Waiting for Snow in Havana Questions
1. Early on, we encounter the author's loss of innocence, as political tensions begin to explode in violence and threaten the almost idyllic world of the Havana elite that Eire inhabits. But even in that idyll, as the author takes part in normal childhood exploits, there is a sense of pleasure and danger resting hand in hand -- a powerful concoction. How do these lessons of Eire's early youth serve him during the dramatic changes of his young adulthood?
a. One example of Carlos playing with pleasure and danger hand in hand is when he shot up a ‘rocket’ with a lizard inside of it and tried to make it reach space. This is pleasing for Carlos and his friends because they love to cause trouble and perform crazy stunts like this one, and it is also very dangerous, because, since it’s not a professional rocket, then what explodes of the plastic and the lizard can shoot down at great speed and cut through someone’s skin. This is only one of the lessons that Carlos learned in his early youth and this served him well during the dramatic changes of his young adulthood because, as he left his home and his family in Cuba with Pedro Plan and headed toward the US, he noticed that these happenings (like the one explained above) leaned more toward the dangerous side than the pleasure one. He learned to keep quiet when told, and obey those who lead him because the consequences now were not getting grounded by his parents, but being left on the streets of Miami alone.
2. How does memory work in Eire's story? How do memories of pleasure and of danger live in him? Do they reconcile each other, or does one trump the other in the end?
a. Memory plays a major role in Eire’s story for the entire book relies on memory; it’s a memoir of his childhood and how the actions he took and places he went formed him into the experienced man he is now. The memory of pleasure and danger combine in him to form a balance in his life; Eire speaks of danger such as Ernesto shooting a rifle at a truck from a rooftop and he also speaks of how that brought him pleasure, but now that he looks at it from an adult point of view, he says that he had fun doing all of this in a sort of sarcastic tone, for he cannot believe he felt pleasure running after trucks and shooting trucks and animals. At the end, I believe that they reconcile each other because, although he has the pleasure of living in a developed country and his life changed for the better (for the most part), he still lives in danger and with the fear of not having a wealthy family to rely on, but to have to be solely independent.
3. History -- particularly the violence of the past -- plays a big part in Eire's parents' imaginations and in how they choose to live. They refer to themselves as Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and their house is full of objects that project a powerful, almost living sense of Christ's suffering. Then modern violence disrupts the family. How do they both use the lessons of Christ and their "past lives" or alter egos to act in the present crisis?
a. History does play a major role in this novel with Eire’s parents naming themselves after French royalty and with Christian decorations all around the house; it’s kind of like they live in the past and are stuck there. Even though they are stuck in the past, modern happening still affect them such as the revolution. When that man, who was running away from the police, came to beg them for help, they refused because of the danger they would be put in, but they never really looked back or showed any form of mercy. This is because they are ‘French royalty’ and have nothing to do with a poor Cuban; Carlos, on the other hand, does feel terrible for that man and the face of this poor man haunts him for a long time after that. This occurs because Carlos lives in the present and not in the past, like his parents.
4. Eire uses lizards to embody "perfect metaphors" in his memoir. Lizards are often passive, most often despised, and always pitiful victims of others' misguided exercises of power. And yet it is a species of great resilience, powerful in its presence in Cuban lives. Who and what is the lizard ultimately in Eire's imagination?
a. In Carlos Eire’s life, lizards are probably one of the most important animals, and in the novel is probably one of the most important motifs. These lizards, which Carlos is petrified of, symbolize the citizens of Cuba, trapped within themselves (Cuba is shaped in the form of a ‘caiman’- another reptile, close to a lizard), not being able to be freed, even though they do whatever it takes to try to do so. The scene where they trap the lizard in the bottle signifies the lack of power these little animals have in comparison to humans, as well as the lack of power the inhabitants of Cuba have against Fidel Castro.
