The weather changes during the following days outside of the mansion. What do you think this weather shift symbolizes?
How are the characters creating more enjoyable living conditions for themselves? Be specific in the activities they partake in.
What is discovered about a couple of the terrorists? Does this change your view on the danger of this terrorist organization?
The use of weather in a story is meant to show a transition or a time change in Bel Canto weather has the same purpose however to the characters watching the changing weather has a much deeper meaning. Mr. Hosokawa spends the majority of his time sitting by the window watching the outside world. This habit comes from a need to escape his surroundings and view the world as it changes around him. Within the confines of the house nothing is changing each day goes by exactly as the one before it. However outside each day brings something different one day rain could pour for twelve straight hours but the next day could be clear and sunny. The concept of the weather being an unknown change is a symbol for the uncertainty and transition within the house.
ReplyDeleteAs the days pass both the hostages and the soldiers find themselves lacking in entertainment. Both parties wander aimlessly through the house searching for something of interest. The discovery of television a shock for the younger soldiers or the games they play with a globe from the presidents sons room. The activities though basic are a way of occupying their time. However as the hostages become more comfortable with each other a new form of entertainment is discovered. Tetsuya Kato as man who has worked for Mr. Hosokawa for many years steps up when requests for a piano player are made. His talent does not go unnoticed and a new ritual begins. Roxane Coss the incredible soprano finds her new acompanist. The addition of music to the lives of both parties is the most influential part of the change in the dynamics of this situation.
When the news of two of the young terrorists being girls is revealed the hostages are surprised. They were oblivious to this knowledge and in a way it changes things for some it softens them the idea of these young girls being so close reminds them of their own children. For others it means nothing at this point it is a miniscule detail within the story meant to draw attention. For me this news changes my opinion very little. The organization was already begining to look clumsy and unsure this does not change that what does is the unprofesional methods of the terrorists themselves. I feel they pose less of a threat at this point because they are not sure of what to do or how to handle this situation.
The weather outside shifts to Garua during the following days. That is the wet weather with no rain and a cloudy sky. I think this changing may symbolize it will be a long period of time that those "hostages" would have to stay there looking outside all day. That is the weather I hate, so I guess most of the people there would be boring and doing the same thing everyday.
ReplyDeleteHowever, people do not want to be bored at all so they find their way to entertain themselves in that small range of area. Simon turns on the TV and it shocks those boy-like terrorists. Then people start watching TV, playing cards. But people always want some more, so Roxane wants to sing and Tetsuya Kato stands out to play the piano. Those "hostages" there are satisfying their spiritual needs after 2 weeks.
It's discovered that two of those terrorists are girls. Personally, it does change my view on the danger of this terrorist organization a little bit but not that much because it just never seems that those terrorists are really dangerous to people in this whole piece that I have read.
The weather outside the house shifts to endless mist. It seems to isolate the hostages and contributes to them creating their own world inside the houre, ignoring as the bullhorns attempt to permeate the fog. The weather is what Mr. Hosokawa watches as he sits bythe window endlessly. The fog seems to be symbolic of some kind of soft barrier between the the new inhabitants of the house and the world outside. The Vice President even thinks of his love for Roxane Coss, which is born of an utter isolation from his family. The fog seperates the hostages and terrorists from the outside world, including the scrutiny of the public eye. This is how they manage to have discussions between captor and captive, they have created their own world and therefore their own standards of what is and isn't acceptable.
ReplyDeleteThe hostages and terrorists alike began making small changes to better living conditions. The hostages are allowed to partake in card games and conversation. The younger terrorists explore the house and find endless curiosities. They even learn where each hostage is from on a globe that the Vice President retrieved from his son's room. The terrorists discover the television with a violent sort of curiosity at the accidental prompting of Thibault. The previous rules fade and the strict and tense atmosphere has lifted.
The discovery that 2 of the younger terrorista are girls inspires a softness in the eyes of many of the hostages. The Vice President relates these girls to his daughters and wonders where their father is. The terrorist organization does seem less threatening now, but not necessarily because of the discovery of the girls. Even before the girls were there the Vice President he displayed a fatherly-ness to Ishmael, thinking that he wanted to
"pull the boy into his lap and keep him," while they looked at the globe on the floor. The terrorists still seem dangerous, but many of them also just seem like kids. They jump on the beds and explore the house just like many of the hostages children and th hostages have started to realize that.
