Summary
Sam mother comes rushing to him to tell him that Alicia is in labor. Sam keeps getting nightmares that Alicia is in labor and that he is the only one in the cab with her and he does not know what to do. In labor Sam describes Alicia as “an animal, her breast were five times the regular size, she sounded like a terrible animal. It felt like she was thirty and he was seven” (Hornsby 232). Alicia began to say terrible stuff to him and he was getting frustrated and Andrea told Sam not to be angry because woman act selfish and mean when they are in labor. Sam also learns that since he is having the baby, he would have to learn not to be easily offended.
The baby was called Rufus because the song playing at the time of birth was composed by a singer named Rufus Wainwright. The baby according to the book looks like Alicia. Sam describes Alicia saying that she looked other than his mother. Annie and Andrea argue what the last mane of the baby should be; “Burns” of “Jones”. Andrea made a comment that Annie found offensive. She said that it would be better that the kids live with Alicia so that he would not end up making the same mistake that his great-grandfather, his grandmother and father did which is getting pregnant at an early age. (Genealogy). Alicia made the final decision that the name of the baby was Rufus Jones. Sam begins to live with the Burns in Alicia’s room.
While in college, he encounter an ignorance boy named Jason Garson who told Sam “anyway thanks for looking after my kid, saved me a few quid.” (Hornsby 257). Sam acts like a child and does the same thing that scout did which was kicking him in his genitalia and running away. He assumed that Jason was the father the father of the baby.
Sam’s father comes around to spend time with Sam and Rufus, that same week, Sam and Alicia had a fight because she wanted to see other people and she threaten him by saying “You can forget all about seeing Roof” (Hornsby 287).
In the end, Sam and Alicia finally had sex again and Andrea walked in on them and was very angry. She was upset that they were still acting sexual instead of trying to plan their future. Sam goes back and forth to college; he also gets to spend some time with Roof. Both teenagers began to see other people. Sam was seeing a girl named Alex and Alicia was seeing a boy named Carl.
Quote
“It was all about the families, wasn’t it? That Rufus Jones was going to leave school at sixteen to be a dad and get a rubbish job and get no GCSEs and probably start taking crack. But Rufus Burns would, I don’t know, go to a university and become a doctor or a prime minster or whatever” (Hornsby 247).
Reaction
I don’t think that the quote is really racist because she was right; the family keeps on making mistake that involves them sacrificing their life pleasure because they were being irresponsible. This is a thematic element that involves genealogy because 3 generation of the family so far had made the same mistake. This book teaches the struggle that young teens have to go through and why is it a bad choice to have a baby at an early age. It has a moral learning and it was a pleasure reading.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
SLAM Post #4 (179-229)
Summary
So far Sam has a son named Roof with Alicia his ex-girlfriend. He tells his mother who is very angry and devastated. His mother tells his father about the situation and at first the father calls him rude words but later on acknowledges that he is a grandfather and is happy about it. Everyone in Sam’s school knows that he is a father which bugs him. Sam and Alicia went to the hospital to see the baby scan and afterward they kissed. Sam comments that he sees Alicia different after she had stood up for him against her father. Most of the time when Sam breaks up with a girl they are done for ever, but this time after breaking up with Alicia he gets back with her which means he still likes her. Alicia asked Sam if he got sick of her and both replied that they got sick of seeing each other.
Alicia’s mother arranged the kids to go to a NCT class that teaches you about pregnancy. When they got there, there were only older and elder people there. They were embarrassed and did not want to go there again. Annie announced that Mark, her boyfriend would be living with them and Sam does not have a decision. This leads him to think about the consequences of divorce like living with somebody that you do not know which he though was wired.
Alicia parent are consigned about Sam and the baby and that they are going to make an effort with him which includes asking him how he feels about everything, what are his plan for college and his future. They though he was a “hoodie chav who had messed up their daughter’s life” (Hornsby 192). Alicia concludes that Sam would be leaving with her family and they would share a room together like a man and wife. They thought of it made Sam to throw up. Her parents were not in support of it, but they agreed to do it. When Sam’s mother learnt that he was going to leave with Alicia and her family she was angry and upset. She thinks that Sam is throwing away his life and does not want him to end up like his father who is a drinker and a plumber.
Sam is starting college and everything is looking good for him. He is an older brother because of Mark’s little girl and he is the father of Roof. He talks to TH but he does not help him in his situation so he decides to shut him out of his life once more. Sam's friend thinks that sam is screw and Sam agrees with him.
Quote
"Roof, this one Dumpling. Why didn't people ever call their babies their real name"(Hornsby 202.
Reaction
It is funny that people would try to come up with names that they thought was unique like Marks baby girl's name Dumplin. I can relate this to the bible that says that whatever the maeaning of your name is is what will happen to you. There was a guy in the bible who changed his named because it meant pain and poverty which his mother was feeling at that time and she gave him that name. He was poor and pain so he changed his named and positive things started to work for him.
So far Sam has a son named Roof with Alicia his ex-girlfriend. He tells his mother who is very angry and devastated. His mother tells his father about the situation and at first the father calls him rude words but later on acknowledges that he is a grandfather and is happy about it. Everyone in Sam’s school knows that he is a father which bugs him. Sam and Alicia went to the hospital to see the baby scan and afterward they kissed. Sam comments that he sees Alicia different after she had stood up for him against her father. Most of the time when Sam breaks up with a girl they are done for ever, but this time after breaking up with Alicia he gets back with her which means he still likes her. Alicia asked Sam if he got sick of her and both replied that they got sick of seeing each other.
Alicia’s mother arranged the kids to go to a NCT class that teaches you about pregnancy. When they got there, there were only older and elder people there. They were embarrassed and did not want to go there again. Annie announced that Mark, her boyfriend would be living with them and Sam does not have a decision. This leads him to think about the consequences of divorce like living with somebody that you do not know which he though was wired.
Alicia parent are consigned about Sam and the baby and that they are going to make an effort with him which includes asking him how he feels about everything, what are his plan for college and his future. They though he was a “hoodie chav who had messed up their daughter’s life” (Hornsby 192). Alicia concludes that Sam would be leaving with her family and they would share a room together like a man and wife. They thought of it made Sam to throw up. Her parents were not in support of it, but they agreed to do it. When Sam’s mother learnt that he was going to leave with Alicia and her family she was angry and upset. She thinks that Sam is throwing away his life and does not want him to end up like his father who is a drinker and a plumber.
