After i was thrown into the River and Before I Drowned

I found this story very interesting. The author completely went into the mind set of a dog. He created this dog, Edward and gave him a personality. The mindset of Edward was very different from a human's daily thought process. I enjoyed reading this story. I found it funny that he believed that the squirrels do nothing but talk trash about the dogs when they raced. I also found it disturbing that a dog would put squirrels in it's mouth to crush all it's bones and kill it. I like the ending of the story. It was sad that Edward died but at least he made it to a happy place in the end so it wasn't such at sad ending after all.

The Writer's Block: After I was thrown into the river and before I dro...

I think the most significant point of this story is the fact that the author succeeded in finding the voice of dog.Steven's way of talking is vigorous and breathless as same as his running or hyper music, and the voice makeseverything in this story.His entire life is adventurous but very short, and he literally run through his life like arock star. Before coming to the U.S., I had lived with dogs, and they unavoidably cannot live as long as humanbeings, so I felt this story shows us life and fate of animals.

My frustration is that the author described the squirrels as bystanders and negative. If I were him, I would havewritten about them with respect as much as to dogs. Otherwise, it seems that the author used animals only tomake them be a substitute of human beings.

As Brendan wrote, the title is intriguing and stimulates reader's imagination. After finishing the book, I askedmyself: what if his life after he survived being thrown in the river was just his dream before he was dying. Isit possible to think that he might have already died when he was small?

What do you think? Also, I felt like I can hear music from this story such as Hip Hop or Indie Rock, and if youmake soundtrack of the story, what kind of music is it?

Love is in the Air

This story is beautiful ! In the beginning, i was asking myself how love is supposed to be in the "air" with military officers doing their job at some station. But as the story progressed,i was able to see how it all interwines into a love affair that only existed in the air.
The tiltle, i think was carefully chosen to reflect the story and is itself captivating.Immediately i read the title i said to myself "wow,this should be a good one".
What i destest however about the story is the fact that Kang was not able to get this girl out of his mind.So much so that,it affected his job to a point where, he had to resign.I think this is crazy.If you love and can't have love in return,it is reasonable enough that you should move on.Besides you can't just fall in love with a mere voice to an extent that,you lose control of yourself and let a common voice hunt you down to resigning from work.That, to me is stupid.A voice alone is not enough to make one act like Kang.I think he was just obsessed.
However,the story was good and worth reading. I only wonder what the story would have been if Kang actually got hooked up with this girl?Would it have had the same ending?

Love is in the Air

After I was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned

The story made me think more on living creatures portray us. Everyday birds chirp and squirrels jump around us in the park while we walk to school or work. They must have a world of their own. I like that fact that the squirrels were the audience while the dogs raced. It was so human like. What I've realized is that the dog Edward seemed like a selfish jerk. Especially not being a good listener, I could only imagine the hard time his owner had. It seemed as couple of these dogs had egos especially Edward. He had no sense of sportsmanship by biting and nudging other dogs when they race. This was a interesting tale.

"After i was thrown into the River and Before I Drowned

This story is one of a kind.It is very creative and appealing as Eggers tries to tell a story from the mind and eyes of a dog.It is also very captivating because, when i started reading the story,i asked myself what would the writer possibly be writing about a dog for over three pages. But when i was done reading, my questions were all answered.Its a great story about the life of a strong and mighty dog;a dog who takes pride in himself. A dog who thinks he can do anything,eat anything and almost thinks of himself as human and invincible.He doesn't think he can ever fail or fall.He is a survivor.When the writer says he eats pizza,chicken,yoghurt.....,He compares him to humans.He says he loves to run which is the most glaring example of his physical strength. Also,the fact that he survived after he was thrown into the river at the age of six months is another reason why he thinks of himself as a survivor.He is strong and he knows it;and the strongest amongst the other dogs. These, to me, are great qualities to give the protagonist; in this case,Steven.
It is even more interestimg to see at the end that, this strong,vibrant and machine-like dog finally dies.Its sad that he died but it goes to show that life is a rise and fall process.There is a beginning,a peak and then a fall.So like everything else, Steven met his downfall which resulted in his death.What i consider most intriguing is how he makes the dog die and then move on to the next like from where he sees and lives again,this time out of his body.This signifies the writer's belief in life after death.
The only question i have for everybody is why he says God is the sun.Could this just be for writing purposes or is there some element of truth embedded in this statement?

