Friday, January 9, 2015

Walls

Today in class, we explored how Naomi Shihab Nye's biography connects to the life of Liyana in our novel HABIBI. Often, authors use the experiences of their own lives to influence the ways their characters act and what they face. Some of an author's most challenging experiences can actually become powerful prose. A remarkable author named John Gardner once said, "Art begins with a wound." This may mean that sometimes our deepest pain can create a powerful story or other work of art.

This weekend, ad in HABIBI from page 59 through 79. After reading, share your ideas about this query: Nye writes, "Liyana thought she'd try living with blank walls for a month or two. It was just an experiment," (66).  In St. Louis, Liyana's walls were covered with materials, but now in Palestine, Liyana leaves them blank. Why do you think she chooses to leave them blank--and what might this symbolize? Secondly, what do your walls look like, and what might this say about you?

Our word for the day was MOROSE, which means heavy and gloomy, as in this example: No matter how happy we may try to be, because we are all human, we all sometimes feel morose.

Have an amazing weekend!

61 comments:

  1. I think Liyana does this because she is starting a new life in Palestine and all the things on her walls in St. Louis represented her life there. On my walls there is a picture of my dog and several pieces of artwork I have made. I think this shows I like animals and I am creative and like to make artwork.
    Fiona Morrison

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  2. I believe she leaves her walls blank because she doesn't not except the fact that her old life is dead and she does not want to be reminded about it. This may show insecurity and fear. i put pictures of my family on my wall to remind me of my loved ones. This may show that i am pasinate about love, caring, family and friends.

    ~~~Dylan Ashe~~~~

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  3. It might symbolize that she is starting with a clean slate now that she's in a new place. my walls don't have anything at the moment and this might be because i never had anything on my walls because I never had any posters.
    --Emily Rypinski

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  4. i believe that liyana wants to keep her wall white to symbolize a new beginning and to start over. next my walls are white with only a city skyline going across and I do this because I can change it at any time
    --brooke bourgeois

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  5. I think that Liyana leaves her walls blank because she has nothing to put on it except things from the past. Remembering her old friends and happy memories every time she looked at the wall would make her miss these fun times and make her sad. Liyana wants new memories on her wall, but right now, she doesn't think she has any good ones. My wall is completely blank, but the back of my desk is filled with photos and paintings from art class.

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  6. I believe Liyana is keeping her walls blank to symbolize a fresh start. A new life if you will. She now lives in a land with different rules, and a different culture than the previous. Perhaps her wall should be different too. My current wall is only covered with a few things. A Jimmy Carter inauguration letter, an Elvis stamp, and one of the original newspapers from Elvis' death. I received these items from my relatives and I hang them on my wall to remind myself that I'm not just a Lewis, I'm also a Parker.

    Nick Joe Lewis

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  7. i think liyana wants to keep her wall white until she has more experiences in Palestine because she moved on from her old life and shes on to a new one

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  8. I believe that Liyana leaves her walls white so that it will not remind her of her her past, or her old life.

    --Colin McHugh

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  9. I think liyana might be testing herself by seeing how long she it takes before she is given something of value to put on it. The blank walls may symbolize a status of friendship. my walls are blank except for the one poster on the right of my bed
    Dwight Childers

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  10. I think that she keeps her walls blank because she is afraid that if she makes any friends in Palestine, she may have to leave them. I think the walls symbolize connections to other people, and since she moved, she left all her friends behind. I think my walls arent blank because i moved 5 years ago and i have new friends, but my walls were blank right after i moved.
    -Anna Shlimak

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  11. I think Liyana keeps her walls blank is because she is starting over with her life / She is depressed by leaving her old life in St. Luis behind. I have 3 Red walls, with 1 White wall. I put random stuff on my walls, like the American Flag, Game boards, and all sorts of things. I think that tells people how random I can be.

