"Room" by Emma Donoghue - Book Pitch

"Room" by Emma Donoghue tells the story of a horrific kidnapping through the eyes of the five-year-old protagonist, Jack. One room is everything he has come to known in his life and the outside world is nothing more than fiction on their television set. Jack's mother has created a perfect world for her son when the reality is much more horrifying. Emma Donoghue does an excellent job portraying Jack’s progression through childhood as his curiosity of the outside world and Ma’s past drive this novel to unknown heights. The shocking plot is captivating and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat for hours.



About the Author:
Emma Donoghue was born in Dublin, Ireland and has published multiple novels including "Life Mask" and "Landing." She also writes plays and literary history. In 1998 she moved to Canada and now lives in London, Ontario with her partner and two children. Her novels vary in topics and settings but are consistently fascinating and compelling stories. Her most recent novel, "Room," was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in September, 2010 and awarded the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize in November, 2010. "Room" is also shortlisted for the 2010 Governor General's Awards in Canada and was the winner of the Irish Book Award for 2010.

Price: $ 29.99
ISBN: 978-1-55468-831-9
Published: September 13, 2010 by Little, Brown and Company

About Graham Muncaster:
Graham Muncaster is in grade twelve at a Ontario High School in Canada. He enjoys reading novels written in varying styles and writing his own stories. This blog has been created for a grade twelve writer's class course and contains book reviews and story and article analysis. (Twitter: @Muncastrater)

"Room" by Emma Donoghue

In "Room" by Emma Donoghue, the protagonist is a boy named Jack. For this five-year-old, one room is everything he has come to known. He was born in Room and has grown, learned and played with his mother in it ever since. In the eyes of Jack, he lives in a perfect world, but to Ma they are locked in a prison by Old Nick. From what I have read so far, Jack’s personality has been revealed by his actions and his mother’s words. The circumstances do not stop Jack from being a curious child. His thoughts are always jumping and his actions follow suit. An example of this comes on page 4, “I jump onto Rocker to look at Watch, he says 07:14. I can skate-board on Rocker without holding onto her, then I whee back onto Duvet and I’m snowboarding instead.” Emma Donoghue does an excellent job portraying Jack’s playful personality by using capital letters and eliminating the word “the” to give objects in Room life in a child’s eyes. His juvenile nature becomes clear when he does things such as, “I stroke Table’s scratches to make them better, she’s a circle all white except gray in the scratches from chopping foods.” (6) This novel creates passage into a young child’s mind and I believe it is quite accurate in doing so.


The novel is told from the first person perspective of Jack and his dialogue makes the story so spectacular. After seeing his mother take two pain killers for her tooth ache on page 9, Jack asks, “Why don’t you take two killers all the bits of every day?” She responds by saying she’d be hooked which is, “Like stuck on a hook, because I’d need them all the time. Actually I might need more and more.” Then Jack says, “What’s wrong with needing?” (9) This excerpt is a perfect example of Emma Donoghue’s ability to express childhood innocence on paper. Jack does not understand the problems that can come along with someone’s actions like many children his age. However, the extent of this is much more extreme with Jack due to his isolation. Also, Emma Donoghue mixes up verb tenses and leaves out words to make Jack’s dialogue as child-like as possible. For instance, he says things such as, “How did a picture asleep?” (5)


On the other hand, there are certain parts of "Room" where Jack’s growing maturity becomes evident. This maturity is seen when Ma begins to speak of the existence of the world outside Room. In order to escape, a plan is made where Jack needs to fake sick and go to a hospital with Old Nick. Ma says, “I know it’ll be really weird to go on your own, but I’ll be talking to you in your head every minute, I promise.” However, Jack is mature enough to know that this is not the case and “Ma won’t be in my head really. My tummy hurts just thinking about it.” (108) At times, Ma’s frustration towards Jack shows through and he always sees this. After disagreeing with Ma’s plan, Jack understands that, “She doesn’t say anything she’s so furious with me.” (114) He is more mature than the reader’s original impression and his curiosity of the outside world and Ma’s past drive this novel during and after their escape.

