The Walls take a trip to the laundromat when their electricity is shut off. "The laundromat, with it's windows completely steamed up, was as warm and as damp as a Turkish bath." (178).
A Turkish bath is the old Greek equivalent of a sauna today, which is seen as a luxurious place for peace and relaxation. The Walls' are so bad off at this point that a trip to the hot, dirty laundromat is a luxurious and warming experience for Jeannette. The idea of a laundromat as being such a haven seems ridiculous to me because it helps me put my life in perspective to Jeannette's hard life. To her a little thing that seem disgusting to us is wonderful and new to her. Its like me saying that moldy ice cream is as amazing as newly homemade ice cream. It helps me understand what she is going through, how hard her life is and how small stupid things to me are like a million dollar gift to her. It tells me that I should not take for granted what I have, all things matter big or small.
I decided to do two quotes.
Jeannette describes what her mom calls her 'distinctive looks': "My elbows were like flying wedges and my knees like tea saucers." (200).
Jeannette describes what her mom calls her 'distinctive looks': "My elbows were like flying wedges and my knees like tea saucers." (200).
Showing the poor view Jeannette has of herself, this simile creates an image in the head of the reader that is most unappealing. This shows that although Jeannette never shows any insecurity, she does look at herself and compare her body type to other girls like a normal, insecure teenage girl. Every person child, grownup, men or women judges them self in some way no matter what. She is using figurative language to explain how she looks (yet I doubt she looks that bad!) Yes she is using a simile, but I also feel like she is using some hyperbole. I doubt that her her knees and elbows look exactly like tea saucers and flying wedges, maybe you could say oranges and the end of a banana! I am sure she is exaggerating ( as all humans do) she probably looks just fine and is the only person that notices her flaws.
AMAZING JOB ZOE! I love how you defined what a "turkish bath" was in your first quote and built it into an understanding. It really shows how you understood the quote and the meaning of the quote. Also, in your second quote, I love how you integrated real life concepts such as teenage girls having insecurities about their looks. It's true, we all do have insecurities and we probably are the only ones that notice our own flaws because we are too busy worry about our own that we don't notice others flaws.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Devin, defining the Turkish bath made your point very clear and shows a lot of understanding. I like what you said about the "million dollar gift" and the ice cream comparison. I also like what you said for the second quote, about how you might describe it. I agree with your point about hyperbole, most humans do tend to exaggerate on things like that. What you said about not showing insecurity is interesting, kind of as if she doesn't have a high opinion of herself but it doesn't take up her thoughts or affect her actions much, it's just kind of an ingrained thing.
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