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  12. I think Liyana leaves her walls blank is because this is a new beginning for her and this is just the first part of her journey so she doesn't want to get attached to this place because they might move again. I just have a big wall decal of a catcher over my bed.
    Clayton Hanlon

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  13. I agree with Emily, I think Liyana is leaving them blank to symbolize a new beginning or start. Also maybe to symbolize a change in her life; in her old room they were covered, now, as an experiment, she is leaving them blank... It's a big change. My room has pictures of my pets, friends, family, and funny moments in my life. It may symbolize happiness and joy.
    ~Brianna Schmoyer

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  14. I think that the pictures on Liyana's walls symbolized her in life and memories in St Louis, and she hasn't had very many memories in Palestine. Maybe once her walls are filled with things, she will be living a better life. My walls are covered in pictures of my friends and family and good memories.

    --Meili Stanten

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  15. I think she is leaving them white because she refuses to believe they are staying there, so she chooses to keep them blank, like a hotel. Next, my walls are also white but have different pictures displays and other sorts of things.
    --Collin B.--

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  16. I believe that Liyana wants to keep her walls blank because she wants to start a new life, and accept the fact that she's never going back. I think that she wants to start appreciating the cultural differences these people have and learn something from them. Maybe she can fill these walls with memories from Jerusalem. My walls contain things from friends, symbols of good memories, and objects from different countries. This might show that I enjoy thinking about good memories, and value friendship. I also appreciate difference, such as the different ways people make art in different countries.
    --Shreya Kumar

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  17. I think Liyana leaves her walls blank to show that she is starting over now she's left her old life. My walls have pictures of fun times all over them. This shows I like to have really good memories close to me.
    -Tessa

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  18. I think this might help her symbolize what you would call "a fresh start" which means to start all over again. After that she symbolizes everything new from Palestine rather than keeping everything to remember from the U.S.A to make her cought up in it. My walls are only full of posters of a posterzine book I got.
    ~Tommy Wacek

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  19. I think that the blank white walls symbolize a new start, or in other words, a clean slate. Every single embarrassing moment, every broken friendship, every little bit of gossip have gone and stayed in St. Louis. No one here knows about them so Liyana can start a new life here and make it a meaning full one. By now, Liyanna has learned from her mistakes so for her, this is like try two. For me, white walls might mean that I would be wanting to forget something.For example, my walls were purple when my best friend and I had the ultimate 3 day sleep over. Then that friend moved to California. Now my walls are pale green and the posters, and cork board that had once held our pictures are in storage. That's what blank white walls would mean for me.

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  20. sorry! I read that last question wrong! my walls have chalkboard paint with reminders and little pictures. my walls also have a mirror, a board with notes people sent me at camps I went to over the summer and special certificates and scholarship papers for different music camps. This shows that I like to doodle and "get hyped" about things, and I am a bit of an over achiever when it comes to music.

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  21. In her old wall, Liyana had her walls covered in all the pictures and stuff her friends painted to show the good times of her old life. But that was her old life. I believe that Liyana is keeping her walls blank because she hasn't made any memories in Palestine yet -- at least not any she wants to remember.

    On my walls, I leave it mostly blank, but I have a small bulletin board that has pictures from me as a kid with my family and friends. I also have old birthday/christmas cards and a picture of an old magician (with his signature) I used to obsessed with but never really took down. I do this to kind of be able to look at that bulletin board and remember my childhood (because....well, I loved my childhood).

    ~ Allie Hunter

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  22. I think that Liyanna wants the wall to me blank because it means she is starting a new life. In other words it means a new beginning. My wall would be grey and very tall to symbolize that life is long but don't waste your time.
    ---Lucy Bodtman

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  23. I think Liyana leaves her walls blank is because she is going to have a new life there. Nobody knows her there except for her family. Now she can put up the pictures she got from Palestine. On my walls, they are blue and i have posters of underwater creatures. I think that this shows that i love underwater creatures, and that i like to be by the ocean
    - Olivia Gomez

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  24. I think that she leaves her walls blank because she does not want to be reminded of what her old home was like because she misses it too much. My walls are white and i just hang like pictures and a 2 huge pictures of Boston. It is like that so I could be reminded of my favorite city.
    Stefan Scornavacca

