Due February 4, 2014: What questions are arising for you? Also, quote two lines that seem important to the text and write a paragraph for each, explaining why you chose that quote. Make sure to note the page numbers.
One question that I have been wondering about throughout the book is if the trial corresponds with the book. By this I mean does the trial progress the same speed the book progresses; starting at the beginning and ending at the end of the book. Or will the trial end before the end of the book, and we will get to see how the verdict affects the community. One other question arising for me is if San Piedro island is really the place it seems. In the beginning of the book it makes it seem as if San Piedro is a nice little place with low crime rate, and a tightly knit community. After reading for a while it starts to seem as if our previous notion might be incorrect. Pg. 73 after Carl Heine's wife was just given the news that he was dead "I knew this would happen one day," This surprised me very much because she had just been given the news that her husband was dead, I was expecting more than what she gave. This tells me that their relationship was not very strong, and that Carl was no saint because if she was expecting this than he must have been into some pretty shady business. Also this tells me that maybe she knew he was going to be murdered. Pg. 95 "They were fourteen years old; geoducks were important. It was the summer and little else really mattered" To me this short sentence tells me alot. It tells me about ishmael and Hastue's freindship. They both liked the sea, and sea creatures. Also it tells me that they were very close friends because they didn't need much to keep them happy and interested.
Your questions are definitely thought provoking. Your first one I don't know about. I think in some books the trial goes through the entire book and others it doesn't, but I'm not entirely sure. San Piedro Island is a real place, but I don't really know how to answer your second question. I would like to think that it actually is a nice little place that had something devastating happen to it.
In response to your first quote, I think maybe the reason why Carl Heine's wife didn't react in the way the Sheriff Moran expected was because the news just needed a little time to sink in before the grief came on.
I think that Carl Heine's wife may have responded the way she did because of how dangerous commercial fishing is. She may have believed that it was only a matter of time before something happened on the boat.
I have one question: 1) Who are William Gjovaag, Dale Middleton, Leonard George, & Marty Johansson?
I had three parts that I thought was thought-provoking and interesting.
Pg. 35: "...His cynicism--a veteran's cynicism--was a thing that disturbed him all the time. It seemed to him after the war that the world was thoroughly altered. It was not even a thing you could explain to anybody, why it was that everything was folly."
This quote to me seems quite sad. It seemed to be saying that people are motivated by self-interest. This is all too true of parts of the U.S. today. Soldiers that come home after serving our country, not to mention risking their lives, find it so hard to live normally after coming home. Many develop PTSD and also find it very hard to find jobs. I wish that we would give more jobs when we can to people who served our country.
Pg. 44: "...'But you got to promise me something first. You won't say anything aobut an investigation, all right? If you want to quote me on the subject here's my quote: Carl Heine drowned by by accident, or something like that, you make it up, but don't say anything about no investigation. Because there isn't one.'"
This quote is very puzzling to me. When I think of the police, they want to tell the truth on important things and also conduct investigations when something terrible happens. Why would Sheriff Art Moran would to cover things up until the investigation was all over. He's part of the government!!!! Is he trying to possibly cover something up? Or is he maybe wanting to acquire more information before having a report published in the newspaper? I'm interested to see what becomes of this, if anything.
Pg. 75: "In the back of Judge Lew Fielding's courtroom sat twenty-four islanders of Japanese ancestry, dressed in the clothes they reserved for formal occasions. No law compelled them to take only these rear seats. They had done so instead because San Piedro required it of them without calling it a law."
This quote also got to me. It reminds me a lot of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s in the U.S. Segregation was such a big part of life, yet it was so not right. The last sentence of the quote sounds just like segregation to me. The courtroom has one section for one set of people and another section for another "different" set of people. Just because someone or people don't exactly look like you or have the same heritage, doesn't mean that you exclude them.
I agree with you on the quote on page 44. I did find it odd that the sheriff would tell a reporter to not report the "truth". It is obvious there is something a little funny going on with this death so why hold information from the people? This also ties in with a quote on page 10 where Art made a "judgement call". Do sheriffs normally make judgement calls? Shouldn't they not do anything if it's not in their jurisdiction?
