Courtney Patterson
Roar Blog-Book into Movie
February 17, 2010
Roar #4
Summary:
In the book Finding Fish: A Memoir by Antwone Quenton Fisher, the readers learn a little more about Antwone being homeless and how it lead him to joining the Navy. Antwone was forced to go to the YMCA’s men shelter after her graduated from school, because he was not older enough to join the navy. He was only seventeen, but his birthday was coming up. While Antwone was at the shelter there were two men who were trying to sexually abuse him, but Antwone found protection with Butch. Butch was a drug dealer, ran numbers, stolen goods, and ran prostitutes, but Antwone soon became Butch’s protégé. Being the Butch’s protégé did not last long because Antwone made the wrong move and was beat up for his actions. Antwone had to leave the men’s shelter because he feared for his safely and he was homeless again. In this time he happened to miss his eighteenth birthday because he lost track of the days.
One of Antwone’s childhood friends name Jessie seen Antwone on the street and he told him that he could crash at his house. Jessie’s mother didn’t notice that Antwone was living there because she had a lot of kids and she couldn’t keep track of all of them. Jessie was a good friend to Antwone because he let him take showers and gave him clean clothes to wear, but one day that all changed. Jessie wanted Antwone to come with him to the store, but Antwone had to do something first. When Antwone was finish, he seen Jessie in front of the store with an old man and he started walking toward them. The old man pulled out a gun and shot Jessie, because he was sick and tired of people trying to rob him. After this event Antwone took off and he was homeless again, but not for long. Antwone seen Flo, who grew up in the Pickett too, and she brought him to Mercy’s home. Mercy was always nice to Antwone and he lived with her for a little while. Antwone also reconnected with Dwight and this is when he began seeing signs saying to join the navy, so Antwone finally joined.
Antwone joined the navy, so he could see the world because he didn’t want to settle. Antwone wanted more for himself. The Navy was difficult for Antwone at first, but with time it became easier. Antwone learned many lessons while in the navy and Chief Lott taught him the most important ones. He taught Antwone as known as Fish, communication skills that helped him speak up for his self. These skills were helpful, but Fish was still depressed because of his past and he took up a hobby that would help him express himself better. Fish started to write poetry and he was very talented, because many of his peers paid for his work. This helped Fish gain a good reputation along with all of the hard work he put into helping people on the ship.
When Fish changed ships and was able to go to Tokyo he fell in love. The lucky lady was Seiko Fukashima. Fish was so happy because he was finally able to feel the love that he wrote about in poems. They dated for about a year, but they had to break up when Fish’s ship had to leave. Seiko didn’t want Fish to forget about her, so she put a bottle of her perfume in his bag and he was able to smell her for years to come. When Fish came back to the states he was awarded with medals and ribbons, but he also left the Navy after eleven years.
When Fish was in his new apartment in California, he started thinking about the family that he never had, so he decided to look them up. When fish finally found some numbers that might help him, he only decided to call one number and it was Annette Elkins. She was his long lost aunt and Fish was happy that he found his family. Fish decided to meet his uncle that lives in California. After Fish and his uncle reconnected, Fish flow down to Cleveland a few days later to meet the rest of the family. The Elkins family was very proud and happy that they meet Antwone. Antwone realized that he had many similar traits with his father’s side of the family. They were artists, writers, and Antwone looked like them, but he still wanted to meet his mother. Eva Mae Fisher was Antwone’s mother and they found her through a family friend name Jess. Jess was Antwone’s uncle on his mother’s side. When Antwone when to see his mother, some of his family members had came to support him. Antwone’s mother had done through a lot of hard ships and Antwone was finally able to see that when he met her. When she seen him and was told that he was Antwone, she began to cry, but she never addressed him. Antwone had repair a speech to say to his mother, but when he seen how she was he had nothing to say. Antwone had forgave his mother and it helped him realized that his entire struggle and unknowing his family, was just parts of the story of his life.
*Summarized pages: 375-508
Quote:
“Maybe I was naïve and undeveloped, even delayed, but if growing up meant the death of dreams, I chose immaturity” (Fisher 400).