5. Some readers will understand this as a tale of the innocent victim (because Eire is a child), of a necessary, however flawed, stake at justice for the victims of the Batista regime and of colonialism, as many Black Cubans are the very near descendants of slaves. Eire speaks of how his family profited directly from others' suffering. And then the tables are turned. How do you reconcile the grievances of both groups? Is the author able to transcend his sense of personal rage? How might writing be his own intimate stake at justice?
a. The idea of the “victim” changes in Cuba throughout history. In the beginning of the novel, toward Carlos’s childhood years, he was happy and wealthy with nothing to complain about, until the Revolution came with Fidel Castro, which turned the table. Instead of the poor Black Cubans being the “victims”, they rebelled and were tired of the wealthy ruling, so they made themselves equally, or sometimes even more, powerful. The grievances of both groups are show in this novel because, first we see how, on the way to his grandmother’s house, Carlos always sees the poor on the side of the road and feels terrible, and he then also talks about his wealth and luck in life. This is demonstrated in the novel because, eventually, Carlos looses everything when he leaves Cuba and arrives in Miami empty handed, having to experience life on the other side of the fence, the darker side.
6. Justice is something passionately sought by many in his family: by his aunt who is a consummate activist; by his father, the judge and Louis XVI incarnate; by his uncle who offers an ultimate insult in the face of the firing squad. How do they inform Eire's struggle?
a. Justice is something that’s heavily looked for throughout Carlos’s family for all of his family members have string personalities that will not let them back down and will keep them fighting for justice until they get what they want. Also, we can see the struggle for justice merely by looking at Carlos’s father’s occupation: a judge, one who seeks justice. All of his family members form part of Eire’s struggle for justice because they make up pieces of his memoir, that which he wrote to free himself and find self-justice.
7. How do you piece together Eire's deep and complicated sense of rage for his father, who is symbolized by and is a symbol for his fatherland?
a. Eire’s relationship with his father, who truly believes he is Louis XVI in this life and symbolizes fatherland, is a complicated and perplexing one. In the beginning of the novel, Carlos always wants to be like his father with placing his overalls over his shoes, the firecrackers, Chinatown, until slowly, his father kept deceiving him and shoving him into little corners in order so he wouldn’t have to deal with him. Finally, at the end of the novel, his father stays in revolutionary Cuba letting his whole family go, without looking back; this is something Carlos was hurt by for many years.
8. Eire is keenly aware of race and color. But he does not have a true understanding of the psychological and economic costs of racial/ethnic bigotry and oppression until he is on American soil, where he becomes poor and a "Spic." What does he do with this new understanding?
a. The drastic transition from a wealthy boy in a good community in Cuba to nothing but a “Spic” in the hoods of South Miami made Carlos think and ponder about his entire life. He finally understands how it felt to be dependent, how to be free, but also how to be poor, hungry and hated. These new feeling shot at him without a warning and without a parent to protect him from such things; maybe this is why Carlos grew up to be so strong, because he had to rely on himself and no one else to survive.
9. Eire reveals his anger and contempt for his adopted brother Ernesto who, though it is somewhat cryptically relayed, has sexually molested him. He says that the revelation of this abuse causes his father to turn against him, in favor of Ernesto. These events coincide with Castro's revolution and his sense of violation by his fatherland. This is followed by his father's more ultimate act -- feverishly collecting personal treasures -- artifacts -- as he passively allows his sons to be swept away from him. It is a struggle that is resonant with Biblical events and almost Biblical in proportion. What do you make of this difficulty of reconciling such deep and inseparable betrayals?
a. Carlos was betrayed several times throughout his life: by Blackie whom he thought would never hurt him and later bit him in the butt, by his father who left him at Chichi’s party alone with his mother, by Ernesto who raped him, and, eventually, by his country, which is over ruled by the socialist rebels and he is ‘kicked out’ and sent to the US.
10. Eire talks about his parents' different legacies: his mother is the daughter of Spanish émigrés, conceived on their transatlantic passage, while his father's family has been rooted in Cuba for many generations. His mother's impulse is to be forward-looking, privileging the modern, and, as its symbol, the American. His father "favored the past, fought against the present, ignored the future." How do these impulses play out in the family's ultimate dissolution?
a. These impulses play out in the family’s ultimate dissolution because these two conflicting cultures and habits of mind don’t correspond with one another and it’s impossible to think the same way when you are of two completely distinct cultures. Carlos’s father, who lived all his in Cuba as well as his entire family, differs from his mother, who is a Spanish immigrant; his father will stay fighting for Cuba until the day that he dies, but Eire’s mother sees the world out of a clearer glass and knows that it’s better for the safety and future of everyone of they leave and go to the US.
