10/10/12

10/10/12:

   "A Northern Light" by Jennifer Donnelly is not a book that I find myself liking thus far. In all honesty I find it dreary, common, and whiney. However, it does share certain characteristics that I found in another  book I had previously read. In "The Glass Castle" the main character is also a girl with many siblings and a disfunctioning family. Mattie (Mathilda), from "A Northern Light," is a creative, intelligent girl who, like her counterpart in "The Glass Castle," has a dream of escaping her family's poverty and brokenness by going away to college and getting a proper education. She, sadly, feels that there are so many obstacles in front of her that this may never happen. She says she is okay with this and then reassures readers that she believe's this with a disheartening statement, "For I am good at telling myself lies."(1) In reality, It is not so difficult to tell that Mattie wants so much more out of life because she says later on in the text that she, "...wanted it peaceful for once. I wanted Pa to find everything in order and everyone behaving when he came in, so that he would be peaceable himself..." (8) I do not think that it is fair for Mattie to have to deal with all the responsibilities of a growing family full of children and a depressed father like she has to. She is only a young girl and is trapped in a world where her creativity with words is covered like a hunting falcon's head is covered by its hood.She is also still reeling from the death of her mother. This fact is very evident when she says, "...I was wishing for my mother. As I do everyday. At least a hundred times." (9) I believe Mattie has the potential to do great things and if I was able to give her something, it would be this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyQ5ZSMENF0&feature=related
I think this video is full of the type of support that a character like Mattie needs to get through her troubles and I have a feeling that she will triumph and be successful in her endeavors.