In these chapters of the book, Sophie is now 18, about to start college and her and her mother moved to a one-family house in a neighbor where Marc lives. She even fell in love with a guy name Joseph. He was really nice and gentle to her. But there is one problem, he is way older than her. While reading these chapters, Sophie mother telling her to stay away from Joseph caught my eye. Joseph seem to be a really nice guy so why would her mother judge him. I really felt bad for Sophie because she can not tell her mom the truth about who she likes. But i also feel as if her mother should not feel any type of because she is keeping secrets from Sophie. Also in the chapter , her mom states that she would only visit Haiti just for 3-4 days because there are “ghosts” there that she can not face. She should just tell Sophie about her rape so she would not be so secretive.

So in Chapters nine through twelve shows that Sophia met a guy that is almost as old as her mom and he plays the saxophone. She ends up falling in love with him, and in the end she failed her mom’s test and her mom told her to leave and see what the boy could do for you. Very shocking she runs away from home and she runs to Joseph’s house and tells him that she is ready, she wants to get married. Having that said I found this chapter like a turning point of the novel because when Sophia moves with her mom in New York she tell us how she love her very much and she will stay in school and become a doctor. But once she meets Joseph he changes her mindset of becoming a doctor and tells her be what you want to be, what you enjoy or what’s your passion.

When reading this section of the book Sophie is now eighteen years old and is going to start attending college in Fall. Sophie and her mother Martine moves into a nice small house which is pretty close to Marc’s. When moving Sophie meets her new neighbor Joseph who is about her mothers age. Joseph is a saxophonist who begins to talk to Sophie and takes her to his shows and for dinner. When Martine found out about Joseph she began giving Sophie “Tests”, which was checking to see if Sophie is still a virgin or not. When finding Sophie still together she would not say anything to Sophie. What stood out to me the most in this reading is when Sophie got so frustrated with her mother and took her own virginity. This shows that Sophie having a strict mother put a lot of pressure on her and was probably tired of her mother holding her back from being with Joseph. So taking her own virginity was a way of rebelling against her mother’s authorities to finally get what she wanted which was Joseph.

West Indian parents like to have dreams about their children becoming doctors, lawyers or reputable persons in society. Parents tend to be harder on their daughters than on their sons when it comes to relationships. Parents want to see their daughters in relationships with someone of good stature and in a position to provide for their daughters adequately.

Martine secretly spies on Sophie and find her secrets without Sophie’s knowledge; that’s what parents do. Martine knew about Sophie’s love secrets before Sophie wanted to talk or give clues about her relationship that is brewing with Joseph. Martine, Sophie’s mother would do the Haitian test on Sophie to find out if she was sexually active; despite Sophie was an adult. The test seems to be a method Haitian mothers use to prevent their daughters from having sex until the time is right (allegedly). Sophie became rebellious and wanted to be with Joseph whom she desired. So, one night after the test, while Sophie’s mother was asleep, Sophie went to see Joseph at his house and demanded to get married. Sophie’s action shows how quickly a child can change from being appreciative and being considerate towards a parent to taking drastic action to fulfill their own desire.

I have seeing traits that love was fundamental to women in old literature from the time of slavery and soon after. Mary Prince’s and Tituba’s novels gave strong indication of how sex was important. Those novels also show the extent women would go to get their sex, and here again, a young girl from Haiti (Sophie) that move to live with her mother in America is giving strength to my suspicion although her story is not related to slavery.

Sophie has got a lot of character development. she is beginning college. She mentioned not liking her Marantha Bilingual institution because of how bad the other kids treated her and still thinks about Tante Atie. Chapter 9 interested me alot seeing Sophies interactions with Joseph and hearing her thoughts. Sophie gradually seemed to really connect with Joseph and I think those moments show the major progression from the Sophie the novel starts off with to this 18 year old Sophie.  Another thing that stood out to me was Sophie lying to her mother about Joseph. This dissapointed her mom alot because she was forbidding her to talk to Joseph. I felt bad for sophie because she actually liked joseph alot but she had no choice because her mother wouldnt let them be friends. it brought me back earlier in chapter 9 too when Sophie and Joseph had a conversation about her college studying but Sophie was wanting to be a doctor because her mom said so despite her not being sure for herself.

