VOCABULARY:
commune (65): to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy
biddy (83): a chicken OR a newly hatched chick.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
"Spring twitches impatiently in its seat like a child wanting to go outside, straining towards summer..." (79)
This is a very good similie, and an excellent description of how the seasons are changing. It is good to see some brightness and a chance for things to look up after Katie's father's suicide.
" 'Scritchy kisses!' she strieked. i could see them without even looking, rubbing their cheeks together, lips pursed, like a pair of fish" (85)
Opa, Katie's paternal grandfather is trying to give Kate the utmost amount of love possible, due to her father's suicide. Kate's mom, Claire describes it as Kate is so sad that she doesn't even know (how sad she is) how much sadness she even feels for this loss. This is a similie, when Opa was kissing Kate.
"She surveyed her crowded kitchen, the refrigerator and freezer having long since run out of space and spilled over with covered dishes that took up every inch of counter space." (90) This is very descripitive language, because the the refigerator and freezer cannot "spill" so it's giing a different characteristic to the fridge and freezer. Hornbacher is talking about how because of the father's death, the enire town comes over with hot dishes and food to help the family mourn.
PROBABLE THEME:
I think the theme is how one family tragedy(crisis) really shows the different coping mechanisms as individuals, and as the entire family after, in this case, a suicide.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
[Post B Week 2]
LETTER TO THE MAIN CHARACTER:
Dear Katie,
This part of the book has been the hardest for you by far, because of Esau's sickness and the arguments between your parents.I know that it is very hard for you to understand why they fight,and why they won't always be happy together. Even though this is tough on you and Esau, it's important to keep out from under their feet. They have a lot more issues than you as "tween" could understand.A line that really stuck with me was: "I watched them. Froze them that way in my head. Stay there, I almost said aloud. Like that. But they broke apart. They always did." (39). Your father's issue with alcohol is a huge strain on their marriage, and not only emotionally but also financially. This is a big reason for why your mother wants to send Esau 'Away'. I think that its best for you to try and empathize with your mother and understand that the best place for Esau and his illness is definately where you call 'Away'. It was scary when Esau had an episode and you had to hold him down while your mother shoved a pill down his throat to stop the siezure. Unfortunately you and your mom cannot be there all the time in case of Esau's episodes, so even though sending Esau back "Away" is a difficult thing, and even thought it depresses you each night, maybe the best thing for Esau hurts you a little bit. Stay strong, because I have a feeling that this will not be your only loss.
<3Caitlin
Dear Katie,
This part of the book has been the hardest for you by far, because of Esau's sickness and the arguments between your parents.I know that it is very hard for you to understand why they fight,and why they won't always be happy together. Even though this is tough on you and Esau, it's important to keep out from under their feet. They have a lot more issues than you as "tween" could understand.A line that really stuck with me was: "I watched them. Froze them that way in my head. Stay there, I almost said aloud. Like that. But they broke apart. They always did." (39). Your father's issue with alcohol is a huge strain on their marriage, and not only emotionally but also financially. This is a big reason for why your mother wants to send Esau 'Away'. I think that its best for you to try and empathize with your mother and understand that the best place for Esau and his illness is definately where you call 'Away'. It was scary when Esau had an episode and you had to hold him down while your mother shoved a pill down his throat to stop the siezure. Unfortunately you and your mom cannot be there all the time in case of Esau's episodes, so even though sending Esau back "Away" is a difficult thing, and even thought it depresses you each night, maybe the best thing for Esau hurts you a little bit. Stay strong, because I have a feeling that this will not be your only loss.
<3Caitlin
Saturday, November 17, 2007
[Post A Week 2]
to thrum (32): to drum of tap idly with one's fingers
percolator (64): a kind of coffeepot in which boiling water in a repeated process is forced up a hollow stem, filters down through ground coffee in a sievelike container, and returns to the pot below
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
"My father's face crumpled like a paper napkin." (66)
I know that this is use of figurative language because its a similie, comparing 2 things using the words like or as. Katie describes her father's face as he has an argument with her mother, Claire, because Katie's father believes that there is nothing to live for, and Claire kind of tells hiim off, that he knows darn well that his children love him, and that she loves him, and that that should be enough reason to keep living.
