Analysis Of Under The Persimmon Tree

Loss in Real Life vs. in A Complicated Kindness In many fictitious stories and even in real life, people experience loss of family members, someone they know, and are brought down from their previous state of happiness. Everyone will most likely experience some traumatic event where a loved one is gone forever or being isolated from everyone else. These similar occasions occurred to me in my own life and to a great deal to a character; Nomi from the novel, “A Complicated Kindness” by Miriam Toews.

Empathy is having the ability to understand the feelings of others often through connecting our own experiences to those around us. “Wildwood” by Junot Diaz follows the journey of the main character, Lola. Lola is a rebellious teenager living with her mother and younger brother in New Jersey. Lola's mother who is battling breast cancer, must deal with Lola and her defiant ways. Lola’s mother sends her away to live in the Dominican Republic to learn how to be a mature young woman. Every kid can relate to wanting to go against their parents rules and Lola is no different. The reader can relate to Lola through her common experiences that many deal with. Diaz uses first person to allow the reader to experience the perspective of Lola through her narration. He makes it easy to relate to as the story follows something that everyone has been through, growing up. Rebellion is a natural characteristic of maturation, although difficult for the parents it allows children to learn from their mistakes. Junot Diaz’s short story, “Wildwood” uses teenage rebellion and common feelings, to challenge stereotypes which allows the reader to easily sympathize with the story.

Cold Sassy Tree is a fictional story written by Olive Ann Burns which details the life of a family in Cold Sassy, Georgia. The story is being told from the perspective of a teenager named Will Tweedy. The plot is focused around the love and marriage between Rucker Blakeslee and Love Simpson. There is a huge uproar and disdain from the family as well as the townspeople over the relationship. There is a grave separation between the people of the town and the blue collar workers who live on the outskirts of town and barely make enough money to live. Will is torn between defending his grandfather or agreeing with his family. He is thirteen at the time of the passing of his grandmother, who is the family’s matriarch. Being a typical teenager faced with adult circumstances, Will is torn on the emotional impulses on whether he should be out fishing or mourn the lost of the grandmother. Nevertheless, Will loved his grandmother and is extremely sad for her passing, but the passing of his grandmother places a strain on the relationship he has with his family especially his grandfather. Will looks up to his grandfather and hopes to be a lot like him. While Will thinks of his grandfather as a role model, he disagrees with some of his grandfather’s actions. Will would rather be a shopkeeper instead of a farmer like Rucker. He also does not agree with his grandfather wanting

This apprises the reader on how Margaret is kinda being bi-polar and how she just faked the whole thing about her being sad. By her crying, she indirectly professes that she cares about her husband but in reality she’s a brutal women who does really care about him.

For those who haven’t experienced loss yet, you might experience it sooner or later. Nina is a character from the novel Bone by Fae Myenne Ng. She goes through many stages of loss throughout the novel. These stages of loss are from Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s theory. Ona, another character from the novel, the middle sister out of three sisters, commits suicide and leaves her family in a hole. Using Kubler’s theory can explain deeper meaning in Ona’s death and in her family’s actions.

In the poem “Persimmons” Li-Young Lee leads us on a journey that bounces between childhood and adulthood. There is an undercurrent of divisiveness as Lee recounts moments from his time at school that conflict with the lessons he learns at home. Lee writes “Persimmons” as a stream of consciousness reflection of his youth and his struggle to reconcile his Chinese heritage with his American upbringing. He structures the poem to allow the audience to see these moments through his eyes and uses persimmons to show not only the emotional attachment that words have but as a symbol for the strained relationship Lee had with his white teacher Mrs. Walker. In reading the poem we gain a deeper understanding of Lee’s complicated relationship with the two worlds he finds himself in.

The loss of somebody or someone can lead to PTSD, which can later lead to other effects, and it is said that up to 20% of all adults in America who have experienced some type of loss develops PTSD. (BS-1) Towards the beginning of the novel Under the Persimmon Tree, there is a character named Najmah who loses the ability to speak and loses control of her life, as a result of Mada-jan and Habib’s loss. (BS-2) As an effect of Baba-jan and Nur missing from her life, Najmah changes her mindset and the decisions she makes from then on. (BS-3) Najmah’s relationships with others and voice is altered, this happens once she meets Nusrat and she adjusts due to her losses. (TS) Throughout the novel Under the Persimmon Tree, we see a character named

