美高学生是这样阅读的

读原版书的习惯对我影响颇深

如何“分解”一本书

1）本章节的大标题。主要讲了什么？提到了什么社会性问题吗？

2）人物表现。可以用修饰性的词语，或者把自己对人物的想法写下来。本书以Kambili的生活为线索，在她的经历中我们对很多人物都有了想法。原本胆小懦弱、没有独立性的Kambili，后来因为受到自己性格刚强、独立自主的阿姨Aunty Ifeoma的影响而做出改变。同样胆小懦弱的母亲Mama Beatrice；崇尚白人文化、宗教狂热、实施家暴的父亲Papa Eugene；渴望自由的哥哥Jaja；一开始误解Kambili，以为她是典型富家女的Amaka；Kambili的心上人，比她大很多的牧师Father Amadi…… 随着这些人物的推动，故事背后反映的问题也逐渐浮出水面。

3）任何问题都可以写下来，我们都可以去辩论。

English Final: Home Away from Home

They say home is the safe harbor for all lost boats. However, stray boats can always encounter the possibility of finding happiness outside the boundaries their home has dictated for them.

In Purple Hibiscus by Adichie, the shy and unsocial protagonist Kambili finds happiness and laughter in Aunty Ifeoma’s house, far away from her father’s abuse back in Enugu.

In Persepolis by Satrapi, the precocious and outspoken Marji eventually realizes her home in Iran is not the place to find her own freedom. Both of these girls do not have a perfect home, violence and repression surrounds where they come from. Initially they strive to survive and stay, yet as time goes on and they encounter reality in the outside world, the meaning of “home” changes for them both.

Both Kambili and Marji are into rich and seemingly perfect families with strong western influences. Papa Eugene in Purple Hisbicus practically worships white people because he thinks they are more connected to God. His thoughts influence his children and his own actions, as he does not allow them to “see sin and walk right into it” (Adichie 194).

Domestic abuse occurs in this family of four when the children don’t follow Papa’s rules, or when they don’t follow God’s rules. An instance in the book is when Jaja and Mama break the Eucharistic Fast for Kambili to eat something before taking her pain meds for cramps. Papa, however, does not understand Kambili’s pain and begins to hit her with his belt while yelling “Has the devil asked you all to go on errands for him?” (Adichie102)

Later they all changed and walk into church pretending like they are the perfect family. On the other hand, in Persepolis, Marji has more permissive parents than Kambili who are just as influenced by Western societal ideals as Papa Eugene. Marji’s parents party and drink just like Westerners, despite the heavy government repression. On the outside, the whole family follows the rules in Iran, but they are secretly rebelling against what the government opposes on people.

This sends a message to Marji saying that freedom is out there if you want it. This is further reflected when the teenage Marji narrates “I put my posters up in my room, I put my 1983 nikes on and my denim jackets with the Michael Jackson button, and of course, my headscarf.” (Satrapi 131)

We can clearly see that Marji is strongly influenced by her western idols while she must obey laws in Iran. Freedom at home is restricted for both Kambili and Marji. Their background does not allow them to express themselves freely as they witness the bewildering contrast of their public life and home life.

Both Kambili and Marji experience changes in society and go through revolutions. Purple Hibiscus offers less details about the revolution in Nigeria but rather focuses on police corruption and brutality. However, it is still evident that this affects Kambili’s life.

Papa Eugene owns a newspaper company that writes the truth about the government. His editor-in-chief, Ade Coker, is bombed for a revealing article he writes. Kimball describes Papa after the incident as “crumpled on a sofa in the living room, sobbing.” (Adichie 206)

Kambili not only witnesses the loss of lives, she also sees when Papa throws wads of money to policemen and guards to stay out of trouble.

Kambili strongly wishes to change the state of things especially when a few men come to raid Aunty Ifeoma’s house with no permission and evidence. She is indignant with her country and wishes to change that, but she can’t.

Meanwhile, Marji is also influenced by the revolution in her country. Her family’s discussion of politics leads her to subconsciously eager to read and learn about what is happening around her. Marji is rather curious and inquisitive, especially when her uncle Anoosh, a recent prisoner, is let out. Marji adores anyone who is a “hero”.Stories about the revolution are considered bedtime stories for her. She bothers her uncle with thousands of questions about his personal and political life such as “Are you married? Do you have children? How old are you?” (Satrapi 54).

