Please keep in mind that you need to blog insightfully. Avoid summarizing as I have also read the book. Saying what you liked is not enough, you need to reflect on what you are reading.
The mere fact that Belli was a upperclass women, and was advocating a socialist movement, is very moving. She was willing to give up her luxurious lifestyle for her own people, which is very selfless. Even during one of her pregnancies, she decided to go to a public hospital rather than a private one(that she usually goes to) to experience what the normal citizen went through. She was a very strong willed women, giving up time to see her daughters as much as it pained her for her own nation and her peoples civil liberties. Throughout the book, it goes to explain her multiple affairs with many men, and her preferences changing from man to man, the previous one having been too flawed after an extended amount of time. To me this represents she was the type of women that needed change in her life, which could be proved by her membership with the Sandistas.
Belli was a very extraordinary woman. What I admired most about her was her love and dedication to her family. Even though at times she had to spend time away from them and do things that they did not agree with they were always her first priority. She was very strong-willed and did not let anyone tell her what to do not even her husband. She mentions how his efforts to make her understand the world irritated her which caused her to lash out at him. She also talks about how she did not need the guidance of a man and hated the fact that they thought they had to adopt women. Her life was very interesting and I enjoyed reading her memoirs.
Belli finds a balance in her narration between the concerns of her worldly life with the concerns of her personal life. She recounts in similar voice the dramas of her involvement with the Sandinistas and her rise in the eventual government the rebel group achieved and the complications of her personal life as her first marriage and then her second crumbled.
She also recounts her feelings about the Reagan administration's support of the Contras who sought to overthrow the Sandinista government. The actions of the United States, according to Belli in COUNTRY, were illustrative of why the United States is not universally beloved. This empire had a personal and profound impact on the author, who now lives in the United States part of the time with her third husband.
I enjoyed reading chapter 24 of "The Country Under My Skin", which she wrote in 1977. Belli is a very honest and determined woman. She has a very sociological way of thinking which I noticed when she mentioned that her husband wanted to make her understand society but she already had her own understanding of it. She attributed his behavior to that of a typical man and how men of that time felt that they had to "adopt" women. She had her own ideology and she would feel irritated when her "husband" would try to make her understand things, which in turn made her feel guilty, I guess because she did not want to accept it nor defend that she was denying his beleifs. I thought it was funny that she decided to marry Sergio because her father refused to visit his unwed daughter that lived with a man, I could see my father doing the same thing. The way she described her love with Sergio was very captivating and left me very curious. She said that their lovemaking was very "playful" which explains why she was able to stay with him and have the relationship where they shared passion. Belli is very in tune with her motherly instincts, she felt her ovulation periods and would act on them because she enjoyed being pregnant. Alot of people do not express the feeling that women can have in relation to child bearing, we always hear about the pain, but rarely hear the perspective that Belli gave. She discussed feeling "whole, inhabited, and beautiful" and as a woman I appreciate the pure yet divine traits that she asociated with being pregnant.
Belli's view of Fidel Castro was very thought provoking for me. In the US Fidel Castro was briefly discussed with me, especially when the incident occurred with the little boy floating over to the US on a raft from Cuba. I was never informed of what Fidel did,who he was fighting, or whether or not he was supported by his people. I knew that Fidel Castro was a dictator of a communist country, which meant that his populace lived in squalor,and the U.S. didn't approve of him or his government. I contrast this to Belli's account of Fidel Castro as a revolutionary hero to her and her brother, achieving things that seemed impossible in Nicaragua. Even when older figures began to accuse Fidel Castro of being an atheist-communist-sinner, Belli recalls latching on to her grandfathers claim that all these were lie to undermine Fidel's power. Given a peoples and a states situation, the way they view a current figure in the international sphere can differ vastly. One must also wonder how different the interpretations of other things could be, such as history, given a persons or states circumstances and experiences.
“The perfect wife” as she proclaimed herself was composed of the wife that wants to stay at home with her kids, and follow the ideals that her husband believes in. But in this case she breaks out of that mold, and begins to associate herself with people that giver her ideas that her household wasn’t used to. The Poet as she refers to him as brought out a side of her that she didn’t know existed. She felt a lack of love from her husband, because he didn’t feel like he to show it at all times to show her devotion to him. One would think that because she was wealthy she would be content with anything as long as she looked good to the public, but this was not her case. Instead the money didn’t matter to her what she needed was someone who showed her affection and make her feel as sexy as the Poet, and his friends did. Apart from that the Poet and his friends, opened up her eyes to Marxism and those type of leaders, and being that she was a Sandinista this led her to be more rebellious. This in turn, led her to independence from both her married life and the new lifestyle she was accustomed to be living.