I have a specific question about why Nels Gudmundsson (the defendant's lawyer) asks a certain question to Art (the sheriff). On page 23, Nels is asking about the type of battery found in Carl Heine's boat. It seems to me that the evidence about the battery points to Kabuo being guilty. The type of battery that was found in Carl's boat was the type of battery that Kabuo's boat took, not the type of battery that Carl's boat took. To me, this seems to say that Kabuo took a battery from his boat and put it in Carl's boat. Why would Nels ask about the battery if it would make Kabuo look guilty? Am I misinterpreting the scene? I feel like I might be...
My first quote: "Lillian, informed Ishmael that Carl Heine had drowned and been found tangled in his gill net. Ishmael Chambers did not believe her: Lillian Groves was a gossip. He was not inclined to believe such a thing and when he hung up sat brooding over it. Then, disbelieving, he dialed the sheriff's office and asked Eleanor Dokes, a person he did not entirely trust either: yes, she replied, Carl Heine had drowned." (page 29)
I think this quote really describes how information is passed around the town. It seems that many people already know, but there is still that disbelief that comes with a town in which there is a lot of gossip. This quote tells me that there have been lots of rumors in the town that have ended up not being true.
My second quote:
"'Suckers all look alike,' said Dale. 'Never could tell them guys apart.' 'Japs,' William Gjovaag threw in." (page 43)
This quote shows me the prejudice that people in the town have against Japanese people. This prejudice is carried on throughout the book, but this was one of the first instances in which I saw it. Not everyone feels that way, though. Carl Senior says, "'to me it don't make one bit of difference which way it is their eyes slant. I don't give a damn 'bout that, Etta. People is people, comes down to it. And these are clean-living people.'" (page 120) I think that passage was very important because it showed that, even though there was dispute about the land that Carl "sold" to Kabuo's family, Carl Senior was never prejudiced against them. Any conflicts, from Carl's point of view, didn't have anything to do with the fact that Kabuo's family was Japanese.
I didn't think about your first quote in that way. I was thinking that because Lillian Groves was a gossip, probably many people didn't like hanging out and talking to her.
I totally agree with your second quote. I also that it is predjudice, but also segregation.
I was wondering about your question too. When I read that I too thought that he was basically making Kabuo look even more guilty. I also found your first quote interesting. I agree with Rachel, it does seem to be the way information is passed in many small towns.
Q: Does Etta’s resentment of Japanese-Americans and Native Americans stem from her hatred of life on San Piedro and their association with it?
I think that the quote, “No law compelled them to take only the rear seats. They had done so instead because San Piedro required it of them without calling it a law”(p.75) is important to the story. This statement is made in reference to the Japanese-Americans in the courthouse. It is the first time that the deeply entrenched prejudices in San Piedro are brought to light. This continues to be a major theme through chapter 10, and I believe that it will continue through the entire book. This line was also when it began to become clear that much of daily life on San Piedro is run by unspoken rules.
I also think that the line, “Carl, he remembered, had been interested in the details of it”(p.151) is important to the story. This line brings up a lot of questions for me. Why does Carl seem to be mistrustful of Kabuo? They were friends in high school. What has changed since then? Does it have something to do with the dispute over the land? If the author elaborates on this line later, it could provide insight into a motive for Kabuo, and answer questions about his and Carl’s relationship.
Pg. 73-4 “She dug her elbows into her lap and began to rock with the diaper between her hands, wringing it between her fingers. ‘I knew this would happen one day,’ she whispered. Then she stopped rocking and stared into the living room.”
This quote to me seemed rather odd. Carl's wife didn’t seem too sad about what had happened to her husband. Normally people would cry, make a bigger scene than she did. She sounded more scared and frightened than sad, and heartbroken. She knew this was going to happen. Whether if she knew he was murdered or not we don’t know but she definitely knew about something. It sounded like Carl might have been doing things he wasn’t supposed to be doing.
Pg. 19 “Art found that he could not bring forward the least vestige of professionalism.” Pg. 50 “He began, consciously, for this would be necessary, to think of Carl Heine, a man he knew, as the deceased and not as Carl Heine.”
These two quotes stood out to me. Why can’t both men be “professional” with Carl? First Art couldn’t act professional when they found his body. Now, the coroner Horace, was unable to work on Carl's body until he thought of him as “the deceased”. Why is it so hard to be professional in this situation? Surely as coroner and sheriff, they must have been used to dealing with situations like this. Is it merely because they knew him? Or is it something deeper than that?
