Voice

The Glass Castle is a beautiful memoir. Jeanette walls author of this book tells her memories in such vivid details that I feel as though I'm walking in her shoes. Her humor is quite odd although it is easily seen through I found myself chuckling throughout the chapters. It was very amusing I noticed that Ms.Walls has a taste for explicit details and she uses it all through out the book. The memoir was told in her point of view and I feel as though the details really brings out her life in an entrancing way which I enjoyed.

What section do you think the author had to make up or exaggerate or fill in their memory? Why? What would be the advantages/disadvantages of using this technique in your own writing.

On page 5, paragraph 178, Maya wrote 'At the first "Amen" from the audience i willed the offender to immediate death by choking on the word. But Amens and yes, sir's began to fall around the room like rain through a ragged umbrella.'

These lines were extremely exaggerated because she wanted to use figurative language to create better imagery and to draw more reader attention. some advantages of using this technique in my own writing would be amusement, attention, better pictures in people's head, and I would have a lot more fun writing it. Writing should be fun for the author; expressing yourself through different ways in your writing is very important because you'll enjoy writing the book and that is exactly what Maya did. There aren't many disadvantages other than the fact that some people may not take in things the way you intended it to be. Writing is selfless and for both the author and readers to enjoy, so have fun!

  

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: Redo

Close Reading:
      I love reading this book.  It really captures what goes on in real life for teenagers.  The quote that I chose was this quote that Mr. P. said to Junior on page 43.  "You can't give up. You won't give up.  You threw thay book in my face because somewhere inside you refuse to give up."  I loved that line because it even made me inspired.  I felt like my spirits were being lifted up.  This quote can make anyone feel happy even if you already are.  This quote is something I will remeber, even though the book makes a lot of jokes and has a lot of sarcasm, these few words make the book have lots of emotions and have different feelings.  121.   This quote is well written because Mr. P. motivated Junior and made him feel special.  This quote also connects to the reader and makes them glad to know that someone (besides his family) cares about him.
      The quotes was also well written because the author explained how Mr. P. was feeling without being too dramatic which teenagers don't really like.  The words make this quote so awesome by really emphasizing the potential that Jumior has to be successful.  The words make the quote sound almost poetic and sincere and that is what I really like about this quote.  The order in which  The story was in really helped me to understand the quote and what Mr. P. was feeling.  The order developed a sense of shock because I did not know that a teacher like Mr. P. could be so serious and meaningful.

Post #1 Voice

   This book uses so much loaded, raw language, that is what makes it interesting and it shows the feelings of the person if it is good, bad, anger, greed, or envy. I like how she does not put a filter on it, like she tells the truth just how it is. Then how she describes women in the story are so descriptive like saying they are beautiful angelic creatures in a horrible environment (Stamps) and how do they become so pretty when they are surrounded by filth and poverty. She uses literary devices like metaphors and similes to enhance the reading and to make it more interesting for us to read and to comprehend it. Also the author uses a lot of figurative language; she also uses humor with jokes that are racist but interesting at the same time. Then when says all of these things I think what would happen if I was one of the people in the story? Would I have done something different so this outcome would not have happened? Or would it make it worse that I was Maya and not herself? I think the book presses boundaries of what society is accepting and would inform me of others point of views in the story and how they came to be. Now if I was a writer I would not put that much of loaded language like her but I will put more description so the reader could understand me better without using those words in my story. I like how she stayed positive even though her life has rough patchy bumps along the road. I wonder if she is keeping some stuff from us like can there be some times when it gets so bad that you want nobody to hear about it? Do you close your brain so that you don’t remember it that you don’t want to remember it?

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Blog Post #2-Reflections on Writing Memoirs

This is Rosie Buhrman. This is my second blog post. My first post was on the first website if you want to read it. For this post, I am going to do the prompt Reflections on Writing Memoirs.

Reflections on Writing Memoirs

I think a big problem a lot of memoir writers sometimes face is remembering the exact thoughts and ideas that went through their brain during any specific event. Depending on what event the author is writing about, it can be hard to remember what actually happened because of when it took place. I think that the author could then either ask someone who was there what happened, or they can lie. Lying may not seem like the best option, but I think it allows the author a chance to be more creative. They can make up their own thoughts and add things into their story that make it more interesting. I think that a challenge I will face when I am writing my own memoir will be whether or not I should use the real names of the people there. Sometimes it can add more to the story if you actually know the person's name because then it gives you more information about the character so you can picture them better. But the author then faces the issue of invading that person's privacy. Another problem I think I might face is how to tell a story and have there be a theme that the reader can understand without the theme being cheesy. I think that some of the common themes in literature can be kind of cheesy because they are so obvious and we can easily tell what the theme of a story is going to be early on. I want to be able to write a memoir or personal narrative that is interesting and has a good life lesson in it, but have it so that the theme isn't too clear and that it is an interesting theme. One last problem I think I will face is what event of my life to write about. There are lots of good parts of my life, but the challenge will be picking the one that is the most interesting and one where I learned something important that will help me throughout the rest of my life.