11. The author struggles with the past, seeking understanding in Biblical ideas, and in the idea he introduces on p. 64 -- that conflict and journey are inevitable and are sparks of love. In the end, do you feel he is to achieve this reconciliation? What lessons do we learn that may help us in our own struggles to come to terms with the tragedies in our own lives?
a. Carlos Eire underwent many struggles throughout his life in order to achieve a perfect balance, one of his major ones included Pedro Plan that took him to the US from Cuba. There are many mistakes that he committed and would have liked not to have done them, but the lesson here is that there is no turning back and that dwelling on the past is completely useless. Instead, Carlos tries to form a new life in the US to make up for his shitty (sorry for the bad word) life in Cuba.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
MY VIRTUAL MEMOIR
Day 1 of Year 1 1997: I am currently four years old and I just arrived to face the beautiful beaches of Miami, Florida coming straight from Bogota, Colombia; two complete climatic opposites. In Bogota, I am surrounded by uninhabited mountain regions and luscious trees accompanied by a fairly cool temperature, changing depending on the season. In Miami, however, there are no seasons and it is all one never-ending summer flooding with beaches and fun in the sun! I arrive to a pale yellow one-story house in a small neighborhood in North Miami Beach and my heart begins to palpitate from the rush of joy that just comes over me. I sprint into my room, decorated with checkered blue and white print and I notice something that I will never forget for as long as I live; behind my bed lays a window in which I can see three banana trees that had been left behind by the previous owners and are now mine. Throughout the entire day, all 10 hours of traveling, I have been wondering why I am here and if I will ever return to my home, Bogota. I will have to wait and see, but for now make myself comfortable in my new home.
Day 2 of Year 1: I hate her. I absolutely hate her. She came over my house and said she wanted to play with Barbies so I, a rookie at anything dealing with dolls, respectfully agreed. As we were playing, she ripped the clothes off of my brunette Barbie and said that all brunettes are ugly; she is a blonde, I am a brunette. I run to my mother and ask who this girl was and she said she was my cousin; my mother’s first cousin. Impossible! It couldn’t be! How could this snobby girl, a gringa, may I add, have anything to do with me?! Her name is Margot and I don’t ever want to see her again, but judging on my past 48 hours here, her family is our only friends so we will probably go to dinner with them later on tonight. I hope to make myself perfectly at home and certainly hope that my first day at Temple Sinai School tomorrow goes well.
Day 3 of Year 1: I got to school today and didn’t want to get off the car. It was a huge roundabout (well, looked huge back then) with teachers yelling the names of the students for other teachers to go pick me up. I was scared. I was tired. I was nervous; especially with adults yelling “ROCKY PUPA, ROCKY PUPA” in my face and different arms trying to get a good grasp on me to take me away. The best part of that morning was seeing Margot, blonde Barbie in hand, waving violently at me, pretending like our quarrel the day before had not occurred… NOT! Actually, I had to stay with her, for she was my only companion, and as the day elapsed we became friends, great friends! I was ecstatic when I got home, for this had been the best day so far!
Year 3 (March 4, 2000): It’s my birthday and I’m turning seven! I am so excited because my mom threw me the best party ever with girls and boys. There are two teams, the girls are green and the guys are blue, and it’s basically a color war between the two. There was tug a war, red rover, potato sack races, hoola hoop competitions and more! After all of the activities, my mom set up two huge cakes the size of a three basketballs put together, one for me and one for my twin brother, Leon, which was my favorite part of my entire birthday. It was the best day of my life! Later on that day, after the birthday party had ended and we were home watching TV together, my grandparents from my mother’s side called in to wish my brother and I happy birthday. After we had both spoken to them, my brother went back to concentrating purely on the screen, but I stayed eaves dropping on the conversation with my parents and my grandparents; they were talking about something called La Guerrilla and kept talking about Andres Pastrana, my grandfather’s best friend, who was by that time in the middle of his presidency. Little did I know that their topic of conversation was the exact reason why my family had emigrated from Colombia to the US; we came in search of a better, more economically stable life, fleeing from the mass corruption and danger that surrounded us back in Bogota with three of my uncles being kidnapped, one killed, one little cousin being kidnapped, two aunts being kidnapped and having many false alarms concerning my grandfather and members of FARC attempting to enter his home.
