Returning to Earth-Week 3, Post A

Vocab:
-Deconstructionist (78): Of or concerned with the philosophical theory of literature known as deconstructionism; "deconstructionist criticism"
-Banality (79): Something that is trite, obvious, or predictable; a commonplace

Figurative Language:
"Each new woman is an undiscovered country..." (79) This passage represents a metaphor describing Cynthia's brother's view of women.

"'I know what he's going to do,' I said, nodding at Donald and chewing my corned beef sandwich as if mortality were a fiction." (81) This quote represents a metaphor describing K's feelings at the time he made this comment. I interpret this metaphor as stating that at this moment, K felt death was a completely untrue concept.

"'He didn't die but forever after scuttled like a crab when he tried to walk freely.'" (82) This statement represents a similie describing the physical state of K's grandfather who was injured in an iron mine in his early thirties.

Quote:
"I was in a different world. Everyone seemed poor but more vivid than my life in Chicago exept for my dad's Italian friends. At the time I actually wondered if Indians and Italians might be related." (85) I found this quote interesting because I finally realized how sheltered K's life actually was. He lived in a world where different cultures didn't mix. As a child, meeting the Indians who lived in the same area as Donald and Cynthia and their family was a real wake-up call for him. He learned that Italians and Indians have many similarities, making him question whether or not they were actually two cultures that were related.

Theme:
The theme that seems to be apparent in this portion of the novel is the theme of self-discovery. K seemed to be retelling stories from his past that described a time where he learned something new about himself.