I am reading the book The Pact by Jodi Picoult. Most of her books I have read have to do with serious problems, so when I picked up this book I was expecting the worst. At the very beginning of the book, Picoult started with a murder/suicide scene. It goes on at the hospital and this scene becomes a murder investigation. Chris is charged for the murder of the love of his life, Emily. I think that Chris didn't murder Emily. I think Emily actually committed suicide. She's dead so there's no way of finding out the reason why she did what she did.
One million people kill themselves every year just in the United States. 16,000 people are murdered a year in the United States. There is more of a chance that Emily killed herself than Chris murdering her. There were a lot of signs showing that Em was suicidal. Her art work changed drastically. Some of her drawings had to do with death. She even drew a self portrait of herself as a floating skull in class. She also talked about committing suicide ALL the time. Chris had a hard time with that and he always tried to talk her out of it. But she was determined or her mind was set on doing it.
Also, even though most of the evidence that Chris murdered Emily pointed to him, I still believe Emily wanted to die. I think Chris was telling the truth in the very end. When he first told his story to the detective and his therapist, he was afraid. Chris was afraid of telling everyone the truth because he loved Emily and he didn't know what else to do. When up at the witness stand, Chris said that Emily told him, she didn't have the guts to pull the trigger on herself. So Chris held the gun to Emily's head as Em helped him pull the trigger. Apparently, that still counts as first degree murder because Chris was holding the gun. And because his finger prints were the only ones on the gun. But I think that Em was the one that pulled the trigger. I know that she was afraid to do it, but I think that because Chris was her boyfriend, the love of her life, she was more comfortable and felt safer with him holding her.
Chris wasn't convicted in the very end. He was dropped of all charges and Em's case was solved as a suicide. I was happy to hear that but I still wonder why Em killed herself. It's scary to even think that people would have these kind of thoughts going through their minds everyday. Chris tried everything to stop Em from killing herself. He tried everything to try and change her mind. But it's just like in the TV shows, when someone wants to kill themselves, something is pushing them to do it. Nothing can change their minds. They become afraid and they feel that they have no escape. I bet that's how Em felt.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
My Papa's Waltz: revised entry
My Papa's Waltz
by: Theodore Roethke
The whiskey on your breath
could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
my right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
with a palm caked hard by dirt,
then waltzed me off to bed
still clinging to your shirt.
When first reading this poem, half of my class thought that the father in this poem was abusing the son. The other half thought that the father and son were just dancing. I thought that the father and son were just dancing. The author does use some violent language to describe the dancing. This particular use of language might give off the impression that the father is abusive to the son, but I think the violent language symbolizes how hard it was to dance the waltz.
I can understand why my class thought the father was abusive. Just look at the lines. "...hung on like death", "At every stepped you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle", and "You beat time on my head" gives you an image that shows the father hitting the son. First off, death well sort of hangs on to you...metaphorically. Like you don't stay dead for a few hours and come back alive. Death keep you, well...dead. So I think when the author says "...hung on like death", he meant to say that the son was hanging on to his father tightly so he can keep up with the steps they were dancing together. Also, in the beginning of the poem, it says that the narrator/son is a small boy. So I think that "At every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle." means that the son is just small in size and only comes up to his father's waist which is why his ear scraps his father's belt when he misses a step. Lastly, sometimes when I listen to music or when I dance, I make the beat of the music on my leg or on a hard surface. I think that's what the father is doing when the poem says "You beat time on my head". The father could be keeping the beat of the waltz on the son's head. Beat sounds sort of harsh but it could just be a soft tapping also.
To sum things up, I think that the father isn't abusive and it is just the language that indicates that image for some people.
by: Theodore Roethke
The whiskey on your breath
could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
my right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
with a palm caked hard by dirt,
then waltzed me off to bed
still clinging to your shirt.
When first reading this poem, half of my class thought that the father in this poem was abusing the son. The other half thought that the father and son were just dancing. I thought that the father and son were just dancing. The author does use some violent language to describe the dancing. This particular use of language might give off the impression that the father is abusive to the son, but I think the violent language symbolizes how hard it was to dance the waltz.
I can understand why my class thought the father was abusive. Just look at the lines. "...hung on like death", "At every stepped you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle", and "You beat time on my head" gives you an image that shows the father hitting the son. First off, death well sort of hangs on to you...metaphorically. Like you don't stay dead for a few hours and come back alive. Death keep you, well...dead. So I think when the author says "...hung on like death", he meant to say that the son was hanging on to his father tightly so he can keep up with the steps they were dancing together. Also, in the beginning of the poem, it says that the narrator/son is a small boy. So I think that "At every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle." means that the son is just small in size and only comes up to his father's waist which is why his ear scraps his father's belt when he misses a step. Lastly, sometimes when I listen to music or when I dance, I make the beat of the music on my leg or on a hard surface. I think that's what the father is doing when the poem says "You beat time on my head". The father could be keeping the beat of the waltz on the son's head. Beat sounds sort of harsh but it could just be a soft tapping also.
To sum things up, I think that the father isn't abusive and it is just the language that indicates that image for some people.
Monday, March 14, 2011
My Papa's Waltz
The whiskey on your breath
could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
my right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
with a palm caked hard by dirt,
then waltzed me off to bed
still clinging to your shirt.
