White Tiger
Greetings classmates!!! This is Mario.I Hope everyone is having a good weekend.
I still find this book quite confusing but I actually found something quite interesting that I wanted to discuss with the class. What significance do you think her comparison between the dragon and the planet had? Does anyone believe It meant something important in her growing up?
posted by mariobrklynr @ 3:05 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
The middle of page 19 of Chapter: White Tigers (page 17 in the packet) says, “The closest I came to seeing a dragon whole was when the old people cut away a small strip of bark on a pine that was over three thousand years old. The resin underneath flows in the swirling shapes of dragons.” Therefore, the harmonious coexist of hidden dragons and the planet represents the process in which she is growing up not only physically, but mentality and spiritually. Unlike the physical strength and brutality she learns from “Copying the tigers, their stalking kill and their anger” (bottom of page 18 of Chapter: White Tigers or page 17 of the packet) learning from dragons requires more skill, concentration, and most importantly, a balanced state of mind. If you lack any of those qualities, you will be fail to see that in nature and in life, the most important things that the wisest of people realize are those things that lie hidden beneath. The author did not realize this until the old people revealed part of the powerful dragon that was tucked away, but afterwards, it meant that she was able to grow up some more, to have confidence and faith, and see how unlimited possibilities and success awaited her future.
Why did the parents carve writings on the author’s back and was it a necessary ritual?
She seems matter-of-fact about meeting the old man and woman. The first thing they do is feed her an egg as if it is her birthday. She is given choices by the couple. To stay and learn to be a warrior instead of picking sweet potatoes with the family she would not be able to avenge and to take her role "to grow up a wife and a slave" (20). I find that the bird who carried her off to the couple was part of her destiny, but it is her choice to become a warrior. Perhaps because she is still reminded of the talkstory of Fa Mu Lan.
The author describes things in colors. The old couple is described as brown and grey because of her murky vision after she envisions bright white angels with wings. Her physical hunger is a metaphor for her psychological hunger as well. Why did her vision change into brush strokes, "everything so murky"?
I'm kind of confused a bit about how this story really ties in with her reality. It seems that the story of the woman warrior seems to take over. Is she dreaming?
All great questions here - I think that there is so much going on in these first two chapters of WW that we need to discuss it at length on Wednesday. Try to think metaphorically rather than literally. We can read this text symbolically by asking about the structure of the book and what it means. There is so much in here that is not meant to be taken literally so ask yourself what things might mean on a symbolic or metaphorical level.
I really dont quite understand this reading so far is kind of confusing.
My question is why does her mother, at the beggining of the first chapter, tells her the story of her aunt to teach her a life lesson? Is this story true or is it just a lie to teach her a lesson?
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