In chapters 4,5, and 6 of Citizen: An American Lyric written by Claude Rankin, we can clearly see the character go through hardship in her everyday life. Rankine connects the world to her emotions and what she does, the world responds. The character is struggling with an identity problem, and she is trying to find who she is and discusses this blue light in yourself where she is trying to find ways to cope with the racism that get presented later in the reading.
In the first chapter of the reading, the narrator talks about “the sigh” and how she keeps sighing, but the world keeps telling her to stop. The narrator brought up memories, and painful ones at that and how it produces headaches, and you seem to wonder why is it so important to remember memories? “You like to think memory goes back though remembering was never recommended. Forget all that, the world says; Feelings are what create a person, something unwilling, something wild vandalizing whatever the skull holds” (Rankine 61). Rankine discusses why people try to forget memories because you should focus not on the past but the present and future. But as Rankine discusses, why would you want to forget your memories that make you who you are. Then later in the chapter we see the underlying racism appear when the narrator tells the story of where the tennis player is upset with the official during the match and the player is just told to “Feel better. Move Forward. Let it go” that is formally told to Black people and told to them especially about the past and the painful memories of racism.
In this chapter we see the identity problem come out. Rankine talks about your hands and your eyes and the different ways of expressing yourself but despite that she still talks about disguising and staying in the back not having an outburst. As I read on in the chapter, I thought more and more about this blue light that she talks about. When does it come around and do you take advantage of when it comes and have the outburst that Rankine discusses. Like the early chapter where Rankine talks about the use of “you”, she now talks about “I” and why that is significant. “I has so much power; it’s insane” and “Tried Rhyme, Tried Truth, tried epistolary untruth, tried and tried” (Rankine 71). The narrator talks about how “I” is very important and how it can be a strength but the contradicts it when she says later down how she tried but people know that she suffers, and they see that through the expressions brought up earlier in the chapter. What is the difference between “You” and “I” and why are both so significant in the reading.
In chapter 6, Rankine discusses two very important events in Hurricane Katrina August 29, 2005, and the story of Trayvon Martin February 26, 2012. During Hurricane Katrina we see racism occur when they discuss where the rescuers are. “Where were they? Where was anyone? This is a goddamn emergency” and “It was the classic binary between the rich and the poor. Between the haves and the have-nots, between the whites and the blacks” (Rankine 83) I tend to wonder what and why there is hesitancy when it came to a serious event such as Hurricane Katrina. Rankine discusses how people didn’t want to go there to help and that “FEMA said it wasn’t safe to be there” (Rankine 84) but I believe there is more to that. How were the rich able to be rescued safely, how were the whites able to be rescued safely? There is a lot of underlying racism presented that I was unaware off that Rankine shows us. After she discussed Hurricane Katrina, Rankine decided to tell the story of Trayvon Martin. Rankine starts off saying how “My brothers are notorious” (Rankine 89) and that they didn’t go to jail and were good. Rankine repeats that and I wonder what makes that so important. The tone changes quickly, when they say how “The hearts of my brothers are broken. If I knew another way to be” (Rankine 89). Trayvon Martin was killed on February 26, 2012. He was killed for no reason having no weapon or anything was shot and killed in cold blood by George Zimmerman. At the end of the chapter on page 90 we see a photo that looks disturbing as there is one man looking at the camera and pointing to a tree. The photo was called “Public Lynching” where they hung a black man. There is a connection between this photo and the Trayvon Martin story and that was they were killed for an unjust and racially motivated reason.
Overall, these 3 chapters of Citizen: An American Lyric helps create another viewpoint on microaggressions and underlying racism that forces people like the narrator into an identity conflict. Claudia Rankine continues to give us valuable insight on the problem at hand and will provide more and more details as the Book goes on.
Discussion Questions
- What does the word “I” change about the feeling from when you’re called “you”? What similarities and differences are there?
- Why was the event of Hurricane Katrina and Trayvon Martin’s death so important to the chapters and book about racism and microaggressions?
Citations
Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Graywolf Press, 2014.
