The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls
This week I finished the book. Overall I was happy with the ending because Jeannette had seemed to find her place and was happy for the first time, which was what she was striving for since she was a child. Most of this section was about Lori and Jeannette either in New York or working towards getting there. As Lori moved, Jeannette followed then Brian, next Maureen, and finally the parents. I think that Jeannette was disappointed they came, because New York was her dream and chance to get away from her old life. Though she attempts to ignore her parents, I think she feels she needs to take care of them when they become homeless. When they do, she ends up helping them and tells her mom “‘You can’t just live like this,’’ I said. ‘Why not?’ Mom said ‘Being homeless is an adventure.”’(pg 255). I also believe that Jeannette’s mom wants help because she is always coming over, but won’t admit it, and tries to hide her feelings.
Eventually Jeannette marries a man named John who has gone through similar things that Jeannette has. I think that her first husband, Erick was too ‘normal’ for Jeannette. Maybe she felt she couldn’t relate to him, and that she was just forgetting about her entire past. Since Jeannette did not have Lori living with her no longer, she probably felt she couldn’t talk about all the bad things in her life, until she met John.
I would recommend this book to anyone. This book makes you really amazed that all theses events could happen to one person and just how hard they worked to get out of it.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Outside Reading-Week 5, Post A
Vocab
Chipper (287): a machine that grinds up logs, tree trunks, discarded Christmas trees, etc., into wood chips.
Spires (245): A structure or formation, such as a steeple, that tapers to a point at the top.
Appeals
1.) “Mom and dad survived the winter, but every time I saw them, they looked a little worse for the wear”(pg 260). This is an emotional appeal because when you read it, you think about the difference between what surviving means to them and what it means to you. Surviving each day was a lot harder for them that it is for most normal people. Also the ‘but’ shows that even though they are surviving, they are having a harder and harder time.
2.) “‘But you always loved your old man, didn’t you?’ ‘I did, Dad,’ I said ‘And you loved me.’” (pg2 279). This is an emotional appeal because Jeannette is sad her dad is dying, and reminds herself that her dad always loved her even if he wasn’t always doing the best things for her. It is especially sad because she has not always realized this, and has not always been as nice to him ad as she maybe should have.
3.) “He’d been sober longer than any time since the Phoenix detox.”(pg 262). This emotional appeal makes you feel really happy for Jeannette because she can enjoy her dad now, and happy for her dad because he is sober. It is also a logical appeal, because it is a fact.
Quote
“She held up her Glass. ‘Life with your father was never boring.’”(pg 288). This quote is on the last page of the book and is when Jeannette’s mom is making a toast to Jeannette’s dad, who is dead. I think this shows that even though got them into a lot of trouble and wasn’t always home, but he was always there for them. He always loved them, and tried to take care of them, even if they we obscure ways. Though the toast can be taken as a joke, I believe it is also very true.
Theme
I think that an overall theme of the book has been to not take things for granted even though they may seem bad or unimportant; you might miss it in the future. This is true of the way Jeannette feels about her father, her family life, and her home.
Chipper (287): a machine that grinds up logs, tree trunks, discarded Christmas trees, etc., into wood chips.
Spires (245): A structure or formation, such as a steeple, that tapers to a point at the top.
Appeals
1.) “Mom and dad survived the winter, but every time I saw them, they looked a little worse for the wear”(pg 260). This is an emotional appeal because when you read it, you think about the difference between what surviving means to them and what it means to you. Surviving each day was a lot harder for them that it is for most normal people. Also the ‘but’ shows that even though they are surviving, they are having a harder and harder time.
2.) “‘But you always loved your old man, didn’t you?’ ‘I did, Dad,’ I said ‘And you loved me.’” (pg2 279). This is an emotional appeal because Jeannette is sad her dad is dying, and reminds herself that her dad always loved her even if he wasn’t always doing the best things for her. It is especially sad because she has not always realized this, and has not always been as nice to him ad as she maybe should have.
