Song of Solomon – Chapter Summary Part 2

Following Part 1 summary, here are the chapter summary of Song of Solomon Part 2 (the last one).

Chapter 10

Milkman went to the South to get the gold from the cave, but found nothing. He met Circe—the old woman who hid Macon and Pilate after their father’s death—and combining her and Pilate’s stories, he concluded that Pilate must have brought the gold from the cave and hid it somewhere. And now he went on to retrace her tracks.

Chapter 11

He arrived at Shalimar, where his people (the Deads) used to live, while Guitar sent him death-message Seven Days style, though he didn’t believed it at first. He got an unpleasant welcome from the people because he was rich; he survived from a fight with them, and then was invited to join night hunting by other group. During the hunting Guitar has attempted to strangle him but failed; and from the hunting folks he got more information about his grandmother’s family.

Chapter 12

Milkman visited a woman—Susan Byrd—who was the niece of his grandmother, Sing, but here he lost the trace. Guitar met him finally; he wanted to kill him because he thought Milkman secretly shipped the gold to own it himself. From children’s song in a game, Milkman found the missing link about his ancestors’ history.

Chapter 13

Back to Susan Byrd’s, Milkman got the real story about his great grandfather Solomon who ran away with his wife Sing; but he then ‘flew’ away and left his grieved wife lost her mind. Meanwhile Hagar also lost her mind after Milkman left her, and finally died.

Chapter 14

Milkman returned to Susan Byrd’s, and this time had the missing pieces were revealed; how Solomon had twenty one children, and Jake—Milkman’s grandfather—was one of them. A woman named Heddy who had a daughter named Sing took care of Jake after his father left him. Jake then left their hometown in a wagon, after marrying Sing, and directed to the North.

Chapter 15

Excited with his investigation result, Milkman went home, only to learn that Hagar was dead. He told Pilate that the bones in her sack actually belonged to her own father. He then took Pilate to Shalimar, but Guitar followed them and shot Pilate to death. Milkman knew that he’d kill him next, but before that—imitating his grandfather—he leapt towards Guitar.

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#OTR: Kitab Yesaya 6: Yesaya Dipanggil Tuhan

Bab ini juga salah satu favoritku, yaitu kisah Nabi Yesaya saat pertama kali dipanggil oleh Allah. Inilah satu-satunya bab yang menampilkan Yesaya sebagai sosok yang ‘manusiawi’. Kalau kita ingin mengenal seperti apa sosok Yesaya yang sesungguhnya, bab inilah yang menggambarkannya dengan tepat. Kita akan merasakan karakternya terpantul: apa adanya, blak-blakan, emosional dan impulsive. Ini terlihat terutama pada bagian monolognya ketika melihat penampakan Tuhan:

“Celakalah aku! Aku binasa!
Sebab aku ini seorang yang najis bibir,
Dan aku tinggal di tengah-tengah bangsa yang najis bibir,
Namun mataku telah melihat Sang Raja,
Yakni Tuhan semesta alam.”

Aku dapat merasakan betapa penampakan kemegahan Tuhan dan para serafimNya telah membuat Yesaya sekaligus: menyadari kedosaannya, dan ketakjubannya karena Tuhan yang begitu mulia sudi menampakinya. Jawabannya yang singkat, tandas, namun penuh keyakinan, tanpa ragu seharusnya menjadi sikap kita semua saat Tuhan memanggil kita:

“Ini aku, utuslah aku!”

Yesaya tak pernah bertanya apa yang harus ia lakukan, atau kemana Tuhan akan mengutusnya. Tidak. Ia mengingatkanku pada Petrus yang impulsive—namun kelak terbukti paling kokoh imannya—yang dari awal langsung meninggalkan perahu dan jalanya dan mengikuti Yesus.

Tugas pertama Tuhan untuk Yesaya sungguh aneh bagi seorang nabi. Yesaya diperintahkan untuk membuat “hati bangsa ini keras” agar Tuhan dapat menimpakan hukumannya. Pun demikian Yesaya, alih-alih bertawar menawar dengan Tuhan seperti Musa atau Abraham, hanya bertanya: “sampai berapa lama, ya Tuhan?”

Back to the Classics Challenge 2014

I have been participating in this challenge since 2012, and for two years have been enjoying it. But when Sarah—who has been hosted this challenge for two years—said that she would not continue it for 2014, I was quite disappointed. Fortunately….Karen from Books and Chocolate decided to adopt the challenge and host it for 2014, yayyy! Thanks for bringing back the fun, Karen! 

So, I’m so glad to announce that I will be participating again in the Back to the Classics Challenge 2014. It comes with similar concept as before, with only one slight change. Karen strictly limited the classic definition as a book that was published at least 50 years ago. Here are my choices:

Required:

• A 20th Century Classic: Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
• A 19th Century Classic: Nana by Émile Zola
• A Classic by a Woman Author: House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
• A Classic in Translation: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
• A Wartime Classic: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper 
• A Classic by an Author Who Is New To You: The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

Optional Categories:

For the optionals, I only picked these three categories (of five), as the other two do not fit my reading schedule for 2014.

• An American Classic: Tender is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• A Classic That's Been Adapted Into a Movie or TV Series: Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson
• Extra Fun Category:  Write a Review of the Movie or TV Series adapted from Optional Category #4: Greyfriars Bobby : The True Story of a Dog (1961)

Would you join too? You can sign up here.

Song of Solomon – Chapter Summary Part 1

This is the chapter summary of first of two parts of Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. I’m doing the WEM project assignments for this book.

Chapter 1

Not long after Mr. Smith, an insurance agent, flew from hospital roof, Ruth Foster gave birth to her baby boy. Years after that, Macon Dead, her husband, hated her and was always hard to his family; while Ruth took pleasure from breastfeeding her (now) teenage boy, that the boy got ‘Milkman’ as his nickname. Macon rented houses to poor colored families, and he was heartless in dealing with them.

Chapter 2

Macon had an eccentric sister, Pilate, whom he loved but was ashamed of her undignified qualities and of her being a wine maker. He warned his son not to visit Pilate—whom he called ‘snake’—but Milkman was fascinated by his aunt and his female cousins when he—despite of his father’s ban—visited them. In a father-son much more tender dialog, Macon told his history; how his illiterate father has struggled and even died to keep the land he owned.

Chapter 3

Now Milkman apprenticed in his father’s business; one night he defended his mother who was beaten by Macon, by punching him back. Later that night Macon told him how he suspected Ruth for having incest with her father. Reflecting this new story, Milkman recollected how Ruth had breastfed him when he was no longer a baby, and this troubled him very much and thought his father ought not to tell him a truth that he could do nothing of now. Meanwhile, there was a murder in town, and a possibility that the police might blame a Negro.

Chapter 4

Milkman wanted to dump his girlfriend Hagar, Pilate’s daughter, out of bore. He was now in the search of life meaning, and lately his friend Guitar seemed more thoughtful and more serious. One day Freddie the janitor told him that something strange had been boiling on below the surface, that something might happen, and that Guitar might hide a Negro friend who had possibly committed the murder in town.

Chapter 5

Ruth told Milkman that his father has actually killed her father the Doctor; and almost killed him (Milkman) out of jealousy of having her for his own, if Pilate did not interfere. For months after his break-up letter to Hagar, the girl stalked and attempted to kill him, but just couldn’t. Pilate told her history, how after her dad been killed, she and Macon wandered around before they separated, how she’d been ‘cut-off’ from everyone just because she was different, that now she lived by herself but attentive to others who need help.

Chapter 6

Guitar finally told Milkman his secret. He’s been joining a society called ‘Seven Days’, whose mission is to kill a random white, everytime a Negro has been killed by whites authority. Their aim is to get even with white people, so that they won’t be diminished like the Indians. Milkman was shocked and opposed it, but to no avail.

Chapter 7

Macon told Milkman how he and Pilate, after their dad died, stayed in a cave inside a wood. A white man scared him, so Macon stabbed him dead, and found gold nuggets in a green tarpaulin bag. Pilate opposed his plan to steal the gold; but Macon did not find Pilate and the gold when he came back to the cave the next day. Now he was assure that the green bag hanging in Pilate’s house was the gold; and asked Milkman to steal it.

Chapter 8

Milkman cooperated with Guitar to steal the sack of gold from Pilate’s house. When planning it, they saw a white peacock was opening its tail wide upon the used cars place’s rooftop. They sneaked into Pilate’s house on the scheduled night and succeeded in bringing the sack out, without realizing that Pilate was actually seeing them silently.

Chapter 9

Corinthians, the elder sister of Milkman, had a love relationship with a man named Henry Porter; later on Milkman recognized him as one of the Seven Days member; and because of that she must break it. Meanwhile, the sack’s content, which they thought was gold, turned out to be a white man’s skeletons, the man whom Macon killed. Pilate helped releasing Milkman and Guitar from jail; but Macon believed the gold was still in the cave, and told Milkman to get it.