Reflections on Writing

I have honestly never understood how the authors of memoirs think of all the little details to include in their writing.  Most of those details are made up, aren't they?  I have always prided myself on having a pretty good memory, but I don't remember the tiny little details of events in my past, maybe because I generally don't think about them much.  I am actually kind of nervous about writing a memoir, since I'm pretty sure a lot of it will end up being fictionalized because I don't remember what actually happened.  Another thing is that I don't think the things I do remember the details to would tell much of a story.  I remember weird moments and time periods in which I was obsessed over one thing or another, but honestly it's just kind of a bunch of weird things and no coherent storyline.  I don't know exactly what made me who I am today.  I wonder, do most memoir authors think about those things?  In Bad Boy Myers talks about things that changed him, and I'm really curious as to how he knew what those things were.  I don't know why I am the way I am.  I am supposed to know?  Another thing I'm worried about is including specific details.  Things like the color of the shirt I was wearing when I adopted my cat seem completely trivial to me.  The color of my shirt has nothing to do with the fact that I was in a small room completely alone except for a tiny kitten.  I honestly don't see the point of including it.  Do people actually care about the color of my shirt?  I thought that was the kind of thing nobody thought about.  Maybe that's just because I rarely pay attention to what I'm wearing, but I didn't realize that it was something I should include.  In Bad Boy the author doesn't really mention things like that.  The details were more interesting and memorable ones, like how he snuck comic books into his house hidden in his pant legs or how he bought stale candy for a dime. If I can include weird details like this, and not more mundane ones, I think I'll be able to writer a good memoir.

"When I Was Puerto Rican" Post 1

   
       As I was reading my book club book,  "When I Was Puerto Rican", I came across a quote that stood out to me towards the beginning of the book. The quote was said by the author, Esmeralda Santiago, in regards to her father. The quote said, "He turned sad eyes on me, kneeled, and gave me a hug. As he grieved on my shoulder, I wanted nothing more than for Papi to go on losing people he loved so that he'd always turn to me, so that I alone could bring him comfort". Right before the quote Papi told Negi, which is Esmeralda's nickname, that she could not meet her older sister from another mother because they were moving to New York.

        The first thing that I like about this quote is that the father showed his sadness. Most fathers try to hide their sadness in front of their children so they would think they are strong. So when I read about a father who stopped acting and showed his daughter that he was sad, I thought it was powerful because it shows that he is strong emotionally and not just physically. The second thing I like about this quote is what Negi thinks about as her father grieves over her shoulder. Instead of feeling sorry her father, who had "lost" someone he loved, she wished he lost more people that he loved. She wished he would feel bad for her pleasure, which is selfish. You don't see many people, especially children, who want to see their fathers sad, it was a new perspective. I also don't think it was super bad that she thought that, all she really wanted was for her father to turn to her for comfort which he only did when he was sad. She just wanted to be helpful and special to her father and this was the way that she thought she could help and show she was special.

Into Thin Air #1

Close reading : " As dawn washed the darkness from the sky, the shattered glacier was revealed to be a three-dimensional landscape of phantasmal beauty". The reason I loved that line was because author Jon Krakauer went into so much detail that it was as if you were actually there, picturing the beauty of Mt. Everest. This sentence is so well written that you are actually able to picture his perspective. The amount of literary devices he uses in one sentence is incredible and one of the many reasons he wrote this line well. This is not the only well written line in the book. He does this a number of times and all extremely well written. The book is detailed just enough so you can picture the events but it does not overflow you. The events that follow are disastrous and described well. He uses so much imagery throughout the book so the book becomes a well written masterpiece.

"In my mind, Dad was perfect, although he did have what Mom called a bit of a drinking situation." I think this is well written because it gives you a better look of their life. Jeanette still looks at her dad through little girl eyes, thinking he's perfect and could never do anything wrong. Her mother knows the dad a lot better, as an adult and sees he's actually not a good person. I think that this isn't exactly beautiful but its very important to the book. I liked this line because I think it's something a lot of kids could relate to when their younger. At the beginning of the sentence she says "In my mind'',  so I think this means that eventually she'll realize that her dad is a drunk and has more than "a bit of a drinking situation.". Later in the book we find out that for Jeanette's birthday her dad asks her dad what she wants for her birthday and she says for him to stop drinking. Her father looks hurt and ashamed, so we can assume that there is some deeper pain in his heart and like many people, he hasn't learned how to handle it even as a grown man. It wasn't exactly crazy for Jeanette to feel like her dad was perfect... he was different. He was constantly making the family move but tricking them into believing that never having a real home, money, clean clothes or food was somehow fun and adventurous. So putting "In my mind" really has an impact on how you look at the sentence.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, post 1

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, post 1

Who is your favorite character in the book so far/ which character do you feel the strongest connection to?

So far, though I do love the main character, my favorite is Uncle Willie. With his disabilities, he reminds me of my sister, who also has disabilities and can’t walk. She is seven. One of the reasons that she reminds me of Willie, is that she is always trying to be like everyone else. In one scene in “I know why the caged bird sings”, Willie is working in the store as usual, when some white kids walk in. He tries to act like he is completely normal and can walk without a cane or any support. Because my sister is different than her friends, she tries to pretend that she is totally normal as well. When I read about Willie trying to conceal the fact that he was disabled, I understood why he would want to, but it made me sad. Sometimes I feel the same way with my sister, but then I remember, she may be disabled, but that does not mean that she wants sympathy. I saw this connection with Willie as well. He tried to act just like everyone else so that they would not find him strange or in need of sympathy. He just wanted to be treated like everyone else. In a way, I congratulate him for this it takes a lot of effort for someone not to feel sorry for themselves and focus that attention on trying to be a better person. If I were in that position, I’m not sure if I would be able to do that. Anyways, in conclusion, I see many characteristics in Uncle Willie that remind me of my sister, and that is why he has come to be my favorite character. 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Reading this book was very enlightening due to the fact that I have read Mays's work for a long time and have seen so much depth and emotion and now I understand where it all came from. She uses lots of loaded language and metaphors to bring the past back to life for all readers to better understand. This book is a must read!

