Protected by the Book

By Mark L.

As I thought about the book, I notice the value that Bich puts into the book she reads. They seem to represent as a barrier that protects her from any outside negativity that she does not want to deal with. The picture captures the the importance of the book by being drawn twice the size of the person reading the book. So the book becomes more than a source of knowledge, but also a wall that protects the reader, in this case Bich. The over sized book is titled Harriet the Spy, which is significant to the book that makes Bich curious about finding "truth". The book is represented in the memoir as a novel that influenced Bich to ask questions about everything. So by being oversize, the book screens who will have access to Bich. As the picture shows, the items that are trying to come in are the Christian cross, the American house and the American Flag. These three items are the primary items that Bich has trouble assimilating into or understanding. The things one the inside of the book, on the readers side, are the Library and a notepad. These two items are the tools that Bich used to grow intellectually and create a safe space where she can escape from the real world. The Library being a symbol of knowledge, it makes the note pad as her sketch pad to creating her own truth about how she sees life.