they all might drown"(46). I feel like this quote really described Norah. She seems to always be thinking of something that means alot to her but she never speaks her mind. She is very undecided and cannot make up her mind at all.
Theme
From this quote, i think the theme is being in the background and not telling the whole truth or not saying anything at all. Norah and David have issues with eachother as well as how David does not tell anyone about Phoebe.
1.) Geode (78): a hollow concretionary or nodular stone often lined with crystals.
2.) Catalpas (145): Any of various, usually deciduous trees of the genus Catalpa, especially C. bignonioides or C. speciosa, native to the United States and having whorled, heart-shaped leaves, showy clusters of white flowers, and long, slender, cylindrical pods. Also called Indian bean.
Figurative Language
1.) Similie. "Now, wide-eyed, he watched the streamers, as beautiful and elusive as butterflies"(73). This quote is clearly a similie because it uses as but also, it compares the streamers to butterflies.
2.) Similie. "Ofter, still, her sense of loss stirred up, like flames out of embers"(75). This quote is another similie because it uses like and it compares her sense of loss because of phoebe to how it stirred up like flames.
3.) Metaphor. " Her new house was ablaze with lights in every window, upstairs and down, light pouring out liek something liquid, something that how overflowed and could no longer be contained"(86). This quote is a metaphor because it shows how Norah is feeling. Her new house may be better and nicer than the old one, but she felt more overwhelmed in it and out of control.
Quote
"Norah wanted to speak and set things in motion again. The right words hovered in her mind, but she could not seem to find her voice. She sat silently, and the silence became a lake, an ocean where they all might drown"(46). I feel like this quote really described Norah. She seems to always be thinking of something that means alot to her but she never speaks her mind. She is very undecided and cannot make up her mind at all.
Theme
From this quote, i think the theme is being in the background and not telling the whole truth or not saying anything at all. Norah and David have issues with eachother as well as how David does not tell anyone about Phoebe.
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