Girl in Hyacinth Blue: Summary 5

When I read the rest of Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland, I thought that it was a great way to end the book. I finally found out the whole story and journey of the painting. It started off with an artist named Johannes. He went over to his friend Pieter Claesz van Ruijven's house, which had a ton of art in it since Pieter was an artist. Pieter was deciding on what to paint next. Pieter insisted on painting another portrait of a girl alone in a room, but Johannes thought that there was too much of that already. Johannes said,"Why does the world need another painting of a woman alone in a room? Or a hundred more paintings?" Pieter replied, "The world doesn't know that it needs yet," (page 204.) On leaving Pieter's house, Jan (Johannes) bumps into his second oldest daughter Magdalena. She was going to the town walls, and she asked her father to join her. He refused, and started to think about how he lived "badly," and did not appreciate the time spent with her. Instead, he bought a pitcher to bring home. When he got home, he saw his whole family in a riot with his uncle beating his oldest daughter, Catharina, with a stick and his other children screaming. I guess that the uncle was crazy, because when asked what happened, he talked about the "she-devil." That is when Magdalena came in, and Jan was in awe. "She stood before him as if offered by God. The blue cloth of her smock draped like billowy sky. There was something in this girl he could never grasp, an inner life inscrutable to him....Was it possible to paint with good conscience what he didn't understand?" (pages 220-221.) This is the point in the story where we realize that Magdalena is the girl in the painting, and that she is the one who changed so many people's lives by just looking at the painting: the painting that told how life is. "That stillness today, he thought, might be all he would ever know of the Kingdom of Heaven." (page 223.) And that is when Johannes realized that Pieter was right, and that there might be room for another painting of a girl sitting in a room. The last chapter in the book was all about the girl in the marvelous painting: Magdalena. Growing up, she always wished to paint with as much grace as her father did. She never thought that she was beautiful, either, which was wrong because so many people loved how she looked. She always thought that so many people, in the paintings especially, were so much more pretty than she was, and had so much more meaning: "She thought of all the paintings she has seen...Their eyes, the particular turn of a head, their loneliness or suffering or grief was borrowed by an artist to be seen by other people throughout the years who would never see them face to face. People who would be that close to her, she thought, a matter of a few arms' lengths, looking, looking, and they would never know her." (page 242.) This is very ironic because Magdalena is feeling the same way about the people she sees in paintings that people in the future feel about the painting with her in it. That just makes you feel that even if you feel alone, you are not alone, because there is always someone feeling the same way that you do; even in paintings. That just makes you feel all warm and full inside to know that. This painting affected so many people, from Cornelius to Hannah to Laurens to Digna to Claudine to Saskia, and they all felt the same exact way that Magdalena felt. That is just extraordinary to think about something like that; that you are never alone. And it turns out, that after all those people unknowing of the maker of this work of art, the painting was a Vermeer. This is because Vermeer's first name was Johannes, and Johannes was the man who painted the portrait. Isn't that just a cool way of ending a story? To find out something that you have been searching for throughout the entire novel? I thought that this was a fantastic book, and it taught me how so many people feel the same way about things, and that you are never alone in the world. I enjoyed reading this alot, so thank you for having us do this assignment.

