The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees – Just a Human Touch

I really enjoyed reading through The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees. It was interesting to see how the dynamic of the story played through, and how important human characteristics were to the story, despite humans being mentioned so infrequently throughout the tale. When reading through the first few lines of the story, I thought the story would be a typical tale in which a young person learns a few life lessons, but I never imagined that it’d suddenly switch and tell it from the side of wasps and bees. The development of these insects is really incredible. Although they are simply bugs, they are portrayed as being able to read, write, and speak, even having different dialects and languages of their own. In addition, they have their own set of beliefs, practices, and ways of executing plans, even reaching the point of establishing political controls. They’re so organized! Reading this through reminded me a bit of  Chicken Run, and although the bees didn’t rebel against humans, that concept of working in secret and communicating like humans and learning from others was really interesting. 

From Zero to Infinity

After a couple (45) minutes of reading through our stories, I finished plowing through Division by Zero  and Infinities. Maybe Mr. Khactu did this on purpose, but I liked that, despite the titles of these stories completely contrasting (zero and infinity being in entirely opposite directions), they shared many similar elements. Both narratives came back to the concept of mathematics and how it was key to the core of the story. These concepts connected to not only the academic aspects of the story, but also the narrators of each respectively. Both Abdul and Carl struggle to continue their lives, tracing elements back to their mathematics, although their stories are nothing alike. 

Personally, I don't know how I felt about these references. As part of the story, they really helped develop the importance and connection of the plot, and the descriptions were very intricate, but... maybe they were a bit too long? Maybe it was because it took me a bit to get through these stories, or maybe it was that the big blocks got overwhelming at times. I don't really know... but they were still very interesting reads. 

The Water That Falls on You From Nowhere - Frustration at Michele

Growing up an only child (to some degree), I always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling, older, younger, any that would care to stick around at home and be close to the family. I dreamed of sharing moments with an older sibling, them giving me wise advice of the challenges that would lie ahead, and me working to make them happy and sharing our love for each other. When I mentioned this to my friends who had siblings, they'd mention that I was lucky to be an only child, claiming that it wasn't an easy life having a sibling. For years I'd wondered what they'd really meant. I thought to myself, surely it can't be that bad... but then I was wrong. 

Although it is a fictional story, "The Water that Falls on You From Nowhere" demonstrates some of the immense difficulties of having an older sibling that I hadn't seen before. Michelle, the narrator (Matt)'s sister, works to excel in every way possible, working to be the 'good child' in the family. Her mother claims that she does things for her brother out of love and goodness, but it just doesn't seem that way. For years, Matt has been subjected to her cruelty, even convinced that if he didn't do as she said, he would live a terrible life and die. 

Her position as an impediment towards her brother becomes more evident as the Pei family gathers for Christmas at Michele's home. Matt, bringing over Gus, his fiancé, with him, is immediately taken aside by his sister, accusing Matt of trying to kill their parents. For the remainder of his time there, she prevents him from being alone with either of their parents, going to far extremes to do so. She makes it a point to remind him not to come out to their parents, almost forbidding it. She tries to convince Matt that Gus, despite loving Matt, would likely leave him for another, and generally putting depressing thoughts into Matt's mind. Despite her attempts, Matt tells the family during dinner after being left in a tight spot. Immediately, Michele kicks him out of the home, telling him to never return. And so, Matt obliges, but not before his mother lets him know that she accepts his marriage. 

Matt reminds himself that his mother feels that her sister does what she does out of love. Perhaps she felt as though their parents would not accept the marriage or his sexuality and wanted to protect him, but with the way she'd grown up treating him... makes it seem as though perhaps she just didn't want him to live as himself. She constantly tells him to find a good Chinese girl and get married and have grandchildren, claiming that it's so he can continue the bloodline, but... could there also have been ulterior motives with that statement?