the glass castle ; close reading

"On the way home, she kept seeing for the first time all these things that most everyone else had stopped noticing because they'd seen them every day. She read street signs and billboards aloud. She pointed out starlings perched on telephone wires. We went into a bank and she stared up at the vaulted ceiling and described the octagonal patterns. At home, Lori insisted that I try on her glasses, and the world dissolved into fuzzy, blotchy, shapes". Even though the quote does not have a lot of "layers", I love this line from the Glass Castle because it makes people realize different perspectives. It shows that not every one sees how you see. I interpreted it more than just, Lori could see. I felt like this was a new beginning for her. She can be like every one else now that she has glasses, like a window to a new world. Even how Jeanette put on Lori' s new glasses, Jeanette saw things as s Lori had. Fuzzy, blurred, and not really making any sense at all l. They traded perspectives and got a new feel. Our perpesctives are really limited in the the world because we are different people , with different minds and we h have different bodies. Each person has a different situation, so to mistreat some one because of some thing that you can not understand is not considerate of any one except to your self. That is why it is important to try to see things differently and not thinking about only you.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

   Close Reading:  I loved reading this book.  One of my favorite quotes was " so I draw because I want to talk to the world. .....I draw because I feel like it might be my only real chance to escape the reservation.  I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats."  This quote is well written because it explains how Junior feels about his life.  He knows that his life is rough but he has found his passion and he knows he can make his life better.  The words make the quote so awesome by giving the reader a metaphor to better understand what Junior feels.  The order of this quote introduces what Junior loves to do and then it explains what he feels inside.

Reflections on Writing Memoirs

One problem I think memoir writers face is having to make their memoir interesting. A book is a great way to leave a mark on the world and tell your story, and autobiographies or memoirs can really impact someone and wake them up to what's going on around them. I believe that as a writer, words and books and poems and songs and stories can really impact someone, positive or negative. So, one thing to worry about is if your story is entertaining and connects with the reader. Another thing is how the reader will interpret what you are saying. Today, there are so many issues surrounding race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and other sensitive topics that sometimes can be taken the wrong way. It's almost like walking on a very thin path surrounded with spikes or dangerous obstacles, and telling your story while also being careful to not offend anyone. That is what I am worried about as well; you never know what will trigger (or offend) someone, so expressing yourself and painting the picture of your life experience or experiences is tricky for everyone. So what I wonder, going along with that same thought process, is how much authors don't include in their memoirs. All we know about them is what they have said or written, but everything else is things only they have knowledge of. So how much gets cut out? How much don't they include because they know it will raise controversy? Is this a common thing among writers? How common is it? Do authors just know that they have to only include some of their story in books as to not get negative comments thrown at them? Am I going to have to do the same thing?

So, authors may have issues making their memoir interesting or appeal to the audience they are trying to reach. They also may have issues with stirring up controversy because of their writing or being censored.

Look out for the next blog on Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers.

Literary device admiration from when I was Puerto Rican

 When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

Esmeralda Santiago does an excellent job of using descriptive language in her book that gives me an amazing, vivid view of what exactly was happening in the book. It appears to me that any scene that Esmeralda remembers well she gives incredible descriptions of, mostly little moments like a Christmas dinner or her mother teaching her how to iron. Here are some great quotes to show this.

"They split ripe coconuts open, broke the thick white meat into chunks that we children grated when we weren't too busy munching."         page 161

"The steam rose from the shirt and filled my head with the clean fresh scent of sun-dried cotton, and bubbles of perspiration flushed along my hair line and dripped down my neck."      page 160

"The sun floated over the mountains, stained the blue sky red-orange, and flattened the lagoon until it looked like a mirror for the stars."     page 142


I might be able to use this in my writing in a similar way to how Esmeralda used it in her writing, by converting anything I can remember well, no matter how small,  into beautiful and vivid descriptions. obviously easier said than done. This will make any piece of writing an absolute joy to read and  it makes the reader have to slow down and think about what they are reading to really soak in all the details. I personally had to read over many of these details two or three times to really appreciate the descriptive language.

"The House on Mango Street" Blog Post #1

Jasmine Contreras

"The House on Mango Street" by: Sandra Cisneros

Blog Post #1 Write-Alike:

      The scene in the book that I feel like I have a personal connection to is when a nun from Esperanza's school asked her "Where do you live?," and she pointed to the third floor where she lived. The nun responded by saying "You live there?". The nun had made it seem like where she lived wasn't worthy enough to be called a home or it didn't "look" like one to her. Esperanza wanted a house that could be pointed to, and no one would ask "You live there?". The way I saw this was that, as long as you have a roof over your head as shelter and protection, it doesn't really matter how you house looks like. Through out my life I have learned that society will judge no matter what you try to do. My mom has a pretty old car that she has had for quite a long time now, and I used to feel like these cars represented the way our family as a whole. When people would look at my mom's car especially, they would look at it repulsively and that made me feel like our family needed new fancy cars. The truth is as long it can take you from point a to point b, than that's all that matters. It might not be a new fancy car out of a magazine but, its still a working and running car. Esperanza desired a house that she could point to and call home, like I wanted my mom to have a car that I could point to and feel proud of. I connect with her because I have felt like this before and know what it's like to be Hispanic in the United States. I am lucky that I have, what I have.  

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

  

  One of my favorite lines in Maya Angelou's book is 'the heavy sounds pushed they way up out of the blanket of vegetables and I pictured his mouth pulling down on the right side and his saliva flowing into the eyes of new potatoes and waiting like dew drops for the warmth of morning.' I really loved this line because it of full of descriptive words and imagery which put vivid images in my mind of what her uncle had been going through. The metaphor 'like dew drops waiting for the warmth of morning' really stuck out to me. It describes perfectly how her uncle could only sit and wait for the men to come and hurt him. It is a powerful line that tells the fear and struggle her uncle was going through. Overall Maya Angelous's book is very inspiring and has a powerful message in it. She is constantly using imagery to describe her experiences in such a way that it feels like a movie. The different words and metaphors she uses put images into my mind that make it like a movie. This book is truly amazing, and if I owned a copy I would most likely read it over and over again. Her book is very inspiring to not only me, but I feel like many young kids today. She talks a lot about how she wasn't afraid to be herself and stand out for who she is. 