Girl in Hyacinth Blue: Summary 4

When I read the next 48 pages of Girl In Hyacinth Blue, I thought that Susan Vreeland did a good job on continuing the story. I left off when a woman named Saskia and her family found the painting in a boat with a baby. Saskia's husband, Stijn wanted to sell the painting because their family was running low on money. So one day, Saskia went to a shop to try and sell the painting, but the salesman only would give her 25 guilders for it, and since it was worth more than that to her, she did not take the deal. She went to another shop who told her that the famous artist van der Meer was really named Vermeer, which is what we have been trying to uncover throughout the whole story. The shopkeeper from the second shop told Saskia that it was a Vermeer and "You take this painting to Amsterdam. It'll fetch a far sight more there than I can pay. Or anyone in Groningen. Take it to the shops along the Rokin. Accept nothing less than eighty guilders." (pg 134) Saskia thought that this was a big deal because eighty guilders was a lot of money. Yet, she did not know if she wanted to sell it yet. So when she arrived home, she hung the painting back on the wall. She knew that Stijn would be mad that she kept it, so she made a plan that when he asked how much it was worth, she would tell him that it was only 4 guilders. But when they were in bed that night, it was dark (of course) and since she could admit things in the dark, she told him the truth about orphaning the painting. That is when the family decided that they were going to go to Amsterdam. Saskia finally sold the painting to a shop owner in Amsterdam for 75 guilders. " It wasn't eighty, but it was still victory." (pg 154) The next scene of the story was about a young girl. She seemed like the kind of girl that all the guys want. That is all that I got up to in the story, though. This story has a very unique way of being told backwards, and i find it very interesting. It is kind of like that episode of Seinfield where the whole episode was told backwards. It is a really cool view on what happened in a story. It is kind of confusing at the beginning of each chapter because you have to start fresh with new characters and new scenery, but once you get going, it makes perfect sense. I am really enjoying this story just because it is really interesting to see all these different people have this painting, and how it gets passed down, but also how they each admire the painting in a different way. This story is very interesting so far.

Girl in Hyacinth Blue: Summary 3

When I read the next 48 pages of Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland, (144 pages total,) I thought that it was very interesting to see who had the painting next. It started off with a young woman named Claudine. She was married to this man named Gerard who at one point slept with another woman. You see, Claudine was forced to marry Gerard, but she did not really love him, and when she and Gerard went to see a concert, they both found themselves sleeping with other people. Now, Gerard gave the painting of the girl to Claudia a while before this, but when she realized that both of them would get in trouble for sleeping with other people, she had to sell the painting for money to move away with. " Trying not to look, I wrapped it in muslin the next morning and called for a carriage. The papers, which Gerard kept in his strongbox, I would have to do without." (pg 105.) She sold the painting for 24 guilders, (not enough for a carriage,) and escaped the country to France. When Claudine left the country, she was not sad for Gerard, or the person who she slept with, Monsieur le C, but for the painting. The next scene took place at a farm. There was a woman named Saskia who was a mother and a wife to a man named Stijn. One night, they saw something floating in the water from the flood that happened two days before and went out in their boat to go get it. When they reached the objects, they found not only the painting, but a baby also. On the back of the painting it stated: "Sell the painting. Feed the child." (pg 114). But Saskia did not sell the painting. She kept it hidden to not remind Stijn to sell it, and only admired it when he was not home. Stijn hears about a wild witch murder incident and starts to think that the baby is the murderer's son. I think that this story is moving along very fast-pased, even though this was the slowest part of the story that I have read so far. It is really cool to see how each owner thinks that the painting was painted by someone different and how each owner has a encounter with something in the color of hyacinths. Claudine wanted hyacinths at her encounter with Monsieur le C, and the baby that Saskia found was wearing a hyacinth-colored blanket. Each main character in these 48 pages, Claudine and Saskia, do not want to part with the painting. They each find themselves in the painting, just like the characters from other chapters. Saskia even wants her daughter, Marta, to be just like the girl in the painting when she grows up. It is really interesting to see how just a painting could change a person's life this much and make this much of a difference. I am looking forward to reading more of this novel.