Richard Ford Blog

A)

After reading “Leaving for Kenosha” and “City Beyond the Reach of Empathy” and listening to Richard Ford’s interview it became clear that the city of New Orleans means a lot to Ford and also his wife. However, this connection is clearly tainted by the United States response to Hurricane Katrina. In “City Beyond the Reach of Empathy,” he describes New Orleans as “our great iconic city, so graceful, livable, insular, self-delighted, eccentric, the one New Orleanians always said, with a wink, that care forgot and that sometimes, it might seem, forgot to care.” Unfortunately, this is not the same New Orleans we know today. In his short story, “Leaving Kenosha,” Charbonnet Street is described as “a long street of wreckages. Where the floodwater had hurtled through, houses had been flattened, others moved off their foundations, others had their roofs floated away. Though others—the compact, sturdy brick ones—had simply been ruined in a way that left them seeming almost whole.” This is a more accurate portrayal of a large portion of the city. The deserted part of New Orleans was and still is in such ruins that “no one was living in any house now, or in the acres of streets in either direction, streets that looked like open fields. It was the Lower Nine. It was the land far below sea level, the submersible land that had always been poor and black but had been a place to live. Now that seemed finished.” When asked if the house on Charbonnet was his, Jerry says, “Some people came along and just built it. Volunteers from someplace. Said it was a model house. It’s where her old house was ’til the storm took it. She just moved right in like nothing ever happened. She’s from way in the country. Nothing surprises her.” It is very peculiar that a single model home was built surrounded by wreckage, but this is a regular occurrence in New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina came with countless setbacks for the people of New Orleans. I share the opinion of Robert Ford that the people of America forgot about this ongoing situation and were quite dismissive. Since the majority of the people suffering were poor blacks, it was as if they were deemed not necessary of getting assistance. In response to Martin Levin drawing this conclusion in the interview, Ford says, “To this day they have not been rescued. They've just been told to, “"come back if you want to."” Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Ford says, “if you come back and build a house on this land that was inadequate and is inadequate now. If you do that and enough of your friends do it we will begin to restore city services to you, but we’re not gonna say how many have to come back for that to happen.” In this excerpt he does an excellent job describing the government’s lack of initiative in New Orleans post-Katrina.

In the article, “City Beyond the Reach of Empathy,” Ford finds himself reminiscing about the beauty of the city before the storm. He loves New Orleans and often goes back to do what he can. However, he attempts to convince himself to let go of the memories and loosen his attachment to the New Orleans that no longer exists. He says, “But so much for memory now. It charms, but it confuses and possibly holds us back. It's hard enough to take things in. When I think of my friends in the city this morning, I think of them as high and dry, as being where they belong, being themselves in their normal life that was. I turn off the TV, as I did four years ago next week, just to think my own sorrowing and prospective thoughts of them.” This is a very insightful passage and shows Ford’s heartbreak caused by Hurricane Katrina. He is at a lost for words and describes this in “A City Beyond the Reach of Empathy” by saying, “An attempt to set out a vocabulary for empathy and for reckoning is frustrated in a moment of sorest need by the plain terms of the tragedy that wants telling." However, Ford is confident in the city's ability to regain life. He believes that the lack of writing about the situation is holding the recovery back and with the help of others this can be fixed.

B)

In the article, “Gov’t on Our Minds”, Robert Ford describes the midterm elections as “the constitutionally mandated annoyance whereby all of the Congress and a third of the Senate (plus eight jillion local likelies) have to stand before us once again—pretty much insures that we can’t get government out of our minds, lives, hair, dreams, and just be satisfied being ““the governed.”” This is a perfect example of Ford’s feelings toward the government. He feels that people need to be less concerned with their governing body and should forget about elections after they have taken place because the past cannot be re-written. Ford believes that the general population are being drawn to the politicians who are constantly “yapping at us, lying to us, insulting us, pandering to us, eroding our peace of mind, inducing in us a state of frenzy so that we can’t escape the very thing we say we don’t want to think about.” He states that people should be able to live their lives and not have to think about government, but nowadays this is almost impossible.

