Returning to Earth-Week 3, Post B

Previously the story was being narrated by Donald with occasional interruptions from Cynthia. Now the story is being told by K, a nephew a Donald and Cynthia. It's interesting to read the memories K tells about Donald and Cynthia's family. I find that I learn a great deal more about them from K. This family seems now to be a little more unorthodox than I imagined. For example, we learn that K and Clare, Donald's daughter and K's cousin, were lovers when they were eighteen. This is a bit odd and I later learn that Clare broke up with K because she believed that K was only dating her to get to her mother, Cynthia (K's aunt). K admitted to wanting to be with Cynthia. This novel is about Donald's written history of his family and this new aspect to the novel is confusing me. K once mentions reading the history Donald has written, but then continues with his storytelling. I'm not sure what any of these stories really have to do with the main component of the novel. I am not far in the K portion of this novel so hopefully its purpose will make itself clear to me as I read on.

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.