In this story I was wondering the whole time whether or not the book really held magic. Did Leuwin just go mad and had an alter ego through the book? When Dominic wrote in the book the girl Cynthia wrote back which changed my opinion somewhat. Or was it Leuwin pretending to be her? Leuwin talked to Cynthia like she was an actual human. He got lost in the translation of a book. I felt like the author was maybe trying to portray how people can fall in love with their books and really lose sight of reality. The one part that made me believe that the book held magic was when Dominic said he couldn't burn or rip up the book.
I liked how the story showed how someone can love something so much even if it might not be real. It shows how strong the brains imagination is. The moral of the story could be beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Cynthia felt beautiful every time Leuwin read her, but when Dominic read her she did not have this feeling. She explained to him how amazing it is for someone to feel that beauty.
I wonder, like Cynthia did, what was the reasoning of the first hand writing in the text. Was there a reasoning behind this? Who was the mistress in the crossroads?
The one part of the text that I was confused with was the sisterhood. Who were they? Did they kill Cynthia?
Comparing The Green Book to In the Night Garden. There was magic in both stories both used for good. I don't believe Cynthia was trying to make Leuwin go mad, I felt like she was there to give company. In the Night Garden Knife was surrounded by magic and at first I thought of her as a witch, but she was helpful throughout the story.
The fact that Dominic couldn't harm the book in any way does sort of prove its magic. It is unlike normal books. I think we are forced to come to the conclusion that the green book was truly full of magic.
ReplyDeleteI would like to be a book
ReplyDeleteThis is a comment to everyone: remember that this is a public blog, so even though we haven't yet had non-classmembers comment, the general public has access to the blog. So when you're describing a story, you should give enough background that someone who hasn't read it would be able to make sense of your analysis and questions. Nick isn't the only one who sometimes forgets this. And working on summarizing concisely is good practice for academic writing in general: your readers won't necessarily have read what you are discussing.
ReplyDeleteYou've raised a number of ideas here Nick; I'll be curious to see how folks respond.
I agree with Sam's comment that it does prove some sort of magic
ReplyDeleteI really like your bringing up of the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" aspect Nick. I did not see that connection right away but I really enjoy it. I think you are right, Leuwin found Cynthia beautiful but Dominic did not, and perhaps this is because Dominic was fearful of talking to a woman who is in a book or reading a woman in a book.
ReplyDeleteI think you brought up a lot of good points that we did not really realize. I like the fact that you thought the author was possibly portraying how people can fall in love with books and lose sight of reality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you said I felt like the author was maybe trying to portray how people can fall in love with their books and really lose sight of reality." people can get caught up and lose track of reality
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