3.) “He’d been sober longer than any time since the Phoenix detox.”(pg 262). This emotional appeal makes you feel really happy for Jeannette because she can enjoy her dad now, and happy for her dad because he is sober. It is also a logical appeal, because it is a fact.
Quote
“She held up her Glass. ‘Life with your father was never boring.’”(pg 288). This quote is on the last page of the book and is when Jeannette’s mom is making a toast to Jeannette’s dad, who is dead. I think this shows that even though got them into a lot of trouble and wasn’t always home, but he was always there for them. He always loved them, and tried to take care of them, even if they we obscure ways. Though the toast can be taken as a joke, I believe it is also very true.
Theme
I think that an overall theme of the book has been to not take things for granted even though they may seem bad or unimportant; you might miss it in the future. This is true of the way Jeannette feels about her father, her family life, and her home.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Outside Reading- Week 4, Post B
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The section of the book I read this week was really good. I mostly read about the family’s life in Welch and their continuous hardships. In this section Jeannette becomes more independent, especially when her mother goes to renew her degree and is gone for months in the summer. Because her dad is gone most of the time, she is left as head of the household.
I was especially interested about when the child welfare man came. If I was her I would tell him the truth and want him to help me. I think Jeannette was just too scared about what would happen to her siblings. Throughout her childhood Jeannette has always relied on her siblings and is very close to them, I don’t know what she would do without them. Also I think she feels she needs to protect them, like she says “At times I felt like I was failing Maureen, like I wasn’t keeping the promise I’d made to her when I held her on the way home from the hospital after she’d been born.”(pg 206). Another reason I think that she told the child welfare man to go away was because she was scared of what her parents would do to her.
Though I felt bad for Jeannette because so much bad was happening to her, I was also very excited because Jeannette started writing on the newspaper, which I think gave her more confidence and made her at least a little happier as her life basically fell apart. This also is foreshadowing to her writing career and how good she became at writing with little education, “Miss Bivens told me that as far she could remember, I was the only seventh-grader who’d ever worked for the Wave.” (pg 203).
I think that this book is really good and I am looking forward to what will happen next.
The section of the book I read this week was really good. I mostly read about the family’s life in Welch and their continuous hardships. In this section Jeannette becomes more independent, especially when her mother goes to renew her degree and is gone for months in the summer. Because her dad is gone most of the time, she is left as head of the household.
I was especially interested about when the child welfare man came. If I was her I would tell him the truth and want him to help me. I think Jeannette was just too scared about what would happen to her siblings. Throughout her childhood Jeannette has always relied on her siblings and is very close to them, I don’t know what she would do without them. Also I think she feels she needs to protect them, like she says “At times I felt like I was failing Maureen, like I wasn’t keeping the promise I’d made to her when I held her on the way home from the hospital after she’d been born.”(pg 206). Another reason I think that she told the child welfare man to go away was because she was scared of what her parents would do to her.
Though I felt bad for Jeannette because so much bad was happening to her, I was also very excited because Jeannette started writing on the newspaper, which I think gave her more confidence and made her at least a little happier as her life basically fell apart. This also is foreshadowing to her writing career and how good she became at writing with little education, “Miss Bivens told me that as far she could remember, I was the only seventh-grader who’d ever worked for the Wave.” (pg 203).
I think that this book is really good and I am looking forward to what will happen next.
Outside Reading-Week 4, Post A
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Vocab
Berth (204): The distance maintained between a vessel and the shore, another vessel, or any object.
Pokeweed (172): A tall herb, Phytolacca americana, of North America, having juicy purple berries and a purple root used in medicine, and young edible shoots resembling asparagus.
Appeals
1. “The flames had scorched her thighs” (179). This is an emotional appeal because “scorched” is a loaded word. It makes you feel Lori’s pain and know just how horrible the burns were. It doesn’t just say burned, it says scorched emphasizing that it was probably a third degree burn.
2. “So even though she had a steady job, we were pretty much living like we had before.” (198) This is an emotional appeal because you feel anger towards the mom as she wonder what she could possibly be spending money on while her kids are nearly freezing and starving to death.
