Blog Assignment for VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE
HELLO 2nde and welcome to our blog site!
As you read Veronika Decides to Die post your thoughts on a certain part or aspect of the text.
Remember to provide textual evidence in your analysis.Your comment may be based on:
a certain passage (at least TWO-THREE lines in length)
a specific character
certain image, metaphor or other literary element
a theme or motif in this section
The section and page numbers which you will be responding to will be for PAGES 133-164 --
YOU MUST CITE (=LIST) THE PAGE NUMBER(S) TO WHICH YOU ARE REFERRING AND REMEMBER TO USE QUOTATION MARKS WHEN NECESSARY!
Also remember to include your name at the beginning or end of your post to receive credit.
Please be thoughtful, analytical and appropriate in your responses.
USE correct English mechanics and grammar -- not SMS text!You will be expected to make ONE posting of a minimum of a paragraph in length by the end of the period on May 11, 2009.
And yes, you will receive a grade for this assignment.
Best wishes!
p.s. Please read the first sample post to guide you with this activity.
EXAMPLE ENTRY BY A.CONSIDINE:
ReplyDelete“That’s how it should be with you; stay insane, but behave like normal people. Run the risk of being different, but learn to do so without attracting attention. Concentrate on this flower and allow the real “I” to reveal itself.” (p.102)
I chose this particular passage spoken by Mari to Veronika because I agree with the advice it contains and also think it addresses one of the majors themes of this novel: namely that the pursuit and process of defining individuality is one of life's greatest tasks. Based on her conversations with Mari and her time in Villette, Veronika has begun to question what "sanity" and "normality" mean to her. Through various experiences, Veronika is learning that only she can create a truthful defintion of these terms by exploring her own uniqueness and by not worrying about what others think of her. In this passage, Mari is telling Veronika that it is okay not to follow the status quo; in fact, Mari encourages and dares Veronika to be different. However, Mari also warns Veronika that she should not make a dramatic show of her individuality nor be overtly rebellious. Rather, Veronika should learn proper social codes and be respectful of them because it is within these perameters that she can find her "true" self. The reason I agree with this advice is that I believe it is only by understanding and honoring rules, traditions and conventions, that we can make our own decisions about whether or not we can uphold them. If we try our best to abide by a rule, but then find that it is false, unjust, not useful, ridiculous, hypocritical, etc., then we are truly free not to act in accordance and should seek to change it in an appropriate manner. Furthermore, if we simply rebel without going through this process, then we deny ourselves the opportunity to deeply learn the reasons for why we think and act the we do. The final sentence in this passage also highlights the importance of "concentration" in order to achieve these goals. If we do not focus and pay attention to the details of what we encounter, we will not be able to make meaning of all that confronts us. I think what Mari is saying is that in order for people to understand themselves, they must realize the importance of doing so and make the discovery of one's own truth a priority by devoting time and thoughtful attention. This is the way to make meaning of our lives, and also one of the biggest challenges. But, if we avoid this difficulty, we risk losing the experience of being unique individuals -- as Irish writer, Oscar Wilde says, "A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.”
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ReplyDelete"There's everything wrong with it.Because when everyone dreams, but only a few realize their dreams, that makes cowards of us all"(p.141)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage spoken by Dr.Igor to Veronika because i find what he said is true.When someone dreams and try to ignore it, that makes him a coward because he is not facing what his mind is going threw.That person is scared of facing the reality! To try to understand that dream makes you strong and by the time you will make it happen no matter what!The fact of being different from others and accepting it makes you that person that is not afraid to express yourself..This is what Dr.Igor was trying to explain to Veronika during her visit.
omar daouk
ReplyDeletepage144"i m not going to change the world,but at least i can say what i think in my thesis"
These words are said by doctor igor in page 144 while he speeks to Zedka the depressed patient. This coat is important because if we look at it closely it shows the contradiction between dr igor s perception and valor of life and veronica s perception. Both Veronica and dr.igor want to change the world and wich that they can make it a perfect place but the difference is in the way each person reacts. Dr Igor accepts the fact that he is helpless and takes the news maturely but he still wishes that he could change it.And he is still optimistic because he says that he will express his oppinion even though it will probably change nothing in the wold.Veronica on the other hand, wishes that she also could change the world but once she knew that she can t do it she attempted suicied. She took it from a rung point of view because she did not understand that it s people like her and dr igor who want to change the world that will change it and make it a better place but they should be tenacious and persevere.
" 'God will bring me into judgement',said Eduard out loud,'and i will say:'For a time in my life i stood looking at the wind,i forgot to sow,i did not live joyfully,i did not even drink the wine offered me . But one day,i judged myself ready,and i went back to work.I told men about my visions of Paradise,as did Bosch,Van Gogh,Wagner,Beethoven,Einstein and other madmen before me " _page 140 (different edition)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because i agree with Eduard. I think Van Gogh,Wagner,Beethoven and Einstein are Madmen.In my opinion,all artists are mad.Each and every one of them is mad in his own way. Of cours,I have my own definition of the word "mad".
A mad person is someone who sees the world diffrently,and who expresses himself in diffrent ways. Some madmen use words to share their opinions.Others use colours,or music...
Eduard wanted to paint his "visions of Paradise". He shared his thoughts with his parents , which, unfortunatly for him,was a bad idea.When someone sees the world in this perspective,he souldn't talk about it with others because they will say that he's mad.He should've just painted what was on his mind,because if we have to wait for other's judgments,we wont be able to live our life the way we think is favorable.
Sarah Sader.
"In short, Dr.Igor , I want to feel the rain on my face , to smile at any man I feel attracted to , to accept all the coffees men might buy for me. I want to kiss my mother, tell her I love her, weep in her lap, unashamed of showing my feelings, because they were always there even tough I hid them."
ReplyDeleteKarim says:
In this passage Veronika who is talking to Dr.Igor ,tells him that now she wants before her death, finally enjoy her life like never before , and show her affection to the her mother…. This passage shows us that Veronika finally understood what was missing in her life that was her love for life. And now , in the couple of days that she has left she wants to make up the mistake she has been committing since her childhood. In this passage we see how much Veronika has changed and learned in the psychiatric hospital.
"I want tp die outside. I need to visit ljubljana castle. It's always been there and i've never even had the curiosity to go and see it close to. I need to talk to the woman who sells chestnuts in winter and flowes in the spring. We passed each other so often and I never once asked her how she was. And i want to go out without a jacket and walk in the snow, I want to find out what extreme cold feels like, I, who was always so well wrapped up, so afraid of catching a cold."(p 139)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it shows how much Veronika finally unerstood the meaning of life.
After she tried to suicide she is trying to experience new things in her life before she dies.
