Book #23 "Little Women" and #24 "Old Yeller"
The colorful leaves of fall and the chilly air demanded that I stop reading chic lit and dive into something more traditional and regional that would match with the special weather. Specifically, I wanted to read classic children's literature that I despised reading as a kid. I wondered how I would like reading children's classics as an adult.
I asked myself, "What book matches with pumpkins, chilly days and red maple leaves?" The answer, "Little Women!" So, against my nature I decided to read "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. I initially felt that it was going to be a folkloric stereotypical book of a perfect little family in their perfect little house saying the nicest most perfect things to each other and ultimately make me sick. It wasn't! The first few chapters were a little syrupy with the March sisters getting along beautifully and then the story became real showing the problems the girls had being raised without a dad and having to provide for themselves in cold Massachusetts. It showed how little women, when left to their own devices, could really pull themselves up by their bootstraps and take care of each other quite well, thank you very much. I was impressed with Miss Alcott here, so I did a little research and found out: She is Sagittarius! This explained everything. Sagittarius are the most sensitive souls, attached to their families while feeling oppressed and seeking creative freedom. It is of no surprise that most fabulous female writers who talk about women's trials are Sagittarius. But "Little Women" was about trials and triumphs and so much more. It is one of my favorite books now and I feel like I need to re-read it already. The first read was too fast and I feel like I didn't process it all so I want to re-read it again for those bits that I want to mull over a bit more.
My 5 favorite things about "Little Women":
1. Jo March. She wasn't my favorite at first but now that I had time to get to know her, I see how great she is with all of her mistakes. She is so clumsy and honest and it is endearing.
2. Being good. The March girls all try so hard to be good and fail. I like that the book showed their constant effort and failure but effort again.
3. Marmee March. The mother in the book is like a Superman of mothers. She provides for her family in a time when women didn't do that, she volunteers with sick people, and she knows the characters of her children. I wish to be a Marmee like her one day.
4. Beth March. Beth was my favorite from the beginning because you could tell she was going to die and she was still so loving towards her family.
5. I like that Meg tried new things away from her parents. It showed how kids need to have trial and error before coming to their senses but having a good Marmee back home to talk to them.
Overall, I give this book a 10 out of 10. It is on my favorite list.
Book #24 "Old Yeller"
I don't think there has been a book that has broken my heart like "Old Yeller" did. I began reading it after "Little Women" to read a boy's book after a girl's. "Old Yeller made me realize how little I know about frontier history and life in Texas. I can't believe how rough life was out there 100 years ago with women and children working like farm animals to stay alive. Some parts of Old Yeller were so hard I skipped paragraphs. Ok, so the synopsis of Old Yeller is this, in a nutshell:
Family lives in a log cabin in the prairie of Texas in the year 1900 (more or less). Pop (the dad) goes off to Kansas to get some money for his heard of cow (he is a cowboy, now don't you want to get boots now?) And the family left is the Ma, 11 year-old son Travis and bratty 5 year old little Arliss. A food-stealing dog (Old Yeller) comes by one day and steals all their meat. Travis chases him down and throws rocks at him. Little Arliss befriends Old Yeller and jumps naked in the drinking water with him, which infuriates Travis who is doing his best to be the man of the house. However, one day the old yeller dog saves little Arliss from a mother bear who was going to attach him. At this point Old' Yeller becomes an angelic dog and everyone loves him and appreciates him. Then he gets rabies and Travis is forced to shoot him dead. Yes, "Shoot him dead" we are in Texas and that's how we say it.
Reading this book made me think in old Texan lingo for about five minutes after I would put the book down. I would "reckon" I was hungry. See a "right fancy" pair of boots. Wonder which boots would be the best to work on the range, etc. It also made me miss my old yellow dog Sniffy. He wasn't as robust and a rockstar like Old'Yeller but he was yellow and sweet and fluffy and totally angelic.
I think more books about regional life in the US ought to have been written, especially those of the days before the railroad connected us and Wal-Marts made every town in the US look the same. I'm still sad from reading "Old Yeller". I wish the rabies vaccine had been invented or used back then so Old Yeller would have survived. I wish Travis wouldn't have sent his mom alone with Old Yeller because you could tell that something bad was going to happen. I wish the prairies of Texas back then, would have had some of the medicine and resources that Venice did in the 14th century. It just doesn't seem right that recently (100 years ago) there were places in America where people had to fight for survival like cavemen or Vikings did 1000 years ago. It just makes the question of freedom relative. Freedom from what in exchange for what? Of course, many of the settlers were born into a rural lifestyle but it just seems so rough for no reason. I remember when I was a girl in Washington and we would take Sniffy out for a walk in the woods and the wolves would occasionally follow us. Those same wolves would howl on cold winter nights. We had the wolves to be careful around but I can't imagine having to tip toe around all types of snakes and rabid bears and have to grow my own corn. I can't even keep a houseplant alive! It seems like the west part of the US was "colonized" unnecessarily quick leaving the settlers to fend for themselves and dislodging the Natives. I think things could have been done much more humanely had the east been properly built first, which it wasn't. But that is just the way history went.
