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Reflection on a Year of Readimg Dutch Literature

Titles Read:

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 ¼ years old

Word count:523

The reason I picked Dutch literature is because the Netherlands has always been a bit interesting to me.I’ve always watched soccer and would see them play vs other european countries.So it ended up making me a bit curious about the culture and what life might be like there.Although I only read one book I was able to take some lessons from it.I didn’t really do much research on the books from Netherlands and I guess picked the “popular” ones.The book itself had a lot of sensory details and small sentences.The book actually maps out so many different subjects for example the simple aspects of life.Sometimes deep and inevitable facts about becoming old.The daily hassle of aging and living with others who are on the same boat as them.I didn’t know that they were allowed to go out as much as they did in the book.It took place in Northern Amsterdam.If I’m being quite honest  it didn’t really teach me much about the country itself.Although it didn’t teach me much about the country,it taught a lot of life lessons and how elderly people feel while in a retirement home.

     I think this book has a lot of little life lessons.To sort of enjoy life when you’re young because once you get to a certain age it isn’t the same anymore.Well our bodies are not the same so we can’t do as much.As Hendrik is getting older and the people hes around have to use canes and wheelchairs he just enjoys life as it is.I think we all sometimes just need to enjoy the moments and not think of the future all the time.Even if it is inevitable and you want to.Its better to just enjoy what you have for example when you’re with family or a cookout with friends.Hendrik also taught me how there will always be people who dislike you and that its okay.As long as you don’t let it get to you and let them live their life “hating”.You would think reading this book it was just a boring journal of an old man living in a retirement home.It is actually a bit more to it.

Throughout the long weeks of independent reading I learned a few things about myself and literature .To me it really depends on the genre of the book I am reading.I know I like mysteries and books like the one I’ve read.I feel as I get distracted easily while reading which kind of prevents me from ever finishing a book.I learned that I procrastinate a bit which is a bad habit I will work on. Reading does aid in expanding one’s vocabulary which is why I actually want to get into reading books.It made me realize I have a long way to go if I really want to get into reading,but it is a journey I’m willing to make.

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"And at the end of those two weeks you can all take a hike,because by then I'll be ready to take care of my own business again"

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 Years Old(233)

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"Yesterday I went and visited my wife...I'm not sure if she recognizes me,but I think she does.The weather was nice,we strolled together arm in arm through the garden.Even though there is no communication,there is a profound connection."

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 Years old

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"To make myself feel better,i could say that compared with another visitor there.I was a ray of sunshine."

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 years old (212)

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Week 13 Blog

Pages :180-210 

Word Count:383

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 ¼ years old 

Summary:(123 words)

Hendrik begins his diary on Sunday,June 2nd.Hendrik talked about how as people get older they begin to lose their marbles as he also considered old.Gives a fun fact about how many people in the Netherlands have Alzheimer’s,about 250,000.Talks about how its like a frog in a pan of hot water not realizing it is getting cooked,how you are just painfully aware of your own deterioration.He also has a tangent about the weather.How its not too warm or too cold.He was able to go to the park and walk around.Ends up giving another fun fact on how hot weather spikes the death rate in elderly people.He just hopes he makes it through.

Critical Analysis:(113 words)

 I ended up choosing this quote,”To realize you are slowly but surely losing your grip on reality...you find yourself sinking more and more into a deep black hole and spending less time crawling out,certain you'll fall again".The quote seemed interesting to me because that actually might be how it feels to have alzheimer's or dementia as he talks a bit about both during these diaries.It gives the reader a precise image to think about.It makes you feel sympathetic for those that have to go through that.I think you can relate the quote to a lot more than what it is meant to be in the diary.

Personal Response:(147 words)

Overall I have actually enjoyed reading the book so far.It is a bit different to read since it isn’t chapters I am actually reading.It is diary or diary entries of someone’s day to day life.I find it a bit ironic and humorous how Hendrik likes to talk about the others as if he isn’t an elderly himself.Hendrik seems a bit hypocritical as well if you ask me.It is interesting seeing how an elderly home works.So far he has made a few friends at the elderly home but some others don’t like him and his friends as much.I find it a bit funny how the elderly act like kids and hold grudges.You are able to imagine it with the descriptions Hendrik gives.The way he puts his words together,gives off the image he wants to put in your head.