P163 "When I cam here, I was deeply depressed. Now I'm proud to say I'm insane….. because everyone will say:' She's just been released from Villete'
ReplyDeleteThese word were said by Zedka too Veronika, Zedka was saying that she is healed from her depression but now after seeing all the cases in Villete she feels insane. Zedka says that when she will leave Vilette she will do all the stuff that she wants, she will do foolish things and people couldn't be mad at her because they know that shes just went out of a mental institution. Zedka will do what ordinary people do and do fool stuff but inside of her she knows that her soul is free ad she could do stuff like ordinary people not like depressed person as she was.
Jad Fares
P: 136
ReplyDelete''Look me in the eyes, and never forget what I'm about to tell you. There are only two prohibitions, one according to man's law, and one according to God's. Never force a sexual relationship on anyone, because that s considered to de rape. And never have sexual relations with children, because that is the worst of all sins. Apart from that, you're free. There's always someone who wants exactly what you want.''
This is what Veronika said to Mari before she goes to sleep. I chose this passage because what Veronika said is very true. There are some things in life that are forbidden to do, they are considered to be sins. Veronika is right about what she says about people being free to do whatever they want except some particular things like rape and pedophilism. But they should always wait because out there it is sure to be someone that wants what they want that they can share with them.
"I've been in Vilette for years, he said. "I've stopped being an embarrassment to my parents, I've set aside all my ambitious, but still the visions of paradise remain". (p150)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage spoken by Eduard because I think he's a perseverant person, hopeful, after many years of living in Vilette he is still waiting and working to attain paradise. For Eduard paradise is with Veronica and only her. For many years he was a person living without spirit but when he met veronica his entire life has changed. Now his life has meaning he is a lover, he's a real person and not such an embarrassment for his parents.
"I discovered that I'm pervert, doctor. I want to know if that played some part in my attempted suicide. There are so many things I didn't know about myself."
ReplyDeleteP 141 line 16-18
In these words said by Veronika to doctor Igor, she asks him if her perverted behavior is one of the reasons she wanted to kill herself. And that she is very surprised about herself and her unusual behavior.
This shows that Veronika don't know anything about herself while she wanted to kill herself. After the failure of her attempted suicide she started to learn a lot of new things about herself and this shows the importance of life and the negative aspects of giving up life.
Page 139:
ReplyDelete''I want to ask two favors. First, that you give me some medication ,an injection or whatever, so that I can stay awake and enjoy every moment that remains in my life. I'm very tired but I don't want to sleep. I've got…worth living''
I chose this passage because it shows that Veronika is enjoying her life again and wants to use all the time remaining in her life to do everything she wants to and didn't in her life. Based on this dialogue I can conclude that Veronika regrets committing suicide and now wants to relive again and satisfy all her goals and desires in life.
Ralph avedikian
"I want to leave here so that I can die outside...In short, Dr.Igor, I want to feel the rain on my face, to smile at any man I feel attracted to, to accept all the coffees men might buy for me. I want to kiss my mother, tell her I love her, weep in her lap, unashamed of showing my feelings"(p139)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it shows what Veronika wants to do. She knows that she will not live long so she is not ashamed of anything. She used to be ashamed to show her emotions so she didnt weep in her mothers lap but know she has nothing to lose she wants to make up everything she missed. She also wants to visit the castle that she never thought to go in, she wants to see each picture in it that didnt meant alot to her before. Veronika wants to do crazy things like go out without a jacket she wants to feel the cold she wants to experience the most she can. Also she wants to die out the hospital she wants to die in her town. In this passage we can see how Veronika wants to enjoy every moments she yet has to live.
Hiba Ariss
Patrick el Hitti
ReplyDelete"I'm goin to allow myself to do a few foolish things, just so that people can say:"She's just been released from villette.'But I know that my soul is complete because my life has meaning.I'll be able to look at a sunset and believe that God is behind it.When someone irritates me, I'll tell them what I think of them, and I wont worry what they think of me, because everyone wil say:'She's just been released from villlette.'" (p.163)
I chose this particular passage because veronika is going out of villette and it's an very important event because now veronika is free she can do whatever she wants she's been released from that jail and she's going outside to see how life works and see that her life has finally a meaning and she can enjoy any feeling she wants like love and happinesse.She can finally see the sunset as she wanted to do and she will allow herself to do many foolish things.Veronika finally changed.
caline rhayem
ReplyDelete"And, laughing he'll say: you're crazy!' and i'll say: 'of course i am , i was in villette, remember!and madness freed me.now , my dear husband , you must have a vacation every year, and make me climb some dangerous mountains , because i need to run the risk of being alive.'"
I chose this passage because it reflects the freedom Zedka is feeling now after she's cured of her depression and her sudden love of life , she has learned a lot in villette ,and now that people think she's insane she can do whatever she wants .In fact, she had discovered in villette how much life is precious and how many risks we run while being alive ! veronika also played an important role in Zedka's discovery of the true meaning of life considering the fact that veronika is getting attached to life after she knew that she's loosing it, so Zedka is now allowing herself to do foolish things ,now that her soul is complete ...after all, "she's just been released from Villette!right?"
Page 127
ReplyDelete"I want to leave here so that I can die outside. I need to visit Ljubljana castle. It's always been there and I've never been there and I've never even had the curiosity to go and see it close to. I need to walk to the woman who sells chestnuts in winter and flowers in the spring. We passed each other so often, and I never once asked her how she was. And I want to go out without a jacket and walk in the snow, I want to find out what extreme cold feels like, I, who was always so well wrapped u, so afraid of catching a cold".
Karim Nadar: In this passage where Veronica is heading her speech to Dr. Igor, she tells him that she wants to experience her last days like other ordinary people do in actual life. She wants to feel like others, she wants to live an ordinary and simple life. She's sick of her life and wants to do something exciting other than sitting in a boring hospital.
"I want to ask two favors. First, that you give me some medication, an injection or what ever, so that I can stay awake and enjoy every moment that remains of my life… worth living" (p 139)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it shows us how people change whether it takes time or it doesn't and how when you are close to loosing something you start to appreciate it and value its importance. Veronika was never grateful for what she had. Specifically her life. She thought my life is always the same it's routine it's boring why waste it living I'm not missing out on anything. But little did she know that life has so much more to it and that she wasn't pushing it to the limit and experiencing its advantages and disadvantages. Just a day before her death she realizes that she is going to miss out on a lot and she regrets. So she goes to Dr. Igor and asks him to give her some medication to stay awake and to make the most of her last on earth. If she'd realized that earlier she wouldn't have got in this mess in the first place. But it's good that this happened at least she is getting an example and learning to get better.
