Ties That Bind, Ties That Break (theme1)

This story has a very important theme: You should never let go of your dreams. Ailin was jeered at, teased, and had her engagement broken because she didn't want to have her feet bound, but she still held onto her dreams.
Just as Ailin eventually found success, if you hold onto your dreams and work hard towards them, you will find success. When Ailin found a friend (James Chew) who supported her, the two of them started a restaurant in America where women were free of bound feet. Ailin's dreams came true, since she had always wanted to become independent. If you pursue your dreams, you can always have some sense of achievements. Even if the dream may not become true, you will find friends who have the same beliefs as you.
Another theme is that being unique is not always a bad thing. Ailin didn't have bound feet, so she could work and support herself. Also, she could run and jump freely, something that people with bound feet couldn't do. The poster on the door to Rm. 17 says, "What is right is not always popular. What is popular is not always right." The story in this book echoes exactly the same idea. Having bound feet basically paralyzes the person who is getting bound feet. Ailin's refusal to bind her feet was like trying to sail a sailboat against the wind, since she was just one girl against many others around her. It was hard for her, but that struggle let her dreams come true and become free.

Ties That Bond, Ties That Break (plot)

The author told a story that occurred in 1911 Nanjing, China. The Tao's, a respectable Chinese family, had 2 daughters and a son. At the time, there was a Chinese tradition that all girls had to have their feet bound before they got married because people thought small feet were beautiful.

When Ailin, the youngest daughter of the Tao's was 6 years old, her parents started to prepare to have her feet bound. Ailin, however, was an adventurous girl who really enjoyed running.
Ailin knew from her older sister that having her feet bound was very painful and wouldn't let her run anymore. When her parents were trying to bind her feet, she tried to walk. Doing that caused her legs and feet to hurt immensely. From then on, she bit the maids and refused to have her feet bound. Unfortunately, in 1911, China had very few options for a strong-willed girl with unbound feet. Ailin's family would no longer support her, since she couldn't be married off. It seemed that Ailin's uncle didn't think she was worthy of the title, "Daughter of the Tao family" anymore. Luckily, her father was an open minded man. He eventually supported Ailin to attend a public school run by Christian missionaries. This was her happy time.

Tensions between Ailin and her family grew after her father died of tuberculosis. After her father's death, her uncle became the head of the family and acted strongly against Ailin's pursuit of freedom with unbound feet. He stopped paying for Ailin's tuition. She could not go to the school anymore. Ailin continued to hold to her ambitions of getting a job as a woman with unbound feet. Fortunately, Mrs Gilbertson, who taught Ailin in the school, was very sympathetic to her. She continued to teach Ailin at her home where Ailin met the Warner's one day. The Warner's were an American missionary family working in Nanjing that were in need of an amah (nanny). Ailin was more than happy to take this opportunity. This year she was thirteen years old. The Warner's family and kids really liked her. When the Warners' family went back to America, they asked Ailin to come with them, and to help with the children. Again, Ailin bravely took the opportunity because she believed that America might have more possibilities for an unmarried woman.

When her uncle found out about this, he actually gave her some money, so that Ailin could get some "accommodations suitable for a daughter of the Tao family" on the boat going to America. Ailin's uncle had seen her work hard and was proud of her. It appeared that Ailin's family had forgiven her in the hope that she could stay in China. Unfortunately, it was already too late, since Ailin had made up her mind to go to America: a new world, and hopefully, a new life. On the boat, she met James Chew, a kind, young man who helped his father run a restaurant. The two enjoyed each other's company immensely.

Once it is time for the Warner's to return to China, Ailin decided to stay in San Francisco and marry James Chew. Together, they started a restaurant. Even though she worked very hard (harder than any woman would have worked in China), she was very proud that she was able to fulfill her dream: to get a job and marry without a bound feet. At the end when Ailin talked with an old friend who had also come to America, she realized her dream had finally come true.

I really enjoyed this book, since it is a book about determination, ambition, and working hard to make your dreams come true.

Ties That Bond, Ties That Break (character1)

Ailin comes from the respectable Tao family. As a slender young girl, she is determined and never gives up. After seeing her sister's bound feet, Ailin knows she doesn't want bound feet. She saw that her sister's toes had been completely folded over through a long and painful period. She could not even walk properly, not to mention running. Unfortunately, Ailin's refusal to bind her feet has the unpleasant consequence of the Liu's canceling the engagement between Ailin and Hanwei. Still, Ailin doesn't back down.
Her father was an open minded person because he works at the customs office, which allowed him to interact with many foreigners. He supported Ailin's desire for the freedom to run. With the support of her father, Ailin goes to a public school. Her uncle, however, does not support this action. He thinks that the school teaches useless subjects. Ailin's father believes in the public school. Although Ailin's grandmother does not support Ailin going to the public school, Ailin still knows that her grandmother is a good and caring person. Ailin visits her grandmother as often as possible. Then, sadly, Ailin's father dies of tuberculosis. Ailin's uncle immediately stops her from going to the public school. Miss Gilbertson, the English teacher at the public school, continues to give Ailin tutoring sessions every week at her home. Miss Gilbertson is the only person that supports Ailin. Nothing could stop Ailin from learning. Still, she knows that she will never be able to graduate from school. She will never grow up to be a teacher. Ailin is sad, but tries to be optimistic and study hard. As the tension between her uncle and Ailin grows, I wonder: what will happen next?

