Pg. 129 "He had promised her a portrait of herself in oils on her seventeenth birthday, but Phuong was horrified at the thought, imagining he would portray her with a long, drawn face as he usually painted his subjects. He even gave his fairies long faces, with seaweed for hair and lemon colored skin...."
1. The theme of the passage was art, describing Kien's father's art style.
2. This quote characterizes Kein's father quit a bit, giving us a glimpse into his mind.
Pg. 139 " The three farm girls had disappeared on the other side of the mountain. He then dreamed of Phuong every night throughout this tragic episode....Kien had lived their loves with them by proxy, using Phuong as his own jungle girl, conjuring up intense and passionately romantic dreams. Sadly, the dreams were often tinged with painful forebodings of disaster, as his romance with Phuong had been."
1. The theme of this quote is love, Kien's love for Phuong and the love the farm girls and the three lovers from Kien's platoon.
5. This quote relates to the modern time issue that soldiers today face, the aching feeling that they must feel after leaving their loved ones.
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Saturday's Homework Pg. 105-125
Pg. 106 "Kien shot her then, coming down the stairs past Oanh, shooting repeatedly , until he stood face to face and shot her again, in revenge. But although she had been blasted back by five rounds she still leaned on her arm on the floor, raising her head, as if she had decided to sit up. Kien fired the remainder of the magazine into her and the tiles under the girl's white uniform reddened with blood. Kien squatted down near the four bodies, shaking and retching. In ten long years of fighting, since the first day at the front, he had never felt as bad."
1. The theme here is loss. Kien's loss of Oanh and the girl's loss of the two women with her.
4. The setting in this passage is described in such a way that you can see Kien's every action.
Pg. 107 "In later years, when he heard stories of V-Day or watched the scenes of the fall of Saigon on film, with cheering, flags, flowers, triumphant soldiers, and joyful people, his heart would ache with sadness and envy. He and his friends had not felt that soaring, brilliant happiness he saw on film...."
1. The theme here is suffering, as others celebrate on the day of remembrance, solider's like Kien suffer through the memories of the past.
3. The conflict here is Man vs. Society. Soldiers that fought in the war vs. society's celebration of it.
1. The theme here is loss. Kien's loss of Oanh and the girl's loss of the two women with her.
4. The setting in this passage is described in such a way that you can see Kien's every action.
Pg. 107 "In later years, when he heard stories of V-Day or watched the scenes of the fall of Saigon on film, with cheering, flags, flowers, triumphant soldiers, and joyful people, his heart would ache with sadness and envy. He and his friends had not felt that soaring, brilliant happiness he saw on film...."
1. The theme here is suffering, as others celebrate on the day of remembrance, solider's like Kien suffer through the memories of the past.
3. The conflict here is Man vs. Society. Soldiers that fought in the war vs. society's celebration of it.
Friday's Homework Pg. 85-105
Pg. 86 "Bewildered, confused, deeply troubled, he began to pace around the room away from the windows. The memories flared up, again and again. He lurched over to his desk and picked up his pen, then almost mechanically began to write."
1. The theme of the passage is PTSD and Trauma. He has a flashback due the cold of winter setting in, reminding him of war torn days.
3. The conflict here is Man vs. Self. Despite his distaste of his current feeling, he can't fight against his urge to write it all down.
Pg. 88 "Memories of a midday in the dry season in beautiful sunshine, flowers in radiant blossom in the tiny forest clearing; memories also of a difficult rainy-day by the flooded Sa Thay river when he had to go into the jungle collecting bamboo shoots and wild turnips....That afternoon, not feeling the rising evening wind, he had sat and allowed his soul to take off on its flight to his eternal past."
2. This passage characterizes Kien in a way that shows us how he feels detached from his surroundings.
4. This passage smoothly transitions from setting, giving you enough information to have a good grasp on what the scene looked like.
1. The theme of the passage is PTSD and Trauma. He has a flashback due the cold of winter setting in, reminding him of war torn days.
3. The conflict here is Man vs. Self. Despite his distaste of his current feeling, he can't fight against his urge to write it all down.
Pg. 88 "Memories of a midday in the dry season in beautiful sunshine, flowers in radiant blossom in the tiny forest clearing; memories also of a difficult rainy-day by the flooded Sa Thay river when he had to go into the jungle collecting bamboo shoots and wild turnips....That afternoon, not feeling the rising evening wind, he had sat and allowed his soul to take off on its flight to his eternal past."
2. This passage characterizes Kien in a way that shows us how he feels detached from his surroundings.
4. This passage smoothly transitions from setting, giving you enough information to have a good grasp on what the scene looked like.
Thursday's Homework Pg. 64-85
Pg. 68 "In the streets below scattered lights shone, the light mixing with the rain. Illumination stopped at the end of the street, marking the start of the vast lake. Swinging his vision familiar titled roofs of Hanoi, although hardly any of the houses emitted light. There were no cars on the streets, and not a single pedestrian....The spirit of Hanoi is strongest at night, even stronger in the rain. Like now, when the whole town seems deserted, wet, lonely, cold, and deeply sad."
1. The theme Theme of this passage is hope, despite the rain Hanoi is strong. Kien dreams of the city later in the passage, again placing Hanoi as a placeholder of hope.
4. The quote does give detail of the setting. It makes the scene tangible, not only seeing Hanoi visually but spiritually.
Pg. 69 "Phuong, his childhood sweetheart, his classmate, his female lead in one of the strangest opening nights of the war theater, and his self-created ikon for salvation in a peacetime, had left him again. She had gone from him when the false spring faded and real winter returned."
1. The theme of this passage is loneliness and hope. She represents salvation to him yet she leaves.
2. This quote characterizes Phuong as your ideal human being, as someone worth looking to.
1. The theme Theme of this passage is hope, despite the rain Hanoi is strong. Kien dreams of the city later in the passage, again placing Hanoi as a placeholder of hope.
4. The quote does give detail of the setting. It makes the scene tangible, not only seeing Hanoi visually but spiritually.
Pg. 69 "Phuong, his childhood sweetheart, his classmate, his female lead in one of the strangest opening nights of the war theater, and his self-created ikon for salvation in a peacetime, had left him again. She had gone from him when the false spring faded and real winter returned."
1. The theme of this passage is loneliness and hope. She represents salvation to him yet she leaves.
2. This quote characterizes Phuong as your ideal human being, as someone worth looking to.
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