Sam is starting college and everything is looking good for him. He is an older brother because of Mark’s little girl and he is the father of Roof. He talks to TH but he does not help him in his situation so he decides to shut him out of his life once more. Sam's friend thinks that sam is screw and Sam agrees with him.
Quote
"Roof, this one Dumpling. Why didn't people ever call their babies their real name"(Hornsby 202.
Reaction
It is funny that people would try to come up with names that they thought was unique like Marks baby girl's name Dumplin. I can relate this to the bible that says that whatever the maeaning of your name is is what will happen to you. There was a guy in the bible who changed his named because it meant pain and poverty which his mother was feeling at that time and she gave him that name. He was poor and pain so he changed his named and positive things started to work for him.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Slam, Post 3rd.(100-175)
Summary.
Sam knows that something went wrong when he and Alicia had sex. He does not want to end up like his mother who had her baby at age 216 but that is what it going to happening. Sam goes into the future to see how his life is that was why in post 2 he did not know what had happen and feels like a year went by and he did not live in it. While living his future life, he learns how to clean a baby’s diaper. He lives with Alicia and her parent and things are going alright but he does not fit in with her family. Mom comments that her son are pairs “what a pair” (Hornsby 106). In other words he and his mother had thing in common like having baby in an early age, do not like to answer question in full sentence. Does not know what to do in life at the moment, by the way he is 19 years old but in reality he is 16 years old.
Sam misses his old life when it used to be him and Th. Alicia asks him if he is still in love with her and he does not respond. I think it is over for them. After seeing the future Sam decides that he does not want to be a father and leaves his home in London to Hasting without telling his parent and his pregnant girlfriend. After seeing life was hard for 16 years old he returns home and his mother was very angry and was weeping.
Alicia tells Sam that it is time that both their parent know about the pregnancy and Sam does not feel good about it. Sam continues to say it’s “your” baby and Alicia keeps correcting him saying it’s “our” baby. Sam and parent go to counseling and lies that the only reason he ran away was because of his parent divorce. Alicia parent does not take it well and her father blow up at both children. He said “do you think this is FUNNY?” He begins to compare Sam and his mother about her they both had child at age 16 and he did not learn anything from his mother’s actions. Her mother sat down and was weeping. When they told Sam mom, she took it had be cause Sam did the same thing the did, he did the same thing that she did not want him to do in life and now his dreams are messed up.
Quote.
"What a pair"(Hornsby 107).
"Well I walked down the corner and ther was an al-Qaida witha machine gun except he was just a baby"( Hornsby 115).
Reaction.
The first quote talks about Sam and his mother, Annie having a lot in common like the child situation, also they once went to a chinese retuarant and after eating they were both sick, but in the interview with the conselor result showed that hima and his parent had bad communication.
The Second quote was used when sam was deciding about leaving london and he compares his baby to an al-Qaida and says that he will not let his baby who is the al-Qaida ruin his life, so he decides to leave London.
Sam knows that something went wrong when he and Alicia had sex. He does not want to end up like his mother who had her baby at age 216 but that is what it going to happening. Sam goes into the future to see how his life is that was why in post 2 he did not know what had happen and feels like a year went by and he did not live in it. While living his future life, he learns how to clean a baby’s diaper. He lives with Alicia and her parent and things are going alright but he does not fit in with her family. Mom comments that her son are pairs “what a pair” (Hornsby 106). In other words he and his mother had thing in common like having baby in an early age, do not like to answer question in full sentence. Does not know what to do in life at the moment, by the way he is 19 years old but in reality he is 16 years old.
Sam misses his old life when it used to be him and Th. Alicia asks him if he is still in love with her and he does not respond. I think it is over for them. After seeing the future Sam decides that he does not want to be a father and leaves his home in London to Hasting without telling his parent and his pregnant girlfriend. After seeing life was hard for 16 years old he returns home and his mother was very angry and was weeping.
Alicia tells Sam that it is time that both their parent know about the pregnancy and Sam does not feel good about it. Sam continues to say it’s “your” baby and Alicia keeps correcting him saying it’s “our” baby. Sam and parent go to counseling and lies that the only reason he ran away was because of his parent divorce. Alicia parent does not take it well and her father blow up at both children. He said “do you think this is FUNNY?” He begins to compare Sam and his mother about her they both had child at age 16 and he did not learn anything from his mother’s actions. Her mother sat down and was weeping. When they told Sam mom, she took it had be cause Sam did the same thing the did, he did the same thing that she did not want him to do in life and now his dreams are messed up.
Quote.
"What a pair"(Hornsby 107).
"Well I walked down the corner and ther was an al-Qaida witha machine gun except he was just a baby"( Hornsby 115).
Reaction.
The first quote talks about Sam and his mother, Annie having a lot in common like the child situation, also they once went to a chinese retuarant and after eating they were both sick, but in the interview with the conselor result showed that hima and his parent had bad communication.
The Second quote was used when sam was deciding about leaving london and he compares his baby to an al-Qaida and says that he will not let his baby who is the al-Qaida ruin his life, so he decides to leave London.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Slam 2nd Post (51-100)
Summary
Lately Sam’s mother, Annie notices that he spends a lot of time with Alicia so she decides to spend time with him and she does not allow him to see Alicia but he insist. Turns out that mother and son have nothing in common. His mother meets a new guy named Mark who was her former co-worker. Normally a child would confront his/her parent about sex, but every time Annie tries to talk to him so that he does not make the same mistake she did, he refuses. Sam does not think that his mother having him in high school was bad because she already accomplished what she had in mind when she was a teenager.
Alicia leaves her comfortable Zone by going to Sam’s house. There they finally had sexually intercourse. Sam wears the condom half way then takes it off before they -finish. He concludes that he does not feel amazed but upset and shocked. Alicia asked Sam if he was okay and this is a foreshadowing because Sam said that Alicia never asked normally, so she asking meant something bad was going to happen. Alicia asked Annie how life was when she had Sam at an early age. Sam does not feel attracted to Alicia anymore. He goes back to skateboarding. There is a separation of class between Alicia’s parent and Sam. Her parents are professors in college which means they speak better English. They ask Sam about plans for college. “You are a bad person you do not know how to read, write and study” (Hornby 69). But Sam’s father thinks it’s a waste of time.