My thoughts on The Glass Castle!

I believe this story is suspenseful and heartbreaking at the same time, this family is messed up... So many things  happend in this story that  I would have done differently.  I have different experiences then this family so that maybe why I think differently then them. I feel that the girl/daughter (Jeannette walls) is the brightest crayon in the box (box meaning there family)! In my opinion the dad is my favorite character beacuse he's so uniqe and different! He's all over the place and acts tough but  is very sweet and fragile on the inside. He has problems and when Jeannette asked him if he could stop drinking that hit him real hard. The author uses a simile to make the situation deeper and more meaningful. It's shows that he's acting okay on the outside but he's really torn and confused why she would ask that. I was so interested by that beacuse it shows you exactly what kind of person he is.  Again this family is messed up. I was to emphasize that beacuse that's truly what it is. The have there own way about there life and I have my own way, that's how it's going to be. It's almost sad to think that was there life.  I mean I like reading books about people's problems beacuse it's interesting to compare life's. when ever I'm done reading a book like this I always say "I love my normal life". I truly am thankful that I'm blessed with a great family! I mean Jeannette probably thinks the same way about her family. its a great book and im glad I chose it and other people should read this as well.

Literary Device Admiration: The Color of Water

One literary device I noticed the author uses very well and very often is flashback. The author alternates between two different perspectives in two different time periods. One of the two views in the book is from a young James McBride's standpoint and the other is his mother's perspective during her childhood. The author uses the flashbacks to his mother's past whereas in his own childhood he knew none of his mother's history. He emphasizes how secretive his mother is using dialogue between the two, "As a boy I never knew where my mother was from-where she was born, who her parents were. When I asked she'd say "God made me." When I asked if she was white, she'd say, "I'm light skinned,"and change the subject. It creates dramatic irony because I know  information and experiences from the mother's past while young James knows nothing. Reading about the mother's childhood puts a lot of things she does as a mother into perspective. For example their mother loves Christianity and influences it onto her children. As a child her father was a Jewish rabbi(which James doesn't know yet) and his unloving ways made the Jewish religion have a bad connotation for her, as it always reminded her of her dad. I think that's why she believes in Christianity so deeply, because it is how she found herself and a passion she never had growing up. I could use flashbacks in my own writing in addition to imagery because there are parts of my childhood that I remember in extreme detail that no one knows about. There are pieces of my childhood that played a huge role in me being who I am and describing that in such detail would add the characterization and clarity for the readers as it does for me in this book. The flashbacks and change of perspective fills in the blanks for me as I read because strictly from James's point of view the story is more vague because he doesn't know much yet. One of the my favorite, and most surprising and eye opening quote from his mother's past is "...but to be honest with you, I used to see that empty chair we left for Elijah at the table and wish I could be gone to wherever Elijah was, eating over somebody's house where your father didn't crawl into bed with you at night, interrupting your dreams so you don't know if it's really him or just the same nightmare happening over and over again." This quote was so shocking to me and I feel sympathy for the mother. It made me understand why she was so resistant to sharing her past. It's not a casual story you tell a nine year old over breakfast in the morning.

Glass Castle entry

"I kicked and flailed and thrashed me way to the surface, gasping for air, and reached out to dad. But he pulled back, and Didn't feel his arms around me until i'd sunk one more time. He did it again and again, until the realization that he was rescuing me only to throw me back in to the water took hold, and so rather the reaching for dads hands, I tried to get away from them. I kicked at him and pushed away through the water with my arms and finally, I was able to propel myself beyond his grasp."

     I know this is a bit long, but I wanted to show how every single word in the passage adds to the extent of its full meaning. I find it insane how the father is ruthless when it comes to her swimming. He just keeps on throwing her back in the water, even though he can see she is in distress. I hate this passage so much that it comes to point in which I love it. I can never understand the dad, I cant really come to a point in which I think he is just a bad father or just a good father period. Jennette Walls (The little girl) really shows the way she must be feeling through her choice of words. I believe that this beautifully written and would love to see what other people think when they read this!

                                                                                                                            -Zoe

The Glass Castle 1

     The book starts off at the very beginning, as far back as the author can remember.
Born into a poor family with two siblings, Brian and Lori, along with her Father and Mother, Jeanette Walls's family is always on the move.  From the day she was born, family ran from place to place to live, but only temporarily.  Running from bill collectors and the law.  They continue to do this, and each time they settle down for awhile, things start to look up.  Unfortunately, some sort of conflict always comes up, causing their unwanted departure.  Being caught cheating at casinos, getting into fight with the locals, or just the parents wanting to leave for one strange reason or another.
     In my opinion, the parents are insane.  The mother, although it is clear her intentions are good, doesn't care for her children like a proper mother should.  She sets no boundaries, no rules to protect for children from harm.  She believes that the three kids should learn from their own mistakes, but throughout the novel, serious things happen to the children that should've been prevented or taken care of by the mother. Jeanette was severely burned at the age of three, cooking hotdogs by herself, not even supervised.  She also endured a serious injury to her thigh while the family was living in a small mining post called Battle Mountain.  The wound was treated with a mere pat on the back and she was sent off again to play.  The mother has no sentimental value either, and no common sense.  Things important that were lost are only small misfortunes to her.  Land that she has inherited that is no longer in use and left untouched remains unsold.  She will not even consider selling it for the good of the family.
     The Father is an alcoholic.  His drinking problem has put himself and his family in danger multiple times, due to his drunken rages when he comes home late at night.  He tries to stop at one point, for Jeanette, but is unable to keep his promise and goes back to drinking.  He is convinced he will one day provide lots of wealth for his family, but his plans are very unreasonable.  Building a machine to sort through gold, leaching gold from the ore, and one day, building the true Glass Castle.  He promises his family he is looking for work and making progress but it becomes more and more clear that his dreams will never come true, along with Jeanette's, who tried her best to believe in him.  It is implied in the story, when the family moves into his mothers house in Welch, that he was sexually assaulted by his own mother as a child.  This could be responsible for the strange way he acts about his mother, and his personality in general.
     Presently, Jeanette's life is still in shambles, and so far it has indeed been an adventure, but not a happy one at that.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Entry #1