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Paul, you did a great job breaking down the events and talking about the characters’ obstacles faced that took place in these three chapters. When you first mentioned that in chapter four the character has a consistent “sigh” and the world is somehow telling her to stop sighing. Rankine then has a comparison with the “sigh” and intertwines it with “memories” and a “headache” for the character. “The sigh is a pathway to breath; it allows breathing. That’s just self-preservation. No one fabricates that. You sit down, you sigh. You stand up, you sigh. The sighing is a worrying exhale of an ache.”(60). Rankine creates this line to show examples on how a “sigh” can be used in a significance that helps show the importance of what is happening in the book. Continuing reading your blog, you made other great points like mentioning the “Public Lynching” picture on page 91, which leads the readers with multiple questions in there heads. The picture leads to so many mysteries and wonders in my head which also makes the readers want to continue the book.
Good job with this comment, Brooke! Just make sure to use proper MLA-style in-text citations. All quotes should be introduced, using some form of Rankine writes, “….” (60).
Score: 4 out of 5
Hi Paul, I thought you had some really insightful thoughts into the reading! Regarding your second discussion question, I think it is great that you touched on the significance of the events of Hurricane Katrina and Trayvon Martin’s death. Both of these events were real eye openers to the world about the level of injustice and racism in our society. We, as readers, have seen since the beginning of the book a lot of microaggressions. Now, we are seeing outright racism and injustices. In regards to Hurricane Katrina, this event showed how even natural disasters are not free of racism. A quote that struck me was “you simply get the chills every time you see these poor individuals, so many of these people almost all of them that we see, are so poor, someone else said, and they are so black” (Rankine 85). This quote not only struck me due to the language and the imagination of actually getting the chills while reading this, but also because of how it shows that the people most affected by this catastrophe were poor and black people. Most people don’t see how a natural disaster could be racist, but the implications and aftermath of the event shows how racist and unjust our society really is. The hurricane hit all of New Orleans hard, but particularly the underprivileged were hit the hardest, and we cannot forget about that or gloss over that fact. That is why it was so important for Claudia Rankine to include this event in her book since it holds such significance to the problems in American society.
Great job with this comment, Lauren! These lines stood out to me: “We, as readers, have seen since the beginning of the book a lot of microaggressions. Now, we are seeing outright racism and injustices.” Moving forward, it will be interesting to think about how Rankine depicts the relationship between these different scales of racism.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Paul! I thought your blog post was very insightful, while also thought-provoking. While I do not think the author is in search of her own identity or has identity conflict, I do agree that her book, the “American Lyric helps create another viewpoint on microaggressions and underlying racism”, through the unique viewpoint Rankine creates for the reader. The identity conflict and struggle to find is not herself, but society. It is not the word use, but the lack of word use. It is not in the words on the pages, it is in the blankness of the pages and the distance it creates. When Rankine says, “When he opened his mouth to speak, his speech was what was written in the silence, the length of the silence becoming a living” ( Rankine, 106 ). The length of silence is the role racism plays in society that she struggles to understand. It is the silence that fosters this identity search. “Have you seen their faces’ ‘ is stated on both pages 79 and 81, which I believe is referring to both roles in society along with the enduring struggle of Rankine to understand society’s identity and father who is in the hood on the cover page.
Really interesting observations, Grace. I wonder what you mean by this: “The identity conflict and struggle to find is not herself, but society.” I share your sense that the speaker isn’t struggling to find her identity; she’s struggling against the racism she experiences in society.
Moving forward, make sure to use proper MLA-style citations:
Rankine says, “When he opened his mouth to speak, his speech was what was written in the silence, the length of the silence becoming a living” (106).
Rankine repeats, “Have you seen their faces” (79, 81).
Score: 4 out of 5
Hi Paul! I thought your blog post was very insightful, while also thought-provoking. While I do not think the author is in search of her own identity or has identity conflict, I do agree that her book, the “American Lyric helps create another viewpoint on microaggressions and underlying racism”, through the unique viewpoint Rankine creates for the reader. The identity conflict and struggle to find is not herself, but society. The speaker is not struggling to find her identity; she is struggling against the racism she experiences in society and the open acceptance of it. It is not the word use, but the lack of word use. It is not in the words on the pages, it is in the blankness of the pages and the distance it creates. Rankine says, “When he opened his mouth to speak, his speech was what was written in the silence, the length of the silence becoming a living” (106). The length of silence is the role racism plays in society that she struggles to understand. It is the silence that fosters this identity search. Rankine repeats, “Have you seen their faces” (79, 81). Referring to both roles in society along with the enduring struggle of Rankine to understand society’s identity and father who is in the hood on the cover page.