"He was crunching on ice. In the silence it sounded like he was chewing on glass." (28)
I know that this is use of figurative language because its a similie, comparing 2 things using the words like or as.
Katie's father is contemplating whether or not to return his son, who has "episodes" back to what the family calls "Away", which I think is essentially a home for mentally disabled. From what I have read I think that he[Esau, Katie's brother] is autistic. The father thinks that Esau is fine, and Claire, the mother, thinks that Esau needs to go back to the home. Katie just wants her brother to be home with her.
"I don't know what day it was. I know the snow had fallen, had been falling heavily for days, blanketing the fields overnight, softening and silencing the world. I know winter had come." (39)
This is very descriptive language. It is mostly likely more descriptive to me, because I can really relate to Minnesota winters. Every year when we drive to International Falls, up on the Minnesota/Canadian border, all the fields really do appear to have a blanket of snow, and the space just seems to tranquil, like the snow came in with a hush.
SIGNIFICANT QUOTE:
"I watched them. Froze them that way in my head. Stay there, I almost said aloud. Like that. But they broke apart. They always did." (39)
This is a significant quote because Katie's parents are constantly fighting. She just wants them to be happy together because with Esau having medical issues, which already put significant strain on the family, The father is also a big drinker, and Katie doesn't understand why.
PROBABLE THEME:
I think the theme is how families deal with certain crises in their individual lives, and the impact on the family as a whole.
percolator (64): a kind of coffeepot in which boiling water in a repeated process is forced up a hollow stem, filters down through ground coffee in a sievelike container, and returns to the pot below
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
"My father's face crumpled like a paper napkin." (66)
I know that this is use of figurative language because its a similie, comparing 2 things using the words like or as. Katie describes her father's face as he has an argument with her mother, Claire, because Katie's father believes that there is nothing to live for, and Claire kind of tells hiim off, that he knows darn well that his children love him, and that she loves him, and that that should be enough reason to keep living.
"He was crunching on ice. In the silence it sounded like he was chewing on glass." (28)
I know that this is use of figurative language because its a similie, comparing 2 things using the words like or as.
Katie's father is contemplating whether or not to return his son, who has "episodes" back to what the family calls "Away", which I think is essentially a home for mentally disabled. From what I have read I think that he[Esau, Katie's brother] is autistic. The father thinks that Esau is fine, and Claire, the mother, thinks that Esau needs to go back to the home. Katie just wants her brother to be home with her.
"I don't know what day it was. I know the snow had fallen, had been falling heavily for days, blanketing the fields overnight, softening and silencing the world. I know winter had come." (39)
This is very descriptive language. It is mostly likely more descriptive to me, because I can really relate to Minnesota winters. Every year when we drive to International Falls, up on the Minnesota/Canadian border, all the fields really do appear to have a blanket of snow, and the space just seems to tranquil, like the snow came in with a hush.
SIGNIFICANT QUOTE:
"I watched them. Froze them that way in my head. Stay there, I almost said aloud. Like that. But they broke apart. They always did." (39)
This is a significant quote because Katie's parents are constantly fighting. She just wants them to be happy together because with Esau having medical issues, which already put significant strain on the family, The father is also a big drinker, and Katie doesn't understand why.
PROBABLE THEME:
I think the theme is how families deal with certain crises in their individual lives, and the impact on the family as a whole.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
It's Wonderful To Have You Back [Post B, Week 1]
Dear Marya Hornbacher,
The reason I chose "The Center of Winter" is because of how much I enjoyed your memoir, "Wasted". It is really cool to know that you grew up by Concord, which is a parking lot away from my middle school. I thought I would give your first novel a try.
So far, I am enjoying it very much. Your previous life experiences (drugs, sex, bulimia, anorexia, neglect, etc.) have been intertwined into this ficticious work. I am curious about how you will develop your characters, if you are going to make them who you wished you could be at a young age, or if you will make the young girl struggle with simliar issues you did. So far, the book is set in Motley, Minnesota (sticking with Minnesota for setting, eh?), which is a teeny tiny town, and contrasts to "Wasted" which mostly took place in Edina (Pop. 47,500)...that is when you weren't in any rehabhillitaion services. I'm also anxious to see how you will carry a fmily through grief, and how you will set the characters apart from each other with their styles of grieving and paces of moving on. I have high hopes for this book!!
