Reflections on a Year of Reading Canadian Literature
Books Read:
A House In The Sky by Amanda Lindhout
A Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Atwood
The Room by Emma Donoghue
Overall my book generally had the same theme of survival. Each book that was about a dilemma which included a strong female that had to overcome a struggle that was a danger to their lives. Which shows that Canada sees the empowerment of women and puts them is strong characters in their books. Also even though it is a different country I honestly didn’t feel any disconnect in culture. It was actually very similar to the united states literature and didn’t have any symbols or langue I didn’t understand which made reading very simple. I actually noticed that each book included hidden symbolism which had the read like myself to have to think while reading which some America book gives you the main the theme which these books maybe me think. Another theme I found in these books is that in every bad story there is a happy ending which is very endearing which is truly inspiring and made me want to continue to read which some American book do not do that for me. I would read more Canadian books if I get a chance due to the easier understanding on the books and the messages that they bring.
What I learned about life from A House in the Sky: I think my fear of traveling to the middle east heightened for me. This book seriously taught me to be aware of my surrounding and to be heavily educated on the area I plan to travel around because if I do get into trouble I will know my way out of cultural matters or economic struggles.
What I learned about life from A Handmaid’s Tale: I serious had me thinking that a utopian society is something that could happen which scares me. I think having a society in strict limitations would restrict the way I could live my life and how easy my freedoms could fall like it did in this book completely has me in a worrisome state.
What I learned about life from The room: Being kidnapped is one of my worst fears and reading the story of a girl living her teenage years in a box and even having a kid forcefully made me completely look at my life now and see how lucky I am and the freedoms I have because sadly that sometimes does happen and those girls never are able to have a normal life due to someone that is sick in the head and are selfish. This book honestly should be how strong young girls can be and how you can get out of tough situations if you try hard enough.
I learned that reading is sometimes a chore but it is very calming in times of a mental escape. Growing up I felt that reading wasn't something I enjoyed all that much do to my reading disability but when reading is put into your nap you learn to adapt which I did with these past readings. I found myself getting deep into the books and they were so suspenseful that I looked forward to reading them each and everyday. After a long day being able to read and take my mind off of many thing it was a blessing to go into another world which someone else’s issues made me realize that my problems aren’t all that bad compared to others.