Life begins to change after Sam’s 16th birthday. Alicia calls him and tells that she is 3 weeks late on her period. Sam stops taking advice from tony Hawk because he feels that Tony does not know real life situation for normal people who are not rich. “I have been treating him like a god but he wasn’t a god. He was nothing, jut a skater” (Hornby 89). Alicia obviously gets pregnant and they named the baby Roof. Sam does not know how it happened. He stated that it felt like he missed an entire year and does not know what is going on.
Quote
“You are a bad person you do not know how to read, write and study. As far as other people like my father... you are a bad person if you do" (Hornby 69).
Reaction.
Sam did the samething that his mother did which was having a baby when she was not prepard. The qoute is very important because it shows that there is a seperation of class for thoes who want to acheive something in life and Alicia'a parent take education very serious unlike Sam's father. The quote also shows that Sam in not clear on what hw wants to do with his life.
Lately Sam’s mother, Annie notices that he spends a lot of time with Alicia so she decides to spend time with him and she does not allow him to see Alicia but he insist. Turns out that mother and son have nothing in common. His mother meets a new guy named Mark who was her former co-worker. Normally a child would confront his/her parent about sex, but every time Annie tries to talk to him so that he does not make the same mistake she did, he refuses. Sam does not think that his mother having him in high school was bad because she already accomplished what she had in mind when she was a teenager.
Alicia leaves her comfortable Zone by going to Sam’s house. There they finally had sexually intercourse. Sam wears the condom half way then takes it off before they -finish. He concludes that he does not feel amazed but upset and shocked. Alicia asked Sam if he was okay and this is a foreshadowing because Sam said that Alicia never asked normally, so she asking meant something bad was going to happen. Alicia asked Annie how life was when she had Sam at an early age. Sam does not feel attracted to Alicia anymore. He goes back to skateboarding. There is a separation of class between Alicia’s parent and Sam. Her parents are professors in college which means they speak better English. They ask Sam about plans for college. “You are a bad person you do not know how to read, write and study” (Hornby 69). But Sam’s father thinks it’s a waste of time.
Life begins to change after Sam’s 16th birthday. Alicia calls him and tells that she is 3 weeks late on her period. Sam stops taking advice from tony Hawk because he feels that Tony does not know real life situation for normal people who are not rich. “I have been treating him like a god but he wasn’t a god. He was nothing, jut a skater” (Hornby 89). Alicia obviously gets pregnant and they named the baby Roof. Sam does not know how it happened. He stated that it felt like he missed an entire year and does not know what is going on.
Quote
“You are a bad person you do not know how to read, write and study. As far as other people like my father... you are a bad person if you do" (Hornby 69).
Reaction.
Sam did the samething that his mother did which was having a baby when she was not prepard. The qoute is very important because it shows that there is a seperation of class for thoes who want to acheive something in life and Alicia'a parent take education very serious unlike Sam's father. The quote also shows that Sam in not clear on what hw wants to do with his life.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Slam (1-50)
Setting- London, UK
Main characters- - Sam Jones,(Protagonist)
Annie Jones- Sam’s mother
Alicia Burns- Sam’s Girlfriend,she gets Pregnant by Sam
Andrea Burns- Alicia’s Mother. She is counselors
Summary
Sam Jones is gifted in skateboard. Just like To Kill a Mocking Bird, the book is narrated form the main characters point of view. Sam the protagonist lives him London, UK. His mother had him when she was 16 years old and his father does not want anything to do with him when he was a kid so he is being raised by his mother alone. Sam is a troublesome kid. He has a poster of Tony Hawk in his room because he is a role model for him. Sam does not talk to his mother about thing that troubles him but instead he talks to him Tony Haw poster which he calls TH; he gets his answer by using quote from Hawks autobiography.
A thematic element is seen in the beginning of the book; Geneology. Sam meets a girl named Alicia in a party that his mother invited him to. The teenagers at first do not seem to interact, and then Alicia asks him to go on a date with him. Instead of going to the movie as they had planned, they ended up in Alicia’s bedroom and there Alicia tells Sam that she is in love with him and she wants to have sex with him. Sam lets us know that something bad would result in this meeting because he talks about his grandfather, his mom and dad thinking that they would do go in college and make big mother, but then they mess it up. This is Geneology section because Sam does the same mistake his mother did which is to have a baby at a young age. “the story of my family as far as I can tell is the same story over and over again, they starts of thinking they do well in school, then they do something stupid and spend the rest of their lives trying to make up for the mistake” (Hornby 13). It also foreshadowing because the quote is there for a reason which means Sam does the same thing as his mother.This book is a perfect example of Blidungroman because Sam is having a conflict with society by being a misfit and he left his comfort zone which is his house to go to Alicia’s house. Foreshadowing
Quote
“the story of my family as far as I can tell is the same story over and over again, they starts of thinking they do well in school, then they do something stupid and spend the rest of their lives trying to make up for the mistake” (Hornby 13). It's the foundation of the story.
Reaction.
So far it is a goodbook,has moral teaching about being confidence and not giving into peer-pressure which Alicia trys to force him to have sex with him. Sam taking advice from a poster is kind of immature and I don't think that he realzies the situation he would be after he finds out that Alicia is pregnant. The qoute tells the geneology of the Jones family and the decisions that they made when they were young, this includes Sam making the same decision.
Main characters- - Sam Jones,(Protagonist)
Annie Jones- Sam’s mother
Alicia Burns- Sam’s Girlfriend,she gets Pregnant by Sam
Andrea Burns- Alicia’s Mother. She is counselors
Summary
Sam Jones is gifted in skateboard. Just like To Kill a Mocking Bird, the book is narrated form the main characters point of view. Sam the protagonist lives him London, UK. His mother had him when she was 16 years old and his father does not want anything to do with him when he was a kid so he is being raised by his mother alone. Sam is a troublesome kid. He has a poster of Tony Hawk in his room because he is a role model for him. Sam does not talk to his mother about thing that troubles him but instead he talks to him Tony Haw poster which he calls TH; he gets his answer by using quote from Hawks autobiography.
