Adolescent Fiction: Sybel's "Quest" in finding herself

Monday, February 6, 2012

Sybel's "Quest" in finding herself

Sybel is an untamed hero in monomyth. She finds herself and it is developed through her being able to open up and love others. First, Sybel is uncivilized, rough, man-like; therefore, she can not love at the beginning of the story. She denys her ability to love, readers pick this up when Tam is given to her and she lets Coren know that she has an inability to love. Then, Sybel is given challenges or quests to have her look at herself and it seems to be hard for her to step out of what she is use to without a inner battle stewing. For example, as stated on page 116," 'No Coren,' she said helplessly, and found she had reached out to touch him. 'I am not good at loving.' In all my life, I have lonly loved Maelga, Tam, and Ogam, even though he was not very good at loving either. Stay in Sirle, where there are women who-- who can give you what you require. I belong here.' " This readers see Sybel rejecting the idea of loving another and trying to seclude herself. At the end, she finally finds herself and the love she can give to others. It is an openning into onself, for example, on page 336, " ' I am afraid, too, of myself. But Coren, I do not want to stay here and watch you go away from me. I need you. I need to love you. Please ask me to come with you. Please.' " Here readers see a huge transformation from the beginning of the book. Sybel has now come to realize that she has found herself and is now capable to love. Throughout the whole book she pushes herself away from feeling love but in the end she understands that she needs love to be true to herself.

*side note*
I believe that Blammor is a reflection of Sybel's self of growing and finding herself. Blammor is dark and confusing, just like Sybel confuses herself throughout the book. When Sybel looks inside/herself and finds herself, that is when she discovers that Blammor is the Liralen, who she has been "calling" to show itself this whole time. But the Liralen states that it has been around this whole time and that she just was not looking correctly.

1 comment:

JenFebruary 13, 2012 at 9:46 PM
Your comment about the Blammor seems like more than a side note--it actually underscores Sybel's inability to see herself truly, doesn't it? She projects parts of herself outward, and is only able to integrate all parts of herself at the end of the novel, when she has experienced a complete loss of self.
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Post #9 Shakespeare Bats Cleanup (due MONDAY, 4/30 by class time)

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup explores a number of themes, among them grief, identity, coming of age (Bildungsroman), friendship, love, and others. Kevin, our adolescent narrator, shares his story with us as a poetic narrative which includes poems written in conventional forms and free-form poems. Choose one theme which the book develops, and show its development through the text. As you do so, be sure to consider and articulate how the book's structure (as poems) affects whatever theme you discuss.

Post #7 Warriors Don't Cry (due Sunday 4/15 by 8 pm)

Choices for responses:

1. The title of this text refers to warriors. How are the characters warriors? Are you comfortable with that depiction? Why or why not? Be sure to offer specific description as you explore characterization.

2. While it could certainly be argued that the author of our last novel does place himself in the text, that book is fiction. This text is not; rather, it's a memoir. How does knowing that the book is non-fiction shape your reading of it? Does it cause you to respond differently? If so, how? If not, why not? Consider characters, events, and the historical context carefully as you respond.

Post #6 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (due Sunday, 3/25 by 8 pm)

Post #5 Annie on My Mind (part 2) due Sun 3/11 by 8 pm

You have several different options for your response:

1. How is social transgression framed and treated in the novel? Do you as a reader find that the characters are affirmed or punished for stepping outside of social conventions?

2. We've talked a bit about parallel spaces in texts, spaces in which characters encounter very different experiences. After reading this novel, can we argue that those parallel spaces never intersect? What function might those separate (or not so separate) spaces serve?

3. The story is written in the epistolary (letter writing) tradition. How does that framing affect your reading? Your interaction with characters? Your response?

Post #3 Due by Monday's class (2/20)

For this post, you have three options:

1. Respond to some theme you identify in the novel. Be sure that you make a claim and support it using specific examples from the book.

2. Apply the article's claims to the novel. Be sure that you make a claim and support it using specific examples from the article and the book.

3. Examine the novel as science fiction. How is it both utopic and dystopic in its function? What might it be warning us as a society against? Be sure that you make a claim and support it using specific examples from the text.

Post #1 Due by Thursday's class (1/26)

Ellen Raskin's novel The Westing Game is a detective novel, yes, but we can tease out many themes as we examine the text. A few we introduced and explored briefly in class today:

the Cinderella effect

the roles of women

identity construction

gaming and strategy

trust (as it relates to other themes or on its own)

oppressive/repressive (think Trites) parents

Choose from a theme on this list or choose a theme you've noted in the text, and write about the way the theme is introduced and developed through the novel. As you show how the theme works throughout the book, be sure to offer specific examples to support your ideas.