"Veronika didn't know why, but that young man had become a part of her world, or the little that remained of it. She was certain that Eduard was capable of understanding her music, of admiring her talent; even if he couldn't utter a word,his eyes said everyhing, as they did at that moment, at the door of the ward, speaking of things she didn't want to hear about."
ReplyDeleteAbed says:
AFter Veronika finished playing piana for eduard and after the masterbation event Veronika felt something special to Eduard. after all what happened Veronika who had lost love for a lot of years felt in love with Eduard the guy who didn't speak with words. Veronika felt for him is think after the masterbation event when she saw his tenderness in his eyes.This love wont last long because she has little time left.But at least she will die happy because she has finnaly found love.
It was so good that I can see love in everything, even in the eyes of a schizophrenic
ReplyDeleteP134
I chose this paragraph because this shows that even sick people have feelings like any other normal person. Here, Veronika says that love is all around her. So this means that she is hopeful and is now looking at life in the positive way. Not only Veronika feels the love but also Eduard who is suffering from schizophrenia. This sentence means also that Veronika and Eduard have the same feeling toward each other, in fact, Eduard loves Veronika and the opposite is right.
"In short, Dr.Igor, I want to feel the rain on my face, to smile at any man I feel attracted to, to accept all the coffees men might buy for me. I want to kiss my mother,tell her I love her,weep in her lap,unashamed of showing my feelings,because they were always there even though I hid them." page 139
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it shows us that Veronika,even though she wants to die,has feelings.She wants to get out of this cruel world they call "Vilette" and wants to go to the real world,where she is not ashamed of showing her true identity. This passage shows us that they can contain Veronika's body, but they can't contain her soul.She has emotions she needs to express. She can't take it anymore,and,ironically,misses the world she wanted to escape.
”God will bring me into judgment," said Eduard out loud, "and I will say: "For a time in my life I stood looking at the wind, I forgot to sow, I did not live joyfully, I did not even drink the wine offered me. But one day, I judged myself ready, and I went back to work. I told men about my visions of paradise, as did Bosch, Van Gogh, Wagner, Beethoven, Einstein, and other madmen before me." Fine, let him say that I left hospital in order to avoid seeing a young girl dying; she will be there in heaven, and she will intercede for me" (p.153-154)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because Eduard is talking about his life, how he hated his life when is parents chose his pass until the accident, and he read the book the nurse got him a book his life changed. He thinks he is from the chosen one like Van Gogh,and Einstein and he has these vision of paradise that made him come to Vilette and his life changed when he met Veronika who loved him and he loved her!
"God will bring me into judgment, said Eduard out loud ,and I will say: for a time in my life I stood looking at the wind, I forgot to sow, I did not live joyfully, I did not even drink the wine offered me. But one day, I judged myself ready, I went back to work. I told men about my visions, of paradise, as did Bosch, Van Gogh, Wagner, Beethoven, Einstein, and other mad-men before me. Fine, let Him say that I left hospital in order to avoid seeing a young girl dying; she will be there in Heaven, and she will intercede for me"
ReplyDeleteThis passage shows the difference between "normal" people and "mad" people. Eduard was considered as a mad man because he had his own visions and ideas and because he had the courage to share them. All men before him, like Einstein or van Gogh or Bosch, had also their ideas and thoughts. So why were their ideas tolerated and not his? And god will take this into consideration. Eduard knows he didn't do anything wrong and it was just a misjudgment by the people surrounding him. So when he leaves this hospital, God will know the reason why he left and it was because he didn't want to see Veronika dying and he knows she will be going to heaven.
p. 163 '' if it stay here any longer, I won' t leave at all. I' m cured of my depression, but in Villete, I' ve learned that there are other kinds of insanity. I went to carry those with me and begin to see life with my own eyes.
ReplyDelete'' When I came here, I was depressed. Now I' m proud to say I' m insane. Outside I'll behave exactly like everyone else. I' ll go shopping at the supermarket, I' ll exchange trivialities with my friends, I' ll waste precious time watching television. But I know that my soul is free and that I can dream and talk with other worlds that, before I came here, I didn' t even imagine existed. ''
Zedka said this to Veronika before she leaves. She was saying that she is cured from all depressions and diseases but if she stays much longer in Villete she won't leave at all. She enjoyed being in Villete because she was doing things that were forbidden in the '' outside world''. When she goes out she's going to do things like normal people do, go shopping, exchange trivialities, watch television. But that’s not what she wants! She wants to do things that are out of the ordinary and things that can be done in villete. In villete she imagined world her way and lived without the stress and the pushing of the real world. '' She was happy''
Omar Berjawi
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ReplyDeleteP.139 "I want to ask two favors. First, that you give me some medication, an injection or whatever, so that I can stay awake and enjoy every moment that remains of my life. I'm very tired, but I don't want to sleep. I've got a lot to do, things that I always postponed for some future date, in the days when I thought life would last forever. Things I'd lost interest in, when I started to believe that life wasn't worth living"
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage spoken by Veronika because it reveals Veronika's sudden attachment to life, when she realizes that life is very precious and it won't last forever after she lost a huge part of it, so she tries to invest every precious minute that remains of her life in happiness by experiencing things she never had the chance to do, things she lost interest in since she thought that life wasn't living worthy.
Written by Omar kara
"Possibly. Basically, everything that happens in our life is our fault and ours alone. A lot of people go through the same difficulties we went through, and they react completely differently. We looked for the easiest way out: a separate reality." (P. 151)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Mari and Eduard confess to each other their opinion about living in Vilette for as long as they have. After asking themselves what they were doing there, they thought about all the beautiful things outside the walls that protected them from reality. But now that they want to leave this sanctuary, they understand that the prices one pays for having to deal with minor problems – like taxes, for example – are far less than the prices one pays for not recognizing they’re his. That’s what all Vilette patients were doing. They didn’t recognize that these minor problems were theirs to deal with, no matter how much time and effort it took. Instead, they experienced discomforts, depression, uneasiness and sometimes sickness. That’s how they adopted Vilette as a refuge from all these problems. They are the ones that led their own paths. Nobody made them experience discomfort or uneasiness. Others may have had to deal with the same problems they had to deal with, but didn’t escape from it. They may have confronted their problems and solved them, and escaped the whole “insaneness” experience. To escape problems one has to face sooner or later, people search for an easy way out. In this case, it was a separate reality were one could be anything or anyone he or she ever wanted to be.