Year 10 (2007): I am on a vacation with my grandparents from my mother’s side at our house in the Bahamas and we begin to briefly touch upon the subject of our family history and the reasons for our coming to Miami. This conversation slowly becomes more in depth and sooner or later, without anyone realizing, I begin to hear the real story of why I moved here, being told by the soothing voice of my grandfather:
“It all began in the urban city of Istanbul in Turkey, where my father was born. He opened a new store, with the help of my mother’s cooking, which sold textiles as well as home-made Turkish dishes made fresh daily by my mother. This store was ‘the’ store to go to if you needed any of those things, but as time elapsed, Turkey went through its technological revolution, and the textile shop around the corner wouldn’t cut it if there was a shopping mall down the street. Unfortunately, my parents lost their business and, having heard of the land of the free, the New World, they left middle east and headed west to land in Bogota, Colombia. Here, they established an entirely new life by opening anther textile shop, but this time it was much more successful. Several years later, they had my two older sisters, and then me. I grew up in a poor community with barely any opportunity to get out and live in a wealthy area, but with hard effort in school as well as handling three jobs in order to maintain my entire family, for my father had died in the winter after catching pneumonia, I succeeded. I graduated high school as valedictorian, got into Cornell with a full scholarship, attended that university, studied law and then returned to Bogota only to study four more years of law in La Universidad de los Andes. When I turned 30, I married your grandmother, Esther, who did not like the idea of me entering the world of Colombian politics, but I did so anyway because it was my passion. The year your aunt was born, my first daughter, I almost became senator, but the situation with FARC had become way too out of hand and it was not good for my safety or for that of my family, so I decided against it. Years later, after studying business in La Universidad de los Andes, I met a determined politician named Andres Pastrana, son of former president Micael Pastrana, and I knew right that second that he would be following his father’s footsteps. By the time you, Raquel, were born, me and my entire family had to travel with tinted, bullet-proof windows, surrounded by body guards every step we took and this was simply not the life we wanted to lead. After more than ten kidnappings and 5 killings by FARC of our family members, your parents decided it would be in your favor to move to a safer place where we could grow up with more freedom and less fear. So, Raquelita, now you know why you moved from Colombia to the United States”.
I was shocked. I did not know how to react; whether to be happy, sad… I did not know! I mean, I was glad to hear that I had been saved from a terrible unstable country, but it hurt me to know that many family members of mine had lost their life or placed their life in danger, only to prove the Colombian government correct and the FARC wrong.
This story had me thinking for the rest of the day; I couldn’t believe it, but what most shocked me was that I had no idea about any of this until the age of fourteen!
From this day on, I have treated my parents with a higher level of respect, that which they deserve, for having saving me from growing up in the horrors of being secluded and detained even in your own home. I look back at this story whenever I am stressed or in a bad mood because it immediately reminds me that I was saved, and G-d wanted me to survive.
Year 12 (2009): Today, I am sixteen years old and to this day, I continue to reflect on my past and how I got to live such a wonderful life; I thank my grandparents, and specifically, my parents for providing me with an amazing childhood here in Miami. Honestly, there is not one thing I can complain about my life here in Miami, which my parents, grandparents and even great- grandparents endured much pain and hard work to achieve.
Day 2 of Year 1: I hate her. I absolutely hate her. She came over my house and said she wanted to play with Barbies so I, a rookie at anything dealing with dolls, respectfully agreed. As we were playing, she ripped the clothes off of my brunette Barbie and said that all brunettes are ugly; she is a blonde, I am a brunette. I run to my mother and ask who this girl was and she said she was my cousin; my mother’s first cousin. Impossible! It couldn’t be! How could this snobby girl, a gringa, may I add, have anything to do with me?! Her name is Margot and I don’t ever want to see her again, but judging on my past 48 hours here, her family is our only friends so we will probably go to dinner with them later on tonight. I hope to make myself perfectly at home and certainly hope that my first day at Temple Sinai School tomorrow goes well.