Reaction:
My reaction to this quote is that Antwone kept dreaming and he wanted to make those dreams come true. The people around him were just settling for whatever they had and he wanted more. He wanted to see the world and enjoy life to the fullest. He had his dreams come true. I also really like this quote. Antwone Quenton Fisher’s writing style throughout the memoir stayed the same. He had continued to use two different voices to narrate the book. The younger and older voice help the readers view how Antwone had seen things as they were happening. The older voice helped the readers see how Antwone felt about the events in his life, from a mature place and the younger voice allowed the readers to view things while they happened. Fisher’s writing skills gave great details into the setting, characters, and his dreams. This made the readers fell as if they were there with Antwone.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
ROAR Blog #2: Finding Fish
Courtney Patterson
Roar Blog–Book into Movie
February 8, 2010
Roar #3
Summary:
In the book Finding Fish: A Memoir by Antwone Quenton Fisher, the readers find out that the problems that Antwone was having at home continued as he got older. When Antwone was a teenager, Mizz Pickett was trying to kick him out the house and she finally got her wish when Antwone was removed from her home. At the age of sixteen, Antwone learned about his family past. He learned about the mother who couldn’t take care of him and the father who died too young. Along with information about his family, he also learned that no one would be able to take him in, so Antwone was focused on the streets.
Being sixteen and homeless is scary for any teenager, because there are always people that would try to take advantage of these teens and Antwone knew that it would be dangerous. Later on there were a few people who were trying to help Antwone get off the streets like Ms. Nees. She decided to send him to a private male institution. This intuition was a reform school for young males who committed a juvenile offense, but Antwone never committed an offense. The school was called George Junior Republic. Antwone was depress and was looking for an outlet. His new outlet was taking pictures. He wanted to be a world-famous photographer, because he saw a Jet magazine and he thought that he would be able to do the same thing. Antwone later met with the principal and vice-principal of his school, so he could see if he was able to find a way to graduate. He ended up taking many test and passed, so he was able to graduate before he turned eighteen. Antwone also had to enter into the United States Military Reserve, so he would be able take care of his self before going to college.
*Pages Summarized is 314-372.
Quote:
“Seems like it was raining all the time back then,” Antwone said. “It wasn’t,” said Ms. Nees (Fisher 331).
Reaction:
My reaction to this quote is that Ms. Nees was trying to explain to Antwone that there was always hope and a chance for him. He just had to realize it for himself and once he did, he was able to become successful. This quote is important to know because it was foreshadowing that Antwone would overcome his situation and finally become the person he always wanted to be.
Roar Blog–Book into Movie
February 8, 2010
Roar #3
Summary:
In the book Finding Fish: A Memoir by Antwone Quenton Fisher, the readers find out that the problems that Antwone was having at home continued as he got older. When Antwone was a teenager, Mizz Pickett was trying to kick him out the house and she finally got her wish when Antwone was removed from her home. At the age of sixteen, Antwone learned about his family past. He learned about the mother who couldn’t take care of him and the father who died too young. Along with information about his family, he also learned that no one would be able to take him in, so Antwone was focused on the streets.
Being sixteen and homeless is scary for any teenager, because there are always people that would try to take advantage of these teens and Antwone knew that it would be dangerous. Later on there were a few people who were trying to help Antwone get off the streets like Ms. Nees. She decided to send him to a private male institution. This intuition was a reform school for young males who committed a juvenile offense, but Antwone never committed an offense. The school was called George Junior Republic. Antwone was depress and was looking for an outlet. His new outlet was taking pictures. He wanted to be a world-famous photographer, because he saw a Jet magazine and he thought that he would be able to do the same thing. Antwone later met with the principal and vice-principal of his school, so he could see if he was able to find a way to graduate. He ended up taking many test and passed, so he was able to graduate before he turned eighteen. Antwone also had to enter into the United States Military Reserve, so he would be able take care of his self before going to college.
*Pages Summarized is 314-372.
Quote:
“Seems like it was raining all the time back then,” Antwone said. “It wasn’t,” said Ms. Nees (Fisher 331).