Ha Jin: Love is in the Air

This story was really compelling in a unique way. The women who spoke to Kang was very mysterious. At first I thought maybe she is bored and is looking some some excitement is toying with a man's emotion. But after reading more, the woman came off as more trustworthy. She gave her age and location with ease when she spoke to Shi Wei. Personally, I that a woman speaking in such a flirtatious way especially if she is a stranger is questionable. You would want to analyze the situation deeper because i may be to good to be true. The structure of the story was OK. I wished the writer gave the audience more specific details about the characters in the beginning of the story.

“After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned”

At first when I was reading this short story, I thought the main character was a small dog (chiwawa or something), but as I read on I found that was not the case. He was a big dog and he was mighty fast. I love how Eggers portrayed the main character- he is strong and never gives up, especially when it is doing something he loves. The dialog is simply superb- the way he makes the characters act is how I would imagine a dog’s actions. The bull dog is a great example of this; he was pigheaded, and all about himself. I also like how the dogs are not fond of adult humans and squirrels, hahaha.

To run is what they strive for and without it, there’s not much to do. It’s like taking away their freedom in a way. Towards the ending of the story one of the dogs, Susan, is injured. The next time, the main character "dies" while doing the obstacle course. He finds himself in a different world, where everything’s better. No building! Here he was free and the entire land was devoted to his running, walking, and anything/everything he wanted to do. This was his heaven. What I got from this story, especially the ending was that perhaps doggy heaven is reliving whatever made him/her happy. What do you think? What other ideas have been raised in your mind about the story?

After I was Thrown in a River...

I would first of all like to say I really enjoyed this one. I totally agree with LTellez in that it works well by jumping from point to point as one would think a dog would. I also like how he views the world. In a sort of aloof "I get it, but I don't really care" sort of way. The beginning really stuck out to me and immediately I was thrust into the world of this hyper dog that loves to run. The writers voice almost immediately made me start reading it faster in my head as if hearing it from the voice of this nice dog.
In addition, I'd also like to take a moment to talk about the title. I really like it, it works for me. I like how it sums up the whole dog's mindset, showing that this was his life, as he saw it, through the two major events. In his mind, he was born when he was dragged out of the river, and in real life as well as his mind, he died on the bottom of that river bed. I was just wondering what type of dog was he? It frustrates me to no end but I saw in my mind about a 3 year old golden retriever. how bout ya'll?

After I was thrown into the river and before I drowned - by David Eggers

I read the story and found the writing can really reproduce the way a dog concentrates immensely on something for a long (or short) while, and then suddenly changes and starts going after another thing. It also gives you the impression of the dog being a bit "superficial" because he reduces his life to some non-important things such as running, leading the pack and eating and because the way the dog in the story loses the thread of what he is saying and starts jumping from one idea to the other.

Well, a dog is exactly like that… so the story flows naturally. And dogs remember things that happened to them in a certain moment. This causes them to dream and sometimes move and whimper when they are asleep. This dog remembered his past life and could talk about it; he dies and then goes to heaven. I think the end of the story maybe a little simplistic. It makes the story turn into something you see in a cartoon or something similar. One may think that the author was trying so hard to be original that he went past his opportunity to get a gripping end and used something similar to one Disney movie I saw a long time ago.

Ha Jin - Love Is In The Air

I found this story was a very lovely love story. I found it interesting that this man as so infatuated with this women's voice. He didn't ever get a chance to meet her or know here but it casted a spell over him. It makes me think of online daters or people who fall in love with people through letters. Its a different way to connect but it can be just as powerful as a physical connection. I found it interesting how he began to doubt that what he was feeling was love. how do any of us know when we are truly in love? I feel like he also went through a terrible heart break in the story and it enabled him from doing his duties. It distracted him a great deal and he it began to mess with him. I thought it was a very sad ending to such a beautiful love story. I was hoping for a happy ending.

