Dialectical Journal #33: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
·         “’She was really cut up when you ended it-’ ·          ‘So was I. You know why I stopped it, and it wasn’t because I wanted to.’ ·         ‘Yeah, but you go snogging her now and she’s going to get her hopes up again-‘ ·         ‘She’s not an idiot, she knows it can’t happen, she’s not expecting us to – to end up married, or - ’ ·         As he said it, a vivid picture of Ginny in a white dress, marrying a tall, faceless, and unpleasant stranger. ·         In one spiraling moment it seemed to hit him: Her future was free and unencumbered, whereas his… he could see nothing but Voldemort ahead.”	118	·         (R) I must say- it must be very awkard for all involved when the friends date their friends’ siblings. If I was Ron I would probably not be able to stand the sight of Harry, especially if I actually witnessed him putting his hands all over my sister.  Ron handles this situation with a whole lot more finesse than I would be able to. That being said, I feel so sad for Harry. There is so much weight on his shoulders. He can’t even get a moment of bliss without someone ruining it (though I definitely cannot blame Ron for his ruining).

Dialectical Journal #32: The Blind Assassin

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
·         “Richard’s friends are even older than Richard, and the woman looked older than the man… Her husband sat silently while she talks, his hands fisted together, his half-smile set in concrete; he looked wisely down at the tablecloth. So this is marriage, I thought: this shared tedium, this twitchiness, and those little powdery runnels forming to the sides of the nose. ·         ‘Richard didn’t warn us you’d be this young,’ said the woman. ·         Her husband said, ‘It will wear off,’ and his wife laughed. ·         I considered the word warn: was I really that dangerous? Only in the way sheep are, I now suppose. So dumb they jeopardize themselves, and get stuck on cliffs or cornered and some custodian has to risk his neck to get them out of trouble.”	243	·         (R) I am stunned. I know in those times, marriages were more about money than love, but how could Iris’ father ask her to marry Richard? He’s so old compared to her and they barely even talk to each other. Iris did not even have a chance; her Father backed her into a corner, making her seem like Chase families’ only salvation - which I guess she was… but still! I don’t like Richard; he’s so strange and seems to need his sister to help him make every little decision. I can’t believe her Father had the audacity to give her away to a man like that- he barely knows Iris. Yet she’s had to carry so much on her shoulders on his behalf.

Dialectical Journal #31: The Blind Assassin

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
·         “’All right,’ I said to Laura, once they were gone. ‘I know you’ve got him in this house. You’d better tell me where.’ ·         ‘I put him in the cold cellar,’ said Laura, her bottom lip trembling. ·         ‘The cold cellar!’ I said, ‘What a stupid place! Why there?’ ·         ‘So he would have enough to eat, in an emergency,’ said Laura, and burst into tears. I wrapped my arms around her, and she snuffled against my shoulder… ·         ‘We’ve got to get him out of there. What if Reenie goes down for a jar of jam or something and comes across him by mistake? She’d have a heart attack.’… ·         Then I said the attic would be better, because nobody ever went up there. I would arrange it all, I said… ·         Was it my belief that I was doing this only to spare her- to help her, take care of her, as I had always done? ·         Yes. That is what I did believe."	211	(R) I was happy about Laura finding a man to love her but now i'm a bit leery about the whole thing. First of all, the guy is at least six years older than her and she is currently 14 or 15. That is not OK Margret Atwood! Secondly , this dude allowed a young girl to stow him away in her house. That guy is either very desperate or very crazy. Most likely both  considering the way he's portrayed in 'The Blind Assassin' book that Laura wrote. I'm very curious as to how this whole thing will play out though. When Alex was over for dinner, Iris was acting kind of jealous!