The weather change over the next few days of the story, certainly not only describes the weather, but the atmosphere and feeling of the people inside the mansion. At the beginning of the terrorist takeover, the scene was bright, new and scary, as well as intense for all of the people involved. As the weather grows dull, so do the feelings and minds of the hostages, as well as the terrorists, all growing bored and wary of their situation. An example of this is on page 98, “But the terrorists were tired. The hostages had needs and complaints. They took on the weight of a roomful of restless children all needing to be shushed and petted and entertained.” This shows that the terrorists as well as the captives have grown tired of the situation and are beginning to stop being fearful in trade for being impatient.
ReplyDeleteThe characters of the story, and in particular the hostages are making the conditions more enjoyable for them selves by actually becoming comfortable and taking part in normal time passing activities. The captives being with associating with the others, playing a game on page 112, in which they point to their home countries on the globe, attempting to learn more about their fellow hostages. The guests also resort to “train station” games and topics, such as playing cards. Later, on page 126, Tetsaya Kato, a vice president at Nansei, played the piano, bringing great joy to the hostages and terrorists alike, most of them forgetting their longing to be anywhere else.
Throughout the second week of the story, the hostages discover that two of the terrorists are women, and more precisely girls in their youth. This does change my view of the terrorists as a whole, in the aspect of their dangerousness. Although I do not doubt the seriousness and danger of the girls, I think that them being a part of the group shows that the terrorist organization is less serious. It seems to me that were they really serious and devoted to their mission, they might not have allowed girls to be a part of their team. Aside from how I feel, I think that having the girls there makes the hostages more comfortable, yet even more homesick, as they are reminded of their own daughters. Mr. Hosokawa associates the girls to his daughters on page 117, “”he tried to picture them, their plastic daisy barrettes and short white socks, picking at the door frame with the sharp tip of a knife.” I think that like Mr. Hosokawa, all of the other captives are very surprised and soothed by the presence of the girls in the terrorist organization.
The weather outside the mansion changes to “garua” the endless mist. Because of the thick fog, the hostages are secluded within the mansion, creating a “fish bowl” effect. The hostages are forces to live in a world separate from the world outside the mansion walls. I think this gloomy weather foreshadows unpleasant events soon to come.
ReplyDeleteThe hostages are becoming more comfortable with the terrorists and each other. On pg. 106 it describes some of the hostages. “People stood on their own. They brushed their teeth without asking, had a conversation without interruption. Eventually they went into the kitchen to make a sandwich when they were hungry.” On pg. 107 the hostages spend their days looking out the windows and even playing a hand of cards, or looking at a magazine. One of the terrorists brought Ruben ice three or four times a day, and sometimes the terrorists would talk with the hostages.
It was soon discovered that two of the terrorists are female. It doesn’t change my perspective on how dangerous the terrorists are. I believe the girls to be fairly young, and with youth come inexperience and naivety. Teenage girls are very impressionable and can easily be persuaded into situations. Girls have short tempers, and usually have a conniving trait within their personalities. I think the girls are something the hostages should keep a close eye on.
The weather in Bel Canto seems to signify a change in the house, a sort of dull acceptance to the hostages’ circumstance. Mr. Hosokawa just watches the weather, day in and day out. The take over is beginning to become more boring than scary. I think Haley had the right idea about the fog being a blanket between the inhabitants of the house and the outside world. No one has been able to contact anyone or any news at all. It just puts a damper on the whole house and I think once the story picks up more, the weather will change again, signifying a new change in the story.
ReplyDeleteThe characters are starting to get very restless and they feel like they’re slowly getting more freedom. The guards aren’t as attentive and are losing focus. In addition, the television is discovered and since most of the soldiers are kids that have never had a television in their house, it is a complete surprise. Besides pointing out places on the globe is only interesting for so long and the younger soldiers become addicted to finding out what happens to Maria in the soap opera. Then the hostages become even more comfortable with their present situation and Kato, one of Mr. Hosokawa’s employees, begins to play the piano with Roxanne Coss joining in on vocals. The entire mood changes after that because now the hostages and terrorists alike get to hear her beautiful voice. It also cements in every terrorists’ mind that she absolutely cannot be hurt because she is so talented.