While reading, I liked how Belli has certain assumptions about Fidel Castro when she was young but after seeing him in power and how people reacted towards him, she reanalyzed her position on him and came to her own conclusion. She is a very strong willed person, who stands for what she believes in. I also love the title of the book, the metaphor is beautiful to me. I usually think that upper class people are not that in touch with their country and don't fight for the needy, so reading this book was very surprising.
I would have to agree with Omar, Belli's bravery and patriotism for her country was what moved me the most. True patriotism for one's country is not always supporting the government but standing up for what is best for your country, even if it means going against the government. Gioconda Belli's memoir was extremely compelling; a true story of a woman who spoke out against her government, even if it meant that she would no longer enjoy the comforts of life that she was used to, or even worse, death. For a woman such as Belli to decide to speak out and take action against the dictatorship of Samoza, even when he was supported by the United States, was a true action of bravery and patriotism. She risked giving up the connections she had with extremely powerful people and the vast amount of money that she had acquired. It made me sit and ask myself if in this day and age, there would be someone willing to forgo their wealth and connections for the betterment and progress of their country.
After reading "The Country Under my Skin," I enjoyed reading about the life of Belli. Belli was the the Nicaraguan revolution because she challenged all authority. Writing about female desires she rebelled against the convention and was broke all the rules set for women in Nicaragua. Breaking the norm and having a lover while being married she proved that she was against the Somoza clan. If this was not enough she became a Sandinistas. Reading the book we see that at every stage of her journey there is a new passion which included triumph and fulfilling love affairs. Oddly so, it is the fact that she was a beautiful upper middle class women that at the beginning I was wondering her motives for going against the Nicaraguan government. She was driven by her idealism which is why she is revolutionary who stood for her purpose.
after reading the book i found the main belli to be an extremely weird person because of the type of way that she ran her life how she would want to have her kid in a public hospital and not in a private hospital because she would want to live her life like a normal person instead of a person who would try to be more safe and want the most expensive things in life.
I was most impresseed by the notion, articulated by Belli, that the advanced infringement upon the freedoms of a citizenry causes that group of citizens to take more immediate action than would have been the case had they been allowed to continue to live in a relatively complacant fashion. It became apparant, for example, that Belli became much more resolved in her budding Sandinista ideals after she began to be followed by Somoza's secret police. This is corroborated by innumerable instances in history, such as when the Nazis in occupied France tightened their hold on the social liberties of the French. Resistance comes to its real fruition in the face of actions that effect the upper class, who would have otherwise been complacant in the face of injustices making life difficult for the nation's poorer classes
Although I was not able to finish the memoir of Gioconda Belli, I found the memoir to be very intriguing. From her multiple marriages and love affair to rebelling again the dictatorship of the Somoza clan by joining the Sadinistas. Although Belli wrote the memoir sort of like a metaphor, I got the feeling that the title of the book "My Country Under my skin"has to do alot about the book, because she is wrote this novel using her body as a metaphor to explain about her country and the different phrases she goes through in the book. In comparing her to the Mirabal sister, I feel like she makes an excellent connection because these women figures have done a lot for their country from going face to face with a dictator to actually working on making changes for their country and taking down the dictators out.
After reading "The Country Under My skin" I wwas very interested how Beli uses her body as a metaphor for her country all throughout the book its almost amazing how she is known as the Nicuragan Revolution women of her time. It simply interesting how she starts breaking her barriers for women of avoiding being the "perfect woman" considering that includes just being a housewife and attend to her husbands needs. I like the face the Beli changed her ways grew into a more independent woman.
I loved this piece for the simple fact that it was about a woman that was doing as she please and followed HER ideologies. A point that most have said is the fact that she used her own body as a metaphor and this makes the title of the memoir. I think the title enables us to grow a deeper connection with Belli. I feel like she lived her life however she wanted and that is what made her happy. The fact that she actually joined the Sadinistas just goes to show that she really wanted to make a difference if not drastically but in her own life. The choices that she made and the ones that she presented in the memior all made sense and for some reason I feel like everything fell into place.
