Little Bee, Final Reading.

I have finished Little Bee and, I am a little frustrated. I NEED to know what happens to Little bee at the end of the book!
The author’s purpose was clear, to blur and erase racial and cultural boundaries and demonstrate globalization and interdependence. The struggles of each person despite lifestyle are all unique and somehow related. The solutions to their problems depend on the other person. Problem solving breaks boundaries.

The format of this book was weird, but it supported the theme and message. The switching back and forth between the voices of the two opposite but intertwined characters allowed for two point of view that you do not normal get. The story is two sided, which allows it to do a better job of showing how the two different plights are related. The author also leaves gaps in the story and then fills them in later through flashbacks and through the characters telling stories. This creates suspense and made me keep reading, throwing me for a loop overall.

This book was amazing and I would definitely recommend it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and learning from it nonetheless.

Little Bee is Buzzing (Part 2)

As of Thursday, I read up to page 76 in Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I would definitely recommend this book! It is a little graphic at times but the realism makes im the situation so much more real than any novel I’ve ever read, making me live vicariously through the characters of this book.

I love the authors imagery and the bouncing back and forth between the voices. I love the short declarative sentences made by each character, showing the emotion. Little Bee is so straight forward and true to her heart that it’s not possible to not feel her agony. Her voice pours emotion into the book. I hear can literally hear every word – especially those coming from Yvette. I love how in your face this story is. I absolutely love that Mr. Cleave did not hold back.
From what I can tell, the message of this story hasn’t been sent yet. But I know that the theme is centered around the plight of immigrants – illegal immigrants at that. It’s meant to be eye opening, and it is meant to bring the other half if the issues of immigration to our attention.

Little Bee is Buzzing

I am reading Little bee by Chris Cleave. There are 266 pages in this novel, and as of last Thursday I read 28 pages.

The protagonist of this story is an African refugee named “Little Bee”. She was once an illegal immigrant trying to escape the horrors of her life in Africa, but upon arriving in the US she was sent back and eventually put in a detention camp in England. I see her becoming very successful because I can tell already that she has been educated well in the detention camp. Had it not been for her, she and three others would have never really made it out of the detention camp. I see her becoming a part of the family that she joined upon release.

I would definitely recommend this book To another because it has a very interesting point of view. Not many books are told from the eyes of the minority, making this book differ from the others in that way alone. That fact is what caught me off guard from the start. I’m sure that this will me be the last thigh that grabs my attention.

The first line of the book was very deep! “Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl.” (Page 1). This one sentence encompasses all of her troubles in one line. The racial discrimination, the sense of worthlessness, the lack of value that the character sees in herself, is all captured in one line. Her story explains why she thinks this way and it fits the setting perfectly, because she is misfit in England, allowing for the feelings listing above to take place.

A Newsletter of Ruins

Death. Rape. War. Fights. Tragedy sweeps across the headlines of our local news daily, via magazine, the internet, and television. Almost constantly, our generation is submerged in a tidal wave of negativity blown by the current of the media. Freedom of the press blows the winds which ever way it so pleases, drowning those targeted by the man behind the camera. Sand, salt, and shells fill the mouths of the unfortunate victims, allowing them to be stuffed only with what they know. In turn, they crawl out of the moist, gritty sand and cough up exactly what they have been forced to inhale – the same grainy bits of negativity that was fed to them.

As entertaining as the clash between pop starts and singers may be, it most definitely has the power to ruin the minds of those reading it. A hand embodying the opinions of each side reaches it’s sandy fingers into the souls of society and tugs each heart one way or another, leaving only traces of rock and the pungent smell of chlorine behind. From then on, our mind, our morals, our ideals are altered and whether we realize it or not, the layer of rock and sand that once built the walls of our life as we know it will be eroded and washed away. One of the most recent waves sent through the internet focused on a video posted on ‘worldstarhiphop.com’ featuring two teenage girls, one of which named ‘Sharkeshia.’ She blew everyone away with the powerful swing of a fist, and became a star over night. She contaminated our ocean with the impression of fighting and blatant violence as something that is completely okay and worthy of praise. Since then, more videos and reenactments have been posted. These young girls gain a social status, but most employers were not being literal when they stated that they were looking for someone who ‘packs a punch’.  Being twitter famous for not knowing how to work well with others is not exactly the key to even the lowest paying of jobs. But now, this cannot be shaken, as the smell of sea salt and rocks is forever embedded in our drenched clothing.

I do not watch television much, but one day, someone had turned my television on. The Bad Girl’s Club was on, and every other word had to be censored. Fights broke out almost every then minutes, yet the women starring on the series were famous, and beautiful. Isn’t that what every teenage girl hopes to be someday? Sadly, this show is only showing one road to that victory. Do you have to be a ‘bad girl’ to be a somebody? I have an attitude, I’m sassy, I am naturally short tempered and smart at the mouth – I could easily land a spot on such a show! But then again, how far would that really get me, or my children that will follow in my footsteps? The drops of water from my soaking clothes would saturate my child’s mind and way of thinking, changing the behavior that is known as appropriate and acceptable. These “bad girls” were hilarious and over the top, and not a second of the marathon that was playing was boring. But the message that is written a clearly as an S.O.S sign drawn in the damp sand across from this sinking ship of society is not one that aligns with the most widely praised and appreciated morals of today.

