Helene Cooper recounts the events of her childhood The House at Sugar Beach. Because of the violenxe back home, Helene moves with part of her family to America. The switch from Liberia to America is a big one and some that takes getting used to. Cooper talks about the small changes that made the US so different. One of them being, "'You two are going to be taking the school bus,' Daddy told me and Marlene. We were both appalled" (215). Usually their dad drove them to school, but now it's different which makes the adjustment more apparent to Helene. She compares her old home to her new one, obviously not being to fond of it saying, "If I were riding into downtown Monrovia from Sugar Beach, I would see ten people I knew before we got to Sinkor. But here, no one even seemed to walk around outside" (219). Helene is missing the familiarity of her home for so long and now must face, not only a new country but a new school.
Helene Cooper and her family do eventually go back to Liberia and Sugar Beach and face what they had run away from. Helene is older and can now comprehend what went on in Liberia and what it means to rehash it all. Cooper conveys this feeling, saying, "...none of us who had been there the day the soldiers came, wanted to go back. I certainly didn't really want to go. Going back to Sugar Beach meant confronting that night, coming face-to-face with the death of my childhood" (339). Helene is fully aware of what going back means, but she's still willing to work through it. Since the book starts at almost the beginning of Helene's life this shows the maturity she now has compared to before. It was compelling to grow up with her and see her overcome a huge mountain, which she did. Cooper does this by realizing what her mother has done for her and finally puts her past where it belongs, "My mother had made a stand here. She had fought for us. She had fought for her daughters to remain children, and even thought that night had seen the end of my childhood, still, somehow she had won" (344).
Monday, January 19, 2009
Second to Last Post for this Quarter
In Helene Cooper's The House at Sugar Beach danger is a constant in Helene's life. There are many forms of danger and they seem to be growing as the years go by. Cooper describes a situation that happened to one of her friends, Richard, and heartmen which are men who murder the unsuspecting. Cooper writes, "The watchmen followed the heartmen, and saw two others join him just down the road. They had machetes, too. And garbage bags, presumably to carry away Richard's carcass" (157). Cooper talks about this as if it is nothing, an everyday occurrence, but reading it made me shiver. The constant threat of dying is just another part of her life, one that doesn't seem to faze her, or Liberians in general, too much. Luckily, Richard escaped and lived to tell the tale. Cooper talks about how, "The next day at school, all Richard could talk about was his escape" (157). Richard faced a traumatic experience and instead of being scared about what he went through, he was bragging about it the next day in school, making it seem like a hero. The possibility of danger is enough to make some stay away, but for Helene and her friends it is just a fact of life.
Another terrible incident that happens to the Cooper is family is when their house is raided by soldiers. Cooper describes the terrifying event, "They were brazen. They had nothing to hide from and nothing to fear, and they could come into our yard and into our house and take whatever they wanted and so whatever they wanted" (171). Helene is around thirteen years old when the soldiers come and it's just her, her sisters and mother there. She knows there's nothing she can do to stop the men and this passage shows she realizes this. She doesn't know what to do because there is nothing to do and she's afraid about what's going to happen. This has to be bloodcurdling. Just as Cooper says, the soldiers do what they want to Helene's mother, "'Those damn soldiers gang-raped me,' she said" (177). Helene and her sisters can hear the men and what they're doing to their mother, these are sounds that will haunt Helene the rest of her life, something she'll never forget. Since Liberia is revolting and her family have power in the country Helene is faced with horrific catastrophes, shaping who she becomes.
Another terrible incident that happens to the Cooper is family is when their house is raided by soldiers. Cooper describes the terrifying event, "They were brazen. They had nothing to hide from and nothing to fear, and they could come into our yard and into our house and take whatever they wanted and so whatever they wanted" (171). Helene is around thirteen years old when the soldiers come and it's just her, her sisters and mother there. She knows there's nothing she can do to stop the men and this passage shows she realizes this. She doesn't know what to do because there is nothing to do and she's afraid about what's going to happen. This has to be bloodcurdling. Just as Cooper says, the soldiers do what they want to Helene's mother, "'Those damn soldiers gang-raped me,' she said" (177). Helene and her sisters can hear the men and what they're doing to their mother, these are sounds that will haunt Helene the rest of her life, something she'll never forget. Since Liberia is revolting and her family have power in the country Helene is faced with horrific catastrophes, shaping who she becomes.
More Outside Reading!
Near where the author, Helene Cooper, lived when she was young a riot broke out about the price of rice. Cooper was still pretty young when she this happened. Although, this is no big deal to her family, it is to others who are less fortunate. Cooper describes how the violence started, "...the Monrovia police weren't quite so restrained, and quickly forsook the tear gas they were supposed to be using and started firing indiscriminately into the crowd. The planned demonstrations quickly degenerated into a full-fledged riot" (140). I can't imagine what this would be like if you were young and how you would handle it being so close to home. Also, it is difficult to understand what made the police attack innocent protesters simply because they were protesting. Cooper also feels the same way looking back at it now. She talks about it in a shocked tone. Summarizing what had happened she says, "A protest that began with some two thousand students demonstrating peacefully had degenerated into riots with foreign fighter jets roaring over the capitol" (141). Although this is horrible, it is not the worst thing that Helene will have to endure in her growing years.
