SH+Memoirs+of+a+Geisha

Memoirs Of A Geisha﻿ By Arthur Golden Group Composed of: Holly G, Monica (Dallas) L, Di L, Sidney M, and Sarah A

Today, Monday May 2nd: Literature Circle Meeting  Discussing: Projects

**Recent News**

Topics at Next Literature Circle: The script for the movie The song lyrics Show current progress with restaurant menu Show current progress with newspaper Magazine/TV Ad/Infomercial Come up with script and scene to portray for play

Current Assignment: Multi genre project

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">**Six Different Final Projects:**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Movies
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Song lyrics (play it)
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Restaurant description and menu
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Brochure/Newspaper
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Magazine or TV Advertisement or Informercial
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Modern Japanese Dance
 * [[file:SH Lit Circles Summarizer.doc]] || [[file:SH Lit Circles Discussion Director.doc]] || [[file:SH Lit Circles Connector.doc]] || [[file:SH Lit Circles Travel Tracker.doc]] ||

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Past Literature Circle Information:

Week five Week four Week three Week two Week one

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">2 May 2011 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">__**ECQs**__
 * Dominant theme: ** Finding solutions through the struggle of life.


 * Quote: ** “I felt as though I were drinking them all in-- my sister, Satsu, who had run away and left me so young; my father and mother; Mr. Tanaka, with his perverse view of kindness; Nobu, who could never forgive me; even the chairman” (Golden 427-428).


 * Explanation: ** This quote is the bits of reminiscence in Chiyo/Sayuri's life. She is recalling everyone who made a highlight in her life. She recalls the names of struggles and happiness. “Young” illustrates a grander picture of Sayuri's innocence. Chiyo refered to when her mind is still contained with less knowledge and understanding. As an older woman, Sayuri looked back and realized how many things she misunderstood. She found that because of her childishness, her struggles seems to be much more terrifying. Because that she is grown-up now, she perceive it as simply a part of her life. Also, “drink” symbolizes her stream of memories, and her slide show of life. She is washing down all those memories at once. Every sip, Chiyo reflects it on her life. Sayuri seems to taste all of the bitterness and the sweetness of her journey. She takes down all of these into herself. It is a way of acceptance. Chiyo, since smaller, wanted to find a way to escape her struggles, but as an older women she loses these thoughts. She is no longer fleeing, but rather accepting it. Her final solution is to be thankful for her life events. She is content for her struggles, because in the end, it shaped her into the person that she is.

-Di May 2

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px;">25 April 2011 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Key Points**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Suryi’s mizguage is bought for a great sum of money.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Becomes a geisha.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Mameha and Suryi get back at Hatsumomo.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Suryi gets adopted.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Suryi gets a Danna.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Suryo looses her Danna.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Nobu saves suryi by giving her a safe/good job.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Travel Traces**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Where’s today’s action begins (Page 309): This week’s action begins is when Sayuri is at the train station admiring the poster for that season’s //Dances of the Old Capital.// She soon realizes that this is a paining of her! When she visited the bridge, Uchida had been sketching her in his notepad and turned it into this beautiful poster.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Where today’s key events happen (Pages 338, 340, 367, and 385): The key events that happened in this week’s reading was that Sayuri made the switch from an apprentice to a geisha and gets to wear a white collar, she also got a //danna,// figured out why Nobu was mad at her, and Hatsumomo was kicked out of the okiya.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Where today’s events end (Page 401): The events ended where Nobu is saying goodbye to Sayuri. They may never see each other again and if they do they will have many stories to tell.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">__**ECQs**__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Dominant Theme:** To be grateful for what you have before its gone.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Quote:** “When would I ever see Nobu again? Or the Chairman? Or for that matter, Gion itself? Once <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">before, as a child, I'd been torn from my home. I suppose it was the memory of those horrible years <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">that made me feel so alone”(Golden 401).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Explanation:** People should always be grateful for what they have before its gone. Just like Sayuri. Sayuri never really took the fact to be grateful for every moment she had with her friends and family. She just went on with life. Now her parents are dead, and she might not be able to see anyone she knew in Gion. Gion became her home, her family. “Memory” is representing Gion and how it turned out to be a terrible place once they the people knew the war was not going to end. When she says “alone” she is trying to show all the people in Gion leaving and having to work different jobs for the war. Change always happens and it never ends. Sayuri needs to be grateful for those memories in Gion before it all disappears.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-Dallas Apr 25

