Quiz

1. Who do you think the poem "Streets" is about? Why? Use evidence from the poem to explain your answer.

I think the poem Streets is about the author's father. From the first of the poem " a man leaves the world he lives and grows up, and in the second stanza there are figs. I think this is the evidence that shows she is writing about her father in this poem.

2. In "Streets," how many lines are there in stanza 4? How many sentences?
8lines, 5 sentences.

3. In stanza 3, there is an example of personification. Say what it is and explain why that is an example of personification.

"The sky which sews and sews, tirelessly sewing, drops her purple hem. " It is personification that Nye makes the sky into a needlewoman. The author uses "she" and sew as a action that human do. 

4. Identify two things being contrasted in the poem "Streets" and discuss why the author might wish to highlight that contrast. What is the message she sends in that contrast?
The author contrasts in the poem are about two kinds of people. One is the people who sleep completely at night and waking refreshed in day, and other one is the people who dreams all the time and live separatly in past and now. I think the author wants to show that in some way that her mother said about her father is a dreamer, always lives in the past and lost world.  She wants to show us that there is also a kind of person who is like his father, in the lost world all day long. 

5.How many stanzas are in the poem "Hidden" and how many sentences are there?
3 stanzas, 3 sentence.

6. In "Hidden," what do you think it means to "tuck the name of a loved one under your tongue for too long"? Explain your answer.
I think if people just hide the one they loved and without a word, it will become a pity.

7. Connect the poem "Hidden" to any other poem or poems we have read by Nye. How is "Hidden" similar to those others in theme or message? Explain.
Hidden tells us that we need to love, before we lost the chance to love. For other poems that Nye wrote, I think this is the similar theme.

8. In the interview, Nye stated that "the fuel that feeds her" is poetry, words, language. In this poem, though, it seems like the "fuel that feeds you" refers to something different. What do you think it refers to? Use evidence from the poem to explain your answer.
I think it refers to the people that they see you as their important part of their life but you don't see them important, or it's about something you don't really interested in, but in the future you find you really need it but you don't have chance.  No one sees what you used to have, but you will know what you lose after it gone. 

Quiz

1)      Review these lines:

Skin had hope, that's what skin does.

Heals over the scarred place, makes a road.

What do you think these two lines mean? Offer an interpretation and back it up using

specific evidence in the poem.

I think skin here that the author wants say is, skin as a symbol of protection, just like skin protects animal's body. Here skin means protect people from war, she hopes "skin" as a symbol to peace, and heal the people in the war. She believes that heals can make a road for people to escape of pain.

2)      What could skin be a metaphor or symbol for?

              l think skin that author uses here, she wants skin as a symbol for protection and peace. Skin protects animal's body. She wants there will be a "skin" to help all the people in war can escape from the pain of war, just like a strong protection and leads people forward to be peaceful.

4)      Based on what you know about the poet, what is the significance of the line "Love means you breathe in two countries"?

Two countries had war together for a long time. We know the background is about the war between Israel with Palestine. Nye thinks both two countries have no reason to have war expect for nationalism and territorial dispute. She thinks it's not the reason that is enough for people to die and lose their family and life. She beliebes love exceeds countries' boundary lines, it's all around the world. We need to love each other because we are all human beings. Breathe in two countries has the meaning with people live without any thought about different countries. They are all like a one huge family.

Summary for the poem

Here is the summary of the poem My Father and the Fig Tree. 

This poem talks about the author's father and his favorite plant--- Fig Tree. She wrote about her father's life which is around fig trees, and the author's memory about fig trees. 

To compare with other fruits, her father only cares about his fig trees, and he always complains about why there's no any fig trees in their houses in United States. He always tells folktale story to his daughter which are all about fig trees. It seems like fig trees in everywhere of his life, even in religion. 

His present for Allah is a great fig tree. So as author rememebrs her father, her memory is full of good smelling of figs. Fig trees also mean hometown and motherland for him! So that's one of the reason that author's mother said her father " What a dreamer he is. Look how many things he starts and doesn't finish". Also for the new gardens in their house in United States, her father doesn't care about other plants. Maybe because his heart is already left in his hometown. In the last, her father sang a fig tree song, he seems happy with the fig trees aroung him. What a typical Arabic people he is!

