The Bean Trees

The vast and wide distances to be known throughout the great plains is where Taylor's life-long journey is played out. There is room for mistakes and there is room for many successes, hopes, and dreams; but the end result for all of this put together is the discovery of who she truly is as a person. The fact that Taylor changed her name proves that she desperately wanted a new beginning, a new life, and more importantly, a new journey. Sure, through time you may change the way you think and act upon consequences mentally, but emotionally you stay the same.

Hurtful and life-changing experiences stay with you whether you have decided to become a "new person" or not. Issues thrust upon yourself may slowly passover, but the consequences you've endured are of those memories that do not pass over time, but stick with you until the end. Taylor was always seen as a girl with many intensions, and constantly had a mind that was full of determination. She didn't exactly know what was to come ahead of her, but thought of life as a journey of willingness. She did not have an exact plan in mind when it came to thinking of her future, but she was always moving foward in the right direction as though it seemed. That is, until Turtle came into the picture.

The usage of food throughout this novel seems to be thought very simply at the beginning, but as the significance of it is slowly portrayed, a message is roughly perceived to the reader. Food is relevant to escapism and has been used to mend themselves during times of difficulty, or misjudgements. An argument between Taylor and Lou Ann was quickly calmed as chips were brought out and in doing so, creating the angst to be thought upon them switch to laughter. What I feel Kingsolver is trying to let the reader acknowledge is that the simple idea of food can impact a situation greatly, with the outcome much of the time of good happenings. That is, if the food is knowingly thought of to be good in taste.


In my perspective, Taylor was not fully ready to be a guardian of Turtle. She was unaware of the innocense that was still inside her--she was still carrying the independance that had been with her for so long. Turtle coming into her life would bring out a side of her which no one thought to be there. Turtle coming into her life would greatly change who Taylor was as a person, and give her the opportunity to mature and possibly change her mind of what she would like to achieve as her life persists, to profoundly seek a new path.

Final Essay Response to The Power and the Glory

As the progression through The Power and the Glory slowly occurs, escape begins to be a well-known issue and fact as each circumstance perceived by the priest is in need of liberation in order to move ahead. The issues he dealt with mentally certainly were not of those thoughts that could remain inside his head, but were of those to be forgotten and never enter his mind again. An act such as this to be portrayed is by far not an easy task for oneself to conquer, but when it came time for the priest to make decisions and with intact move forward, this route of escapism was the only way he could hold himself with composure. The priest had an abundant range of beliefs he was more than happy to pursue and announce without hesitation, and in order for those beliefs to become genuinely distributed he first and foremost needed to escape physically from the states in which outlawed religion. Secondly and most importantly, he needed to escape mentally from all the criticism and hectic times of which were avail continuously. Sure he created a respectable number of successes and attempts throughout his journey, but what was it that he escaped from which differentiated from what he abandoned? 

 

To my acknowledgement, the priest did not abandon the various towns he passed through as his long journey was pursued, but he escaped from them as he progressed. Though he escaped from the countless towns initially, his plan to forgo them suddenly changed when his decision to re-enter over the border came into play. This decision confused me and somehow makes you take into realization that he wanted to confess of his sins, and become a martyr. The priest could have easily refused to retreat sub-sequentially back to where religion was outlawed and to accompany the mestizo to hear the repent of the gringo's sins. He could have freely continued his journey and indeed abandon those towns he had once travelled through which were no longer considered safe locations on his part, but no, the priest made the decision to go back to where he had made the attempt to escape before. 

The priest knew he could not spend the rest of his commendable life trying to escape from those who were against his beliefs, his way of life. He knew he could no longer shamelessly run away from those who did not gain his undeniable respect and triumph. As the priest made an effort of repenting his own sins, he in dismay found he could not. Sure he withheld numerous sins of which were quite recognizable, but were any of those thought of as regrets? Profoundly not. His sins were what got him to that point, and without them he would not have become a martyr, which to not much a greater extent; a hero. The priest surly did abstain and take into realization a remarkable amount of power as this novel proceeded, and in doing so, glory was perceptibly condemned upon him without any range of doubt. The renowned aspect of the priest was that not only did he unknowingly discover glory in conclusion of this novel, but he acquired power within himself to take hold of the glory which had been placed upon him all along.

Chapter 4 response: Power and the Glory

Many of the characters' identities drastically shifted in comparison to what was thought of them before this chapter. Padre Jose in particular was seemingly different and surprised me mercifully. Of those laws which he had sworn to uphold were violated in shock due to his uncalled for compassion towards a former enemy. The lieutenant also proved that he was indeed capable of change and spiritual advancement after he clearly showed his decision to righteously betray his own order. Padre Jose was from then on seen not as the cold-hearted man he was thought to be, but as a more pathetic, broken person.

Life of Pi

Pi's intentions and actions demonstrated from both the first and the second story reveal that he, like the rest of us, has two sides to his true self. Although his personality seemed completely different in both stories, his beliefs never changed and doubt never seemed to enter his mind. Truly, it does not matter whether you are an atheist or a strong believer of religion; it is the fact that you actually believe in something that makes you as a person real. Beliefs are what compiles and makes up who you are, and without those beliefs, your life would be increasingly dull.

