Summary:
As time has passed, Griet is becoming more comfortable around her master than when she started to work at the house. One day while cleaning she saw a small box and she curious about it since she did not know what it was. But she did not know that her master was leaning in the door checking what he was doing, when he saw the curiosity in her face, he asked her if she wanted to look in it and explained her that it was a camera obscura. When she looked in it she was amazed by what she since she did not expect to see anything interesting in it.When Griet was buying the meat for the family, Pieter, the butcher's son told her that the plague was was in the quarter where her family lived and that a quarantine has not been set yet. She went to the house where she worked and asked for permission to go see her family but it was denied. Catharina did not let her go so she could not bring the plague back with her, then she was not permitted to go visit her house on Sundays until the plague was gone. Another day, she went to buy the meat as she does it daily, and Pieter, the son, told her that her family was good but that Agnes, her sister, was very ill. On Sunday, she went to see her brother, Frans who did not know anything about the plague then they went to church and prayed for their family. The master had finish his painting, and it was sold to van Ruijven. When she went to the Meat Hall that morning she found out that the quarantine had been lifted so she quickly went to visit her family. At the end of that summer, her sister died. She started to visit every Sunday again as she has done it before but it was not the same, Agnes' absence was noticeable. Pieter, the son had showed interest in Griet but she did not return it back. One Sunday, when Griet was returning from visiting her parents, she found out that Catharina was in labor. She had a baby boy who they named Franciscus. They were going to do a birth feast to Franciscus. The maids had 10 days to prepared for it which consisted of cleaning and cooking. It was a hard job, and even though they assigned two more maids to help them, Griet was exhausted. During the feast, van Ruijven told her master that he should paint Griet and this made him frown. After the feast, the house was back to normal. One year has already passed since Griet started working on the house. It was 1665, and Griet was going to turn 17. Griet had been assisting her master by buying stuff for him and helping him while he painted, but no one knew about it. After Franciscus birth, they had to hire a nurse to help Catharina take care of the child. The nurse had to sleep with Tanneke, but she was not too happy about it. One day she went to talk to Catharina and complain about it so Griet's master gave the idea that Griet should sleep in the attic and Tanneke in what was Griet's room. Catharina was surprised by this because the maids were not allowed in there. But Griet knew that he did it on purpose because that way she could help him without the people in the house noticing it. But this changed one day when Maria thins found out about it, but she did not say anything.
Quote:
"He placed his hand over mine. The shock of his touch made me drop the muller, which rolled off the table and fell on the floor" (Chevalier 103).
Reaction:
When I read this quote, curiosity comes in. I wonder if something is going to happen between Griet and her master now that she is spending so much time with him. Not only this but the way she reacted when he touched her made me wonder if she feels something for him. The problem is that if she does this can bring trouble for her and she could be fired. This is the worst thing that can happen because her father cant work and support the family. Also Catharina already hates her, by knowing this her anger will just grow more. This quote just bring a lot of questions to my head and persuades me to keep reading the book to find out what is really happening and understand more what is going on between Griet and her master.
Girl with a Pearl Earring (Pgs 1-58)
Summary:
This book is in the first person. The narrator is Griet, a 16 years old girl that had to go to work in order to help her family. At the beginning of the book, the setting is in Griet's house when Catharena and her husband went to see her to see if she could work for them. During those pages we are told that Griet's father is blind because where he used to work an explosion occurred and he was the lucky one that is still alive while the others died. After their visit, Griet was informed that she was going to go to their house the next day. It was hard for her because she had never left her house before until now and more to a house of people that had different beliefs than her. When she got there she met the children, Johannes, Cornelia, Aleydis, Maertge and Lisbeth. Quite of a big family and another was on the way. She was received by Maria, the grandmother, mother of Catharena. Ironically, but the mother was so much different than the daughter. Tanneke, one of the other maids showed Griet where herr room was and told her all the tasks she was assigned to do. One of her tasks was to clean the studio, but she had to be careful because she could not move anything out of its place. In the days she was working in the house, she had not seen Catharena's husband, until one day that she was cleaning the studio and he was watching her. When Griet went to visit her family on Sunday, she told everything about her job, and she was starting to feel weird in her house because she has already accustomed to the house she worked in. Later in the week, Tanneke told Griet that the family barely have money to pay her, she was surprised because the lifestyle they live din does not show that. Also that Catharena keeps having babies because she wants to fill the house with babies since she cannot have all the servants she wants. They barely have money because her husband only paints like 3 paintings in a year and it does not give them a lot of money.