I think the first quote is signifying that Carl's wife is trying to come to terms about her husband's death and is doing anything she can to relieve some of the grief.
As mentioned in my comment to Noah, I think that Carl Heine's wife didn't react in the way the Sheriff Moran expected was because the news just needed a little time to sink in before the grief came on.
I think the reason why Horace was having such a hard time working on Carl's body until he thought of him as "the deceased," is because "Only a week before, the deceased [Carl] ... had carried his eldest, a boy of six, into Horace's office..." (Pg. 52) Carl had carried Horace's son into the hospital for treatment, and Horace was so thankful, so that is why I don't think Horace wanted to think of Carl as "the deceased."
Quote 1 on page 39: "In short, they were lonely men and products of geography-- island men who on occasion recognized that they wished to speak but couldn't".
I chose this quote because I'm interested in what the author meant by "products of geography". I've heard that New Englanders are supposed to be cold and somber and Southerners are supposed to be happy and welcoming, is this a product of "geography"? What about "geography" makes these men somber and reserved? Is it the isolation of the island, the small community, the large amount of time they spend alone? Also, as a New Englander I don't see myself or those around me as sad or cold, so is the silent somberness of the men self attributed or is it the view of an outsider looking in?
Quote 2 on page 114: "To him strawberries were a holy mystery, jewels of sugar, deep red gems, sweet orbs, succulent rubies".
I chose this quote because the idea of strawberries being mysterious and almost awe-inspiring is strange to me. Maybe I just don't spend enough time around them to fully appreciate them. Also, along with fishing, strawberries seem to be sort of the life blood of San Piedro. This seems especially apparent after reading the paragraph on p 107-8 about Mr. Nitta;s farm. I love the fact that the children were so happy to just have a job picking berries, but I also found intriguing that not only tied to this job was friends and social time but occasionally romance. Having so many aspects of life wrapped around one thing makes me think about how easily something so intricate as a community can be destroyed if one simple thing is taken away.
My question is similar to Rachel's: How can Etta be so unreasonable towards the Japanese and Indians?
One question that I have been wondering about throughout the book is if the trial corresponds with the book. By this I mean does the trial progress the same speed the book progresses; starting at the beginning and ending at the end of the book. Or will the trial end before the end of the book, and we will get to see how the verdict affects the community.
ReplyDeleteOne other question arising for me is if San Piedro island is really the place it seems. In the beginning of the book it makes it seem as if San Piedro is a nice little place with low crime rate, and a tightly knit community. After reading for a while it starts to seem as if our previous notion might be incorrect.
Pg. 73 after Carl Heine's wife was just given the news that he was dead "I knew this would happen one day," This surprised me very much because she had just been given the news that her husband was dead, I was expecting more than what she gave. This tells me that their relationship was not very strong, and that Carl was no saint because if she was expecting this than he must have been into some pretty shady business. Also this tells me that maybe she knew he was going to be murdered.
Pg. 95 "They were fourteen years old; geoducks were important. It was the summer and little else really mattered" To me this short sentence tells me alot. It tells me about ishmael and Hastue's freindship. They both liked the sea, and sea creatures. Also it tells me that they were very close friends because they didn't need much to keep them happy and interested.
Your questions are definitely thought provoking. Your first one I don't know about. I think in some books the trial goes through the entire book and others it doesn't, but I'm not entirely sure. San Piedro Island is a real place, but I don't really know how to answer your second question. I would like to think that it actually is a nice little place that had something devastating happen to it.
DeleteIn response to your first quote, I think maybe the reason why Carl Heine's wife didn't react in the way the Sheriff Moran expected was because the news just needed a little time to sink in before the grief came on.
I think that Carl Heine's wife may have responded the way she did because of how dangerous commercial fishing is. She may have believed that it was only a matter of time before something happened on the boat.
DeleteI agree with Noah, It was a little strange. Normally, I believe, people don't act like that when someone close to them dies.
DeleteI have one question:
ReplyDelete1) Who are William Gjovaag, Dale Middleton, Leonard George, & Marty Johansson?
I had three parts that I thought was thought-provoking and interesting.
Pg. 35: "...His cynicism--a veteran's cynicism--was a thing that disturbed him all the time. It seemed to him after the war that the world was thoroughly altered. It was not even a thing you could explain to anybody, why it was that everything was folly."