3. “I had never hated anyone more than I hated the child welfare man” (194). This is an emotional appeal because it really makes you think about why Jeannette would hate someone so much after they just wanted to help her. It shows how much she loves her parents, no matter how much they have hurt her. Hate is such a strong word; you think she would hate her parents, and all the people who have assaulted or hurt her.
Quote
“‘A caryatid wouldn’t be strong enough for Dad’
‘What’s that?’
‘Pillars shaped like women,’ Lori said. ‘The ones holding up those Greek temples with their heads. I was looking at picture of some the other day, thinking, Those women have the second toughest job in the world.’” (pg 208)
When I read this quote, I really liked it. It made me think about if that was the second toughest job, what is the first? I think this is Lori’s way of describing how tough her mom’s job is. I think that this is saying that her mom has the first hardest job, which is taking care of dad, the town alcoholic, while trying to keep a job and take care of her kids. Though I do agree that this would be an extremely hard job, and I may not be able to do it, I think that she is doing a horrible job. I believe that she is barely even trying. Lastly even though she is doing a bad job at this, her kids still love her and believe in her which is important too.
Theme
I think that a theme in the book is to take pride in what you have, and not be discouraged by what you don’t. Jeannette is not brought down by her shabby house, and even tries to fix it by cleaning and painting. Also Jeannette and Brian stand up to the kids bullying them about how wrecked up their house is.
Vocab
Berth (204): The distance maintained between a vessel and the shore, another vessel, or any object.
Pokeweed (172): A tall herb, Phytolacca americana, of North America, having juicy purple berries and a purple root used in medicine, and young edible shoots resembling asparagus.
Appeals
1. “The flames had scorched her thighs” (179). This is an emotional appeal because “scorched” is a loaded word. It makes you feel Lori’s pain and know just how horrible the burns were. It doesn’t just say burned, it says scorched emphasizing that it was probably a third degree burn.
2. “So even though she had a steady job, we were pretty much living like we had before.” (198) This is an emotional appeal because you feel anger towards the mom as she wonder what she could possibly be spending money on while her kids are nearly freezing and starving to death.
3. “I had never hated anyone more than I hated the child welfare man” (194). This is an emotional appeal because it really makes you think about why Jeannette would hate someone so much after they just wanted to help her. It shows how much she loves her parents, no matter how much they have hurt her. Hate is such a strong word; you think she would hate her parents, and all the people who have assaulted or hurt her.
Quote
“‘A caryatid wouldn’t be strong enough for Dad’
‘What’s that?’
‘Pillars shaped like women,’ Lori said. ‘The ones holding up those Greek temples with their heads. I was looking at picture of some the other day, thinking, Those women have the second toughest job in the world.’” (pg 208)
When I read this quote, I really liked it. It made me think about if that was the second toughest job, what is the first? I think this is Lori’s way of describing how tough her mom’s job is. I think that this is saying that her mom has the first hardest job, which is taking care of dad, the town alcoholic, while trying to keep a job and take care of her kids. Though I do agree that this would be an extremely hard job, and I may not be able to do it, I think that she is doing a horrible job. I believe that she is barely even trying. Lastly even though she is doing a bad job at this, her kids still love her and believe in her which is important too.
Theme
I think that a theme in the book is to take pride in what you have, and not be discouraged by what you don’t. Jeannette is not brought down by her shabby house, and even tries to fix it by cleaning and painting. Also Jeannette and Brian stand up to the kids bullying them about how wrecked up their house is.
Monday, October 15, 2007
400 Blows Film Review
Annabel
Mrs. Burgess
Enriched English 10
15 October 2007
Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows told the story of a young boy growing up in hardship. But this memoir was more about mental and emotional struggles than physical challenges. Overall, I thought the film was good. It gave a descriptive perspective through someone else’s eyes on how the protagonist, Antoine, was feeling. This memoir was effective in portraying all of Antoine’s emotions, whether misery, or a sense of adventure. Literary aspects, dramatic aspects, and cinematic aspects were used throughout the film to direct the viewer’s understanding of the film, the characters, and how they were feeling.