Quote:
"She had the manner of someone used to looking after those less able than she—of looking after Catharina. I understood now why I had been brought to her rather than her daughter" (Chevalier 18).
Reaction:
By reading this quote I can hypothesize that not everyone is going to be nice to Griet. This is a new way of life for her since she has not worked anywhere before. Since the beginning of the book Catharina did not seem as a nice person when they went to see Griet when they were looking for a maid. But not everyone at the house was mean to her, even the daughters of Catharina were being nice to but she still needed to watch out because you never know what is going to happen next. even if Catharena is bad and rude to Griet, she has to do her best to try to keep her job because she is working in that house in order to help her family.
Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood (Pgs 289-360)
Summary:
The book is coming to an end, but things are not getting good at all. That night Sammy had a dream that he was seating in front of his porch and he saw everyone passing by even his mother and Juliana waving him. He wanted to go hug Juliana but she was gone. Then the next day Sammy felt that something was bothering him the whole day. After School he was in Mrs. Apodaca's garden when he sees Rene's car pull up in front of his house and Gigi came out crying. It was Pifas, he was dead. Somehow Sammy knew this from the beginning, when he saw Pifas going away. Now Pifas was coming back in a coffin. The day after his funeral, Sammy had another dream where he saw Juliana again but this time she had someone with her, it was Pifas. He could see that he did not have any hands and that he was sad. Even though Pifas was short, he had big hands which he lost in the war. His body was buried in Hollywood while his hands were in Vietnam. Graduation was here and it was not the big deal. They have planned to spend the whole night partying but it did not happened that way. Rene took them to an abandoned farm at the back of the school where he had prepared a table where he had some bottles of wine, and plastic glasses. There was even chips. This was Rene's gift to his friend and even though they did not spend it partying they had a good time. One day Sammy was at work when they called him telling him that his father had an accident. His father was unconscious and they had to take his leg off. Sammy said he did not care about the leg, and that he just wanted his father to be alive. Things started to change even with Sammy's friends, Rene left because he was drafted, Gigi and Charlie formed a band and they moved to California and Sammy did not see them again. The night Gigi left Sammy went to the river and started to think about what his life has come to, he was a lost boy now, he did not have any friends, he had lost them. Pifas, Jaime, Angel, Rene, Juliana and Gigi, all of them they were gone. Now they were on their own and Sammy had to find a way to do the same no matter how much he missed them. Mrs. Apodaca was sick, she was not the same, her strength has gone away. Before she died she had a talk with Sammy and gave him a letter to give to her daughter Gabriela, who was now living with them, when she was older so she could know how she came from Mexico. Also she told Sammy to go to her house and look for a picture that she had with his mother. That night Sammy could not sleep so he went to her house and hold on to the picture until he fell asleep. Sammy still hears from Jaime. Eric finally responded to his letters and they got back together but then Eric was killed in a car , . Sammy's father also died one night when he got up at the middle of the night to get a drink of water and he had a stroke. The book ends with Sammy thinking back when he was a boy and he fell in love with Juliana. He also starts to remember how hos sister Elena, used to always ask him if he could be anybody , who he would be? He never had an answer back then but now he does. He would Jesus Christ and will go to all the graves of the people he loved and raised all of them back to life and hug then and kiss them and never let them go. By doing this he will be the happiest man in the world.
Quote:
"Things never end the way you expect them to. We start off down one road—toward a place we've picked out on a map. A place we've spent years imagining. Then something happens. And everything changes. (Sáenz 307)
Reaction:
This book was a coming of age book, and at the end we can see how Sammy, the narrator, grew up and learned a lot of stuff along the way from all the experiences he had and what happened to his friends. Death is basically the main idea of this book because most of the people Sammy loved the most died but most importantly he always learn something at the end. When I read this quote, it makes me think that no matter how perfect people want their life to be, or just they imagined it when they stated to develop common sense it does not end up the way you expected it to be. There are certain things that are going to come in the way that are going to force you to change the way you have planned it to be. But at the end, that's life and the things that happens just make you stronger and you always learn something from that certain experience.
