Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: The End

Naturally, the story has an ultimately happy ending (ultimately because every problem was solved even though Minli only asked for help with one). Minli returns to her parents with a stone that turns out to be a dragon's pearl, worth more than the Emperor's entire fortune, Dragon is now able to fly (thanks to the Old Man of the Moon), and the Fruitless Mountain is now the Fruitful Mountain.

Minli has completed her Coming-of-Age journey rather successfully, having matured by the end of the novel. She was able to develop herself more as she met new people with new ways of thinking. And when she finally finds the Old Man of the Moon, she realizes that she's thankful for her life and the way she's living it. Why did she need to change her fortune? She was happy and had friends and family who loved her. What more could she ask for in life? So she decided to help her dragon friend instead, finding out that there was a ball constantly holding him down. Afterwards, she returned to her village and (yes, I am implying that karma had a part in this...the good kind) discovered she was carrying a stone which turned out to be one of the most valuable objects that could be found, and saw that the mountain had turned green and was no longer a fruitless mountain. These occurrences could have served as rewards for Minli's good-hearted, selfless nature.

All in all, the book was quite entertaining and enjoyable, and taught a valuable life lesson as well: be thankful for what you have, and appreciative of what you may receive.

-thedoctormoreau.blogspot.com

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: The Old Man of the Moon- God?

I'm aware that religious elements are not mentioned throughout the book, but there have been some forms of symbolism pertaining to religion. One of the examples would be the highly reputable Old Man of the Moon. Who is this seemingly impossible to find, mysterious man with great abilities?

First of all, the man is a huge legend. Everyone in the village and beyond knows of his existence; however, he is only believed to be a character in a story. Some people believe he exists and can be found, others do not. He is said to be able to grant some of the most powerful wishes, including gifting the impoverished with exceeding wealth, which is the objective of Minli's journey.
 Unfortunately, we are unable to see the true extent of the special abilities of the old man, since Minli opted to ask about the flight abilities of the dragon (to which he gave a rather sensible solution) rather than her own situation.

The Old Man of the Moon could be compared to (or affiliated with)
God because of the following shared traits: mysteriousness, special abilities, and being legendary. Their abilities have only been demonstrated in written documents, rather than in the public reality. Also, there is no proof of either's existence, as many people doubted Minli's ability to find the Old Man of the Moon, just like many people would doubt someone's ability to meet God in person (...and still be alive).

Although there were no blatant religious connections within the text, there were still analogies that could be made. While reading this novel, I managed to only find the one mentioned, but I'm wondering if there may be other symbols hidden throughout the rest of the text...

-thedoctormoreau.blogspot.com

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: The Buffalo Boy's Friend

Throughout the years, our society has grown quite distrustful. People are raised to not trust others, always question reasoning, and never take others' words seriously before knowing on their own that is alright to do so.
However, in The Story of the Buffalo Boy's Friend, the buffalo boy has full trust in his best friend, without knowing anything about her at all, except for the fact that she "knows a lot of things". When Minli questions him, asking why he did not ask who the girl was or how she knew what she knew, he responded by saying, "She's my friend. That's who she is and that's enough for me." This is a rare sight.
Many people have different criteria for what makes a real friendship, yet, none of those definitions seem as simple as this one. There's always a form of judgment, whether it's the amount of time two friends have known each other, or someone who matches a certain class or appearance. The buffalo boy did not have any form of judgment, however. He only cared that she was kind to him.

On the other hand...I'm slightly confused about the buffalo boy's role in the story... See, I'm the type who's quick to ship characters (or celebrities in certain cases), and as soon as the buffalo boy made an appearance in the story, I thought, "And so it begins...". Naturally, I began to see the story in a different way. For once, it was not centered around Minli finding the Old Man on the Moon, it was about how the buffalo boy would accompany and aid her in her journey. So...I started shipping Minli with the buffalo boy. BUT. All of the sudden, he starts talking about his friend and mentions how pretty she was and how nice and friendly she seemed. I felt as if he were a little too fond of her to only be thinking of her in that way. But I read on, nonetheless. Though, I have to admit I felt some slight vicarious jealousy through Minli, since I shipped him with HER, and not with his best friend.

Apart from all of that, I'm quite interested in seeing how the story ends....Minli with her hope for wealth to help her family, the fate of the dragon who helps her with that journey and this friendship currently going on between Minli and the buffalo boy.