A thematic element is seen in the beginning of the book; Geneology. Sam meets a girl named Alicia in a party that his mother invited him to. The teenagers at first do not seem to interact, and then Alicia asks him to go on a date with him. Instead of going to the movie as they had planned, they ended up in Alicia’s bedroom and there Alicia tells Sam that she is in love with him and she wants to have sex with him. Sam lets us know that something bad would result in this meeting because he talks about his grandfather, his mom and dad thinking that they would do go in college and make big mother, but then they mess it up. This is Geneology section because Sam does the same mistake his mother did which is to have a baby at a young age. “the story of my family as far as I can tell is the same story over and over again, they starts of thinking they do well in school, then they do something stupid and spend the rest of their lives trying to make up for the mistake” (Hornby 13). It also foreshadowing because the quote is there for a reason which means Sam does the same thing as his mother.This book is a perfect example of Blidungroman because Sam is having a conflict with society by being a misfit and he left his comfort zone which is his house to go to Alicia’s house. Foreshadowing
Quote
“the story of my family as far as I can tell is the same story over and over again, they starts of thinking they do well in school, then they do something stupid and spend the rest of their lives trying to make up for the mistake” (Hornby 13). It's the foundation of the story.
Reaction.
So far it is a goodbook,has moral teaching about being confidence and not giving into peer-pressure which Alicia trys to force him to have sex with him. Sam taking advice from a poster is kind of immature and I don't think that he realzies the situation he would be after he finds out that Alicia is pregnant. The qoute tells the geneology of the Jones family and the decisions that they made when they were young, this includes Sam making the same decision.
Friday, October 29, 2010
The Glass Castle (230-288)
Summary.
Conclusion, the family is growing apart. Rex is not supportive of Lori moving to going to college, he calls her a sheep, which means she does not think like winners. “Sheep don't win horse races." Rex says he does not feel appreciated and does not know why he comes home. The father steals the money that they have being saving to go to New York. Lori calls him a bustards for taking the money and when he tries to tricking Jeannette to side with him that he did not take the money, she remembers the whipping he did to her and supported Lori. In other words he did not want them to live. Jeannette concludes that the only way to get out of Welch was if her sister did. So when she gets the opportunity she passed it to Lori. The fact that Lori does not look back when she lives means that she was excited to leave the city. Rex concludes “this family is falling apart” (Walls 230). In 10th Grade, she begins to write the school newspaper and this got her thinking of what she wants to do with her life. Jeannette decides that she wants to go to school In NYC and her guardian counselor asks her if she would miss her family and her friends. If I was Jeannette I would not, because I am leaving a dump to get a better life. The house had gotten worse; the roof had gotten so bad that when it rained, Brian’s room was flooded. Mom becomes arrogant and conceded. When Jeannette tells her that she is moving, she said “I’m upset because you get to go to New York and I am stuck here, it’s not fair. The way I see it is that Rose chose to live this life; she has a degree but does not want to get a job. Rex barely spoke to Jeannette after her big announcement. He tells her that he beginning to build the Castle; she replied “you never build the Glass Castle, go ahead and build it but don’t do it for me” (Walls 238). Rex is furious at this point. Later on he tells her to comeback if she does not make it. Jeannette concludes she would not come back.
Part IV- New York City.
When she landed in NYC, she stated “My heart started to race and my palms grew damp” (Walls 246). The apartment that she and Lori lived in was bigger than their house in Welch. “It had shiny oak parquet floor, a foyer with two steps leading down to the living room” (Walls 247). This showed that the parent could have rented a bigger house with mom inherited money, but they refused to. Brian writes to Jeannette that dad gets drunk all the time except when he is in jail. The family members have nothing in common. Brian moves to New York after he gets invited by Jeannette. Jeannette attends Barnard College and works as an editorial assistant 3 days a week. When Lori suggested that Maureen should come to NY, Rex accuses Lori of stealing his children and declares he disowned her. The parent moved to New York “so we could be a family again” (Walls 253). The Parent were homeless, Rose loves the idea “Being homeless is an adventure” (Walls 255). In the Jeannette class, they began the discussion of homelessness. The professors ask if homelessness was the result of drug abuse or did it occur as the liberals argued. She said to her “I was tired of taking on the people who ridiculed us for the way we lived. I just didn’t have it in me to argue Mom and Dad’s case to the world” (Walls 256).
Rex and Rose looked worse day by day according to the narrator. Rex ends up in the hospital and asks that not one visits him. Lori became an illustrator at a comic- book company. Maureen lived with Lori and goes to a high school. Brian is on the verge of being a police man. Father does not attend Jeannette’s graduation because she did not invite in out of embarrassment, mom does not like to hear boring speeches. Jeannette lies about her family’s statue in an interview. Mom does not want to sell her house that is worth millions, but she is homeless (ironic). Maureen stabs Rose because mom tells her to move out of the house and become self-sufficient. She goes to a jail for a while. She lives with Jeannette after release. Rex begins his old habit of smoking four packs of cigarettes and died of a heart attack. A year after his death, Jeannette left her husband Eric, “he was a good man, but not the right not the right one for me” (Walls 280).
Part V: Thanksgiving
Jeannette marries John Taylor who is now her current husband. 5 years after the death of Rex, the family decided to meet together and have a feast. Rose commented “Life with your father was never boring” (Walls 288).
The End.
Quote.
“Life with your father was never boring” (Walls 288). I chose this quote because throughout the book, you can see how the behavior and actions of Rex did to the family, he stole their money, beat up their mother, but they still highlight the positive things about him. Relates to the saying “you don’t miss something till you have it no more”
Reaction
My feelings when I started to read this book have changed. Jeannette gives such descriptive imagery that I can play the memories of her childhood like a movie in my head. I also learnt different ways in which a parent action can lead to what their child turn out to be in the future. Rex was being molested by his mother, that’s why he was eager to live her house which means that Jeannette was right when she accused Erma of being a pervert. This gave me the sense of how children are being raised and leads me to ask this question; "Can loyalty and hard work always be enough to keep a family together?"
Literary Analysis.
Mood: The mood of the story is sad because Walls explains the struggle of her family and how she got to where she is now. Recalls, the Glass Castle was never built.
Theme: The theme of the story is forgiveness. The children forgave their parent for neglecting them in their childhood; they accepted in part 5 into their house and show rose compassion after the death of Rex, even though she was the worst mother ever.
Raising Action: The raising action was when she saw her mother picking out trash from the dumpster.
