A little more from chapter one!

There were a lot of interesting quotes and plenty of information in chapter one, so I am going to break it up into two blogs!

"He felt paralyzed, he wanted to sleep inside her lungs and breathe her blood and be smothered...Why so alone? Not lonely, just alone--riding her bike across campus or sitting off by herself in the cafeteria--even dancing, she danced alone--and it was her aloneness that filled him with love," (page 11).

I particularly love this quote because of the imagery O'Brien uses when describing how Lieutenant Cross feels about Martha. Not only are the words very poetic, but the quote literally made me picture a man sleeping inside a woman's lungs (a fluffy room of pink, actually) and his intimate feelings toward her. I am confused, though, on the relationship between the lieutenant and Martha. Is she his girflriend, his wife, or a mere obsession of his?

Another aspect of the quote that caught my eye, using explication, was how he described her as "alone" but not "lonely." I can completely relate to this description. She ENJOYS being alone, and so do I! However, it can be really hard for people to understand that, which brings me to the conclusion that not a whole lot of other readers pay mind to the quote. I thoroughly enjoy eating out or going to see a movie with the company of myself. It does not mean that I am lonely and do not have anyone to go with, I just choose to spend time alone, similar to Martha. It is a time for me to think instead of make conversation. Maybe I don't even have to think, I can just be at peace. How am I ever going to feel comfortable being myself with someone if I am not comfortable with myself?

One thing I noticed right away in the novel is the crude language! It is not that it bothers me, I just found it shocking at first. I do not remember a time in school where I read a book that has the "F" word on almost every page!


P.S. A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_field)