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I read Wit over Easter Break and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t my favorite read but it wasn’t my least favorite either. I think that the protagonist, Vivian is very funny. I enjoy sarcasm and she definitely adds that aspect to the play.  

What I did not like about the play is why Vivian was considered a research project. It seemed to me that Kelekian and Jason gave her this full dose treatment for eight months just to see what would happen to her. I didn’t get the sense that they cared about what was best for her. Even the nurse, Susan said to Jason that the medicine was too strong for her and he didn’t seem to care. He was much too concerned with how this treatment would affect his and Kelekian’s reputation if it was successful.

I also didn’t know why Jason was always nervous. It was understandable that first time he was examining Vivian, his former professor, but the play made it seem that he was always nervous and I never understood why.

Donne and his seventeenth century poetry wasn’t my favorite but I think it made Vivian’s character more relatable and understandable.

I don’t enjoy reading plays alone. I don’t mind reading them aloud in class when someone can play the different roles. That way, each character can have a voice and the play is easier to follow.

Sam's Speech

“Don’t you get it? I can’t feel that. It’s sweet an everything, but it’s like your not even there sometimes. It’s great that you can listen and be a shoulder to someone, but what about when someone doesn’t need a shoulder? … You can’t just sit there and put everybody’s lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can’t. You have to do things. … Like tell people what you need. Or what you want. … You weren’t being his friend at all because you weren’t being honest with him. … I don’t want to be somebody’s crush. If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am. And I don’t want them to carry it around inside. I want them to show me, so I can feel it, too. I want them to be able to do whatever they want around me. And if they do something I don’t like, I’ll tell them. … I’m going to do what I want to do. I’m going to be who I really am. And I’m going to figure out what that is.”

Sam says all of this to Charlie the night before she leaves for college. I think in this speech she captures the meaning of a relationship. It involves honesty and openness and without both of those things, why should you care if the person you’re with loves you or not. Because at that point, if you’re not open and honest with them then they don’t even really know you.

Wallflower

Patrick said something I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

“He’s a wallflower. You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.

            Patrick says this to Charlie shortly after he finds him with Brad. I feel as though based on this quote I can relate a lot to Charlie. I don’t want to go ahead and call myself a wallflower but I do feel that I am a very observant person. I can sit there and listen, retain. I don’t always have to be sharing my opinion, although I do always have one.

            Regardless, after reading this part from the novel, the title made sense to me and I fell as though it is very fitting. In Charlie’s case, being a wallflower did have its perks. As I think it does for everyone.

The Perks of being a Wallflower

I read this novel a while back. I meant to blog about it right away, I really did. Unfortunately, I never got around to it. Anyway I really enjoyed it! I read it when I was home and my sister kept asking me why I was being such a tool and reading. At first I was saying that I had to for school but when she asked me the next time she saw me reading my answer had changed to, “because I can’t put it down.” Well, that didn’t go over well with her. She was never the ‘do homework at home’ kind of girl.

So I actually plan on re-reading this book over the summer. It will be the first time I ever re-read anything, not to mention an entire novel. I won’t re-read it simply for enjoyment but rather because I have heard several times now that people who re-read it pick up on so much more than they did the first time around. I felt as though I picked up on a lot, more than usual, so I look forward to re-reading it and seeing if I catch anything new.

Back to my sister for a second, she asked me when I was about halfway through with the novel what it was about. I had no idea what to tell her. The best I could do was say something along the lines of a boy in high school writing to someone about his life. She said I was stupid and I said well, I have a feeling that I can give you a better answer when I finish it. This made no sense to her and I’m pretty sure it made even less sense to me. However, I was right. I didn’t really understand anything about Charlie until you discover what his Aunt Helen had done to him. It is a terrible thing. I always fell as though this is why he has such a strong connection to Sam. Sure she is beautiful, but I think since she went through something similar, he related to her in a way that he didn’t even realize yet.

As a female reader, I found what happened to Charlie’s sister very tragic. It also made the novel more real than it already was. I feel terrible that she had no one to turn to and that she had to resort to abortion. I cannot imagine the loneliness she must have felt at that time.

His relationship with Patrick confused me. To me, there is a thick line between a friendship, and what he did with Patrick in the car after what happened between him and Brad.

Overall this was a great novel. It reminded me of The Catcher in the Rye, except better.

One More Month!

Wow, I truly cannot believe that I have exactly one month left until I go home for the summer. My freshman year of college will be: over, done, finished, completed. I think that scares me more than I was when I first got here. Everyone always says that time flies but you never really believe it until the time has passed you by and you can’t get it back.

I figured with one month left of school, now would be a good time to reflect on some of my experiences this year.