Reaction:
My reaction to this quote is that Ms. Nees was trying to explain to Antwone that there was always hope and a chance for him. He just had to realize it for himself and once he did, he was able to become successful. This quote is important to know because it was foreshadowing that Antwone would overcome his situation and finally become the person he always wanted to be.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
ROAR Blog #2:Finding Fish- A Memior
Courtney Patterson
Roar Blog–Book into Movie
January 24, 2010
Roar Blog #2
Summary:
In the book Finding Fish: A Memoir by Antwone Quenton Fisher, the readers began to see how Antwone deals with school. At first Antwone showed a lot of hope and process because he was following directions and learning how to be a good student, but all that soon changed. Antowne started to not pay attention to his school work because the kids at his school didn’t like him and there were more problems at home, because Mizz Pickett would find other ways to abuse Dwight and Antwone. The other problem that Antowne had at home was that people were starting to show their favoritism towards Keith, who was a young new forester kid that was living in the Pickett’s home. Keith was favored over Dwight and Antwone because he was biracial and Mizz Pickett said that he had “good” hair. This added to the reason why Antwone didn’t like his dark brown skin.
As Antwone continued the school, he began to skip school more often and he began to steal pennies and nickels from Mizz Pickett. He stole the money because he wanted to be able to buy some penny candy before school like his fellow classmates. When Mizz Pickett found out that he was stealing from her she told the case worker that she wanted him and Dwight to leave her home. When the case worker was in the process to take both of the kids out of Mizz Pickett’s home, she changed her mind. After hearing that Mizz Pickett wanted to keep the boys, the case worker decided to make Antwone go to Metzenbaum Children’s Center for a psychological evaluation. She wanted to help him and find out what was going on with him. Antwone had to take a few tests and the results were that he had the potential to do better than an average child his age, but he was not living up to his full potential. The doctor Mrs. Honhart also thought that there were more problems going on at home with Mizz Pickett and the way she treated Antwone.
As time went on Mizz Pickett took Antwone and Dwight to see Dr. Fisher, who was there to help them express their feelings because they constantly fought. When Antwone found out that the doctor had the same last name as him, he thought that he could possibly be his long lost father. When Antwone met Dr. Fisher, he realized that he was not his father because they didn’t look anything alike and he was white. Dr. Fisher was asked to help decide if Antwone should stay in the Pickett’s home, but there were not many visits to the doctor’s office because Mizz Pickett stopped the visits by telling social services that the visits were not needed any more.
Antwone began to express his self by drawing and this is when Mizz Pickett started to notice his talents. She was very happy and she bragged to anyone who would listen about how talented Antwone was. Antwone was happy that his drawings brought pleasure to people.
*Summarized Pages: 99-151
Quote:
“Inside, to myself, I make a promise, like a prayer, that if my father does keep me and I don’t have to go back to the Picketts, I’ll be good for the rest of my life.” (Fisher 144).
Reaction:
My reaction to the quote is that Antwone is desperate to find out about his family. He is desperate because he learned a few details about his father and he wants to know where his is, so he could save him for the Pickett’s home. Antwone wants to feel love and he thinks that his biological father would be the person to love him for who he is. Antwone Quenton Fisher’s writing style is to narrate the book with a younger and older voice. When Fisher was describing the events that happened in his life, he wrote in a younger voice. The younger voice was switched with an older voice when he was talking about how those events had affected him.
Roar Blog–Book into Movie
January 24, 2010
Roar Blog #2
Summary:
In the book Finding Fish: A Memoir by Antwone Quenton Fisher, the readers began to see how Antwone deals with school. At first Antwone showed a lot of hope and process because he was following directions and learning how to be a good student, but all that soon changed. Antowne started to not pay attention to his school work because the kids at his school didn’t like him and there were more problems at home, because Mizz Pickett would find other ways to abuse Dwight and Antwone. The other problem that Antowne had at home was that people were starting to show their favoritism towards Keith, who was a young new forester kid that was living in the Pickett’s home. Keith was favored over Dwight and Antwone because he was biracial and Mizz Pickett said that he had “good” hair. This added to the reason why Antwone didn’t like his dark brown skin.
As Antwone continued the school, he began to skip school more often and he began to steal pennies and nickels from Mizz Pickett. He stole the money because he wanted to be able to buy some penny candy before school like his fellow classmates. When Mizz Pickett found out that he was stealing from her she told the case worker that she wanted him and Dwight to leave her home. When the case worker was in the process to take both of the kids out of Mizz Pickett’s home, she changed her mind. After hearing that Mizz Pickett wanted to keep the boys, the case worker decided to make Antwone go to Metzenbaum Children’s Center for a psychological evaluation. She wanted to help him and find out what was going on with him. Antwone had to take a few tests and the results were that he had the potential to do better than an average child his age, but he was not living up to his full potential. The doctor Mrs. Honhart also thought that there were more problems going on at home with Mizz Pickett and the way she treated Antwone.
