Annotations in Home Fire

 


Something we discussed in class, but I want to delve more deeply into is the usage of snow. I think it is fascinating to examine the multivariate nature of its presence. In some senses, it is heavy, in others it is merely a dusting. Abby brought up a great point about how snow is white, which is something I had not thought about before. This connects being white to the white of snow and how oppressive white culture can be. As noted on page 10, snow alters the experience of different objects, sometimes permanently. This goes along with the alteration in the novel in terms of culture. Will Isma’s change be permanent? We will have to wait and see. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the snow is sometimes light and sometimes heavy. Does the weight affect its usage in the novel? Or does it simply affect the severity? I believe that the snow has a broad theme of oppression (vs being one of change or racism). When it was mentioned as heavy, the oppression was thick. However, when it was mentioned as a dusting, it was a feeling she felt (she thought she was being oppressive to Eamonn). I honestly did not perceive the oppressive force of the snow at first, I just thought it was a reference to the phrase “the weight of America”. Something I would like to see is if the theme of snow or a similar nature theme is used moving forward. I think each section having a background theme of something relating to nature would be interesting. Alas, we as a class can piece together the themes and their significance at the end of the book. 

Comments

  1. Jenna ChinnSeptember 23, 2021 at 6:00 PM

    It's really interesting how much snow can represent. I didn't think about the significance in the heaviness of the snow, but you bringing up a dusting made me think about how snow can be described as both "light" and "heavy." Similarly, in this novel snow is often used to reflect negative emotions, but snow isn't always seen that way. When it snows, children go out to play, people make snowmen, and families spend time together in front of a fire. It makes me wonder if at some point snow will be used to signify joy rather than sorrow or oppression.

    ReplyDelete
  2. John FredericksSeptember 25, 2021 at 9:47 AM

    Hey Jojo. I also did not recognize the whiteness of the snow and compare it to oppressive white culture. It's really cool how our collaboration brought forth new meaning to the novel and greater learning. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2021 at 8:09 PM

    I too think that snow is used in the novel to represent the oppressive environment that Isma is in. I think that it is important to note that when Isma got off the plane in America, she placed her hands into the snow outside. This might represent her taking the plunge into her new environment that she knows to be oppressive. This is evident in her willingness to place her hands in the snow as well as to live in America.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bianca DuarteSeptember 26, 2021 at 9:30 AM

    Hi Jojo! I love your analysis on the snow stating that the whiteness of snow connects to how oppressive white culture can be. I find this very interesting because as I was annotating, I made the connection between the snow and the oppression Isma has been facing as well. The questions you posed in this blog post strike me, and I will continue to delve into the reading to try and find answers to those questions. One initial understanding I noticed while annotating was how snow begins to appear when situations in the novel gets tense or when issues arise. Hopefully as we continue to read the novel, I will have an even better understanding of the snow and what else it can represent.

    ReplyDelete
  5. bella burleighSeptember 29, 2021 at 12:13 AM

    You described exactly what i was thinking about the symbolism of snow and made it make sense, haha. I really agree with what you had to say about it. I hadn't even thought about how weight was a part of it too. I was only thinking about the color and the fact that it was being brought up. But i certainly think the weight of snow is meant to symbolize oppression or anything weighing down the characters.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gender in Pachinko

  In the novel, there are characters that seem to have defined gender roles, and there are some that blur the lines. For example, Kyunghee seems to portray a typical woman. She is extremely loyal to her husband, and respects him almost to a fault. She is also described as beautiful. Without the introduction of Sunja, she may have never had the courage to ask for anything. For example, she had the lovely idea of constructing a kimchi business. She is able to partially achieve this dream, but she would not have been able to do it without the encouragement from Sunja. She seems to be smart, but just enough to be a good wife. In a parallel sense, Yoseb is very ‘manly’. He has a strange addiction to tradition, and we see him slip into anger when he senses he is losing control. These are traits typically associated with a man. Then there are characters like Sunja. She is never described as pretty, in fact she is described as quite the opposite. She explores her sexuality with Hansu, but ...
Read more

Equiano Project

  The Equiano group’s project was extremely enlightening. I knew slave ships were bad, but not that bad. A 45% mortality rate is absolutely horrendous. I literally cannot imagine living in captivity so close to other people. It really makes you appreciate everything you have/ all the space you have to move around. It also seems counter-intuitive. When so many of the people you need to sell die, aren’t you losing money? It would make more sense to create habitable environments. In light of this, it seems like those who forced slaves to be in the ships were simply evil. It is also saddening, but not surprising to learn of the commonality of suicide. When faced when actual torture, it is not suprising that many people chose death. Even when healthy, the outlook of servitude was probably horrifying. What I found most interesting were the revolts. I had not thought about the idea that slaves could revolt, and it is encouraging that the enslaved people did not give up. Apparently around ...
Read more

Smasher's Character vs Blackwood's Character

  I do not think it is possible to talk about Smasher without talking about Blackwood. They are inverses of each other, and as such the story would not be complete without the two sides of the spectrum. Smasher represents the side of Will that wants the aboriginals gone. He has no mercy for them as humans, and he takes pleasure in their pain. Blackwood is the opposite. He sees the aboriginals as equals, supporting them and even learning their own language. Blackwood represents the side of Will that wants to live peacefully with them. What is shown in Will’s thoughts seems to represent the mind of the average colonizer. Neither here, nor there. However, Greenville uses the two opposing characters of Blackwood and Smasher to portray the extreme ends of the ideology. We can also see how Smasher’s perspective is more or less supported by the British government. When they send the letter with directions on how to handle the aboriginals, it states that peaceful coexistence must first be ...
Read more