So, I would recommend reading "Old Yeller" but don't expect it to be a "happy" ending.
I asked myself, "What book matches with pumpkins, chilly days and red maple leaves?" The answer, "Little Women!" So, against my nature I decided to read "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. I initially felt that it was going to be a folkloric stereotypical book of a perfect little family in their perfect little house saying the nicest most perfect things to each other and ultimately make me sick. It wasn't! The first few chapters were a little syrupy with the March sisters getting along beautifully and then the story became real showing the problems the girls had being raised without a dad and having to provide for themselves in cold Massachusetts. It showed how little women, when left to their own devices, could really pull themselves up by their bootstraps and take care of each other quite well, thank you very much. I was impressed with Miss Alcott here, so I did a little research and found out: She is Sagittarius! This explained everything. Sagittarius are the most sensitive souls, attached to their families while feeling oppressed and seeking creative freedom. It is of no surprise that most fabulous female writers who talk about women's trials are Sagittarius. But "Little Women" was about trials and triumphs and so much more. It is one of my favorite books now and I feel like I need to re-read it already. The first read was too fast and I feel like I didn't process it all so I want to re-read it again for those bits that I want to mull over a bit more.
My 5 favorite things about "Little Women":
1. Jo March. She wasn't my favorite at first but now that I had time to get to know her, I see how great she is with all of her mistakes. She is so clumsy and honest and it is endearing.
2. Being good. The March girls all try so hard to be good and fail. I like that the book showed their constant effort and failure but effort again.
3. Marmee March. The mother in the book is like a Superman of mothers. She provides for her family in a time when women didn't do that, she volunteers with sick people, and she knows the characters of her children. I wish to be a Marmee like her one day.
4. Beth March. Beth was my favorite from the beginning because you could tell she was going to die and she was still so loving towards her family.
5. I like that Meg tried new things away from her parents. It showed how kids need to have trial and error before coming to their senses but having a good Marmee back home to talk to them.
Overall, I give this book a 10 out of 10. It is on my favorite list.
Book #24 "Old Yeller"
I don't think there has been a book that has broken my heart like "Old Yeller" did. I began reading it after "Little Women" to read a boy's book after a girl's. "Old Yeller made me realize how little I know about frontier history and life in Texas. I can't believe how rough life was out there 100 years ago with women and children working like farm animals to stay alive. Some parts of Old Yeller were so hard I skipped paragraphs. Ok, so the synopsis of Old Yeller is this, in a nutshell:
Family lives in a log cabin in the prairie of Texas in the year 1900 (more or less). Pop (the dad) goes off to Kansas to get some money for his heard of cow (he is a cowboy, now don't you want to get boots now?) And the family left is the Ma, 11 year-old son Travis and bratty 5 year old little Arliss. A food-stealing dog (Old Yeller) comes by one day and steals all their meat. Travis chases him down and throws rocks at him. Little Arliss befriends Old Yeller and jumps naked in the drinking water with him, which infuriates Travis who is doing his best to be the man of the house. However, one day the old yeller dog saves little Arliss from a mother bear who was going to attach him. At this point Old' Yeller becomes an angelic dog and everyone loves him and appreciates him. Then he gets rabies and Travis is forced to shoot him dead. Yes, "Shoot him dead" we are in Texas and that's how we say it.
Reading this book made me think in old Texan lingo for about five minutes after I would put the book down. I would "reckon" I was hungry. See a "right fancy" pair of boots. Wonder which boots would be the best to work on the range, etc. It also made me miss my old yellow dog Sniffy. He wasn't as robust and a rockstar like Old'Yeller but he was yellow and sweet and fluffy and totally angelic.
I think more books about regional life in the US ought to have been written, especially those of the days before the railroad connected us and Wal-Marts made every town in the US look the same. I'm still sad from reading "Old Yeller". I wish the rabies vaccine had been invented or used back then so Old Yeller would have survived. I wish Travis wouldn't have sent his mom alone with Old Yeller because you could tell that something bad was going to happen. I wish the prairies of Texas back then, would have had some of the medicine and resources that Venice did in the 14th century. It just doesn't seem right that recently (100 years ago) there were places in America where people had to fight for survival like cavemen or Vikings did 1000 years ago. It just makes the question of freedom relative. Freedom from what in exchange for what? Of course, many of the settlers were born into a rural lifestyle but it just seems so rough for no reason. I remember when I was a girl in Washington and we would take Sniffy out for a walk in the woods and the wolves would occasionally follow us. Those same wolves would howl on cold winter nights. We had the wolves to be careful around but I can't imagine having to tip toe around all types of snakes and rabid bears and have to grow my own corn. I can't even keep a houseplant alive! It seems like the west part of the US was "colonized" unnecessarily quick leaving the settlers to fend for themselves and dislodging the Natives. I think things could have been done much more humanely had the east been properly built first, which it wasn't. But that is just the way history went.
So, I would recommend reading "Old Yeller" but don't expect it to be a "happy" ending.
Comments
Post a Comment