Thanks for reading ^~^

-thedoctormoreau.blogspot.com

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: The Story of the Paper of Happiness

Life is filled with many mysteries, one of which are whether certain events are coincidental or fateful. An excerpt from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon portrays this very well. In the story of the paper of happiness, a grouchy magistrate is denied access to the secret of happiness. The lack of revelation did not only frustrate him; it also frustrated me. Why couldn't I know what was written on the paper of happiness? I thought about it, and the conclusion I came up with was disappointing on one hand, but enlightening on the other. In the story, there was an answer, which was summed up into one single character. However, I believe the book had an overall purpose for keeping the information hidden. Not everyone is the same, and all people have their own ways to be happy. Success is the answer to some; love is the answer to others. One person could get excited over a shiny new car, while another could get excited over a shiny diamond ring or a bouquet of flowers or even a hug. This is why, even though the story provided one, there is no true paper of happiness. Only we can write down the answer to what makes us happy, others cannot write it for us.

This may have been the moral of the story as well. Why was the magistrate unable to read the secret that was written on the paper? Was it a coincidence or was he simply meant to find it on his own?...

HOWEVER: I did some research just for fun and looked up Japanese characters that had to do with happiness. I looked down the list for an expression that was translated into only one character, just as the story stated...and that expression was love. It makes complete and total sense. It may have been the answer; it may not have been, but it's very fitting for the nature of the story. If the magistrate would have seen it, he might've laughed and ripped it up, not taking it seriously. There are some things people just need to find out on their own. And maybe one day, if the magistrate is able to experience love (or whatever else provides him with never-ending happiness), he too will know the secret. And he'll keep it to himself, so others can experience all of the thrills on their own.

Site: http://japanese.about.com/library/bl50kanji_ai.htm

-thedoctormoreau.blogspot.com

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: Chapters 9-14

Ma and Ba have now set on a *very short* journey to find Minli. However, they were stopped in their tracks when they ran into the goldfish man and realized they were following his footsteps rather than their daughter's. The goldfish man turned out to be living proof of the existence of the Old Man on the Moon as well as the possibility to speak with him and change one's fortune. The story he tells is enough to convince even Minli's *very* practical and livid mother to drop the search and allow her daughter to continue on her journey without interference.

Minli, on the other hand, learns more about the dragon who did not receive a name, and turned out to have originally been a painting for a greedy magistrate.

Minli shows her first signs of developed wisdom by finding a way to surpass the greedy monkeys who were guarding the peach trees. She used memories and experience to aid her in her idea to *spoiler* trick the monkeys into focusing on "stealing" the rice, then proceeding to trap them in a fishnet while she and Dragon passed through the trees. However, this is only one demonstration of Minli's developing wisdom and intelligence. Throughout her journey, her skills and exterior as well as interior knowledge should continue to blossom. ^~^

-thedoctormoreau

http://thedoctormoreau.blogspot.com/

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: Chapters 4 - 8

So Minli has made the typical parents' worst nightmare come true: She has run off to be with the talking goldfish and the dragons while searching for the "Old Man on the Moon", a character in a story. It's the beginning of an adventure, quite possibly one that has to do with Coming of Age.
*Incoming seriousness* I believe that as Minli progresses and matures through this journey she will learn more about herself and life as a whole. She will return to her home wiser than she was in the beginning of the story. *Departing seriousness* This world that's been created in the novel has such a dreamy, childlike feel, and it's such a great escape from all of the stresses of college and growing up. I'm not that far into the story at the moment, but when I start reading, it's difficult to stop. If the demands of college and sleep weren't so high, I would have finished it by now. However, I look forward to reading more and progressing though this plot with Minli (and possibly binge-reading this on a free day). ^~^

-thedoctormoreau

Blog link: http://thedoctormoreau.blogspot.com/

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: Chapters 2 and 3

While reading these, I came across another theme I love (and even incorporate into my life): fate. In the second chapter, Minli is exhausted from working outside, when she wishes for the fortune. Coincidentally, a man passes through the village pushing a cart with goldfish. He says, "Goldfish. Bring fortune into your home." When Minli comes out of her house to investigate, she locks eyes with one goldfish in particular, and buys it almost immediately. Her parents, or her mother rather, are not happy with the fact that she spent half of the house's money on a goldfish, but she believes what the man said was true and that the fish will grace them with fortune somehow. Naturally, I also believe that is the case because when does something presented so significantly not have a large part in a story? So I'm curious to see where that goes.
austed by field work and finally sees her life as one of poverty. She wishes to bring her family fortune, but does not know how.
Also, the story of the Old Man of the Moon was quite mysterious, but pleasing. As I stated earlier, I admire the idea of fate. And now that the baby was described in an interestingly similar way to Minli (blue with white bunnies), my interest in the story has peaked even more. Perhaps Minli will mature throughout the story and a love interest will be introduced? HMMM.....^~^

-thedoctormoreau