A Response to "The Ear, The Eye and The Arm"

It is clear that General Matsika is protective of his children because he is aware of what the outside world has to offer and the ways in which it can harm his children. It is clear that family means a great amount to him and he even realizes after they run away his mistakes, stating, "why, why didn't I let them grow up?" (51). He realizes that in his attempt to protect them, he only hurt them. The idea of, "love makes us do crazy things" is prevalent in the way the author portrays the Father in the book. This emphasis on family was something that helped me relate to this book immensely. 


Although this is a science fiction novel (and beyond the importance of family I couldn't relate to much) I noticed that I could relate to the nostalgic feeling felt by those who developed the country of "Resthaven." I appreciated the sentiment of wanting to hold on to a piece of history because of its certainty. Meaning, there is no wonder of how things will change in the society or how others will influence this society because this type of society has already lived that out and knows the answers. They know and dream of a "simpler time." They also know that the outside world has very little effect on them. Although somewhat a source of denial, I was able to connect to this desire to maintain a moment in time. 


One of the strongest characters in the novel was Rita. I truly enjoyed her strength as a young female. I appreciated that she had a strong female role model (her mom, having a good career and education) and the activities planned out for the children (such as martial arts) were not discriminatory towards her gender. I found that as the children went on the adventure they always wanted, they were able to truly see what the world was. The stories the Mellower had been sharing were that of fiction and only that. I thought the false pretenses through which the children entered the real world with ill-prepared them for the encounters they would make. I find this especially true with Rita, who was appalled at how she was treated because of her gender. In particular, Rita states: "It's alright for you...you're a boy . You get to lie around listening to stories. I have to scrub the floor, wash clothes...you may be in love with traditional life, but women and babies used to die in those wonderful old-fashioned villages" (126-128). I found that Rita was an extremely strong character. The irony of this story is that Rita, along with her brothers, is actually a really strong being and it is because of her upbringing that she were able to fight her way and survive.