Falling Action: The falling action begins with Maureen’ escape to California after her jail time. The death of Rex, the family barely saw each other, but on thanksgiving they decided to act like a family forever.
Point of view: The point of view is Freon the narrator Jeannette. She is the protagonist and this is a first person narration.
Conclusion, the family is growing apart. Rex is not supportive of Lori moving to going to college, he calls her a sheep, which means she does not think like winners. “Sheep don't win horse races." Rex says he does not feel appreciated and does not know why he comes home. The father steals the money that they have being saving to go to New York. Lori calls him a bustards for taking the money and when he tries to tricking Jeannette to side with him that he did not take the money, she remembers the whipping he did to her and supported Lori. In other words he did not want them to live. Jeannette concludes that the only way to get out of Welch was if her sister did. So when she gets the opportunity she passed it to Lori. The fact that Lori does not look back when she lives means that she was excited to leave the city. Rex concludes “this family is falling apart” (Walls 230). In 10th Grade, she begins to write the school newspaper and this got her thinking of what she wants to do with her life. Jeannette decides that she wants to go to school In NYC and her guardian counselor asks her if she would miss her family and her friends. If I was Jeannette I would not, because I am leaving a dump to get a better life. The house had gotten worse; the roof had gotten so bad that when it rained, Brian’s room was flooded. Mom becomes arrogant and conceded. When Jeannette tells her that she is moving, she said “I’m upset because you get to go to New York and I am stuck here, it’s not fair. The way I see it is that Rose chose to live this life; she has a degree but does not want to get a job. Rex barely spoke to Jeannette after her big announcement. He tells her that he beginning to build the Castle; she replied “you never build the Glass Castle, go ahead and build it but don’t do it for me” (Walls 238). Rex is furious at this point. Later on he tells her to comeback if she does not make it. Jeannette concludes she would not come back.
Part IV- New York City.
When she landed in NYC, she stated “My heart started to race and my palms grew damp” (Walls 246). The apartment that she and Lori lived in was bigger than their house in Welch. “It had shiny oak parquet floor, a foyer with two steps leading down to the living room” (Walls 247). This showed that the parent could have rented a bigger house with mom inherited money, but they refused to. Brian writes to Jeannette that dad gets drunk all the time except when he is in jail. The family members have nothing in common. Brian moves to New York after he gets invited by Jeannette. Jeannette attends Barnard College and works as an editorial assistant 3 days a week. When Lori suggested that Maureen should come to NY, Rex accuses Lori of stealing his children and declares he disowned her. The parent moved to New York “so we could be a family again” (Walls 253). The Parent were homeless, Rose loves the idea “Being homeless is an adventure” (Walls 255). In the Jeannette class, they began the discussion of homelessness. The professors ask if homelessness was the result of drug abuse or did it occur as the liberals argued. She said to her “I was tired of taking on the people who ridiculed us for the way we lived. I just didn’t have it in me to argue Mom and Dad’s case to the world” (Walls 256).
Rex and Rose looked worse day by day according to the narrator. Rex ends up in the hospital and asks that not one visits him. Lori became an illustrator at a comic- book company. Maureen lived with Lori and goes to a high school. Brian is on the verge of being a police man. Father does not attend Jeannette’s graduation because she did not invite in out of embarrassment, mom does not like to hear boring speeches. Jeannette lies about her family’s statue in an interview. Mom does not want to sell her house that is worth millions, but she is homeless (ironic). Maureen stabs Rose because mom tells her to move out of the house and become self-sufficient. She goes to a jail for a while. She lives with Jeannette after release. Rex begins his old habit of smoking four packs of cigarettes and died of a heart attack. A year after his death, Jeannette left her husband Eric, “he was a good man, but not the right not the right one for me” (Walls 280).
Part V: Thanksgiving
Jeannette marries John Taylor who is now her current husband. 5 years after the death of Rex, the family decided to meet together and have a feast. Rose commented “Life with your father was never boring” (Walls 288).
The End.
Quote.
“Life with your father was never boring” (Walls 288). I chose this quote because throughout the book, you can see how the behavior and actions of Rex did to the family, he stole their money, beat up their mother, but they still highlight the positive things about him. Relates to the saying “you don’t miss something till you have it no more”
Reaction
My feelings when I started to read this book have changed. Jeannette gives such descriptive imagery that I can play the memories of her childhood like a movie in my head. I also learnt different ways in which a parent action can lead to what their child turn out to be in the future. Rex was being molested by his mother, that’s why he was eager to live her house which means that Jeannette was right when she accused Erma of being a pervert. This gave me the sense of how children are being raised and leads me to ask this question; "Can loyalty and hard work always be enough to keep a family together?"
Literary Analysis.
Mood: The mood of the story is sad because Walls explains the struggle of her family and how she got to where she is now. Recalls, the Glass Castle was never built.
Theme: The theme of the story is forgiveness. The children forgave their parent for neglecting them in their childhood; they accepted in part 5 into their house and show rose compassion after the death of Rex, even though she was the worst mother ever.
Raising Action: The raising action was when she saw her mother picking out trash from the dumpster.
Falling Action: The falling action begins with Maureen’ escape to California after her jail time. The death of Rex, the family barely saw each other, but on thanksgiving they decided to act like a family forever.
Point of view: The point of view is Freon the narrator Jeannette. She is the protagonist and this is a first person narration.
The Glass Castle (150-230)
Summary
Poverty is the worst form of violence. This quote was made by Gandhi to while he was explained his doctrine on esteemed
This quote is put here because as of now in the book, the decision, actions that are made are because the family is poor. The book is split up into 5 different parts, part 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 just like the book To Kill a Mocking Bird. She divides the book into section because she wants the reader to see how her life differs from the places that they use to live or the place they currently are living.