Mrs. Burgess
Enriched English 10
15 October 2007
The 400 Blows Movie Review
Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows told the story of a young boy growing up in hardship. But this memoir was more about mental and emotional struggles than physical challenges. Overall, I thought the film was good. It gave a descriptive perspective through someone else’s eyes on how the protagonist, Antoine, was feeling. This memoir was effective in portraying all of Antoine’s emotions, whether misery, or a sense of adventure. Literary aspects, dramatic aspects, and cinematic aspects were used throughout the film to direct the viewer’s understanding of the film, the characters, and how they were feeling.
In the film, literary aspects such as plot, setting, characters, and thought provoking themes helped develop the film. The plot began with a young, adventurous boy, Antoine living in the city of Paris with his unappreciative mother and a strict step father. After being passed on from family to family, Antoine began to not recognize his parents’ and teachers’ authority over him. As Antoine got into trouble, he ran away several times and this eventually led up to him being sent to an observation center from which he also fled. The film ended abruptly as he reached the ocean. As the plot unfolded, the characters began to also. Settings were consistent throughout the film, including the apartment, school, and the observatory. The settings reflected the mood of the characters. For example, when Antoine rushed into the ocean, there was a sense of freedom and happiness, because Antoine earlier in the movie had wished he could go to the ocean. Lastly, there were a lot of themes in the film. One theme was that friends can bring a lot of joy and good things to you, but also can bring many bad things, too. This is shown when Rene gave Antoine wine, which Antoine liked, but eventually it could hurt him. This is also true when Rene helps him steal the typewriter, with the hope that they can sell it for getting money. But when they can’t sell the typewriter, they bring it back, and are caught for stealing it. Antoine is sent to an observation center for his crime, but Rene is not, even though it was partly Rene’s fault. These literary aspects are elements films like this one share with novels, while dramatic aspects are shared with live drama such as plays. This movie used dramatic aspects as effectively as it used literary aspects.
Some important dramatic aspects of the film included the specific actors, the costumes and the make-up. For costumes Antoine and his step-father seemed to have old ragged clothes, while Antoine’s mother seemed to have expensive nice clothing. I think this represents that she feels she is superior to them and that she only cares about herself. Three of the important actors in the film were Antoine, played by Jean-Pierre Leaud, the Mother, Gilberte Doinel, played by Claire Maurier, and the step-father, Julian Doinel, played by Albert Remy. I thought that the actor chosen for Antoine was right because he played the part well by portraying a shy, but mischievous young boy. Antoine’s shyness was demonstrated by the actor because he never made direct contact with the camera until the end. The actor actually seemed camera shy. Also, Antoine showed little facial emotion, though he had several reasons to be sad, happy or mad. While this could be a flaw in the acting ability of the actor, it might also be strength, as it showed Antoine’s introverted personality. Second, the mother was a very uncaring, mean person, but unexpectedly “changes” in the middle of the film. The actor did a good job of conveying that she is attempting to be nice to Antoine, but also was not genuine about it. Lastly, the step father was portrayed as a wavering character that seemed to be strict about the rules of the household, but also was willing to give into Antoine and his mother’s pleas, even if it was against the rules. The film used these dramatic aspects to show the inner thinking of the characters in a way that was similar to what you would expect from a live play. But the cinematic aspects, which apply only in film, really worked.
Throughout the film, the photography, duration of the shots, and sound were similar. The photography consisted of long shots, with one angle, rarely switching. This looked natural, because when people look at the world around them, they do it that way. When the camera did switch, it switched between people talking, which I thought was appropriate because it helped the viewer be focused on that person. However, it would also have been interesting to see how the listening character was reacting to the speaker. Also, the focus was on Antoine, with most of the shots being on him. This helps identify him as the protagonist, and tells the viewer this is his story. A very important scene involving photography was the one where all the boys were running from the group. This was a bird’s eye view shot and was important because it showed you all the action, and told you that the boys were reacting in the same way at that moment. In this scene is music, basically the same music played throughout the film. In the story, the music seemed to show freedom and happiness, which the boys obviously are as they ran off.