When it is revealed that two of the young terrorists are girls, sisters even, I’m surprised. I have never pictured a hostile terrorist takeover being carried out by girls. I think it just goes to show how weak the terrorists really are. They already were losing credibility because of their sloppiness and inability to run a proper takeover. Basically I think they’re sitting ducks anyways and whether or not they had girls in their organization won’t matter because they weren’t strong in the first place.
At the beginning of the novel, the sun is shining, the weather is warm, and what most people would consider enjoyable. But as time goes on the sun goes elsewhere and is replaced by the garua, or fog. This fog signifies, in my opinion, how that hostages and terrorists are living in their own world in the mansion. There is no contact with the outside whatsoever. Their “world” consists of one another, and that is it.
ReplyDeleteAs people realize the slack that they are being given by the terrorists, they start to involve themselves in card games, conversation, the lovely voice of Roxane Coss, and the newly discovered television. At this point, you can tell how much more freedom they are all given now that a few weeks or so have passed. They are no able to roam the house, and go into the kitchen by themselves as well as participate in these different activities, and enjoying them more than they had ever enjoyed them before.
Beatriz and Carmen, if you couldn’t tell by their names, are completely different from the other terrorists in one aspect; they’re female. The hostages had been too busy fearing for their lives to notice the thick braid of Beatriz or the unusually beautiful face of Carmen. Of course this fact changes the way the hostages look at them. Not only do the girls give the hostages a small sense of relief, but they affect them in an emotional way as well. Upon seeing Beatriz and Carmen, the hostages start to think about the women in their families that are away somewhere, and to hope that they are okay. As for my views, they did not change dramatically. The only change that I felt because of this was that this could potentially be a weak spot in an already weak group. Women tend to be more compassionate and emotional when it comes to anything, compared to men. Because of this, I think that the hostages could use this to their advantage for getting what they want. If they make the girls feel the way they do, then they may sympathize with them, giving them what they want.
Personally, I though the weather was more fogy but at the sametimes it was more wet and cold out side. I believe its better for the hostage people, it’s was like they were in their own little world. Doesn’t matter how hard people kept looking out side, they couldn’t see anything. I think the weather make the hostage people more comfortable as day pass by. It seems like they don’t even have to worry about what was going on outside. I feel like they are having more fun and comfortable than they all though from the beginning. In the book it shows when they became more comfortable when they were saying they are watch TV with the terrorist brush their teeth without asking.
ReplyDeleteWhen I find out there was two female terrorist it didn’t change the way it I feel about the book. They all dangerous like the others.
From the inside of the mansion, the changes occurring are few. No big decisions are made, and no one is killed. There is very little drama is the seemingly hostile situation. However as Mr. Hosokawa spends his time watching life through the windows, he notes that the world outside the mansion is continuing on. I think the changing weather not only is a small, but significant form of entertainment for the hostages, but also a great exaggeration of how largely time has frozen in the mansion. It goes without saying that the hostages are not ignorant of this fact, and they take time to watch the time pass outside.
ReplyDeleteThe characters create more livable conditions by discovering a t.v. and also by making music a daily ritual to bring up happiness and possibly even hope. Roxanne Coss sings again, and Tetsuyo Kato finds his calling by stepping up on the piano, and accompanying Roxanne.
The hostages are given the information that two of the terrorists are female. This, for me, was somewhat humorous. It was obvious even before that the terrorists were going to fail in the end, but when this fact was discovered, it actually made sense. Women are not the ones with the need and desire to kill. And when they do, it is for a strong influential reason. However they never succeed in this job, because its not meant to be. I knew at that very moment that these women would not kill anyone, because I think even they know in their minds that they will fail anyways, so theres no point in the action. This news made the situation a lot more comfortable and calm, since the human mind typically believes that women are nurturing and loving, not mean and cruel. I enjoyed this part greatly.
the weather is foggy and unclear kind of like there predicament. Hostages with some hope yet they are still hostages. The environment is still a hostile one, yet they are becomming easy going and bonding within the mansion. doing activities together calmley as if they were casual friends. Munchhousen syndrome comes to mind. becomming friendly and sort of enjoying the time spent with your capturer/kidnapper seems crazy to me, but i recognize that its a survival skill coming from both sides. Like two coworkers that dont like eachother eating lunch at the same table. It seems slightly that when they found out that the terrorists were women a easygoing feeling drapped the hostages. They are not quite without fear but even historically woman arnt as threatening or convincing as men.
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