Pg 150-227
In part 4 the kids and their parent move to Welch and they are living in a house with no indoor plumbing, they do not bath everyday and they lack food from time to time. They parent think that this is good they raised the children in a way that they have endure with whatever they had. Mom quotes "because this is not a house for the faint of heart" (Walls 150). Lori said that she did not believe that one day she would get to like in a house like this and when they asked Rex when they were going to move to a nice home, he replies "this is home now” (Walls 154). Her mom compliments that the kids are ungrateful because they do not appreciate what they got. She stated that kids in Ethiopia
To provide for clothes, the kid had to sew them even if it can out coming raggy. Because there was no indoor plumbing in their new house and because they were poor, they had to put their dirt and trash in the foundation that they were supposes to use to build the glass castle. There is a foreshadowing that they may never but the house. Living in this house does not suit Jeannette so she begins to paint the house for it to be stylish but she does not feel appreciated by her family who says negative things about her painting the house. In school, a kid tries to make her to join the Junior Ku Klux Khan group. Although they are poor, parent refuses to take welfare. “Life’s too short to worry about what other people think about you” (Walls 157). They are so poor that have to scrap out maggot form their food before they ate it. The book gives descriptive imagery of how Jeannette looks. They made fun of her because she was really skinny. “They called me spider legs, skeleton girl, pipe cleaner, two by four and stick woman” (Walls 173). The story is similar to Indian education, other children throw their food in the trash and she picks them and eats them.
Traumatic Violence is seen when the oldest son of the Grady begins to practice his shooting at her and her brother as they run for their life. This section also provides separation of class; they only people who live in this neighborhood are poor. Either their parent had not job or one parent was missing. Jeannette is very similar to Scout, she is tomboyish and prefers to fight and pay with boys than hang out with girls. Their grandma Erma dies and mom thinks that she committed suicide. She forces the kid to kiss Erma’s corpse. She describes it “Kiss Erma’s cheek so vigorously that you could hear the puckering sound throughout the chapel” (Walls 180). The kids sing that the wicked witch is dead , the father gets angry and say “ You make me ashamed” (Walls 181). A situational irony is seen in the book, they kids are supposed to fend for themselves; they take on the traditional adult roles. The mother gives Jeannette money and she has to take care of the family. While the parent act like children, the father is a drunk who goes out and drinks till he passes out and the mother is caught eating candy under the bed. The voice of the older Jeannette speaks to her mother why she acts foolishly and like a kid and she get beaten by her dad. In other s the parents don't care about the kids.
There is bit of foreshadowing in the book. Jeannette's takes her to the club and when she orders soda he gives her beer letting other guys know that she is available. After a guy tries to sleep with her in the club, she tells Rex and he didn't seem concern. Kid decides to move to New York City
Qoutes
“Sexual assault was a crime of perception" (Walls 184). Jeannette mother said this to her after uncle Stanley starts to touch her thighs and later on he unzips his pants. She starts to feel sorry for Stanley
Reaction.
There is a sense that the parent do not like being parents, they do not seem to mind that the children are suffering. They only are about themselves. The mother once said that the family was stopping her from achieving her dream of being an artist. The father does not care that he would build the glass castle that he promises his daughter.for Blog 4
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Glass Castle (100-150)
Vocabulary
Pervert-to leads astray morally.
Delirium- a more or less temporary disorder of the mental faculties, as in fevers, disturbances of consciousness, or intoxication, characterized by restlessness, excitement, delusions, hallucinations, etc.
(dictionary.com,
Summary.
Last time Jeannette encountered a sexual assault by Billy Deel. This was the reason why they had to move again. Later on she would as experience it. The family moves to Phoenix Battle Mountain Africa , because their parents have to work to maintain the family, the children are expected to care physically for themselves. Mom and Ruth are very different. Grandma likes rules are regulation and Mom doesn’t, this is the reason they always fight. Grandma dies of leukemia, but the mom thinks that she died from radioactive poisoning. They inherit grandma house. They mother states “So the trouble you kids got into with Billy Dell was actually a blessing in disguise.” (Walls 100). This is a situational irony, because they were not expecting grandma to die and for them to inherit her property. Going back to the idea of building the glass castle, Walls states “we are definitely moving up in the world.” (Walls 94). Lori gets new glass for her eyes and she walks in her mother’s footstep, first she decides to be a teacher, now she wants to be an artist just like mom.
The neighborhood in which they lived in has a lot of pervert. One night she was awaken by a bum running his hand on over her private part. He said “I just want to play a game with you.” (Walls 102). Normally, children go fishing and trick or treating. She and her brother began to go hurting for perverts with a base ball hat who preyed on kids. The father does not believe in Christianity and he makes stupid suggestion of it. “He didn’t like religion and didn’t believe in God.” (Walls 103). He would yell out things in the church such as: Pope Alexander VI’ bastard children or Popes Leo X’s hedonism or he would say Jesus H. Christ was the world’s best-loved bastard. Mom said “God knows that your father is the cross we must bear” (Walls 105). In other words, they will suffer for their father’s ignorance. Rex gets fired from his job as an electrician because the union was corrupted and he didn’t want to be part of it. Dad becomes drunk and does not come home everyday. “Gods help those who help themselves.” (Walls 115).
Rex began to have delirium. In my opinion, God is punishing him for using his name in vain. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” ((Exodus 20:7). This is the third part of the story. They finally moved back to Battle Mountain
The family moves to Welch to live with Rex’s mother. In the New school, Jeannette tries to fit in like Jen, but she gets beaten and bullied by other kid. Unlike Grandma Smith, Erma did not like the children. She was racist. “The reason I haven’t gotten out in this house in 15 years is because I do not want to see or be seen by a nigger.”(Walls 143). Jeannette calls Erma a perverts because she was touching Brian in an unusual way. Erma slapped her on the face and forced the children to stay in the basement with no food or heater. Later on she chases them away from her house.
“Life is a cherry bowl, with a few nuts thrown in it.” (Walls 98). This quote means that life is food, but on the way, you encounter obstacles. They author compares life to cherries and struggling to nuts, they are hard to crack, and so is life.
Another quote that I found to be interesting was “God help those that help themselves.” ( Walls 113). This quote is self explanatory, it you need something like a job, you don’t just sit there and drink and think it will cone to you, you have to look for it and God might give you luck. This links to the quote “no food for a lazy man.”
Reaction.
This is a very sad part of the story and it is also the climax. The children cannot have a basic and normal childhood because of the choice that their parents are making. So far Rose alone thinks of her self and her art work, she does not worry about where the kids are going to sleep or eat. The parent rents a house with no indoor plumbing. She rarely bothers to feed and cloth the children. They are rejected by dad's mother, she encounter another sexual activity and she also experience dead in the family. This is too much for a child who is 9 yrs old.