In his interview with Martin Levin, Ford says, “Americans aren't interested in politics. To Americans, politics is a TV show every night between six-thirty and seven.” It is clear that he looks at politics with disdain and I believe he is right in doing so. When speaking of the Bush election in his interview, he says, “between when we Americans voted and when the republican via the Supreme Court stole the election. I thought that I could bring peoples attention to something that I felt Americans had slept through, which was our civic responsibility, our franchise, when we didn't rise and revolt, when we didn't do more than almost sheepishly vote.” Ford is clearly embarrassed that the people of the United States are not willing to do anything more than vote for their leaders. When asked about the most recent election, Ford correctly states that none of the candidates deserved to be the next President. Interestingly, he did not vote for Obama because he knew the least about him and what he did know was not unfavourable. Along with this, he believes that politics have a forgotten responsibility, which is taking care of our economic class. This often falls through the cracks during elections and Ford is correct in saying so.

C)

Robert Ford is a realistic novelist who likes to keep his stories simple. In his interview, he states that writing novels is as easy as “simply looking around you.” He says, “The truth is about writing novels, you cannot keep up with reality. There is nothing you can dream up or nightmarishly wake up in the middle of the night and write on a little piece of paper that isn’t already happening somewhere.” In the end, all writers want is to use their imagination and intelligence to produce the best possible piece of work and Ford says, “this is one of the things young writers have a hard time doing.” Ford writes short stories for this reason. He finds it easier to captivate the audience and in his interview says, “When I sit down to write a story I just think, well this baby is going to have to be shorter and it’s going to have to have fewer scenes in it.” This results in a more desired sleek piece of writing.

In his early writing life, Ford was not able to write short stories at all. However, he started hanging around with fellow writers and learned from his peers quickly. These writers included Anne Beatty, Raymond Carver and Tobias Wolff. All of whom were a part of the "dirty realism movement" during the 1970s and 1980s, which most likely sparked Ford’s use of dirty realism. He believes that, “Novels and short stories alike are experiments in language and they are opportunities for the writer to invite the reader to revel in well chosen language. And so less well chosen language is not better than more well chosen language.” There are multiple examples of this in “Leaving for Kenosha.” For instance, the following sentence is perfect in its simplicity: “Louise was now sunk in silence.” Robert Ford is quite honest when speaking of his writing style during his interview with Martin Levin and I am grateful for the opportunity to listen.

D)

Surprisingly, Ford does not support the idea of dirty realism. He describes it as a useful marketing ploy especially when a large portion of his writing is put in this category. However, it is clear that there are aspects of this technique in his writing. This label has been put on his short stories since the 1970s and a simple Google search of “dirty realism” comes up with multiple results relating to Ford. In the short stories I have read, it is clear that Ford’s writing is often concise and to the point. This style helps the reader visualize the setting and the feelings of the characters. An example of this is seen his short story, “Leaving for Kenosha.” Ford writes, “Louise’s mother was across the lake on Mitch Daigle’s screen porch. He would be at work tomorrow. Things were coming back to regular.” This passage is stripped down to the bare essentials and allows the reader to imagine the lake and relationship between Walter and his ex-wife.

Ford recalls a memory from his childhood in “A City Beyond the Reach of Empathy” and does so using dirty realism. He writes, “I have a picture of my parents on V-J Day, in City Park, holding a baby, staring at the camera and the sun. They are a dressed up and happy. The baby is me. So, I wonder, how is that park faring tonight.” As this passage progresses, the reader is able to visualize the setting in more detail and imagine the strong feeling of love between parents and their child. Ford always tries to describe settings and characters as realistically as possible in his stories and this is why it makes sense that he would dismiss dirty realism. It is unfortunate that a unique writing style like his must be labeled and critiqued. I particularly enjoy his use of “dirty realism” and plan on reading more of his stories in the future.

The Birth of a Winner?

The two excerpts that stood out the most for me were from "Room" by Emma Donoghue and "Cities of Refuge", by Michael Helm. While reading the excerpt from "Cities of Refuge," I found that the opening paragraphs were particularly well written. An immense amount of sensory detail allowed me to picture the story unraveling in my mind. It seemed as if I were following the "foreign girl" and watching her every move. This appeals to me immensely because I enjoy reading for detail. After reading this excerpt, it is clear that this novel is not a light read. This also appeals to me because I just finished reading "The Life of Pi" and I am looking for a more challenging novel.

