Tuesday 26 February 2013

English Patient Thought 8

The inquiry question is coming along. We have made significant progress in our goal to raise resources for children. We first started out with canned goods, and we actually raised a good amount of food. However our efforts were some what...unfruitful. Because on Sunday I received an email saying that Admiral Seymour Elementary actually wanted lightly used books instead of other resources. However our canned goods did not end up in vain. We donated them to the Wesbrook Center where they actually held a food drive for the UBC food bank. We quickly diverted our attention to used books. We first thought of a plan: most likely, it would be more efficient for us to gather books from people that we somewhat knew. So we targeted our relatives, the student body, and teachers that may have children. We have already gathered about twenty books and the numbers are still rising! We hope to achieve at least 50 books for the young children before this Friday and send a pack of our delegates to the Elementary to deliver the books.

Friday 22 February 2013

English Patient thought 7

The background story has finally unraveled. *SPOILERS AHEAD* The English patient isn't English at all, but rather Almasy, a Hungarian map charterer. His tragic story unfolded with each dosage of morphine that Carvaggio injected within him. The most prominent of which was Madox's death. In the story it stipulated that people should die at a holy place, and Madox shot himself in a church, which should be the most pious place there is. However soon afterwards, it explains that Madox saw the church as a sacrilegious place, so he shot himself, which he saw as a holy deed, there in order to "reholy-tize" the land. If that is even a word... But, you should get the point. The other prominent point was when Almasy said: "Death means you are in the third person." At one point of his flashback, the patient switched from first person to third person narrative ,which I believe, signified a change in attitude and atmosphere of the story. The third-person narrative showed the readers that Almasy has become detached and bold the tragedy in the next flashback. Further more, it also highlighted another interesting point: the English Patient never linked "Almasy" with himself. It was only until later on that the pieces came together and his identity, uncovered.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

English Patient Thought 6

Our inquiry question is whether people are altruistic and the best way to show that would be through acts of kindness. We have decided to support Vancouver Sun Children Funds by donating items from food to clothing. We will go around from door to door asking for their help and donation. Further more, we will also ask for clothing and books. Although there may be only six of us and thousands of children who need our help, I think starting little will still contribute to a big cause. It doesn't matter how much items we manage to collect but how much effort we put into it. But such a plan needs carful planning and precise step. First we will identify a school that requires our help the most, and then proceed to gather items. We will start on Saturday morning and ask for canned food, monetary donation and used cloth or books. Then on Sunday, we will send a delegate of our group to the Headquarters or school that we are helping the items that we have collected. Simply put it, it's time to take action, and that time will be this weekend. 

Tuesday 19 February 2013

English Patient Thought 5~

Ondaatje is really stepping up the pace. At chapter 6 and 7, the background story behind the English patient and Kip is revealed to the reader. The English patient's affair with Katherine quickly turned sour as her husband, Geoffrey Clinton, attempted to murder both them by crashing a plane into them in the desert. However, Katherine survives, but with severe wounds. The patient was forced to leave her to find help only to return years later to find her dead body. Similarity, Kip also experienced a rough time at this time through enlistment; he had no friends because he was "brown", and when he did make new friends, they were blown up soon afterwards. The romantic story between Hana and Kip makes a sharp turn, as Kip's history foreshadows a tragic ending to their relationship. Further more Ondaatje at this point has finally "connected" the story pieces together for the readers: it all seems to make sense now. It isn't much mystery now that the English patient was indeed Almasy, and the fact that he was denied help to save Katherine because of his nationality rotates around a core theme of the story: nationhood. Almasy tried to transcend nationhood by exploring the desert, an isolated environment, but only backfired as he was taken prisoner because the war even spread to the deserts. Similarly, Kip's history presents to us that his nationhood caused him great grief and suffering, as he eventually portrays the west as white "racists".

Saturday 16 February 2013

English Patient Thought 4:

It's starting to get interested. I think it's time to confess; at the beginning of the story, I didn't know what I had gotten myself into: the book was outright bizarre for me. However, it's starting to turn very engaging for me. I can't wait to flip the page to see how the relationship between the character develop, and how the English Patient's past will unravel. At the point I am at, Hana has started a romantic relationship with Kip which seems quite odd as I expected her love to be for the patient. Nonetheless, Kip and Hana's relationship seem to be based on the fact that they "need" each other, as in that Hana finds security in Kip, and vice versa. Their relationship was ignited by an incident where Kip needed help to defuse a bomb and Hana risked her life for the both of them. This event further showed the readers Hana's altruistic nature. However at the same time, she seems very cynical too, for example whenever she is with another man alone, she always assumes that he is there for sex. Like when Caravagio touches her on the back, or when she lies with Kip. Though I believe this may have something to do with her past, which the story does not reveal at this point.

Tuesday 12 February 2013

The English Patient: Thought 3

I believe it would be just to characterize this book at this point .... unique... I suppose. The book is certainly not like any book I have read before; it doesn't follow the anticipated path of plot line or story progression. Rather there are constant turn of events that not only shift the interest points of the story but also shock the reader. For example Caravaggio's entrance into the plot not only provides background to the time period but also sheds light on the horrid situation of the war. At this point in the story, the war has scarred the three characters of the story, fully demonstrating that people not directly associated with the war can also be traumatized. Hana, a nurse, who becomes shell shocked as a result of her father's death. Caravaggio, a intelligence collector, became a man in silence after his thumb had been cut off. And the English Patient, a surveyor of geography, was somehow also affected. The war is all-reaching. No one can escape its influence, whether they are at home, or in the battlefields fighting for their lives.

Thursday 7 February 2013

English Patient: The Beginning

English patient thought 2:
After dwelling into the story a bit more, I've discovered that this book is not a simple story. It's not just about  a nurse caring for a patient. But rather, it's about the reflection of the patient and his continually developing relationships with the characters in the story. The intricate backgrounds and mystifying relations of one person to another adds a very enigmatic atmosphere to the story. Furthermore, the story also introduces very mature themes, for example sex and drugs; however these should not be too much to handle for a group of seventeen year old boys. The plot itself is driven by continuous flashbacks of the patient, which reveals to the readers that he was an desert explorer; however he cannot seem to remember his name or nationality. In addition, the plot is also driven by the setting. The villa that Hana, the nurse, and the patient is living in is dotted with German land mines. This prompts many visitors into the villa which becomes acquainted with the patient. Up to this point, I am enjoying the book a lot and look forward to see how it unravels in front of me.

Feb, 7th

Wednesday 6 February 2013

My thoughts on the English Patient

For my English project, I've decided to do my inquiry on the English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. I've chosen it because the book name itself immediately caught my attention: it seemed to be a book about love and war. After reading some reviews and doing some research, I found out that most people either really enjoyed it or really hated it. However, I was ready to take that risk, to see how the story unravels and to see which side I would eventually take. I believe that the story takes place in a villa, and is about a women who nurses a burnt patient. The patient presumably was a victim of a plane crash in the deserts to which his life was barely saved. Throughout the story, the patient eventually unravels his story in the war. Through reading the story, I hope to gain a better sense of the true war and also the love between people. I have great hopes in reading this book, I look forward to the lessons that the books hold.

English blk A, Feb 6, 2013