the part that stood out to me was when sophie first wanted to tell her mom about joseph and she ended up just lying to her about a made up guy. this part stood out to me because it mirrored the real struggle for girls growing up with strict parents. I say this because she had to lie and hide the truth behind her feelings just to keep her mother happy. Often young females who have strict parents who already plan your life for you tend to lie about what really goes on in their lives especially when it comes to boys. Also what stood out to me was when she came back from a night out with joseph and her mom was there waiting with the belt. Although she didnt physically abuse her i felt her pain. It must have felt as if everything shattered and she just had to give up. Although her mother knew what was going on she repeated there are secrets you cannot keep. i believe she felt really disappointed in sophie. But i feel like if it wasnt for the high standards that was set sophie wouldnt have to hide her love for joseph. also her mother told her a story of the marassa and i decided to search what it is and it says it represents abundance, blessings,the gift of children, and the sacredness of family. I thought this stood out alot because of what comes next in sophie’s life after she is told to leave by her mother.

In this read Sophie is now eighteen years old and getting ready to go to college. During this period Sophie and her mother moved into a one-family house in a neighborhood where Marco lived. It is in this neighborhood where Sophie falls in love with her next door neighbor, a man named Joseph (he is a musician). Often Sophie’s mother would warn her to stay away from him, mostly because she (the mother) did not trust him (cause he’s American), but Sophie did not listen to her mother. Occasionally Sophie would sneak out at night to go to music clubs and restaurants with Joseph and I truly believe that when she’s with him is when she’s most free, like there’s no restraint, unlike when she’s with her mother. In my opinion I think that Sophie is starting to gain some sense of bravery and confidence in the way that she doesn’t let her mother stop her from being with the man she loves.                                                                                                       Two things got my attention in this reading. The first was Sophie’s mother and her nightmares, often when she (the mom) goes to sleep Sophie would hear her “screaming for someone to leave her alone”. I believe that every time Sophie’s mom falls asleep she keeps having the same dream about the day she was raped. Lastly, the thing that surprised me the most was Sophie and what she did with the pestle, I mean didn’t know she was willing to go so far just to be with Joseph, plus never read of someone using kitchenware like that.

Sophie is all grown up and headed to college now. When she was younger her mother told her when she was 18 she would be allowed to have a boyfriend which kept lingering in the back of my mind whether or not she would get one right away. When Sophie’s mother began testing her I got disturbed because she’s basically an adult and to have that happening is embarrassing. I don’t even like my own mother seeing me naked now so touching would just be traumatizing in a way. When Sophie decides to put a stop to the testing by doing what she does I was kind of happy for her because she wouldn’t have to be embarrassed any longer and I feel like that’s more important than having her mother mad at her for the wrong reasons. Her mother may believe it was done by the hands of a man but at least she knows it wasn’t.

While reading this portion of the book, I noticed a lot of growth and bravery in Sophie’s character. I also noticed a change in Martines character as well which I think spurred from the fact that She noticed, that Sophie was changing; which is something she feared. Sophie who was now 18 was in a relationship with a man who was the same age as her mother ( which personally to me doesnt seem that old based on today’s standards, given the fact that Martine had Sophie at a young age), Even though she was extremely afraid of letting her mother find out. After Martine found out and began running “finger” tests on her, upon hearing that her boyfriend was leaving for good she defied her mother by taking her own virginity, so she could be with him, in doing so she displayed a huge amount of bravery in choosing what she wants over what others want for her. Martine’s character also went through changes as well; despite being more of a “modern” parent, in the way that she talks to Sophie explicitly on matters concerning the world, as opposed to sophies aunt who tried to shield her from the harshness of the world by sugar coating everything, she ends up resorting to doing the same “finger tests” on her daughter that her mom did to her and her sister; this practice isn’t  something one would associate with a modern “sophisticated” person.

Sophie is now 18yrs, she and he mom moves to a new neighborhood, she decorated the house in red, and plants hibiscus in the back yard which are usually red, I think this signals a turn for the worst in their lives. Sophie is now that age where she is having different feelings, college is around the corner and her mother would love for her to focus on her education.

One day on her way home she sees a guy and suddenly feels this connection, he reciprocates, secret glances and slight winks they are building a relationship even though its non-verbal at this point, she fantasizes about him. Eventually he finds a way to talk to Sophie, he asked to borrow her phone and he seizes the opportunity to introduce himself officially as Joseph a musician form Louisiana , a courtship ensues.

She tested the waters by letting her mom know that she had a love interest but this doesn’t go over well. Unknowingly to her mom, she would go out at nights with Joseph to restaurants and sometimes on gigs. She finally got caught by her mom and the testing begins. It was humiliating to her and after a few times she decided to free herself by breaking her hymen with a pestle. When she fails the test her mother chases her out the house to meet Joseph.