As time went on Mizz Pickett took Antwone and Dwight to see Dr. Fisher, who was there to help them express their feelings because they constantly fought. When Antwone found out that the doctor had the same last name as him, he thought that he could possibly be his long lost father. When Antwone met Dr. Fisher, he realized that he was not his father because they didn’t look anything alike and he was white. Dr. Fisher was asked to help decide if Antwone should stay in the Pickett’s home, but there were not many visits to the doctor’s office because Mizz Pickett stopped the visits by telling social services that the visits were not needed any more.
Antwone began to express his self by drawing and this is when Mizz Pickett started to notice his talents. She was very happy and she bragged to anyone who would listen about how talented Antwone was. Antwone was happy that his drawings brought pleasure to people.
*Summarized Pages: 99-151
Quote:
“Inside, to myself, I make a promise, like a prayer, that if my father does keep me and I don’t have to go back to the Picketts, I’ll be good for the rest of my life.” (Fisher 144).
Reaction:
My reaction to the quote is that Antwone is desperate to find out about his family. He is desperate because he learned a few details about his father and he wants to know where his is, so he could save him for the Pickett’s home. Antwone wants to feel love and he thinks that his biological father would be the person to love him for who he is. Antwone Quenton Fisher’s writing style is to narrate the book with a younger and older voice. When Fisher was describing the events that happened in his life, he wrote in a younger voice. The younger voice was switched with an older voice when he was talking about how those events had affected him.
Monday, January 18, 2010
ROAR Blog #1:Finding Fish-A Memior
Courtney Patterson
Roar Blog–Book into Movie
January 16, 2010
Roar Blog #1
Summary:
In the book Finding Fish: A memoir by Antwone Quenton Fisher, the readers find out about Antowne’s biological mother’s and biological father’s past. Antowne’s father was known through his neighborhood as an upcoming star that had a lovely signing voice and as a troublemaker. Edward “Eddie” Elkins was his name and he had two daughters with his 19 year old girlfriend, at the age of 23. His parents were hard working people who felt that all their children where special, but he had a little extra something to offer to the world. When Eddie met Antowne’s birth mother Eva Mae Fisher, he cheats on his girlfriend and Eva becomes pregnant, without Eddie ever finding out. Eddie never found out about his unborn child because his girlfriend Frances ended up killing him. She killed him because he was threading her and becoming dangerous to her family. After this event Eva realized that she could take care of Antwone by herself and she had to give him up.
Antowne’s new foster parents became Mizz. Pickett and Reverend Pickett, but Antowne didn’t know that he had forest parents, until later on. He thought that they are his real parents. While at the Pickett’s home, Antowne gets treated differently along with the other foster kids. Mizz. Pickett calls the foster kids out of their name, hit them and treat them like animals. Antowne also gets abused from a family friend name Willenda. She sexually abuse Antowne when no one is home and she makes sure that he would not tell a soul.
In the years that Antowne lived at the Pickett’s home he always Dwight to play with. Dwight was a few years older than Antowne and they were both foster kids, but they were closer than anyone in that house. Dwight had done everything with Antowne, he even visited Antowne’s biological mother with him. Mizz. Pickett and the boys went to visit the caseworker and this is where Antowne visited his mother again. She was glad to see Antowne, but she was not ready to take care of him and become a real mother to him.
*Summarized pages 13-98
Quote:
“All through my case files, everybody always seemed to be slipping away, in one sense or another.” (Fisher 49).
Reaction:
My reaction to this quote is that it foreshadows what will happen next, because in Antowne’s life people will always enter his life then exit it. People would not stay around long enough to help him develop into a man, so this quote is explaining how he noticed that. Antwone Quenton Fisher’s writing style is very descriptive. When he was talking about one of the dreams that he had when he was younger, he made the readers feel as if they were there experiencing everything that was going on. He explained the setting of the dream and how each person in his dream looked like. He also explained how they welcomed him into their family with open arms.