Day 3 of Year 1: I got to school today and didn’t want to get off the car. It was a huge roundabout (well, looked huge back then) with teachers yelling the names of the students for other teachers to go pick me up. I was scared. I was tired. I was nervous; especially with adults yelling “ROCKY PUPA, ROCKY PUPA” in my face and different arms trying to get a good grasp on me to take me away. The best part of that morning was seeing Margot, blonde Barbie in hand, waving violently at me, pretending like our quarrel the day before had not occurred… NOT! Actually, I had to stay with her, for she was my only companion, and as the day elapsed we became friends, great friends! I was ecstatic when I got home, for this had been the best day so far!
Year 3 (March 4, 2000): It’s my birthday and I’m turning seven! I am so excited because my mom threw me the best party ever with girls and boys. There are two teams, the girls are green and the guys are blue, and it’s basically a color war between the two. There was tug a war, red rover, potato sack races, hoola hoop competitions and more! After all of the activities, my mom set up two huge cakes the size of a three basketballs put together, one for me and one for my twin brother, Leon, which was my favorite part of my entire birthday. It was the best day of my life! Later on that day, after the birthday party had ended and we were home watching TV together, my grandparents from my mother’s side called in to wish my brother and I happy birthday. After we had both spoken to them, my brother went back to concentrating purely on the screen, but I stayed eaves dropping on the conversation with my parents and my grandparents; they were talking about something called La Guerrilla and kept talking about Andres Pastrana, my grandfather’s best friend, who was by that time in the middle of his presidency. Little did I know that their topic of conversation was the exact reason why my family had emigrated from Colombia to the US; we came in search of a better, more economically stable life, fleeing from the mass corruption and danger that surrounded us back in Bogota with three of my uncles being kidnapped, one killed, one little cousin being kidnapped, two aunts being kidnapped and having many false alarms concerning my grandfather and members of FARC attempting to enter his home.
Year 10 (2007): I am on a vacation with my grandparents from my mother’s side at our house in the Bahamas and we begin to briefly touch upon the subject of our family history and the reasons for our coming to Miami. This conversation slowly becomes more in depth and sooner or later, without anyone realizing, I begin to hear the real story of why I moved here, being told by the soothing voice of my grandfather:
“It all began in the urban city of Istanbul in Turkey, where my father was born. He opened a new store, with the help of my mother’s cooking, which sold textiles as well as home-made Turkish dishes made fresh daily by my mother. This store was ‘the’ store to go to if you needed any of those things, but as time elapsed, Turkey went through its technological revolution, and the textile shop around the corner wouldn’t cut it if there was a shopping mall down the street. Unfortunately, my parents lost their business and, having heard of the land of the free, the New World, they left middle east and headed west to land in Bogota, Colombia. Here, they established an entirely new life by opening anther textile shop, but this time it was much more successful. Several years later, they had my two older sisters, and then me. I grew up in a poor community with barely any opportunity to get out and live in a wealthy area, but with hard effort in school as well as handling three jobs in order to maintain my entire family, for my father had died in the winter after catching pneumonia, I succeeded. I graduated high school as valedictorian, got into Cornell with a full scholarship, attended that university, studied law and then returned to Bogota only to study four more years of law in La Universidad de los Andes. When I turned 30, I married your grandmother, Esther, who did not like the idea of me entering the world of Colombian politics, but I did so anyway because it was my passion. The year your aunt was born, my first daughter, I almost became senator, but the situation with FARC had become way too out of hand and it was not good for my safety or for that of my family, so I decided against it. Years later, after studying business in La Universidad de los Andes, I met a determined politician named Andres Pastrana, son of former president Micael Pastrana, and I knew right that second that he would be following his father’s footsteps. By the time you, Raquel, were born, me and my entire family had to travel with tinted, bullet-proof windows, surrounded by body guards every step we took and this was simply not the life we wanted to lead. After more than ten kidnappings and 5 killings by FARC of our family members, your parents decided it would be in your favor to move to a safer place where we could grow up with more freedom and less fear. So, Raquelita, now you know why you moved from Colombia to the United States”.
I was shocked. I did not know how to react; whether to be happy, sad… I did not know! I mean, I was glad to hear that I had been saved from a terrible unstable country, but it hurt me to know that many family members of mine had lost their life or placed their life in danger, only to prove the Colombian government correct and the FARC wrong.
This story had me thinking for the rest of the day; I couldn’t believe it, but what most shocked me was that I had no idea about any of this until the age of fourteen!