Running away is one way to deal with problems, and Antoine dealt with his problems by running off, forgetting about all his worries. In the book Black Boy, the author and main character Richard Wright also ran away from his problems by quitting his job, which is similar to what Antoine did. Also, both of the boys resulted to stealing: Richard stole money and food, while Antoine stole his dad’s typewriter and book. Comparing the two, it seems like Richard had better reasons for stealing than Antoine, because Richard stole to survive, while Antoine had a home to return to, he just chose not to. However, unlike Antoine, Richard didn’t always run away, he also fought and showed his feelings. Richard was more open and showed his feelings like when he fought the boys at school when they made fun of his hat. He stood up to other kids and told them off when he felt he needed to. In contrast, Antoine tried to avoid the confrontation by running away or ignoring issues, like when he never talked to his parents.
Overall I would recommend this film. I was interested in the action and plots and now realize that the use of the different elements of film like literary aspects, dramatic aspects, and cinematic aspects helped to develop the story and its characters and kept me interested. The different elements were effective in convincing me that this was realistic, and it was weird to think that this actually happened to someone; that this was truly how Antoine responded to all these negative things that happened to him. Many people may not like this movie because it was black and white, and an old film. But I thought that it was cool to see how they filmed back then, and how even without the use of color the meanings and story could be told by using the different aspects and elements of film.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Outside Reading- Week 3, Post B
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
A lot has happened in the chapters I read this week. I still really liking the book, and I am always surprised at what happened, but at the same time suspecting it all along, because her life is so screwed up. Jeannette is always making an attempt at making their life better, but it never really works. Jeannette tells us “After Dad collapsed, I would try to pick up the place, but Mom always made me stop. She’d been reading books on how to cope with an alcoholic […]” (pg 112). Like it says, her mom is also trying to help, but her help just gets them in deeper trouble. For example she wants to steal dresses for Maureen, Jeannette’s sister. Though this may be to better Maureen, it teaches her children a bad lesson, and they get caught, which causes them to have to pay more money, making them have less for food.
After all else fails the family decides to go to Welch, the small town where Jeannette’s parents live. Jeannette expects a warm, cozy house and nice, loving grandparents, but she gets the exact opposite. While her home life is bad enough, Jeannette has a horrible tome at school. There, kids bully her, and she is put in a class for people with learning disabilities and speech impediments because the teachers couldn’t understand her accent. Finally after suffering through harsh school days, a black girl befriends Jeannette, which Erma, Jeannette’s grandma, disapproves of. This part of the memoir kind of mad me think of Black Boy because it shows a maybe more recent, white persons perspective on those ideas.
Overall I really look forward to reading more and seeing how they end up, especially if they leave her grandparent’s house. I think that Jeannette’s mom will kick her dad out because of his drinking problem, which continues to waste their money. Though it may be better at first, I think they will still struggle.
A lot has happened in the chapters I read this week. I still really liking the book, and I am always surprised at what happened, but at the same time suspecting it all along, because her life is so screwed up. Jeannette is always making an attempt at making their life better, but it never really works. Jeannette tells us “After Dad collapsed, I would try to pick up the place, but Mom always made me stop. She’d been reading books on how to cope with an alcoholic […]” (pg 112). Like it says, her mom is also trying to help, but her help just gets them in deeper trouble. For example she wants to steal dresses for Maureen, Jeannette’s sister. Though this may be to better Maureen, it teaches her children a bad lesson, and they get caught, which causes them to have to pay more money, making them have less for food.
After all else fails the family decides to go to Welch, the small town where Jeannette’s parents live. Jeannette expects a warm, cozy house and nice, loving grandparents, but she gets the exact opposite. While her home life is bad enough, Jeannette has a horrible tome at school. There, kids bully her, and she is put in a class for people with learning disabilities and speech impediments because the teachers couldn’t understand her accent. Finally after suffering through harsh school days, a black girl befriends Jeannette, which Erma, Jeannette’s grandma, disapproves of. This part of the memoir kind of mad me think of Black Boy because it shows a maybe more recent, white persons perspective on those ideas.
