week 7- cultural commentary

Throughout my novel, the differences between men and women was often brought up.  Eliza dresses as a man at first to cover her identity, but soon she realizes that there are many things she can do in men's clothing that she couldn't as a lady.  

"She kept wearing men's clothing because it contributed to the invisibility so necessary in the quixotic mission Tao Chi'en had enrolled her in" (360).

Eliza finds it easier to find jobs and travel as inconspicuously as possible when she is dressed as a man.  People assume she is either a very young boy or a homosexual man.  Either way, she gains the sympathy of others and her comrades feel protective towards her.  

She must also dress in men's clothing because there are very few women in California.  Most of the women are prostitutes.  As Eliza wants to keep her identity hidden, she cannot risk being seen by many people.  If she stayed dressed as a woman, it would be difficult to remain hidden.  

"I see very few women in the mines, but there are some with enough pluck to accompany their husbands in this dog's life. [...] Men are willing to walk miles just to see a woman up lose.  A girl sitting in the sun outside a tavern will within minutes have a collection of pouches of gold on her knees, gifts from besotted men grateful for the provocative sight of skirts" (279).

So, in America in the mid-nineteenth century, women were scarce and seen very differently than men.  Because the population is more or less 50/50 men and women in America, no one gender is seen as more important. When men far out numbered women, women were seen as  highly valued commodities.

The Chinese also have a different view of men and women.  Tao Chi'en loved his wife and loves Eliza, but he still doesn't believe them to be his equals.  

"Better a deformed son than a dozen girls as wise as Buddha" (163).

"A woman is a creature useful for work, motherhood, and pleasure, but no ultivated and intelligent man would try to make her his companion his friend [...]" (317).

"You said that Chinese men expect women to serve them" (375).

Tao Chi'en comes to realize that women are more than wives.  They can be friends and coworkers.  Tao Chi'en and Eliza grow an odd relationship in America where they are completely equal.

Chinese culture has an odd view of women just like old American culture did.  Chinese people saw women as simply people born to bear children and become concubines if not married. Women were treated as objects, not people.  So, both Americans and Chinese viewed women very differently than they are seen today.  

week 7- free response

I think earlier in my blogs I declared that Eliza was my favorite character, but after finishing my book, Tao Chi'en is by far the best character.  He is the most level-headed character in the entire novel.  He seems incredibly wise and all-knowing, but he grows intellectually and in his emotions.

He grows intellectually through medical knowledge.  He still uses old Chinese tricks like pins and needles and magical herbs.  However, he finds out how to amputate and perform surgery.  He needs to learn these things in America to widen his outreach to patients.  Practicing both Chinese and American techniques brings both cultures to his office.  This is not his only motive in learning though.  Tao Chi'en truly loves to learn!  He wants to gain wisdom and knowledge through any means possible.  I love this about him.  

He also grows emotionally by figuring out how the relationship between men and women should be.  Growing up in China, he is told that women are disposable and only good for being wives or concubines.  He sees his sister sold into slavery and often sees dead baby girls around the streets.  Although no one directly tells Tao Chi'en how worthless women are, subliminally he is shown how they are of no use.  Most of his thoughts as a young lad were over women.  Tao Chi'en planned on arranging a marriage for himself with a girl with little feet.  His single thoughts about the girl were how she had to have beautiful little feet.  After meeting Eliza, Tao Chi'en comes to see how important and useful women are.  They are more than their feet.  There is a brain as well as a body.  Eliza is strong willed and acts as his equal.  This shows him

 how they can be equal partners in a relationship.

Week 6- Free Response

Dear Isabel Allende,

I have recently finished your book Daughter of Fortune and I enjoyed it greatly! However, I do have some questions about the character Joaquin Murieta and the singsong girls.

His life is obviously a bit sketchy since it is all recorded by a reporter who has never even met him. I had the feeling while reading your book that Murieta didn't even exist. I thought this because he and his group was uncatchable and they seemed to move impossibly quickly from one town to another. Another part suggesting this made up villain was when he was supposedly killed. Their were no witnesses to say otherwise and the description of the posse was rather vague. However, I think I was proven wrong when Eliza went to see Murieta's decapitated head. When she saw it she proclaimed, "I am free" (399). I assume that this meant that Murieta's head was indeed the one of her first love. This would of course mean that Murieta was a real person. So, I'm a little bit confused about his existance.