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  25. Lyana may want to keep her walls blank for a little while so that she isn't reminded every day of the world she left behind. The materials on her walls back in St. Louis would make her want to go back every day so she believed she should keep them blank for a while so that she could get used to the culture there. I have a few things on my walls from my old town and this is because I miss my old theater (I have two posters from my past plays hanging up) and I never want to forget the amazing plays I was in.
    -Gwyneth Smedley

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  26. I think that Liyana is leaving her walls blank for a few months because what she puts on her walls represents her. So what she put up in St. Louis represented her life in St. Louis, but since she started a new life in Palestine, she is waiting to find out who she is now.
    ~Magnus Miller

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  27. I think that Liyana leaves her walls blank for maybe 2 reasons- one she is " starting" her life over and two maybe because she doesn't want to accept that fact she now lives in Palestine. My walls are lavender with framed pictures of my cousins and friends. I also have the pictures my little brothers and the family I babysit for, draw me. This shows that I love my family and some of the pictures are of my cousins from New Zealand so when I look at those pictures it reminds me of how I love and miss them.

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  28. I believe that Liyana wants to leave her walls blank because she is starting with a new life in Palestine and she didn't want her room with decorations because then it would remind her of her past life in St.Louis. My walls include posters of people that I look up to, and pictures of my family and friends that makes me passiontae about caring, love, and friendship.
    --Pasha Sahin

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  29. I think that she leaves her walls blank because she wants to start her life over. She thinks that this move is going to change her life and doesn't want to be reminded of her old life and wants to show things about her new life on her walls. My walls have posters of horses and pretty paintings. I think that this shows that I like animals and horses and like to look at artwork.
    --Emmalyn Mirarchi

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  30. I believe that it symbolizes a new start in her life and a clean slate for what is to come. My walls are blue and for the most part blank with a couple of framed pictures of great moments in hockey.

    @Chris Pickreign

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  31. I think she wants to keep her wall blank because its like she is starting fresh in israel. My walls are white and have posters and other things hanging on them.

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  32. She might leave the walls blank because she wants to start fresh and not remember her old life. My walls are white because when the house was built that's what color the walls were.

    -David Sampson

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  33. I think that the blank white wall might symbolize the meaning of Liyana's life in her new "home." The white blank walls might also be like a blank canvas for Liyana to paint her future. The walls in my room are blue, with mirrors and things that are meaningful to me.

    --Anna Laursen

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  34. I think that Liyana wants to keep her wall blank to symbolize a new beginning, a fresh start. Once she gets more comfortable, she will probably start building up and decorating her wall. I have pictures and posters on my wall, which I can add to and remove at anytime.

    ~Lwiza AitDowd

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  35. I think Liyanna leaving her walls blank is because she wants to be open to change and new things. Also she might want to see what it's like for her to be living without things she used to have as comfort. My walls are mostly blank other than a few picture frames. I think this means I like things more orderly and not distracting.

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  36. I think that Liyana's walls are blank because she wants to start fresh, since she is living in a new country. Also, the things on her walls in St. Louis are from the things she did there and all her memories, and she hasn't had any memories in Palestine/Israel yet. The walls in my room have artwork, pictures of my friends and family, good memories, and things I don't want to forget. I think this shows I like to keep things that make me happy close to me.
    - Rachel Shrives

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  37. I think she left here walls blank to show that she wants to leave to America. I have blank wall in my room i think this shows how i don't spend time in my room a lot.

    --Sean McNamara

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  38. I think she left her walls blank because she is thinking of Palestine as a "blank slate" and a new life. My walls are light green with dark blue trim, and a quote that says: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain"

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  39. I think that blank walls symbolize new beginnings or a fresh start at a new life, a chance to make new memories instead of moping over how she misses the old people in the old memories. My room is light gray with a big window and lots of pictures, maps, posters, pictures, calendars, and art.
    -Fiona Nash

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  40. I think the blank white wall means she is having a bank slate and she had nothing important to her that is with her.
    -Natalie S

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  41. I think that she is leaving her walls blank because she is pretty much starting over and is having a new life.
    --George Earnest

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  42. I think Liyana's blank walls might mean that she is starting over. It is so she can create a new life and fill it with memories in Jerusalem. She want to create a life with excitement and joy to fill her walls with.
    -Angela Xing

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  43. I think that she will leave the walls blank so she can get used to the place she is living in for a while until she settles in. The walls in my room are brown and have significant things to me like to American Flag on it.