From this day on, I have treated my parents with a higher level of respect, that which they deserve, for having saving me from growing up in the horrors of being secluded and detained even in your own home. I look back at this story whenever I am stressed or in a bad mood because it immediately reminds me that I was saved, and G-d wanted me to survive.
Year 12 (2009): Today, I am sixteen years old and to this day, I continue to reflect on my past and how I got to live such a wonderful life; I thank my grandparents, and specifically, my parents for providing me with an amazing childhood here in Miami. Honestly, there is not one thing I can complain about my life here in Miami, which my parents, grandparents and even great- grandparents endured much pain and hard work to achieve.
Driving Question Continued..
Sorry about that! My computer died! But anyway, we can see that both Cuba and the US were affected by the mass influx of Cubans to America. Pedro Plan had an effect on the laws of the US as well, for a few years after this, the wet-foot-dry-foot rule was applied and this meant that if you have both feet on dry land of the US, you may stay, but if you're not, even if you're only a few feet away from land after traveling hundreds of miles, you are forced to return to your country. This is only one of the many harships that immigrants have endured and continue doing so throughout the years. Now, the citizens of the US have decided that their unemplyment and part of the economic resession is due to us, to the immigrants who have come here and struggled to try and build a new life. They say we take away their jobs, but nobody else except us who are willing to do whatever it takes to survive, would take the jobs such as garbage men, law-mowers, and even housekeeping. Also, the money thet say we take away from them with health matters and everything, the fate of the world in that specific moment is for someone to have to attend the hospital and whether it is an immigrant or a US citizen has nothing to do with it; if it wouldn't have been the immigrant it could have easily been any US citizen. In conclusion, the immigration of people out of their homeland, into the US, has many effects on both countries.
Driving Question
Well, I have not talked about my driving question for a while, so just to refresh your memory it is: What effect does emmigration out of a Latinamerican country and immigration into the US affect the society of both countries? Looking at it this question after reading the book, Waiting for Snow in Havana, we can take Pedro Plan as an example. The grand influx of thousands of Cuban children, as a cause of the horrible effects of the Cuban Revolution with Fidel Castro, into the US had a great affect on both countries. For Cuba, this may have been a positive because there were now a numerous number of inhabitants gone, therefore, less problems to take care of. For the US, however, this caused a minor economic drain because they now had, apart from their own people, thousands of homeless starving children to protect. This also
Monday, June 1, 2009
Metacognition
As I swiftly moved along through the Advanced Placement: World History course and thoroughly analyzed my behavior during the class, I found that my habits of mind include the following: I have learned to understand the significance of the past to my own life, both private and public, and to my society, to perceive past events and issues as they were experienced by people at the time, to develop historical empathy as opposed to present-mindedness and to understand the relationship between geography and history as a matrix of time and place, and as context for events. These habits were attained through constant reading and associating that which I read with my life, not only as a student, but as an ordinary citizen, for I took that knowledge and applied the historical past to my present life. As I did so, I noticed a pendulum; I found that the history of the world does not change, but instead revolves in one circle, going through the same cycles over and over again. Next year, during the Advanced Placement: US History course, I will be achieving more habits of mind in order to become an increasingly better student: the most important habit of mind I want to attain is learning to prepare to live with uncertainties and exasperating, even perilous, unfinished business; most importantly, realizing that not all problems have solutions.This is important to know that life is not perfect and that not all problems can be fixed; a lesson that will help me, not only in school, but throughout my entire life as an ordinary person. This class has really changed me into a better student, for I learned study habits that will be helpful next year when I have more than only one AP class, I have learned how to write concisely and to the point, and, most importantly, I have learned major organization skills. This history course was great and I hope to have such a great one next year!
Quiz: Waiting for Snow in Havana
Quiz Waiting for Snow in Havana
1.) Carlos’s mixed feeling toward his father, he whom believes to be Louis XVI.
· Carlos in the beginning of the novel starts off by saying that his father is an amazing guy and gives us the impression that he wants to be just like him when he grows up as he tries to put on his trousers with his shoes already put on. Carlos never succeeded in doing this and this acts like a metaphor saying that Carlos will never be like his father. Towards the middle of the book, we continue seeing Carlos looking up to his father as they go together to buy firecrackers and all sorts of goodies Chinatown (in Cuba). Towards the end of the novel, however, we see that now, Carlos, reflecting back with a mature, grown up point of view, sees his father as a little bit of a traitor and cowards, for his fear of leaving Cuba and not staying with his children.