5 thematic elements in southern Novel
1. Dialect - Et tahn sebm. Has a country accent
2. Genelogy. - Born from two families who hate each other.
3. Separation by race and class- Erma dislikesNegros
4. .Violence-The parent are always fight and arguing
5. Decorum- the fathers behavior in church
1. Dialect - Et tahn sebm. Has a country accent
2. Genelogy. - Born from two families who hate each other.
3. Separation by race and class- Erma dislikes
4. .Violence-The parent are always fight and arguing
5. Decorum- the fathers behavior in church
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Glass castle (40- 100)
Plot -Blythe, Battle Mountain
Summary.
Poverty in the family always make the father and the mother fight and abuse each other. "You crazy bitch get your goddamn ass back in this car." (Walls 43). they continuous fight in the front of the children which show their insecurity. later on the always up. Walls stated that every time they fight they make up. Jeannette starts to go to school and becomes the teachers favorite student because the was very smart, but the other student hate her and envy her called her teachers pet. A few days later, 3 Mexican girls jumped her after school and they beat and injured her. Rose finally gives birth to a baby girl named Lilly Ruth Maureen because she was a diminutive of Mary, The name Lilly came from the name of Mom's mother name and Ruth came from dad's mother name. The irony about the name is that her grandmother form her mother's side does not like her name being next to Ruth's name because she did not like her and Ruth hates the name Ruth and wanted the baby's name to be called Erma.The baby was born in a squad car.
Rex finally got a job as an electrician ( making them closer to getting that House called the Glass Castle).The kids when out eat in a restaurant. This is something that they do not do a lo because they were poor. The children were able to read classical book such as Charles Dickens, William Faulkner and Henry Miller. The mother beings to paint because she has no job. When school started again, Jeannette makes a Switch and stops raising her hand it class so that she would not be hated like she was in Nevada. Jen starts a collection of rocks such as iron pyrite, granite and obsidian. Jen and Brain played with fire and this time the flame got bigger and bigger and could not be controlled by her, so she called her father. The fire in the story symbolizes fear. it was her sign of fear and and so far she cannot control it.
The kids began to notice and pay attention to their surrounding. the found a club called the Green Lantern. It is a prostitute house and they notice that the women that work there got paid more than her father. The mother does not kill the files in the house because she said it disturb the cycle of life. If the flies were dead what would the lizard eat. Unlike her mother, she has a special bond with her dad and he teaches her how to swim.
Dad loses his job and they don't have a lot to eat. Fighting as usual erupts at home and at this point the father was dangling the mother from the second floor, her legs were swinging wildly. ( Walls 71). She was screaming "He's trying to kill me" ( Walls 71). There is a connection to Indian Education in which Sherman starve because he was poor, so did Jen her siblings, they went to school without lunch and she would steal from other kids.
Jeannette encounter sexual Experience when she met Billy Deel, he is a juvenile kid and he pressure Jeannette to be his girlfriend. she said no., he tells her that she would regret it. He was 3 years older. one day, while playing Hide and Seek he takes her face and begin to kiss her by force, he begins to unbutton his pants, she touches he's groin, she could not hit him there so she bits him in the eat.. The next day he brings a BB gun and tries to kill her. But before that he shouts "I raped you." (Walls 87).
Quotes
"Van Gogh didn't sell any painting, I am an artist" said Mom. "Fine, the quit your damned bellyaching or go peddle your ass in the Green Lantern." said Dad. ( Walls 71). I love this quote because it is very detailed, it tells you a summary of what is going on in the house. Van was a artist who did not sell any paining while he was alive but after he died, his painting became famous. The Green Lantern is a porn house. The dads tells the mother to go get a job that they can have more money or else go to the Green because they women there get paid a lot ( he said it with anger and Not sarcasms) . This related to the bag of oranges, because they were poor, his father reacted very arrogance to the man to picked up the oranges, so does Jen's Dad and Mom. Poverty brings out the worst of People.
" My dad wasn't a wimp, he came out to play with the gang, running alongside us, tossing us up in the air ans wrestling against the entire pack without getting hurt. Kids form the track (slum) came knocking at the door asking if dad could come out and play." (Walls 59).
Reaction.
The story so far is really strong. you can actually visualize and infer what is happening and what is going to happen. Jeanntte is only 8 years old and this is a very young age to begin realizing adulthood instead of being a child. The story is evoking and the author's writing style is what's capturing me to continue to read the book.
Question.
1) Who is the Better Parent? Mom or Dad
Summary.
Poverty in the family always make the father and the mother fight and abuse each other. "You crazy bitch get your goddamn ass back in this car." (Walls 43). they continuous fight in the front of the children which show their insecurity. later on the always up. Walls stated that every time they fight they make up. Jeannette starts to go to school and becomes the teachers favorite student because the was very smart, but the other student hate her and envy her called her teachers pet. A few days later, 3 Mexican girls jumped her after school and they beat and injured her. Rose finally gives birth to a baby girl named Lilly Ruth Maureen because she was a diminutive of Mary, The name Lilly came from the name of Mom's mother name and Ruth came from dad's mother name. The irony about the name is that her grandmother form her mother's side does not like her name being next to Ruth's name because she did not like her and Ruth hates the name Ruth and wanted the baby's name to be called Erma.The baby was born in a squad car.
Rex finally got a job as an electrician ( making them closer to getting that House called the Glass Castle).The kids when out eat in a restaurant. This is something that they do not do a lo because they were poor. The children were able to read classical book such as Charles Dickens, William Faulkner and Henry Miller. The mother beings to paint because she has no job. When school started again, Jeannette makes a Switch and stops raising her hand it class so that she would not be hated like she was in Nevada. Jen starts a collection of rocks such as iron pyrite, granite and obsidian. Jen and Brain played with fire and this time the flame got bigger and bigger and could not be controlled by her, so she called her father. The fire in the story symbolizes fear. it was her sign of fear and and so far she cannot control it.
The kids began to notice and pay attention to their surrounding. the found a club called the Green Lantern. It is a prostitute house and they notice that the women that work there got paid more than her father. The mother does not kill the files in the house because she said it disturb the cycle of life. If the flies were dead what would the lizard eat. Unlike her mother, she has a special bond with her dad and he teaches her how to swim.
