A Cremation?

This blog post is in response to the 18th blog post

When I first came across this book, I assumed that it would be about the holocaust or some type of tragic event. I was really surprised ( for real) when I started getting into the book, and I found out that it's about poor people living in Ireland. I think that the title was very misleading because it doesn't really give the reader a hint about what the book is going to be like or anything. I thought that a girl was narrating the book until the second chapter. As I further analyze the title of the book, the question of cremation comes up. I think that the entire book is based on faith, but in a way their faith has betrayed them and has not brought them wealth or success or luck in anyway. Relating it to cremation and ashes, the process of cremation was not really something practiced by the Catholic faith, which in a way makes the whole book seem controversial. I did not really understand why the book was titled the way it is, and I believe it should have a different one in order to have a greater impact on the reader.

This article talks about cremation and when it first was allowed in a Catholic Church
http://askthedirector.blogspot.com/2008/05/cathoic-faith-and-cremation.html

A Journey Across The Universe

This blog post is in response to blog prompt number 16. chapter 11

This year, we learned about different people and the paths they chose during their lifetime journey. The overall theme of the year was Who are you and what do you want to become? I think that reading about different people who followed their own dreams and tried to define themselves was really appropriate for this year, the senior and last year in highschool.

"It was as if Jesus himself were looking down on our sorry arses, he knew that we were goin' the wrong way, makin' signs for us to turn back but Mikey said never turn back when you don't have any reason to," page 254


The book Angela's Ashes is also about a journey of a young adult and the obstacles he faced and he grows up by surrounding himself with older kids, he's faced with the brutal truth that life isn't fair. He, like characters in other books we've read this year about journeys across the globe, has been introduced to new concepts and idea's in the world that help shape his own ideology.

I think that all of the books we've read this year had a kind of personal connection, because we are all in real life put in the same situations of trying to fit in, and trying to achieve our goals and develop our own path in life.

Boy Meets World

When researching further into my book, I was looking for video's about the book or ones that related to it. I came across a Boy Meets World episode titled Angela's Ashes!
Enjoy!

Kiss The Painting, Speak The Truth

This blog post is in response to blog prompt number 8.


" She drags me home by the ear and makes me kneel before the Pope. Swear, she says, swear to that Pope that you didn't look at Mona Dooley in her pelt.
I swear.
If you're lying you wont be in a state of grace for COnfirmation tomorrow and thats the worst kid of sacrilege.
I swear," (Page 190, Frank and his mother).

Throughout the novel, the McCourts have been very religious Catholics. But if you delve deeper into their actual faith, it seems as if it is the only hope they have. Most people who are in impoverish states have a trust in some type of force, a force that will back their hope with a promise. I think that this painting is very symbolic to their faith, not only because it is a painting of a Pope, but the way they treat it almost like a shrine for the Lord. This painting is mentioned several times in the book, all during times where honesty and trust are in question, I think it's been used to lie many times, and cover the truth.

A Voice, A Rhythmic Song

This blog post is in response to blog prompt number 11.

"When the bleeding stops and Mam's gums heal she goes to the clinic for her false teeth. She says she;l give up the smoking when her new teeth are in but she never does. The new teeth rub on her gums and make them sore and the smoke of the Woodbines eases them," (pg139, A.Ashes).

Frank has a specific way of telling a story, as I mentioned in previous blog posts. He puts conversations and slurs peoples dialogue together. I think that being a child makes him less attentive, but the way he writes/speaks is very easy to get confused. If you jump in the middle of one of his paragraphs it's hard to understand who is talking and what is going on because of the lack of direction.
I do not think this is a very successful method for Frank, but it also gives the book a style and differentiated from other books from a kid's point of view.

Drinking The Money Away

This blog post is in response to blog prompt #4.



In the beginning of the Chapter, we, the readers, find out that Angela's friend, and in a way parallel character, is admitted into an insane asylum because she worries herself to the point of insanity about her family. Frank's family is in a very similar situation, and befriends Nora's son Mikey. Frank's first communion is coming up, and Mikey explains that some people are not a "proper" catholic because they cannot take communion( page 117, paraphrased). Frank looks up and hangs almost on every word that Mikey says. Both families have the same struggles, and I think that Frank takes interest in Mikey because of their similar situation.

I was really surprised how similar the two women (Angela and Nora) are, both with alcoholic husbands, trying to make ends meet with the money and care of their children. and how Angela remains strong when times get tough even though her situation is almost identical to Nora's. I think that when you see someone else fall, it makes you want to stay strong even more. I think that Nora's family represents what could happen to the McCourts if they give into their impoverish state.

Characterization

This blog post is in response to the 3rd blog prompt.

The characters in this book are not typical; the way that they are described the best is through the conversations they have with each-other and their voices. For example, Frank's mother Angela has a specific style and voice that when the narrator writes her dialogue, right away I know who is speaking.