Roar Blog–Book into Movie
January 16, 2010
Roar Blog #1
Summary:
In the book Finding Fish: A memoir by Antwone Quenton Fisher, the readers find out about Antowne’s biological mother’s and biological father’s past. Antowne’s father was known through his neighborhood as an upcoming star that had a lovely signing voice and as a troublemaker. Edward “Eddie” Elkins was his name and he had two daughters with his 19 year old girlfriend, at the age of 23. His parents were hard working people who felt that all their children where special, but he had a little extra something to offer to the world. When Eddie met Antowne’s birth mother Eva Mae Fisher, he cheats on his girlfriend and Eva becomes pregnant, without Eddie ever finding out. Eddie never found out about his unborn child because his girlfriend Frances ended up killing him. She killed him because he was threading her and becoming dangerous to her family. After this event Eva realized that she could take care of Antwone by herself and she had to give him up.
Antowne’s new foster parents became Mizz. Pickett and Reverend Pickett, but Antowne didn’t know that he had forest parents, until later on. He thought that they are his real parents. While at the Pickett’s home, Antowne gets treated differently along with the other foster kids. Mizz. Pickett calls the foster kids out of their name, hit them and treat them like animals. Antowne also gets abused from a family friend name Willenda. She sexually abuse Antowne when no one is home and she makes sure that he would not tell a soul.
In the years that Antowne lived at the Pickett’s home he always Dwight to play with. Dwight was a few years older than Antowne and they were both foster kids, but they were closer than anyone in that house. Dwight had done everything with Antowne, he even visited Antowne’s biological mother with him. Mizz. Pickett and the boys went to visit the caseworker and this is where Antowne visited his mother again. She was glad to see Antowne, but she was not ready to take care of him and become a real mother to him.
*Summarized pages 13-98
Quote:
“All through my case files, everybody always seemed to be slipping away, in one sense or another.” (Fisher 49).
Reaction:
My reaction to this quote is that it foreshadows what will happen next, because in Antowne’s life people will always enter his life then exit it. People would not stay around long enough to help him develop into a man, so this quote is explaining how he noticed that. Antwone Quenton Fisher’s writing style is very descriptive. When he was talking about one of the dreams that he had when he was younger, he made the readers feel as if they were there experiencing everything that was going on. He explained the setting of the dream and how each person in his dream looked like. He also explained how they welcomed him into their family with open arms.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROAR Blog #5:Rattlebone
Courtney Patterson
ROAR Blog #5
December 16, 2009
ROAR Blog #5
Summary: In the book Rattlebone by Maxine Clair, Irene feels that she is not growing up compared to her friend Wanda. She never had a boyfriend and she continues to write her whole life in her diary, which isn’t very much to her. Wanda is two years older than Irene and Irene loves to read Wanda’s diary because she has experienced more in her 16 years, than Irene has in her 14 years of living. Irene has experienced her mother cheating on her father and her father leaving because loves someone else, but Irene chooses not to tell Wanda. In Wanda’s life her brother Puddin has been put into jail, because he got into trouble one day when he wandered away from home. Wanda was upset when she found out that Puddin was in jail, but she thought that it was for the best because she felt that her mother was trying to hurt him.
In school Irene begins to enjoy some of her new classmates, two of them are white and one is a Quander. She began to get close to Folami Quander, who family is a little different from the normal family. Her father has many wives and at first Irene couldn’t understand why, but Folami explained a little about her culture. Irene also became close to Folami’s brother, Obadele and he became her first boyfriend. Irene’s mom didn’t like that fact that her daughter was hanging out with the Quanders, because they had a bad reputation in the town. Later in the book, Irene noticed that Folami wasn’t coming to school anymore. Wanda told Irene that Folami was pregnant by Irene’s boyfriend, Obadele. Obadele was going to be a king in his town and Folami was going to have his first baby.
In the next chapter, the whole city is damaged because a plane had crashed near Irene’s high school. A few people were killed and after this even the town is never the same. Irene’s friend, Cece had told her to fill out an application for a black sorority, but Irene found out that Miss October Brown was a part of the sorority. Irene didn’t fill out an application, but after a few weeks she filled it out because she felt better about things in her life. Her parents were starting to get along and building their own business. Everything is going well for Irene and she was able to graduate from high school.
* Summarized pages: 127-213
Quote: “From my perspective, opportunity flaunted itself everyday” (Clair 205).
Reaction: My reaction to this quote is that in Irene’s life she was able to have opportunities to better herself if she just allowed herself to do so. Although the book, there were many opportunities to experience something new like puppy love with Nick when she was younger and then as she matured she experienced real love with Obadele. Irene had different opportunities to learn about different cultures than her own. This opened her mind to new thoughts and new people all at the same time. Maxine Clair has showed through Rattlebone that she is a strong writer and she keeps her readers turning pages, while teaching lessons.
