Outside Reading Quarter 3: Post 3

We are often told to look for the good in the people around us, especially the people we dislike. The book “Suite Francaise” shows examples of peoples’ enemies that turned out to be much more pleasant and good-natured that expected, but I also shows people who, even when pressed with love, projected only hatred and contempt. As soldiers approach a small village, all the people in the village shut themselves in their houses due to their fear of the Germans. When the soldiers arrive the villagers realize they are not that bad at all. As a boy gazes upon the soldier he hears, “shouting, laughter, singing”(103). These are not the sounds they expected to hear, and are just what you would expect from any victorious soldier. While the thought of France being taken over is still painful for the boy, he the soldiers were much more human that earlier predicted by all. The opposite of this was also seen as Father Pericand leads a group of juvenile delinquents out of Paris. The priest doesn’t admit it, but can’t stand being around the children. He tries to be friendly and share God’s love, but he realizes, “their souls were shut off, walled up”(136). As the priest doesn’t enjoy the company of the children, he still tries to find some joy in their souls, but ends up finding none. The book sends mixed messages on regards to what to expect from those you don’t get along with. The book is consistent however, in that it always shows examples of people attempting to change their perception of others.

Another idea brought up in “Suite Francaise” is that with the right expectations many situations will turn out to be not so bad. A woman grieves in the absence of her son who is off fighting in the war. This grief is fueled by her continual search for him whenever troops pass by. This bad expectation for her son to turn up makes the situation much worse, and brings out her pain each time. This change of expectations ends up helping Gabriel Corte, a snobby, rich celebrity. When he finally finds a room to stay in at a familiar hotel, Gabriel is given a room on the 4th floor, much below his usual standards. In response to an apology for the bad accommodations, Gabriel says, “nothing matters at the moment”(157). Gabriel is used to the top floor, but has changed his expectations and thus is not disappointed and actually relieved by any room he can get. The responses of the characters in this novel support that with adjusted expectations, many situations aren’t as bad as they may seem.

Nemirovsky, Irene. “Suite Francaise”. New York: Random House, 2006.

Outside Reading Quarter 3: Post 2

In the novel “Suite Francaise”, Irene Nemirovsky writes very short paragraphs, with each paragraph
following a different family. There are around five different stories in the beginning of the novel,
but they start to intertwine as the story progresses. The different characters allow for different
perspective into the same situation, creating an in depth setting. By keeping the paragraphs short,
the story flows well, and sections don’t get to far apart time-wise. I like the style, and it keeps me
reading because every chapter you read you only get a glimpse of what is happening to each character.


Early on there is a lot of tension between the different social classes of people. The morals of the
rich disgust the poor, and the poor get in the way of the affluent. However, as the bombs begin to fall
on the refugees they start to care for each other, disregarding previous differences. A lower class
woman goes out of her way to help lost children find their mothers. Jeanne Michaud takes the children,
“to the cathedral” and directed their parents where to find them (61). Jeanne does this without
thinking of what class the parent of the children is, and simply does it out of an empathetic kindness.
Earlier in the novel every line of Jeanne reflects her view toward other social classes, and here she is seen
helping everyone around her. A wealthy dancer also helps a young man find a room to stay in before
getting to know him. She tells the boy she will, “go downstairs and ask for a room” for him (96). The
boy turns out to be from a wealthy family, but this act of kindness toward another person wasn’t seen any
other time from the actress. The actions of people from all classes changed when they had to leave their
homes. As shown by many characters in “Suite Francaise”, when survival is at the front of people’s mind,
they may act more indifferently towards each other and erase the distinct lines of social class.

Nemirovsky, Irene. “Suite Francaise”. New York: Random House, 2006.

Outside Reading Quarter 3: Post 1

The novel “Suite Française” takes place in the year 1940 in France. The novel opens in Paris, following several families and their attempt to flee the city. The people in the city seem to be scared of the war coming on them, but none of the families were in a frantic rush to leave the city as quickly as possible. The novel highlights the reactions of different individuals to the pending threat of German invasion of Paris. A poor, working class couple is sad, yet not scared of dieing. A rich writer is annoyed at his uprooting. A rich family gathers their many precious belongings and drives their servants to a friend’s estate. The wide range of social standing and attitude reflects how World War II affected everyone, not only those with family members in the war. Looking back at the war people would realize that they should have left their houses in Paris immediately, but fear can make people act strangely.

A major theme introduce in the beginning of the novel is how attitude can affect one’s flexibility and well-being. Some people see the war coming and continue to look for loved ones gone away to fight for their country, the hopeful yet sad feeling. Jeanne Michaud scans soldiers looking for her son and tells herself, “He does look like him, doesn’t he?”(56). Jeanne wants her son to be alive, and scans troops to find him. She knows this hope is in vain, and her son is hundreds of miles away, but it is the hope that keeps her spirits up. Some people, on the other hand, address the war as a vacation, not realizing the severity of the situation. Madame Pericand didn’t pack very much food, and went to a food shop along the way out of Paris. When asking for some biscuits the grocer replies, “We’ve got nothing left, Madame”(52). Madame Pericand surely understands there is a war going on, but didn’t realize what it would mean to her life style. She doesn’t understand what she must give up in the time of war, and has a hard time adjusting. The different attitudes of the people fleeing Paris show that one’s attitude is the basis for one’s flexibility.

Nemirovsky, Irene. “Suite Francaise”. New York: Random House, 2006.

