Life's Purpose

Chapter Fourteen: Letting Go and Epilogue: A Song of Enlightenment

Term: Motivation

     Le Ly said, "I can only say what I myself have learned: that life's purpose is to grow".  This quote tells people that they have so much time to repeat the mistakes that they make.  However, they need to correct them in order to learn the lesson.  I have been told many times to learn from my mistakes. This saying gives me motivation to act in a way where I do not regret all the mistakes that I have made.  I have made many mistakes already, but I have learned from all of them.  I have grown and matured as an individual.  Le Ly has taught me important lessons that I will need in life.  She is a role model and an overall remarkable person.

In 1987, Le Ly founded the East Meets West Foundation.  It seeks support from people "to heal the wounds of war and break the circle of vengeance that perpetuates suffering in the name of justice around the world". (Le Ly Hayslip) Here is the website for this foundation:

http://www.eastmeetswest.org/

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."-- Mahatma Gandhi

Chapter Twelve: Finding a Familiy and Chapter Thirteen: Finding Peace

Term: Genre

        This book is a memoir, and a memoir is a literary genre.  It is a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and is based on personal observation. The author, Le Ly, knew that hating people who had wronged her only kept her in their power.  She realized that "forgiving them and thanking them for the lesson they had taught me, on the other hand, set me free to continue on my way".  The purpose of this quote is to show how strong forgiveness is.  Forgiving people allows a person to move on and not hold a grudge.  Le Ly learned how to forgive people who did her wrong.  She learned valuable lessons from the people who hurt her and was able to thank them for that.   In the movie, The Last Song, a teenage girl finds it hard to forgive her father who left her family a few years back.  However, she learns from that experience and is finally able to forgive her father.  They are then able to form a strong relationship with eachother.  Forgiving her father allowed her to be able to move on and become a better person.  

One Wish

Chapter Ten: Power on Earth and Chapter Eleven: Almost in Paradise

Term: Legend

       Le Ly makes one wish as she sits in the car with Anh and her tour guide.  She thinks to herself, "Perhaps one day in the far future, a child on her mother'sarm will ask who these people were--why they died and why they are buried all together.  I find myself praying most fervently that the mother, having known war only from distant legends, will be unable to answer.  On that day, at last, the spirit of war will no longer hang over my village".  This quote shows how long it will take for the spirit of war to actually leave the villages.  Everyone is still living in fear as if the war is still going on, and all Le Ly wants is for that to be gone.  She wants people to know the war only from legends and unable to answer any questions that are asked about it.  She wants her people to live in peace and be happy.  I can relate this to past wars that have been fought and how today some are just stories that are told with no real answers. For me, the wars that happened in the past, I simply know from stories and books.  I do not live in a place where the spirit of war hangs over my community.  Le Ly wishes for her people to live in an environment of peace and not war. 

Writing for a Purpose

Chapter Nine: Daughters and Sons

Term: Narrative

      Bon Nghe, Le Ly's brother, wants to learn how their father felt about the war.  He told Le Ly  " 'I suppose that 's why I want to write a book--like you--to tell our families story' ".  I believe this quote tells readers why Le Ly wanted to write her book.  She wanted her story to be heard. She wanted to share her journey from war to peace.  Today, many writers have reasons why they want to write a book.  Some peole write because they want to share what they have learned and others because they just simply enjoy writing.  For Le Ly it was to share her unforgettable story.  The narratives authors write all have a reason to why they were written, and many books have a dedication page in the front of the book.  It is a page in which the author names the person or people for whom he/she has written the book.  For example, a book that I just finished reading said, "for Erica and Brae, of course".  I believe this shows that authors have a reason behind their writing.

this made me think of the other works by Le Lay Hayslip:

http://www.voiceseducation.org/category/tag/le-ly-hayslip -her two books are at the bottom of the page

Missed Chances

Chapter Eight: Sisters and Brothers

Term: Compound Sentence

       Le Ly  knows that the ". . .past for everyone is full of missed chances.  Surviving to understand them, if not to set them straight, is one of the things that makes the next breath worth taking".  I believe that this quote tells readers that everyone's past is filled with things that they regret or did not do and fulfilling those chances and understanding what happened is what makes life worth living.  Le Ly knew that Anh regreted not being a father to his son Hung when he had the chance, but he was trying to understand and make right that part of his life.  This relates to the movie Letters to Juliet. There was an old woman who regretted leaving her true love when she was younger, and an American woman finds that woman's unanswered "letter to Juliet"--one of thousands of letters left at Juliet's Verona courtyard, which are usually answered by "secretaries of Juliet"-- and together they go on a quest to find the old woman's lover.  This is a story about a journey to set the chance that was never taken straight.  The woman regretted not staying with the one she loved, and she ultiimately tried to make it right.  This compound sentence shows people that trying to make something that they regret right is a chance worth taking.  The regret that people are filled with can be taken away if they try to fix it.  "Don't let the past steal your present" -Cherralea Morgan

War

Chapter Seven: A Different View

Term: Declarative Sentence

       Le Ly was born into war and knew nothing else. She realized that "American wives and mothers, too, were losing husbands and sons every day in the evil vortex between heaven and hell that my country had become".  I believe this declarative sentence is trying to tell readers that Le Ly is hurt that people were losing family members because of the war going on in her country.  She thought that America would be paradise but then realized that there were people there who were hurting as well.  There are many families today that have lost loved ones in wars.  They go through the absence of a loved one and sometimes the death of that person. That is definitely not paradise. People in all parts of the world have to face this tragedy.   I believe that the people who risk their lives for their country are true heroes. 