The mere fact that Belli was a upperclass women, and was advocating a socialist movement, is very moving. She was willing to give up her luxurious lifestyle for her own people, which is very selfless. Even during one of her pregnancies, she decided to go to a public hospital rather than a private one(that she usually goes to) to experience what the normal citizen went through. She was a very strong willed women, giving up time to see her daughters as much as it pained her for her own nation and her peoples civil liberties. Throughout the book, it goes to explain her multiple affairs with many men, and her preferences changing from man to man, the previous one having been too flawed after an extended amount of time. To me this represents she was the type of women that needed change in her life, which could be proved by her membership with the Sandistas.
ReplyDeleteBelli was a very extraordinary woman. What I admired most about her was her love and dedication to her family. Even though at times she had to spend time away from them and do things that they did not agree with they were always her first priority. She was very strong-willed and did not let anyone tell her what to do not even her husband. She mentions how his efforts to make her understand the world irritated her which caused her to lash out at him. She also talks about how she did not need the guidance of a man and hated the fact that they thought they had to adopt women. Her life was very interesting and I enjoyed reading her memoirs.
ReplyDeleteBelli finds a balance in her narration between the concerns of her worldly life with the concerns of her personal life. She recounts in similar voice the dramas of her involvement with the Sandinistas and her rise in the eventual government the rebel group achieved and the complications of her personal life as her first marriage and then her second crumbled.
ReplyDeleteShe also recounts her feelings about the Reagan administration's support of the Contras who sought to overthrow the Sandinista government. The actions of the United States, according to Belli in COUNTRY, were illustrative of why the United States is not universally beloved. This empire had a personal and profound impact on the author, who now lives in the United States part of the time with her third husband.
I enjoyed reading chapter 24 of "The Country Under My Skin", which she wrote in 1977. Belli is a very honest and determined woman. She has a very sociological way of thinking which I noticed when she mentioned that her husband wanted to make her understand society but she already had her own understanding of it. She attributed his behavior to that of a typical man and how men of that time felt that they had to "adopt" women. She had her own ideology and she would feel irritated when her "husband" would try to make her understand things, which in turn made her feel guilty, I guess because she did not want to accept it nor defend that she was denying his beleifs. I thought it was funny that she decided to marry Sergio because her father refused to visit his unwed daughter that lived with a man, I could see my father doing the same thing. The way she described her love with Sergio was very captivating and left me very curious. She said that their lovemaking was very "playful" which explains why she was able to stay with him and have the relationship where they shared passion. Belli is very in tune with her motherly instincts, she felt her ovulation periods and would act on them because she enjoyed being pregnant. Alot of people do not express the feeling that women can have in relation to child bearing, we always hear about the pain, but rarely hear the perspective that Belli gave. She discussed feeling "whole, inhabited, and beautiful" and as a woman I appreciate the pure yet divine traits that she asociated with being pregnant.
ReplyDeleteBelli's view of Fidel Castro was very thought provoking for me. In the US Fidel Castro was briefly discussed with me, especially when the incident occurred with the little boy floating over to the US on a raft from Cuba. I was never informed of what Fidel did,who he was fighting, or whether or not he was supported by his people. I knew that Fidel Castro was a dictator of a communist country, which meant that his populace lived in squalor,and the U.S. didn't approve of him or his government.
ReplyDeleteI contrast this to Belli's account of Fidel Castro as a revolutionary hero to her and her brother, achieving things that seemed impossible in Nicaragua. Even when older figures began to accuse Fidel Castro of being an atheist-communist-sinner, Belli recalls latching on to her grandfathers claim that all these were lie to undermine Fidel's power.
Given a peoples and a states situation, the way they view a current figure in the international sphere can differ vastly. One must also wonder how different the interpretations of other things could be, such as history, given a persons or states circumstances and experiences.