"Yep, that's right, I admit that I masturbate. I'm proud of it. I'm good at it. I'm ambidextrous. If there were a Professional Masturbation League, I'd get drafted number one and make millions of dollars. And maybe you're thinking, "Well, you really shouldn't be talking about masturbation in public." Well, tough, I'm going to talk about it because EVERYBODY does it. And EVERYBODY likes it. And if God hadn't wanted us to masturbate. then God wouldn't have given us thumbs. So I thank God for my thumbs." I love this quote. Not because it's "dirty" or "inappropriate", but because it's REAL. It's deep and personal. It's the most personal quote from a diary I have ever read! I love how it's very open and it makes the diary more interesting and compelling to read and sets it apart from other diaries. The emphasis on the word "EVERYBODY" in the capitalization helps me almost hear how the character, Junior, is actually talking. When we talk, we put emphasis into certain words to prove a point, or sometimes talk in incomplete sentences, or don't use proper grammar, or even talk about these "inappropriate" things. We rarely EVER mention anything like this in books that are published because they are considered "informal" and even "shameful" to talk about/do. So when people talk about these uncomfortable things or put emphasis (capitalization) into words it creates a more real and interesting story to read. The quote stands out and makes quite the statement that most people wouldn't make because they are too afraid that they would be judged for "inappropriate content" or doing "shameful" things. I think more diaries should reach this level of realness and connection to real life. Also, I love how he states that he's "proud of it" and boasts claiming he would be the top in his league and how he's "ambidextrous". It really makes the character more child-like and closer to the real world.

The Glass Castle - Close Reading:

"You can't cling to the side your whole life, that one lesson every parent needs to teach a child is 'If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim.'”

I love this line because what it means is that if you want something, then you need to find a way to get it on your own. Jeannette and her siblings had to figure out a lot for themselves because their parents weren't always in the best position to provide for the family. I think this line was well written because this is what her father told her when he was getting her to swim on her own. Her dad was constantly losing his job and money was almost all the time an issue so it was up to the kids to find a way to stay fed and to keep themselves entertained and do things on their own. I also really like that this quote can apply to more than just one situation. The way her dad worded it was really nice because it could relate to what they were doing at the time he said it but it could also relate to them any other time too. I like that he talked about "clinging to the side" like you would when you first learn to swim or like you would depend on other people to provide for you. Their parents never really wanted them to rely on anyone else but themselves for anything because they wouldn't always be able to get everything they wanted and when they wanted it.

Glass Castle Post #1
Your Words Become Mine

"The beans were so overcooked that they fell apart when I stuck my fork in them and so salty that I could barely force myself to swallow."

It was about 9:30 when our food finally arrived at the table. It had been almost an hour since we ordered, and since I hadn't eaten lunch, i was especially hungry. I watched as the waiter brought the four plates of different dishes piled high with egg noodles, Kung Pao chicken, and shredded pork. But as my food was set in front of me, I was hit with a wave of disappointment. It looked as if the food had been carelessly thrown onto the plate. No small leaf of parsley or ground sage occupied this dish. It was only gray depressed-looking noodles and pork.  I ate it anyway. It tasted as good as it looked.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian #1

This book starts off with the sentence: "I was born with water on the brain." The author goes on to say "My brain was drowning in grease." and describes the first sentence as the more serious and poetic way to explain his condition. I think, in just two sentences, the author was able to sum up the was us humans deal with unfortunate events. Some people become serious and mull it over while others joke about it; when I think about it, almost all of my favorite comedians are very sad people, like Bo Burnham who gets a lot of material from making fun of himself being sad (his song "Sad" is a great example of this). I guess sadness just makes for great material.
In this book, the author seems to take the latter approach. He draws exaggerated comics making fun of himself and says he belongs to "Black-Eye of the Month Club." He has been delt a pretty sucky hand in life, yet he is able deal with, or at least make fun of, his life and situation by channeling his emotions into his comics and humor.
Humor is a great way to react to and deal with sadness and suffering, but that doesn't mean being serious and poetic is a bad way to deal with life. So many of the best artists and poets and creative people are going through some sort of sadness or pain in their life. The most iconic and famous poems come from the sadness and pain life brings, like "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost which talks about how nothing can stay perfect forever and that suffering will always return at some point.
Although being sad is never very fun, no matter how you channel your emotions, amazing things can come from horrible things.

"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" Blog Post #1

"There was more laughter in me trying to get out" "I didn't know there was this much in the whole world."

Growing up in Alabama, Maya Angelou, tells readers how she spent the beginning of her life without her parents, and how they walked right back into her life at age 7. 

The struggle of growing up not knowing if her parents were alive or dead, or just abandoned them, is a very tough way to grow up. Thinking they were dead was better than thinking they didn't want them at all. I think it's really crazy how someone can abandon someone or something so important in their life. Not giving someone an explanation to why they left you, is even worse than telling them what you did. You think "I'm not even worth an explanation?" 

In Stamps, Alabama segregation is still a very big thing. Even in present time, racism is very real. Children mocking adults, something Maya Angelou thought was very disrespectful, watched a group of white girls taunting her grandmother. 

Many very real life problems were addressed in this memoir. Racism being looked at as an everyday normal thing, and how many people because of their status can get away with unacceptable things.