Overall I really look forward to reading more and seeing how they end up, especially if they leave her grandparent’s house. I think that Jeannette’s mom will kick her dad out because of his drinking problem, which continues to waste their money. Though it may be better at first, I think they will still struggle.
Outside Reading - Week 3, Post A
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Vocab
Hedonsim (105): ethics, the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good in life. Some hedonists, such as the Epicureans, have insisted that pleasure of the entire mind, not just pleasure of the senses, is this highest good.
Mongrel (141): An animal or a plant resulting from various interbreedings, especially a dog of mixed or undetermined breed.
Appeals
1.) “‘It’s almost eighty miles,’ Lori said. ‘That’s right,’ Dad said. If we covered three miles an hour for eight hours a day, we could make it in three days.”(pg 120) This is both a logical and emotional appeal. It is logical because it shows the exact math of how long it will take them to get home. It is a fact. It is an emotional appeal because you agonize with Lori knowing how hard it will be.
2.) “Once the fire was out and the sodden burned down tree lay smoldering on the floor we all just stood there.”(pg 115) I think this is an emotional appeal because it makes you wonder how the family will react, what the dad will say/do and it really makes you feel bad for them as you imagine what it would be like to have that happen to you on Christmas. You even feel worse for them than you would for yourself because this was their first real Christmas.
3.) “Erma pulled a bottle of whiskey from the pocket of her housedress, and Dad looked happy for the first time since we’d left Phoenix.”(pg131) This is an emotional appeal because it makes you think about the word “happy” in the sentence. This shows that everyone is happy from different things, and obviously, Jeannette’s dad feels happy only when he’s drinking. It makes you feel bad for Jeannette as she notices that not even she can make her dad happy.
Quote
“I knew Dad wasn’t talking about buying me some extravagant present, like a pony or a dollhouse. He was asking what he could do, now that I was almost grown up, to make my last years as a kid everything I hoped they’d be. There was only one thing I truly wanted, something that I knew would change all our lives, but I was afraid to ask for it. Just thinking about saying the words out loud made me nervous […] ‘Do you think you could maybe stop drinking?’”(pg 116) This quote is important because it really shows how much of a burden Jeannette’s dad’s drinking really is. It also shows how Jeannette cares for herself and her family. She would rather make her family’s life better, than get a cool toy. It is clear that her dad needs to change.
Theme
I think that accepting new people and ideas has been a theme so far in the book. Jeannette must, and does accept her unkind and inhospitable grandparents, her new home, and the new kids that terrorize her at school. On the other hand, one girl Dinitia begins to accept Jeannette even thought her friends don’t.
Vocab
Hedonsim (105): ethics, the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good in life. Some hedonists, such as the Epicureans, have insisted that pleasure of the entire mind, not just pleasure of the senses, is this highest good.
Mongrel (141): An animal or a plant resulting from various interbreedings, especially a dog of mixed or undetermined breed.
Appeals
1.) “‘It’s almost eighty miles,’ Lori said. ‘That’s right,’ Dad said. If we covered three miles an hour for eight hours a day, we could make it in three days.”(pg 120) This is both a logical and emotional appeal. It is logical because it shows the exact math of how long it will take them to get home. It is a fact. It is an emotional appeal because you agonize with Lori knowing how hard it will be.
2.) “Once the fire was out and the sodden burned down tree lay smoldering on the floor we all just stood there.”(pg 115) I think this is an emotional appeal because it makes you wonder how the family will react, what the dad will say/do and it really makes you feel bad for them as you imagine what it would be like to have that happen to you on Christmas. You even feel worse for them than you would for yourself because this was their first real Christmas.
3.) “Erma pulled a bottle of whiskey from the pocket of her housedress, and Dad looked happy for the first time since we’d left Phoenix.”(pg131) This is an emotional appeal because it makes you think about the word “happy” in the sentence. This shows that everyone is happy from different things, and obviously, Jeannette’s dad feels happy only when he’s drinking. It makes you feel bad for Jeannette as she notices that not even she can make her dad happy.