In class, we had a huge discussion about this poem. There was a side that thought the father was abusing the child, there was a side that thought the father was just dancing with his son, and then there was a "jury side". I was on the jury side. My group had an argument on weather or not the father was abusive or not, drunk or not. But it all depends on each person's perspective.
It all started with the first line. We all said that whiskey is strong. But then some said that the father was drunk because it's enough to make a small boy dizzy. Others argued that because the boy is small, even a small amount of alcohol can make him dizzy. Also, some people thought "But I hung on like death" was a scary line. They thought it meant like holding on because the boy was afraid. We also looked up romped. Which means lively play. I thought that because its a lively PLAY, it meant they were playing. And the kitchen could be small which is why the pans were falling of the shelves.
At first, when I read "battered on one knuckle", I thought it was because the father was repeatedly hitting his son. But it could also be that the father had come home from work and he had injured his hand. "At every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle" also made it seem as if the father was beating the son with his belt if he missed a move. But people argued that a waltz is danced with 2 people. And the father and the son are dancing. And in the beginning, it says "a small boy". The boy may only come up to his father's waist height wise. Also in the beginning, it says "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy". The father could be a little tipsy and miss a few steps and scrape his son's ear by accident.
So I think that the father and son were ACTUALLY dancing. There isn't enough evidence showing that the father is drunk enough to show that the father is drunk.
could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
my right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
with a palm caked hard by dirt,
then waltzed me off to bed
still clinging to your shirt.
In class, we had a huge discussion about this poem. There was a side that thought the father was abusing the child, there was a side that thought the father was just dancing with his son, and then there was a "jury side". I was on the jury side. My group had an argument on weather or not the father was abusive or not, drunk or not. But it all depends on each person's perspective.
It all started with the first line. We all said that whiskey is strong. But then some said that the father was drunk because it's enough to make a small boy dizzy. Others argued that because the boy is small, even a small amount of alcohol can make him dizzy. Also, some people thought "But I hung on like death" was a scary line. They thought it meant like holding on because the boy was afraid. We also looked up romped. Which means lively play. I thought that because its a lively PLAY, it meant they were playing. And the kitchen could be small which is why the pans were falling of the shelves.
At first, when I read "battered on one knuckle", I thought it was because the father was repeatedly hitting his son. But it could also be that the father had come home from work and he had injured his hand. "At every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle" also made it seem as if the father was beating the son with his belt if he missed a move. But people argued that a waltz is danced with 2 people. And the father and the son are dancing. And in the beginning, it says "a small boy". The boy may only come up to his father's waist height wise. Also in the beginning, it says "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy". The father could be a little tipsy and miss a few steps and scrape his son's ear by accident.
So I think that the father and son were ACTUALLY dancing. There isn't enough evidence showing that the father is drunk enough to show that the father is drunk.
Summer Sisters
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume is my favorite book. I've read it at least 7 times before. This book is mainly about two girls, Victoria a.k.a Vix and Caitlin, who have been best friends since elementary school. It goes on to them becoming adults and they're story leads on. This book changes perspective. It's written in 3rd person which I though was really interesting.
*SPOILER*
At the end of the book Judy Blume sort of ends it as a cliff hanger. Caitlin leaves for Europe. She left her daughter to her father, Lamb, stepmother, Abby and Vix. Since Caitlin never came back, everyone back on the island had a little a funeral for her. I didn't know weather or not to believe if Caitlin was dead or alive in Europe. She never contacted her family on the island. She didn't even bother to get to know her daughter. And she left her husband. I think Caitlin just wanted everything Vix had. Which is why she married Bru. Everyone knows that Bru was Vix's guy. ALWAYS. Von was Caitlin's. But when they were younger, she always said she wanted both Bru and Von. She just liked Von more. And because she never had a chance to be with Bru, she decided to be with him. She was jealous. Ever since Vix and Caitlin were kids, she always said, "I guarantee you, I'll be the first to do get everything." And Caitlin even confessed to Vix that she didn't know if she actually loved Bru.
Also, I think Caitlin left to Europe because she was afraid. She was afraid of growing up. And now she was married, she had a wonderful daughter and husband. Caitlin has always been free will, she always did whatever she wanted without thinking. It was like she didn't know what she was doing.
Caitlin: Oh God...I don't even know if I want to marry him.
Vix stiffens.
Caitlin: That shocks you, I suppose? You've never done a single thing you've regretted, have you?
Caitlin: Oh hell...It'll be a good party, anyway.
I thought that this part made me think that Caitlin thought of life as some fun party. She was just marrying Bru because...because she felt like it. And she was asking Vix to be her maid of honor when she is marrying Vix's love.
I really hated Caitlin at the end. I sort of wanted to shake her and say WAKE UP!! this is reality. I mean how can she do this to her best friend?
Caitlin: Oh God...I don't even know if I want to marry him.
Vix stiffens.
Caitlin: That shocks you, I suppose? You've never done a single thing you've regretted, have you?
Caitlin: Oh hell...It'll be a good party, anyway.
I thought that this part made me think that Caitlin thought of life as some fun party. She was just marrying Bru because...because she felt like it. And she was asking Vix to be her maid of honor when she is marrying Vix's love.
I really hated Caitlin at the end. I sort of wanted to shake her and say WAKE UP!! this is reality. I mean how can she do this to her best friend?
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