Emma Donoghue has done an excellent job writing "Room" from the point of view of a young child. It is fascinating to imagine your thought process at this age, which ends up being surprisingly close to that of the boy in this novel. The concept of an isolated boy convinced that one single room is all that exists is interesting, but seems hard to convey on paper. However, Ms. Donoghue is successful in this excerpt by accurately portraying the relationship between a loving mother and her son. The boy’s dialogue is simple and effective. The boy says, “To sick me like when I was three with throw-up and diarrhea?” This is a perfect example of something a five year old would say and exactly why this excerpt seems almost non-fiction to the reader. This excerpt and novel appeal to me because of the surprising plot and fascinating dialogue. When I was introduced to the book a few weeks ago I was astonished by the plot and immediately interested in reading it. I believe that "Room" deserves to win the "Writer's Trust Fiction Prize" because it is the only novel that stood out for me. I plan on reading "Room" in the near future and hopefully it lives up to the excerpt.



"The birth of a winner?"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-birth-of-a-winner/article1776842/

Cathy Gildiner's Visit

After speaking with Cathy Gildiner about what goes on behind the scenes when writing a memoir, it became clear that writing is more than a career or hobby, it is a way of life. In her memoir, Ms. Gildiner does not censor her life when putting it on paper, even when asked to by her publishing company and editor. "After The Falls" shows the highs and lows of her life, which creates an intimate feel for the reader. In fact, as she stated, it would be a shame to leave anything out because the significance of some events in her life would be lost. It takes courage to publish a memoir, especially when a "gang-bang" (according to Ms. Gildiner, it was not a rape because they had her consent) and affair have taken place. It was somewhat surreal talking to the person whose life I had been reading about for weeks. Her life had been drastically changed in this memoir multiple times and it was very fascinating being able to ask her about these events. Cathy Gildiner has a life that reads like fiction and it was a pleasure talking to her in person. I only have one question after hearing her speak and it is quite simple: how can I aspire to have a colourful life like hers?

Independent Reading Blog Entries

A) Cathy’s relationships with her Mom and Dad

Cathy’s relationship with her parents is continually changing in "After the Falls". As the novel progresses, Cathy changes from her father’s little girl to an independent young woman. However, this transition is brought on by multiple changes in her day-to-day life, the most obvious being a drastic change in scenery. As the lives of her parent’s change so do their relationships with Cathy. However, her mother is a constant in Cathy’s life especially later in the book when her father’s cancer worsens.

As a child, Cathy spent the majority of her time with her father. She was a paid worker at his drug store in their hometown, Lewiston, and the two kept busy by working on various projects. In fact, “My dad and I were at loose ends without a project.” (19). It was pointed out by a psychiatrist that Cathy was “far too close with my father and Roy and needed to have female friends or I would not be “socialized” correctly.“ (20) However, this changes as she begins her teenage years in Buffalo. She seeks acceptance from her peers and begins to loosen the strong bond with her father. This is a common occurrence in many people’s childhoods and it is definitely present in my life. I find myself spending less time with my father than I did five years ago.

When Cathy’s father is diagnosed with brain cancer she is torn between living her own life and being with her father. She has a world of opportunities waiting for her at Ohio State University, but limited time left with her father. In the end she chooses to leave her father at home with her mother, Janet, but is able to spend the last 6 years of his life by his side. It was only when her father’s days were numbered that Cathy realized that she made him feel like he was never good enough. Fortunately, I hadn’t reached the teenage years of my life before my mother passed away so I didn’t have these feelings. Before her father passes away, he says, “She was a real pip.” (337) and Cathy is pleased when she finds the meaning of the word, something outstanding. The quotation, “O guess we all know that our parents love us, but not many of us know what they actually think of us.” (338) rings true in my mind because there is no true way of knowing someone’s honest opinion on you.

In "After the Falls", Cathy’s relationship with her mother, Janet stays much more constant than that of her father. She is always there for Cathy, but does not intrude on her personal life. She has the role of a housewife and after President Kennedy’s assassination, she is left with much less to get excited about. She was ecstatic that “he could be the first Irish Catholic to make it to the top with his unmistakable Boston Irish broque in tact.” (66) and she had a large role in his election campaign. However, as Cathy becomes older and more mature she realizes that her mother’s had drastically changed with the move to Buffalo and much more with her husbands cancer diagnosis. She has sacrificed quite a bit for Cathy and doesn’t deserve the bad luck of her husband’s cancer diagnosis.