Quote
“I knew Dad wasn’t talking about buying me some extravagant present, like a pony or a dollhouse. He was asking what he could do, now that I was almost grown up, to make my last years as a kid everything I hoped they’d be. There was only one thing I truly wanted, something that I knew would change all our lives, but I was afraid to ask for it. Just thinking about saying the words out loud made me nervous […] ‘Do you think you could maybe stop drinking?’”(pg 116) This quote is important because it really shows how much of a burden Jeannette’s dad’s drinking really is. It also shows how Jeannette cares for herself and her family. She would rather make her family’s life better, than get a cool toy. It is clear that her dad needs to change.
Theme
I think that accepting new people and ideas has been a theme so far in the book. Jeannette must, and does accept her unkind and inhospitable grandparents, her new home, and the new kids that terrorize her at school. On the other hand, one girl Dinitia begins to accept Jeannette even thought her friends don’t.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Outside Reading-Week 2, Post B
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Dear Jeannette,
I love your book The Glass Castle. I have really gotten into it and really felt connected to you. Your book is so descriptive; it makes me feel as if I am sitting in the corner watching everything happen to you.
I could not imagine living your life. Though you may have had a few high points like when you lived in Phoenix, the most of your life do far seemed pretty miserable. I think your parents were to blame. Your mother spent all her money buying art supplies instead of food, and all her time painting instead of taking care of you. Your father was always off drinking and gambling wasting your money. I think that their carelessness made you more independent. They began to depend more on you than you depended on them. You had to help your mom, a grown women keep her job “Miss Beatty threatened to fire mom, so Lori, Brian and I started helping Mom with her school work”(pg 74). I think that is ridiculous.
A lot of the events in your life seem to be repetitive; you or your parents get in some sort of trouble, and then you leave. Some places you go seemed to be better than before and others worse. It seemed as though you really loved your parents and were naïve of what harm they are truly doing to you and your siblings. I think that a lot of these horrible events have made you stronger, but have also slowly weakened you physicall(no food) and mentally(what is right and what is wrong). I hope that in the next parts of the book you life begins to improve.
-AQA
Dear Jeannette,
I love your book The Glass Castle. I have really gotten into it and really felt connected to you. Your book is so descriptive; it makes me feel as if I am sitting in the corner watching everything happen to you.
I could not imagine living your life. Though you may have had a few high points like when you lived in Phoenix, the most of your life do far seemed pretty miserable. I think your parents were to blame. Your mother spent all her money buying art supplies instead of food, and all her time painting instead of taking care of you. Your father was always off drinking and gambling wasting your money. I think that their carelessness made you more independent. They began to depend more on you than you depended on them. You had to help your mom, a grown women keep her job “Miss Beatty threatened to fire mom, so Lori, Brian and I started helping Mom with her school work”(pg 74). I think that is ridiculous.
A lot of the events in your life seem to be repetitive; you or your parents get in some sort of trouble, and then you leave. Some places you go seemed to be better than before and others worse. It seemed as though you really loved your parents and were naïve of what harm they are truly doing to you and your siblings. I think that a lot of these horrible events have made you stronger, but have also slowly weakened you physicall(no food) and mentally(what is right and what is wrong). I hope that in the next parts of the book you life begins to improve.
-AQA
Monday, October 1, 2007
Outside Reading- Week 2, Post A
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Vocab
Oleander [bush] (94): A poisonous Eurasian evergreen shrub (Nerium oleander) having fragrant white, rose, or purple flowers, whorled leaves, and long follicles containing numerous comose seeds. Also called rosebay.
Obsidian: Acid or granitic glass formed by the rapid cooling of lava without crystallization; usually dark, but transparent in thin pieces
Appeals
1.)“‘Dad lost his job.’ […] ‘I guess we can eat less,’ I said. ‘We have before,’ Lori said.”(pg. 67). This is an emotional appeal because it shows how much they are used to having to suffer from their parents’ mistakes. It shows Jeannette and Lori’s pain. I think that “before” is a loaded word in this sentence because is describes that they have starved themselves before for their family’s sake. It makes you think about how it would be to be starving for not once, but many times before.