This quote to me seems quite sad. It seemed to be saying that people are motivated by self-interest. This is all too true of parts of the U.S. today. Soldiers that come home after serving our country, not to mention risking their lives, find it so hard to live normally after coming home. Many develop PTSD and also find it very hard to find jobs. I wish that we would give more jobs when we can to people who served our country.
Pg. 44: "...'But you got to promise me something first. You won't say anything aobut an investigation, all right? If you want to quote me on the subject here's my quote: Carl Heine drowned by by accident, or something like that, you make it up, but don't say anything about no investigation. Because there isn't one.'"
This quote is very puzzling to me. When I think of the police, they want to tell the truth on important things and also conduct investigations when something terrible happens. Why would Sheriff Art Moran would to cover things up until the investigation was all over. He's part of the government!!!! Is he trying to possibly cover something up? Or is he maybe wanting to acquire more information before having a report published in the newspaper? I'm interested to see what becomes of this, if anything.
Pg. 75: "In the back of Judge Lew Fielding's courtroom sat twenty-four islanders of Japanese ancestry, dressed in the clothes they reserved for formal occasions. No law compelled them to take only these rear seats. They had done so instead because San Piedro required it of them without calling it a law."
This quote also got to me. It reminds me a lot of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s in the U.S. Segregation was such a big part of life, yet it was so not right. The last sentence of the quote sounds just like segregation to me. The courtroom has one section for one set of people and another section for another "different" set of people. Just because someone or people don't exactly look like you or have the same heritage, doesn't mean that you exclude them.
I agree with you on the quote on page 44. I did find it odd that the sheriff would tell a reporter to not report the "truth". It is obvious there is something a little funny going on with this death so why hold information from the people? This also ties in with a quote on page 10 where Art made a "judgement call". Do sheriffs normally make judgement calls? Shouldn't they not do anything if it's not in their jurisdiction?
DeleteI have a specific question about why Nels Gudmundsson (the defendant's lawyer) asks a certain question to Art (the sheriff). On page 23, Nels is asking about the type of battery found in Carl Heine's boat. It seems to me that the evidence about the battery points to Kabuo being guilty. The type of battery that was found in Carl's boat was the type of battery that Kabuo's boat took, not the type of battery that Carl's boat took. To me, this seems to say that Kabuo took a battery from his boat and put it in Carl's boat. Why would Nels ask about the battery if it would make Kabuo look guilty? Am I misinterpreting the scene? I feel like I might be...
ReplyDeleteMy first quote: "Lillian, informed Ishmael that Carl Heine had drowned and been found tangled in his gill net. Ishmael Chambers did not believe her: Lillian Groves was a gossip. He was not inclined to believe such a thing and when he hung up sat brooding over it. Then, disbelieving, he dialed the sheriff's office and asked Eleanor Dokes, a person he did not entirely trust either: yes, she replied, Carl Heine had drowned." (page 29)
I think this quote really describes how information is passed around the town. It seems that many people already know, but there is still that disbelief that comes with a town in which there is a lot of gossip. This quote tells me that there have been lots of rumors in the town that have ended up not being true.
My second quote:
"'Suckers all look alike,' said Dale. 'Never could tell them guys apart.'
'Japs,' William Gjovaag threw in." (page 43)
This quote shows me the prejudice that people in the town have against Japanese people. This prejudice is carried on throughout the book, but this was one of the first instances in which I saw it.
Not everyone feels that way, though. Carl Senior says, "'to me it don't make one bit of difference which way it is their eyes slant. I don't give a damn 'bout that, Etta. People is people, comes down to it. And these are clean-living people.'" (page 120) I think that passage was very important because it showed that, even though there was dispute about the land that Carl "sold" to Kabuo's family, Carl Senior was never prejudiced against them. Any conflicts, from Carl's point of view, didn't have anything to do with the fact that Kabuo's family was Japanese.
I didn't think about your first quote in that way. I was thinking that because Lillian Groves was a gossip, probably many people didn't like hanging out and talking to her.
DeleteI totally agree with your second quote. I also that it is predjudice, but also segregation.
Your first quote reminds me of Thetford. I think that this is the way information is passed in many small towns.
DeleteI was wondering about your question too. When I read that I too thought that he was basically making Kabuo look even more guilty. I also found your first quote interesting. I agree with Rachel, it does seem to be the way information is passed in many small towns.
