"You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it." Bill Cosby
Do you ever have those days when you just wish it was over? Everybody has, me including. This quote from Bill Cosby really struck me. It's so inspiring, but also challenging. In Ishmael Beah's memoir A Long Way Gone there are many examples of finding humor and happiness in bad situations. Ishmael Beah is telling his life story of being a young boy facing war, death, and loss everyday, but he doesn't forget to tell of the better times in his journey.
One of my favorite times in the book is shortly after Ishamael finds some old friends from school. They are walking along the road and here a strange noise and quickly hide, only to discover that what they had feared was the Atlantic Ocean. Ishamael writes, "My eyes widened, a smile forming on my face. Even in the middle of the madness there remained that true and natural beauty, and it took my mind away from my current situation as I marveled at this sight." (59) He goes on saying that he and the other boys played and laughed and sang songs from school. They boys were terrified of the unknown, but they found joy through it all and it allowed them to escape the horrible situation they were in. Many times Ishmael and his companions escape the wrath of angry villages. After being let go from one village the boys laughed at what they had gone through to keep themselves from crying. This embodies Bill Cosby's quote. Ishmael and the others found humor in their situation to survive everyday, day by day. It was so heartwarming that even through the chaos and war the people never lost the essence of their culture. In various villages, the boys would feast and dance with the people. They would celebrate, laugh, and tell stories. When the boys would leave they would carry their happiness with them on their journey.
Ishmael's struggle to find his way and to survive was worse than the average person could even imagine, but he showed strength through it all. Like in Cosby's quote it is those who can find happiness in any situation that will survive and be stronger.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Role of Inventing? Stories?
Do you ever find your mind wandering off to a sea of What Ifs? I know I do. Everyone at some point in time has dreamed up a new crazy idea or story to make life more interesting, exciting, or easier. Oskar invents all sorts of impractical ideas, but why does Foer have Oskar dreaming up inventions all hours of the night? Perhaps it is to help the reader to better understand the mind of a child. Reading all of Oskar's inventions helps you to better understand him and his character. Oskar is bright young boy and should be given credit for his wealth of knowledge and eagerness to learn. But what is the deeper meaning of these stories and inventions?
Oskar’s inventions and stories are logical in thought but impractical in the real world. In the beginning of the book Oskar has invented an extremely long limo. He tells the driver of the limo that he is currently in, “Actually, if limousines were extremely long, they wouldn’t need drivers.” (5) Oskar is true in saying that if there was a limo long enough to stretch from point A to point B then a driver would not be necessary. However, the impracticality of very long limousines overrides this thought, the passengers would essentially be walking to their destination, and where and how would these limos be put in place.
Oskar’s process of inventing also applies to his journey, one of the main themes in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. He finds a key that he believes his father has left behind and goes searching over all New York City to find his answers. Thinking that he can find answers about his dad and his death is logical, but believing that a key has deeper meaning is impractical. Oskar is trying to put meaning into an inanimate object, very similar to how he tries to take every small detail and object in life and give it importance. Oskar doesn’t really know if he will find the answers to his questions or if his inventions could ever be useful or workable. His stories and inventions are nice to think about, but in reality you know that they could never happen.
Do you ever find your mind wandering off to a sea of What Ifs? I know I do. Everyone at some point in time has dreamed up a new crazy idea or story to make life more interesting, exciting, or easier. Oskar invents all sorts of impractical ideas, but why does Foer have Oskar dreaming up inventions all hours of the night? Perhaps it is to help the reader to better understand the mind of a child. Reading all of Oskar's inventions helps you to better understand him and his character. Oskar is bright young boy and should be given credit for his wealth of knowledge and eagerness to learn. But what is the deeper meaning of these stories and inventions?
Oskar’s inventions and stories are logical in thought but impractical in the real world. In the beginning of the book Oskar has invented an extremely long limo. He tells the driver of the limo that he is currently in, “Actually, if limousines were extremely long, they wouldn’t need drivers.” (5) Oskar is true in saying that if there was a limo long enough to stretch from point A to point B then a driver would not be necessary. However, the impracticality of very long limousines overrides this thought, the passengers would essentially be walking to their destination, and where and how would these limos be put in place.
Oskar’s process of inventing also applies to his journey, one of the main themes in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. He finds a key that he believes his father has left behind and goes searching over all New York City to find his answers. Thinking that he can find answers about his dad and his death is logical, but believing that a key has deeper meaning is impractical. Oskar is trying to put meaning into an inanimate object, very similar to how he tries to take every small detail and object in life and give it importance. Oskar doesn’t really know if he will find the answers to his questions or if his inventions could ever be useful or workable. His stories and inventions are nice to think about, but in reality you know that they could never happen.
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