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"Old people can look so scruffy sometimes,in their stained raincoats with greasy collars.either they no longer see it,or they don't think its important.It's a big waste of money to buy a new coat if you don't think you will be grated the time to wear." (205)

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 Years Old

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In contrast to what you'd expect,narrow-mindedness increases and tolerance lessens with the onset of old age.

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 years old (193)

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"To realize you are slowly but surely losing your grip on reality...you find yourself sinking more and more into a deep black hole and spending less time crawling out,certain you'll fall again"(187)

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 years old

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"there are three categories of buyers.The first,and the biggest,group takes the middle road;not the cheapest but certainly not the most expensive.A second,much smaller,group always goes for the most expensive,and the last goes with the cheapest"(176)

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 Years Old

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"It isn't easy to keep your chin up sometimes"

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 Years Old (167)

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Week 9 Blog 140-150

Summary: (139 Words)

At this point we are in the month of may.As Hendrik goes about his days he ends up making a small mistake.Although he takes the mistake and makes it a bigger deal than it really is.His friend,Efjee ,tells him that moping is not the way to cope with the mistake and to forget about it.Although Efjee is in the hospital he tries to remain positive.As the days go on Hendrik begins to tell his wonders and curiosity.He suspected that something was wrong.The nurses had come in to check in him.The house doctor would then diagnose him with a few bruised ribs .It would also hurt when he would breather.Hendrik would have to be downstairs for the next three days and taking it easy from then on.

Critical Analysis: (122 words)

I picked the quote “Come on,Hendrik,stop moping.Doing nothing is the only way to make sure nothing goes wrong.Stop brooding about a minor mistake” because I feel as if that is very true in life.Efjee’s advice to him made him feel a bit better and he was able to move on from his mistake.People shouldn’t always let a small mistake turn into a bigger one just because they are overthinking.It shows that Efjee and Hendrik are actually better friends than I might’ve thought.There is actually some affection shown here compared to his other diaries where he is just talking about his days and whatever comes to his mind.Writing these to him is like therapy.

Personal Response:(101 Words)

As I am reading this book I can see how Hendrik has been developing as a person and being a bit more open in his daily diaries.He shows that he actually does care about others even if he says some harsh things about how the other elderly are miserable and he might not be.He ends up having a few problems of his own.I like the fact that Efjee’s advice is just straight forward because it lets him know he really shouldn’t be moping over such a small mistake.Which I think is very good advice in life for anyone.

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”A great comfort:once you get here,here is where you’ll remain until your final departure for the churchyard or the crematorium” (153)

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 years old

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"Come on,Hendrik,stop moping.Doing nothing is the only way to make sure nothing goes wrong.Stop brooding about a minor mistake"(142)

-The Secret Diary Of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 years old

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“To celebrate the fact that I don't have lung cancer, I lit up an extra cigar."They prefer that you don't smoke right outside the front door, but I couldn't care less. I don't like the residents' smoking room, where you're forced to breathe in all that second-hand smoke. Most unhealthy.The only place employees are allowed to smoke now is in the bicycle shed.”(136)

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 Years Old

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“The director said emphatically, over and over, that nothing was set in stone yet,and that the purpose of this meeting was to ascertain the residents' wishes. The pretense that we have a say in the matter. It only led to greateranxiety. Yet another reason for worrying. Residents started hoarding moving boxes that very afternoon."Old plants should not be repotted,;"’Mrs. Schaap kept bleating at anyone who would listen. The fact that she compares herself to a plant speaks to a self-knowledge for which I'd never given her credit.”(123)

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 years

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“To begin with the tax issue: it seems that the newly simplified tax law, as it applies to old-age benefits, is hiding a fly in the ointment. I just can't believe that not one of the Inland Revenue's thirty thousand employees (that's right, thirty thousand!) had the foresight to work out what the consequences of the new regulations would be for us.”(117)

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 years old

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“One of the goals of this diary was to emerge as a minor but notorious whistle-blower after I'm gone. That idea has faded into the background a bit. I do notice that writing is having a therapeutic effect on me: I am feeling more relaxed, and less frustrated. It may have come fifty years too late, but there's no use in crying over spilled milk.”(105)

-The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen