Shakespeare's Sonnets 18 and 130

Most people are familiar with Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 and its famous line "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" However, most people are unfamiliar with Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, which is not that surprising considering the difference in tone. When first reading the two poems, it is easy to note the big differences. After rereading them, I was also able to notice some important similarities.

Sonnet 18 is an incredibly flattering poem, and basically says that the woman being described is lovelier than possible to describe; she is beyond compare to the beauties of nature. It's like a pickup line; it's obviously exaggerated and meant to flatter a woman whom Shakespeare is in love with. Shakespeare compares her to summer, only to say that summer is flawed in ways in which the woman is not.

If Sonnet 18 is a pickup line, Sonnet 130 is more like the conversation you have with your wife after being married for several years. This poem kind of takes back everything that was said in Sonnet 18; his mistress is nothing like a summer day or anything of that sort. Shakespeare points out that the woman is fair from perfect, and that comparing her to the beauty of nature is ludicrous. My favorite example of this is when he says, "If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun." It's obviously not very flattering, but points out how many of the comparisons that people use to describe their loved ones are far from accurate.

While these two poems may seem completely different, they have two very important similarities: use of nature in imagery and the idea that comparisons are imperfect. First, both of the sonnets use elements of nature and its beauties to describe Shakespeare's mistress. Sonnet 18 talks about a summer day and Sonnet 130 talks about the sun, coral, snow, and roses. The use of images from nature gives the poems a very natural, earthy feel, as though they were written and read outside.

More importantly is the shared theme of the imperfection of comparisons. In both of the sonnets, Shakespeare explains how comparing people to nature only gets you so far; they either fall short of the true beauty of a person or exaggerate a person's beauty. Neither of the poems says that the woman is exactly like one thing in nature, because she's not.

Although the two poems display different feelings towards the subject, they both contain the important idea that comparisons are flawed, which is the most important part of the poems.

The Settings of "The Hundred Secret Senses"

One of the reasons I was impressed by Amy Tan's writing was because she was able to very effectively bring her settings to life. For the settings, she used a lot of details, including everything from background information to cultural artifacts. To give a better idea of how she used these techniques, I'd like to talk about three different settings in the book.

The first setting that comes to mind for me is 19th century China, as Kwan saw it. Just like in any other descriptive writing, Tan illustrates the house and surrounding mountains and village. What really brings it to life, however, is how she describes the historical context and time period. Kwan talks about the history of her village, and how the people in her town are special, different from the people in other villages. She also talks about the missionary movement in China, and the different groups fighting in China at the time. Some more important details she includes are the feelings of the Chinese towards the foreigners and vice versa. These details make the reader feel the tension of the setting and understand the different goals of the different characters.

Another significant setting was Olivia's apartment. What was most interesting about Amy Tan's technique for describing this setting was the use of dialogue. The reader learns more about the setting through the dialogue than through the direct narration. Hearing the real estate agent try to sell the apartment to Olivia and Simon feels very modern, a lot like listening to a car salesman--it's distinctly 20th/21st century. Additionally, the way that Olivia and Simon talk about the storage space, garage space, etc makes it very clear that the setting is modern and urban/suburban.

Finally, Amy Tan very effectively described the visit to modern day China. Throughout Olivia's visit to China, she comes across many cultural differences that make a clear distinction between the setting in the US and China. In China, Olivia comes across a man selling birds for food, appallingly inconsiderate drivers, and a concerning absence of police. These events, as well as the contrast between Olivia's reactions and Kwan's reactions, really bring out the uniqueness of this setting.

Throughout the book, Amy Tan uses several different techniques to bring to life several different settings.

My Favorite Character from "The Hundred Secret Senses"

I'm not sure if it is already apparent in my other writing pieces about the book, but my favorite character in "The Hundred Secret Senses" is definitely Kwan, Olivia's sister.

When choosing my favorite character in a book, I always look for two key things: how relatable and realistic they are. Since writing is a form of expression of ideas and feelings, I want a character that I can relate to and help me connect to the story. If a character isn't relatable, they do nothing to help bond the important connection between the reader and the novel. I also want a character that is realistic, which means that I don't want a flawless super hero; I love reading about characters with apparent flaws because that makes them more relatable and also more interesting. When a character has no flaws, they become boring and lack distinctiveness.

Kwan met both of my requirements for a relatable, realistic character.

First, I personally found her desire to love someone and be loved extremely relatable. I think that everyone has experienced the need to be loved by someone else, but also the desire to love someone in turn. Even when Olivia shuns, teases, and hurts Kwan, Kwan still gives the same amount of devotion and love to Olivia. When Kwan tells Olivia about the three wishes she made when she was a young girl in China, she says, "My first wish: to have a sister I could love with all my heart, only that, and I would ask for nothing more from her." (Tan 195). This quote also shows another trait I love about Kwan: her simplicity. The fact that Kwan does not wish for her sister to love her back shows her selflessness and her simple desires. She wants to be able to give someone love and devotion, and yet asks for nothing in return from them; what could be less selfish?