I was also curious about the singsong girls. Was slavery really so prominent in California in the mid-1800's? Were there really Chinese slaves called the singsong girls? I have a hard time imagining the government so corrupt. I suppose I can see a little bit of slave trading occurring, but you wrote about it as if it happened in large amounts. Could the California government really ignore such a big problem? Getting beyond the trading of slaves, I was also curious about the conditions these girls lived in. Is your writing based on factual accounts? The brothels were disgusting. So many girls packed in such a small space and then brainwashed and drugged to perform! I was also taken aback at how they were then silently left to starve or be killed after they were no longer useful. Perhaps this only happened in a few places and you wrote about the worst scenario a prostitute could be in. I sure hope this is the case, because I was horrified at your account of the singsong girls.

Other than these few questions, I was incredibly pleased with your book. I would like to read more books by you, but I have heard that they are sad. Perhaps you could write another book with a happy ending like The Daughter of Fortune!

Sincerely,
Megan

Week 6- Cultural Commentary

Tao Chi'en and Eliza are worried that they will be an odd pairing. This is of course because Tao is Chinese while Eliza is Chilean. This would not be a problem in present day America, but in the mid nineteenth century I guess the couple would turn a few heads.

Most people at this time would marry within their class and race. Tao and Eliza break both of these unwritten rules. Tao is a middle class "doctor" and Eliza is descended from a well-off English family. They don't find this a problem in America however because Eliza is living more or less the life of a poor traveler. When she begins to live with Tao, she fits right in with his living conditions. Their differences in race are also manageable. Eliza spends a good deal of her time pretending to be Tao's deaf and dumb younger brother. Most people believe her to be Chinese. It is understandable that Eliza and Tao became a couple because they jumped through the hoops set by society to come closer together.

The problem with their assumed eventual marriage is that they can't keep their different races a secret forever. Eliza returns to wearing her dresses at the end of the book. When she isn't in men's clothing and doesn't have her hair cropped short, one can quite easily see that Eliza is indeed a Chilean women and not a Chinese boy.

I don't know how people will react to their marriage, but I'm sure Eliza and Tao will overcome the reactions. They have both gone through a lot in their lives to reach California and build respectable lives for themselves. They shouldn't have a problem getting past another step in the staircase of life.

Week 5- Free Response

I adored the book Daughter of Misfortune! I really enjoyed how the ending wasn't too perfect. I often am bothered when books or movies end with a too happy ending. Life never really works out the way you want it to, so books and movies should reflect real life in this aspect. In Daughter of Fortune Eliza doesn't get everything she expects in life, but things do work out in her favor. She finds a man, finds her family, and finds something to do with her life.

Throughout the book she is always searching for something. Most of the time she is on the road or moving from place to place in order to find what she is looking for. At the very beginning of the book Eliza wonders a lot about where she came from and who her family is. Her thoughts then become overtaken by her boyfriend Joaquin. When he leaves, Eliza stows away to America to find him. As she is on this search across California, she begins to wonder what has become of her life. She feels most at home when taking care of the sick, but even this does not satisfy her. So, on Eliza's trek across California, she tries to find all three of these things and live a fulfilled life.

By the end of the novel Eliza finds all that she is looking for. Although she does find a man, her family, and a purpose in life, none of these things end up how she expected. Eliza wants Joaquin and searches for him for years, but eventually she comes to terms with the fact that she doesn't love him anymore, she only loves the idea of being in love. Once Eliza has this revelation, she stays with Tao Chi'en (who she should have been with all along!). Her purpose in life also becomes apparent. Tao and Eliza find a way to save many young girls' lives. They buy sex slaves and rehabilitate them to live normal lives. Eliza's family comes as a bonus at the end of the book. Eliza seems to be living happily, but little does she know, her aunt (and adoptive mother) is coming to America to find her! It is assumed that Eliza will be reunited with her true family and live happily ever after.

So, all in all, Eliza's life works out quite well. This all happens in an unexpected way, and Eliza will still have trials to face with her dangerous job of saving poor souls and her odd pairing with Tao. Again, I must reiterate how great this book was! I recommend it to anyone interested in a variety of things from romance stories to cowboy tales. I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I have!