It's funny how even today in 2016, where gay marriage is legal & accepted, racial shootings, and brutal rapes are being thought of as "normal". It's thought of as something that just happens, and people argue against, but still accept as normal society. When I write my memoir, I will struggle with detail, and text. Maya Angelou's memoir has plenty of detail and text, so I can learn from this memoir how to write my memoir using plenty of detail and text. 

I'm excited to read the rest of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", to see how Maya Angelou deals with being, with and without her parents, being raped as an 8 year old, and the toughness of being an southern, African American, girl. 

"When I Was Puerto Rican " 1st Post

"Peculiar expression, as if he was begging(...) in his arms there was a plead." I chose this quote(page 90) not necessarily because I liked it, but because it allowed me to reflect on previous moments where the father was suspicious or was pleading towards Mami or Esmeralda. More than anything, the father's behavior of strong pride, or a "machismo" as I interpreted from conversations exchanged with Mami and other ladies, had a huge impact on Mami and Esmeralda.

Papi's attitude of self-centered or ignorance was presented through the few interactions he would make with the family. For instance, when Esmeralda was swarmed by termites, it was Mami that noticed from the house and stepped in to bathe her, where the father did not. I am curious if Esmeralda knew her Dad's occupation was or why he comes and goes as he pleases. Did Esmeralda left this out on purpose?

When the father comes home, if he ever did, fights would usually arise during the nights. The father's pleading tone first told me to judge Mami's questioning and found faults in her, but it was really the father that is causing pain for the family. The father is very irresponsible in my opinion because he wasn't doing anything to provide or care for the family. Instead of looking after the seven children Mami bore, Mami had to find a job to better the conditions of their lives, which breaks from the stereotypical housewife role, being submissive, religious, or humble, the "ideal" Latina women. The hopelessness and Mami probably experienced reminded me of Mrs. Louise Mallard ( The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin).

Now that Mami is working, Esmeralda is to care for her younger siblings because she is the eldest. The distance between Mami and Papi is pushing the strings between Esmeralda and Mami even more, feeling unloved and not getting the attention she needs. I think that Esmeralda knew her father had women behind Mami, but it really strikes her when her father had used her to meet with people. The begging expression and pleading gestures her father made contributed to her quote later on: " I would just soon remain jamona than shed many tears over a man."

“But [girl] hood dreams die hard, and good sense be damned.”

But girlhood dreams die hard, and good sense be damned. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a horse, and I almost went to extreme measures to obtain one. When I was five, I went to horse summer camps. I would do lessons as frequently as possible (and considering the amount of lessons I took, I would say I did pretty well). I associated with people who owned or aspired to own horses. My horse-owning friends and I would have long, detailed conversations about the do’s and don’t’, where I tried to soak up as much knowledge as possible. I would play this virtual game “Howrse” all day long to try and recreate the feeling of truly owning horses.

Of course, none of this actually worked. So I took it upon myself to try and devise a plan. It occurred to me that it didn’t matter what kind of horse I had, as long as I had it. So I decided I should get a miniature pony, so it would be the right size for my backyard. It didn’t matter to me that I couldn’t ride said pony, or that it would be too small for me to hug it without bending over (and possibly spooking it.) I spent almost every waking hour thinking about this horse, telling my friends about having horses and soaking up my time and energy researching.

All throughout this time in my life, where I was so hellbent on having a horse, I was committed to jumprope. Jumprope absorbed nearly all of my free time, but I loved it. I loved it nearly as much as I loved horses. But at the time, I was only concerned on how it was best for me to get a horse, and jumprope was getting in the way of that.

I had devised a “grandmaster plan” in which over the course of a jumprope season (September to July) I would gradually show up less, and devoting more of my time to horses. My family and I would take up the huge task of building a safe pasture in our backyard, including a wash stall, tack and feed room and a stall for the horse. Instead of riding this horse, I would instead need a cart to drive it, and that also needed a place to store. I also needed a very small, circular ring, so I could lunge my pony. I also needed to have a little goat, because horses are very social animals, and need companions or they will get depressed.

I told this all to my parents, and they just sadly smiled. They told me it was all too expensive, and that our backyard was too small. Over the course of about a month I would constantly bring it up, in hopes of changing their opinions. Of course none of this worked. My dreams were crushed. I even cried.

Even today, I would still like a horse more than anything, but now I understand that at this point in my life, it isn’t practical. The pain of knowing I would not (in the near future) have a horse has slowly decreased into a thought that occasionally buzzes around in my brain. I still look up horses on some websites, and I still do play “Howrse”, and for now, it is enough.

Into Thin Air

Close Reading

So this is first blog post that I have made for English. I am doing Into This Air by Jon Krakauer as my book club book. I didn’t know that this book was about Everest when I picked it. In book club we read and discuss the book. We have been studied figurative language. In our groups we have different roles where we find and identify figurative language like imagery and metaphors. This book  has a lot of flashbacks.

I was suppose to find a quote in this book that I love which I did. I found this in the epilogue."They helped outsiders find their way into the sanctuary and violate every limb of her body by standing on top of her, crowing in victory, and dirtying and polluting her bosom." This is very beautiful. The quote is about the Sherpas who are protectors of Everest, but aren’t doing their job. Instead they are bringing people to climb her and stand on her. This quote was in a letter from a orphaned Sherpa to Jon Krakauer. The author Jon Krakauer starts to think about what he did. I think it was well written. The reason I think it was well written is because of the diction. It also has visual imagery. It really makes you think. The words sanctuary and violating are an example of the diction I was talking about. The had very subtle and powerful meanings.

Into Thin Air is about Jon’s Everest encounter. It tells about the ups and downs he and other climbers faced. This book is very factual and tells from the base camp all to the summit. Some themes in the book are trust and loyalty. Also suffering and perseverance. I believe that Into Thin Air is like Peak by Roland Smith. Peak is a fiction book about climbing Everest. The setting in both books is on Everest and in May.