"After I Was Thrown in the River, and Before I Drowned" by David Eggers

Hello again everyone.

I'll start out by saying that I thought the story was OK. I didn't like it as much as Ha Jin's, which is my favorite story so far, but I did like some things about it.

I thought the story was humorous, realistic and descriptive when necessary. One line I read that made me laugh a little was "You know fast dogs. Dogs that just run by you and you say, Damn! That's a fast dog! Well that's me." I though it was funny because even if you've never seen a dog run really fast you can still imagine one running like a maniac. And I could definitely imagine myself saying something like that if I saw a dog running really fast. I'm not sure if anyone else thought that line was funny but I thought it was.

The portrayal of Steven, the dog, sounds realistic because he mentions how he loves running and jumping and he describes how he likes digging his claws into the ground. And he mentions how manages to jump between the gap near the creek that is around twelve feet wide. And he sounds like a very energetic dog so I'm not surprised that he could run or jump like that.

Eggers mentions things like the type of dog Steven was racing, like Edward, the bull terrier that I think is worth mentioning. Because you can look the dog up and see a picture of the dog and see if it's personality matched with the dog in the story. I think Edward being a bull terrier made sense because he was trying to bite and bump into Steven while they were racing, so he was trying to cheat, and when you look at a picture of a bull terrier it kind of looks like a dog that would do that. Unlike Susan the retriever, which looks like a friendlier type of dog and is described that way in the story.

I did like the fact that he made the character seem realistic but at the same time hearing Steven he loved to run so much was a tad annoying because I got that he loved it early on with the howling noises and funny sentences. So the repetitiveness is realistic but also slightly annoying.

To the person who wrote the response before me asking what the story was really about, I wasn't to sure what it was about ether. Eggers did mention something about some of the dogs jumping and the other dogs watching and judging. So in that case I guess he's talking about people judging you throughout your life and some people trying to put you down, kind of like the squirrels in the story. But I'm not sure maybe someone else understood it and they'll explain it to us better.

I'll end by asking if anyone else thought the story was humorous to some degree and what part was funny to you.

"After I was thrown into the river, and before I drowned" by David Eggens

Hi,

I didn't enjoy reading Egger's story very much. I managed to finish reading it until the end, but as I read, what I didn't like was that I got confused by the way the sentences were written; it was mostly run on sentences. I know, it's supposed to represent how a dog would think. However, I also didn't like how I had to read some lines twice in order to try and understand what it meant.

However, I did get a sense of what the story was about though; the character, Steven, explained that at the beginning stages of his life, his owner treated him badly and threw him in the river. Soon after he was found by a fisherman, who saved him and gave him shelter, until a family came and adopted Steven. Throughout the story, Steven mentions how much he loved to run, and he thought of himself as a very fast runner. Steven would go out to run with a group of other dogs, and they would have races every time they met together. However, at the end of the story, he ran so fast and tried to jump over a river bank, but ended up falling in the water and dying.

(note: I'm not sure if what I wrote above spoils the story for anyone...)

Even though Steven was dead, he was still "alive" in a way; living inside his own dead body. When I read this, I thought of the phrase "All dogs go to heaven", which was when Steven was alive again, and was living in a better place (in a another dog's body, of course).

Even though I understood the basic plot, I am not sure of what the core meaning of it was. Perhaps it has to do with dogs, and how they should enjoy freedom? Yet, freedom could be dangerous? I don't know

Readers, what are your interpretations of this story?

Ha Jin - Love Is In The Air

Truth be told, this story did give me a bit of a surprise. To answer the last blogger's question about love, I think everyone remembers someone in their life that just inspired them to great heights. Though its a very difficult when we are both emotionally AND physically imbalanced and this was shown frequently by this poor innocent man caught within the uncertainties of love.

I felt the story was structured very well from the start all the way to the end. All it took to trigger our main character's imagination was the sound of a beautiful voice. With just a voice, he could literally experience all of the possibilities. A love so strong that even when asleep, his dreams would haunt him with his desires.

