Bulawayo writes as if she is telling a story to a child. It is very enjoyable. The narrator is involved in the trip to Budapest. This is shown through the use of the word “we.” The title has to do with needing new names. However, this chapter does not talk about that. The characters are Darling, Chipo, Godknows, and Bastard. Clearly, these are names are out of the norm. The chapter mostly discusses about Chipo’s pregnancy. She writes, “the first baby is supposed to be a boy.” This reveals a lot about the culture because of the tradition. It is also revealing because Chipo is such a young girl. Darling says, “Chipo is always playing with her stomach as if it is a toy.” This shows how young Chipo is and how odd it is that she is pregnant. There are many questions about how the baby was “put” in Chipo’s stomach. Darling talks about the houses that they see in Budapest. She reveals that they are thieves. It is funny that Bulawayo used the use of the word “thieves.” However, all they are doing is stealing guavas from the trees. The kids admire the woman’s feet and mouth. This shows how significant the woman will be in the novel because of how much Darling talks about her in this passage. Bulawayo seems to have quite the imagination. NoViolent is a very unique name so it is possible that the author wrote the novel based on her own experience. However, it seems to be more fictional because Chipo is a pregnant eleven year old. Being pregnant at eleven is probably possibly, but VERY unlikely.
When Skateboards Will Be Free
The last chapter of the book is very poetic. The first sentence is, “The sunshine wakes me, thin rays of light coming through the blinds” (276). This creates a vivid picture right away. He even reveals the sounds that he hears by writing, “Whooo. Who” (276). He talks about how Karen would sleep all day if she could. The fact that her parents told him that she was like that as a baby, shows how his relationship with them is stronger than it is with his own parents. He and Karen had not even moved in together yet. It seems as if after this book is published, his Dad will not be happy about it. It will probably upset him because Said insulted his political views. Most of Said’s writing is direct and seems conversational. However, on page 277 it says, “In the meantime, however, the thin rays of sunshine have grown stronger, yellower.” This is not something people usually point out unless they are telling a story from a picture book. Said makes it seem like he is talking to a child. However, the content of the story is depressing and the context of it is not appropriate for children. No one should be telling stories about sexual abuse and stealing to their children. He talks about how he wanted his father to see him with his Malcolm X book which shows how much he still wanted acceptance. This memoir seems to have thoughts and feelings Said had about his family and life that he wanted to just let go of. He says goodbye to his Mother and then leaves with Karen at the end. This shows that after the memoir is published, he is fine with having his parents mad at them. He has let go everything by letting it all out in the memoir. The memoir ends with him going home with Karen which makes it seem like Said is hinting that she is all he really needs in his life now.
When Skateboards Will Be Free chapters 9-14
It is interesting how on page 91, the mother takes pleasure in the fact that the neighbor asks, “what are those?” referring to the magazines entitled Militants on the table. Said thinks that the comrades enjoyed the story, but all of the discussion is what led to Said and his mother losing the apartment. Chapter 10 reveals a story of how Said dropped out of college. It is intriguing how he goes from talking about an incident that happened to when he was eight and then transitions to talk about something that happened when he was a young adult. Is there a significance to the way each story was placed in the memoir? Said is the only sibling who has kept his long last name. Both of his siblings changed theirs. This shows how much he truly wanted his father’s approval. On page 97 he writes, “I’ve clung to this gigantic name my whole life. It was the only connection I had to my father when I was a little boy. In many ways, it’s the only connection I have with him now. We are the last remaining Sayrafiezadehs in the United States.” This solemn tone reveals how confused Said was. He did not necessarily agree with his father and was upset by his actions. However, he still wanted his love and acceptance. Said’s father is very unreliable when it comes to dinner get togethers were Said. He eventually meets him to dinner. His words come off as things you would say regarding a young child. Said is thirty years old at this point. On page 126 his father says, “Do you hear that? The birthday boy will have a glass of chardonnay with me.” Even though they are obviously drinking alcohol and are adults, Said’s father speaks as if he has never met Said before. If Said is thirty, it means he was legally able to drink nine years prior. This shows how distant the two of them are from one another.
When Skateboards Will Be Free Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8
Said is very direct when he talks about his life in the office. On page 58 he says, “It is a boring job, to be sure, mindless and repetitive and without thanks, but it is a supreme pleasure to immerse myself daily in the lush fantasies of pink and chartreuse, while surrounded by pretty young women and the smell of cake baking in the test kitchen” He talks as if he is speaking informally to a friend. His writing style is similar to Ernest Hemingway and Paul Yoon. This is because they are also very direct with their writing and sometimes they do not pause when writing sentences. One of Said’s struggles is depicted in chapter 6 because he talks about his urge to steal. The next chapter reveals that his mother had this influence on him. She tried to teach him to unlock doors. Said’s struggle was not only being accepted by his father, but dealing with his mother’s criminal ways. It is interpreted that Said had trouble knowing right from wrong growing up because most children will believe their parents have the best intentions. Choosing a political side is still his struggle because he does not agree with his father, but wants to be accepted by him. Said probably wants this acceptance because he knows his father is not a thief. It is hard for him to face his mother knowing of her criminal activity. It seems as if the mother had no choice. She obviously struggled financially moving from different apartments. Why didn’t Said’s father help them out?