Helen’s death became a meaningful experience during Lily’s adulthood. Lily’s younger sister, Helen had found herself in an insecure position as a young pregnant woman where she considered herself no longer fitted in society. Instead, of moving back to her parents, she moves in with Lily where she could not do anything to prevent Helen from committing suicide. This demonstrates to the readers, how tough it was for Lily to lose her sister, knowing that she had a great and long life ahead of her. Instead of Lily doing what she enjoyed the most all she could think about was her sister’s death and feeling nothing but, hopelessness and, pain. The readers are able to note how significant this passage is because losing someone close and building good memories was a strong thing for Lily to let go. She preferred staying home in bed and there were even times where everything bothered her such as the birds chirping and the kids laughing, which made her considered in quitting her job as a teacher. In conclusion, as Lily slowly begins to recover,

Persimmons, by Li-Young Lee, is a poem that discusses many aspects of growing up in a split between two cultures. Lee is presumably the narrator of this poem and describes different aspects of him growing up between the lines of Chinese and American culture. This poem touches on the many ways Lee feels as he is growing up in American Culture and how that affects the Chinese Culture he has at home. Each stanza represents a different memory that describes an instance in which he feels as though he falls between the two cultures, not exactly pertaining to one or the other. Throughout the poem, we can see that Lee is struggling with this notion of losing his Chinese Culture. The poem begins where Lee is an outsider to American Culture, then

Linda Sue Park shows on page 65-66 how painful it is to loose someone who you were very close to. “Marial was gone. Uncle was gone... There is no one left to help me. They think I am weak and useless.

In chapter 19 of your book Edward deals with the loss of Sarah Ruth.Edward loses Sarah Ruth due to an illness.I have dealt with loss such as Edward did in chapter 19.I lost my dog/best friend to an infection.Due to the infection she couldn't walk or eat. I got Chivers when I was 3 and lost her when I was 13.That's a long time,she had grown on my whole family and nobody could believe what my dad had done.He put her down because he thought it was the best for her and I guess he was right. Edward and I don't deal with the same type of loss.I saw Chivers being put down from a mile away.Edward losing Sarah Ruth was a surprise. So she eventually had gotten very skinny and helpless and had to get put down so she would no longer suffer.

(AGG)Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “only in the darkness can you see the stars.” with this, Nusrat relates because the stars shined brighter in the darkness of Faiz’s death. (BS-1)In the book, Under The Persimmon Tree, Nusrats’ loved ones are related to the stars in her mind because she has a basic connection with the stars. (BS-2) Additionally, when Nusrat realizes Faiz is dead, the author uses stars to symbolize her loss of faith. (BS-3)Similarly, the author uses Nusrat’s connection to the stars to symbolize her loss of faith when she accepts Faiz is dead. (TS)Furthermore, at critical moments in Nusrat’s life, the author uses Nusrats’ connection with the stars to highlight how she loses faith.

(AGG) When losing someone you dearly love, your world is turned around, Nusrat shows us her journey through loss and healing in the chapters of this novel. (BS-1) First, Nusrat loses her sister, Margaret, and struggles after losing someone so close to her to later question her religion. (BS-2) Then, Nusrat disconnects with her parents slowly after she converts to Islam and begins to start a new life. (BS-3) Lastly, At the end Nusrat loses her husband, Faiz and begins to reconnect her relationship with her parents. (TS) In the novel Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples, Nusrat loses multiple important people who understand her the most, she has to cope with living without the people who have had such a positive impact on her

(AGG) Stars have always held a celestial view about them, whether it is relating to the goodness they bring, or the evil that follows. (BS-1) In Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples, both her main characters have connections through the stars, and the author uses this connection to provide a deeper meaning. (BS-2) She does the same when Najmah, the younger character, travels, using the stars to symbolize the guidance she looks for ever so often. (BS-3) The author continues to use symbolism of the stars to show hope, both when it comes in and when it departs. (TS) As consistently shown, Suzanne Fisher Staples uses the stars to provide a deeper meaning in the book Under the Persimmon Tree.

Violet Markey has lost her older sister (and best friend) in a fatal car crash on an icy bridge. She is overwhelmed by guilt, as she was the one who begged her sister to take her home, and told her to take the shortcut, ultimately leading to Eleanor’s death. When this happens, she loses friends and is afraid to make any, afraid she will lose them too. After losing Mitch, I also lost my Nana and Papa (grandmother and grandfather). My cousin, Dimity had bowel cancer and although she is alive and well now, it is still scary to think how close we were to losing her. This made me realize, unlike other people my age, how close death is in our everyday lives, and, unlike cartoon character, we cannot peel ourselves from the rubble and complete our quest or journey. Losing some of the major people in my life has, just like Violet, made me scared to let go of people and even more scared of letting them into my heart. However, just like with Violet, her friends help her world to grow.