Really interesting observations, Grace. I wonder what you mean by this: “The identity conflict and struggle to find is not herself, but society.” I share your sense that the speaker isn’t struggling to find her identity; she’s struggling against the racism she experiences in society.
Moving forward, make sure to use proper MLA-style citations:
Rankine says, “When he opened his mouth to speak, his speech was what was written in the silence, the length of the silence becoming a living” (106).
Hi Paul, you did a great job of advancing the concepts of microaggressions and their consequences on individuals. The word “I” is important because it highlights the narrator’s personal experience and agency. “You” might come out as impersonal and aloof, but “I” places the emphasis on the person and their feelings. Since it recognizes the narrator’s voice and perspective, “I” may also be uplifting in a culture where minority voices are frequently suppressed. The tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and Trayvon Martin’s passing were significant because they expose the structural and systemic racism that permeates American culture. Because vulnerable groups were disproportionately impacted and ignored, Hurricane Katrina brought to light racial discrepancies in access to resources and help. The terrible case of racial profiling and brutality against black people in Trayvon Martin’s death. Both incidents show how racism may be covert and sneaky and how it is microaggressions. These incidents are significant to the book’s narrative because they establish an atmosphere and offer proof for the narrator’s experiences as well as the more general problem of racism in American culture. In the text it states, “I am not a citizen of a democracy, but a citizen of racism, that is, a subject of the ideology of white supremacy. A citizen of a country that has not yet been formed, except as a nightmare, if ever.” (Rankine, p. 72). This passage from “Citizen” by Claudia Rankine demonstrates how the speaker does not consider themselves to be a citizen of a democracy because they believe that they are not fully respected or represented in society. Instead, they perceive themselves as a victim of the white supremacist ideology.
Great job with this comment, Ella! These observations are especially sharp:
Since it recognizes the narrator’s voice and perspective, “I” may also be uplifting in a culture where minority voices are frequently suppressed.
The tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and Trayvon Martin’s passing were significant because they expose the structural and systemic racism that permeates American culture.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to think about both the micro- and macro- scales of racism that Rankine is depicting.
Score: 4 out of 5 (make sure to review MLA-style citations)
Hi Paul, I really like what you wrote about Rankine’s struggle with identity. In response to your first discussion question, I think changing “you” to “I” allows the reader to approach the context in a different manner. Using “you” permits the reader to be the character in the scenario that undergoes a particular series of events. By doing so, the reader is more open to the empathetic feelings of what the author tells. However, using “I” gives insight into the author’s perspective since it is written and said from a different point of view. To fortify this, Rankine states, “this makes the first person a symbol for something” (Rankine 71). My interpretation of this is that using “I” makes the speaker a vessel for telling larger truths and specific reinforced messages that they aim to get across to the audience. Using “I” also can aid in a storytelling sense where using “you” may come across as harsh or confrontational. Rankine’s use of different pronouns helps alter the reader’s evaluation of a story and changes their reaction to what is being presented before them.
Excellent interpretation here, Lauren! I love that idea that the “I” might somehow be a “vessel” for conveying ideas to the audience.
Score: 5 out of 5
Well said Paul, I thought you did a great job explaining the differences between “I” and “you”. It definitely helps make you think deeper about the reading and to get a better understanding of the situation Rankine is trying to describe. On the other hand, question two refers to hurricane Katrina and Trayvon Martin. I think that they both have a huge meaning in this book because it gives you a situation as to what real microaggressions look like without you even knowing. “He said, I don’t know what the water wanted. It wanted to show you no one would come” (Rankine 85). I think that Rankine added this to the book to sort of give an example to show how microaggressions occur. She said this as if the water was trying to show how people would react to the storm and see who decides to save the more fortunate wealthy over the lower, more poor communities. As for Trayvon Martin, the picture of the person pointing at the tree where he was hung shows how people gather around there mocking what had happened as if nothing was wrong. Both of these stories give insight on microaggressions and the different types of situations that they occur in.
You’re definitely on the right track here, Logan! Just keep in mind that the murder of Trayvon Martin and Hurricane Katrina were not microaggressions (there is nothing micro about murder). Rankine is instead drawing our attention to these different scales of racism: the interpersonal and the structural.