The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

  Entertaining, hilarious, interesting; three adjectives I think describe this memoir very well. So far while reading this memoir I have caught onto many techniques and tricks the author uses to keep the reader/s hooked. From the very beginning of the memoir the author attempts to grab the reader’s attention; “I was born with water on the brain.” This was the very first line in the book. When the reader reads this they immediately begin to wonder...What does he mean by that?!. At least that’s what I thought, and you know what I did when I read that first line that struck a slight sense of curiosity through my veins? I continued to read. Not only did this first line hook me to the book, but it also gave me a peek of how the memoir was going to be written. As I continued to read I came to notice that very first line laid out one of the the main techniques the author was going to be using throughout the memoir, humor.

  Throughout the memoir the author has been using humor as his main technique to keep the reader hooked to his story. This technique not only keeps the reader hooked but also helps the personality of the main character (him) come through. By using humor the author portrays himself as a very funny and playful/energetic person. This also helps the reader be able to understand the character better because we’re able to see how he thinks and sees things; he uses his humor to make things not seem as bad as they are or as bad as how other people might see them. “I looked like a capital L walking down the road. And my skull was enormous. Epic. My head was so big that little Indian skulls orbited around it.” This quote was from the section in the memoir where the author describes himself-if you hadn’t noticed. He could have chosen any other way to describe himself. For example, he could have chosen to make the reader feel bad for him because he wasn’t the most attractive person. But instead he uses humor to describe himself which takes away from the serious mood that this section could have pertained. Therefore, (if the reader hadn’t already) the reader would be able to infer that the author’s personality is very goofy and obviously not so serious.

Reflection on Writing Memoir

    I think that some of the biggest obstacles authors face while writing a memoir is finding a way to keep the reader interested while telling their story. I often find that if I am not interested in the topic of the book it is hard to follow. One way I found that Jeannette Walls the author of The Glass Castle kept the reader engrossed was by using many details to tell her story, which never made the book feel boring. For example on page 21 where she talks about how her mother "loved the dry, crackling heat, the way the sky at sunset looked like a sheet of fire, and the overwhelming emptiness and severity of all that open land had once been a huge ocean." All the details she used to describe her love for the desert made me feel as if I were there experiencing it with her. One thing I cannot help but to wonder is if she did exaggerate somethings in this book to keep the reader interested. There are many parts of this book where she went in depth into conversations of her past as if they were just yesterday when in fact they were many years ago. It is hard to recall that much detail in your mind from when you where a young child because as you grow older it slowly starts to fade away. I wonder if she asked members of her family about parts of her life that she could not remember so she would be able to go more in depth in her memoir.

    As I begin to write my own memoir I am worried that I will not be able to keep the reader engaged or it may be boring. One thing that I see in The Glass Castle that I feel could help in my writing is, not telling every single second of my life but instead going through and stopping at the important points that made a large difference in my life or that were particularly interesting.

The Absolutely True Dairy Of A Part-Time Indian Blog Post#1

       My favorite character in the book at the moment would be Penelope. She would have to be my favorite because even though she was rude and stuck-up to Arnold, or Junior when he first started going to Reardan when it counted she was there for him. They first met in class and he automatically fell for her. And his feelings only grew when he found out that she was anorexic. After he waited for outside of the bathroom and found out that she was anorexic they had gotten relly close. What I meant by being there for him when it counted was, that when she found out that he was poor, she didn't run away. She didn't shy away. She just stood there and kissed him. Of course, it was on the cheek but still. Her  finding out he was poor went a little like this: "Arnold?" "Yeah?" "Can I ask you something big?" "Yeah, I guess." "Are you poor?" I couldn't lie to her anymore. "Yes," I said. "I'm poor." If figured she was going to march out of my life right then. But she didn't. Instead, she kissed me. On the cheek. ". I guess this quote and the story that follows made me respect her more because instead of doing the shallow thing, the thing that would have done her reputation better, she chooses to be a good friend. She did the right thing even if it hurt her image down the line. Now that's true bravery, especially in a day-in-age where there were "lines" that not many people crossed, but when they did it didn't always end well.

Glass Castle Blog post #1

 My favorite character so far from The Glass Castle is the mom because she stood up for her kids around the dad when he was drunk and mean to them. Also she doesn't let anything happen to them no matter how messed up her morals are. What I feel shows good characterization for her is "She had tied rags around her shoulders to keep out the spring chill and was picking through the trash while her dog, black-and-white terrier mix, played at her feet. Mom's gestures were all familiar - the way she tilted her head and thrust out her lower lip when studying items of potential value that she'd hoisted out of the Dumpster, the way her eyes sunk deep into their sockets ... Her cheekbones were still high and strong, but the skin was parched and ruddy from all those winters and summers exposed to the elements." when I read this it helped me to see in my mind what exactly she looked like. I could imagine that her skin was dry, and I could imagine all of the clothes she was wearing were not of the best quality and probably a little dirty because she was homeless. It would be fun to write a description of my oldest brother Greg. I haven't seen him in a year but as i remember him he wears a beard and he always is happy and smiling even if there is no reason to. I also remember he wore a sweater with a shirt underneath to keep warm on the cold days. He lives his day like it could be his last always having fun and not caring what anyone thinks. His hair is shaggy but not so shaggy that it looks unprofessional or undone. Also he is very adventurous always wanting to take risk to do something new. Those are the characteristics I would use to describe my brother.