When Skateboards Will Be Free Chapters 1-4
It is clear that this is a memoir because the cover says so, and the first paragraph talks about the author’s father with the use of the word “my.” The first page reveals that the memoir has a lot to do with politics. It is later revealed that SaÏd’s father is a part of the Socialist Workers Party. He acts like he is not in support of his anti-capitalist ways. The author did not see his father that much growing up. His tone is very honest and he does not seem very upset about this. It seems like he contradicts his actions because he says “Then for my nineteenth birthday I stayed an entire week with him and his wife–his second wife–taking photographs, watching movies on the VCR, and playing scrabble into the late night, where, even though my father is Iranian and English is his third language, he beat me nearly every time” (sayrafiezadeh 4). The way he writes “second wife” gives off a sense of judgment because of the long dash. The reason this comes off as a contradiction is because the author takes his girlfriend to watch a documentary on Che Guevara and his father is outside of the theatre behind a table with books, some having to do with Che Guevara. The reaction the father had when the girlfriend and author did not say much about the movie, was not pleasant. The author reflects upon how he knew that his father was not pleased. The author all of a sudden is not as into his girlfriend anymore and breaks up with her (after a year). This shows that even though he may not want to be like his father, he gets brainwashed by his political opinions. Most men want to be like their fathers and please them. It seems like the author was torn between pleasing him, and being on his own.
Snow Hunters Chapters 17 & 18
The novel ends with a love story vibe to it. In chapter 17, Bia tells Yohan all the things she remembers about him and makes it seem like she is going to finally stay for good. However, in chapter 18, she leaves again without saying goodbye. Yohan then walks around the town and meets up with Peixe. It is interesting how he suddenly interacts with so many people in the town. He makes it seem like he is not phased by Bia not being there. The narrator talks about how Yohan played soccer with the children on the beach (193) and even helped a family build a fire. It shows that Yohan received a lot of kindness when he went to Brazil, but he was very kind to the townspeople as well. Yoon uses a dramatic tone to talk about how Kiyoshi’s room is empty, as if Bia actually left him once again. His writing is always very direct but he describes Kiyoshi’s room just as it appears. He says, “He woke the next day to find Kiyoshi’s room empty. The bed has been made, the sheets tucked, and the blanket folded. He leaned against the doorway. A fly circled around the corner of the ceiling. He looked around at the nightstand, the photograph, and the chest of clothes, and the slippers under the bed. He looked down at the mattress to see if her shape was still visible (Yoon 189). The narrator is describing everything that is in the room without giving vivid pictures. The dramatic tones comes from the last sentence because it is not normal to look for someone’s shape on a mattress. Yohan eventually sees Bia approaching the bay at the end of the chapter. On page 195 she says, “I’m not very good at this.” She makes it seem like she is referring to paddling, because it is interpreted that she is also talking about romance and commitment. Bia always leaves Yohan because she is scared of losing another person she is close to. On the last page of the novel (196), Yohan says to her, “Bia stay this time.” She makes it seem like she is leaving again, but then stops once he says those words. She makes her way toward him because he has affirmed his feelings and wants her to be with him. This ending is beautiful because it creates a sense of romance in the novel.
Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon Chapters 14, 15 & 16
Everyone in this novel develops connections with people, but then loses those people. Bia had a connection with Santi, but then he left town because he was too distraught over Kiyoshi’s death. A lot of people have died in this novel, including Peng, Kiyoshi, and the sailor. Bia always comes back to town and leaves. Sometimes Yohan is not sure if she is actually back because he thinks he hears her voice and sees her, but then she disappears. Instead of writing that Yohan just follows her and tries to find her, Yoon uses a beautiful description on page 175 by saying, “He followed the curve of her bare shoulders. The beat of her sandals on the cobblestone. Then she was gone.” This is beautiful because he uses the word “beat” to describe the sound of her sandals as they hit the ground, when he could have just said steps or something simple. A beat is a rhythmic sound in poetry and music, so the use of this word makes it seem like Bia has a rhythmic and musical vibe to her. Yoon’s word choice make the narrator’s storytelling more appealing to readers. The fact that Bia always leaves but comes back leaves hope for readers because it leads us to think that this is a companionship that may last. Everyone in Yohan’s life seems to leave him. Even though Bia was taken care of by the townspeople, she had a connection with Santi who was also an orphan. It is assumed that Bia probably goes in and out of Yohan’s life because she is afraid of attachment because of all the tragedies that have happened. However, it is comforting to see that she does care about Yohan and their connection seems to be very strong. Yahoo’s life has been about wars and death, but Bia gives him a sense of romance that he never had. This is shown on page 182 where it says, “She traced the outline of his crooked nose and the scar. She placed her lips against his eyelid. Then, releasing him, she moved to his other eye. The gesture was light, almost hesitant.” This gesture shows that Bia sees Yohan in a romantic way. Even though both of them have lost people in the past, they still have each other and their connection is very real.
Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon- Chapters 12-13
Yoon consistently writes sentences that are loose and strung out. An example of one of his loose sentences is, “And one of the children, high in the air, was Peng, that boy with the grey stripe in his hair, although they did not meet until they were older” (135). This is very similar to Ernest Hemingway’s writing style. There are numerous reasons why Yoon’s style of writing reminds me of Hemingway. He always talks about rain, which I have mentioned in previous blog posts. It has not rained in Brazil which shows that Yohan is happier there. When Yohan reflects upon his experience in Korea, there is rain which usually happens when Yohan loses someone. Hemingway wrote about the rain in his novel, A Farewell to Arms, symbolizing that it ruins things for those in love. The rain shows that happiness cannot last, which Yohan can definitely relate to. Yoon and Hemingway both have similar directness when writing about what is happening. Yoon gives straight forward information. He basically writes as if the narrator is saying what he sees. Some descriptions are vivid, but there is not much beauty in the language. What makes the story beautiful, is the content of what Yohan is experiencing. Yohan reminisces about his father on page 141. There is a sense of beauty here when the narrator says, “He imagined that somewhere underneath the glaze and the paint there remained his father’s hands.” This is not a vivid description. The narrator is referring to when Yohan went to his father’s shed. Even though the description is not vivid, it is still beautiful because it simply shows the reader what is going through Yohan’s head. Yoon could have just wrote that Yohan thought about his father in the shed, but instead he wrote how Yohan still feels his father in his presence when being in that spot that his father used to be. It is almost effortless how beautiful Yoon writes that sentence.
Snow Hunters Chapters 10 & 11
Paul Yoon does not over analyze each character. It seems as if he does not put much effort into talking about the characters. He reveals a lot about Yohan’s experience, but does not use a lot of words. There are numerous amounts of times where Yoon will write about a significant item or memory from Yohan’s past, but will not say why it is significant. For instance, in chapter 10, the narrator talks about a kite (117). The nameless boy that the narrator refers to clearly liked using his kite, but stopped claiming the tree to retrieve it after it tore (118). Yohan would search for the kite. Yoon does not reveal why, but I’d like to think that the kite is a symbolism of happiness. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the kite is symbol of Amer’s happiness. The significance of the kite changes to guilt once he betrays his friend, but then becomes a remind of his childhood once he forgives himself. Yohan probably looks at the kite as something comforting. Watching the boy climb up the tree all the time made him happy because it seemed to give him a sense of comfort. Kites are not toys that typically connote with war zones. There is a major transition into chapter 11 because the obstacles that Yohan had to overcome were shown here. Once again, Yoon stresses the fact that there is rain. This shows sadness and nothing good can come of it. Santi is gone and Bia leaves as well. The narrator is reflecting upon how alone Yohan truly is. On page 129 it says, “He did not understand how a life could vanish.” This shows how Yohan feels about being alone and how hard it is for him to lose people in his life.
Snow Hunters chapters 7, 8 & 9
It has already been revealed in a previous chapter that Peng had died. It is interesting how Yoon chooses to show these flashbacks in different orders. The end of chapter 7 has very beautiful words. It says, “From across the distance men watched from their beds. And that faint melody, a song, came to them as the nurse he had danced with, that winter, lit a lantern and reached over the graves as if grew dark.” I am not quite sure if Yoon is referring to what happened after Peng lost his eyesight. Maybe this sentence foreshadows his death. On the previous page, Yoon writes how Peng uses a shovel to dig up the earth (89). Maybe he is referencing to Peng’s burial. On page 87, Yoon writes about how Peng and Yohan had the nickname of “snowmen,” This is because the Americans knew who they were. If Yohan’s nose hadn’t been sticking up in the snow, they would have been left there to do. Yohan comes across many near death experiences but still manages to survive. The Americans basically saved his life. There were found not too far away from the wreckage of the bomb. Yohan seems to be present during tragedy, but the physical harm is never directed toward him. The upcoming chapters are very sad because Kiyoshi dies. Santi and Yohan both take the death very hard. Since Yoon mentions Peng’s death and then writes more memories Yohan has with him in following chapters, I assume he’ll write more of Yohan’s memories with Kiyoshi.
chagerma 