Girl in Hyacinth Blue: Summary 2

When I read the next 48 pages of Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by Susan Vreeland, I thought that the story got more interesting. I find it really cool how the story goes back in time to show how the painting got passed down. Hannah realized why she love the painting so much: because the girl in the painting had quietness. Just like Hannah, the girl in the painting was reserved, "but that didn't mean that the girl didn't want anything, like Mother said about her" (pg 51). Hannah loves this painting so much because the painting girl is just like herself. With all the commotion going on with the Germans trying to get rid of the Jews, the only person who understands her is the painting girl. When it is passover, Hannah's mom tells her to go buy her some eggs and parsley for their meal, shared with the two refugee families that their family was taking in. As she is going to get the ingredients, she passes by another Jewish family with the Star of David on their coats. The family is holding suitcases, and there is a little boy resembling Hannah's brother Toby who looked scared. That is when she realized that something bad was going on, although she didn't know what it was. Even though she knew something bad was happening, on that passover evening, "Real living had begun" (pg 59). The next scene that took place was when a man, Laurens van Luyken, and his wife, Digna, were taking a walk. It was autumn, and this couple was following their daughter, Johanna, and her fiance Fritz. Laurens is watching how his daughter is growing up and thinking about how he is going to have to give her away and let her leave the place where she grew up, Vreeland. He and Digna started to think about what to give their daughter for their marriage. That is when Digna has the idea to give them the painting of Girl With a Sewing Basket, because Johanna had always loved it. When Digna mentions this, Laurens says no because he had given that painting to Digna as an anniversary gift. They start talking about the painting and Laurens says how the dealer who he got the artwork from said that it was a de Hooch, not a Vermeer. Then Laurens starts thinking about how important the painting was, and starts to think: "If instead of looking out the window, the girl were looking in, at us, she would surely think we were enviable creatures" (pg 81). This is because Laurens was thinking about how the painting reminded him of another girl that he had loved in the past, and that is why he didn't want to give it away to his daughter. The next holder of the painting is a girl who once had a boyfriend who had given her the painting: "It was a small painting Gerard had brought me of a young girl whose skin had the sheen of transparent peaches. She was looking out an open window with such a sweet, naive expression on her face, though at first I thought it was a bit vacant" (pg 84). Gerard had told the girl that the painting was not a Vermeer, but a van der Meer. It is really cool to see how all the different people who rest their eyes on the painting all have different views on it and how each holder thinks that there is a different artist who painted it. I think that further on in the novel, we are going to find more people who the painting was passed down to. There is a lot of history going on in this novel, including the holocaust. We also travel through different countries, from Germany to France (I think that it's France) to America. What is really interesting about this painting is that so many people can find there self in it. Hannah found a quiet, kept-to-herself kind of girl. Laurens found a past time love in it. I really like this novel so far. It teaches me that there are so many people in the world and each person has a different point of view. I am looking forward to read the rest.

Girl In Hyacinth Blue: Summary 1

When I read the first 48 pages of Girl In Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland, it got me really excited to read the next part of the novel. Susan Vreeland is very good at writing because she has a way of wanting you to keep reading more. So far, the story is about a very sure-of-himself math teacher named Cornelius Engelbrecht. He owns a painting passed down from his father, which he swears is Vermeer: "A most extraordinary painting in which a young girl wearing a short blue smock over a rust-colored skirt sat in a profile at a table by an open window." (pg 4). The whole story of the painting started when Engelbrecht and other teachers that he worked with, including Richard, were talking after a funeral for Dean Merrill. They were conversing about what people's last words were before they died. That is when Cornelius said that his father's last words were "An eye like a blue pearl." Richard was confused with what that meant and so Cornelius, knowing that Richard was an art teacher, invited Richard over his house to show him what it meant. When they both got to Cornelius's house, he showed Richard the painting of the girl. Richard is blown away with how beautiful it is, but doesn't believe that it is a real Vermeer. Even though Cornelius tells him all the similarities between Vermeer's other paintings, like same tile work, same strokes of paint, etc., Richard is still stubborn to the fact that this is a real Vermeer. He thinks: How can Cornelius get a real Vermeer painting? Once Richard leaves, Engelbrecht thinks about how he really got the painting: His father, Otto Engelbrecht, saw the painting back when they lived in Germany, along with other valuables such as a silver teaset, and thought that it was beautiful. When he had to move his family to America because they were Jewish, he went back and stole the painting. The only people who knew about this where Otto and his son, Cornelius. When Otto died, he left Cornelius "a painting of a young girl sewing at a window." (pg 23). When Cornelius thinks about this, he starts to feel guilty that his father had stolen this wonderful masterpiece. He considers burning the painting, (he even starts a fire,) and starts to think that maybe this really isn't a Vermeer, and in that case, it wouldn't matter if he burned it. But if it is, then he is destroying a painting meant for the whole world to see. He finally decides not to burn it, but promises himself that he will someday. The next time when Cornelius sees Richard, Richard asks if he could see the painting again. When Richard sees the painting in daylight, he sees it in a different view and starts to wonder if it really is a Vermeer. The next scene takes place back in the 1940s, where there is a Jewish family is getting ready for passover. There is a daughter named Hannah and her dad and her went to an auction. At the auction, Hannah saw the same painting of the girl looking out the window and wanted her dad to buy it. When her dad won the bid, Hannah got exicted over one of the only things she ever got excited about. Her family thought that she was a boring kid who didn't like anything, but she really liked that painting. You can tell that that is the same painting as before in the book because it tells about the same silver teapot. That is where I left off in the story. I predict that later on in the novel, when Cornelius dies, he is going to pass it down to Richard and Richard is going to tell the world about it. I like this book so far and i cannot wait to read more of it.