Ties that Bind, Ties that Break (Setting1)

Ties that Bind, Ties that Break is written by Lensey Namioka. It is a story about a young Chinese girl called Ailin. Living in China, circa 1900, she is expected to have her feet bound. However, she refuses to undergo the painful procedure. Ailin is an active girl, and she knows that having her feet bound will stop her from doing everything she likes to do: run and jump.
Obviously, the Tao's, Ailin's family, disapprove of her actions. They have followed the tradition for many generations, as have many other Chinese families. Then Ailin's sister shows Ailin what bound feet look like, and this strengthens her decision against having her feet bound. The Liu's have proposed marriage. Hanwei Liu is to marry Ailin. The two of them like each other immensely. However, the Liu's insist on having the wife's feet bound, like many other families at the time. This setting has a great influence on the development of the story in the book. However, the 1900's were still in the period when small feet were thought as beautiful, so Ailin is expected to bind her feet. If she doesn't, the Liu's will break the engagement. Ailin and Hanwei might be separated forever. This book uses the setting to build up the tension and attract the reader to keep reading.

Warriors: The Darkest Hour

The Darkest Hour, by Erin Hunter is a thrilling novel. To write this novel, Erin had to think like a cat because the story is about cats. The cats were amazingly intelligent in the novel and the story is very vivid. This makes the reader think the story could really happen. I was enthralled after just 10 pages!

However, I don't think this story is just about cats. It seems more like the story of history. These cats live like an early civilization! They believe that when someone dies, its spirit goes into some sort of heaven, where it watches over its family and friends. Bad people are punished. They call this heaven "StarClan", because it is up in the sky with the stars. These cats believe that their leader is chosen by StarClan, and have a ceremony to initiate the new leader. There is a social structure with the leader on top, then his or her deputy, the elders, warriors, apprentices, and kittens. The whole book is about the fight between different groups of cats. Erin Hunter turned history into a thrilling novel about cats. It was weird at first, but now I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

The Most Dangerous Game

The Most Dangerous Game is a story full of surprises and suspense. In this short story, two hunters, Rainsford and the dangerous General Zarroff, battled each other. Eventually, one had to kill the other. Who would survive? I wondered all the way through the story. Rainsford used a wide range of traps, like the Malacca mancatcher, Barselonian tiger pit, and simple snares to trap the General. The General eluded nearly all of them, but his servants did not. General Zarroff had a few servants to help him try to find and kill Rainsford. One of General Zarroff's servants, Ivan, was very strong because he was chief knouter to the White Czar who was a past ruler of Russia. The General's hounds were very good at tracking a scent. Ivan was instructed by the General to track down Rainsford with the help of the hounds. Although he found Rainsford, Ivan was killed by one of Rainsford's traps.
To create a picture of what this story looked like, the author, Richard Connell, used vivid terms. Some examples are, "velvety darkness" and "flying fingers". I really liked that. However, the ending is unclear. After reading this story, I finished with the question, " What happened to the General?" After all, the story only says what happened to Rainsford-he slept in the General's bed at the end of the story. This left some room for the readers to imagine what happened to the General. Did the General die or did he manage to escape so that the author might want to write a sequel. Overall this story was excellent. The suspense and vivid descriptions make it a story that you can't put down until you've finished it.

Walk Two Moons: Chapters 1-18

In Walk Two Moons, Salamanca Tree Hiddle (Sal for short) embarked on an epic journey from her small hometown of Bybanks, Kentucky to Lewiston, Idaho. She wanted to go there because she wanted to see her mother's grave, but she had to get there by her mother's birthday, since she thought that if her mother was coming back any day, it would be on her birthday. Sal's mother died when she left Bybanks to see the whole country. She got to the town of Lewiston, where she died (perhaps from some sort of automobile accident, because ever since the day Sal learned her mother was dead, Sal has been terrified of vehicles). Sal was following the same road to Lewiston as her mother. Her father's parents (Gram and Gramps) were with her. They, like Sal, wanted to see Sal's mother. They knew Sal wanted to as well, but was afraid to. Sal's father agreed to the trip, since he knew Gram and Gramps would probably get into a lot of trouble alone, but Sal was going with them, and she was able to keep them in check.
The road ahead was to be a rough and bumpy road. Sal had to endure Gramps' bad car repairs and Gram's bad map-reading skills. Gram also suffered a poisonous snake bite. Sal's stories reminded them of happier times that were no more. Along that rough and bumpy road, Sal told the story of Phoebe, a quiet girl who believed that everyone was either perfect or they were lunatics. In her world, there was no gray area. Everything was plain black and white. It is unlike the modern world with doctors who develop wonderful cures and then refuse to sell it to people who cannot afford to buy that cure. In Phoebe's world there were no people like that. Most people were lunatics, but there were a few perfect people who had never committed a single wrong in their entire life. In that story, a young man showed up at the door to Phoebe Winterbottom's house. Phoebe thought he was a lunatic because the young man acted very strangely. He wanted to see Mrs. Winterbottom, but didn't want to leave a message. This led Phoebe to believe he had something to hide. I think he just wanted to talk in private with Mrs. Winterbottom. Perhaps the young man was someone who also worked at Rocky's Rubber, and wanted to talk about some important business matters.
However, after telling much of the story, Gram, Gramps, and Sal stopped at a river to cool off. They met Tom Fleet there, who saved Gram's life after she got bitten by a snake. He sucked out the poison from the wound. That's very surprising to me, since I wouldn't dare to do it. Tom must have nerves of steel! Soon, however, the trio were back on the road to Lewiston, Idaho. Sometimes I wonder how those three ever got anywhere with all the accidents they've had. However, I'm sure that those three would eventually get to Lewiston.They were very determined, and that's one of the ingredients for success.