" It's your blood and 'tis a sad thing when a ma cant even drive a nail straight. It just goes to sow how useless you are. You'd be better off digging fields and anyway I don't care. I have pain in my back and I'm going to bed.
Och, what am i going to do? Dad says," (page 93, Angela's Ashes).

Angela is chastising her husband for his excessive alcohol abuse, and her stress of being a mother of two at this point is building up, especially having to deal with the death of her baby as well as her youngest son. The family is extremely poor, and the way that Angela expresses her emotions is revealed in her speeches to her husband. On the other side, her husband Malachy responds in a way that makes him seem like a drunk, the only characterization he has to describe him because Frank hardly mentions him, but when he does it is always in what his father says.

Purple Royal

This blog post is in response to blog prompt number fifteen.

The image I chose above relates to not only this chapter (4) but also the overall scene of the book. The family is constantly starving, not having enough food to suffice them, which makes them further poor, their stomaches are malnourished. Food is a relative concept that defines your status in society;going furthest back in time, having an abundance of food representing royalty, something that not the average person could afford. I think in a way, Frank resents his parents, as well as his country, for his impoverish state. From reading his words, I can't help but to feel bad for him, and have an interpersonal connection with him being poor. There are some things in life that are unfair, Frank's short end of the stick is with money, kind of like my own. We're constantly struggling to fit into society, but what we forget is that everyone has something holding them back.

Thesis Statement for Theme

The greatest impact that Che Guevara had on the world was his nameless iconic face, not for Ernesto Guevara's revolutionary political work and ideals.

Peruvian Do Now!

Write a short story as a peruvian man or woman, describe your environment as well as your daily routine using the knowledge provided by the book as well as online resources.
Also, include at least one of the following: diction, voice, literary devices or poetic style.
As always, include an image and remember to tag the post as "Brianna's Do Now".

:)

Che's Point of View

Throughout the novel so far, we have learned only a few things about Che. He was a bright young Argentine, but we also found out about the other side of him. I believe that che was trying so hard to be this man that was glorified, he kind of missed out on developing his own soul. He was constantly on the move and gaining new knowledge from the places he visited, i believe that he truly thought himself to be great and powerful even throughout his entire life. I think that Che Guevara was trying to find himself in a way that he created himself to be a man who is a leader, a name that everyone knows. In a way, he succeeded, he almost wanted to be a celebrity. Still, I didn't know his name until we started this topic and read his journal in english class.

Slewed Speech

This blog post is in response to the 10th prompt listed on the paper.



After reading chapter two, I felt as if a part of my heart was sewn into the pages, not only from personal experience but also with all of the exposure to situations from books, media, etc. The way that the narrator, Frank, tells the story about his mother getting in modern times what we call food-stamps, and every way he explains it seems like a trail of subconscious thoughts and views. For example Angela is going food shopping and Frank is witnessing it almost as if he were slewing words and phrases together like a child would because there attention span is too small to follow a conversation they aren't interested in.

" Well, now, Im not a millionaire, but here...
God Bless you, Mrs. McGrath, and I know it's asking a lot but could you possible lend me a couple of cigarettes?
Well, now, they're not on the docket. Im not here to supply luxuries," page 67

This conversation reminds me of a book I read going into 11th grade for english; Blink, written by Malcolm Gladwell, describes how the subconscious mind works and how the brain functions in our daily lives. Frank completely disregards what they're saying and simply slums the conversation together because of his lack of attentiveness.

Independant Reading-Angela's Ashes

This blog post is in response to the first blog prompt listed on the rubric. Chapter one of Angela's Ashes. When I first skimmed through the book, I was assuming that the person writing it, or the point of view was a female. I was shocked and almost appalled that after reading a few pages the book is really from the perspective of a young boy named Frank. Judging by the length of the book, I think that it is going to be boring. I do however enjoy the way in which the narrator describes each member of his family, and how he is ashamed of his own heritage. It is almost as if he shuns his family for being the race and class that they are. The book then begins to introduce the mother, Angela, who I assume is the main topic of this book, and her journey from Ireland to America. I like how the book is very narrative, as well as descriptive, I feel as if I hear Frank's voice when I really get into reading.

Chile

Bordering country struggling blindly for independence.

Che Chey Chilly Chile

When Che and his friend Alberto arrived in Chile, their brains were as small as the money in their pockets. They decided to not come into the country quietly, but to bang pots and pans like children by introducing themselves as experts on a disease they hardly knew about. Che was cocky, he was a practiced con artist. I think at this moment, he truly became the man that is hated around the world. He used the article written about him in a newspaper in order to gain meals and shelter.
Che was then politically driven by these sly compromises he made with people. I think at this point, Che realized how powerful his lying and deceivingness, and how it could really work for him.