I believe everything happens for a reason and for Kang's case I would not think anything otherwise. His emotions sounded very intense and real, almost as if it it was a sign to act on intuition. However, because humans have a tendancy to talk themselves out of anything based on logic, Kang's nervousness and lack of courage made him lose the opportunity that the universe had placed for him. It seems that love is always giving us a taste of true happiness and what we need to believe in ourselves.

To sum up, I would have to say that this love tale plays a beat that is danced by many in society. When we believe that our chances for success will never come about because we are not worthy, then that is the reality we will face. If we take challenges head on and see every opportunity for what it is worth, our intuition will guide us to true ultimate lifelong fulfillment.

Overall, it was a good story and I enjoyed my own personal reflection of it. My question would be, have you ever benefited from acting impulsively on intuition?

Ha Jin - Love in the Air

I think this story is very understandable. The huge differences in ideologies, the way the characters think, the importance they give to certain actions and how all their actions have to conform with the “commandments” of the Communist Party (besides the rarified atmosphere of the army) are only pieces of the background of the story, and one has to set them aside in order to get to the core of the message.

This is a story that has been told too many times to count. It deals with one of the most important things for a human being. It is about love.

The story describes the thrill of the man -a very innocent man, by the way- when he discovers that, at the other end of the communication lines and in the middle of his loneliness there is a woman whose voice makes him idealize her immediately. The way the presence of this woman he doesn’t even know starts filling his days and nights with emotion and anxiety ; and how she becomes such an important part of his life, that he even imagines having a life with her- babies included.

He goes from wonder to adoration, and then from longing to loathing. He finally decides to abandon his present life and situation and ruin his future just because he feels he has to run away from this woman he wishes he could forget. He is Big Kang but he feels so small. In a short period of time he has left behind his previous isolation and now he has a vision of the outside world, he discovered how powerful his feelings are and the whole situation overwhelms him.

We can very easily relate to all these symptoms because that has happened to all of us at a certain moment of our lives. Everybody has one of these stories. Even people who consider themselves very lucky in love matters had one of these anguished and mystifying platonic experiences. It usually hurts... and to top it all, almost always, the object of all these emotional stumbling was someone who didn’t even know we existed. Do you remember??

Ha Jin

I had a very hard time connecting to the story "Love in the Air." The main character's emotional plight was very intense and palpable, but I could not bring myself to empathize with him. Some of his thought processes were too alien for me to easily comprehend them. I couldn't transcend the differences of background.

There are a few very profound passages found in this piece of literature, such as, "The gray forests stretched along the undulating mountain ridges toward the receding horizon. The sky was so high and the land so vast." I think this quote stayed with me because it possesses a beauty that I did not recognize in the larger work. It seems to speak of the simply glory of nature, and later on the character thinks, "For the first time he felt a person was so small." This seems to convey that the character is viewing himself as part of a larger scheme of things.

In short, I enjoyed parts of this piece, but found the overall story to be lacking. I didn't understand all of the characters motivations and this prevented me from appreciating the bulk of the writing.

Did anyone else feel as though the writer's foreign background prevented them from enjoying the piece to the full extent?

First off, I'd like to that I very much agree with Kiko, it is much easier to write something when you are emotionally distraught rather than when you are happy, because when I am sad, I usually think inwards, and it helps to channel that outward into writing. Something that is written when the author is sad is often times much better because there is more emotion and feeling being put into the piece.

Jamaica Kincaid has some interesting passages, that, even though we never find out where the 'Poor Visitor' is from, she paints a clear picture of this poor community in a tropical area that is highly family oriented, and almost tribal to a point. I also like how she describes seeing all the sites in the beginning. It's an interesting way to go about it to say that she has grown up reading about all these wonderful locations, and grown up dreaming about them, but now she just completely numb to them as if she doesn't even really care.

My question to you folks now is this: Where do you think she was from?

"Love in the Air" By, Ha Jin.

Hello.

So, as I read towards the end of Jin's story, "Love in the Air", I was a bit confused about what happened in the ending. For instance, after the scene where Kang left the room feeling frustrated, he steps outside and describes the scenery. Later on, the story says, "The sky was so high and the land so vast. Kang took a deep breath; a fresh contraction lingered in his chest. For the first time he felt a person was so small." (Jin, 260).

Does anyone happen to know what this line means?