I came into this school very timid and shy. I was nothing like that in high school but I was out of my comfort zone here. It took a while for me to open up and become more like myself and I know exactly why this is. I have serious trust issues. Not in a bad way though. I know it sounds crazy to think that there is a good way but I think there is. I cannot fully open up to someone until I know that I can trust them. I have to see how they act around others. There are some people who always feel the need to be talking and the center of attention. I can argue that as a broad generalization, these types of people can not keep secrets because they always have to tell the best or most recent stories. They have the need to sound the most interesting, even if it at the expense of someone else. So, after I am able to realize who does not do this, I can become more open and outoing, which I have done this year.

I believe that I got lucky this year. I became very close with both of my roommates and made friendships with several other people that I think will last a long time. However, because I instantly became friends with the girls on my floor, I never bothered to ‘participate’ in other on campus activities. Similar to Charlie in The Perls of being a Wallflower. If I had done this I would have given myself a chance to be a more well-rounded student. This would also have given me the opportunity to meet more people. At any rate, the time flew by me in the blink of an eye and here I am, one month left of school and cramming to get everything handed in on time for all my classes.

Sure there are plenty of things I would do over if I had the chance. But at the same time I have no regrets. Yes, I naturally made some mistakes this year but I did manage to stay out of trouble, and if I hadn’t made them I would not have learned from them. After all, college is more then reading textbooks, it is about going out on your own and learning from your mistakes and growing into a young adult who is prepared for the real world that college gives us a small taste of.

Easter Break

So, I just got back from my Easter Break. I went home last Tuesday after English class and returned yesterday, Monday. My break was just under a weeklong but it felt like I was only home for one night. I worked in the city on Wednesday and Thursday. I enjoy the work but I do not enjoy the thirteen-hour workday. My break was getting better until I lost my phone over the weekend. I got a new phone 2 weeks ago and already lost it. This is very unlike me. It turns out that the phone was stolen. Just my luck. Anyway, I actually enjoyed not having my phone for Easter Sunday. It was kind of like being ‘back to basics.’ I got to fully enjoy the time I had with my family without having any distractions. I replaced my phone yesterday and I am back in the twenty-first century. Not quite sure how I feel about it but when your at college, having a phone is a necessity. Nevertheless, I had a not-so-relaxing Spring Break but it was still enjoyable. I did not like that Bubba Watson won the Masters but, you can’t have it all.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian (p. 167-end)

In this section of the book, I think that you really start to see Junior’s inner self. He is stronger than he will admit to being.

Junior demonstrates his strength in the basketball game against Wellpinit. Sure, he may throw up before every game but it doesn’t stop him from playing. He may claim to be scared but I find that part of Junior is fearless. Part of his strength comes from Rowdy. Rowdy never allowed Junior to be afraid. That is why Junior was able to climb the 100-foot pine tree.

Junior’s strength is also shown every time that he loses someone close to him. He lost his grandma, Eugene, and his sister in this section. Yet, he has the strength to continue his dreams of finding hope. Theses deaths don’t tear Junior down and make him give-up. In fact, it encourages him even more.

I also think that Junior realizes something in this section that I find to be truer than the novel intended it to be. Junior says, “I used to think the world was broken down by tribes. By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn’t true. The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are assholes and the people who are not.” (p.176) I find it interesting and not a coincidence that he separately compared both blacks and Indians to whites. Junior went on to compare himself to whites again. On page 182, Junior asked himself if he could be “a legacy in a white town.” I think the fact that Junior feels the need to compare everything to being white proves his feeling of inferiority.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian (p. 102-167)

Instead of summarizing these pages, I decided to take some quotes that I found meaningful, wise, and relate-able.

"There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make our pain go away.” P.107

“Why don’t you quit talking in dreams and tell me what you really want to do with your life. Make it simple.” P.111

“If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.” P. 129

“Well life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.” P. 132

“You have to dream big to get big.” P. 136

“The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor.” P. 148

“She was the most amazing person in the world. She was tolerant.” P.154

“When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing.” P. 166

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian (p. 53-102)

In this section of the novel, Junior begins his new school. His dad dropped him off outside and Junior immediately felt as though he had made the wrong decision. I mean, who was he to think that he could just up and leave the rez? Really, he was just a nervous wreck.

As expected, Junior was different from everyone else, in more ways than one. So, considering this was high school, it was natural that he was to be bullied. One day, the big ‘tough’ guy in school, Roger, really got under Junior’s skin and not only insulted Junior, but he insulted his Indian race. According to the Indian rules that Junior had always lived by, he had to fight Roger. Junior punched Roger right in the face and even made him bleed (good for him). To junior’s surprise, Roger didn’t fight back. Instead, hitting Roger was just what Junior needed to do because he earned respect. I think this is the first time I have ever seen violence solve a problem.