The book is coming to an end, but things are not getting good at all. That night Sammy had a dream that he was seating in front of his porch and he saw everyone passing by even his mother and Juliana waving him. He wanted to go hug Juliana but she was gone. Then the next day Sammy felt that something was bothering him the whole day. After School he was in Mrs. Apodaca's garden when he sees Rene's car pull up in front of his house and Gigi came out crying. It was Pifas, he was dead. Somehow Sammy knew this from the beginning, when he saw Pifas going away. Now Pifas was coming back in a coffin. The day after his funeral, Sammy had another dream where he saw Juliana again but this time she had someone with her, it was Pifas. He could see that he did not have any hands and that he was sad. Even though Pifas was short, he had big hands which he lost in the war. His body was buried in Hollywood while his hands were in Vietnam. Graduation was here and it was not the big deal. They have planned to spend the whole night partying but it did not happened that way. Rene took them to an abandoned farm at the back of the school where he had prepared a table where he had some bottles of wine, and plastic glasses. There was even chips. This was Rene's gift to his friend and even though they did not spend it partying they had a good time. One day Sammy was at work when they called him telling him that his father had an accident. His father was unconscious and they had to take his leg off. Sammy said he did not care about the leg, and that he just wanted his father to be alive. Things started to change even with Sammy's friends, Rene left because he was drafted, Gigi and Charlie formed a band and they moved to California and Sammy did not see them again. The night Gigi left Sammy went to the river and started to think about what his life has come to, he was a lost boy now, he did not have any friends, he had lost them. Pifas, Jaime, Angel, Rene, Juliana and Gigi, all of them they were gone. Now they were on their own and Sammy had to find a way to do the same no matter how much he missed them. Mrs. Apodaca was sick, she was not the same, her strength has gone away. Before she died she had a talk with Sammy and gave him a letter to give to her daughter Gabriela, who was now living with them, when she was older so she could know how she came from Mexico. Also she told Sammy to go to her house and look for a picture that she had with his mother. That night Sammy could not sleep so he went to her house and hold on to the picture until he fell asleep. Sammy still hears from Jaime. Eric finally responded to his letters and they got back together but then Eric was killed in a car , . Sammy's father also died one night when he got up at the middle of the night to get a drink of water and he had a stroke. The book ends with Sammy thinking back when he was a boy and he fell in love with Juliana. He also starts to remember how hos sister Elena, used to always ask him if he could be anybody , who he would be? He never had an answer back then but now he does. He would Jesus Christ and will go to all the graves of the people he loved and raised all of them back to life and hug then and kiss them and never let them go. By doing this he will be the happiest man in the world.
Quote:
"Things never end the way you expect them to. We start off down one road—toward a place we've picked out on a map. A place we've spent years imagining. Then something happens. And everything changes. (Sáenz 307)
Reaction:
This book was a coming of age book, and at the end we can see how Sammy, the narrator, grew up and learned a lot of stuff along the way from all the experiences he had and what happened to his friends. Death is basically the main idea of this book because most of the people Sammy loved the most died but most importantly he always learn something at the end. When I read this quote, it makes me think that no matter how perfect people want their life to be, or just they imagined it when they stated to develop common sense it does not end up the way you expected it to be. There are certain things that are going to come in the way that are going to force you to change the way you have planned it to be. But at the end, that's life and the things that happens just make you stronger and you always learn something from that certain experience.
Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood (Pgs 217-288)
Summary:
Things are not good in school because most of the teachers kind of hate him. Every little mistake he makes, it is like the end of the world for the teachers. Sammy, Gigi, and Rene have been having detentions because they were not obeying the dress code. So Gigi brought the idea that they should do a student's strike but Sammy did not like the idea and he refused to help them. One night, Mrs. Espinoza went to Sammy's house asking for his son, Reyes. Sammy told her that he was going to help her and will go out and find him. Sammy went to get Rene so he could help him. They finally found Reyes, who was on the floor dead because of an heroine overdose. During the Reyes funeral, Sammy went to Juliana's grave and started to tell her what has happened after she died. One day, Sammy got lonely and he decided to visit Rene's house. Rene's mother told him that she thinks his son was into drugs but Sammy lied to her bu telling her that he was not. So that night, he asked his father to borrow his car and he went to look for Rene. Sammy found him on the river, but Rene refused to go with him. They fought. Then Rene asked Sammy if he was okay and that he should leave. Sammy went to the car but then came back and grabbed Rene and told him that he should stop. Sammy was not planning in losing someone else. He had lost his mother because of cancer, he lost Juliana because to a bullet and he could not forget her, he lost Jaime because of an exile that he could not understand, and he lost Pifas to the army. Sammy was running out of people to loose so he decided to make a change. Now that he has found Rene, he was determined to find Gigi so that night he called her and told her that he was going to help them with the strike. At first the strike was successful but then it turned into a chaos, even the police came. But at the end they were not really in trouble because they were trying to make their voices heard. Sammy received letters from Jaime and Pifas. Jaime's letter said that he was doing okay and that he has written a lot of letters to Eric but he has not replied back. Pifas's letter, basically said the same and it also said that he really loved Gigi and that when he comes back from Vietnam he was going to marry her. He sent her a letter asking her to marry with him , but she did not know what to say so she consulted with Sammy, Angel and Rene, and they told her that she should lie to him by saying that she will because he is already in the war he does not need more suffering. Gigi was going out with Charlie so she decided to tell him that she was going out with him when he comes back.
Things are not good in school because most of the teachers kind of hate him. Every little mistake he makes, it is like the end of the world for the teachers. Sammy, Gigi, and Rene have been having detentions because they were not obeying the dress code. So Gigi brought the idea that they should do a student's strike but Sammy did not like the idea and he refused to help them. One night, Mrs. Espinoza went to Sammy's house asking for his son, Reyes. Sammy told her that he was going to help her and will go out and find him. Sammy went to get Rene so he could help him. They finally found Reyes, who was on the floor dead because of an heroine overdose. During the Reyes funeral, Sammy went to Juliana's grave and started to tell her what has happened after she died. One day, Sammy got lonely and he decided to visit Rene's house. Rene's mother told him that she thinks his son was into drugs but Sammy lied to her bu telling her that he was not. So that night, he asked his father to borrow his car and he went to look for Rene. Sammy found him on the river, but Rene refused to go with him. They fought. Then Rene asked Sammy if he was okay and that he should leave. Sammy went to the car but then came back and grabbed Rene and told him that he should stop. Sammy was not planning in losing someone else. He had lost his mother because of cancer, he lost Juliana because to a bullet and he could not forget her, he lost Jaime because of an exile that he could not understand, and he lost Pifas to the army. Sammy was running out of people to loose so he decided to make a change. Now that he has found Rene, he was determined to find Gigi so that night he called her and told her that he was going to help them with the strike. At first the strike was successful but then it turned into a chaos, even the police came. But at the end they were not really in trouble because they were trying to make their voices heard. Sammy received letters from Jaime and Pifas. Jaime's letter said that he was doing okay and that he has written a lot of letters to Eric but he has not replied back. Pifas's letter, basically said the same and it also said that he really loved Gigi and that when he comes back from Vietnam he was going to marry her. He sent her a letter asking her to marry with him , but she did not know what to say so she consulted with Sammy, Angel and Rene, and they told her that she should lie to him by saying that she will because he is already in the war he does not need more suffering. Gigi was going out with Charlie so she decided to tell him that she was going out with him when he comes back.
Quote:
"Something broke in me. Something broke. But that something needed to be broken. It did. Sometimes you have to tear something down so you can build something new" (Sáenz 250).
Reaction:
When I read this quote, the first thing that comes to my mind is that Sammy is starting to grow up and become a man. He is starting to realize this as he starts to understand that life is hard and is not the color of roses. A lot of things are happening to Sammy, first Juliana dies which affected him a lot, school is not good at all, Pifas is in Vietnam fighting in the war, Reyes died because of heroine overdose. So when I analyze this quote it makes me think that in order for someone to grow up they have to lost the things that they really loved so they can appreciate what they have and not waste their lives in doing stuff that will bring trouble to them. Sammy is becoming to a man and he is starting to realize things on his own such as knowing the limits of what is right and wrong so he does not regret his actions at the end.