Poems

Papa told me that, Arabics' life is mysterious.

Faith is more important than other things.

He went to Arab as a guest.

"People around the world think their life is strange and sick,

but I think they are just faithful.

Poems

Papa told me that, Arabics' life is mysterious.

Faith is more important than other things.

He went to Arab as a guest.

"People around the world think their life is strange and sick,

but I think they are just faithful.

About 19 Varieties of Gazelle for 9/11

The 19 Varieties of Gazelle is a group of poems which wrote by Naomi Shihab Nye, and she made it as a response to 9/11. I have read some of the poems in the the book, and they all have relationship with Arabic culture. I think Nye has some opinions about event 9/11, and that's one of the reason that why she wrote this book. Now I will analyse the opinions she has that I think. 

As we all know, event 9/11 is about some Islamic ultra-nationlists hijacked a plane and used it as a weapon to attack landmark building in United States. After that the whole western world start to give an impression to Islamic people : They are instinctive terrorists. But actually they are not like the way western people think. There's not one hunred percent about what a nation, religion and group of people  act like a way. They all have good people, also for criminals. 

In one of the poem that Nye wrote: Arabic Coffee, in some way it is presenting about Arbic culture, and a part of their daily life. I believe there are also lots of poems in the book 19 Varieties of Gazelle are the same kind of poem with Arabic Coffee. When we read this poem, it makes us feel like we are in a living room or a coffee shop in Arab, with warm fire and kind people. She shows us successfully about how Arabic culture is colorful and substantial. In another poem My Father and the Fig Tree, Nye wrote about how fig trees act in her father's mind and life, for deeply is about how Arabic people love their motherland. We see lots of wonderful things in Arabic culture, their pure patriotism but non aggressivity in it. 

Through all the points that I mentioned, I think Nye wrote the book 19 Varieties of Gazelle as a respond of event 9/11. What she wants is to show the world what the truth about how the real Arabic people like, what's in their culture. Arabic is a peaceful nation, no matter there are still some terrorists make risks and spread fear in the world. 

Questions about the poetry

1. Why the poetry "My Father and the Fig Tree" focus on fig tree? What is the real meaning of author to describe fig tree and the connection with his father?

2.  What do you think about the meaning of the tittle of the poetry "Arabic Coffee" , and how Arabic coffee acts in their life?

Marjane's propose to write Persepolis

As we all know, Persepolis is a kind of comic book, but also an autobiography. The author of the book is Marjane Starpi, and she compounds this two kinds of books together. It's about her childhood and teenage life. 

I think Pesepolis is not for kids to read. Through the book I can feel the emotion which is about sadness of a huge change of a country in a time period, and the feeling of leaving family, friends, and homeland. So I don't think it's for young kids to read. She uses comic because she uses a little girl's viewpoints. It just like a live thing: a poor little girl faces and watches every changing things about her country, and she also changes --- from knowing nothing about it to standing up to protect what she thinks is right. Her audiences will be the people who is interested in Persia, and Irian history about the Islamic revolution. Also for the people's life during that time period. For deeply, her audiences also can be the people who had to leave his family, friends and motherland. The deep emotion in this book only that kind people can understand well. 

Marjane tries to tell the audiences that the stuff happened during Islamic revolution in Iran, people's life and changing from a little girl. She tells us how people live in Iran, and their roles in the new society. 

I think she is very successful to write all her perposes in the book. When you read this book, you can feel like you are just in the scenes, and the emotions of the roles in this book. After you read this book, you can feel how the experiences of that specific girl changes herself so much. 

In my opinion, all the kinds of people who may be interested in Persepolis will find everything they are interested in. I have to say this is an excellent book, for lots of reasons. It is just like a documentary. A classic docmentary.

The shining star of Marjane's life

For Persepolis this book, it's just like an autobiography about the teenage part of Marjane Satrapi's life. There are a lot of people who influences Marjane. The character that I will present is her mother. She plays one of the most important roles in Marjane's life. She leads Marjane stand up to fight for freedom, and becomes the symbol of spirit of againsting injustices.

