When the Emperor was Divine 1

I think the mother in When the Emperor was Divine is an extremely vital character.  She plays a very strong role. She is the sole provider for her children, she is the emotional, physical, and mental soldier for her family.  She provides for her two children while her husband is off in jail, because the government fears he may be some sort of traitor or spy.  She has tried to give her children the best life possible by allowing them to grow up very American.  They are English speaking kids, they do not speak Japanese they participate in normal children activities such as baseball and piano.  The mother is very much the emotional leader or rock of the family.  It is her job to help the children cope with the fact that their father is no longer around.  She has to play both mom and dad.  She puts up a facade for her children.  She never allows them to know when things are not going as well as they could be going.  The mother knows all along that she and the children are going to be taken into the internment camps but she still goes on with life as everything is okay for her children.  She is the physical leader for her family, she brings home the bacon, makes sure everything is all set for her kids, looks after the home and their pets.  She is a wonder woman for her children.  I believe that so far in this book the mother is the most important character.  She is everything to her kids. She wants to give them the best life possible and she wants to shelter them from any heartache.

Push 2

In class today my group wondered why it took Precious so long to start doing something about her situation.  For many years she was abused sexually, physically, emotionally, and mentally, and teachers just passed her through the system, but why didn't she stand up for herself? I came to two conclusions: Precious must have been afraid of any possible consequences that come with 'snitching' or 'squealing', or she didn't have the faith or trust in anyone around her to say anything.  I think Precious was deathly afraid of what would have happened if she had actually told the school what was going on at home, or gone to the local police, or someone else she could have helped.  Her mother was an extremely violent person and I have no doubt that there would have been serious repercussions if Precious would have told someone with authority what was going on.  If Precious would have told anyone that she was being sexually abused by her father I think her mother would have killed her because she was so worried about keeping him in her life.  I also believe that Precious kept quiet because she didn't trust anyone.  She didn't believe that anyone would help her and I think that's what kept her shut for so long.  No one did anything to prove to Precious that they cared or wanted to help.  All teachers did was pass her along for so long and the school system punished her for things that she didn't really have control over so I think she was scared to go to them because all they had provided were bad times in her life.  I think she didn't go to police because of the time period and the type of community she lived in. I'm sure that she had only had bad experiences with cops before so she didn't think that they were capable of doing any good for someone like her.

Push 1

The book Push highlights the flaws of many institutions.  While these flaws may not be the case in every community they are the case in too many communities.  Precious is passed along from grade to grade because no one wants to step in and take the initiative the set her on the right track.  Teachers, administrators, social workers, counselors, principles,...everyone passes her along. Everyone knows there is a problem but none of them want to put in the effort to contribute to the solution. To go along with what we discussed a bit in class Precious is failed by just about everyone.  She is failed by the school system, her family, the community, social services, the police,  and the hospital. The school system allows her to go from grade to grade without making her earn it.  Precious could have very well graduated as an illiterate 18 year old because the school didn't want to have to put in the effort to actually help her learn.  It's sad, because someone her age should not be unable to read and write. These are basic skills taken for granted but no one wanted to help Precious.  Precious is failed by her mother, her father, and her grandmother.  Her mother abuses her in ways no child should be abused and tells Precious she is to blame for the bad things that happen to her. Her father is a no good scum bag who forces Precious to do things she doesn't want to do and he forces her to face lifelong battles.  Kids don't disappear Precious is responsible for her kids for her whole life.  Her grandmother fails her because she doesn't do anything about Precious' situation at home.  She allows all her daughter to hurt Precious. She has the choice to pull her out just like she took Precious' first child but she just sits back and watches.  Precious is failed by social services, the hospital, and the police because they don't do anything about her situation.  They know who the father of her child is and that it's not an acceptable situation and they allow it to happen.  Precious is failed by her community because they know what is going on.  Her neighbors hear the abuse but they don't do anything about it.  It is amazing how Precious perseveres because she was given a formula to fail and she eventually finds a way to make the most of it.

Fun Home 3

The mother and father in Fun Home have an interesting relationship.  In my opinion I think that they are together just for the sake of their children.  I do not believe that they love each other. At least not in a romantic sense.  The father is gay, so obviously he have no attraction to the mother, and she just kind of goes through the motions of life.  Also, another thing I've noticed about their relationship is that they don't seem to respect each other.  The way they talk to each other in their arguments shows a lack of respect The father says, "get back in here!" and he also calls her a 'crazy bitch.' It's just not the way you would expect a husband and wife to communicate with one another.  Another thing that shows the father's lack of respect towards the mother are his affairs.  Not only is it wrong to have sexual relationships with others while you are married, he also deceives her and doesn't tell her that he is really attracted to men.  I think that's a double fault.  He has lied to her throughout the course of their marriage and that is a huge wrong.  The lack of affection shown by the mother and father towards each other affects the children greatly.  They don't really have a sense for what a relationship is supposed to be like.  They know that moms and dads are supposed to love each other and show affection but they do not get to witness it.  They also have weird relationships with their parents, more so with their dad than with their mom.  One of the kids mentions trying to give their dad a kiss goodnight and failing awkwardly and it's because growing up they didn't experience these things and I think that is going to hurt their future relationships.  I think that kids will be unable to show affection in their own relationships when they grow.