Television, video games (such as Grand Theft Auto, a game which condones gang violence and theft), songs with vulgar language, broadcasting a praise of fights and judgment all fill the insides of our heads to the very top with the water of an ocean a million miles wide. Drinking ocean wear can kill a human, and being soaked in it may very well drown a man, or ever give him hypothermia. We are all more than knee deep in the waters, and it is far too late to try to slosh our way through the dirty brown muck and slush of the beach to dry land. Our society is drowning, and no magic shell, nor mermaid can save us now. Entertainment, the “H2O” of the ocean we face our dismal degrading of social values in. After a tsunami, the city will be left in ruins; ruins created by the sudden impact of harsh winds and heavy waters of a poisoned, salty sea. Then, all that will be left on our doorstep is a Newspaper of Ruins, a story of what once was, but what was so vigorously washed away. What else will influence the path’s of a child? What more inspiration could a child need but the things that make them happy? Are the smiles and giggles worth it? Entertainment today is predictable, and so is the path that it will inevitably brainwash the people of society into walking down. Heavily influenced, and heavily entertained will be the choices of someones child. Right now we may be floating, but treading water is the very next step on the slippery downward slope the water creates as it meets the sand on the beach. A wave is so powerful and influential. The next wave may just be the one to take us all under.

Highlighted Statement

What does it mean to express yourself? Does it mean to make a statement, or is that not enough? Do you then have to highlight the statement you made, in order to ensure that it stands out in the midst of the numerous sentences you have side by side in the story of your life that your are constantly adding onto? Artist Nicki Minaj decided to highlight her statement with her Pink Lamborghini, but it didn’t seem to attract the attention she was looking for. This leaves me wondering what’s going on in the minds of those whose heads turned, and why the eyes gave such negative reflections of what’s really being cooked up within the walls of their skulls.

An expression should be exactly that, an expression of one’s true personality and desires. An expression should be just one stroke of the paintbush across the canvas of our lives, with the color and brush of our choice. We are the artists, and what we end up with at the end of the day is a page splattered with the essence of our very beings. Every emotion that we felt, every thought that we could think, and every dream that we could dream, all of which formed a tight fist with out wrists enclosed in between the warm fingers of individuality; allowing each and every mark we make to be distinct and true to our heart. An expression of one’s self should not be a mouse trap for judgement and condemnation. An expression is not the food that attracts oppression but one that draws in appreciation, admiration, a soulmate. An expression is food for thought, chicken soup for the soul, food for diversity. By nibbling away at the edges of the block of cheese we spent so much time churning trying to create, we become the corrosive body that will surely devour humanity’s heart and passion for variation. Expressionism by definition, is an art. The only difference between expressionism and other forms of art is the simple fact that expressionism, requires no talent, or skill. We are born with this ability, making it even more of a sight to see than any painting or sculpure you come across. Like any other art, an expression should be put on display. It should be blown up and hung from blimps that caress the puffy white clumps of silk that sit gracefully in the blanket of soft blue above. It should be plastered across walls and nailed to wooden posts, laid across the floor, and stuck to the back of a black, thin sheeted magnet and slapped against broken textured refrigerator doors. So what does it mean to express yourself? Being you, is what it means to express yourself. And if neon is your thing, then feel free to highlight the statement you so naturally make in the brightest, most fluorescent color you can get your one of a kind hands on.
It’s time for us to rotate the canvas, and look at the things people do as the art that they are. We must learn not to judge, but to praise, and bless the creativity and originality that the driver of the rare, seemingly obsurd pink Lamborghini was given.

The Faulty Equalizer

Too many times is violence used as a problem solver. But the truth is, the equation of violence has no equalizer. One side will always have lost more than the other. Cell phones during movies are irritating, but is violence called for? Shooting a Man to Death solves the problem, alright. But how many times is this measure necessary?
Naturally, humans want things to go the way that would benefit them the most. When this doesn’t happen, humans tend to react and display their dissatisfaction in ways that make them feel better – but at what cost? American history is one of the most prevalent example of usage of heavily priced unnecessary violence. The tragedy of 9/11 exemplifies the effect of violence as an equalizer. Shortly after 9/11 President Bush launched the war on terror under the assumption that there were weapons of mass destruction being built and prepared for usage in the Middle East. Millions of lives were lost to the hands of both Iraqui’s and Americans when a negotiation (although proven by the United Nation’s many attempts as highly ineffective) could have been made and strengthen to rid itself of it’s ineffectiveness. But instead, America had to one-up the other fight to get even.
I have fallen victim to the same human nature countless times before. I am not one to play fight with. The harder I get hit, the harder I will feel the need to strike back. It’s all fun and games until my handprint is left smack dab in the middle of someone’s back. But the day I watched my younger brother’s face swell up, I felt as if I deserved more than to be glued to the sofa for hours. Guilt is all that I could feel. But a lesson was learned – words could have reached him quicker than my hand did.
Violence is not a good equalizer and it has never balanced the scale in the situation. An equal sign cannot be used in the equation including violence for this reason. But for the same reasons, an infinity sign should be used instead – to symbolize the never ending cycle created by the unbalance that violence permanently bestows over a situation.