Photograph

Harbor at Sunset

Memoirs- Why? Third BB Post

Why do people write memoirs?
What power is there in telling our own stories?

I think people write memoirs for entertainment and to share stories that they believe others should read. Memoirs can shed new light on certain subjects (i.e. racism in Black Boy) and can give the readers a whole new view on things. In Black Boy, Richard Wright's point of view and completely different life story give readers a whole new look on racism in the south and the struggles for an average African American Boy. For example, one struggle that Richard has is one I will never in my life have to deal with, "'What the hell,' Harrison said. 'They look at you and laugh at you ever day, nigger.' It was true. But I hated him for saying it. I ached to hit him in his mouth, to hurt him" (Wright 241). People write memoirs to show readers their side of the story.
There is great power in telling our own stories. Telling our own stories means we can show readers exactly how we saw it. Telling our own stories allows us to use our own voice and own descriptions to enhance the story. Richard Wright is a great example of this, he uses powerful descriptions to tell his story, "There was the disdain that filled me as I tortured a delicate, blue-pink craw fish that huddled fearfully in the mud sill of a rusty tin can" (Wright 8). Our own stories are often deeply personal and have effected us so greatly that when we share it to others, they can feel the same things that we have felt. Memoirs are powerful because the author can tell their story, and even enhance it, to entertain and perhaps teach a lesson to readers.

Nineteen Minutes- Outside Reading Post 2

What are the major struggles and conflicts that your characters encounter? How do the characters face the conflicts and how does going through these conflicts help the characters to learn more about themselves?

In the novel Nineteen Minutes, one main struggle is how to manage grief. Another struggle is dealing with bullying. Characters also struggle with staying true to themselves and being real. Each character faces these conflicts in different ways but they all manage to learn more about themselves.
Josie Cormier struggles greatly with her grief of losing some of her best friends and her boyfriend from the school shooting. She can't believe that those significant others in her life are officially gone and that she has to continue on living while they aren't. However, Josie finds this experience a little freeing. When Josie was in this friend group, she was with a group who felt superior to the rest of the school and went to the extent of bullying others- which ultimately led to Peter Houghton's shooting. Josie's boyfriend Matt was also physically and mentally abusive to her, "'You made me look like an idiot,' Matt said. 'I told you it was time to go.' Bruises bloomed on her skin where he held her fast, as if she were a canvas and he was determined to leave his mark. She went limp beneath his hands: instinct, a surrender" (Picoult 227). After the whole incident, Josie becomes more truthful with others about herself, and she becomes more real. Although the school shooting was horrifying, it really helped Josie in the long run. She got a chance to start over and do things her own way without fearing the judgment of others.

Peter Houghton struggles greatly with bullying. He is tormented at school and physically abused, but it's the mental abuse that hurts him the most. Peter grows to hate himself and others. Finally, he plans to end it all, so he comes to school with a gun and shoots all those who bully him. Peter spends a lot of time in his jail cell waiting for the verdict and reminiscing, and reflecting on why he did such a terrifying thing. Peter has many flashbacks and the anger and hurt flood back to him, but through learning about the past readers learn a lot about Peter. Peter feels great regret during the trial, when he hears the stories of the many people and families that he has so brutally effected. We learn that Peter really is not a killing monster, but is just a scared boy who wants to end the pain. Peter realizes that he is not alone during this process, and that bullied kids across America support him. Eventually Peter regrets the deeds, and regrets the extreme pain he caused, but he also is glad that he could help make a difference in bullying.

Through such tough conflicts, characters learn more about themselves and their struggles. They realize that they at first they handled their problems without thinking things through or realizing the consequences or effects it had on them and others. In the short run, it caused a great amount of pain to all, but in the long run, these conflicts had helped develop characters and make them stronger.

Nineteen Minutes- Outside Reading Post 1

Who are the main characters of your book? Describe their personality and what seems to motivate them.

In the novel Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, I have found that within every chapter of the book, she tells the story from many different characters' points of view. This makes it hard to narrow it down to just a few characters. But the most significant characters in this novel seem to be Josie Cormier, Peter Houghton, and Judge Alex Cormier.
Josie Cormier on the outside is a sweet, uber popular, carefree teenager. She was the girlfriend of popular jock Matt Royston and friends with all the right people. She seems to have the perfect life with the perfect friends. However, on the inside, Josie is struggling. She feels like a fraud in her social group, and doesn't agree with how her friends treat others who aren't as "cool" as them, "Sometimes she had nightmares in which Matt realized she was a fraud- that she wasn't beautiful; she wasn't cool; she wasn't anyone worthy of admiration" (Picoult 216). Josie spends a lot of her emotional energy worrying about what others are thinking of her, how she looks, and impressing her "friends". Josie really isn't as shallow as she appears to be. Josie's motivation right now is to keep her status as High school's Perfect Girl. It's what she cares about the most and strives to be.
To put it bluntly, Peter Houghton is an outcast. He is brutally picked on at school, mainly by Josie's popular group of friends, "'Get away from my girlfriend, homo,' Matt said. 'Go find a nice little boy to play with.' Peter had landed face down on the pavement" (Picoult 217). He isn't particularly smart, extremely nonathletic, and strange. The boys at Peter's school call him "homo" and "faggot", which makes Peter worry a lot about his sexuality. Peter's thoughts turn very dark and morbid as he grows older and continues to get picked on. Peter begins to completely hate himself, and wants to end his life. Peter's extreme hatred towards himself and others is what motivates him. It motivates him to create violent computer games, think morbid thoughts, and eventually cause a deathly school shooting.
Judge Alex Cormier is the mother of Josie. Alex is extremely sensible, wise, and fair. Alex likes being in complete control of her life, and when life gives her a curve ball, she becomes alarmed. Alex also believes in complete justice and is very devoted to her work. She is so devoted, that sometimes she forgets to be a good mother. When Alex's daughter Josie is affected by the school shootings by Peter, Alex becomes extremely motivated by her love for her daughter. When Alex sees her daughter struggling with the death of all her friends, Alex is motivated to become the best mother ever, and make up for lost time. This new act put on by Alex is foreign to Josie, "'You want chocolate chip cookies then?' Josie blinked at Alex. "Are you on crack?' Alex sounded ridiculous even to herself, but she was desperate to show Josie that she could and would take care of her, and that her job came second" (Picoult 107).
The characters of Nineteen Minutes all seem to have an exterior shell, that sometimes hides the way they truly are on the inside. Jodi Picoult shows the truth to all these characters through first person narration which really gives the reader a deeper look into all the complex characters.

