The Rest of Her Life, Week 6-Post A

VOCAB

Coquettish (186): to coquet: a woman who flirts lightheartedly with men to win their admiration and affection; flirt.

Begrudge (191): to envy or resent the pleasure or good fortune of (someone)


FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

1.) “[…] a yellow sundress with a sweetheart neckline, like something a teenage girl from the fifties might have worn to a dance” (179). This is a simile because it uses “like” to compare two things.
2.) “But when she coughed she sounded as sick as she felt” (182). This is a simile because it uses “as” to compare how sick she feels to how sick she sounds.
3.) “‘You’re a tall drink of water, aren’t you’” (186). This is a metaphor because it doesn’t use “like” or “as”, but still compares him to a tall drink of water.

QUOTE

“It was almost impossible to imagine her mother walking through it, into this house where she lived as an adult, where she herself was a mother” (pg 178). Leigh thought this as she awaited her mother, who was coming to her house, and seeing her for the first time since she had left Leigh all alone. When Leigh thought this, I think she was probably excited to see her mom as most people would be, but I think she also felt resentment towards her mother. Her mother left her, and now is finally coming back not until Leigh is a mother. Her mother seems very selfish.

THEME

I think a theme in so far is regret. Leigh regrets not seeing her mother before she died, her mother probably regretted leaving her child, and Leigh seems to regret the fact she got so mad at her mom when she came back for the first time in about 20 years.

The Rest of Her Life, Week 6-Post B

The Rest of Her Life is a really good book. I have been hooked ever since I began reading, and have found it to get more and more interesting. This book is almost like a soap opera to some degree. At some points it is confusing though, like when it jumps back and forth to Leigh’s past and present. This week I read mostly about her past, but her past is not far behind the present. Leigh described Kara as a baby, and told the story of when Leigh’s mother came back for the first and only time. After meeting her mother’s new fiancé, Wayne, and talked with her mother, Leigh seemed to become irritated with her mother. “The diamond was enormous, twice the size of Leigh’s. Things started to make more sense” (182). As I learned earlier in the book, Leigh’s mother had never had much money and this was the answer. After Leigh got very mad with her mom and told her off, I think she was disappointed in herself, but also felt confident in that she really let her mom know how she felt she was treated when she was younger. “Later, When she was calmer, when she could reflect on the day more clearly, Leigh would remember that in her final speech to her mother, she had said the word go several times” ( pg 191). I think Leigh in some sense wanted her mother to feel what Leigh felt when her mother left her as a child. I agree with Leigh’s point even though it was a little harsh. Leigh’s mom should have not come back like nothing happened; she should have at least apologized.

The Rest of Her Life, Week 5-Post A

VOCAB

Placid: pleasantly calm or peaceful; unruffled; tranquil; serenely quiet or undisturbed.

Unnerve: to deprive of courage, strength, determination, or confidence; upset

FIGURATIVE LANUGAGE

1.) “Understanding moving through her like a wave of nausea” (146). This is a simile because it uses “like” to describe something by comparing it to something else.
2.) “Leigh held her hands up in surrender.” (144). This is a metaphor because it is describing how she put her hands up to how you surrender, without using “like” or “as”.
3.) “You sound like a frog” (176). This is a simile because it uses “like” to describe her voice by comparing it to a frog.

QUOTE

“She understood that the authority in her voice was linked to her sense of justice-she had suffered enough, and she would suffer no more. She was needy and awkward and eager to please, but in the end, when it mattered, she was committed to self preservation.” (160). I think this quote shows how much Leigh looked up to her sister. Leigh wants to be like her sister in how hard she worked, but also wanted to overcome her own problems, and succeed in life like no one else in her family has.

THEME

In this section it was mostly about Leigh’s past. I think a theme is hard work. Leigh really emphasizes her mother’s lack of hard work, but also shows her own and her sister, Pam’s hard work. Leigh, once her mother left, never gave up. She was always working hard, whether it was studying, waiting on tables, working at the “Dairy Maid”, or just cleaning and working around the house.