ROAR Blog #5
December 16, 2009
ROAR Blog #5
Summary: In the book Rattlebone by Maxine Clair, Irene feels that she is not growing up compared to her friend Wanda. She never had a boyfriend and she continues to write her whole life in her diary, which isn’t very much to her. Wanda is two years older than Irene and Irene loves to read Wanda’s diary because she has experienced more in her 16 years, than Irene has in her 14 years of living. Irene has experienced her mother cheating on her father and her father leaving because loves someone else, but Irene chooses not to tell Wanda. In Wanda’s life her brother Puddin has been put into jail, because he got into trouble one day when he wandered away from home. Wanda was upset when she found out that Puddin was in jail, but she thought that it was for the best because she felt that her mother was trying to hurt him.
In school Irene begins to enjoy some of her new classmates, two of them are white and one is a Quander. She began to get close to Folami Quander, who family is a little different from the normal family. Her father has many wives and at first Irene couldn’t understand why, but Folami explained a little about her culture. Irene also became close to Folami’s brother, Obadele and he became her first boyfriend. Irene’s mom didn’t like that fact that her daughter was hanging out with the Quanders, because they had a bad reputation in the town. Later in the book, Irene noticed that Folami wasn’t coming to school anymore. Wanda told Irene that Folami was pregnant by Irene’s boyfriend, Obadele. Obadele was going to be a king in his town and Folami was going to have his first baby.
In the next chapter, the whole city is damaged because a plane had crashed near Irene’s high school. A few people were killed and after this even the town is never the same. Irene’s friend, Cece had told her to fill out an application for a black sorority, but Irene found out that Miss October Brown was a part of the sorority. Irene didn’t fill out an application, but after a few weeks she filled it out because she felt better about things in her life. Her parents were starting to get along and building their own business. Everything is going well for Irene and she was able to graduate from high school.
* Summarized pages: 127-213
Quote: “From my perspective, opportunity flaunted itself everyday” (Clair 205).
Reaction: My reaction to this quote is that in Irene’s life she was able to have opportunities to better herself if she just allowed herself to do so. Although the book, there were many opportunities to experience something new like puppy love with Nick when she was younger and then as she matured she experienced real love with Obadele. Irene had different opportunities to learn about different cultures than her own. This opened her mind to new thoughts and new people all at the same time. Maxine Clair has showed through Rattlebone that she is a strong writer and she keeps her readers turning pages, while teaching lessons.
ROAR Blog #4:Rattlebone
Courtney Patterson
ROAR Blog #4
December 11, 2009
ROAR Blog #4
Summary: In the book Rattlebone by Maxine Clair, the readers learn about Ms. Brown a little more. She moves in to a room at the Thomas Pemberton Proprietors because she had to leave her previous home. Thomas Pemberton is one of the owners of the place and he is married to Lydia Pemberton, who is the other owner. Lydia is unable to have any children, so one of the rules in the house is that no kids are allowed. Later in the chapter, the readers find out that Ms. Brown is pregnant. When her pregnancy is discovered, she gets a letter that says that she is getting a kicked out of the house by Lydia. Thomas becomes torn by his wife decision to kick Ms. Brown out. Ms. Brown later has to move out of the house and she moves into the reverend’s home.
In the next chapter the readers learn about Dorla Wooten, who is the most serene girl in Irene’s middle school. Dorla’s father had killed her mother, because the mother was seeing someone else while they were still married. This event happened over the summer and Irene was trying to be nice to her, so they could become friends. Geraldine is Irene’s new friend who spends a lot of time with Irene at her house. Geraldine lives in the basement of Miss Jones’ home. Miss Jones’ home is known as the house that people have sexual relationships at. This didn’t stop Irene from hanging out with Geraldine and trying on makeup, clothes, and just having fun with her.
One day Geraldine decided to take Irene up stairs, so they could spy on the people would was in the bedrooms. Irene and Geraldine continued to spy on people, until one day when Irene was looking through a keyhole and she seen a familiar face. It was Irene’s mother and she was shocked. She left Geraldine’s house quickly and she could not speak to her mother for days. Geraldine had got sick one day and she was unable to go to school for weeks. In this time, Irene started to have bad nightmares and she would sleep walk. Irene’s mother worried about her, so she started questioning her about her friends and school. When Irene started to tell her mother where Geraldine lived, her mother realized that it was the same place that she brought that man to. After Irene became well, she went back to school, but she became mean to everyone. She was no longer nice to her friends, Dorla and Geraldine.
