Entry #4 – In Jean’s Steps…
As Jimmy stepped out the old rusted doors of NWSS and on to the battered concrete sidewalk leading down to the bus stop, a gust of wind blew a few drops of rain in his face. He blinked a few times, flipped up his collars and kept walking.
At 5 o’clock, the sun has nearly fallen on this gloomy winter evening. Yet, despite the overtime z-block course that he had just taken, he felt invigorated. Seeing the naked branches of the great oaks that lined the sidewalk as a prelude to their grand stature in summer time, Jimmy began reflecting on his plans for the future. Everyday, he reminded himself that the fruits of his hard work that he puts into the IB Program be within reach in a few short years when he’s finished university and making the big bucks on Wall Street. The image of cash flying through the air brought a faint smile to his lips. These visions of his ultimate success proprlled every fibre in his body.
A sudden loud rumble of a great diesel engine brought his mind back to reality, the bus has arrived. Jimmy searched in his pockets for his bus pass, and stepped aboard. Going to the back of this newly commissioned bus, he sat in a corner seat. He liked these new buses; they offered a bright modern contrast to the old, drudgery of New Westminster.
The bus quickly shuttled him down to New Westminster Skytrain station. Getting on the platform, he stared across the tracks at the empty platform on the other side. Waiting, bored of the dull scenery, he turned up the techno in his earphones, letting his mind soak in the wonders of every musical note.
Soon, the Skytrain came, and this time it was an old model train, disappointed he stepped in. With a groan of the electric motors, the train was off, ready to bring him out of the ugliness of New Westminster.
Entry #5 – Pitou’s Army Experience (CH.27/28)
Today, I marched down the streets of St. Henri with the bunch of us new recruits looking for more volunteers. My first day with the army and I’m already doing something! I was with Alphonse and another old guy. I think everyone there felt that our future was with the army; society didn’t give us much, didn’t like us much, and most certainly didn’t want us meddling in their perfect lives, so us joining the army really is good for everyone – we finally get paid to do something, and they finally get us off their backs, begging for a living. We sang our marching songs loud and proud, hoping more of us would join the ranks, I mean, how bad can army life really be? Certainly no worse than digging dirt for a living like the junkman Alphonse was talking about. Pretty soon we headed to the barracks to get our issue of supplies. This must have been one of the best moments of my life – having cloths, food, personal hygiene materials and a bunk bed shoved into my hands for nothing. I can hardly remember the last time I possessed this many things! Of course, the army tells us that all this stuff strictly belongs to the army and can be taken away at anytime, but I would do such a nice job of whatever they tell me to that they’ll be giving me more of their stuff very soon.
At night, I went on my first shift doing sentry watch at the armoury. I felt pretty excited to finally be doing some soldierly business – I held a rifle in my hands! I guess this would be my first ever formal job, and I’ll be making a few bucks of my own to save up for once, since all the everyday needs are taken care of for us soldiers. I hear some of the more experienced guys say that this is the most gruelling duty there is, but I think it’s great! I feel my life going somewhere, the constant sound of my new boots hitting the asphalt wakens the life in me that’s stayed dormant for so long. What’s more, I can see all the civilians walking by and they can see me! For once, I stand out in a crowd, I’m a somebody, and I have their respect, or at least their attention. The great big rifle with the bayonet attached at the end probably had something to do with all that too. All in all, it beats sitting and rotting away in the back of Ma Philbert’s. Later on Emanuel came by too. That was really quite exciting for me, just imagining us storming the battlefield together – me, Alphonse and Manuel! At 2 in the morning, I was relieved, and as I got into my warm bunk, this thought came across my mind – I’m getting paid to shoot and be shot at.
Entry #6 – Comparison of Weddings (CH.30)
As I read Chapter 30 and experienced Florentine’s wedding day, I noticed a stark contrast to the wedding scene from House of the Spirits, but at the same time it is quite similar.
The most obvious difference is the class difference. In the Tin Flute, it is a wedding of a low class family, the Lacasse, well below the poverty line and the Letourneau’s middle class family, whereas for Esteban and Clara, both from high class families and Esteban the owner of a prestigious estate, it is a wedding of high class families. Thus naturally, the wedding of the House of the Spirits will be much more luxurious and grand. Furthermore, from the chapter 29, it is evident that Florentine and Emanuel’s wedding will be rushed, since Emanuel only has a two week leave, which is strikingly different from Esteban’s carefully prepared wedding that consisted of constructing a brand new mansion and a three month long honeymoon. In the Tin Flute, the morning of the wedding sees its sun through “windows opaque, with blackened dust” (TF346), with the constant thundering of the trains in the background, and a room that was half furnished, with boxes unpacked from the move. In contrasts, Esteban’s wedding had rich imageries of the grand mansion, delicious descriptions of the mountains of food and a sea of honored guests. In addition, the Lacasse family’s morning was tinted with the bitterness of the bride’s sickly brother Daniel, who is in the hospital, dieing. All this contrast helps to highlight the theme of poverty present in the Tin Flute.