"There won't be a tomorrow, as you well know. I'm tired, Dr.Igor, very tired. That's why I asked for the tablets. I spent all awake, half desperate, half resigned. I could succumb to another attack of fear, as happened yesterday, but what's the point? If I've still got twenty-four hours of life left, and there are so many experiences waiting for me, I decided it would be better to put aside despair." P.140
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, we see Veronica talking to Doctor Igor. It was her last day; she still had, as she said, 24 hours to live. Here, we see that Veronika decided to live her life, to be able to face and do what she wasn't able to do before since nothing would be stopping her from now on, as she said "put aside dispair". We can relate this passage to the theme of the story, that we shouldn't let depression come to us and ruin what we live for or what we stand for. We have to fight it; we have to remote it from surrounding us. Since it was her last day to live, Veronika decided to do what she craved doing before, to somehow achieve all her dreams, the dreams she never had the chance to have.
It is normal for a person to feel that way, especially when we know that we won't live for so long. We feel an empty space in us, like there is something we should fill, and to be able to fill it correctly is to be able to enjoy every moment of what we have left. As they say, living is an art, we have to be creative, and we have to be artists to know how to live. We have to be crazy, live with an imagination that would fill our minds. Veronika was becoming an artist; she wanted to live her life the right way, no matter how much time was left.
Karl Nasr 2ndeC
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ReplyDelete"Basically everything that happens in our life is our fault and ours alone. A lot of people go through the same difficulties we went through, and they react completely differently. We looked for the easiest way out: a separate reality." – Mari, talking to Eduard - p.151
ReplyDeleteThis is what Mari says to Eduard as they are having a discussion about whether they should consider leaving Vilette and actually start living their lives. I chose this quote because I think it clearly explains why "sane" people such as Mari or even Zedka seek shelter in Vilette and refuse to return to the real world. According to Mari, they are incapable of reacting positively to any problem they face. Whenever they are faced with a crisis, they panic, and instead of behaving rationally like adults, they surrender to their problems and choose the easiest way out. Just like bullied/lonely children who seek refuge in an imaginary friend or a fictional world, these patients decide to escape the real world and hide in a “separate reality”, one they created themselves. I agree with what Mari said, because I believe that, instead of blaming everyone else for our problems, and instead of sticking our head into a hole anytime we feel danger coming, we should start to accept the fact that we are the cause of most problems, and we should try to figure what we can make out of a bad experience; “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. If those patients at Vilette started to react more positively to problems and misfortunes, then they can start being truly happy with their lives, and they will stop fearing the outside world.
The reason why I can’t feel any sympathy or pity towards Veronica is because she sees everything from the wrong angle; she sees the world as cruel and horrible, and instead of trying to make the best out of it, or even help improve it, she chooses the easy way out and decides to kill herself.
Julia
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ReplyDeleteVeronika said:
ReplyDelete"I want to ask two favors. First, that you give me some medication, an injection or whatever, so that I can stay awake and enjoy every moment that remains of my life. I'm very tired, but I don’t want to sleep. I've got a lot to do, things that I always postponed for some future date, in the days when I thought life would last forever. Things I'd lost interest in, when I started to believe that life wasn't worth living."
Page:139
Nizar Hirbli said:
Veronika wanted some medication or an injection so that she can stay awake and do things she wanted to do in life. She knew that her days were about to end, so she started missing everything in the life that before, she wasn’t grateful. She didn’t experience life, thought it was boring until she knew she will loose it. I chose this passage because its so important for everyone to read: every one starts appreciating something when they know they are going to loose it. Veronika started holding her life back, and grabbed it like if she were grabbing something that she would not let go. She recognized that she had many thing to accomplish and she was afraid. I can assume that Veronika regrets her suicide attempt, and show her remorse,” …enjoy every moment that remains of my life.”. She try to invest every single of her remaining days and die happy…
I think this passage is good because it shows us how great is living, and how well we should clutch it, because it brings happyness. And you? Do you agree with my opinion?
“I never want to be a lawyer again, but I can use my experience to give lectures about men and women who knew the truth about this existence of ours and whose writings can be summed up in one word: Live. If you live, God will live with you. If you refuse to run his risks, he’ll retreat to that distant heaven and be merely a subject for philosophical speculations. Everyone knows this, but no one takes the first step, perhaps for fear of being called insane. At least, we haven’t got that fear, Eduard. We’ve already been inmates of Vilette.” P. 152
ReplyDeleteWe witness in this passage a part of the conversation between Mari and Eduard on page 152. Mari is lecturing Eduard, somehow consoling him, making him see the true side of life. She tells him that the true meaning of existence is knowing how to live. Mari refers to the fact that it is not a matter of sticking to the rules or breaking them, but a matter of knowing how to enjoy what we have. She has a point in that. Some people know how to live, they went through a lot of things and moments to get to what they are, and they were creative by breaking the rules. They knew how to deal with what comes in their way. They knew how to have fun, and when there are limits. As Mari said, they “took the first step”. But what stops the person from living is the reaction of others, and that always keeps us away from achieving our desires, the “fear of being called insane”. When we do something, when we break the rule for once, we get severely punished just by knowing the reaction of others. They would judge our actions as immature, irresponsible, crazy, and insane, just for doing the unnatural for once. They also name it as a “sinful” act. But what is sinful about living is not knowing how to live. Mari in this passage said that “if you live, God will live with you”, meaning that if we had a good time, we had innocent fun, we were ourselves and we followed our instincts without sticking to the standards, then God wouldn’t punish us for that. But we would punish ourselves if we didn’t know how to live, like Veronika. She committed suicide because of the routine her life became, and because she had nothing to live for anymore, no happy memories, no fun times, no mistakes to learn from. After going to Vilette, Veronika learned to give her pleasure rights to get to reality, and that is kind of referring to the fact that after she became “insane”, she knew how to live, how to give her desires and pleasures a part of her real life.
Nay Tabbara 2nde C
"I will but answer my question first: Why did I never do that before? If I'm free, if I can think whatever I choose to think, why have i always avoided imagining forbidden situations"
ReplyDeletep.135
Forbidden things come in many forms. Forbidden could mean that your parents did not allow you, forbidden could mean that you teachers oblige you and forbidden could mean all that is not accepted in society. In this passage,Mari enters the room and sees Veronika masturbating in front of Eduard and she starts talking to her about playing her music to Eduard just to fill his desires. One is never really free, not with society and consequences, monitering our every move. These two factors, deprives us of freedom and of doing all that is forbidden,they represent our limits. They are what keep us rational and sane. With just a week to live, adrenalin is rushing through Veronika's veins. She knows that when her time on earth runs out, her life is going to flash before her eyes. She was going to make sure it was worth living. She had one week; one week to do every item on her to do list. Forbidden ideas now seemed tangable and real. Socially unaccepted pleasures were now within touching distance. She had never done this before because of the limits but now the barriors were broken and for the first time ever she was truly free; free of judgement, critisism and consequences. She was going to die anyway; and if she was going to go down, she was going to make sure no one would ever forget it.