"To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing mobility as a means to transportation." P.28. To have doubt constantly in your life does not get you anywhere, but further and further down your well of hopes and dreams. Doubt is the motion that pushes us downwards, so heavily that if an everlasting amount of doubt were to take over, consequences would arise and our own individual power could be lost. Doubt does in fact take hold of every person's mind at some point, but to have the braveness or courage to break through from this well and hold yourself together with positivity along with triumph is what makes you even stronger.

As with any given situation of doubt, you must create the downfall to vanish and move past it. Pi is an incredible example by the way he handles the situation he is put in. Most would doubt a lot if stranded on a somewhat small boat in the middle of the ocean, as would I. Constantly telling yourself that in a short amount of time your existence would no longer be avail, although Pi on the other hand, was extremely determined to think otherwise. Much of the world is in doubt for various reasons, but whatever the situation may be, you must grab hold of the rope, and slowly but surely climb your way out of the well of doubt, and up and into reality.

"We believe what we see." P.295. The interpretation from this quote could go of two different ways...some people think in a way of which they cannot completely take someone else's word for a given situation, they must see it to believe it. The full truth behind this is that you are the one that decides to see it; you are the one that is in control of what you choose to view, and what you choose to believe. On the other hand, if this statement was in fact true, religion would not exist. One must have the courage to say that although I have no proof of this existence, I know in my heart it is indeed true.

As innocents transform into adults, the choice of believing in anything at all is truly up to them. Whether it is the believing of religion, sciences, or even just believing in yourself, the certainty of a subject will guide you to a life full of reason with many accomplishments. The necessity to make life meaningful is death, and you must put into consideration that one day your journey will end. Beliefs are the reason we have hopes and dreams, and the choice to actually take a step and pursue those hopes and dreams is a step well taken. To not fear death and believe in something, no matter what it is, is the beginning of wisdom. If death did not exist, our lives would not be as precious, and without our beliefs, our lives would definitely not be as meaningful.

Thorn

Thorns everywhere; wooded lands full of darkness, anticipation, darkness. No where to go, no where to hide. Unnoticable holes scattered about, one step and it could be over. One step and you may encounter agony. You cannot see, the world is unheard, the motion of feeling is only available to you. What to do, what to do. With temperatures decreasing by the minute, the forest thickening--time is running out.

Fahrenheit 451

"We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal…A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man's mind." Guy Montag's world is far from what you would call having individuality among the many people. It was as though no one had their own rights to whatever they would have wanted to do, it was chosen for them. Although equality and respect are two very important qualities to behold, to treat someone too equally can manifest a misery. His world in comparison to our world is with no contest a lesser form of living—a critical way of thinking. I cannot even perceive how it would be like to live in a world as his, no books to run away to during times of sorrow, and pain. The idea confuses me and challenges my mind to comprehend what these people thought when they created this so called civilized community. Every single person should have the authority to express what is on their mind, and choose their way of living. Without that ability, everyone would live the same, think the same, and more importantly, feel as if they were one being, which is certainly not a concept someone of the real world would want to follow.

The quote "What we resist, persists," by Carl Jung, is an abundant example of the strategy they know is true in Guy Montag's community. Their way of living does indeed persist, and although he does later realize the dullness of the situation, there is no way which he could have changed the community. It was just how they looked at life—always was and always would have been. I found great superiority in his choice to no longer follow this on his own term. One wonders if Beatty enabled himself to gain legal access to books through his position of authority, or possibly used his book-educated mind to manipulate Montag. Montag, though,  knew he could not live this way forever, so Montag decided to run away. What was happening was too much for him to take in, and unfortunately, he had been betrayed. Betrayed by his own wife. Montag ran off, away from the dreaded town while the war persisted. Finally, he along with his new friends searched for survivors and rebuilt civilization. His opportunity of living a life where his individuality could be brought out finally became a reality, a reality that he himself had created.

Guy Montag had more than anything, an extensive amount of circumstances that anyone of the real world would fear, but by the end of his great journey throughout the novel, seemed as though fears were a thing of the past. He obviously, overcame his fear of books, but more importantly, overcame the fear of not following what everyone else was doing, and performed his own beliefs. What should we fear in the real world? Many would think freedom, and many times wonder if we can remain free. I personally think, that we can indeed remain free, all depending on the actions of others as well as our own. As for what we fear, should be decided ourselves personally as individuals. Anyone can overcome their fears, as Guy Montag did, but the choice of pursuing that action is with no doubt an accomplishment that is to any ones ability. The only way this action can be accomplished, though, is if you have a mindset on what you truly want to pursue. You have the power to overcome your fears. You have the power to not just sit there, watching books burn before your eyes. You have the power to walk away, and carry out your dreams. 

Rain

Together we are, hand in hand, inseparable.

I look up, rain softly coming down from the clouds above

to the cold earth beneath us.

No distractions, no sound,

but the rain as it trickles onto the pavement.

Just us--no one else.

If i slip,

I know you would catch me.

Inseparable,

we rise together,

we fall together,

inseparable in the rain.