One quote that stood out to me was when James asked his mother "What color is God's spirit," and she replied with "It doesn't have a color, God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color." I thought this quote was special because it is a simple answer to a very complex question. The mother who is in an awkward situation kept it under control and handled it well. The sentences "God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color," are written so well because they are simple and very deep at the same time. They're written in a way so that even young James could understand it, yet it has more meaning to it than it seems. The mother uses only words with two-syllable yet it has infinite meaning. Comparing the color of God's skin to that of the color of water made me think of God in a whole other way. I had never associated water and color until now and I realized that water is absorbent of all colors around it, and that maybe the quote has an underlying message that God is no color and all colors at the same time. this could be one of many hidden messages in this quote, but of course it's all up to the reader to decide what it means to them. Even if  you aren't Christian, this quote can still be humbling no matter what you believe. This quote is my favorite out of the book so far because it is so unique. You won't be able to find a quote like this in the rest of the book or even other books for that matter. Since the author put this quote so early in the book, it plants a seed in your brain that will slowly grow throughout the book. Putting the quote in early on also allows you to compare it to events that are to come later in the book.

Reflections on Writing Memoirs

I believe that one of the problems memoir writers face is not being able to remember the details of their lives. A memoir is your life story which means you need to be able to write all the small details but in reality everyone only remembers five to ten major memories. This becomes a problem because to draw readers in you must have small details. In the memoir I am reading my author, Jeannette Walls, states that she remembers exactly what her father smelled like, sounded like, and looked like when she was four years old. Those are all amazing details to add to a memoir to draw the reader in and make them imagine all the noises, scents and sights so they can put themselves in the writer's shoes. It is a fabulous writing technique but the most my writer remembered was probably a blurry shape along with a few words. She then used these words to elaborate and make her story seem glamorous and interesting to the reader so they will stay interested in the story. Something I wonder about the process Jeannette Walls took in writing The Glass Castle is did she talk to parents, friends, family, etc to find details that she couldn’t remember at all. Most people have a selective memory whether they like it or not so I wonder if Walls consulted her mother, siblings and friends in order to find out chunks of her life that she could not remember because they did not affect her enough to be remembered. I also wonder how long it took her to track down all the people she had ever lived with or been friends with because she moved so much. In her memoir Walls states that by the time she was 10 her family had moved more times then she could remember. I worry about all this when I am writing my memoir.

Reflections on Writing a Memoir

After reading two-thirds of When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago, I’ve learned new things about memoir writing. There are a few problems I’ve identified that memoir writers might encounter when constructing their memoirs: remembering sufficient detail, creating the careful balance between interpretation of what’s going on and what’s really going on, and deciding how personal they want the story to be.

Some parts of our lives we remember more because of an intense emotion or event and others are cloudier because they weren’t as memorable. It’s best to write about what you know but sometimes memoir writers have to include important details in their stories that they don’t remember - maybe because they were too young or have fading memories. This is where problems arise. In the book I’m reading, the author bases her story on what she remembers. One of the most vivid moments in her memoir, one she spends a lot of time writing about, is closing a dead baby’s eyes so it could go to heaven. “I opened my eyes and let my fingers rest on the baby’s lids and held them there as Nicasia continued her foreign prayer. The baby’s skin was cold. His eyes felt like egg yolks. If I pressed hard, they would pop”(Santiago 147).

The balance between how the author interprets a situation and what actually happens in the situation can make the book more interesting if done correctly or more confusing if done wrong. For example, it would be confusing if the author wrote his/her viewpoint on what happened and didn’t provide background, but it would be interesting if the author combined opinion and fact to engage the reader. Esmeralda Santiago creates a perfect balance of interpretation and fact around the theme of her mother’s repeated pregnancies. At first, she has meager explanation for the phenomenon as a young child. “She was sweaty, her hair stuck to her cheeks and down her neck. She pulled on the rails of the bedstead, as if she were stretching, but her knees were folded up to her belly. ‘What’s the matter, Mami?’ I was scared"(Santiago 16). Later in her childhood, Esmeralda understands more about what’s happening so more explanation is added with interpretation. “‘¡Aye! Ay Dios Mío Santo, ayúdame. ¡Aye!’ Mami was having another baby”(Santiago 57).

Before an author writes a memoir, he or she has to decide how personal they want their story to be, aka how much they want to share. It’s hard for memoir authors to work this out because they want their story to be as close as possible to their experiences but they also might not feel comfortable giving their catalogue of emotions on a platter to be judged by readers. The author of When I Was Puerto Rican writes her book at a very personal level because she feels that it is necessary to deepen the reader’s connection with her life.

I look at memoirs as views into different people’s lives. They teach us lessons and ways to live your life.

When I think about writing a memoir, I’m afraid that I’ll run out of memories to add to my story even after scouring my brain for backup. I’m worried that the story I choose to tell will be too personal or impersonal for my comfort.

I’m still wondering about the creative limits of the start and finish of memoirs. Can the memoir start in the middle of the problem or focus and slowly unravel it? Can the memoir end with the big question or idea still to be solved?

Reflections on Truth-Telling

Reflections on Truth-Telling:       

     I think in the parts of the book where the author was writing his teenage experiences with alcohol and drugs might have been partially exaggerated or false, because of how those certain chemicals mess up people’s memories.  I think they might have exaggerated because rather than leave large blank gaps where he was drunk or high, McBride wrote what he thought and/or what would have most likely have happened.  The advantages of making up these moments are that there aren’t any gaps in the story line, I think the disadvantages are that there might have been crucial events that he didn’t write about because he wasn’t sure if it actually happened or if he didn’t fully remember it.  I also think he might have altered he mother’s point of view, because in the story when it switches between him and his mother, I didn’t detect much of a change in writing.  If the author re-wrote his mother’s point of view, he might have changed something else and we, the readers, might have missed something that he didn’t re-write.  He might have done this because when he wrote his mother’s perspective it probably didn’t sound right or might have not made sense.  I don’t think this type of writing works with everyone else’s writing types because some people might not be able to “fix”, or to make it make sense. I probably wouldn’t be able to pull it off because that’s not how I write, and because I’m not as skilled as these real writers.