-Nour Haddad
“ When I came here, I was deeply depressed. Now I’m proud to say I’m insane. Outside I’ll behave exactly like everyone else. I’ll go shopping at the supermarket, I’ll change trivialities with my friends, I’ll waste precious time watching television. But I know that my soul is free and that I can dream and talk with other worlds that, before I came here, I didn’t even imagined existed”. Page 163
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it shows us how “insane” people behave in the “normal” world. They do the things others do but if they misbehave, break the rules or act weirdly they’ll have a free ticket out of the consequences any other human being has to suffer. If a mental person commits a crime, the decision taken in the courthouse will be: “ pleads not guilty because of mental illness”. How relieving is that?
And during hard circumstances a mental person can imagine his own perfect world to get rid of the stress caused by normal life but can still communicate with reality. So in my opinion I think the best solution is that we all become insane! Why not?
"Your'e someone who is different, but who wants to be the same as everyone else. And that in my view is a serious illness'(p 153)
ReplyDelete-Dr Igor talkin to Mary
Joanne Dajani :
I find what Dr Igor said is absolutly reasonable and true. We are all different by nature, but people always tend to imitate each others weather physically or in the behaviors in the hope that they will improve themselves. However being unique doesn't mean we can't share things with each other, We all have humanness in common after all. In my opinion , the best thing is to be one's self, confidant and happy and ignore what others says about you as long as love what your doing and it is fair and right.
Joanne Dajani 2nde C
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ReplyDelete“Her soul was light, and not even the fear of death tormented her now. She had experienced what she had always kept hidden from herself. She has experienced the pleasures of virgin and prostitute, of slave and queen, albeit more slave than queen”.
ReplyDeleteThrough these words, the author highlights to us the pleasure that Veronika gave herself. After achieving her desires, she felt that she let her soul free, like she experienced the pleasures of everything she can ever be. This feeling made her forget about the fact that she had just a couple of days to live. And that links us to the fact that when we experience happy moments, we just care about living the moment and filling our mind with the thought of enjoying every second of it. We don’t care about what is coming next, or what happened before. This feeling of happiness and satisfaction is what inveighs our hearts and our minds, and blinds us from any truth.
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ReplyDeleteI want to die outside. I need to visit ljubljana castle. It's always been there and I've never even had the curiosity to go and see it close to. I need to talk to the woman who sells chestnuts in winter and flowers in the spring. We passed each other so often and I never once asked her how she was. And i want to go out without a jacket and walk in the snow, I want to find out what extreme cold feels like, I, who was always so well wrapped up, so afraid of catching a cold."(p 139)
ReplyDeleteI chose this particular quote because it shows Veronika’s experience in life which was very limited .We can conclude that Veronika had lived but she didn’t ever learn any lesson from the life. We can see that she wants to visit places and people which shows that her life was so empty from meaningful attitudes. After she knew that she’s going to die, she wanted to do whatever she thinks or feels about .She knew now the feeling of freedom .
"I want to leave here so i can die outside. I need to visit Ljubljana castle. It's always been there, and I've never even had the curiosity to go and see it at close range. I need to talk to the woman who sells chestnuts in winter and flowers in the spring. WE passed each other so often, and I never once asked her how she was. And I want to go out without a jacket and walk in the snow, I want to find what extreme cld feels like, I, who was always s well wrapped up, so afraid of catching a cold.(page 139)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it shows the reader that Veronika wanted her life back. She is now trying to experience things she never had the chance to do beforeshe dies.I can deduce from this passage that Veronka regrets commiting suicide. In fact Veronika want to get out of the world she is living in, in Villete and express her true feelings outside and share it with people.
Rami Amhaz
hahaha
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"In short, Dr.Igor, I want to feel the rain on my face, to smile at any man I feel attracted to, to accept all the coffees men might buy for me. I want to kiss my mother,tell her I love her,weep in her lap,unashamed of showing my feelings,because they were always there even though I hid them." page 139.
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage spoken by Veronika because it shows us that she has feelings and that she wants to live. When Veronika came to Villete, she was happy that she left the real world. But now she wants to get out of Villete and go live in the real world,the world she once wanted to leave. She regrets attempting suicide and now wants to do everything she never did like showing her feelings to her mother.
Sami Ladki
Bassel Saridar
ReplyDelete"Mari said nothing;she had just been reliving certain vital moments of her past life, and she was feeling slightly uneasy. perhaps it was time to return to the world, to face up to things out there,..."p135
I chose this particular passage because it talks about how crazy people take real life harder than we take it, normal people, they take challenges and risks to become normal in real life... that's why they are put in hospitals,to become more aware of real life so they rejoin the club with the normal people. In these hospitals they teach them how normal people act so they imitate them and become a normal one. some crazy people succeed in to becoming a normal, but others can't and won't become so they have no other choice to stay in these hospitals... and mostly they try to run away.
But as told in the story before by one of the characters, "a crazy is always crazy if he's out or he's still in the hospital" that means that each crazy is always a crazy but there is some of them that can change unlike others who wno't know how to pretend.
‘’Veronika didn’t know why, but that that young man had become part of her world or the little that remained of it. She was certain that Eduard was capable of understanding her music, of admiring her talent; even if he couldn’t utter a word, his eyes said everything, as they did at that moment, at the door of the ward, speaking of things she didn’t want to hear about.
ReplyDeleteTenderness. Love. ‘’
-Page 146.
Veronika is experiencing something she never knew before. A new feeling is touching her heart. A feeling that can make each person feel complete, I am not talking about Love, I’m talking about something deeper than just Love. I’m talking about the feeling of finally being understood.
Previously, the first question Veronika asked Zedka was about the real meaning of ‘being crazy’.
Zedka answered by telling her the story of the powerful wizard who wanted to destroy an entire kingdom by placing a magic potion in a well from wich all the inhabitants drank. Whoever drank the water would go mad. The following day everybody drank from the well except the king and his family. He tried to control everybody who had gone mad by setting rules, but who had drank the water from the well were convinced that the king had gone mad and was giving nonsensical orders. After that, his wife convinced him to drink from the well wich contained the water of madness, and he did so. That’s how he became like all the inhabitants and immediately started talking nonsense. The country continued to live in peace, although the inhabitants behaved in a very different and unique way, and the king was able to govern until the end of his days.
