Michael Ondattje
“Running In The Family”
Summary:
In the three short chapters, Ondattje recollected his past experiences in familiar environments and memories of and with his family. Additionally, he listened to his Aunt’s stories and learnt more about his family members and their relationships with each other.
Discussion Questions
- Since each country has a different perspective on family culture, is there a right or wrong way towards how each family member treat each other? E.g., Chinese families treat each other more coldly than Western families.
- Why are our minds structured in a way where we can’t, or at least diffuclt, to receive and/or focus on multiple things at the same time?
The chapter that made an indelible impression on me was the “Monsoon Notebook (ii)”, which talked about wildlife and how our minds tend to overlook elements that are hidden behind what we want to see. In my opinion, Ondattje did a great job at illustrating the visualization of animals living and crawling in and out of the house with incredibly vivid descriptions. One that I loved the most was “the snake came in like a king… as if taking the most civilized short cut to another street town”. Another thing that I liked about in this reading was in the “Jaffna Afternoons” where Ondattje described where he was sitting at the very moment by describing the route from the entrance.
David Wosnarowicz
“Postcards from America”
Summary:
David Wosnarowicz, a victim of AIDS, illustrated his anger towards the imperfect society and viewed life based on death. He stresses on how the society should reform and what the government should do in order to fulfill all individuals’ needs, emphasizing the disease he had.
Discussion Questions
- “Whole life is somewhat a preparation for the event of death”. If we attain this mindset, would all of us be more motivated to live our lives to the fullest?
- Are people who are more terrified about death be prone to believing in a religion that has the concept of an after life?
I partially agree with what Wosnarowicz said on “public disclosure of a private reality” in which “serves as a dismantling tool against the illusion of one tribe nation”. I agree with the point where when something immoral is revealed from a personal experience, more imperfections will show and as a result breaking the nation. On the other hand, there are some things where when shared to the public, there may be others sharing the same experience and could join together to raise awareness and find a solution to the situation.