“The perfect wife” as she proclaimed herself was composed of the wife that wants to stay at home with her kids, and follow the ideals that her husband believes in. But in this case she breaks out of that mold, and begins to associate herself with people that giver her ideas that her household wasn’t used to. The Poet as she refers to him as brought out a side of her that she didn’t know existed. She felt a lack of love from her husband, because he didn’t feel like he to show it at all times to show her devotion to him. One would think that because she was wealthy she would be content with anything as long as she looked good to the public, but this was not her case. Instead the money didn’t matter to her what she needed was someone who showed her affection and make her feel as sexy as the Poet, and his friends did. Apart from that the Poet and his friends, opened up her eyes to Marxism and those type of leaders, and being that she was a Sandinista this led her to be more rebellious. This in turn, led her to independence from both her married life and the new lifestyle she was accustomed to be living.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading, I liked how Belli has certain assumptions about Fidel Castro when she was young but after seeing him in power and how people reacted towards him, she reanalyzed her position on him and came to her own conclusion. She is a very strong willed person, who stands for what she believes in. I also love the title of the book, the metaphor is beautiful to me. I usually think that upper class people are not that in touch with their country and don't fight for the needy, so reading this book was very surprising.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Omar, Belli's bravery and patriotism for her country was what moved me the most. True patriotism for one's country is not always supporting the government but standing up for what is best for your country, even if it means going against the government. Gioconda Belli's memoir was extremely compelling; a true story of a woman who spoke out against her government, even if it meant that she would no longer enjoy the comforts of life that she was used to, or even worse, death. For a woman such as Belli to decide to speak out and take action against the dictatorship of Samoza, even when he was supported by the United States, was a true action of bravery and patriotism. She risked giving up the connections she had with extremely powerful people and the vast amount of money that she had acquired. It made me sit and ask myself if in this day and age, there would be someone willing to forgo their wealth and connections for the betterment and progress of their country.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "The Country Under my Skin," I enjoyed reading about the life of Belli. Belli was the the Nicaraguan revolution because she challenged all authority. Writing about female desires she rebelled against the convention and was broke all the rules set for women in Nicaragua. Breaking the norm and having a lover while being married she proved that she was against the Somoza clan. If this was not enough she became a Sandinistas. Reading the book we see that at every stage of her journey there is a new passion which included triumph and fulfilling love affairs. Oddly so, it is the fact that she was a beautiful upper middle class women that at the beginning I was wondering her motives for going against the Nicaraguan government. She was driven by her idealism which is why she is revolutionary who stood for her purpose.
ReplyDeleteafter reading the book i found the main belli to be an extremely weird person because of the type of way that she ran her life how she would want to have her kid in a public hospital and not in a private hospital because she would want to live her life like a normal person instead of a person who would try to be more safe and want the most expensive things in life.
ReplyDeleteI was most impresseed by the notion, articulated by Belli, that the advanced infringement upon the freedoms of a citizenry causes that group of citizens to take more immediate action than would have been the case had they been allowed to continue to live in a relatively complacant fashion. It became apparant, for example, that Belli became much more resolved in her budding Sandinista ideals after she began to be followed by Somoza's secret police. This is corroborated by innumerable instances in history, such as when the Nazis in occupied France tightened their hold on the social liberties of the French. Resistance comes to its real fruition in the face of actions that effect the upper class, who would have otherwise been complacant in the face of injustices making life difficult for the nation's poorer classes
ReplyDeleteAlthough I was not able to finish the memoir of Gioconda Belli, I found the memoir to be very intriguing. From her multiple marriages and love affair to rebelling again the dictatorship of the Somoza clan by joining the Sadinistas. Although Belli wrote the memoir sort of like a metaphor, I got the feeling that the title of the book "My Country Under my skin"has to do alot about the book, because she is wrote this novel using her body as a metaphor to explain about her country and the different phrases she goes through in the book. In comparing her to the Mirabal sister, I feel like she makes an excellent connection because these women figures have done a lot for their country from going face to face with a dictator to actually working on making changes for their country and taking down the dictators out.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "The Country Under My skin" I wwas very interested how Beli uses her body as a metaphor for her country all throughout the book its almost amazing how she is known as the Nicuragan Revolution women of her time. It simply interesting how she starts breaking her barriers for women of avoiding being the "perfect woman" considering that includes just being a housewife and attend to her husbands needs. I like the face the Beli changed her ways grew into a more independent woman.
ReplyDeleteI loved this piece for the simple fact that it was about a woman that was doing as she please and followed HER ideologies. A point that most have said is the fact that she used her own body as a metaphor and this makes the title of the memoir. I think the title enables us to grow a deeper connection with Belli. I feel like she lived her life however she wanted and that is what made her happy. The fact that she actually joined the Sadinistas just goes to show that she really wanted to make a difference if not drastically but in her own life. The choices that she made and the ones that she presented in the memior all made sense and for some reason I feel like everything fell into place.
ReplyDelete