This story illustrates exactly what Zedka is triying to tell Veronika, she is telling her that ‘madness’ is relative. Let’s consider that only one person from the inhabitant drank from this well. All the inhabitants would think that this person went crazy, because she would be talking ‘nonsense’ for them, and her actions would be qualified as ‘crazy’ or ‘insane’. But if everybody drank from this well, like in the story, this community would live in peace, because they would be able to understand each other, although they would be ‘insane’ in the eyes of another community. That’s why Zedka is referring to being in a foreign country and not being able to understand the language they speak there. Therefore, Zedka is saying that everything is relative, and this applies to the definition of ‘insanity’. She is also telling us that the patients in Vilette, and all the people who we call ‘insane’ felt this way, one way or another, they’ve all had this feeling of being misunderstood by their own entourage. If I want to make a connection between Zedka’s story and the passage I chose wich illustrates the relationship between Veronika and Eduard, I’d say that the community symbolizes Veronika’s entourage. She feels like she is a stranger to this community, because she is the only one who drank from the well. But then, she found Eduard. Eduard is also considered as ‘mad’ by his entourage, because he had drank from the well, too. In fact, he was able to understand her music and admire her talents, like no one else. In other words, he was able to understand the way she used to express herself. When Veronika met Eduard, she had no longer this feeling of being a stranger, or being alone and misunderstood, because she found something she never knew before, in his eyes. Eduard understood Veronika’s words, her music, her talents, the way she thinks, and Veronika understood his words , even when they weren’t even there.
Veronika decided to die because she felt like she couldn’t change anything in this world, that she wasn’t able to leave a trace. Most of the people who read this novel, and most of the people outside Vilette, who used to be part of Veronika’s entourage, obviously thought she was insane, because for them, this argument isn’t strong enough to take such a decision. Eduard, is one few people who might find this normal, again, because ‘’he had drank from the well too’’.
The passage I chose expresses a deep and crucial moment in Veronika’s life. She is conscious of what she found in Eduard. Did she finally give a meaning to her life thought his eyes?
As the famous writer Paulo Coelho says in his novel ‘’Maktub’’ :
‘’In this world, there is always one person waiting for another, be it in the middle of a desert or in the middle of a big city. And when those two people pass each other, and their eyes meet, past and future lose all importance, and the only thing that exists is that moment and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun was written by the same Hand, the Hand that awakens Love, and that makes a twin soul for everyone who works, rests, and seeks treasures under the sun. Without this, our human dreams would make no sense.’’
Tamara Saade
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ReplyDeleteAndrea:
ReplyDeleteP 148
“Many people don’t allow themselves to love because of that. Because there are a lot of things at risk, a lot of future and a lot of past.
I will look at men in the street, right in the eyes and I won’t feel guilty about feeling desired.”
Love is a risk you must be whiling to take. It makes your past and your future uncertain, but then again isn’t everything in life that way? Life is full of surprise, and we can’t just stop living it, because it is simply too unpredictable for us. The same goes for love. The young people in Villette learned how to accept and enjoy love to the full, because they had nothing to lose and nothing to be ashamed of. But I believe that this quote refers mostly to Veronika. She who used to be afraid to live and love, everyday was the same to her, and that’s what leads to her suicidal behavior. But then again, can make one crazy, like Zedka’s case. She never was the same after being rejected for a man to traveled to great lengths to love. But I must note that is Zedka’s case, as she said to Veronika before she finally left Villette for home; that she thrived in her sickness. Luckily love in this novel prevails, like the love between Eduard and Veronika, or the love that Zedka felt towards her family, and even the love and effort Dr. Egor put into his work. And I think it’s safe to say that none of the characters in the novel will be ashamed, or guilty feeling love, or loved.
''a long time ago , when I was just a child , and my mother was forcing me to learn the piano , I said to myself that I would only be able to play it well when I was in love. last night , for the first time in my life , I felt the notes leaving my fingers as if I had no control over what I was doing''.(p.147)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage spoken by Veronica because it shows us how Veronica is remembering her childhood in the moment where she was practicing the piano, in the time where she was in a good condition. And now that she only has a few days to live she wanted to experience love as much as she can. When she was playing the piano to Eduard that she loves him and had no control on what she was doing, she remembered what she said in her childhood. So she was doing it in a extreme way she was loving so much.
"I'm going to allow myself to do a few foolish things,just so that people can say:'She's just been released from Villete'.But I know that my soul is complete,because my life has meaning.I'll be able to look at a sunset and believe that God is behind it. When someone irritates me,I'll tell them what I think of them, and I won'y worry what they think of me, because everyone will say:'She's just been released from Villete'.(p.164)
ReplyDeleteI chose this particular important and meaningful passage to highlight the way Veronika's thoughts changed,the way her personality developed: she went from being a naif girl who's afraid of life and afraid of expressing her feelings and aloowing people to get to know her easily to a confident women who has the guts to tell her opinion out loud and let people know waht she feels and thinks about them.Veronika certainly didn't make the best decision by trying to murder herself but this turned out to be pretty beneficial sice it taught her a lot about herself and made her grow much faster in a more independant way.As I always say "sometimes you make the right decision but sometimes you have to make your decision right" and that's exactly what Veronika managed to do(through her terrible experience,she gained a strong personality)
Paula Khati 2nde C
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ReplyDelete" Her soul was light , and not even the fear of death tormented her now . she had experienced what she had always kept hidden from herself .she had experienced the pleasures of virgin and prostitute , of a slave and a queen .that night as if by miracle , all the songs she had known returned to her memory,and she played to order to give Eduard as much pleasure as she herself had experienced." p136
ReplyDeletethis passage can show the progress in veronika's life , from that moment she begun her real and effective life ,"she was living", practicing life it is the first time but a nice trustful and powerful beginning.
At second , the use of certain figures of speech is clear , the narrator has used antithesis “virgin&prostitute-slave&queen” , The juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas , describe veronika’s situation , she was learning something knew , was learning about human beings body , especially about hers, she was learning about two different social class, the free rich and the cuffed poor . conclusivly veronika has satisfied by this passage essential needs, above all the need of knowledge and self experience , then her childhood traits begin to appear in her memory which is an advantageous symptom related to the theme,thereafter love feelings begin to increase in her mind so she played piano in order to satisfy her natural feminin need ,to attract Eduard her lover.
You’ve got nothing to lose. Many people don’t allow themselves to love, precisely because of that, because there are a lot of things at risk, a lot of future and a lot of past. In your case, there is only one present.” (page. 162)
ReplyDeleteZedka says this to Veronika before she leaves, when she’s explaining to her how people are too afraid to let themselves feel good, have amazing moments, like Veronika had the night before, when she surrendered herself to Eduard. I chose this passage because it reflects well on the life lessons this book teaches us. We don’t allow ourselves to love because we are afraid of the many things to lose, our pasts and our futures; we are afraid of being vulnerable. But in Veronika’s case, she only has the present to worry about; to live.
Omar azar
The passage I chose from the novel “Veronica Decides to Die” is from page 141 to 142:
ReplyDelete“The person who’s right is just the one who is the strongest. In this case, paradoxically, the cowards are the brave ones who managed to impose their ideas on everyone else.”
The quote of Veronica shows the reaction of what she went through as a lady in the social life. This passage shows us that Veronica is no more a social lady. This means that she doesn’t care anymore of other people thoughts about her and her actions. Furthermore, this passage shows that Veronica wants to live the life she always dreamed of. It also demonstrates Veronica’s new idea that the weak is the strongest in reality as he can impose his ideas on everyone in the society.
Mohammad jaafar
'' I might go to church and look at those images that never meant anything to me and see if they say something to me now.'' (p.139 -140 )
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because Veronika didn't believe in God before her suicide attempt. Now, after changing her way of thinking, she might go to church and believe in god. This passage shows that Veronika changed and is more open then before.She is ready to try new things that seemed ridiculous earlier.
hahahahahahahahahahaha
ReplyDelete"We all live in our world.But if you look up at the starry sky, you'll see that all the different worlds up there combine to form constellations, solar systems, galaxies." (p.162)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because i agree with Zedka that different people can be together, and not necessarily have the same character or ideas. In fact, Veronica who attempted suicied fell in love with Eduard who is schizophrenic without having anything in common. There's always something that attracts us in another person and that we apreciate more than anyone else. Everyone lives in his own world and has something special that another one can apreciate. After all opposites attract each other.
Lynn A.
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ReplyDelete“I think you’re important to me,” said Eduard to Veronika.
ReplyDelete“You can’t speak. You don’t live in this world, you don’t know that my name’s Veronika. You weren’t with me last night; please, say you weren’t there.”
“I was.”
(page. 156)
This is the pivotal moment in the story where Eduard confesses to Veronika that he has feelings for her. These few words say a lot; Veronika is taken aback when Eduard says her name because it means that he recognizes her, he remembers her. She feels ashamed of what she had done the night before; she had completely surrendered herself, body and soul, in front of him since she took it for granted that he would not remember. After all, he was a schizophrenic; he had to have been living in a separate reality since he had no reaction whatsoever.
Veronika is pleading Eduard to lie to her and tell her that he wasn’t there when she gave in to her feelings and desires. What she says here is very paradoxical because she masturbated in front of Eduard to feel freedom, to feel like she could do anything she wanted to; she took advantage of that fact that she’s in a mental hospital to give in to her desires. However, when she realizes that Eduard was aware of her presence and her actions, she feels ashamed. That is the nature of all human beings, we are afraid of seeming vulnerable. This shame might also be explained in another way; Veronika is falling in love with Eduard because he doesn’t judge her; most of the time because he doesn’t remember much. So, when Eduard does recognize her, she feels as if he saw her at her worst, he would remember that and might hold it against her; it was a moment of weakness and a moment of freedom.
There is a lot to be interpreted from what Eduard says, too. He affirms that he was there the night before. He usually has visions of paradise, and at some point he couldn’t know whose fault it was; the moon’s, the music’s, Veronika’s, or the fact that he had stayed in Villette for too long (page 145). But now, he can differentiate between the two realities and that is because he has fallen in love with Veronika. He finally realizes how important she is to him when she brings him back to reality, when he doesn’t want to escape the cruel world he lives in, to hide in the one that he had created.
-Nour Osseiran
"You’ve nothing to lose. Many people don't allow themselves to love, precisely because of that, because of that, because there are a lot of things at risk, a lot of past. In your case there is only the present" (p 148)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage said by Zedka to Veronica because it shows very well the restrictions that most people have regarding their acts to protect their past and future. I totally agree that we always give up our pleasure and happiness to protect our future or our past. But in Veronica's case she doesn't have mush time to live so she has almost no future and she wanted to get rid of her past by attempting suicide which leaves her nothing to fear of or feel embarrassed about. In addition to that Veronica continued that thought by saying "I will look at men in the street, right in their eyes and I won't feel guilty about feeling desired." (p148) So she will live the last moments of her life freed from desire at last and she begins by surrendering herself to Edward
omar zoubeir 2ndeB
"It was so good that I can see love in everything, even in the eyes of a schizophrenic"p:134
ReplyDeleteI chose this quote thought Veronika because it tells us alote of the emotional state of her.After feeling all these orgasms witnessed by Eduard she has detached herself from society's normal behavor.Veronika, threw her orgasims leberated her soul she was keeping her feelings all bottled up and she exploted in a sexual way.She is know at peace with the world and with herself this why she sees love in everything even in the eyes of a schizophrenic.When somone is leberated from what was keeping him down he sees the world from a diferent angle, the positive one.
"Like this girl, for example, whose only reason for being in Villete was because she had made an attempt on her own life. She had never known panic, depression, mystical visions, psychoses- the limits to which the mid can take us." P.135
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it contains the reason why Veronika is in Villete, it says that she is not like the others in Vilette, because others have depressions or other mental problems. But I don’t agree with this passage that says indirectly that she must not be in Vilette; I think that she needs to go in Vilette because suicide is the highest point of mental problems: suicide is more than being mentally challenged, it is against all religions and laws of any country, it is complete absence of reason.
Rene Adaimi 2nde A
"she's just been released from Vilette".
ReplyDeletep.163
Zedka repeated this sentence over and over. somehow she's hurt deep in side, but she tries to switch the negative energy, thoughts and feeling into positive ones so she would be living happily and freely without being carefull of what people will think of her. She would take advantage of the fact that she was in Vilette where the outside world think that everyone in there is insane, crazy etc. So she would be able to do crazy stuff and enjoy her time in both cases the reputation is on. Because zedka spend a small period of time in Vilette she earned her liberty.
"You can tell me", she said. I'm not afraid or indifferent or anything. I want to live, but I know that's not enough, and I'm resigned to my fate." (P.138)
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage spoken by Veronika to Dr. Igor because it shows that she changed her mind about wanting to die and she now wanted to live, but she knew that she could not do anything about it because she was going to die anyway. She wanted to know how much time did she have left to enjoy and to be able to do what she didn't have the time to do.
We can conclude that her life in Villette made her change her way of seeing life and made her want to live. In fact, she knows that she can't change the fact that her fate is death and she knows it's no one's fault but her's. So she decided to take advantage of the time she's got left and do what she never did, before leaving this world.
This passage also shows that veronika is not afraid of death , she is not afraid to know how much time she still has to live, she wants to know, to be able to take advantage of these final hours of her life.