*Summarized pages: 71-112
Quote: “Stopping by Geraldine’s house my routine. We taught each other a lot of things, not the least of which was how to do the turkey hop” (Clair 101).
Reaction: My reaction to the quote is that it foreshadows what will come next, because Geraldine’ house taught her a lesson and it was that she should mind her own business. This was the lesson that Irene learned because when she was looking through keyholes, she seen her mother cheating with another man. Maxine Clair’s style is writing is districted. She likes to write with many details and this helps readers visually her words.
ROAR Blog #4
December 11, 2009
ROAR Blog #4
Summary: In the book Rattlebone by Maxine Clair, the readers learn about Ms. Brown a little more. She moves in to a room at the Thomas Pemberton Proprietors because she had to leave her previous home. Thomas Pemberton is one of the owners of the place and he is married to Lydia Pemberton, who is the other owner. Lydia is unable to have any children, so one of the rules in the house is that no kids are allowed. Later in the chapter, the readers find out that Ms. Brown is pregnant. When her pregnancy is discovered, she gets a letter that says that she is getting a kicked out of the house by Lydia. Thomas becomes torn by his wife decision to kick Ms. Brown out. Ms. Brown later has to move out of the house and she moves into the reverend’s home.
In the next chapter the readers learn about Dorla Wooten, who is the most serene girl in Irene’s middle school. Dorla’s father had killed her mother, because the mother was seeing someone else while they were still married. This event happened over the summer and Irene was trying to be nice to her, so they could become friends. Geraldine is Irene’s new friend who spends a lot of time with Irene at her house. Geraldine lives in the basement of Miss Jones’ home. Miss Jones’ home is known as the house that people have sexual relationships at. This didn’t stop Irene from hanging out with Geraldine and trying on makeup, clothes, and just having fun with her.
One day Geraldine decided to take Irene up stairs, so they could spy on the people would was in the bedrooms. Irene and Geraldine continued to spy on people, until one day when Irene was looking through a keyhole and she seen a familiar face. It was Irene’s mother and she was shocked. She left Geraldine’s house quickly and she could not speak to her mother for days. Geraldine had got sick one day and she was unable to go to school for weeks. In this time, Irene started to have bad nightmares and she would sleep walk. Irene’s mother worried about her, so she started questioning her about her friends and school. When Irene started to tell her mother where Geraldine lived, her mother realized that it was the same place that she brought that man to. After Irene became well, she went back to school, but she became mean to everyone. She was no longer nice to her friends, Dorla and Geraldine.
*Summarized pages: 71-112
Quote: “Stopping by Geraldine’s house my routine. We taught each other a lot of things, not the least of which was how to do the turkey hop” (Clair 101).
Reaction: My reaction to the quote is that it foreshadows what will come next, because Geraldine’ house taught her a lesson and it was that she should mind her own business. This was the lesson that Irene learned because when she was looking through keyholes, she seen her mother cheating with another man. Maxine Clair’s style is writing is districted. She likes to write with many details and this helps readers visually her words.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
ROAR Blog #3:Rattlebone
Courtney Patterson
ROAR Blog
December 1, 2009
ROAR Blog # 3
Summary: In the book Rattlebone by Maxine Clair, Irene’s father is back in the picture. He has moved back home because his relationship with October Brown is over. James continues to daydream about her, but he then realize that he has to come home to his wife who is now keeping a close eye on her husband. One afternoon after a long day at work James was supposed to go home to his family, but he decided to help Thomas Pemberton who was a friend to James. James was helping Thomas by going down to the river, so they could help put down sandbags because there was a storm coming. While James was down by the river, something went wrong and everyone was beginning to evacuate. This is when James lost his footing and the wind started to pick up because his light went out. James couldn’t see and he ended up falling in the river, this is when he thought that he should try to swim and maybe he would be able to get out of the water. As minutes pasted he didn’t get very far and Thomas finally came to his rescue when he pulled him out and brought he home.