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  44. I Think that the blank walls mean a new beginning for Liyana. A fresh start. The walls currently in my room are white because we are redoing my room . This means to me a new beginning like Liyana.

    --Natalie L'Ecuyer

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  45. I believe she leaves them blank so she can help herself leave her previous life behind her and start a new life without reminders of her old life. My walls are white with a few posters on them.

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  46. I think that Liyana’s blank walls symbolize her life and her almost having to “start over” like starting a new fresh life. My walls are white with lots of pictures of a variety of things, for me they are memories or things I enjoy doing. Which says that I like to be active and don't like to sit around watching television.

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  47. I think that Liyana wants to keep her walls blank because she wants to have a new start to her life, but I also think it is because she doesn't want to be reminded by all of the things that she left back home. The walls in my room are light blue with lots of mirrors and paintings. :)

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  48. I think that Liyana is leaving her walls blank because in St Louis she had a whole bunch of pictures, awards, flowers (etc) in her room but now since she is in Palestine she wants to try and start over and make a "new" life to live. What Liyana is basically doing is that she wants to try to start over her life with a new and clean slate. My walls inside of my room are blue and green alternating at every wall. I fill my room with posters, pictures, awards and many other things and all of these items are there because they are special to me just like Liyana and her old room in St. Louis
    ~Caroline Mara~

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  49. I think that the white walls symbolize a new beginning, a new chapter in Liyana's life. She can paint and decorated it to her likings, but she needs experiences to fill it with moments. New moments. My walls are grey, because I want to be able to change the theme of my room, reflective off of my life and hobbies. I do this because my future holds unexpected changes and likes and dislikes.
    --Raiya Suliman

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  50. I think that Liyana leaves the white walls white symbolize a new fresh start for Liyana; a new place, and a new life. My walls are pink with photos of my friends and I.

    ~Olivia Noyes

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  51. I think the blank white walls symbolize the new start that Liyana has been welcomed too by moving to Palestine. Also, think this is there way of showing how liyana controls what happens in her lit from this point on. Like the wall, you can turn that wall into anything you want to. My wall is blue and I have pictures and meaningful stuff to me on them.

    -- Kellie Sundeen

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  52. i think the walls on Liyana's bedroom are blank to represent her new life in Israel. My walls are grey and i have lots of football posters on them.

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  53. I think that her blank was mean that she has a hope o going home and that she misses home so she dosn't want to make this new place like her old home. My room is new so there isn't really any thing on it but it is going to e painted blue and i might want to draw something on it.

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  54. I think Liyana's blank walls means that she misses her old home and that she doesn't want this different home she has o be like her old home because she misses it. My room is new so there is nothing on the walls but it is going to be blue and i might draw something on it.

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  55. i agree with david. i think she wants to somewhat start over with her life and not to be remembered as who she was before. my walls are tan.

    - WILL ARMSTRONG III

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  56. I think Liyanna wants to leave Palestine and she doesn't want to have any connections there when she does so she "leaves her walls blank." My walls are covered in stuff because I have a lot of connections here.
    -Paul Witmer

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  57. i think her walls are blank to show that she is starting a new life. my walls are blue because i like the color blue and i have some paintings that my grandmother painted.

    --Mark Goldsher

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  58. I think Liyana's walls are left blank because it symbolizes that her life is now blank and how she must start with a clean slate. My walls are light blue with some dog posters, I have some trophies on a shelf off the wall, and I have a picture of Airedale terriers drinking tea or coffee.

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  59. I think her walls are blank because she wants to have a fresh start in Palestine. My walls have colorful stickers, posters, and a word wall, which has inspiring words on it.

    --Grace Acton

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  60. Her walls are blank because in her new home she doesn't know who she is yet. My walls are blue and they have a bunch of sports posters

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  61. i think liyanna said she wants to try leaving her walls blank because she wants to try to start her life over and she wants to see if moving to a new place will change her as it did the course of her life. my walls have lots of lights on them because i love the way they glow

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