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David Copperfield

As soon as I read the last line, and closed the book for good, I could only think…how emotional David Copperfield is; it’s much more intense than any other books I have read so far by Dickens. Then I realized, David Copperfield is Dickens’ autobiographical novel, and so he must have written it deep from his heart. Things that might have been suppressed during his life, he poured down into this book. And so, I felt like Dickens himself was speaking to me; telling his unfortunate childhood, and how he became the man he was when he wrote this book. It became very personal and compassionate reading for me; and David Copperfield now becomes one of my favorites, and the most memorable from Dickens.

The book tells about the life of David Copperfield, from his unfortunate childhood—being an orphan; tormented at home by his wicked stepfather Mr. Murdstone; witnessing injustice and cruel treatment at school, his difficult runaway—to being in his aunt Betsey Trotwood’s custody, his apprenticeship time, until he came of age, marrying the girl he adored, and experienced the sweetness and bitterness of life. And during those times, David Copperfield—later on was also called Trotwood Copperfield by his aunt—met many memorable characters—some loved him, some despised him, some did him good, but some did him worse. Through them all, David (Trotwood) Copperfield strove to build his own character and to have a better life, just as Charles Dickens emerged as one of the greatest novelists of all time.

Strangely, unlike any other main protagonists in Dickens’ novel, I didn’t find Copperfield as distinguished as I expected. Yes, he is kind, friendly, helpful, persevering in hard times and has ‘undiciplined heart’—as Dickens put it—but other than that, he seems to be too plain; like there are no specific or unique personalities that distinguishes him from others. I even like Tommy Traddles more than Copperfield; he is more ‘humane’ than Copperfield here. And of course, I like Agnes Wickfield and Betsey Trotwood—who wouldn’t love to have an aunt like that?... :)

Mr. Micawber would have one of my favorites if not for his distressing law-styled letters—which gave me enough headaches to read. Oh, Mr. Pegotty is also my favorite, this is a genuine humble man with abundance of love in his heart; bless him for his sacrifices and forgiveness for Little Em’ly! Then there is the notorious Uriah Heep with his ‘umbleness’. I felt from the beginning that Uriah’s ‘umbleness’ was fake; and I always believe that people with that exaggerated humility must have been spiteful inside.

The best part of this novel is when young Copperfield must live alone by himself, beginning actually after her mother remarried. That was the starting point of his miseries, as young as he was then—10 years?—he must take care of his own and fed himself. As Dickens wrote it from his own experience, it becomes so intense. I could sympathize with Copperfield very much; and I often felt that I was reading Dickens’ own diary. I could also feel how his wound must have been re-opened while he was retelling those dark histories of his. I could only hope that Dickens’ emotional wounds would be relieved, at least a bit, after telling it to us then. And don’t forget about the sea storm Dickens wrote so lively, almost felt like reading a semi-thriller.

Knowing that this book is Dickens’ half fictionalized memoir, I can only wonder which one of the characters here that represent the true figures in Dickens’ life. Does, for instance, Dora represent Maria Beadnell, his first lover? At least I read about it in Wikipedia. But her death in so young of age, doesn’t it represent Mary—Dickens’ sister in law—to whom he became very attached—who died of an illness on her 17 years of age, and of whom—they say—Dickens has never recovered from his grief? And what about Agnes Wickfield? Could she be the representation of Ellen Ternan, whom was believed to be Dickens’ last lover? Or did he write DC before he met Tarnen? I really need to consult my Dickens’ biography again!

In short—as Mr. Micawber usually concluded his speeches :D—David Copperfield is one of the most memorable from Dickens, and I am grateful I have chance to read it. It was so enjoyable, and I think it is one book that I would love to reread from time to time, at least the one from Dickens.

Five stars for David Copperfield.

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*I read Wordsworth Classics edition*

*This book is counted as:*

21^st book for What's In a Name Reading Challenge 2013

9^th book for Read Big! Reading Challenge

14^th book for 2013 TBR Pile Challenge

61^st book for The Classics Club Project

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

My Favorite Classic: The Classics Club’s December Meme

It’s been months since my last meme for The Classics Club, and I don’t have any other reason except “I don’t have time”. But this month’s meme is so easy that I am slipping several minutes to write the post. Actually it is a rewind of last year’s meme (August 2012).

What is your favorite classic book?

Back then I have posted 4 favorites, one of them is from Zola (L’Assommoir). This year I think I can make up my mind more easily to pick my all time Most Favorite Classic. It goes to….

Germinal by Emile Zola

Zola is so far my most favorite classics author, and Germinal is considered his masterpiece. I haven’t read all of Zola’s books, but Germinal can be called as a book that fulfill all my desire in a classic book. The writing, the topic, the characters, the conflict, the drama, the actions. You can get them all in Germinal. And….it’s so ‘Zola’ (you won't understand before you read Zola!). I just can’t wait to reread this book!