The Rest of Her Life, Week 5-Post B

When I first picked up the book, I was not one bit interested. After reading more than half the book, I have really come to like it. I think it keeps it interesting when the author switches from Leigh’s past to present. The part I read this week, was on Leigh’s past, and described her life after her mother left her all alone. If I was Leigh, I would have had no idea what to do and I would have been a wreck.
When Leigh got a job as a nanny, she was very happy “But for the first time in her life, she was surprised by her good fortune. The Aubrey-Golds were nice to her.” (pg 162) I think this truly shows what a horrible life Leigh has had. To be so happy, and think that to have nice bosses is good luck, then you must have had lots of bad things and bad luck happen to you. I think Leigh deserved to have kind bosses. Leigh always seemed to work hard, even if she though it might not get her to the place she wants to be. I think because Leigh had such a horrible mother, she never learned much from her, and never learned to really socialize. Though I already knew she was married, I was still excited for her when she found some that actually paid attention to her. I think Leigh has deserved the great family she has now, but has not one bit deserved what has happened to her daughter. I think that the reason Leigh is trying to connect to Kara and make sure she is happy, is so Kara can feel her mother is there for her, and unlike Leigh’s mother was.

The Rest of Her Life, Week 4-Post B

When I finished this section of the book I had mixed feelings. After learning about the funeral and how Bethany’s mom was not very friendly to Leigh, I was sad for Bethany’s mom, but also felt bad for Leigh, because she was just trying to be kind. I don’t think Kara should have stayed home form the funeral. I think Kara should have shown that she was sorry and even though Kara has been hurt too, Bethany‘s mother has had more suffering. When Bethany’s mother ran out of the funeral and asked for the slide show to be turned off, I thought it was ok; she has the right to be sad, but I do not think it was ok at all when she gave Leigh a bad look. The death was not Leigh’s fault. I think the car crash was entirely an accident and Leigh is hurting too. Lastly I am glad that Leigh wrote a note to Bethany’s mother saying how sorry she was. I would do the same if I was her.

“‘I’m on your side,’ she whispered. ‘And I can be helpful, okay? You’ve got to start answering your phone’”(140). This quote was the last sentence of the last chapter I read and it really caught my attention. Since the accident, Leigh hasn’t been answering her phone which has been ringing off the hook, mostly from Eva, the person who said this. Eva always has gossip, and I wonder if Eva knows something about Bethany’s mother or about something that could help Leigh and Kara in the trial. Though she may be helpful, sometimes her ideas seem immoral, and maybe this will bring a problem for Leigh. She obviously doesn’t want her daughter to go to jail, but also doesn’t want to hurt Bethany’s mother. I am anxious to read the next chapter and see what Eva has to say.

The Rest of Her Life, Week 4-Post A

VOCAB

Ornate (118): Elaborately, heavily, and often excessively ornamented.
Vehemently (131): Characterized by forcefulness of expression or intensity of emotion or conviction; fervid

FIGURATIVE LANUAGE

1.) “Evening sunlight bathed the pews” (pg. 119). This is personification, because it gives human qualities to the sun; the sun can’t bathe.
2.)”She liked the way he smelled in the morning, a little musty, like the house” (pg. 129). This is a simile because it uses “like” to compare his smell to the smell of the house.
3.) “She’ll be the walking dead” (pg 117). This is a metaphor because it describes how Bethany’s mother will be at the funeral by comparing her, without using the word “like” or “as”.

QUOTE

“Unfortunately, as long as irresponsible parents allow their teenage children to tool around town in enormous vehicles before they learn to drive properly, we can expect more the same” (pg. 127). This is a quote from a letter to the editor in a local newspaper. Though Leigh didn’t talk about it much, she is probably very upset by the comment. Leigh is not a bad parent and Kara seems to be a good kid, and from what I can see, the whole thing was a mistake. This person has never met either Leigh or Kara before, and is just making assumptions.

THEME

I think an emerging theme is separation. The family is separating, never talking to each other which is probably bad during this tough time. During a hard tome, a family should be consoling each other. Also Kara and Leigh are separating themselves from the community and their friends.