Also, how does this line relate to him writing a resignation letter at the very end of the story?

The Writer's Block: Jamaica Kincaid - 'Poor Visitor'

The Writer's Block: Jamaica Kincaid - 'Poor Visitor':

Yes, Kincaid's awareness about her writing was strong and impressive. She said "my thoughts and my observations were important to a reader".
It seems that this self-confidence made her a writer. Also, it shows us that she clearly started writing for readers, and she made herself a writer.
As for myself, I'm not really sure what is the most important aspect, but I know when I feel pain, it always drives me to write something rather
than when I am happy.

When I read 'Poor Visitor', I was fascinated by the balance of this character's innocence and self-observation. Although her situation was not that
special--- a lot of people experience leaving their family, hometown or country, and everybody feels homesick--- she was definitely an" outsider"
in the story. It made her own experience a fiction, not an autobiography. Also, as we can feel it from the title "Poor Visitor", she has a sense of
masochistic humor, and I really liked it. I think we can learn a lot from her style.

I'm sorry but I cannot think of the question, so would like to ask you the same question. What are the parts of your expression you consider the
most important when you write?

Poor Visitor by Jamaica Kincaid

While reading the story I realized how poetic the author wrote. Her lines seemed to flow together. The story opens with her emotions and thoughts and it was an interesting way to learn about the character through her thoughts. She used a lot of imagery and personification to describe her thoughts. The most interesting concept I came across during the reading was the idea of being in a new place but missing home. That seems to make perfect sense but in this situation the character left home to escape. This idea stood out to me because I feel like this is something that most people who escaped and make it to their new lives experience.The sense of starting over and change is hard for a lot of people. I can relate to that as well. Like going off to college and having to live with someone you never met before who was raised differently than you. They may have different customs and you need to learn how to live with them.

The author did a really great job helping the reader connect to the character's feelings. I also believe its interesting how an author can take parts of their lives and turn it into a fictional story. I wondered if this is what most authors do when writing their own stories. Do all of them get their inspiration from their lives?

Another interesting thing I found while reading the interview with the author is that the character Lucy was black or African american and that it wasn't mentioned in the story. It was funny to me because I didn't even realize I did not know her race and it didn't bother me. But after seeing that the character was an African immigrant it did help me understand some smaller details in the story. My question is does anyone believe that this character race is extremely important to understand the entire story? Did learning she was African American change your perspective on the story?

Jamaica Kincaid - 'Poor Visitor'

There is a phrase in the story that really caught my attention. After talking about a series of situations that make this girl, the visitor, feel too much an outsider she says; "I wondered if ever in my whole life a day would go by when these people I had left behind, my own family, would not appear before me one way or another" Also, it was a surprise for her that she longed to be back in the place she had come from, and see the people she wanted to leave because even their “most natural gestures made her feel upset.”

I think the whole story is about how all those small things that make you feel that you belong somewhere can make you feel a stranger if the time and the place are not right. The familiar way in which the couple and their daughters play and laugh at the table, all the trips and activities they remember, the way gentle they treat each other, everything seems to draw the picture of the perfect family and the perfect life. That life she is now sharing is the opposite of what she wanted to escape from. So, why does she feel all that discomfort?

After reading the story and relating everything with my own experience, I would say that the writer wanted to show how even the most ideal situation is like a pair of tight new shoes that one has to wear for a while until they take the form of your feet and the discomfort disappears. You might want to leave, go see the world, become independent… but you have to find your new niche or build your own new nest, for the perfect life that belongs to others is not necessarily the perfect life for you.

Here is the question I have for my classmates.

There is something the author says in the interview. She was talking about her first writings and how she got the opportunity to publish them and she says: “It didn’t seem to be my writing. But he published it just as I gave it to him and that’s when I realized that the way I said things or the way I thought about things was the way I would write… -my authority and my sense of self possession were a profound part of my expression and worthy of consideration.”