Fun Home 2

 After finishing my last post a bit confused I continued to read a bit more of the book to try and become less confused, but as I should have expected this book keeps me guessing.  At the end of the first chapter the father dies/commits suicide, but at the beginning of chapter two we see that it's not so clear cut.  People are unsure as to if it was an accident or a suicide gone wrong/right depending on how you look at it.  Some of the people at the funeral were raving about how good a man the father was but they were only going off what they saw on the outside.  The man who restored houses and had a perfect family.  They didn't get to see the hard times the children went through, dealing with his need for perfection, his lack of affection, and his abuse.  In chapter two it is mentioned that they refer to the funeral home that the family owns as the 'fun home,' I think that the funeral home got it's name because that was the only place where the children were allowed to be children.  The father was so structured and fun sucking that the kids could only have fun at the 'fun home,' there they could escape the grasp of their father and let their imaginations run free. I truly believe the father comes off as coldhearted because that's all he knows from growing up, and a line in chapter two confirms my thoughts, 'maybe this was the same his own notoriously cold father had shown him his first cadaver.' The father is so cold because he was probably treated the same way when he was growing up.  

Fun Home 1

I wasn't too sure what to expect when I bought the book, when I opened the book I was surprised to see a comic book like format. I wasn't sure if it would stay that way throughout the whole book so I flipped through the pages to see that I should expect this style throughout the whole book.  I found the book a little difficult to read at times.  I forgot my dictionary at school (joke) so I had a little trouble understanding some of the words.  I also found the book to be kind of funny. I liked the little box when the son and the dad talk about the curtains for his room.  So far I'm not a fan of the father in this story.  He is too anal for my liking, I also don't like the tone he uses with his children. It seems to always be his way or the highway.  I'm not sure if I am reading it the right way but he seems physically abusive as well so that was a big turnoff in regards to his character. 'I grew to resent the way my father treated his furniture like children, and his children like furniture,' I think that the father has some serious issues. Growing up something must have gone terribly wrong for him to be such a perfectionist in one aspect of his life and not others.  All he cares about is his house being perfect but he doesn't care about being perfect for his children.  He seems to be all about the material. What I've managed to read of this book so far has me quite confused.  There is mention of the father having sex with young boys but it was only mentioned once and not again, so it makes me wonder if it really happened or not or it the kids are just being overdramatic about things.  I look forward to reading more and decoding this mysterious but interesting book.

Timeline: Minerva

1938

- smack's her pet rabbit to leave her pen (Symbolizes desire for freedom and stubbornness)

-goes to boarding school at Immaculada Concepcion (after she convinces her dad)

-becomes close friends with Sinita at school who tells her about Trujillo and the bad things he has done

1941

-schoolmate Lina, also her role model, becomes pregnant with Trujillo's baby, and is sent away as one of his many mistresses

1944

-performs a skit for Trujillo at his celebration where Sinita points a bow and arrow at Trujillo and gets them in trouble

-Minerva starts to believe in the movement and resistance against Trujillo

1949

-Graduated from boarding school and wants to go to law school but family wants her at home

-Meets Lio and finds letters he has written her in her father's pocket

-discovered that her father has been cheating on her mother and has a separate family (very, very angry and hurt)

-At the Discovery Day Dance, she dances with Trujillo who asks her about Lio which she denies and also is inappropriate, so she slaps him and leaves without her purse containing Lio's letters (scared of becoming one of his many mistresses)

-her father is arrested because of her actions and Minerva goes in for questioning

-makes a bet with Trujillo, wins, and Trujillo allows her to attend law school

1954-57

-her father dies as a result of being tortured while in prison

-gets married to Manolo

-finishes law school but Trujillo denies her license to practice

1960

-Minerva is on house arrest from recently being in prison for the past 7 months (prison changes her and she is no longer the same strong independent woman she once was)

-sisters want to write a letter to Trujillo and show the public of his wrongdoings but Minerva says no 

-her and her sisters (except for Dede who is against it) go to try and save the men but die trying