Moving forward, just make sure that all quotes are introduced:
Rankine writes, “He said, I don’t know what the water wanted. It wanted to show you no one would come” (85).
Score: 4 out of 5
Paul, I love the connection of everything thus far in the book. You did a great job of tying all the points together to explain the bigger idea which is racism and identity crisis. The changing of the language from the word “you” to “I” helped me feel more connected and on a personal level with the author. This language also helped me feel what the author was feeling as she was referring to herself now instead of me or whoever “you” was. However, what really stuck out to me in this post was the lynching scene and the death of Trayvon Martin. This event was very important to the overall message of the story. The lynching picture speaks volumes to microaggressions and identity. Lynching was done purposely to blacks as a strategy of humiliation and a manipulation tactic to make sure everyone got the message and would fear breaking the law. This shows how these tactics can mentally destroy a person and deter them from a path of finding who they are. They will live their life in fear of making a mistake and being brutally and publicly killed all because of the color of their skin. The quote explains “The world is wrong. You can’t put the past behind you. It’s buried in you; it’s turned your flesh into its own cupboard. Not everything remembered is useful, but it all comes from the world to be stored in you” (Rankine 52). This quote shows how things like lynching, slavery, and pointless deaths cannot be forgotten or moved past. They can be forgiven but these events will have always happened and will always stick with people making it so hard to move past. These events cause identity crisis that will stay with people forever and show clear racism that continues to be underlying in today’s world.
Good job with this comment, Brianna! These observations, in particular, stood out:
“This quote shows how things like lynching, slavery, and pointless deaths cannot be forgotten or moved past. They can be forgiven but these events will have always happened and will always stick with people making it so hard to move past.”
I wonder what you think about Rankine’s unusual images, especially of the body as a kind of “flesh…cupboard.”
Score: 5 out of 5
Hello Paul, your blog did a really good job at explaining microaggressions that have been detailed throughout the book, Citizen: An American Lyric, by Claudia Rankine. Through the book, the acts of racism are obvious and undeniable. The book, as does your blog post, does an amazing job at expression the microaggressions that take place and really bringing every event to light for what it truly is, racism. To answer your first question, the change to “I” instead of “you” completely changes the perspective. “I break the good-bye. I say good-bye before anyone can hang up.” (90). The difference is that I am no longer reading as if I am a main character, but as if I am aware of the main character’s thoughts. I now read it as if I am following a story while watching from above. Instead of being involved, I am simply a spectator with no other purpose than to observe.
Excellent interpretations of the shift from “you” to “I,” Chris! Moving forward, just make sure that all quotes are introduced:
Rankine writes, “I break the good-bye. I say good-bye before anyone can hang up.” (90).
Score: 4 out of 5
Hello Paul, your blog did a really good job at explaining microaggressions that have been detailed throughout the book, Citizen: An American Lyric, by Claudia Rankine. Through the book, the acts of racism are obvious and undeniable. The book, as does your blog post, does an amazing job at expression the microaggressions that take place and really bringing every event to light for what it truly is, racism. To answer your first question, the change to “I” instead of “you” completely changes the perspective. As stated as Rankine, “I break the good-bye. I say good-bye before anyone can hang up.” (90). The difference is that I am no longer reading as if I am a main character, but as if I am aware of the main character’s thoughts. I now read it as if I am following a story while watching from above. Instead of being involved, I am simply a spectator with no other purpose than to observe.
Hi Paul, I really enjoyed reading your blog post and thought you had many insightful thoughts. To answer your first question, the usage of “I” and “You” are similar in the sense that they really allow the reader to connect to the story the difference between them, however, comes from how they connect the reader to the story. The usage of “You” immerses us into the story as one of the characters allowing us to find a deep connection within the scenarios occurring by giving us experiences, we may never have had before. Because of this the word “You” could also come across as confusing as we get lost in the idea of who “You” actually is, it could be you as an individual, someone entirely different or society as a whole. The usage of the word “I” connects us to the story by giving us a strong insight into who the author is and what they have personally experienced allowing us to find a deeper understanding into what the author feels and is trying to express. “When you are alone and too tired even to turn on any of your devices, you let yourself linger in a past stacked among your pillows” (Rankine 5). In this quote we can see that the word you can really pertain to everyone and allows for broader interpretations of this story as we can be unsure as to who “you” is referring to. “I say good-bye before anyone can hang up, don’t hang up. Wait with me” (Rankine 90). In this quote the usage of “I” and “Me” now turns the story into a more personal experience, thought, or idea of the author. The word “You” opens up a variety of interpretations, thoughts, and conclusions that we can come up with but the word “I” can somewhat close us off to broader conclusions because it represents such a distinct perspective of the author.