DeleteQ: Does Etta’s resentment of Japanese-Americans and Native Americans stem from her hatred of life on San Piedro and their association with it?
ReplyDeleteI think that the quote, “No law compelled them to take only the rear seats. They had done so instead because San Piedro required it of them without calling it a law”(p.75) is important to the story. This statement is made in reference to the Japanese-Americans in the courthouse. It is the first time that the deeply entrenched prejudices in San Piedro are brought to light. This continues to be a major theme through chapter 10, and I believe that it will continue through the entire book. This line was also when it began to become clear that much of daily life on San Piedro is run by unspoken rules.
I also think that the line, “Carl, he remembered, had been interested in the details of it”(p.151) is important to the story. This line brings up a lot of questions for me. Why does Carl seem to be mistrustful of Kabuo? They were friends in high school. What has changed since then? Does it have something to do with the dispute over the land? If the author elaborates on this line later, it could provide insight into a motive for Kabuo, and answer questions about his and Carl’s relationship.
I agree with your response about the prejudice against the Japanese-Americans. Prejudice is just so uncalled for in any type of situation.
DeletePg. 73-4 “She dug her elbows into her lap and began to rock with the diaper between her hands, wringing it between her fingers. ‘I knew this would happen one day,’ she whispered. Then she stopped rocking and stared into the living room.”
ReplyDeleteThis quote to me seemed rather odd. Carl's wife didn’t seem too sad about what had happened to her husband. Normally people would cry, make a bigger scene than she did. She sounded more scared and frightened than sad, and heartbroken. She knew this was going to happen. Whether if she knew he was murdered or not we don’t know but she definitely knew about something. It sounded like Carl might have been doing things he wasn’t supposed to be doing.
Pg. 19 “Art found that he could not bring forward the least vestige of professionalism.”
Pg. 50 “He began, consciously, for this would be necessary, to think of Carl Heine, a man he knew, as the deceased and not as Carl Heine.”
These two quotes stood out to me. Why can’t both men be “professional” with Carl? First Art couldn’t act professional when they found his body. Now, the coroner Horace, was unable to work on Carl's body until he thought of him as “the deceased”. Why is it so hard to be professional in this situation? Surely as coroner and sheriff, they must have been used to dealing with situations like this. Is it merely because they knew him? Or is it something deeper than that?
I think the first quote is signifying that Carl's wife is trying to come to terms about her husband's death and is doing anything she can to relieve some of the grief.
DeleteAs mentioned in my comment to Noah, I think that Carl Heine's wife didn't react in the way the Sheriff Moran expected was because the news just needed a little time to sink in before the grief came on.
I think the reason why Horace was having such a hard time working on Carl's body until he thought of him as "the deceased," is because "Only a week before, the deceased [Carl] ... had carried his eldest, a boy of six, into Horace's office..." (Pg. 52) Carl had carried Horace's son into the hospital for treatment, and Horace was so thankful, so that is why I don't think Horace wanted to think of Carl as "the deceased."
Quote 1 on page 39: "In short, they were lonely men and products of geography-- island men who on occasion recognized that they wished to speak but couldn't".
ReplyDeleteI chose this quote because I'm interested in what the author meant by "products of geography". I've heard that New Englanders are supposed to be cold and somber and Southerners are supposed to be happy and welcoming, is this a product of "geography"? What about "geography" makes these men somber and reserved? Is it the isolation of the island, the small community, the large amount of time they spend alone? Also, as a New Englander I don't see myself or those around me as sad or cold, so is the silent somberness of the men self attributed or is it the view of an outsider looking in?
Quote 2 on page 114: "To him strawberries were a holy mystery, jewels of sugar, deep red gems, sweet orbs, succulent rubies".
I chose this quote because the idea of strawberries being mysterious and almost awe-inspiring is strange to me. Maybe I just don't spend enough time around them to fully appreciate them. Also, along with fishing, strawberries seem to be sort of the life blood of San Piedro. This seems especially apparent after reading the paragraph on p 107-8 about Mr. Nitta;s farm. I love the fact that the children were so happy to just have a job picking berries, but I also found intriguing that not only tied to this job was friends and social time but occasionally romance. Having so many aspects of life wrapped around one thing makes me think about how easily something so intricate as a community can be destroyed if one simple thing is taken away.
My question is similar to Rachel's: How can Etta be so unreasonable towards the Japanese and Indians?