Reading Reflection #4
Book: Girl With A Pearl Earring
Author: Tracy Chevalier
Pages Read: 3-21
Dear Fellow Readers, I've started another book and have put Lord of the Flies away for now. My literary English class may be reading it later on this year and I by no means want to read it twice. My friends mom recommended this book to me and the art class at our school watched it and thought it was really good so I hope I'll enjoy it! I'm not really far into the book yet but I already have lots of comments, questions, predictions and surprisingly a lot of connections...so I'm hoping that's a good sign.
One literary device that the author has used that I absolutely love is comparisons and words she uses to describe actions and characters. For example, she compares new characters voices to polished brass and dark wood, and that you "could hear rich carpets in their voices, books and pearls and fur" (3). I really liked how from this description I could picture very refined people with a bit of mystery to them. Also, she added that one of the little girls voice sounded as if it had cobwebs in it which gave a very chilling vibe in that scene. The author also compares two of the characters eyes to the sea and to a flickering candle. The visual and auditory imagery that Tracy Chevalier creates through her words is really impressive and I am eager to read the other comparisons and descriptions she uses. Another part of the book that catches my interest is when the author uses subtle and short flashbacks of the characters. I like this because it still feels like the book is moving forward, and not constantly flipping form time to time, and we as the readers are still getting little hints of their life in the past. Also, the fact that we don't get a lot of information of these characters backgrounds makes it kind of mysterious. I also find the character names really interesting because they are all old and sound so pretty, like Greit, Catharina, Tanneke, Cornelia, Maria, Lisbeth, and Aleydis.
Since I'm starting a new book, I have many predictions and questions. In the novel, there is a teenager who is leaving her home to work for an artist and his wife by organizing his studio, as well as other household tasks. When they were looking to see if the girl was a suitable choice for a helper, the man noticed that the vegetables she had prepared for the soup she was making were all laid out properly into sections, a specific order. I got the impression that this girl had some sort of OCD problem and I think this will either negatively or positively influence her future job. She is asked to clean his studio, without really touching anything so I think her compulsions will get the better of her and she may get in trouble for this. Also, the man seems to be paying a lot of attention to the young girl and the wife seems to notice over it and I get the impression that she is either jealous or worried. I think later on in the book the girl and the older man may develop some kind of relationship...One question I have is what religion the main characters (the girls) family practices. It seems like religion is a big part of their lives so I would like to know what exactly it is. I do know that back in the 1600's in Europe, many people were Catholic...however in this book, there are not many Catholics and they are sort of excluded from the town and keep to themselves, so I want to find out what the opposing religion is.
One comparison the author used that I really related to in the book was when she said that one of the characters spoke as if he held cinnamon in his mouth. I have been a participant in the cinnamon challenge and I assure you, it is not very pleasant. My mouth felt like it was on fire and if you're able to talk, your voice sounds really raspy. Knowing this, when the character spoke his words I could kind of hear them in my head, raspy and almost forced. Another connection I made so far was the fact that this girl (who's religion has not yet been stated) is hired to work for Catholics and everything seems new to her, even the area of town she has to work in now, even though it is only a ten minute walk from her house. It reminded me of my Irish aunties, one Protestant and the other Catholic, who lived a block over from each other all their lives but never knew each other till they met in Canada (what a coincidence) simply because their religions were different. In the book the girl, Greit, talks about a painting she had seen of a certain view in the country and she comments on how she does not see it the same way as the painter views it. As an artist, or at least sort of an artist, I really connected with this comment because I know that if you had a bunch of artists in a room and were to ask them to paint a specific scene, everyones would be different because we, as people, gather our own opinions, visions, and views from what we see. I really liked how the author was able to show that in one small sentence of the book.
Overall, I am so far really liking this book. Probably the main reason for this is because the descriptions are so unique and they really paint a clear picture in my mind. I also really love the old European setting because I find it beautiful to read about what all the old scenery, people, and homes looked like back then.
One literary device that the author has used that I absolutely love is comparisons and words she uses to describe actions and characters. For example, she compares new characters voices to polished brass and dark wood, and that you "could hear rich carpets in their voices, books and pearls and fur" (3). I really liked how from this description I could picture very refined people with a bit of mystery to them. Also, she added that one of the little girls voice sounded as if it had cobwebs in it which gave a very chilling vibe in that scene. The author also compares two of the characters eyes to the sea and to a flickering candle. The visual and auditory imagery that Tracy Chevalier creates through her words is really impressive and I am eager to read the other comparisons and descriptions she uses. Another part of the book that catches my interest is when the author uses subtle and short flashbacks of the characters. I like this because it still feels like the book is moving forward, and not constantly flipping form time to time, and we as the readers are still getting little hints of their life in the past. Also, the fact that we don't get a lot of information of these characters backgrounds makes it kind of mysterious. I also find the character names really interesting because they are all old and sound so pretty, like Greit, Catharina, Tanneke, Cornelia, Maria, Lisbeth, and Aleydis.
Since I'm starting a new book, I have many predictions and questions. In the novel, there is a teenager who is leaving her home to work for an artist and his wife by organizing his studio, as well as other household tasks. When they were looking to see if the girl was a suitable choice for a helper, the man noticed that the vegetables she had prepared for the soup she was making were all laid out properly into sections, a specific order. I got the impression that this girl had some sort of OCD problem and I think this will either negatively or positively influence her future job. She is asked to clean his studio, without really touching anything so I think her compulsions will get the better of her and she may get in trouble for this. Also, the man seems to be paying a lot of attention to the young girl and the wife seems to notice over it and I get the impression that she is either jealous or worried. I think later on in the book the girl and the older man may develop some kind of relationship...One question I have is what religion the main characters (the girls) family practices. It seems like religion is a big part of their lives so I would like to know what exactly it is. I do know that back in the 1600's in Europe, many people were Catholic...however in this book, there are not many Catholics and they are sort of excluded from the town and keep to themselves, so I want to find out what the opposing religion is.
One comparison the author used that I really related to in the book was when she said that one of the characters spoke as if he held cinnamon in his mouth. I have been a participant in the cinnamon challenge and I assure you, it is not very pleasant. My mouth felt like it was on fire and if you're able to talk, your voice sounds really raspy. Knowing this, when the character spoke his words I could kind of hear them in my head, raspy and almost forced. Another connection I made so far was the fact that this girl (who's religion has not yet been stated) is hired to work for Catholics and everything seems new to her, even the area of town she has to work in now, even though it is only a ten minute walk from her house. It reminded me of my Irish aunties, one Protestant and the other Catholic, who lived a block over from each other all their lives but never knew each other till they met in Canada (what a coincidence) simply because their religions were different. In the book the girl, Greit, talks about a painting she had seen of a certain view in the country and she comments on how she does not see it the same way as the painter views it. As an artist, or at least sort of an artist, I really connected with this comment because I know that if you had a bunch of artists in a room and were to ask them to paint a specific scene, everyones would be different because we, as people, gather our own opinions, visions, and views from what we see. I really liked how the author was able to show that in one small sentence of the book.
Overall, I am so far really liking this book. Probably the main reason for this is because the descriptions are so unique and they really paint a clear picture in my mind. I also really love the old European setting because I find it beautiful to read about what all the old scenery, people, and homes looked like back then.
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