Another thing that I loved about Kwan was that she was always energetic and in a good mood. Olivia constantly mentions how Kwan was always talking to her, even when Olivia was pretending to be sleeping. Even when she is in a bad situation, Kwan keeps her hopes up and looks to the future (and the past). For example, (MINI SPOILER ALERT aka first chapter) after Olivia gets Kwan sent to the insane asylum where Kwan is given shock therapy, Kwan does not change at all. When Kwan returns from the insane asylum, she continues to eagerly tell her stories to Olivia, and loves Olivia just as much as before she went to the insane asylum. This leads me to another thing I admired in Kwan--she never blamed other people for things that happened. Referring to getting Kwan sent to the insane asylum, Olivia says, "To this day, I don't know why Kwan never blamed me for what happened. I'm sure she knew I was the one who got her in trouble…Not once did she ever say, 'Libby-ah, why did you tell my secret?'" (Tan 16-17). Kwan never points a finger at anyone, never holds a grudge, and never ceases to be passionate about everything in her life and others' lives.

In terms of being a realistic character, I think that Kwan has natural desires concerning love, and that her innocence and possible craziness are her faults. Just like any other person, Kwan has her own wishes and goals in life. Even if her goals are more centered around other people, they are still goals. In terms of her faults, I think that her innocence is both an admirable trait and a fault. On the one hand, her avoidance of holding grudges is good because it allows her to be a happy person. On the other hand, it also opens her up to being hurt on countless occasions. Even though she forgives Olivia for getting her sent to the insane asylum, Olivia continues to say mean things to her. After Kwan's return from the asylum, Olivia admits that she, "…often refused to play with her. Over the years, I yelled at her, told her she embarrassed me," and yet Kwan never ceased to devote herself to Olivia (Tan 23). Another thing that keeps Kwan from being a perfect character is her "yin-eyes". Kwan claims to be able to see and talk to ghosts as well as remember her past-life. Whether she actually has yin-eyes or not, this makes her vulnerable to people who don't believe her and think she's crazy. This is the reason she got sent to the insane asylum, and one of the reasons that Olivia avoids Kwan.

Overall, Kwan was my favorite character because she was relatable, lovable, and realistic.

Movie Version of "The Hundred Secret Senses"

After reading The Hundred Secret Senses, it became apparent that the book would work well as a movie. First, there are some great settings in the book that would be perfect for a movie; Olivia's apartment and Kwan's home town in China are both unique places that would captivate any movie watcher. Because the novel is so visual, recreating the scenes for a movie adaptation would be simple and effective. Another reason that the novel would make a good movie is because of the importance of narration. In the book, there are numerous instances in which Kwan is telling her story of her past life. Hearing her tell it in her distinct voice would help the audience to associate the story specifically with Kwan, instead of letting it pass as a side story.

As for the cast, I'd like to address whom I would choose to portray the characters of Olivia, Simon, and Kwan.

First, I would cast Keira Knightley as Olivia. I realize that Keira Knightley, a British actress, does not meet the ethnic characteristics of Olivia, who is half (US) America and half Chinese. However, I think that Keira Knightley would be able to portray the more important characteristics of Olivia. In The Hundred Secret Senses, Olivia is intelligent, politically conscious, and in a constant search for heartfelt connections to other people. In my opinion, Keira Knightley has the acting ability to portray these important characteristics of Olivia.

I would cast Hugh Grant as Simon. For those who don't know who Hugh Grant is, I know him from playing a modern day version of Mr. Wickham (villainous character from Pride and Prejudice) in the movie Diary of Bridget Jones. Simon, Olivia's husband, has a strong dependence on sexual intercourse, boy-like determination, and a critical eye. All of these characteristics match with the character that I saw Hugh Grant, which leads me to believe that he would be well suited to act as Simon.

Finally, I would cast Jewel Staite as Kwan. I know Jewel Stait as playing the character Kaylee on the TV series Firefly. On the show, Kaylee is an intelligent, constantly happy, very energetic character. To me, the most important characteristic of Kwan is her never ending energy and the fact that she's never angry with Olivia. Since Jewel Stait has demonstrated the ability to act out a character with this kind of energy, I think she would be the best fit for Kwan.

Review of Amy Tan's "The Hundred Secret Senses"

When I first starting reading The Hundred Secret Senses, I assumed that I would be reading a story about a woman's relationship with her half-sister. While the main plot of the book is the relationship between the half-sisters, another large portion of the book was about the main character's relationship with her husband. Until the very end of the story, I considered these two relationships to be almost completely separate, and would therefore like to begin by discussing both of them separately.

