I have been rereading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. In this book, an Indian boy named Junior lives on a reservation, the Spokane Rez. In it are his tales of woe, and how he gets by. His family doesn't have much money, they're dirt poor. He describes it as his parents parents were poor and their parents were poor and on and on until the beginning of poor people.

Junior loves to draw. He doodle all the time, and it's basically how he gets by. He claims that pictures show more than words, since everyone understands a picture no matter what language they speak. If you draw a flower, people will think "flower" in whatever language they speak, unless your flower was really crappy.

What do you like to do, to pass by time, to get through crappy stuff that may happen?
I love to draw too, even though I'm not the best at it. I mostly just doodle and all. Then, people sing or dance. I think dancing is a great way of expressing yourself, well, I guess any form of art is, even drama.

Do you know anyone who has "mental issues"? Well, if you read this book you will. (Dang, I sound like I'm promoting it. Is that what I'm supposed to do, anyway...?) Junior was born with "water on the brain" so the doctors had to cut open his skull and remove it. Scary, huh? He goes on about how in 3rd grade he was a size 11 in shoe size, he lisps and stutters, has a huge head, and how he gets beat up all the time. This made me feel so bad for him, and his parents. I know this sounds mean, maybe, but it must be really hard to raise a child who is so sick, especially if you haven't any money.

This book reminds me of this of Jeanne Wakatsuki's Farewell to Manzanar. In both stories, the families are poor and live in a reservation. However, Farewell to Manzanar is a true story; Jeanne Wakatsuki is the daughter of Japanese parents, and they are suddenly forced into the Manzanar reservation when Pearl Harbor is attacked, simply because they are Japanese. I can't imagine being in a situation like that, can you?

So it's not like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is true...? I wonder, is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian actually a true story, or what? It's really confusing to me since it says it is but... Yeah. What do you think...?

Love & Rockets, Reed.

Cruelty

What do you think about fate? Faith?
Do you believe in luck? Good or bad?
Do you think that if something bad happens to someone that it's their fault? That they caused their own misery?

You may be thinking it depends on the situation, and of course, I agree. If you do something bad, then something bad may happen to you. I believe this is called karma? Especially if you hurt someone, they may unintentionally, or purposely, get back at you. Like Law and Order SVU's season finale yesterday. (DID Y'ALL WATCH IT??) I think fate controls the world, just like faith. Faith is too much. People fight over and about it, and my theory is that everyone is wrong- or at least, not right. I think believing in what you believe is fine but you shouldn't talk about it and fight over it, that's just lame. And luck? Well, I'm not sure if I believe in luck or not. But ask yourself these questions.

Now, about the book I've been reading, Chanda's Secrets. There are many issues that come up in this book. Of course, you've heard that before, but it's not like simple, easy - to - solve problems like... Love stories or whatever. Chanda is 16, and her mother has been married 4 times. Chanda's father blew up in a mine, and her current step father is an alcoholic. And she suspects she and her mother have AIDS. In where she lives, Africa, everyone shuns those with AIDS, as well as their friends and family, because they have it, thinking they're bad people and such. But isn't there a saying "Bad things happen to good people" or "Good people die young"? I suppose these don't apply to this book... Which is sort of sad, because now, it's sort of like either way bad things happen to you, good or bad...

What do you think?

Comparing Two Similar Yet Far Worlds

In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, both children are not close to their parents. Romeo hasn't even got a relationship with his parents, and it seems like they completely neglect him since there is no conversation between them in the play. Even at the beginning, Montague leaves Benvolio to talk with Romeo because he doesn't feel like it. Juliet's parents think they know best for her, and act and think that denying them is like breaking the law.

In Honey Hunt, the main character, Yura, is the daughter of two famous stars, her mother an actress and her father a musician. Yura has never been close to her parents, either.

What both these sets of parents have in common? They are famous. They are well known, rich and stand tall with dignity. They think they're so great, but they really aren't - at least, not to their children. This made me wonder if this is what it is like for children of actors and singers; are they really loved by their parents? Do their parents really care about them? Madonna is a good person, she adopted many children, right? Well, what if they really are neglected? In Honey Hunt, Yura's mother was voted "Best MOther" for actresses, but that really wasn't true. Maybe people really don't know anything unless they walk two moons in another man's moccasins. >Walk Two Moons<