Narrative Poetry Assignment

Dancing On Stage

I am on the stage
Standing in my first position
I feel nerveous
As I take a deep breath

I see the audience
Watching,
My every move
My every step

The music starts
I feel it
Throughout my entire body
Through my veins

I start the dance
The dance that I
Have danced so many times before
And has taken months to perfect

I am flying over the stage
Like a bird soaring through the sky
Forgetting that the audience is even there
Just dancing

Now,
I am not dancing with just my feet
But I am dancing with my heart
My whole soul goes into it

Every turn with attitude
And grace
Delicate as a flower,
I’m a snowflake as I daintily make my way around the stage

I get into the song
Feeling the lyrics pour off of the singer’s lips
I am now part of the melody
Feeling the same happiness the singer is feeling

I am loving everything that is going on right now
Every movement that I am making
Every gran-chite, every arebesque
Every step

But the music is coming to an end
I go into the pose
And take a deep breath,
For I have just had the most wonderful moment

The whole crowd cheers
And I feel proud of myself
For not only have I made no errors,
But I found myself in the movement

The curtain closes
And I realize
That dance is how I live
And I love the way that I live


My poem shows a story of how I am dancing on stage in front of an audience and the way that it feels. It shows how much that I love dance and how I get into the dance enough to lose myself in it. Dance is my whole life, and that is what I am trying to say by writing this poem.

Blog Poem #1

Freedom

I used to be locked up
But now I am free
I stood up for myself
And did what was right for me

Like a bird in a cage
I could not fly
I would sit in my own cage
My house, I would cry

I hated my cage
It was old and worn
I could not do anything
And my heart was torn

I could not leave my cage
It wasn't allowed
I would just sit there and cry
And then I vowed

That someday I will,
Break free from my jail
And I promised myself
That I would not fail

I held a revolt
To fight for what I knew
And it turned out
That other people knew it too

We had no freedom
The pain cut like a knife
We were all just prisoners
In this game called life

They finally caved in
And now we were free
To do what we wanted
To have liberty

So it does pay off
To believe and try
I fought for my freedom
And now I can fly


My poem shows how when you don't have freedom, how you feel very tight and congested in the world. You have no right to do what you want to and are forced to obey very, very strict rules. That is why I used the similie of a bird in a cage. That bird can't really fly anywhere but in a little, crammed circle. You cannot really soar through the sky and be a real animal being locked up in a cage your whole life. You have no freedom, and that isn't fair. The message of my whole poem is that we are so lucky to be living in America, where we are free to do so much more than other countries ever will. So many Americans take this freedom for granted and don't realize how good we've got it. That is exactilly why I chose to do the subject of freedom: to show people that we are really lucky to have the opportunity to live in a country where we can do what we want to do (except kill people and stuff). Americans should realize that we have the most freedom of any country, and we should not take that for granted.