Native Speaker Post 3
March 24, 2009 kclovinlife
So once again I feel as though there is way to much to discuss in this book let alone from 130-276. The first thing that I feel is important to mention is the fact that Henry seems to be breaking his walls down. On page 160 and 161 we begin to see Henry for who he is. He begins to let us into his life in a different way than previous pages. It is like he is just recalling for himself some things that make him up to be human. I think that Lelia has a lot to do with Henry becoming more intuitive.
At the bottom of 171 when Henry is around Jack we see the silent unmoved man and he talks to us again “I celebrate every order of silence born of the tongue and the heart and the mind. I am a linguist of the field. You, too, may know the troubling expert power. It finds hard expression in the faces of those who would love you most. Look there now. All you see will someday fade away. To what chill of you remains.” I got the chills after reading this. I felt like he was siting next to me talking to me. It is so crazy how words on a page can do that.
John Kwang- a political figure in his own right, but not running for any high office yet. He seems to be a genuine character in the novel. I like him. I also feel for him. I felt like this section of the novel when we get a lot about Kwang and company it parallels the election of our president in some ways p 194. I think that Kwang knows just how much he can make a difference, but also what the repercussions could be from his actions. Like the bombing. Which I think that Jack or Hoagland had something to do with. I also think that in the scene with Henry and Kwang we begin to see Henry more. He seems as though he is coming undone. Page 197 Henry says”But John Kwang was affecting me.” So Henry is becoming undone.
The first time that we see Henry show any emotion towards the death of his child is on page 249. Lelia makes the little house out of rocks and twigs and leafs. Something that her and Mitt probably would do together. Henry does not do or say anything and stays away from it so he does not cause it to fall and when it is taken outside one day by Lelia and put meticulously back together Henry throws it and starts screaming at the top of his lungs for his son. So he is capable of showing emotion.
I hope that we get to spend an extra day on this novel. There is so much to unpack.
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1. jpilch86&hellip | March 25, 2009 at 7:13 pm
For starters I love how you said “unpack” in this post haha. I was so happy to see Henry finally show some emotion towards Mitt’s death, the only problem was that he was still grieving alone. It seems that we finally got to see him dealing with it, but he still kept his grieving secret from Lelia.
2. fischerr546&hellip | March 27, 2009 at 2:34 am
Henry does break down his walls by the end of the novel, I was so preoccupied with language and race that I think I kind of lost track of Henry as a person a little bit. I completely agree with you that Lelia has a lot to do with Henry’s transformation. Also, my opinions of Lelia have changed a lot since the beginning of the book. I thought she she was pretty snotty and obnoxious at the beginning, her list still gets me, but I think I started to see a change in her when she and Henry went to clean out his father’s house. I think that may be one of the first times that we see the vulnerability of both characters.
3. silentwriter1222&hellip | March 28, 2009 at 4:59 am
I love the way the author makes you feel as if you are sitting right next to the characters experiencing it with them. This novel is definitely great writing at its best! I agree that Henry opens up as a character and changes because of Lelia. I think when you love someone you are able to realize what they are saying to you and take it more than a grain of salt if you are really at fault. I enjoyed this section where we see him for who he really is. He has emotions and he can express them.