There are also some similarities. For example, both wedding are of less than the ideal perfection that is expected of weddings and marriages. In the Tin Flute, the bride Florentine is not marrying Emanuel for the love they felt for each other but rather for a bitter revenge against Jean’s abandonment of her. She is rushing into this marriage in search of a new “unknown life and … to forget what she had been” (TF343). This oppressed atmosphere can also be seen through the quote “the word ‘wedding,’ which she had always linked to a perfect happiness, now seemed austere” (TF342). A similar kind of harsh reality is also presented in Esteban’s wedding where Clara also is not agreeing to the marriage for love, but for the visions that she sees, or perhaps for her sister. And the terrible death of Barrabas during the wedding acts to set an ominous foreshadow to the life of the married couple to come. The lack of a utopian perfection in the weddings serves to suggest that human life is not perfect, and that it should hold true for both the poverty stricken families and the rich high class families.
Entry #7 – Rewriting a Section in Florentine’s Point of View (CH.30)
Section from 349B-350M: “They now lived close to the taxi stand … She saw her legs, swollen and with dark stains and bumps caused by dilation of her veins.”
Brusquely, the two went walked down the dark staircase, to the taxi stand that, not long ago, had been Azarius’s workplace. Florentine, glad to be out in the open showing the world her beauty, caught a glimpse of her dad looking back into the soot stained windows of their dingy apartment. A sudden surge of emotion flooded her mind, she remembered Rose-Anna’s words, “marriage is a serious thing” and then the vision of that disfigured body returned. “Should I have listened to her?” she thought. At the same moment, a gloriously bright limousine pulled in front of her, and brought her back to the fancies of the day.
Azarius had the idea of going through rue du Couvent, and so they did. Driving by their old house, Florentine saw in her mind’s eye, her short days with Jean vanishing into the past, and as they emerged from the poorer districts, she looked down at her dress. It was every bit as splendid as she had imagined in her dreams, but something was missing. The memory of the black dress she wore the first time she was held in Emanuel’s arms surfaced, but this dress was so much finer. Why is she seeing that old dress? It was hand made by her mother. Her mother! In all the haste to get away from her preaching, she had not even said good bye to mother. The poor woman, she had to stay behind to look after the kids, forever trapped in that house. She felt a sudden desire to rush back and be with her mother. But again, that vision of a disfigured body flashed in her mind.
Looking at her own slim reflections in the fancy mirrors, she saw a beautiful young lady. And this image overpowered the ugliness in her mind, so once again, she felt soothed and excited to see herself at the centre of the world: with the party, food, guests and photographers.
Entry #9 – Pitou’s Poem
Born to a world dark and grey,
Clothed so just to keep the winds at bay.
Unbeknownst to those living on the hill,
We lack even the twenty dollar bill.
Schooled to accept suffering and pain,
Our life is bound by a chain.
We live under a constant illusion,
Hoping, praying for a solution.
When the dawn of war reached our ears,
We unloaded the burdens of our years.
Full of joy at the prospects of annihilation,
Let war and death be my salvation.
Entry #10 – Collection of notes
-“She had never been able to enjoy … except through the eyes of others.” (22B)
→Florentine is shallow, envious and maybe selfish, but also shows that she is deprived.
-“He needed ugliness around him … gave him an immediate obstacle to be overcome.” (28T)
→Shows Jean’s work ethics, he is ambitious and disciplined.
-“Jean couldn’t see the guitarist but he had a glimpse of the instrument…” (31T)
→Theme of illusion: sees only fancy instrument, but not the poor musician who is playing.
-“she saw paper money, rolls of bills … carried away by the wind.” (73B)
→Significance of wind.
-“The waiter pulled out a chair and Florentine sat down, awkwardly…” (79T)
→Shows class distinction: Florentine isn’t accustomed to be served.
-“I’m good to my mother … It’ll be counted in my favour” (119B)
→F. expects a reward, selfish or extremity of poverty?
-“She could imagine her mother’s astonishment at seeing her come home in a taxi.” (140B)
→Shows F.’s poverty.
- Chapter 12 = end of winter, which is symbolic of Florentine’s relationship with Jean?
→”He had disappeared with the last rough storm of winter.” (165T)
-“Knowing how Rose-Anna had hated Lachance, he hoped to hear an instant protest…” (154T)
→Azarius’s refusal to accept reality = his weakness?
-“Her tenderness was almost always concealed behind a look that was discreet…” (164T)
→illusion? Concealing her feelings.
-“measuring what pain each joy would cost.” (177M)
→Irony, shows degree of suffering and poverty.
- Page 201 reveals that Jean was an orphane.
-“…feel himself above them and predestined for higher things.” (203T)
→ Jean is like Ryuji, shows ambition.
-“The satisfaction of owing his success only to himself filled him with pride.” (203B)
→Jean is driven by pride.
-“She was all that he hated … his own wretchedness and sadness that he held in his arms.” (205B)
→Explains Jean’s attitude towards Florentine.
-“…crossed the square to meet this bright, skin-tight, flashy dress.” (245B)
→Diction: meets “dress” not the person. Increases the detestability of Eugene’s action.
-“… that life is good to some and unkind to others.” (248M)
→The Lacasse’s poverty could be due to their having too many kids, so it’s their own fault, yet they blame the world = human condition of laziness, lust? Lack of discipline?
-“‘On the other side there was an old guy…the old guy who’d had his future already…’” (311M)
→Old guy and young guy are symbols of Alphonse’s past and future?
-“Peace has been as bad as war…” (313B)
→ Shows the extremity of poverty.
-“Since they’d been together he had seen her make up her face three or four times” (325T)
→theme of illusion, shows F.’s insecurity, and her lack of interest in Eman. Or too much interest in herself?
-“She subsided into a marvellous forgetfulness…” (337T) → F. is using Eman. as her escape.