She has short hair, thin, black and dry hair. For the differences between other Iranian women, she is really special. She refused to wear veil, and she also stood up to against this policy. That kind of behavior influences Marjane a lot.  

About her characteristics and behavior, she is independent, tough, and she loves her family very much. When Marjane was young, her mother was with her father go out with people to against the Shah. That scene influences Marjane a lot. It makes her uses the similar way to figure out the problems about the stuff she doesn't like in school. Marjane's mother is a tough and independent woman. Because even war the revolution these kinds of bad situations didn't break her, she is just like the hard pillar of her family. She is also positive to face her life. Although she was insulted by the fundamentalists, she still overcame it. She uses her behavior to teach Marjane to be a tough person.

There are some events about her mother. When she joined the demonstration, her photo was posted on many European newspapers, so she was famous for this event. That shows us the spirit that she keeps moving on that what she thinks is right. The result of that is she was insulted by some fundamentalists only because she wasn't wear veil. She got sick after that for a few days. Marjane learned something after that. Not really the strong power can make people surrender. Even sometimes people are weak, but at least they have their power to say no to the vile might. And When Marjane and other kids tried to bully the son of the Shah's officer, she was angry and stopped Marjane. She uses that event to show Marjane that, even some people are vile, they made sins. But it doesn't matter to be good with them. There's also no matter about the people around the vile one. She wants to tell Marjane never try to use violence as the way to solve problems. 

According to these points, Marjane's mother acts like a symbol  of overcoming any problems in Marjane's life. Her mother's encouraging makes Marjane grow up with a positive altitude during her whole life. Marjane left Iran, but her mother decided to stay in Iran, stand to support her family. I think she is braver. 

Persepolis video book review

http://youtu.be/ETpoGUtq4JU

Persepolis: The sorrow of a special time period

Persepolis is an excellent book. I like it because it shows us a specific time period of Iran, about a Iranian girl's life from a little girl's vision. I also like the writing style of the author, she shows us a girl's heart  during the huge change of her motherland, and it changes through the growth of the girl In this book, about the author's family is also great to read. It makes you feel warm after reading. 

The author of the book Persepolis Marjane is also the main character. The book is more like a autobiography about her childhood and teenage life , but in cartoon. She drew and publish first in France and use French, because she has lived in Pairs since she had left Iran. The book is also about Iran history which is about the special time period during Islamic revolution, and the Iranian people's life during that time. 

This is the first book that I have read which is an autobiography about the author's childhood and teenage life in cartoon. I like this because her words are pure, and she makes me remember about my childhood time. Her words in book also changes through her growth. The huge change about her motherland gave her precocity, and also gave her pain. I feel more happy for the author from the first of the book, before the Islamic country took power. It was the best experience in Marjane's life, I think. Things get worth day by day, and the sad stories happened all around her country. It also shows a the sorrow of a time period truly. She had to leave her motherland lran when she was only 14. Everyone can imagine how much experiences that Marjane has.

Although everything seems grey in her whole life, Marjane still have something to support her go ahead in a right way, and never give up. That is her family. She has a great family, and the history of her family is honorable. Her grandmother's father was the prince of the dynasty before the Shah. Her grandmother loved Marjane very much, and she made Marjane learn a lot of behaviors, habbits. She was more like a princess, she has her principle. Those things influence Marjane a lot. Marjane's parents are really goo, too. They have enlightened way to educate Marjane, and they also had good education, which is totally different between other Irian people. That is one of the reason that why Marjane's family anganist government a lot. It changes Marjane so much that she even can't stay in Iran.

Through all the points here, I cordially recommend the great book Persepolis. If you are interested in the deeply things about humanilties, the huge change of time period of a country and its people's life, this book can give you a great experience.

Thesis of book review

Persepolis is an enthralling book. I like it because it shows us a specific time period of Iran, about a Iranian girl's life from a little girl's vision. I also like the writing style of the author, she shows us a girl's heart  during the huge change of her motherland, and it changes through the growth of the girl In this book, about the author's family is also great to read. It makes you feel warm after reading.