2.) Carlos starting a life in South Miami at such a young age with NOTHING.
· Carlos arrived to Miami when he was around not even a teenager year, still in his young lower-school days, and had a brutal awakening of the world around him. He was used to always being pampered and always having money to get everything he wanted, but when he arrived in Miami alone, he was forced to work, forced to conserve anything he had and this suffering is really what inspired Carlos to write this memoire.
3.) Conflict with Ernesto:
· Ernesto is Carlos’s adopted brother and he is not liked by his adopted parents or by anyone in the neighborhood. Well, I don’t mean that they hate him but they do not like his actions because he is a wreck. He is the one who always makes up the mischievous acts that Carlos and all his friends do. An example is when they all shot bb guns from the rooftops and Ernesto thought it would be funny and exciting to shoot with a rifle!
Motifs:
Lizards: The lizard is one of the biggest and most significant motifs in this novel. The lizard within itself is a reptile and a reptile is an animal that represents terror, and to a certain extent, dictatorship, for the alligators and crocodiles rule over the lakes and rivers and seas with no other competition. Carlos is petrified of lizard, and believes this tendency came from his grandmother. Cuba is shaped as a ‘caiman’ which is another reptile and they call Fidel ‘el caiman’ because of his dictatorship. This is a kind of metaphor showing the fear that Carlos has toward Fidel through lizards.
Jesus painting: This is a painting that “follows him” throughout his house and frightens him very much. Religion actually has a huge role in this book and in Carlo’s life beginning with the fact that most schools were Christian and he was raised in a very Christian very religious ambiance. The Jesus painting kind of has a little bit or irony because religion is supposed to rid you of fears and problems and this painting of Jesus just creates much more of that for Carlos. The most ironic part is that he ends up being a religious leader many years later!
Chi Chi’s lipstick: Chi Chi’s lipstick is something that Carlos hates the most. He hates within itself, but what makes him hate it even more is that his parents and Chi Chi’s parents always say that Chi Chi and Carlos will end up getting married. This lipstick represents Carlos’s fear of growing up and getting married and having to be independent, having to let go of the dependent life he was used to living. Unfortunately, he had to do so at a very young age in a very harsh way.
Major Theme: FREEDOM
This theme is very important throughout the book because his entire description of Havana and his childhood tickles for freedom. He wants freedom so badly because truly, he never had it. He always grew up with his parents on top of him and then when he came to Miami with Pedro Plan, he earned it but in a manner that one would not like to have earned something.
Minor Theme: STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS OF RELATIONSHIPS
Relationships are very important in this novel because they form the structure of the book. His relationship with his father’s is not that great because although his father wants to be very nice, and really tries like taking him to parks and blowing things up and going on the waves with cars, he doesn’t actually care about Carlos or any of his other children, which is demonstrated at the end of the book when his father stays in the revolutionary Cuba under Fidel, leaving his children alone in the US. His mother on the other hand, was a very sweet lady and had a wonderful relationship with her children. One example is when he had the birthday party: his father left him and his mother there and ran off “without looking back” as Carlos said. His relationship with his friends was all great and this helped him get through his childhood life without extreme boredom.
Scene with older point of view:
1.) Getting drunk in Chi Chi’s party.
2.) Getting bitten by the monkey (Blackieà El Negrito)
3.) When he and his friends try to make the firecracker explode and make the lizard reach space
Discuss the theme of humor (use examples):
Humor is a major theme in this book because although this is very serious, Carlos adds a touch of humor to entice the reader and leave them wanting more of his writing instead of always being so concrete with only facts and no spice!
· Getting in a fight with the bully, thinking that the bully’s body guards will kill him.
· Trying to make the lizard in the firecracker reach space.
· Describing the monkey’s oufits, the monkey (blackie) has all different outfits!!!
1.) Carlos’s mixed feeling toward his father, he whom believes to be Louis XVI.
