Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Briar Rose (post 2)


So, I've read a bit more and...

Chapters 4-6

Throughout chapter four I've learned a lot. Most of which doesn't have to do with the book or the fairy tale that the book is based off of, but of the Jewish culture. Gemma has now passed away and Becca and her family are holding a funeral service, and the customs that Yolen has worked into the story have really sparked my interest. I wasn't aware that when a funeral is being held Jewish people put drapes over there mirrors, and better yet I didn't know why. Also, I've learned that it is a great honor to shovel dirt into someones grave when they die. I found these websites: this and here which give an idea of Jewish funeral customs.

What I discovered about the story in these chapters is that Gemma, has many aliases and none of her family members know her actual name, not even her only daughter. She didn't have a husband only a single daughter who has had three daughters. Not allowing her to pass on her name, but only a fairy tale. It's like Sleeping Beauty where the curse is that Briar Rose cannot pass on her name.

The family finds a box that belonged to Gemma and in it are many random items varying from photos, to news paper clippings, to random documents none of which connect Gemma to the life she said she lived. For example, she told her family that she came to America in the beginning of the second world war, however a document of immigration dating 1944 which would mean she came to America in the middle of the war.

Maybe in Gemma's eyes she was indeed little Briar Rose, the girl who was awoken while everyone around her slept and never awoke...an endless sleep...maybe that's where she lost her parents and siblings? That's if she had any...

We'll see...
Nicole
=]

1 comment:

LauKizzle08 said...

hey nicole its always cool to have someone else on the blog but my essential question has to do with why people have such problems with self perception and how the human psyche relates to how people perceive themselves and how they perceive others and how others perceive them.