Final Thoughs on When The Emperor was Divine

   When the Emperor Was Divine is a book that most people can relate to. Right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Japanese-Americans were treated very poorly. People were afraid of them because they thought that all Japanese-Americans were spies and were planning more attacks. So they took them and put them into camps. One of the connections that I made while reading was that it was similiar to what happened in Europe to the Jews. They were sent into concentration camps and treated very harshly as people. It didnt matter who they were, all the Jews were treated the same. You can also say the same after 9/11 happened. Arabic and Muslism people are looked at differently because of this incident.
   It shows you how easily people are sterotyped today. Just because someone is a parrticular religion, race or gender does not mean that they should be discriminated or treated differently. But unfortnitley that is not how it works in todays society. People are faced with the challenge of overcoming racism.
  One thing that occured in the novel that I disagreed with was that she hid what was going on from her children. I am not sure where in the book it is but she says, "we are going on a trip." I dont think it is right for her to hide it from her children. I think its her way of not facing the truth and the reality of the situation.

Push

I must say that this was not one of my favorite books that we read this semester. The content of the book waas very hard to get through. Just because even thinking about how a father good do this to his child. Better yet how the mother could sit back and not do anything. Knowing what her husband was doing to their own child. I felt that the text was quite graphic and at times hard to read.
  With that being said I wonder if Precious mother was treated like this as a child and therefore that is why she allows this to go on in her house. The mother must have gone through some sort of trauma in her own life to allow this to continue.
  I found it hard to wrap my head what was going on at times. I have never seen the movie so maybe thats why it was so shocking for me. I'm not sure if the movie shows in detail as much as they do in the book. But after reading the book im not sure if i want to even attempt the movie.

Push By: Sapphire

One of the themes I found through out the book was courage. Precious is faced with many internal struggles through out this book. First being molested by her father and having not one but two children by him and being abused by her mother. I think that this is why Precious reacts the way she does when people try to help her. She doesnt know what a good person is, or when they have good intentions.
     She has been through so much physically, mentally and emtionally. Being abused by both her parents her whole life has lead her to lash out in ways towards others. Precious shows courage by dealing with all of this. Even though the situation is lousy, it could be worse.

FunHome Blog

One of the themes that I notived in this novel was struggling to find their identity. In this book the father, is dealing with an inner struggle to find his sexual identity. Even though he is married and with a family you get the idea from his behavior that he isnt happy. I would question the fathers motives for staying in his marriage and committed to his family. I think he did this because of societal views and opinions. Not everyone is accepting towards scenarios like this. Not just what the father was doing but in general.
   The struggle to find his own identity and to be comfortable in his own skin. I found this concept to be releated to Eve Enslers I am an Emotional Creature. That book talks about how girls struggle to deal with coming into their own skin and finding out who they are. This is the definite age for teens, not just for girls but fot boys as well.

Im An Emotional Creature Blog 2

The connection between the two stories: Bad Boys and Dear Rhianna.
  The story bad boys is about a girl who is struggling to find herself. She like the thrill of dating a bad boy because it makes her feel like she is being a rebel. She feels connected dating someone who is troubled.
   The story "Dear Rhianna" is about a girl who thinks that getting hit by her boyfriend is okay. I think there are two stories in this letter. One being about a girl who thinks it was wrong of Rhianna to leave Chris after what he did. The other being about the same girl who lives in a house, where there is an abusive relationship going on with her parents. Because of this relationship that she is witnessing in her home, she thinks it is okay for her to be hit by her boyfriend. Her parents have stayed together through this. She thinks it is a justifible act. When in reality there is no excuse for either of these relationships. In the book she says, "I know if I did that I would be expecting a confrontation and you really shouldnt dish it out if you can't take it ( Ensler 72)." I for one can not believe that any girl could think like that. No matter how mad a man gets at a woman he should never put his hands on a woman like this, and no woman should think that it is okay when it is
done to them.
These stories relate to one another because maybe she considers her boyfriend to be a "bad boy"

Im An Emotional Creature

My first impression of reading this book was that it was very different from the Vagina Monologues. I thought the VM were more blunt and out there. It made you come out of your comfort zone and read something that was very real and raw. But the EC is a little bit differet. I think this book is geared towards young girls you are growing up. Whereas the VM is for an older audience.
       One of the issues that I think is in the EC is that girls fitting it and thinking that they have to be a certain way in order to get into the "in" crowd. In reality it is alot more challenging for girls to fit in with other girls, then it is for guys to fit in.  There are always going to be different standards when it comes to guys vs girls. For example in the story, "Don't,cairo Egypt." it says "Dont lose your virginity." Sex is different for girls then it is for guys. When girls have sex with someone they are looked as being a whore or  a slut, and they should not be doing something like that. But when guys have sex, they are praised for it.
   

Ensler Response

    One of the things that I found through out the novel was the ability of Ensler to push people out of their comfort zone. Some of the areas of discussion that she discusses are not conversations that most people have. Such as the topic of Masturbation, i know that the majority of my close friends are not comfortable talking about this in front of each other.
    For Ensler to be able to to discuss this shows the audience that she has no fear or shame. I think the experiences that Ensler has gone through in her lifetime helped her write this book. A book that every girl who reads it will learn to not be embarassed to discuss their vagina. Girls need to come out of their comfort zone a lot sooner than they are. In todays society i think that is happening more often than when i was 13. The media and other sources are truly playing a role in how girls view themselves. I think that the movies that young girls are watching are influencing their views on things. Ensler does a great job of doing this in her novel.