Richard's Hunger

What types of things does Richard "hunger" for

and what are the effects (positive and negative) of hunger?

I believe that Richard is "hungry" for information and knowledge. He is hungry for stories and literature. Richard longs to know what is going on in the outside world. When the school teacher Ella reads Richard Bluebeard and His Seven Wives, Richard becomes so excited and craves the stories, "The tale made the world around me be, throb, live" (Wright 39). Once Richard discovers books he suddenly becomes alive, and can't seem to get enough of them. Richard is a naturally curious boy, and this new information captivates him and makes him feel motivated towards something.
There are many positive effects of Richard's hunger for knowledge. This hunger effects him positively and puts him in a determined mind set. The hunger to know and learn more motivates Richard to be successful, and he starts to strive towards goals. After hearing Ella's story Richard becomes driven, "I hungered for the sharp, frightening, breathtaking, almost painful excitement that the story had given me, and I vowed that as soon as I was old enough I would buy all the novels there were and read them to feed that thirst for violence that was in me, for intrigue, for plotting, for secrecy, for bloody murders" (Wright 40). He vows to himself that he would buy as many novels as he could.
Richard's motivation and determination to consume all the knowledge he has is amazing, but there are some negative aspects of his hunger. In Richard's family life, books like the ones he craves are forbidden in his household.His family (Grandmother especially) finds stories like these the "Devil's work" (Wright 39). Richard gets punished for desiring this books and the school teacher is forced to leave by Granny (39). Richard also ends up without knowing it selling magazines for the KKK because he wanted to read the newspaper's magazine supplement. Richard's neighbor informs him that he is selling papers for a group whose goal is to kill him, "'Well, the paper you're selling preaches the Ku Klux Klan doctrines,' he said" (Wright 131). If Richard had not been warned about the papers, his hunger could have potentially put him into danger.
Overall, I think Richard's hunger for knowledge is positive and will encourage him to strive to be successful, but Richard has to be careful and not let his hunger overwhelm him and get him into trouble.

Richard Wright- Bad Boy?

Is Richard a "bad" boy?
When should behavior be blamed on the person and when should it be blamed on the environment?

I would call Richard a "bad" boy because he lets his curiosity get the better of him, and he uses poor judgment when faced with temptation. However, I do not blame him entirely for being "bad". Lack of common sense adds to Richard's horrible actions. When Richard decides to light his curtains on fire, he ends up burning the whole home down and clearly lacks any sort of wise thought process, "My idea was growing, blooming. Now I was wondering just how the long fluffy white curtains would look if I lit a bunch of straws and held it under them. Would I try it? Sure" (4). Richard clearly was not thinking during this time. During the first two chapters, Richard proceeds to kill a cat, become a young drunk and loiter at the local saloon, repeat obscenities to his family and public, and mainly disobey his mother's orders. I would consider these all "bad" things, but again, I do not blame Richard for being a "bad" boy.
In this case, I would mainly blame Richard's obscene behavior on the environment he lives in. Richard has grown up in rough parts of town, and has also been moved frequently. He also has had little education and structure in his life. Due to the lack of education and order in Richard's life, his boredom leads to his nasty behavior. I think Richard also acts so poorly because he feels the need to rebel against the cruel and abusive authority figures in his family. His mother, grandmother, and other family figures scold and beat him so often that it is no longer effective. When Richard and his brother and taking baths, they blatantly ignore their grandmother's orders and continue to disobey her, "'Stop that foolishness and wash yourselves!' 'Yes, ma'am,' we answered automatically and proceeded with our playing"(41). Behavior should be blamed on the environment if it contains poor models that people grow up with believing is acceptable. If this environment lacks any effective discipline, structure, or model behavior, then most likely the children living in it may be corrupt. Behavior should be blamed on the person if they mentally choose to be horrible and are horrible with a purpose. If they choose to take the negative path of actions and are aware of the consequences, then I believe that person should be blamed for being "bad".

-A

Numero Uno

Hello there. It's Amanda ... posting on my first blog post ever. Welcome to my blog. My background template is snapshot in case anyone is wondering. I hope you all enjoy my special posts and comments. I hope someone will find this mildly entertaining and worth your time! Until next time...

-A