Title: Yoruba Girl Dancing
Author: Simi Bedford
Page 82 to 121
Summary
Matron Bacon was responsible of Remi until the school would begin. Matron is the nurse of the school and was cold toward the narrator. For an entire week, Remi felt depressed and lonely. However, as the other girls came, the loneliness vanished. Many girls were interested in Remi because of her peculiar appearance. Remi was different than them. Her roommates are Jessica, Anita, Minnie, and Sarah. Anita was a bit naïve by saying “the black rubs off,” which means the color of Remi will dirty the skin of others. Due to her racist statement, the rest of the girls were afraid to play with Remi. But, the other roommates besides Anita did not mind Remi’s appearance. Other girls inquired Remi about her family and her country. That made Remi missed her family even more. She became quite popular in school. During the holidays, Remi went to her guardians’ house. Her guardians are Uncle Theo and Aunt Betty. Both had two children, Gerald and Maureen. Remi became close to Gerald. Gerald was the leader of the Stanley Terrace gang. Mostly, the gang members would play with each other. Four years had gone by; Remi learned a lot about herself. She learned the meaning of “darkie” and how the “whites” dislike her. She became more mature, yet her self-esteem deteriorated which led to the low grades and several fights in school. The letters received from her family back in Africa described many changes the narrator had missed such as the birth of two other siblings and the death of her dear Baba Cook. She wanted to go home so badly, but her father denied her wish. During the holidays came, she stayed with her guardians. Ironically, she fell in love with Gerald. Gerald only saw her as playmate or a friend. He was a tyrant since he always chose what to play which angered Remi. Anyhow, all her relatives decided to travel and stayed in a hotel. All had fun except Remi, she missed her family.
Quote
“Jessica and my friends at school said that I was now so English it was impossible to imagine that I had actually been born in Africa. This was true, but it was also true that I now understood what a darkie was and a native and a savage” (Bedford 98).
Reaction
During these pages, the narrator became more mature and more down to earth. Her naïve and innocent personality dissolves into a more open-minded one. Now, Remi realized her differences with other people. Her reality about her father’s leaving her in England and her statue as a black girl. The quote above gives the idea of Remi no longer being a child. She is becoming an adult from the last four years staying in England. Right now, she is eleven years old. She is reflecting about life and reality. Remi left the “Kingdom of Childhood” (Reference to one of Stephenie Meyer’s books) after her grandfather had died (I forgot to mention that in my first post >.<).
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Yoruba Girl Dancing (Page 41-81)
Title: Yoruba Girl Dancing
Author: Simi Bedford
Page 41-81
Summary
Several days had passed after Remi’s grandfather’s funeral. At last, Bigmama came to visit the depressed Foster family. Bigmama was the ex-wife of Remi’s grandfather. She apologized of being sick and unable to come to the funeral. Remi’s described the complex atmosphere between her two grandmothers. Anyhow, the awkward silence ceased by Remi’s grandma curious questions about England. Bigmama’s responds described how magnificent life in England was that Remi’s father thought of an idea, the idea to send Remi study abroad in an English boarding school. Remi had no other choice but to please her father. According to the story, studying abroad was a great privilege and honored her family’s name. But, Remi felt depressed to apart from her family. On the other hand, there were three people that came with her to England. They were Bigmama, Aunt Sylvia and Aunt Grace. With the help of her step-grandmother, Bigmama, Remi managed to pack her belongings and departed from Africa at the age of six. After Remi arrived in London, she was with Bigmama several days. Remi met Bigmama’s older sister Aunt Madge and her husband Uncle Reg. Apparently; Remi narrated how wonderful they were and how deep she became attach to them. Then, Bigmama made several arrangement for Remi’s stay in her new school such as buying the uniform and leaving her with Aunt Grace. Aunt Grace became an art college student. She was responsible of Remi. Both of them came to Remi’s new school, it was isolated and obscure. After all, they came a week earlier for the classes to start. Aunt Grace had no other choice but to leave Remi with Miss Bowles, headmistress, and Miss Valentine, vice-headmistress. Since Grace was a busy college student and other relatives were also busy to take care of her for a week. Therefore, Remi remained in the lonely and cold school until the school would actually begin.
Quote
“People here will find it very odd that I should be your grandmother, because you are black and I am white…from now on I want you to call me Aunty” (Bedford 61).
Reaction
With Bedford’s great descriptions of Remi’s experience of moving into a new country, England, the storyline becomes more interesting. The plot is chronological. The narrator’s mood turns deep and realistic. About the six year old Remi moving to England and acknowledging a new culture is hard for her. The new atmosphere and the cold weather have enticed her to miss her sweet and warm home in Africa. The quote above foreshadows miseries to the narrator. Since the narrator is a young African girl staying in an England. The quote describes Bigmama’s concern about their apperance in public. Basically, Bigmama puts a border between them while they are in the public. She embarrass to walk with Remi. Racism and discrimination will become a theme in the book. Remi will encounter conflicts with her classmates because of her unique appearance.