For Halloween, Junior dressed up as a homeless kid. He did this because he couldn’t afford anything else and he practically was one anyway. Regardless, Penelope, the girl he found to be down right stunning, also dresses up as a homeless person. They decided that instead of asking for candy at houses that night, they would ask for spare change. Although Junior’s money was stolen from him, I thought this was a very interesting part f the novel. It showed how much Junior cared for others. he didn’t have money for food most days but he was still willing to help others who were even less fortunate than he was.

Despite being the poor Indian boy from the rez, junior was one of the smartest kids in his class. He decided to become friends with the only boy smarter than him, Gordy. Gordy was Rowdy (junior’s ex-best friend) but it was still good to have someone to talk to. In a way, Gordy was even better because he was smart, and had more potential for a good future than anyone else that Junior knew.

Junior’s sister also got married in this section. She married a man who “wasn’t afraid to gamble everything.” If it were me, that would be my biggest turn-off, not turn-on. But, it’s not me. Anyway she moved to a rez in Montana. This was devastating to Junior’s family but Junior didn’t seem to mind too much. In a weird way, he was happy for his sister. She left. She was able to make something of herself, even if it weren’t very much. And Junior saw this as a sign of her living out her dream. Her dream was to write a romantic novel, and although she wasn’t writing yet, maybe she was living in a romantic novel.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

I just finished reading the first fifty-five pages of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I’m still not sure how to process what I just read. It was easy to comprehend and understand and rather enjoyable, but I have not read enough to figure out why this story was assigned.

The protagonist in the story is Junior. He is a fourteen-year old boy who one would not categorize as ‘normal’. But who sets the standards for our norm? He is a poor-Indian living on a reservation where everyone seems to give-up. They give-up on having a better life. They give-up on the people who surround them. They give-up on furthering their education. But most importantly, they give-up on hope. The Indians are clearly never going to get out of poverty but Junior is determined to change that.

Junior’s best friend was a fourteen-year old boy named Rowdy. His parents are both drunk and his dad gets angry when he is intoxicated. When his dad gets angry, Rowdy gets beaten. So, Rowdy and Junior spend a lot of their days together. Since Junior is developmentally challenged, Rowdy protects him from bullies.

Mr. P, Junior’s math teacher, encourages him to hold onto his hope. Therefore, Junior is resolute on going to a better school and making something of himself, unlike his deadbeat sister and everyone else that is close to him. The day before his first day of his new school, Junior tells Rowdy of his decision. Rowdy cannot accept this and he therefore gives up hope on his best and only friend.

"Welding with Children"

So, I'm back at Fairfield University for my second semester of college. To be honest, it is like starting my first semester all over again! I have that same anxious feeling of starting my classes and meeting more new people. Naturally this time around is a little better because I already know the people I live with and I am able to recognize some familiar faces in the quad.

I returned to Bryan’s En12 class on the first day of school. I wasn’t too sure if I would enjoy a rollover class. I figured the teacher would know all of us and the class would be way more demanding this semester opposed to having a breand new teacher. To my surprise, going into the class was refreshing. I knew my professor and all of the other students already. Although the class requires more reading to be done I know that it will become manageable.

On that first day of class we were assigned our first short story. It was a fourteen-page printout called “Welding with Children.” I was not dreading the story, but I was dreading the fact that I was back into the swing of college and homework (h-dubbs) already. When I read the story I realized it wasn’t so bad. It had a lot of themes about family. I thought it was a good story to start the semester off because many of us may have been missing our families from home already. (I know I was.)

“Welding with Children” was about a man named Bruton who had four daughters that he had raised wrong that he wasn’t necessarily ‘proud’ of. Each daughter had a child out of wedlock, giving Bruton four grandchildren.

Bruton was a “now-and-then welder” from Louisiana. He went to college and “got his money’s worth by learning about people who don’t have hearts bigger than bird shot.” One day his four grandchildren were dropped off to his house to be watched. The children were not well behaved in any way shape or form. Needless to say, they were not being raised properly and Bruton realized that he had a second chance at raising children right. He decided to take their eyes off of the television for a change and actually read to them. He even contemplated leaving Louisiana with his grandkids and starting a whole new life with them. It was actually Fordlyson (a sleaze-ball from town) who made Bruton recognize that he had to “deal directly with the children.” He would need to take them to Church, clean his yard, and be around them as much as possible.

I think the underlying message of the story is what Bruton finally realizes. The message is clear and stated. It is that “everything worth doing hurts like hell.” I agree with this statement and this message puts school into focus for me. Sure, it may be hard to focus on homework while people are going out but that struggle is what’s worth doing and it will pay off in the end. Maybe I’m way off, but I believe that is why this was the first story we read for the semester and I really enjoyed reading it.