Dad loses his job and they don't have a lot to eat. Fighting as usual erupts at home and at this point the father was dangling the mother from the second floor, her legs were swinging wildly. ( Walls 71). She was screaming "He's trying to kill me" ( Walls 71). There is a connection to Indian Education in which Sherman starve because he was poor, so did Jen her siblings, they went to school without lunch and she would steal from other kids.
Jeannette encounter sexual Experience when she met Billy Deel, he is a juvenile kid and he pressure Jeannette to be his girlfriend. she said no., he tells her that she would regret it. He was 3 years older. one day, while playing Hide and Seek he takes her face and begin to kiss her by force, he begins to unbutton his pants, she touches he's groin, she could not hit him there so she bits him in the eat.. The next day he brings a BB gun and tries to kill her. But before that he shouts "I raped you." (Walls 87).
Quotes
"Van Gogh didn't sell any painting, I am an artist" said Mom. "Fine, the quit your damned bellyaching or go peddle your ass in the Green Lantern." said Dad. ( Walls 71). I love this quote because it is very detailed, it tells you a summary of what is going on in the house. Van was a artist who did not sell any paining while he was alive but after he died, his painting became famous. The Green Lantern is a porn house. The dads tells the mother to go get a job that they can have more money or else go to the Green because they women there get paid a lot ( he said it with anger and Not sarcasms) . This related to the bag of oranges, because they were poor, his father reacted very arrogance to the man to picked up the oranges, so does Jen's Dad and Mom. Poverty brings out the worst of People.
" My dad wasn't a wimp, he came out to play with the gang, running alongside us, tossing us up in the air ans wrestling against the entire pack without getting hurt. Kids form the track (slum) came knocking at the door asking if dad could come out and play." (Walls 59).
Reaction.
The story so far is really strong. you can actually visualize and infer what is happening and what is going to happen. Jeanntte is only 8 years old and this is a very young age to begin realizing adulthood instead of being a child. The story is evoking and the author's writing style is what's capturing me to continue to read the book.
Question.
1) Who is the Better Parent? Mom or Dad
2) The tone of the book is not sad or happy. How does she use the tone to acheive the effect in the book?
3) Does Moving from Places to Places effect the writng veiw of the story?
4) what does the Glass Castle tells us about Jen and her father? Will he evenually build it ?
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Glass Castle (1-40)
Plot/Setting:Nevada,San Francisco, California;
Main character: The Walls Family: Rex, (the father,) Maureen, Brian, Lauren (siblings). and Rose (the mother).
Summary.
The narrator describes her childhood in the book. Jeannette Walls lives with her parent. she is 10 years old. The walls family are poor which is the reason they are always moving to find a comfortable shelter."he just says that because it's more fun having FBI on your tail than bill collector" (Wall 19). The family attitude changes after their daughter Mary Charlene who was born before Jeannette dies. The father quits his job and starts to drink alcohol and smokes and he cannot keep the family in a stable house. So far the title of the book is called The Glass Castle because the father promises his children that he would get them a house after they found the gold and they names it would the glass castle. Rex is very intelligent but he does not know how to keep a family. Jeannette becomes addicted to fire and plays with it so far that she almost burned down a hotel. At a young age the children are learning what it is to be an adult. At age 3 Jeannette knows how to cook hot-dogs.
Quotes.
One of my favorite quote from the book so far was when she talks about the fire " I live in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire." ( Walls 34). I love this quote because it shows the reader that the narrator is beginning to understand the result and consequence of their action. She gets burned with fire when she was 3, but she still continues to play with it. I also love this quote because I am a christian and in the bible it says that there will be an Armageddon which will result in fire and this is similar to what the narrator is saying.
Reaction.
I love this book because I can see the ways in which families are developed. The book is very detail and in the beginning of the book, Jeannette talks about her adulthood, she see her mother picking outing thing from the trash then she begins to narrate from childhood to adulthood. It shows how she is adjusting to the way of life that are parent choose and how she reacts to it. t the story she has a special bond with her father which is lovely. The narrator uses personification in the story. " I pulled off some toilet paper and lit them ..... I was torturing the fire, giving it life and snuffing it out." (Walls 33)
Next
Ask I continue to read , I would try to answer this question.
1. what does the fire symbolizes?
2. why does the narrator starts to talk about her adult life before she goes to talk about her childhood.?
Main character: The Walls Family: Rex, (the father,) Maureen, Brian, Lauren (siblings). and Rose (the mother).
Summary.
The narrator describes her childhood in the book. Jeannette Walls lives with her parent. she is 10 years old. The walls family are poor which is the reason they are always moving to find a comfortable shelter."he just says that because it's more fun having FBI on your tail than bill collector" (Wall 19). The family attitude changes after their daughter Mary Charlene who was born before Jeannette dies. The father quits his job and starts to drink alcohol and smokes and he cannot keep the family in a stable house. So far the title of the book is called The Glass Castle because the father promises his children that he would get them a house after they found the gold and they names it would the glass castle. Rex is very intelligent but he does not know how to keep a family. Jeannette becomes addicted to fire and plays with it so far that she almost burned down a hotel. At a young age the children are learning what it is to be an adult. At age 3 Jeannette knows how to cook hot-dogs.
Quotes.
One of my favorite quote from the book so far was when she talks about the fire " I live in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire." ( Walls 34). I love this quote because it shows the reader that the narrator is beginning to understand the result and consequence of their action. She gets burned with fire when she was 3, but she still continues to play with it. I also love this quote because I am a christian and in the bible it says that there will be an Armageddon which will result in fire and this is similar to what the narrator is saying.
Reaction.
I love this book because I can see the ways in which families are developed. The book is very detail and in the beginning of the book, Jeannette talks about her adulthood, she see her mother picking outing thing from the trash then she begins to narrate from childhood to adulthood. It shows how she is adjusting to the way of life that are parent choose and how she reacts to it. t the story she has a special bond with her father which is lovely. The narrator uses personification in the story. " I pulled off some toilet paper and lit them ..... I was torturing the fire, giving it life and snuffing it out." (Walls 33)
Next
Ask I continue to read , I would try to answer this question.
1. what does the fire symbolizes?
2. why does the narrator starts to talk about her adult life before she goes to talk about her childhood.?
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Glass Castle
It's a biography about a young girl( Jeannette Walls ) whose has to bond with her dysfunctional family. Follow me as I read into what life was for Walls as she grew up. It's a Connection to a Raisin in the Sun in which everybody had dreams to pursue.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)