2.)Hunger (69) Jeannette talks with her mom about how she was hungry and there was nothing left in the fridge, but margarine, and so she ate it. She will do anything to lessen her hunger. Jeannette trys to make a point not only to he careless mother, but to us as readers “Raising my voice, I added, ‘I was hungry.’” (pg. 69). This is an emotional appeal.
3.)“Then Mom’s feet appeared in the window, followed by the rest of her body. She was dangling from the second floor […] ‘Help!’ Mom screamed. ‘He’s trying to kill me!’”(pg.71). This is an emotional appeal because it engages the reader, and makes them wonder and worry about what will happen.
Quote
“Were you acting up?” I asked Lori when I heard about the whipping
“No,” Lori said
“Then why would mom paddle you?”
“She had to punish someone, and she didn’t want to upset the other kids,” Lori said” (pg 75)
I think this quote shows how Lori and Jeannette’s mom cares more about how others think of than how well her kids are being treated. I think that the mother is very insensitive and couldn’t care less about her children. All she spends time doing is her art. She is clueless about where her children are during the day and if they are hungry or not. If Lori is in pain it didn’t matter as long as she was pleasing others (she was trying to please the principal by proving she could punish someone).
Theme
I think that a theme so far is uncertainty. Jeannette, and the rest of the family is always uncertain about where they will live, if they will have enough food, and if their lives will continue on as they are or if they will soon change. Also the children in the family are uncertain about how they will be treated, if their parents will have jobs, and if they will go to school. Uncertainty has lead to their good life with lots of food and new things, but has also lead to a miserable life of always running from something, and always hungry.
Vocab
Oleander [bush] (94): A poisonous Eurasian evergreen shrub (Nerium oleander) having fragrant white, rose, or purple flowers, whorled leaves, and long follicles containing numerous comose seeds. Also called rosebay.
Obsidian: Acid or granitic glass formed by the rapid cooling of lava without crystallization; usually dark, but transparent in thin pieces
Appeals
1.)“‘Dad lost his job.’ […] ‘I guess we can eat less,’ I said. ‘We have before,’ Lori said.”(pg. 67). This is an emotional appeal because it shows how much they are used to having to suffer from their parents’ mistakes. It shows Jeannette and Lori’s pain. I think that “before” is a loaded word in this sentence because is describes that they have starved themselves before for their family’s sake. It makes you think about how it would be to be starving for not once, but many times before.
2.)Hunger (69) Jeannette talks with her mom about how she was hungry and there was nothing left in the fridge, but margarine, and so she ate it. She will do anything to lessen her hunger. Jeannette trys to make a point not only to he careless mother, but to us as readers “Raising my voice, I added, ‘I was hungry.’” (pg. 69). This is an emotional appeal.
3.)“Then Mom’s feet appeared in the window, followed by the rest of her body. She was dangling from the second floor […] ‘Help!’ Mom screamed. ‘He’s trying to kill me!’”(pg.71). This is an emotional appeal because it engages the reader, and makes them wonder and worry about what will happen.
Quote
“Were you acting up?” I asked Lori when I heard about the whipping
“No,” Lori said
“Then why would mom paddle you?”
“She had to punish someone, and she didn’t want to upset the other kids,” Lori said” (pg 75)
I think this quote shows how Lori and Jeannette’s mom cares more about how others think of than how well her kids are being treated. I think that the mother is very insensitive and couldn’t care less about her children. All she spends time doing is her art. She is clueless about where her children are during the day and if they are hungry or not. If Lori is in pain it didn’t matter as long as she was pleasing others (she was trying to please the principal by proving she could punish someone).
Theme
I think that a theme so far is uncertainty. Jeannette, and the rest of the family is always uncertain about where they will live, if they will have enough food, and if their lives will continue on as they are or if they will soon change. Also the children in the family are uncertain about how they will be treated, if their parents will have jobs, and if they will go to school. Uncertainty has lead to their good life with lots of food and new things, but has also lead to a miserable life of always running from something, and always hungry.
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