In the next chapter Irene learns about growing up and becoming a woman, when a boy name Nick shows interest in her. Nick is about the same age as Irene, but when he wants to show Irene his love for her, he shows very little maturity. Irene doesn’t want Nick to act like a little kid, so she pretends not to like him, but she does write about him and her life in her diary. Irene writes all of her personal thoughts and feelings about growing up north of Kansas in her diary, but she only shares it with her best friend named Cece who she doesn’t see often because she lives far away.
The readers learn about Eddy who is the younger cousin of Irene. Eddy has a fake eye because one summer he had a cherry bomb and when he went to light it up, it exploded and a piece of metal flew into his eye. Eddy had one last cherry bomb, so he decided to give it to Irene. That was the first gift she ever receive other than Christmas gifts. A few days later when Irene and Wanda was hanging out and Nick and Eddy was down by the river, Wanda told Irene that she became a women. Irene didn’t say much about the topic, but she knew that she was growing and so were the people around her. When Wanda and Irene went down to the river to see the boys, Eddy was sleeping, but Nick was nowhere around. They started to call out to him, but there was not answer. Wanda went to get help and when she returned with Irene’s father, Nick’s mom, and Irene’s mother, James jumped into the water and he found Nick. Nick had drowned and later that night Irene lighted up the last cherry bomb as a way of saying goodbye to her first crush.
*Summarized pages are 41-67.
Quote: “I struck a match and lit the green stem. When it sizzled, I threw it high and far, exploding the whole summer.” (Clair 67)
Reaction: My reaction is that Max Clair’s style continues to show strong writing because she uses the cherry bomb as something more than a firework that the kids play with, it was a metaphor for the last summer of their youth. As the cherry bomb went in to the sky and exploded that was the end of their youth, because the kids lost their innocents as they experience death for the first time.
ROAR Blog
December 1, 2009
ROAR Blog # 3
Summary: In the book Rattlebone by Maxine Clair, Irene’s father is back in the picture. He has moved back home because his relationship with October Brown is over. James continues to daydream about her, but he then realize that he has to come home to his wife who is now keeping a close eye on her husband. One afternoon after a long day at work James was supposed to go home to his family, but he decided to help Thomas Pemberton who was a friend to James. James was helping Thomas by going down to the river, so they could help put down sandbags because there was a storm coming. While James was down by the river, something went wrong and everyone was beginning to evacuate. This is when James lost his footing and the wind started to pick up because his light went out. James couldn’t see and he ended up falling in the river, this is when he thought that he should try to swim and maybe he would be able to get out of the water. As minutes pasted he didn’t get very far and Thomas finally came to his rescue when he pulled him out and brought he home.
In the next chapter Irene learns about growing up and becoming a woman, when a boy name Nick shows interest in her. Nick is about the same age as Irene, but when he wants to show Irene his love for her, he shows very little maturity. Irene doesn’t want Nick to act like a little kid, so she pretends not to like him, but she does write about him and her life in her diary. Irene writes all of her personal thoughts and feelings about growing up north of Kansas in her diary, but she only shares it with her best friend named Cece who she doesn’t see often because she lives far away.
The readers learn about Eddy who is the younger cousin of Irene. Eddy has a fake eye because one summer he had a cherry bomb and when he went to light it up, it exploded and a piece of metal flew into his eye. Eddy had one last cherry bomb, so he decided to give it to Irene. That was the first gift she ever receive other than Christmas gifts. A few days later when Irene and Wanda was hanging out and Nick and Eddy was down by the river, Wanda told Irene that she became a women. Irene didn’t say much about the topic, but she knew that she was growing and so were the people around her. When Wanda and Irene went down to the river to see the boys, Eddy was sleeping, but Nick was nowhere around. They started to call out to him, but there was not answer. Wanda went to get help and when she returned with Irene’s father, Nick’s mom, and Irene’s mother, James jumped into the water and he found Nick. Nick had drowned and later that night Irene lighted up the last cherry bomb as a way of saying goodbye to her first crush.
*Summarized pages are 41-67.
Quote: “I struck a match and lit the green stem. When it sizzled, I threw it high and far, exploding the whole summer.” (Clair 67)
Reaction: My reaction is that Max Clair’s style continues to show strong writing because she uses the cherry bomb as something more than a firework that the kids play with, it was a metaphor for the last summer of their youth. As the cherry bomb went in to the sky and exploded that was the end of their youth, because the kids lost their innocents as they experience death for the first time.
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