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Dominant Theme:** Stability

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Quote:** "Afterward Nobu told me about the nest he'd set aside... to sewing parachutes... it was a job I could learn quickly, said Nobu, and the Arashino family are very willing to have me" (Golden 400).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: normal;">**Explanation:** Sayuri's life is being stripped away of all her beautiful material possessions. Just when she is on the verge of complete surrender to her life becoming full of <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: normal;">chaos, she runs into an old friend, her only savior, Nobu. The harsh-worded Nobu finally has a sweet remedy to Sayuri's fear, he is offering her a "nest" made of safety, work, and stability after the WWII defeat. For all of Sayuri's life, when she first began as Chiyo, she has been the watch and care of the mother of okiya. She's never had to seriously worry about anything going wrong in her life because she always had someone there. For instance, when she first arrived at the okiya and was under Hatsumomo's evil watch, she had Auntie there to help her through the rough times. And who was it that built up Sayuri's confidence so that she could finally stand up against Hatsumomo? Her big sister, Mameha. Once again, Sayuri is saved by her friend Nobu in the best time possible.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: normal;">-Sarah Apr 27

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">20 April 2011 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Key Points**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sayuri meets Dr. Crab and Nobu
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sayuri's unpleasant meetings with the Barren
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Mother adopting Sayuri
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sayuri's virginity was bought

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Travel Traces**


 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Where’s today’s action begins (Page 199): The Kansai International Hotel. Where we left off at the previous meeting. It was Sayuri's first engagement as a novice geisha.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Where today’s key events happen (Pages 230, 251, and 296): The important key events were when Sayuri and Mameha went to go see the Chairman Iwamura and President Nobu. Also another key event was when they cut Sayuri's leg to go see Dr. Crab. And the last even would be Baron's party.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Where today’s events end (Page 296) :The events end at Hakone; where Baron's party takes place.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">__**ECQs**__

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Dominant Theme:** Doing whatever it takes to complete a task

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Quote:** “ ‘Before I became your older sister, didn’t you promise to do exactly as I told you?’ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-weight: normal;">‘If I’d known it would include having my liver cut out—’ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-weight: normal;">‘No one’s going to cut out your liver,’ said the cook, in a tone that was supposed to make me feel much better, but it didn’t. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-weight: normal;">‘Sayuri. We’re going to put a little cut in your skin,’ Mameha said. ‘Just a little one, so you can go to the hospital and meet a certain doctor. You know the man I mentioned to you? He’s a doctor.’ ” (Golden 248, 249).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Explanation:** Mameha is very determined to make Sayuri a great geisha. She is willing to do anything to make her dream come true. Sayuri would like the same outcome as Mameha but, she does not like the extent of the tasks she must complete in order for this dream to become a reality. This “promise” that Sayuri made Mameha has not been broken yet because Sayuri is very determined. It is questionable of whether the things she has to do will become too much for her to handle. She may want to break the “promise” but Sayuri is a very strong girl and she will push this thought out of her head. In every situation so far, Sayuri has obeyed Mameha without question and there is no doubt that this trend will not be broken due to the weakness on Sayuri’s part. Sayuri must impress the doctor, along with other men, in order to make herself well known. Therefore, she has to obey Mameha and let the cook cut her a little bit. This will most likely be the least stressful thing she will have to do to become an exceptional geisha.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-weight: normal;">-Sidney Apr 20

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> **Dominant theme:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-weight: normal;">Doing whatever it takes to complete a task

