What Can Be Seen

In the Taiga tribe, Omishto is simply a girl who sees things that no one thinks about. But to the American Government she is a witness.

Omishto was named "the one who watches" for a reason. She grew up seeing the real truth about Ama and her mother and her necessary decision between the tribe and her mother, but now she is faced with another sight.

Omishto said many times that she only wanted to tell the truth, whether it be to the American government or to her tribe's council, she swore she would only tell the truth about what she saw. Being a witness inserts many hard decisions on top of her already confusing lifestyle. She must now use what she saw and what she was born to see to convict the one person that she thought was invincible. She uses her sight in a way that is unnerving to her and therefor is uncomfortable with herself and feels guilt beyond recognition. With her mother still pushing her to abandon the Tribe and their way of life, she herself feels abandoned because of what she has had to do to the one person she trusted most of all. Her sight, what was once her gift, is now what she hates the most.

Omishto may have been destined to see what she saw so that she could become a stronger person. She uses her unique situational sight to uncover the truth behind many scenes that pay out before her. One day she will look back on this instance and see that she has done the right thing and that the guilt is on the wrong shoulders. She will see the reflection of her actions in everything she says and does for the rest of her life and that will make her a more conscious, selfless, and brilliant person. She is able to see the difference between good and bad, right and wrong, guilty and innocent, and she feels the impact of that sight everyday.

Omishto is used as a witness to both the Taiga tribe and the American Government in different ways. She is a witness to the Taiga people because she was there with Ama. She saw what really happened and the driving forces/spirits that led to the actions. She can defend Ama in a way that no one else can while still giving evidence against her. For the American Government, Omishto is simply a witness because she can provide the fact that Ama was there, the fact that Ama killed the panther, and the fact that there was no provocation from the endangered animal.

Omishto has the gift of a very honest, very real sight and unlike before when it would have helped her choose between her mother and Ama, it is now killing her because she will not lie about her sight. Omishto watches everything, but now she has actually seen; and what she saw could hurt her more than she imagined.

Whose Power?

"Two worlds exist. Maybe it's always been this way, but I enter them both like I am two people. Above and below. Land and water. Now and then."

Omishto has a problem, and at such a young age she shouldn't be forced to choose. She has a mother, who loves her in her own way and is trying to force her to be someone that she doesn't know if she can be. She also has an "aunt" who would not, and will never force her. However, her aunt hopes that she will stick to the old ways and stay with her tribe.

Omishto is torn between these two women, each of which have such power over her life and way of thingking. She describes her situation as being two different worlds as if she is two people. She doesn't know which way is the right path and I believe that she is too young to chose.

This situation is very familiar for millions of young people. It could be as simple as wanting to be like you father but being drawn to the ways of your mother. It could be very complicated, like being a celebrity but wanting to attend your first day of high school. We are faced with life-changing, heart-breaking, and sould-clenching decisions every day, howev er because we are young it makes life that much harder. There is so much pressure on us to make good decisions and decisions that will lead us to a better and brighter future that it makes it that much harder to make the decision in the first place. Colleges are another giant decision. If you think about it we have already decided where our future is going and who we will become to a great extent.

I can sympathize with Omishto as many of us can because I understand how hard her decision is. If she makes one wrong move her future could be demolished. She has to choose and that part is the hardest. We are all young and we all can take great advice from this similar girl in what she says, does, and thinks about as we move foreward with our lives. I really do love this book and I am anxious to see what comes next.

Touching the Surface

The cover of Lucy incorporates many foreshaddowing pictures and colors from the story itself. The painting on the cover depicts a woman who does very much look how we would imagine lucy to look. Her hand is placed in the middle of her chest and looks as if it is pushing something away. Her head is turned away from the light source, which I took to mean that she was trying to turn away from the bright source in her life and toward something that she was not ment to be involved with. The daffodills on the cover not only tell the reader that there will be daffodills in the story, but also that the daffodills will be a large part of the story.
The colors on the cover reflect back on the place to the place she came from. The bright oranges and different greens make the reader think about bright exotic colors and tropical islands. However, the colors in the painting are very drab and colorless. The various browns in the painting on the cover reflect New York, where she currently is. Her life traveled from a colorfull paradise to a very monotone city. It is as if the reader can see how all of the color in her life drained because of her new "adventure".