“A few days ago a young woman the same age as him had sat down at the piano to play the Moonlight Sonata. Eduard had once more felt troubled by his visions of paradise and he couldn’t have said if it was the fault of the music or the young woman or the moon or the long time he had spent in Villete.”- p.145
ReplyDeleteFew days before, an energy had struck Eduard. The combination of the music, Veronika’s imminent fate and her unwavering will to live the last hours of her existence, the moon and the long time spent in Villete had finally gathered to bring Eduard back to reality. He was inspired. The music of love which Veronika had communicated to him, of completeness, of valor, and appreciation filled his soul that had travelled for many years far away from human warmth. He found meaning in what he was hearing, sensing and witnessing.
A new vision of bliss was drawing itself to him. He “had once more felt troubled by his visions of paradise”. He could recognize it. It laid outside the walls of this haven where he once sought refuge, it laid in his heart, love, happiness he created to himself, faith... Freedom had finally come to console his spirit. Freedom to discover himself like Veronika did, to accept his insanity and have the courage to satisfy it. He felt the urge to break away and live, to benefit from the journey Veronika once gave up on.
-Mona
‘’When everyone dreams, only a few realize their dreams, that makes cowards of us all.’’
ReplyDelete‘’Even if those few are right?’’
‘’The person who’s right is just the person who’s strongest.’’
(P.141)
This conversation between Dr.Igor and Veronika tells us a lot about Veronika’s personality. We all know that every person has his own ambitions, his own dreams, but not all of us have the strength and the capability to achieve them. Not all of us follow the right path, and not all of us know what is essential and what is not.
If somebody wants to realize his dream, he has to be strong, because before realizing it he will go through a lot because of the different obstacles they are going to face.
I agree with Veronika when she says that the person who’s right is the person who’s the strongest, and I can also imply that the person who is the strongest is the person who is right after my analysis.
"When I came here, I was deeply depressed.Now I'm proud to say I'm mad. Outside, I'll behave exactly like everyone else.I'll go shopping at the supermarket, I'll exchange trivialities with my friends, I'll waist precious time watching television.But I know that my soul is free and that I can dream and talk with other worlds wich, before I came here, I didn't even imagined existed."
ReplyDelete(P.148)
I chose this meaningful and moving passage, because it shows us the change that occurred in Zedka’s mind and tells us about her new way of living and thinking.
First, before she came to Vilette, Zedka was ashamed when it came to her true identity. She had a bad image of mad people, and thought she should be ashamed if she admitted that she was different, and that’s what led her to depression. When we’re lost, confused, misplaced, and ashamed, it attracts somehow the feeling of sadness.
Zedka found the key to the her question:
How should I live?
At this point of the novel, Zedka knew that she’d have to act like all the normal people and behave like everyone else without attracting attention.
The only difference is that she became more open to new worlds, she knows they exist. She is free inside, and nothing can stop her from being who she wants to be inside. She also learned, after her rough experience in Vilette, that no one can deny or escape his true identity, because he would be drowning in a world of lies.
Makram Bitar.
Aya Haidar
ReplyDelete“I want to leave here so I can die outside. I need to visit Ljubljana castle. Its always been there, and I’ve never even had the curiosity to go and see it at close range. I need to talk to the woman who sells chestnuts in winter and flowers in spring. We passed each other so often and I never once asked her how she was. And I want to go out without a jacket and walk in the snow. I want to find out what extreme cold feels like, I , who was always so well wrapped up” p 139
I chose this passage because it shows the desires of any person who still has only 24 hours to live. That person would want to try all the things that seemed crazy or forbidden. This person would see things from a different perspective and realize some elements that already existed in his or her life without realizing tem. Any person who still has 24 hours to live would identify himself or herself with Veronika, they would want to make the most of the things and the time that are left for him and her.
Aya H ar
“I want to ask two favors. First, that you give me some medication, an injection or whatever, so that I can stay awake and enjoy every moment that remains of my life. I’m very tired, but I don’t want to sleep. I’ve got a lot to do, things that I always postpone for some future date, in the days when I thought life would last forever. Things I’d lost interest in, when I started to believe that life wasn’t worth living.” (p. 139)
ReplyDeleteI chose this specific passage spoken by Veronika to Dr. Igor because I like the idea of being totally attached to life when we are aware of losing it. Just before Veronika had this conversation with her doctor, she was informed that she still has twenty four hours or less to live. Immediately after that, Veronika asked her doctor for some medication that can keep her awake so she can enjoy the time remaining of her life. She even said that she was really tired, “I’m very tired”, but she refused to sleep in order to make sure that she will not lose any moment of her last experience in the world. Veronika says, “I’ve got a lot to do, things that I always postponed… when I thought life would last forever”, this specific sentence shows her attachment to life now that she is losing it, especially that she is striving and willing to make up for all the time she has lost, and to accomplish most of the things she always postponed. In addition, this sentence also proves that Veronika was taking life for granted and didn’t appreciate living the peaceful moments which life offered her even when death was unpredictable and could strike at any time. Veronika seems to regret the fact of believing that “life wasn’t worth living”, because she finally learns the importance of life now that it is passing by swiftly and barely any time remains. From Veronika’s point of view, the only way to stop committing the same mistake of not appreciating the value of life is to enjoy every moment in life and to live joyfully, and that’s what she’s asking Dr. Igor for. Postponing has an extremely serious effect which can be full of regret, because when we do postpone something, are we certain of being able to have another chance of doing it again? We never now… we might regret taking this decision and losing our last chances, or not. In Veronika’s case, the outcome was negative because her life is on the verge of ending.
Tayma
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete‘’When everyone dreams, only a few realize their dreams, that makes cowards of us all.’’(p.141)
ReplyDeleteI chose this conversation between Dr.Igor and Veronika because it meant alot to me because it means that there is chance and we all know it but someone must take this only chance.So the one who takes the chance first is the strongest because he is the one that knew how to take it between all the others.It's like giving a lamb to twenty hungry lions and the first lion that eat it is the strongest between all the other lions because he knew how to take the chance and set his goal(to eat the lamb)
Mark Haddad
"I want to leave here so that I can die outside. I need to visit Ljubljana castle. It's always been there,...to life and finally, to death" p139-140
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage because it shows when Veronika requests a last wish from Dr. Igor, to let her go out of Vilette to enjoy life for the last time. Veronika also gives a list of things she'd do if she had the chance to, things she had been afraid of doing and emotions that she tried to keep hidden deep within her, nobody else feeling their presence. This passage really shows how Veronika's perception of life has changed, and how she no longer aims death but enjoing every minute there's left to her.
PS: Miss I'm really sorry I sent this so late but the problem is I didn't have access to internet until now.
Abdul Hamid Bazarbachi