Dialectical Journal # 30: The Blind Assassin

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
“’It must be terrible’ I said, ‘not to know who you really are.’            ‘I used to think that’ said Alex, “But then it came to me that who I really am is a person who doesn't need to know who he really is, in the usual sense. What does it mean, anyway- family background and so forth? People use it mostly as an excuse for their own snobbery, or else their failings. I’m free of that temptation, that’s all. I’m free of the strings. Nothing ties me down.’ …           Was that the beginning, that evening- on the dock at Avilion, with the fireworks dazzling the sky? It’s hard to know. Beginnings are sudden, but also insidious. They creep up on you sideways, they keep to the shadows, they lurk unrecognized. Then, later, they spring.”	190	(R) Is Alex the mystery man? I think he is! I would be happy about this, except that he is about 22 and Laura is 14. So now I’m mostly creeped out by this whole situation.            I’m very curious as to what “beginning” Iris is talking about that would make her be all gloomy like that. It’s strange how people usually portray beginnings as things that are happy and should be looked upon with joy and what-not, yet here it’s being described as something almost dangerous, like a mugger.

Dialectical Journal # 29: The Blind Assassin

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
·         “’ Don’t annoy him,’ I said to Laura. ·         ‘it doesn't matter whether I annoy him or not,’ said Laura. ‘Anyway, he’s not annoyed. He only wants to put his hand up my blouse.’ ·         ‘I’ve never seen him do that,’ I said. ‘Why would he?’ ·         ‘He does it when you’re not looking,’ said Laura. ‘Or under my skirt. What he likes is panties.’ She said it so calmly I thought she must have made it up, or misunderstood. Misunderstood Mr. Erskine’s hands, their intentions. What she described was so implausible. It didn’t seem to me like the sort of thing a grown-up man would do, or be interested in doing at all, because wasn’t Laura only a little girl? ·         ‘Should we tell Reenie?’ I asked tentatively. ·         ‘She might not believe me,’ said Laura. ‘You don’t.’”	165	·         (R) I feel bad for Iris and Laura! I know that when someone makes an accusation like that, that person should be believed! But Laura is just so.. absent-minded and weird that I can understand why Iris would hesitate to believe her. But that's her sister!!! When it comes to a situation like this, Iris should believe her until Laura is proven wrong.

Dialectical Journal #28: The Blind Assassin

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
·         “What if someone sees me? she says. It’s broad daylight. ·         It’s all right. They won’t know you. They’ll just see a woman in a slip, it’s not an uncommon sight around here; they’ll just think you’re a… ·         A woman of easy virtue? She says lightly. Is that what you think too? ·         A ruined maiden. Not the same thing. ·         That’s very gallant of you. ·         Sometimes I’m my own worst enemy. ·          If it weren't for you I’d be a lot more ruined, she says.”	120	·         (R) What is up with Laura! She’s having a secret affair with some man who is a bit too commanding for my taste, but he’s not my secret lover! I can’t wait for this mystery man to be introduced in the story. I can’t imagine a man with Laura because she is just so strange. I’m kind of scared that he’ll be a horrible person or something, and then I’ll have a hard time reading her portion of the novel because I don’t want to read about her running around all over town just to sex some mean guy!

Dialectical Journal #27: The Blind Assassin

Passages From The Text	Pg #	Comments & Questions
·         “’ We’ll go to Betty’s,’ said my father. ‘I’ll buy you a soda.’ Neither of these things had ever happened to me before. Betty’s Luncheonette was for the townspeople, not for Laura and me, said Reenie. It wouldn't do to lower our standards. Also, sodas were a ruinous indulgence and would rot your teeth. That two such forbidden things should be offered at once, and so casually, made me feel almost panicky."	100	·         (R) This makes me feel sympathetic towards Iris and her sister. I can’t imagine what it’s like to not really know your father, and not have him know you. The thing that makes this whole situation worse is the fact that Iris lives with her dad. They have been in the same house, yet he doesn't know that his daughters have had the idea that that restaurant and soda are bad pounded into their head since they were how old? That’s unacceptable. The sad thing is that though this story is fiction, this kind of father-child relationship is some people’s reality.