Looking on the lighter sides of things, Cooper talks about growing up in Liberia and what it felt like going through puberty. This is a much more relateable topic than riots, since everyone has or will go through puberty at one point in their life. She descirbes her transformation from girl to young latdy, "I was suddenly tall. I, at long last, had acquired breats. People were suddenly telling me how much I looked like Mommee" (149). This is something all girls through and as Cooper puts it, it seems to happen over night. Cooper easily recalls her past childhood and makes the reader sometimes feel that she still is a child, this adds a very interesting depth to the story. Not only do we see the bad, but we also see that Cooper had a relatively normal childhood, just like the rest of us, this makes the reader connect more with her. She continues to talk about becoming a teenager. In one of my favorite lines so far, she bluntly states, "And during this year, the last tragic year of the Congo regime in Liberia, I finally discovered boys" (149). Again, she reminds of the problems going on, but in the same sentance she talks about what she was going through. I like the contrast of her evolution and the evolution of her country.
Looking on the lighter sides of things, Cooper talks about growing up in Liberia and what it felt like going through puberty. This is a much more relateable topic than riots, since everyone has or will go through puberty at one point in their life. She descirbes her transformation from girl to young latdy, "I was suddenly tall. I, at long last, had acquired breats. People were suddenly telling me how much I looked like Mommee" (149). This is something all girls through and as Cooper puts it, it seems to happen over night. Cooper easily recalls her past childhood and makes the reader sometimes feel that she still is a child, this adds a very interesting depth to the story. Not only do we see the bad, but we also see that Cooper had a relatively normal childhood, just like the rest of us, this makes the reader connect more with her. She continues to talk about becoming a teenager. In one of my favorite lines so far, she bluntly states, "And during this year, the last tragic year of the Congo regime in Liberia, I finally discovered boys" (149). Again, she reminds of the problems going on, but in the same sentance she talks about what she was going through. I like the contrast of her evolution and the evolution of her country.
Outside Reading
My outside reading book The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper is very interesting and thought provoking because it takes place in a completely different part of the world, Liberia. Even so, the people there are very aware of the US. At one point Cooper says of when she was young, "Standing in my bedroom looking at myself in the mirror, I tried to relax my cheeks and drop my consonants like the American kids did, and added extra r's. 'Hey thar. How ya doin? What's up blood?'"(94). There fascination seems so odd because living here it doesn't seem like something special, it's easy to take the country's uniqueness for granted. But reading this book shows the "American Dream" is very much alive in other places. Helene strengthens this fact, but from her view as a young girl. She says, "In my fantasy, I looked fresh and hip and American or British as I swept off the plane after a year living in the States or London" (17). Her dream isn't to succeed in America, but to act and seem like one. It's a different take on the dream, but interesting still.
Even though the book does take place in a different hemisphere, there are still common things, such as Santa Claus. Cooper describes one of her Christmas experiences, saying, "Eunice and I were in my bedroom working on our Christmas lists when we heard the drums sounding in the distance, from the top of Sugar Beach road...At exactly the same time, we realized who it was. 'Santa Claus!' we yelled..." (107-108). It's fascinating to think that while children here are asking Santa for gifts, so are children across the world. It shows the unity of the world, that we are truly all connected, even though we aren't physically near. Still, we're reminded of the differences too. Later on the page Cooper describes her version of Mr. Claus, "...on stilts and wearing a grass skirt, a wooden mas with eyeholes, and a long blond wig, loped into the yard" (108). The Santa we know is old, fat and dressed in a large red robe. This is not Liberia's though. Even though we have eventually the same holiday, the takes are different. It reiterates the fact that, even in our unity there is differences which makes each place unique and interesting.
Even though the book does take place in a different hemisphere, there are still common things, such as Santa Claus. Cooper describes one of her Christmas experiences, saying, "Eunice and I were in my bedroom working on our Christmas lists when we heard the drums sounding in the distance, from the top of Sugar Beach road...At exactly the same time, we realized who it was. 'Santa Claus!' we yelled..." (107-108). It's fascinating to think that while children here are asking Santa for gifts, so are children across the world. It shows the unity of the world, that we are truly all connected, even though we aren't physically near. Still, we're reminded of the differences too. Later on the page Cooper describes her version of Mr. Claus, "...on stilts and wearing a grass skirt, a wooden mas with eyeholes, and a long blond wig, loped into the yard" (108). The Santa we know is old, fat and dressed in a large red robe. This is not Liberia's though. Even though we have eventually the same holiday, the takes are different. It reiterates the fact that, even in our unity there is differences which makes each place unique and interesting.
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