· Carlos in the beginning of the novel starts off by saying that his father is an amazing guy and gives us the impression that he wants to be just like him when he grows up as he tries to put on his trousers with his shoes already put on. Carlos never succeeded in doing this and this acts like a metaphor saying that Carlos will never be like his father. Towards the middle of the book, we continue seeing Carlos looking up to his father as they go together to buy firecrackers and all sorts of goodies Chinatown (in Cuba). Towards the end of the novel, however, we see that now, Carlos, reflecting back with a mature, grown up point of view, sees his father as a little bit of a traitor and cowards, for his fear of leaving Cuba and not staying with his children.
2.) Carlos starting a life in South Miami at such a young age with NOTHING.
· Carlos arrived to Miami when he was around not even a teenager year, still in his young lower-school days, and had a brutal awakening of the world around him. He was used to always being pampered and always having money to get everything he wanted, but when he arrived in Miami alone, he was forced to work, forced to conserve anything he had and this suffering is really what inspired Carlos to write this memoire.
3.) Conflict with Ernesto:
· Ernesto is Carlos’s adopted brother and he is not liked by his adopted parents or by anyone in the neighborhood. Well, I don’t mean that they hate him but they do not like his actions because he is a wreck. He is the one who always makes up the mischievous acts that Carlos and all his friends do. An example is when they all shot bb guns from the rooftops and Ernesto thought it would be funny and exciting to shoot with a rifle!
Motifs:
Lizards: The lizard is one of the biggest and most significant motifs in this novel. The lizard within itself is a reptile and a reptile is an animal that represents terror, and to a certain extent, dictatorship, for the alligators and crocodiles rule over the lakes and rivers and seas with no other competition. Carlos is petrified of lizard, and believes this tendency came from his grandmother. Cuba is shaped as a ‘caiman’ which is another reptile and they call Fidel ‘el caiman’ because of his dictatorship. This is a kind of metaphor showing the fear that Carlos has toward Fidel through lizards.
Jesus painting: This is a painting that “follows him” throughout his house and frightens him very much. Religion actually has a huge role in this book and in Carlo’s life beginning with the fact that most schools were Christian and he was raised in a very Christian very religious ambiance. The Jesus painting kind of has a little bit or irony because religion is supposed to rid you of fears and problems and this painting of Jesus just creates much more of that for Carlos. The most ironic part is that he ends up being a religious leader many years later!
Chi Chi’s lipstick: Chi Chi’s lipstick is something that Carlos hates the most. He hates within itself, but what makes him hate it even more is that his parents and Chi Chi’s parents always say that Chi Chi and Carlos will end up getting married. This lipstick represents Carlos’s fear of growing up and getting married and having to be independent, having to let go of the dependent life he was used to living. Unfortunately, he had to do so at a very young age in a very harsh way.
Major Theme: FREEDOM
This theme is very important throughout the book because his entire description of Havana and his childhood tickles for freedom. He wants freedom so badly because truly, he never had it. He always grew up with his parents on top of him and then when he came to Miami with Pedro Plan, he earned it but in a manner that one would not like to have earned something.
Minor Theme: STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS OF RELATIONSHIPS
Relationships are very important in this novel because they form the structure of the book. His relationship with his father’s is not that great because although his father wants to be very nice, and really tries like taking him to parks and blowing things up and going on the waves with cars, he doesn’t actually care about Carlos or any of his other children, which is demonstrated at the end of the book when his father stays in the revolutionary Cuba under Fidel, leaving his children alone in the US. His mother on the other hand, was a very sweet lady and had a wonderful relationship with her children. One example is when he had the birthday party: his father left him and his mother there and ran off “without looking back” as Carlos said. His relationship with his friends was all great and this helped him get through his childhood life without extreme boredom.
Scene with older point of view:
1.) Getting drunk in Chi Chi’s party.
2.) Getting bitten by the monkey (Blackieà El Negrito)
3.) When he and his friends try to make the firecracker explode and make the lizard reach space
Discuss the theme of humor (use examples):
Humor is a major theme in this book because although this is very serious, Carlos adds a touch of humor to entice the reader and leave them wanting more of his writing instead of always being so concrete with only facts and no spice!
· Getting in a fight with the bully, thinking that the bully’s body guards will kill him.
· Trying to make the lizard in the firecracker reach space.
· Describing the monkey’s oufits, the monkey (blackie) has all different outfits!!!
Friday, May 29, 2009
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