Moby Dick: Final Review

“Call me Ishmael” might be one of the most famous book openings in literary world, yet Ishmael himself turns out NOT to be the leading character at all in this book. Like Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, Ishmael is the narrator of Moby Dick; but unlike Carraway, who is much involved in the events and expresses his thoughts of each character, Ishmael seems to be very passive right after the sail began. Of course he still narrates the story until the end of it, but throughout the voyage, I can’t help feeling that, somehow, Melville has stolen Ishmael’s pen to write the story, and only lent it him again every once in a while. Nevertheless, Moby Dick is such marvelous story, that I won’t complain too much of who is narrating it.

On the other hand, Moby Dick—although has the privilege of becoming the book title—physically appears only in the three final chapters of the book. So, if it is not Ishmael, nor Moby Dick, who is the central character of this book? It is the enigmatic Captain Ahab.

The story is started with Ishmael, who intends to join a whaling ship, which at that time offers a great sea adventure as well as good money. On the way to Nantucket (a village of most successful whalers) he accidentally meets a pagan cannibal named Queequeg. Instead of terrified, Ishmael finds that Queequeg has tender heart and politeness, even more than civilized Christian people’s. I believe Melville has intended to criticize our civilization by this passage. Ishmael and Queequeg become good friends and they both register in a whaling voyage on board of a ship called the Pequod, whose captain is a mysterious man named Captain Ahab.

Even before Ahab really appears—he mysteriously hides ‘behind the screen’ before the ship reaches certain distance from the land—there are numerous issues and stories around this enigmatic captain. Everyone seems to be between respectful and terrified towards the captain. It’s not after Ishmael is on board the Pequod, that he finally sees Captain Ahab. No sooner than that, Ahab makes clear to all crew and mates, what his main intention for the sail is, which is far from executing the ship’s owners business, but for his personal unfinished business: taking revenge to a certain white whale which has snatched his one leg in a hunting. The poor white whale is the famous Moby Dick!

The declaration immediately draws dark clouds over the Pequod, as if the Devil himself suddenly stays among the crew. From then on everyone feels gloomy and restless. The chief mate of the Pequod is Starbuck; a wise, experienced and educated man. He is the only person who bravely confronts Ahab of his secret revenge till the end. Starbuck is my only hope to hinder Moby Dick from Ahab’s wicked plan. However, as Ahab is the Captain—the higher power on board, Starbuck can’t do anything more than persuading and pledging; and both are rejected by Ahab.

Melville put huge effort too to explain the nature of Sperm Whale; the noblest whale in the world. He wrote detailed explanation of sperm whale’s anatomy; the real portrait of sperm whale ‘business management’; and why sperm whales are hunted much more than other whale species. Melville criticized the savage way whalers treated such noble creature as sperm whale, and how they were more massacred than hunted, merely for profiting them. As Melville has slipped a critic about barbarian vs civilized people, I believe Melville wanted to highlight the irony of civilized people who treat other creatures like barbarians, and even eat their prey like cannibals. This is another proof of the irony, that the more industrious a civilization is, the more uncivilized it is.

But the central polemic is still on the hunt of Moby Dick. Throughout the story Melville has planted the noble, pure, divine, as well as powerful and clever impression upon Moby Dick, that you would be very excited to ‘see’ what he is like. So, when he finally (really) appears from the depth of the sea, it’s really impressive; Melville paints the appearance very intensely and beautifully in his prose.

So, in the end, what is Moby Dick about? It’s about the dark sides of men; the passion of revenge; and the quest of justice from God. All these are woven into an epic story about the noble creature—the Sperm Whale—because in Moby Dick, the white sperm whale, Melville saw our Creator.

Moby Dick also talks about conscience. Starbuck is my favorite character here because he keeps his conscience pure till the end. We should imitate him in our daily life, always trying to speak the truth whenever there is evil. Sometimes we are powerless to change things—like Starbuck failed in changing his captain—but the most important thing is our efforts. Last but not least, there is a question about whale hunting—or in this case, hunting any creatures to use them for human’s life—is it right or wrong? I would say, it’s already in our conscience (I talked about this further in my chapter post). Conscience doesn’t have any clear limits or principles, it’s in our soul, and that’s why people can keep on debating upon these matters. And that’s why, I guess, Melville took the effort to write these hundreds of pages of Moby Dick!

Five whole whales for Moby Dick!—one book I’d need to reread every other years…

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*I read Penguin English Library edition*

*This book is counted as:*

10^th book for Back To The Classics 2013

8^th book for Read Big! Reading Challenge

13^th book for New Authors Reading Challenge 2013

60^th book for The Classics Club Project

The Well-Educated Mind Self Project

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die