So, what are the parts of your expression you consider the most important when you write?

poor visitor.Jamaica Kincaid

Yes i guess we all have been in a place that's new to us.I personally can picture myself in this situation because there have been so many times i found myself new to a system,way of life,house or set of people.In each case,it took me some time to situate myself and adjust to my new environment.In the beginning, i was very reserved and people misjudged me.They thought i was some unfriendly and cold person. But with time,as we got used to being and living with each other,they realized afterall that beneath the dark-gray garment was a heart full of love and steam.

I like the fact that Kincaid uses a lot of images to fully describe her thoughts and state of mind.The way she puts everything is very typical and genuine.Everything she says sounds very true to me as i have also been in her shoes.I had to leave my hometown for this foreign land.I was full of hopes and dreams as i left ;to finally be able to see the much talked about "United States of America".This is a dreamland in my country and i felt lucky to have this opportunity.I had hopes of meeting people and seeing faces i used to see only on TV.I thought i was going to be walking on a red carpet and live in a presidential house.I thought i would never see grass or dirt on the streets.But just like Kincaid,i was somewhat disappointed at what i met.
Kidcaid also reminisces about home a lot and her loved ones which she misses and again,this is exactly the situation i find myself in.She makes mention of "pink mullet and green figs cooked in coconut milk".This makes me see her as a true daughter of her homeland.All her experiences and thoughts are just so real that i am tempted to call her the "mirror of reality".Everything she feels and expresses are things which any other person in her shoes would feel.I admire her for the way she still remains the "real her" even when the maid in the house tells her she doesn't like her.She doesn't try to make herself likable or appealing. She remains down to earth.
One last thing which makes Kincaid a good writer is her sense of humor.When she tries to describe the sun on her first morning,she says "...the sun had grown weak from trying too hard to shine..." This is funny to me as i try to imagine the sun;a non living thing trying hard to do something and we all know the sun shines effortlessly so it was funny for Kincaid to have said the sun looked like it had grown weak from trying too hard to shine.
As i read through the story i questioned myself and ultimately you.what is the message Kincaid is trying to pass across to her readers?She mentions her disappoinment in the beginning about the places she used to dream were points of hope.She also reminisces about home and becomes homesick and tells us about her unhappiness.At the end, she describes this family she lived with and expresses some degree of like for them.What then would have been the main reason why Kincaid chose to write about this story?Which event amongst all of these must have been her purpose for telling us this story?

Jamaica Kincaid - "Poor Visitor"

"My question for the next blogger would be... Have you ever had a situation where you wanted to express your opinion but you couldn't because of one reason or another? If so, what was the situation?" - Sal(previous entry)
I have, in certain heated situations and the best decision is to have no input at all cause having anything to say would just add fuel to the fire, but also not voicing an an opinion you feel so strongly about can be equally as difficult. Often, i find leaving something alone for a little is best cause sometimes the other may need to just cool off and discuss the issue when both are calm and can openly talk about a situation without so many motions involved complicating the issue, so Yes Sal i have had times where i haven't gotten to say my opinion.

now for my review of the assigned reading..


Kincaid describes a view of a whole new world through her own eyes and how it felt being in this new place and how different it is from her home. Kincaid wants to be able to enjoy and embrace this new life style but seems to find it difficultly adjusting to so many new things such as the weather, living arrangements and the whole new life style living with a new family that she was moving in with in New York.

When Kincaid becomes homesick she dreamt "eating a bowl of pink mullet and green figs cooked in coconut milk, and it had been cooked by her grandmother" which shows the connection she was making to how home sick she had truly become. She Dreams of eating home cooked foods that were cooked by who she loves and most likely misses the most, her grandmother.


my question for the next blogger is, have you even been the only new person to a group or place and it took some adjusting to getting used to the new situation in your life? how did you interact with others? (did you immediately create new friends or were u reserved/shy and became "home sick" and wanted to leave what it was that you were doing)

Poor Visitor - Jamaica Kincaid

I've always day dreamed since I was a child. I definitely agree that it's a gateway into our creative recesses and a lot of meaning comes from day dreaming. I think of day dreams as the same as the thoughts that come up during meditation. They hold value and understanding. I day dream about a lot of different things but usually my head is somewhere in the future.

Now, about the story,

Jamaica Kincaid effectively depicts the lifestyle of our modern society through the eyes of a foreigner. Although in the beginning of the story we do not know too much underlying details about her, it is clear that she is bold and independent. I can somewhat relate because I too had lived in a foreign country at one time and much of my family still lives there.