Week 5- Cultural Commentary

In general, modern people have a different feeling about money than people did in the nineteenth century. People were eager to flood California for this so called gold that lay everywhere. Today, no one would be so naive as to believe that gold is so easy to get. People know that things that sound "too good to be true" probably are too good to be true. Most people today are suspicious of a good deal. That's why we comparison shop. One deal may sound great, but it's not good until we can see that it is truly a good deal. Impulse buys aren't that common of an occurrence. You have to think through a purchase until you can go through with buying it. People are also pretty loyal to their families that they won't run away for gold. I can't imagine my dad or any of my friends' dads leaving for money. Of course, this obviously isn't everyone's parents, but still, I don't believe a majority of fathers would leave their family in dire straights so that they could benefit from the gold rush.

In 1849, people fled from every continent in the world to get California's gold. These Argonauts truly thought that they would become rich from this gold. They didn't realize how difficult it would be to find the gold. With poor communication and tabloid newspapers, no one knew that the gold wasn't that easy to get. The newspapers wrote headlines that sold, so they sometimes wrote lies about California to sell. People must have been easily swayed and jumped on board a ship to get rich quick. They would do this regardless of their families as well. Men would leave their wife and children with no way of making money just to get to California.

Week 4- Free Response

The Daughter of Fortune focuses a lot on relationships and the hoops someone will jump through for love. Eliza runs away from her family and chases after her "one true love" Joaquin. Seriously, how can she possibly love him. So, this is how they meet. Joaquin works for Eliza's uncle, so he swings by her house to do some work. She serves him lemonade and falls madly in love. Of course, Joaquin feels the same way about Eliza after there first meeting. From then on, they meet in a shack and have sex. They then begin doing it in the attic of Eliza's house during the night when no one will hear them. There relationship is founded on very little other than sex. I don't know how grounded there love really is.

After a while, their secret relationship must be ended as Joaquin heads to California to participate in the gold rush. Despite the fact that Joaquin picked gold over his "love", Eliza feels obligated to find him in America. She is now carrying his child as she stows away on a ship and nearly dies. Eliza has a still birth and lives to see California. Once she steps on land, her first thoughts are of Joaquin. I have little faith in her actually finding him.

Do they really love each other then? Eliza goes through Hell to get to America and become closer to Joaquin. She leaves her family, leaves behind her riches and comfortable house, she leaves her friends, she illegally stows away on a ship, she nearly dies, and yet she still only thinks of finding Joaquin. I can't decide if she loves him or not. I can't imagine any other reason to go through such horrors unless there really is true love.

My writing probably sounded sort of bitter, but I can't wrap my mind around love at first sight stuff. I believe you come to love someone through a closer relationship based conversations and shared experiences. Eliza and Joaquin share little other than sex, but maybe that's enough in this case.

Week 4- Cultural Commentary

For this post I'm just going to make a list of interesting cultural differences I found in the reading.

• Tao Chi'en and the two black people aboard the ship don't have cabins and can't sit at the dining table. People of nationalities other than white are looked down upon. This is probably due to the fact that the "white man's burden" is an ideology floating around Europe at this time.

• Tao Chi'en finds the act of drinking milk repulsive. His reasoning for this isn't explained.
  

• Opium is used medicinally to ease Eliza's pain and make her voyage to America easier. Eliza (a British woman) thinks this will make her mad, but Tao Chi'en convinces her that if used sparingly it will ease her journey. The triangular trade of Opium to China popularizes the drug, so Tao Chi'en is very familiar with it.

• Besides using Opium, Tao Chi'en uses old Chinese cures. He uses herbs, teas, and acupuncture to cure her from her fever after her miscarriage.

• Tao Chi'en doesn't believe Eliza has a very good chance of finding her love or of marrying him. No one will want her for a wife after having a miscarriage. Today, many people overlook these faults when looking for a spouse. I suppose back then, however, a miscarriage meant the woman isn't a virgin. I don't understand how this is a problem though since Eliza's love is the one who got her pregnant in the first place. He is well aware that she is no longer a virgin!
  

• Tao Chi'en is persuaded to help Eliza once Lin (his late wife) appears to him. He believes this happens every once in a while, but never before this encounter was he positive she was visiting him. Tao seems to be a little bit superstitious.
  

• He also believes that if he lets Eliza die her ghost will haunt him for the rest of his life. Again, Tao's superstitiousness is revealed.
  

• Captain Katz doesn't like women aboard his ship. He doesn't explain his reasoning but I assume it has to with either bad luck or the fact that the women passengers are prostitutes.