Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Search This Blog
Pages
Followers
Blog Archive
-
▼
2010
(23)
-
▼
April
(23)
- Esteban and Clara
- Clara
- Politics
- Esteban
- Secondary characters
- Isabelle Allende
- Critical Reviews
- Magical realism
- Epilogue
- The Hour of Truth
- The Terror
- The Conspiracy
- The Awakening
- The Epoch of Decline
- Little Alba
- The Count
- The Brothers
- Revenge
- The Lovers
- The Time of the Spirits
- Clara the Clairvoyant
- The Three Marias
- Rosa the Beautiful
-
▼
April
(23)
I really enjoyed that this chapter was pretty much all about Alba. I think its amusing that she is doing some things in spite of her grandfather, like deciding to study music to annoy him (p. 318). "The only political activity she had ever engaged in was the time she had gone with other students to throw stones for no apparent reason at the United States Embassy, for which she had been suspended from school for a week and which had nearly given her grandfather another heart attack." (p.319) Obviously she didn't know what she was rebelling against, so why do it? Maybe she felt the need to rebel against her grandfather by rebelling politics, or maybe it was something along the lines of peer pressure. It's exciting that we get to witness another passionate first romance, but I'm not sure some of the things Alba does for her lover are the right thing to do. Why would she let her fancy for Miguel persuade her to endanger herself by supporting the workers strike with a siege (p.320), or why she tired so hard to fit in with the poorer people, but wasn't comfortable really being around them (p.320&329). The thing that most confused me in this chapter, though, was how Esteban Garcia acted on Alba's fourteenth birthday (p.327). And does anyone else think its wierd that Miguel is sleeping with the girl he saw being born when he was five years old? I also feel the need to say that I feel bad for Jaime. He's been away from Amanda for so long only to find out she's desperately ill, and his niece is sleeping with Amanda's brother. Maybe something will spark between them this time around, although I still don't think Amanda deserves Jaime.
ReplyDelete"I've been here before." (p.329) How could Miguel possibly forget the house in which he saw a little girl being born?! Out of all the details, you would think that would be one to remember. I'm glad that Miguel and Alba are together though. I sort of figured they would be when Miguel witnessed Alba's birth, and considering how Blanca and Pedro Tercero met along with their love life.
ReplyDeleteJust have to say, that if Esteban Garcia forced me to kiss him, and I had a senator for a grandfather, I certainly would have told someone. The guy is a creeper, and I can only imagine the horrible things he is going to do to that poor unsuspecting family.
I'm glad Jaime finally admitted that he was stupid for letting Amanda go. Only now he has to watch her suffer while he nurses her back to health for the second time when he could have convinced her to be with him and she could have lived a comfortable and happy life. A person would think that a girl would realize this once a man saves her life twice, I just hope Amanda isn't one of those dumb girls that can't appreciate a good man when they've got one.
Not one part of me was shocked at Alba falling in love with Miguel. They are perfect for each other. There personalities seem to compliment each other throughout this chapter.
ReplyDeleteI feel kind of bad for Miguel because he falls in love with Alba who never once tells him her actual name. She does not tell him that Trueba is her grandfather. Once before I have heard someone say "You think you know someone...". This was a very important piece of information that Alba neglects to tell Miguel.
Then again I must also feel bad for Alba. She held out for so long with the rest of her friends and Miguel before her body took control. Her period made her panic and curl up in a corner in fear.
This chapter brings back Esteban Garcia. There is something really wrong with the man. When they met in the garden he forcefully kissed her and while doing so began to strangle her. Is there something wrong with this man's thought process?
I love when Miguel and Alba create their meeting place. The way they draped Clara's old dress over the bed made of several old mattresses. This is a place where they went and were not afraid to walk around naked and to be together. This romance reminds me of Blanca and Tercero alot because they are comfortable with each other and don't look at the cares of the world when they are together.
The shape Amanda was in was disturbing. A girl so full of life, who seemed to float on air, had been turned into and old woman who looked as if she was going to pass any minute. This description is given on page 337, "She looked older... helpless look." Jamie still cares to help this woman though it is obvious his love is not like it used to be.
As Bethanie said how can Miguel forget about Alba and where she came from? He saw her birth and he was paralyzed with fear from seeing her birth. And just from the beginning of the chapter I knew that Alba found love at first sight, at least that is what it seems to me.It is so sweet to read how Miguel treats Alba.
ReplyDelete(p.319) They stared at each other, dazzled, and from that moment on they sought out every possible occasion to meet on the leafy promenades of the nearby park, where they walked with their arms full of books or dragging Alba's heavy cello in its case.
That is so sweet! I personally love Miguel and Alba being a couple. I also found on (p.319) something that shows Alba found a sort of loophole in her situation of being Trueba's granddaughter. Using the facts that she knows Pedro Tercero and the famous poet who both are supporters of Miguel's cause.
My favorite part of this chapter was when Allende described Jaime and Alba’s relationship
ReplyDelete“She tried to explain Miguel’s point of view: that it was not possible to keep waiting for the slow passage of history, the laborious process of educating and organizing the people, because the world was moving ahead by leaps and bounds and they were being left behind:….But in the end they kissed each other good night and both were left with the feeling that the other was an extraordinary human being.” P333
It’s wonderful how they discussed their own beliefs so passionately and witfully, but each was still able to leave thinking no less of the other. This exemplifies the relationship and character of them both is it’s simply wonderfully
~Haley
Aha! Finally Miguel makes the connection that the precious baby girl, is his own sweetheart Alba. Not only would it be hard witnessing such a birth, but I think it would be hard to forget the house! It's clear that Alba is in love just by the first few sentences of the chapter. "Then she carefully mixed them (red & white paints)together and painted a large pink heart in the last empty space on the wall. She was in love." Awwwh, little Alba has finally reached maturity. Later in the chapter we watch Alba and Miguel's relationship heat up, and eventually go back to normalcy. And then, to ruin things (in my mind) Esteban Garcia shows up with his snarling disgusting self. When Alba reflects on him forcing to kiss him (gag), I felt sooo bad for that fourteen year old girl. " It was her first kiss. She felt a wqarm, brutal sensation as his rough, badly shaven skin scraped her face. She smelled his scent of stale tobacco and onion, and his violence," poor Alba! He is just as much a creep now then he was back when she was little! It was also interesting how Jaime and Amanda finally meet again, and how much different she looks. "But to have recognized Amanda, he must have loved her a great deal. She looked older than she could possibly have been, and she was very thin, just skin and bones with a wan, yellow complexion and neglected, nicotine-stained hands" (pg. 337). This chapter wasn't my favorite, but it was interesting to see how much many of the characters have changed.
ReplyDelete