While Marji marches about the living room screaming political slogans, her parents do not allow her to attend demonstrations. Little Marji wishes to make Iran a better place, only she does not know how to.

Both Kambili and Marji are forcefully put in a completely different environment where they must learn how to fit in. Kambili and Jaja are invited by their Aunty Ifeoma to visit for a while.

Kambili does not know how to deal with a household full of laughter because her own house is always so restricted to religion and abuse. She struggles to fit in at first. She only talks when asked and does not stand up for herself when her cousin Amaka makes fun of Kambili’s background by saying “maybe it is not as good as the fancy rice she eats at home.” (Adichie 120)

Aunty Ifeoma’s house is the sudden freedom that Kambili encounters, and the readers see that she does not know how to handle it. As time progresses, the once abused and shut down Kambili begins to open up. We see this when she tries on lipstick, not only to be more like her strong and independent aunt, but also to impress Father Amadi, whom she has a crush on.

She admits: “I felt the smile start to creep over my face, stretching my lips and cheeks, an embarrassed and amused smile.” (Adichie 177) The narration may seem strange at first, but considering that Kambili has never laughed in her own restrictive household, it is a rare and delightful opportunity for Kambili to smile.

Nonetheless, in Persepolis, Marji is forced to move to Paris as her home is no longer a safe place to live. She also struggles to fit in with her roommates and classmates and begins to run with the wrong crowd. She rebels by changing her whole image while denying her nationality.

On the inside, however, she reveals: “the harder I tried to assimilate, the more I had the feeling that I was distancing myself from my culture, betraying my parents and my origins, that I was playing a game by somebody else’s rules.” (Satrapi 193) Marji feels immensely guilty on the inside for her cowardice and betrayal, as she puts up on armor on the outside to pretend like everything is fine as she lives in a strange country.

As they return home, both Kambili and Marji begin to feel unsafe. Kambili copes with returning to her abusive father by secretly keeping a painting of her Papa- Nnukwu. Even when Papa pours boiling water onto her feet, she thinks only about the painting of Papa-Nnukwu and Amaka’s laugh. Kambili begins to realize that her life is horrible, but her happiness left in Aunty Ifeoms’a house can negate all the abuse she receives from Papa Eugene.

Marji has a harder time coping with home in Persepolis. Fearing that her family and friends know about her failure in Europe, she tries her best to leave her past behind. However, as reality catches up and she faces the swarming questions around her, Marji falls into depression and attempts suicide for her disappointing past. Yet the fact that she does not die proves to her that she is “not made to die.” (Satrapi 273)

Marji completely changes her image to a mature and attractive woman. She eventually stands up for herself and women everywhere by going against the administration of her college and saying “why is it that I, as a woman, am expected to feel nothing…” (Satrapi 297)

Even so, at the end of the book, Marji knows that Iran is not the place for her, and leaves without ever going back again. Kambili and Marji are both suddenly transferred into reality where they learn that home is not what it seems to be before they left.

The two protagonists go through a fast-paced, chaotic change of events, which finally brings them to see that the meaning of “home” has changed. It’s not where you are born, it’s where you belong.

Kambili receives clarification for the fact that she doesn’t have to be perfect and life isn’t all about straight A’s and attending church services. Marji come to the realization that freedom is not at home in Iran and she must pursue her life elsewhere.

Personally, I relate to the fact that home can change its meaning. I come from a place where for a long time I couldn’t find what I wanted in life. The realities and detriments in the education system and government eventually caught up with me.

For a long time, I felt so suffocated that I realized I no longer belonged there and I had to leave. Eventually I packed up and ventured towards a place where I felt like I could find myself and be true to myself.

To me, Shanghai has a more literal meaning of “home”. I was born there, I lived there, my parents are from there. Yet I no longer feel safe under the bright city lights. I am faced with hundreds of people like Marji when I return home. In my head, Thacher is more emotionally attached to the word “home”. As I always like to say, I’m home away from home.