This is an excellent, nuanced interpretation of the differences between the “you” and “I,” Dayna! You do a great job providing textual evidence to illustrate your points.
Moving forward, just make sure that all quotes are introduced:
Rankine writes, “I say good-bye before anyone can hang up, don’t hang up. Wait with me” (90).
Score: 4 out of 5
Hi Paul, great and very detailed blog post. I liked how you considered the depth of Rankine’s work as well as question why she decides to do certain actions. Referring to the first question which questions Claudia Rankine’s shift from “you” to her”, I believe this is so to evoke a different emotion from the audience as from the initial “you” they are now able to understand how an individual feels. This shift change does not combat an identity crisis but rather an assertion that she is not only the author but that it is her very real experience. Although after she breaks and uses “I”, this was done so strategically as an author to propose the idea that she is not the issue but the racial depictions are. It is important to recognize that she could intentionally have made the entire book any type of narration and chooses to transition from one to another. On page 90, she does this once again to promote the idea that her struggles are individual” ,”I say good-bye before anyone can hang up.” This to me state that this direction is to acknowledge a feeling of being alone rather than a struggle and to truly assert her dominance over the audience. Her true issue is not that she herself struggles with her identity, but that everyone else does as the shift tells a deeper story for us.
Good job with this comment, Jennifer! This insight is especially important:
“Her true issue is not that she herself struggles with her identity, but that everyone else does…”
As you say, the issue is less the speaker’s search for identity and more the racism she experiences.
Moving forward, make sure to review the rules for MLA-style citation.
Score: 4 out of 5
Hi Paul, I thought you had a great blog post! Regarding your second question, I thought it was great that you included the significance of the impact of Hurricane Katrina. We have learned that even during a time of fear and uncertainty with Hurricane Katrina, we still found people prejudiced. Rankine says, “And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, she said, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them” (Rankine 85). We have learned that African Americans were most impacted by the hurricane, many of which were underprivileged. Rankine hints at the possibility that so many people were killed because they were forgotten or no one wanted to come because of their skin color. So now their already underprivileged community is left with orphaned children, grieving families, no shelter, no food, and just the destruction of everything they once had. They will not receive any help to rebuild it because, yet again, that will go to the white families who consistently receive the support, leaving black communities to build from the ground up without any assistance, as always.
Excellent job with this comment, Charlotte! You do a great job discussing the racial disparities in the Hurricane Katrina response, as well as Rankine’s depiction of them. If you were writing to an audience unfamiliar with those disparities, you could make your points even more persuasive by explicitly citing the news articles we read for class.
I wonder how you interpret Rankine’s inclusion of both micro- and macro-level acts of racial injustice.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hey Paul! I liked how you relate the events of Hurricane Katrina with the theme of microaggressions demonstrated throughout the book. I personally drew a big connection here as I learned about Hurricane Katrina in a science class recently. Hurricane Katrina left many black communities devastated in 2005. Katrina particularly effected the people who were socially vulnerable which consisted of mostly black people. Many examples are placed throughout the story that bring light to microaggressions that people face daily. I think that Claudia Rankine’s decision to exemplify the tragedies that resulted from Hurricane Katrina brings light to the racial prejudice that exists today that can be a matter of life or death. “So many of these people almost all of them that we see, are so poor, someone else said, and they are so black” (Rankine 85). This demonstrates how their race has made them socially vulnerable. The FEMA busses along with relief organizations left them to fend for themselves while others who had transportation and other resources to protect themselves were able to flee and remain unharmed. This highlights the separate realities lived by the white’s and blacks or the rich and the poor.
Fantastic analysis of Rankine’s depiction of the racial disparities surrounding the response to Hurricane Katrina, Ally!