Independent

Chapter Six: A Question of Faith

Term: Turning Point

      "For the first time in my life I was truly independent."  Le Ly  loved this feeling.  She loved being independent of the Viet Cong and the village and the government and even her mothers and father.  I believe this quote is trying to tell readers that there comes a point in life when they will be on their own.  The feeling of being free and independent will hit them, and they will like it and enjoy it. This quote made me think about a couple different times when people became independent.  First, the date of July 4th is about independence and freedom.  It is when the United States claimed its independence from Britain and adopted the Declaration of Independence.  This was a turning point in history and a day that the United States celebrate and have a reason for raising the flag.  Also, there comes a timein people's lives when they become independent.  Sometimes it is when they get their license and can drive or when they go off to college.  Le Ly was finally independent, andshe absolutely loved it.  

Choices and Forgiveness

Chapter Five: Losing Love

Term: Point of View

        Le Ly has become pregnant with Anh's child, and her mother wants her to try and kill the baby.  Le Ly tried to kill the life inside of her but gave up because she believed that her love for Anh and the kindness she showed to his wife would cause her to accept and help Le Ly.  Le Ly told herself that "all that was left for me was to make my peace with god for my attempts to abort the unseen life inside me". First-person point of view is being used, and I believe that the purpose of this quote is to tell readers that God will forgive people for their mistakes if they make an effort to ask for forgiveness.  Le Ly realized that what she tried to do was wrong and wanted to make peace with God.  Abortion is something that is happening in the world today.  It is a personal choice that women make, and it ultimately ends the life inside of them.  Some people are pro-life while others are not.  Abortion is a choice that many people face just like Le Ly faced when she became pregnant with Anh's baby.

A Different Kind of Love

Chapter Four: Losing the Way

Term: Dilemma

        Love has a way of making someone want to take chances.  Le Ly was in love with the Anh, a married man.  Le Ly's mother sensed the changes in her daughter because of Anh and talked to Le Ly about the sanctity of marriage.  Le Ly thought to herself after listening to her mother, "She couldn't see how it broke my heart to be caught in this dilemma--to accept Anh's love, wrong another woman, and endanger his fine family; or reject him and not only risk our own position but lose this small bit of happiness I had finally found in life".  The purpose of this quote is to show readers that Le Ly was finally happy and in love for the first time.  However, she was stuck in a dilemma.  She either had to accept Anh's love and ruin his family or reject him and lose her happiness.  For the first time in her life she has felt respect from a man and was close to discovering what hope was for.  In the movie, Becoming Jane, a woman is torn between the decision to run away with the man she loves but leave his family in danger or not be with him but have his family safe.  She chooses to leave him, but this results in her never finding love again because he was her true love.  Love is an emotion that makes people feel special and also wanted.  When Le Ly feels this, she does not want to let it go.  She is happy for once, and her mother told her when she was little to protect her happiness. Le Ly would do just that.

this song came to mind as I read through this chapter: lyrics- http://www.songlyrics.com/brendan-james/different-kind-of-love-lyrics/

music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ohdvce__V4&feature=related

Le Ly Hayslip

 Chapter Three: Open Wounds

Term: Narrator

      The narrator of this novel, Le Ly, has suffered torture, imprisonment, and rape before the age of sixteen.  She thought to herself after being violated, "Dishonered, raped, and ruined for any decent man, my soiled little body had become its own grave".  I believe this quote shows people how much suffering Le Ly went through as a child.  It left her wanting to die and feeling like she is ruined for her future husband.  Many people still suffer in the world today whether it be in war, at school, or even at home.  For example, losing a family member, being bullied, or being abused can cause suffering. It leaves people feeling like they are not worth anything. Like Le Ly, people have felt like their body had "become its own grave".  Suffering is an unavoidable part of reality, but with a little faith people can overcome it.  Le Ly is an example of someone who held fast to her faith in humanity even though there was a point where she wanted to just give up.

When Heaven and Earth Changed Places

Chapter Two: Fathers and Daughters

Term: Similie

     Le Ly  hears her father's voice in her head at the end of the second chapter.  After hearing it she says, " I close my eyes onto blackest black I have ever seen, smile with him, and fall asleep like a baby in his arms". The purpose of this quote is to show the readers that Le Ly had a loving relationship with her father.  She was a "daddy's girl".  I can connect with this because I have always been my father's daughter.  I was close with him as a child, and I can relate to the special bond that Le Ly had with her father.  Her father taught her what her main job in life was, and I remember my dad sitting me down and teaching me what my job in life is. I believe that the relationships that people form with their family help them become who they are, and Le Ly's relationship with her father has impacted who she is. She has learned philosophies that help her make sense of the war. Le Ly uses a similie in this quote saying that she fell asleep like a baby in his arms.  Le Ly is remembering her childhood and her strong, loving relationship with her father. 

this song came to mind as I read this chapter: lyrics-http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-best-day-lyrics-taylor-swift.html
song- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1BW5uHvM-g

When Heaven and Earth Changed Places

Chaper One: Coming Back

Term: Topic

      The topic of a couple of paragraphs throughout chapter one was what Le Ly Hayslip learned from her mother.  She learned that "In the East, we believe we are born with happiness and one of life's important tasks, my mother told me, is to protect it".  While I was reading this chapter I thought about happiness and what it means to me.  Happiness is what makes every day worth while. There are many reasons why I need happiness in my life.  It is what makes me who I am, and it allows me to achieve goals in my life.  I believe that  happiness brings out the best in people, and if people made their happiness a priority, we would not have all the violent acts that are present in the world today.  In this novel, Le Ly's mother tells her to make sure she protects her happiness, and I believe the reason she tells Le Ly this is because she is trying to teach her that it can be taken away easily if Le Ly lets it.  Le Ly needs to make sure she protects her happiness and puts it first because it will ultimately help her throughout her life.