<3Caitlin
The reason I chose "The Center of Winter" is because of how much I enjoyed your memoir, "Wasted". It is really cool to know that you grew up by Concord, which is a parking lot away from my middle school. I thought I would give your first novel a try.
So far, I am enjoying it very much. Your previous life experiences (drugs, sex, bulimia, anorexia, neglect, etc.) have been intertwined into this ficticious work. I am curious about how you will develop your characters, if you are going to make them who you wished you could be at a young age, or if you will make the young girl struggle with simliar issues you did. So far, the book is set in Motley, Minnesota (sticking with Minnesota for setting, eh?), which is a teeny tiny town, and contrasts to "Wasted" which mostly took place in Edina (Pop. 47,500)...that is when you weren't in any rehabhillitaion services. I'm also anxious to see how you will carry a fmily through grief, and how you will set the characters apart from each other with their styles of grieving and paces of moving on. I have high hopes for this book!!
<3Caitlin
Here It Goes Again [Post A, Week 1]
VOCABULARY:
transient (Hornbacher, 16): lasting only a short time
amorphous (Hornbacher, 33): formless, having no specific shape
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
(1) "They weres stuffed into their second-best suits and dresses...which itched at the armpits and high collars."(Hornbacher, 8)
My 7th grade ELA techer always told me that an author successfully uses figurative language when you can acutally picture what the author really wants you to see. In this paragraph, they are sitting in a church. This is an image that my mind clearly depicts, and she ues a good adjective when she says that they were ""stuffed" into their suits and dresses.
(2) "The fields were lit up by the high, white moon, glistening like an eyeball in the sky." (Hornbacher, 12)
I know that this figurative language because she is comparing the moon with an eyeball using the word "like", and that is a similie, which is figurative language.
(3) "He scrambled to his feet and ran off into the dark like a frightened deer." (Hornbacher, 14)
This too is a similie because of the use of "like" in the comparison of the boy to a frightened deer.
SIGNIFICANT QUOTE:
"They always told this story at funeral parties, It was the best dead-person storiy they had, so they told it again and again." (Hornbacher, 10)
This quote is significant because so far, from what I know, death is a theme in this book, and rediscovering hope. The family seems to go to a lot of funerals for their elderly friends. There hasn't been an immediate family member's death so far, but I'm sure how funeral parties go in this tiny town is going to be a reoccuring theme.
THEME...SO FAR...
I think the theme so far is similar of that to "All My Sons" because of death, and how a family grieves, and how each person moves on and have different ideas of how far (to move on) is okay.
transient (Hornbacher, 16): lasting only a short time
amorphous (Hornbacher, 33): formless, having no specific shape
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
(1) "They weres stuffed into their second-best suits and dresses...which itched at the armpits and high collars."(Hornbacher, 8)
My 7th grade ELA techer always told me that an author successfully uses figurative language when you can acutally picture what the author really wants you to see. In this paragraph, they are sitting in a church. This is an image that my mind clearly depicts, and she ues a good adjective when she says that they were ""stuffed" into their suits and dresses.
(2) "The fields were lit up by the high, white moon, glistening like an eyeball in the sky." (Hornbacher, 12)
I know that this figurative language because she is comparing the moon with an eyeball using the word "like", and that is a similie, which is figurative language.
(3) "He scrambled to his feet and ran off into the dark like a frightened deer." (Hornbacher, 14)
This too is a similie because of the use of "like" in the comparison of the boy to a frightened deer.
SIGNIFICANT QUOTE:
"They always told this story at funeral parties, It was the best dead-person storiy they had, so they told it again and again." (Hornbacher, 10)
This quote is significant because so far, from what I know, death is a theme in this book, and rediscovering hope. The family seems to go to a lot of funerals for their elderly friends. There hasn't been an immediate family member's death so far, but I'm sure how funeral parties go in this tiny town is going to be a reoccuring theme.
THEME...SO FAR...
I think the theme so far is similar of that to "All My Sons" because of death, and how a family grieves, and how each person moves on and have different ideas of how far (to move on) is okay.
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