Author: OLIVE TEPFER

Their Eyes Were Watching God (Reading Update #2)

On By OLIVE TEPFERIn Book Update, Feminism, Novels, Race2 Comments

So far I have seen a lot of Growth in Janie’s character. A lot in her live has drastically changed. From where we left off she started to realize the way she was treated by her husband was not love. He began to try and mask his own insecurities by trying to shine a light on hers. He would purposely try and put her down and make her feel small and helpless. But, then he began to get sick and tired. That didn’t stop him from continuing to shame her.

Eventually he got to the point where he was close to death. He was the Mayor of the town and a very powerful and authoritative man s this effected the town greatly. On his death bed Janie was able to confront him about the way he treated her and how he was the insecure one. I think this provided closure for Janie and overall made her more confident, reassured women.

After his death Janie was able to start living her best live. Her husband had restricted her from doing things that made her feel young and like her self. So she was able to start embracing those things about her. Eventually she met a new man who truly loves her and cared for her. They moved out of the town and Janie is now thriving and happier. Honestly I think the best thing for Janie might have been to be on her own for a little bit longer. But, I am happy that she is flourishing and growing as a character.

Their Eyes Were Watching God- Reading update

On By OLIVE TEPFERIn Book Update, Class, Race2 Comments

Their Eyes Were Watching god by Zora Neale Hurston is so far a really interesting book. The main character is a women named Janie living in the early 20th century. She was orphaned as a child so she was raised by her grandmother who had traditional idea’s. Janie has to deal with the struggles of not only being an orphan but being a African American women in a difficult time period.

So far I think Janie is having trouble finding her identity. So far a lot of her life has been controlled by someone. First, it was her grandma then two different men. It is hard for her to find her voice when she is in the shadow of powerful men. Especially considering the roles women are forced into specifically in this time period.

I’m looking forward to see how Janie will grow as a character. I’m also excited to see what part Janies husband will play. If he will end up supporting her or holding her back. So far I would recommend this book it is interesting and also a little challenging of a read.

Family of Liars

On By OLIVE TEPFERIn Book Review, Coming of Age, NovelsLeave a comment

The book Family of Liars by E. Lockhart is a prequel to We were liars. Both books are amazing but reading We were liars first would make more sense but the books could go in either order. This book follows a privileged family with 3 daughters who spend every summer at their private island. The summer this story follows is different because a group of boys comes to island as well. This book is a mystery it uncovers more and more secrets after every chapter. Exposing the Sinclair family for what it is. The family is constantly putting up a facade and painting a perfect picture from their family. Under all of that there are a lot of secrets and problems especially with Carrie who is the narrator and the oldest daughter. In the story she is dealing with the loss of the youngest sister which no one seems to acknowledge. This cause lots of problems between Carrie and the family especially her sisters. This is a story of betrayal, secrets, and lies. I would recommend this book to someone who likes mystery’s and drama. It is a great books with lots of levels and plot twists and gets better and better every chapter you read.

Regretting You

On By OLIVE TEPFERIn Book Review, Novels4 Comments

The book Regretting You by Colleen Hoover is an amazing book. The book is in a unique perspective where each chapter switches back between a mother and daughters perspective. In the book their family deals with tremendous loss and have to figure out how to now function individually and as a family. On top of the deaths secrets begin to be uncovered about those who died. Through the different perspective we get to see the mother and daughters different approaches. The book also has a romance factor with both the mother and daughter which makes life both tolerable but more complicated.

While navigating through these hard times the Mother daughter duo have to figure out how to work out their issues and begin to rely on each other without the family falling apart for good. I recommend this book it has so many levels, plot twists, and will keep you entertained and wanting to read more.

“August slipped away into a moment in time”

On By OLIVE TEPFERIn Music PoetryLeave a comment

The song written by Taylor Swift “august” from the album folklore is an example of poetry. Through the song Taylor is reminiscing over a past relationship. She is expressing how her past boyfriend leaving didn’t just end the relationship it ruined the memory’s that went along with it making the whole relationship mean less.

A line Taylor uses in her chorus is,

August slipped away into a moment in time 'Cause it was never mine

This line uses diction and word choice to have us reflect on what Taylor is trying to say. The line is saying that after the relationship ended she began to realize that the “love” or passion they had never meant anything at all. That whatever they had should be left behind with the past. 

Will you call when you're back at school? I remember thinkin' I had you

This line helps us come to a conclusion with some of the back round of the relationship. We can infer that since their relationship was in august eventually the love interest would have to go back to school meaning that their relationship wasn’t sure to continue. After he went back to school he must have dumped her or stopped calling her. Which is why Taylor is now reflecting and realizing that it never could have been more than it was.

Another important line is

 Back when I was livin' for the hope of it all

Taylor uses this line to show us the contrast of who she was back then and how she has developed mentally. She used to live for an idea. The idea that this relationship was more then it was. Since Taylor uses past tense we can assume she reflected and now realizes part of her has always known the relationship wasn’t going to last. That the memory’s now belonged in the past.

The Fault In Our Stars

On By OLIVE TEPFERIn Book Review, Highly Recommended, NovelsLeave a comment

The book The fault In Our Stars follows the story of a teenager hazel who is living with cancer. Hazel doesn’t see her cancer as a battle to Hazel cancer is reality. The fault In our stars is a love story between too teenagers who have the constant reminder of death and loss always with them.

Gus and Hazel’s relationship (the two main characters) is so unique and special and it shows in the story. The book not only focusing on their love story but it focuses on bigger ideas and questions. On their journey they experience Loss, hopelessness, and illness while the story also questions everything. The word that Hazel would use to describe their time together would be simply “honest”. Honest is truly the perfect way to describe their lives. Even though these characters are fiction the story it follows is completely honest. Gus and hazel both know what it’s like to live with cancer but even though it is their story we also see how cancer has impacted the people around them.

I recommend this book. It was a really easy book to get into. It was entertaining and inspiring.

Disney Thesis (Mulan)

On By OLIVE TEPFERIn Course StuffLeave a comment

Mulan resists the dominant narrative that women are passive and weak but doing so it also reinforces the dominant narrative that men need to be strong and not express emotions. This is shown in the scene when Shang lee finds out his dad had died. He feels that he can’t express any emotions because it will make him appear as weak in front of his army. This enforces the dominant narrative that men shouldn’t be able to express emotions. Especially in the same way women are supposed to.