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> **Quote:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-weight: normal;"> “Hatsumomo doesn’t even know it, but she’s just been thrown off-balance herself. And she won’t even find it out until it’s too late (Golden 242).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> **Explanation:** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-weight: normal;"> Suryi is strong and self sufficient, when she wants something she will go out and get it. So will Mameha. She is strong and is teaching Suryi a lot about how to be a geisha. Memeha is very interested in making money off of Suryi and also messing with Hatsumomo. That’s what she craves because Hatsumomo was so cruel to her. Suryi wants to become a Geisha more than anything because it is all that she has left. Her parents are both dead and her sister is gone. Becoming a Geisha is her last resort. Now Suryi and Mameha are going to ruin things for Hatsumomo after everything Hatsumomo did to them. It is what they want and they will get it. Having a goal is very important in this novel and the moral would be always go for ones dreams. Without a goal a person can never get anywhere.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-weight: normal;">-Holly April 20th

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">13 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">April 2011 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">**Key Points**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Chiyo running away
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Chiyo's encounter with the Chairman
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Chiyo's meeting with Mameha
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Becoming Mameha's little sister

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">**Travel Traces**
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Travel Tracer absent

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">__**ECQs**__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Dominant Theme:** Finding a solution through the struggles of life.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Quote:** I'm sure you'll recall my saying that the afternoon when I first met Mr. Tanaka was the very best <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">afternoon of my life, and also the very worst. Probably I don't need to explain why it was the worst; but <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">you may be wondering how I could possibly imagine that anything good ever came of it. It's true that <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">up until this time in my life Mr. Tanaka had brought me nothing but suffering; but he also changed my <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">horizons forever. (Golden 121).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Explanation:** Mr. Tanaka changed Chiyo's life dramatically. If she probably hadn't met him then she <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">might not have learned to become a Geisha. She might not have been separated by her sister. When <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">she says, “changed my horizons” she is representing her future. Her future went into Mr. Tanaka's <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">hands when she first met him at the fish market. This is because he sent her to the Geisha school and <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">her sister had to go somewhere else. He caused her life to change just like water flowing in the river. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Water is steady like Chiyo's life before Mr. Tanaka. Once water hits an object it has to find a way <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">around it which causes it to go off course. That is Chiyo's life once she met Mr. Tanaka. He brought <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">her the “suffering” of living a different life that she did not chose for herself. Her parents are dead, her <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">sister is separated, and she has to go though tough training everyday. But in the end she finds a solution <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">to her struggles with life. To become a popular Geisha.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">- Dallas Apr 13

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Dominant theme:** Finding solutions through the struggle of life.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Quote:** "What are we to do? We must use whatever methods we can to understand the movement of the universe around us and time our actions so that we are not fighting the currents, but moving with them" (Golden 127).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Explanation:** This quote is based on the uses of an almanac/ horoscope. There are many unexplainable events that can happen throughout our own lives. "Movement" in the quote describes the shift in natural destiny. It is the flow of the future, and what it will bring. It is hard to predict what is going to happen next. Humans tend to avoid the bad days, and jump right into the good days. Movement is never constant, so it never stays the same. This is why Easterners come up with the almanac to predict the currents of time. It is a system that helps people avoid struggles, or to simply go with the flow. There are certain events that is unavoidable, but we can take another path and move with it.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-Di Apr 15 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">6 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">April 2011 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Key Points**


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Chiyo has blue eyes instead of brown
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Auntie is helping and protecting Chiyo
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Hatsumomo does not like Chiyo
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3em;">Hatsumomo is the most senior geisha

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">**Travel Traces**
 * 1) Where today's action begins (Page 8-9): The setting started in the Yoroido, Chiyo's hometown.It's a poor place and fishing in the sea is the main job
 * 2) Where today's key events happened (Page 34-36): Chiyo is seperated from her sister. She was forced to go and train to be a geisha and her sister is a prostitute.
 * 3) Where today's events end (Page 100): Chiyo saw Hatsumomo and her boyfriend on the floor with him feeling her up.
 * 4) Di had amazing pictures:

Literature Information

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-size: 90%; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">Manager Dallas • Assistant Manager Di Le • Website Coordinators Holly Gerdts and Sarah Allen • Public Speaker Sidney McCarty