Author: Simi Bedford
Page 41-81
Summary
Several days had passed after Remi’s grandfather’s funeral. At last, Bigmama came to visit the depressed Foster family. Bigmama was the ex-wife of Remi’s grandfather. She apologized of being sick and unable to come to the funeral. Remi’s described the complex atmosphere between her two grandmothers. Anyhow, the awkward silence ceased by Remi’s grandma curious questions about England. Bigmama’s responds described how magnificent life in England was that Remi’s father thought of an idea, the idea to send Remi study abroad in an English boarding school. Remi had no other choice but to please her father. According to the story, studying abroad was a great privilege and honored her family’s name. But, Remi felt depressed to apart from her family. On the other hand, there were three people that came with her to England. They were Bigmama, Aunt Sylvia and Aunt Grace. With the help of her step-grandmother, Bigmama, Remi managed to pack her belongings and departed from Africa at the age of six. After Remi arrived in London, she was with Bigmama several days. Remi met Bigmama’s older sister Aunt Madge and her husband Uncle Reg. Apparently; Remi narrated how wonderful they were and how deep she became attach to them. Then, Bigmama made several arrangement for Remi’s stay in her new school such as buying the uniform and leaving her with Aunt Grace. Aunt Grace became an art college student. She was responsible of Remi. Both of them came to Remi’s new school, it was isolated and obscure. After all, they came a week earlier for the classes to start. Aunt Grace had no other choice but to leave Remi with Miss Bowles, headmistress, and Miss Valentine, vice-headmistress. Since Grace was a busy college student and other relatives were also busy to take care of her for a week. Therefore, Remi remained in the lonely and cold school until the school would actually begin.
Quote
“People here will find it very odd that I should be your grandmother, because you are black and I am white…from now on I want you to call me Aunty” (Bedford 61).
Reaction
With Bedford’s great descriptions of Remi’s experience of moving into a new country, England, the storyline becomes more interesting. The plot is chronological. The narrator’s mood turns deep and realistic. About the six year old Remi moving to England and acknowledging a new culture is hard for her. The new atmosphere and the cold weather have enticed her to miss her sweet and warm home in Africa. The quote above foreshadows miseries to the narrator. Since the narrator is a young African girl staying in an England. The quote describes Bigmama’s concern about their apperance in public. Basically, Bigmama puts a border between them while they are in the public. She embarrass to walk with Remi. Racism and discrimination will become a theme in the book. Remi will encounter conflicts with her classmates because of her unique appearance.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Yoruba Girl Dancing (Page 1- 40)
Title: Yoruba Girl Dancing
Author: Simi Bedford
Page 1-40
Summary
The protagonist of the story is Remi Foster. She was a young African girl that was born in a wealthy African family. Her grandparents were taking care of her while her busy parents were traveling because of business. Remi has three nannies and was adored by her grandparents, which were respected by the people in their huge home. There were about thirty individuals in the house. Every morning, Remi read a book and talked to her grandpa about events occurring in Lagos, the setting. Her grandpa is a wealthy merchant. His role was to maintain the house stable. She told him about her Sisi Bola’s marriage with Akin Ojo, a wealthy man. As the story proceeded, the narrator described how the family history of the Fosters was, such as the three traditional Church meetings on Sundays and the complex relation about her grandparents. After Sisi Bola marriage ceremony ended, Remi returned with her parents to Enugu. Her family was her parents, a brother, a baby, several servants, and herself. They all live happily. Except, the news of her dear grandpa died right after sometime had passed from the wedding. Many people visited the widow, grandma, which seem over dramatic about her husband’s death. At the end, the narrator foreshadowed that her life would not be the same.
Quote
“The music poured through our veins and we flowed with the beat, each separated portion of our bodies winding and unwinding seamlessly as if we had no bones” (Bedford 26).
Reaction
Simi Bedford’s writing style was full of imagery. The great descriptions of Remi's family and her life. Her exposition of the story was complex for the reason she introduced way too many characters at once, similar To Kill A Mockingbird (but worst). The book started with way too many information of her family and traditions. However, the quote above has a great sense of imagery. It came from Remi's thoughts about the great wedding celebration of her cousin, Sisi Bola. Someone can tell the party was enjoyable and fun. Anyhow, the narrator mentioned too many characters which distract the reader of who she was talking about. The author needs to organize a little bit of her exposition of characters. The narration is in first person point of view. So far the story is fine, not that great yet.
Author: Simi Bedford
Page 1-40
Summary
The protagonist of the story is Remi Foster. She was a young African girl that was born in a wealthy African family. Her grandparents were taking care of her while her busy parents were traveling because of business. Remi has three nannies and was adored by her grandparents, which were respected by the people in their huge home. There were about thirty individuals in the house. Every morning, Remi read a book and talked to her grandpa about events occurring in Lagos, the setting. Her grandpa is a wealthy merchant. His role was to maintain the house stable. She told him about her Sisi Bola’s marriage with Akin Ojo, a wealthy man. As the story proceeded, the narrator described how the family history of the Fosters was, such as the three traditional Church meetings on Sundays and the complex relation about her grandparents. After Sisi Bola marriage ceremony ended, Remi returned with her parents to Enugu. Her family was her parents, a brother, a baby, several servants, and herself. They all live happily. Except, the news of her dear grandpa died right after sometime had passed from the wedding. Many people visited the widow, grandma, which seem over dramatic about her husband’s death. At the end, the narrator foreshadowed that her life would not be the same.
Quote
“The music poured through our veins and we flowed with the beat, each separated portion of our bodies winding and unwinding seamlessly as if we had no bones” (Bedford 26).
Reaction
Simi Bedford’s writing style was full of imagery. The great descriptions of Remi's family and her life. Her exposition of the story was complex for the reason she introduced way too many characters at once, similar To Kill A Mockingbird (but worst). The book started with way too many information of her family and traditions. However, the quote above has a great sense of imagery. It came from Remi's thoughts about the great wedding celebration of her cousin, Sisi Bola. Someone can tell the party was enjoyable and fun. Anyhow, the narrator mentioned too many characters which distract the reader of who she was talking about. The author needs to organize a little bit of her exposition of characters. The narration is in first person point of view. So far the story is fine, not that great yet.
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