I absolutely loved reading about the main character Olivia, her relationship with her half-sister Kwan, and Kwan's stories.

Amy Tan's description of Olivia (in first person narrative) is so authentic that I initially mistook it for an autobiography. Olivia fearlessly shows the reader both her strengths and dreams as well as her less applaudible characteristics and describes several of her shameful actions. For example, right from the beginning of the book, Olivia is revealed to be far from perfect, practically rejecting Kwan despite Kwan's unwavering devotion and love for Olivia. If you're looking for a model heroine, do not read this book; however, if you are looking for a realistically flawed character who feels like a real person, then look no further than Olivia.

Personally, I found the relationship between Olivia and Kwan to be very relatable. As a person who contains both dauntless love and reoccurring frustration for my sibling, I felt like I could understand both Olivia's detachment and Kwan's over-attachment. In the very beginning of the book, Olivia explains how her relationship with her mother and how it affected her relationship with her sister. This background makes her disdain for Kwan understandable, if not saddening. On the other side of the relationship, Kwan's loyalty to Olivia is innocently sweet in a child-like manner. Kwan adores and stays attached to Olivia, even when Olivia hurts Kwan and ignores her in obvious ways. Although at some times it was painful to read about such a contrast in feelings, it felt real and created a hope for resolution between the sisters.

Dispersed throughout the novel was Kwan's stories of her supposed past life. Whether or not her past life actually happened or was a mere figment of imagination, it was undoubtedly fascinating. Kwan's story takes the reader back to 19th century China, a setting of great change and turmoil. Her story is engaging through it's incorporation of pure narrative, description, and personal insight. Besides just iterating what happened in her past life, Kwan describes the people and places in her story in such a way that the reader can truly visualize the events. Kwan also adds in her thoughts about whether or not she should have done something, how it would effect her future, and why certain things mattered to her. In effect, Kwan's story was like a novel within a novel.

As for the ending, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, the ending of the novel ties together all the ideas and concepts in an easily understood way, and resolves most of the conflicts. There is a very clear, and I thought appropriate, resolution to the difficult relationship between Olivia and Kwan. However, I felt that the resolution to the difficult relationship between Olivia and her husband Simon was less satisfactory.

This brings me to my one and only complaint about the book--the marital relationship. As a high school student, I found it extremely difficult to relate to descriptions of marriage and it's difficulties; I can only imagine how difficult it would be for another person my age who has never been in a relationship to relate to Olivia's marriage problems. Because of this lack of connection, every time Olivia talked about Simon, I found myself frustrated and waiting for the novel to turn back to Kwan or China or anything else but Simon. Speaking of him, I really disliked Simon. Based on Olivia's descriptions of him, I thought he was immature, arrogant, and overall a poor choice on Olivia's behalf. By the end of the book, I was fed up with Simon.

Keeping all of this in mind, I would give The Hundred Secret Senses a strong four-out-of-five-stars rating. I thought that the characters were both diverse and interesting, the plot to be exciting and unpredictable, and the sibling relationship to be both engaging and incredibly relatable. Based on my complaint about the strong presence of marriage related issues, I would recommend this book primarily to an older age group-college age and older. However, I felt that I got a lot out of this book despite the one complaint, and would therefore recommend it to any high school students willing to overlook this.

Why "The Hundred Secret Senses"?

Out of a list of possible summer reading books, I decided that I wanted to read The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan.

Why?

The main reason for my decision was that I wanted to read a novel by Amy Tan. Last summer, I read an essay by her called Mother Tongue because it was part of the summer reading assignment. I was really impressed by Amy Tan's clarity in writing and her ability to show the meaning in her work. Even though I have never experienced the emotions that Amy expressed in her essay, her detailed examples and thoughts made it easy for me to understand what she felt. For me, it's really important that a book is able to make the reader feel the same emotions as the writer, and I thought that Amy Tan did this very well. I also liked how her writing in the essay was very personal. When I was reading her essay, it didn't feel like I was just reading about her experiences; it felt like she was talking to me in person.

Another factor was that I had decided that I wanted to read more books by female authors, and Amy Tan was one of the female authors on the list of books to choose from. My class read several novels by male authors this past school year, but only one novel by a female author. Additionally, the one novel by a female author that we read in class was a very depressing story about a young girl's sexual awakening. While my class had some great discussions about all of the novels, I still ending up leaving with a craving for a novel written by a female author, but absolutely not a romance novel.

When I saw that one of the books on this year's summer reading list was written by Amy Tan, the female author that I had already read and knew I would enjoy, it wasn't a hard decision to make.