The novel "Towelhead" holds many important quotes that are so significant to the story. It was difficult to choose just three quotes.
The first quote is when the main character, Jasira, is visiting her next door neighbour, Melina. She recalls her other next door neighbour, Mr.Vuoso, touching her inappropiately the day before. She also describes how it felt nice and that "[she believes] that [her] body [knows] best (pg. 62)." Melina knows that there is something going on with how Mr. Vuoso acts around Jasira and warns Jasira not to be around him. This quote is significant because growing up with overly strict parents has a negative impact on Jasira. She doesn't know how to cope with puberty and how her hormones work. She can't comprehend what's right and wrong with the way she feels about Mr. Vuoso. Therefore, she feels that it's okay for an older man to touch her in such a way because that's the only way she can get love and attention, since she certainly doesn't get that from her parents.
"The faces said that they both thought I was being a baby, that I was making things up...(pg 145)."
This quotes is very important is the story. Both of Jasira's parents think that she does certain things for attention. She said this when she starting tearing up from a hot pepper she ate. Instead of comforting her and helping her, Jasira's parents just tell her to pull it together and to stop making a scene. Her parents don't give her the proper love and support one would expect from their parents. Not being loved and having false information given to you can really screw up a child's mentality.
"He said he wasn't going to do it with me again until i told him the truth about why I wasn't a virgin (pg 210)."
Jasira's boyfriend (Thomas) knew that she lost her virginity to someone else when they first got intimate with each other. Unfortunately, Jasira is too ashamed to tell her boyfriend that her next door neighbour, Mr. Vuoso, raped her. She describes the event as horrific but she still has love for Mr. Vuoso anyway. She doesn't know how to deal with her rape and she doesn't know how to process her feelings for her boyfriend and for Mr. Vuoso. She prefers to keep it to herself because even though she loves Mr. Vuoso, she knows that what happened was wrong.
These three quotes are so powerful and contribute to so much of what happens in Jasira's life. It's very depressing that this girl is so naive to what the world is really about.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey Geraldine,
ReplyDeleteI feel really bad for Jasire for what she has to go through, and I totally agree with you on how depressing it is for an innocent young girl to go through all these harshness. What provokes me the most is the fact that all these misfortunes can be prevented if her parents had cared more about her. Your second quote is particularly strong in expressing Jasire’s longing for love and nurture from her parents. Because of this lack of caring and nourishment, she hopelessly longs for love and attention from others. She is so blinded by her aspiration for love that when Mr. Vuoso touches her inappropriately, she misunderstands the action as a sign of affection and feels excited for the fact that she is “loved”. Her misunderstanding eventually leads to the unfortunate event of Mr. Vuoso’s raping her, which causes great damage on her life. Even after she finds a boyfriend who loves her truly, she is still affected by her mistake in the past. As a teenage girl myself, I can relate to her very much. I know how important it is for parents to be at their child’s side when the child is going through crucial times such as puberty. Jasire is really unfortunate for not receiving that special attention.
The main character’s name Jasire also reminds me of the French phrase “Je desire” when I read it. Jasire lacks proper nurture from her parents, and the name seems relates to her wish of wanting to be loved. When I read the name, I feel like I can almost hear her crying “I desire…”
Great Job. This seems like a very interesting book.