An Annotation from the Book
A quote from Home Fire by Kamila Shamie is, “All along the redbrick building, end to end, icicles hung from the eaves, a foot or more in length. Against these broadswords, pellets rained down and made music. The acoustics of ice on ice, a thing unimaginable until experienced” (Shamsie).
At this part of the book, Isma and Hira are hearing mysterious music, and they are unsure of where it is coming from. They eventually discover that the music is being made by the icicles outside. When I made this annotation, I was unsure if the image of the icicles could be important to understanding the meanings of the novel. I noticed that there seems to be a lot of imagery about the weather and temperature throughout various parts of the book. The image of the icicles was just one of many examples of weather-related imagery. Since this is a reoccurring type of imagery, I think that weather could end up being a symbol of something later on in the book. It is difficult to predict what it might mean though. Additionally, leading up to this image of icicles, there seemed to be a lot of feelings of fear among the characters, Isma and Hira. For example, Hira was reciting a prayer and holding a knife while trying to figure out what the mysterious noise was. It gave it almost a mysterious or eerie picture, and I think that this feeling of fear might also end up being important in the later chapters of the novel. I think that it might be foreshadowing a later scary situation, or it could be a symbol of an important fear or thought that one of the characters might have. This quote also involves the idea of music, so maybe music is another important topic that we will find out about later in the book.
I also noticed the cold weather imagery throughout the first two chapters, and, of course, I saw that the sound created by the icicles reminded Isma of her brother in a loving manner. What I didn't stop to think about were the events leading up to them making the discovery: the knife holding and the overall ominous vibe. I definitely agree that this could be significant later on, and I guess we'll find out later. It is interesting to note the juxtaposition between the warm feeling in Isma's heart when the sound makes her think of her brother, and the fact that the sound was created by a cold weather object (icicle).
ReplyDeleteI like the way you bring up the knife and the sense of threat or danger, despite the sound of the music being rather peaceful. Great point, let's see what we can do with that!
DeleteYes! I definitely noticed this scene as well, and thought about what it might mean later. Hira's immediate fear and desire to protect herself is going to be important later, I agree. Going off your note about weather, I want to go a bit further and say that something about COLD weather is especially important. Isma is Eamonn's coffee for a whole summer as well, but we never hear about those days--only the cold ones, with the ice and snow and biting wind. I wonder how it'll come up later.
ReplyDeleteI like how you highlight the coldness aspect of the weather motif. I was thinking it was parallel to the coldness in Isma's heart. She has a lot of bitterness towards her dad and brother, which makes it hard for her to open up. However, as the weather warms up and the snow begins to melt, we see that she too begins warming up to Eammon.
DeleteI like this detail about coldness and melting.
DeleteI also believe weather and music will most definitely be something to focus on in the book. When I first read that section I thought the author was talking about actual music lol. Maybe music pplayed a huge role in Isma's childhood or reminds her of her mother?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that the weather is an image later to be explored and given more meaning to later in the book. I was a little confused about both Isma's and Hira's hostility in reaction to the icicles, but I guess it'll all add up later in the rest of the book. Maybe both have experienced some sort of trauma? That's the only reason that I can think of that would explain their reactions.
ReplyDeleteI love how you brought up the concept of music and the potential of it coming full circle, as I definitely noticed that too. 'Home Fire' is packed to the brim with imagery focused on the five senses, and I noticed a pattern of sound revolving around Parvaiz. The sound of the icicles literally incites physical pain in Isma, reminding her of Parvaiz's fascination with music, and in future chapters we learn of Parvaiz's aspirations of creating his own ambient sound reels and having his own studio. I firmly believe we haven't seen the last of the musical imagery!
ReplyDeleteGreat to point out Parvaiz's obsession with sound and its connection back to the icicles!
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