Moving forward, just make sure that all quotes are introduced:
Rankine writes, “So many of these people almost all of them that we see, are so poor, someone else said, and they are so black” (85).
Score: 4 out of 5
Hey Paul, I think you had a great analysis of the chapter and you really broke down each major theme of the chapters. To answer your first question, I think the inclusion of “I” absolutely intended to throw the reader off with this foreign idea. All throughout the chapter, the individual expression was not represented but rather the use of you turns all of these situations into shared experiences giving it more impact. Rankine states “this makes the first person a symbol for something”(pg.71). I believe that the first person is easier to be dismissed which is why so many black stories are ignored or forgotten. These first person accounts are the symbols of their stories, when talking in first person you are directly representing the situation that happened. But as seen throughout the book, many of these black experiences have been minimized and criticized. That is why I feel Rankine uses the word “you” throughout because it engages our attention greater when we, the readers, are reading a story that includes us in it. The anecdotes Rankine gives are allowed to gain the attention they deserve when the readers are actively involved, eliminating the risk of her stories being lost if she wrote in the first or third person.
Excellent interpretation of the difference between “you” and “I,” Aidan! I found these ideas especially compelling:
“I believe that the first person is easier to be dismissed which is why so many black stories are ignored or forgotten…as seen throughout the book, many of these black experiences have been minimized and criticized. ”
Moving forward, just make sure to use proper MLA-style citations (no pg.).
Score: 4 out of 5
Hi, Paul I really think you did a great job of breaking down this idea. I think the event of Hurricane Katrina and Trayvon Martin’s death was so important to the racism and microaggressions chapters because both of these events were a turning point and eye-opener to the world about the injustices. One quote I liked was “so many of these people almost all of them that we see, are so poor, someone else said, and they are so black.” (Rankine 85). This quote struck me because it shows natural disasters have racism and also because they affected poor communities. The poor communities tend to be black people. This was such a significant part of the book because it shows the effects on the poor and racial communities.
Good job with this comment, Trista!
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Paul, I enjoyed reading your blog post, you did a great job pointing out your viewpoints of the chapters. To answer your second question the word “I” changes the feeling from when you’re called “you”. When Rankine uses “you,” she is addressing the reader directly showing them in the described actions or attitudes. This creates a sense of discomfort or unease for the reader, who may feel personally accused or responsible. On the other hand, when Rankine uses “I”, she is sharing her own experiences and emotions. This creates a sense of intimacy and vulnerability, inviting the reader to empathize with her perspective. Overall, “you” can create a more confrontational tone, while “I” can create a more personal and empathetic tone. Both approaches are used in Citizen to convey the complexity and variation of experiences of racism and prejudice in America.
Good interpretation here, Kayla, but make sure to incorporate and analyze a quote from the reading!
Score: 2 out of 5
Hi Paul, I believe you did a really good job incorporating the story and breaking this chapter down. I like how you reacted to the events of Hurricane Katrina to the theme of microaggressions. A quote I found interesting was,(Rankine 83) “It was the classic binary between the rich and the poor. Between the haves and the have-nots, between the whites and the blacks”. This quote stood out to me because it just shows how people talk about one another and people don’t believe they are the same, there are two sides to everything instead of just being one which is human. To answer your first question “I’ and “You’ ‘ are similar in the sense that they really allow the reader to connect to the story the difference between them. The word “I” shows the reader how the writer is feeling and can express themselves in a book.
Comment Redo: Paul, you did a great job breaking down the events and talking about the characters’ obstacles faced that took place in these three chapters. When you first mentioned that in chapter four the character has a consistent “sigh” and the world is somehow telling her to stop sighing. Rankine then has a comparison with the “sigh” and intertwines it with “memories’ ‘ and a “headache” for the character. Rankine wrote “The sigh is a pathway to breath; it allows breathing. That’s just self-preservation. No one fabricates that. You sit down, you sigh. You stand up, you sigh. The sighing is a worrying exhale of an ache.”( Rankine 60). Rankine creates this line to show examples on how a “sigh” can be used in a significance that helps show the importance of what is happening in the book. Continuing reading your blog, you made other great points like mentioning the “Public Lynching” picture on page 91, which leads the readers with multiple questions in their heads. The picture leads to so many mysteries and wonders in my head which also makes the readers want to continue the book.