Outside Reading Post 6

While Mortenson's efforts in Pakistan were truly heroic, the fact that he left his family for months at a time, and constantly was waking up at 3 am to work on Pakistan time can't be overlooked. Many people consider Mortenson as a hero for his brave, persistent efforts to educate Pakistan's rural poor, especially girls, and counter terrorism in his education of moderate beliefs and hope for a better future that he installed in the children. However, his wife, Tara, and their children had to live with their father continually entering a dangerous environment, with the very likely possibility that he would not return. Christiane Letinger stated that she believe Tara to be as heroic as Greg. Letinger argues, "Tara not only allows it, but supports it, because she believes so strongly in Greg's mission. If that's not heroism I don't know what is" (304). Tara had to go through countless nightmares, and even when Greg is at home, can count on him sleeping odd hours and traveling for fundraising speeches. Tara is clearly the perfect match for Greg, as she supports and puts up with his crazy lifestyle.
The lifestyle that Greg leads made me wonder if he made the right ethical decision when he decided to start a family and get married. While Tara does support him, he really isn't a functional part of their relationship, and seems to have limited influence and interaction with his kids. Does Greg's care for the people on the other side of the world block him from acting as he should at home? From what I could pick up from the reading it seemed that he wasn't leading a ethical life at home, by his neglect of family duties. However, this may be the correct ethical decision, as by neglecting his family, he is helping thousands of people worldwide. While I think Greg leads a very ethical life, I believe he could do more for his family, even while maintaining his involvement on his project.

Mortenson, Greg, and David Relin. “Three Cups of Tea”. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.

Outside Reading Post 5

When learning about the many negative affect of drugs, we were introduced to the idea that the money spent on them world go to helping many illegal organizations around the world. My health teacher traced through the money that was spent on heroin would hurt the environment and help fuel wars, while also hurting your body. The idea of bad money is one that many people understand, and no ethical person wants to use the money a drug dealer made. Mortenson needed a lot of money to finance his many projects in Pakistan, and few Americans were willing to donate to his cause. As Mortenson saw his funds dwindle and became scared for the future of his organization, he accepted money from anyone that would donate to him. Mortenson thought of the conflict when he was paying his respects to Mother Teresa just after her death. He recounted how she had been criticized for he acceptance of money from corrupt persons, but Mortenson agreed with her actions (237). Mortenson saw how difficult it had been for him to collect even the 20,000 dollars he needed for a school, and understood Mother Teresa's actions.
Should money be accepted to help a good cause that came from a corrupt source? The point can really be argued either way. On one hand the money would go to help many people, such as the children the Mortenson was helping in Pakistan, and any money received would help. However, accepting the money indirectly contributed or supported the corrupt persons actions. Mortenson believed that the fact that the person donated the money may have showed a change in heart, and accepted any money thankfully. I agree that for the most part his actions spoke to the more ethical choice, however there will always be special cases that do not fit with his generalized assumption.

Mortenson, Greg, and David Relin. “Three Cups of Tea”. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.

Outside Reading Post 4

When Greg Mortenson decided to become the founder and head of the Central Asia Institute, he took on an challenge that he was ready for. As his trips to Pakistan increased in frequency and duration, he found more areas that needed his help, and found himself traveling to the outermost regions of the country. As his duties increased, he had less time to spend talking to the heads of the villages he was going to build in, which lead to a lack in some of his social understanding of their unique culture. When Mortenson visited Wiziristan, a desert area on Pakistan's border, he had the intention of building them a school. He soon learned that the regions hatred toward Americans was growing, however this enlightenment occurred after his capture. As I read of Greg's travels and his decreasing intimate contact with town leaders, I thought of the struggle that must be going through his mind. He had to make a choice, either he would build less schools learn more about each individual towns culture and needs, or he could build as many schools as possible, and lose his close relationships and the possibility to cater directly to the area's specific needs. This decision required Mortenson to think of what he cared about most. Mortenson was able to come to some middle ground by hiring Pakistani employees that could share important cultural information, while leaving Mortenson with the time to build as many schools and town centers as possible.
As could be expected, conflicts arose from Mortenson's lack of relationships with town leaders. On his trip to Waziristan, the Haji Wazir, their town leader, captured Mortenson and held him hostage for ten days (165). Mortenson realized that he must make some diplomatic relations before planting himself in an area and attempting to solve their problems. After he learned that Haji Wazir had taken him in to see if he was anti-Islam or a secret agent, Mortenson was sure to get to know important Pakistani leaders personally so they could see his works were for the better of all the people of Pakistan. Mortenson had many difficult decisions to make on his quest to help as many children as he could, but his ethical choices help define him as the hero many people consider him to be.

Mortenson, Greg, and David Relin. “Three Cups of Tea”. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.

Outside Reading Quarter 2: Post 3

In the book "Three Cups of Tea" Greg Mortenson needs to decide whether he will help the people of Pakistan by building them a school, or if he will stay in America with his girlfriend and settle down and have a family. Greg chose to go to Pakistan and build the school. This shows that Greg knows that it is the correct choice for him to do what is better for the greater society, in his case helping the many people in Pakistan. He could have also made this decision and known that if his girlfriend was really the right fit for him as a life partner she would share his ethical standpoint and understand his actions. While reading a bit more reveals that his girlfriend does indeed share his drive to help other people, leaving shows that he is willing to take a risk to do what he believes is right. Not only does this show that he is a sound person ethically, it shows that he is not afraid to be a whistle blower and stand up for what he believes to be right.

Mortenson is faced with a similar problem later on in the book, when the people of the village he was building a school at asked him if he could build a bridge for them. While Mortenson hadn't enjoyed sleeping in his car and living in a storage space, he knew that the people in Pakistan didn't enjoy walking through a river many times a day. Mortenson saw that he could build them a bridge, and he wanted to. He knew that it would be in the best interest of many people, and while it might not be fun for him, it was the best thing to do. Mortenson liked helping people, but also did it because he knew he would feel that if he didn't he would regret his poor decision. This steadfast loyalty to serving others is a testimony to the strength of his character ethically.