The culture of other countries can sometimes baffle those unfamiliar and it can be very difficult to settle into a place where you may not know the norms. However, it did bring me peace of mind to see that her host family were kind to her. She was able to observe their traditional lifestyle without a stressful atmosphere.

It was interesting to see how outgoing and "normal" she was within her flashbacks. From the looks of it, she was genuinely fine with living with less as long as she could live with friends. The dream at the end was quite comical and ironic. It ties the story to an optimistic future that's somewhat heartfelt but awkward at the same time. Overall, it was a nice story that I'm certain many people can relate to.

My question for the next blogger would be... Have you ever had a situation where you wanted to express your opinion but you couldn't because of one reason or another? If so, what was the situation?

"Poor Visitor" Response

Hello everyone.

I guess I'l start out by answering the question left posed by yhernandez and then I'll comment on "Poor Visitor" by Jamaica Kincaid.

Kincaid talks about experiencing "the new" and all the emotions and thoughts that went along with it for her. She talks about the loneliness brought on by homesickness and experiencing a new area/perspective of life that challenged her beliefs and ways of thinking. For example she mentions " It was all wrong. The sun was shining but the air was cold...the sun is shining, the air is warm, was not so" (Kincaid, 271).

I can relate to this because I felt I've felt like I've been thrusted into an unfamiliar world before. I was thrusted into the social world, coming from a world that was mainly anti-social and apathetic. I was used to being alone, I felt comfortable being alone, for the most part. Silence and free time is something that I cherish. Moving into a social world where people often communicate with each other and form bonds of friendship was odd. I wasn't sure when people were joking around with me. Once, when I was younger. I remember getting on my school bus for the first time, I sat in a seat near the back and these kids told me that I was in their seat. I didn't think anything of it I figured "Oh, they like sitting here. I guess I'll move. Their's plenty of other seats. I'll just sit in another seat." But when I got up they laughed and said I could keep the seat. They were just playing around. At the time this confused me a little.

Now I'll comment on the story.

While reading the story Kincaid mentions how she daydreams about certain places that were her points of happiness. I couldn't help but smile because I often daydream about different places and ideas. I like to think that daydreaming, or just having time to relax and reflect about life, is very important. Daydreaming is a path to self discovery. You can sit and wonder why something happened in your life and why you reacted a certain way. You can analyze various points in time and see how your past affected your present and/or how it might affect your future. You notice how you've changed, your struggles and triumphs, your strengths, and your weaknesses. You learn many things that you wouldn't have if you didn't have the time to sit in silence and contemplate important questions like, "Who am I? Why has life turned out the way it has for me and others? What is important to me? Getting to know yourself is something I think more people should do. I like the fact that Kincaid seems to have had the time to find out who she is.

My question for the next blogger is. Do you daydream? If so, what do you daydream about? If not why not?

"Poor Visitor" by, Jamaica Kincaid

Hi!

I guess I'm the first one to post a review about the homework on the reading, "Poor Visitor".

So, as I read this story, I found a part in the story that I could relate to. For instance, when the main character arrives to stay with the host family, she explains to the reader how she felt, which she says, "In the books I had read-from time to time, when the plot called for it-someone would suffer from homesickness. A person would leave a not very nice situation and go somewhere else, somewhere a lot better, and then long to go back where it was not very nice. How impatient I would become with such a person, for i would feel that i was not in a very nice situation myself, and how I wanted to go somewhere else." (Kincaid, 271).

In essence, she compares herself to the characters in the story she's read, in which they chose to go somewhere to get away from a certain situation, and now she is feeling regret for it.

I relate to this particular part of the story because when I traveled to Puerto Rico on my own last year during the winter, and I had arrived at the place I was staying in, I felt quite homesick. I almost decided, after the third day, that I was going to buy a ticket back to Boston. However, I stayed there for the rest of my vacation; I couldn't just give up and return home. Besides, there was much nicer weather there than back in Boston.

So, now my question to the rest of you bloggers, was there a certain part you could relate to in the story?