B) The influence of popular culture

Popular culture plays a large role in most people’s day-to-day lives and this is made very clear in this memoir. These references are as simple as a VW beatle and Coca-cola, but also complex like the NAACP movement. Catherine Gildiner’s life, like many others, is filled with popular culture. Cathy grew up in the 60s near the time when Black Americans gained rights and freedoms and she was involved in this Black Rights movement.

In chapter 11, Cathy attends a concert with Buffalo Springfield and his band members, Stephen Stills and Neil Young. Cathy lets loose for once in her life and experiences a new feeling of freedom from her worries. “Gradually I began to feel connected to those around me, and then I was on my feet, humming along and clapping and feeling a solidarity that I couldn’t explain. It was as though these lyrics were perfectly describing the last six months of my life.” (189) Popular music during this decade often referred to a young revolution towards world peace such as For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield.

Musicians like Jimi Hendrix and The Doors were also popular during this time and are noted in the novel. “I was wearing pants that I’d brought home from England that were much like the ones I’d seen Jimi Hendrix wear at a concert in London.” (334) Cathy’s life has progressed greatly from living in the small, somewhat isolated town of Lewiston to discovering the life of popular culture behind the rest of the United States and the World.

An example of a major pop culture reference in the novel comes from Cathy’s relationship with Laurie. “On weekends Laurie and I traveled all around in his little VW Bug, registering blacks in West Virginia preparing them for the November election.” (264) Laurie draws Cathy into the blacks right movement and she becomes fascinated by the power of it. World peace was on many young minds during that decade and the bug was a symbol of peace and happiness. Cathy’s life is altered by pop culture and the same can be said for my life. I watch television, listen to radio stations and keep up with the world on the internet, which leaves plenty of opportunities for pop culture influence on my life. However, the word, “pop culture” has been morphed into today’s less than sophisticated popular music and film industries.

In Chapter 19, two FBI officers question Cathy in her home because of her involvement with the NAACP, primarily during the civil rights movement. The FBI officer asked about her involvement in the movement and her relationship with Laurie Coal and Cornell Phipps. She learns that Cornell Phipps was a drug dealer selling through the Universities such as the one in Buffalo, but also that Laurie was a con man and most likely also selling drugs at Ohio State. Understandably, she feels betrayed and taken advantage of. She had recently overcome her fear of relationships with men dating back to the scaring rape scene in Fran’s basement, but after this news she has returned to her original way of ideals.


C) Cathy’s work life

By the end of the novel, Cathy has built up a very impressive resumé. She has been working since her childhood years in her father’s drug store, McClure’s Drugs and selling Mary Kay Cosmetics in high school. Along with this, she has worked in a donut shop, The Dunk, as a short order cook and a hostess at a Howard Johnson, and worked at New York State Welfare. A large portion of the memoir is based around Cathy’s work experiences and her determination to succeed.

As a child, Cathy spent the majority of her time working in her father’s drugstore, McClure’s Drugs. She was a paid worker at his drug store in their hometown of Lewiston and kept busy organizing shelves and delivering prescriptions with the driver, Roy. However, as their family moved to Buffalo there was no longer a pharmacy to help out at and she began her teenage years. Looking for another source of money, she discovered her knack at selling makeup products to her peers. She sold Mary Kay Cosmetics to her classmates at breaks during school and discovers that she “seemed to have been born to work, for soon I was toiling until the wee hours and ranking as a top saleswoman, before moving on to the big time - Mary Kay cosmetics.” (84) Along with this, Cathy gets a job at a donut shop, The Dunk, when she is able to make a pot of coffee faster than the three applicants who were applying. She came to the donut shop with her mother looking for a snack and came back with a late night and early morning job making minimum wage, which seemed very attractive in her mind. The more school missed, the better. Cathy is very confident in herself in working scenarios and even asks Mr. B for a higher salary before she has started working, “What if I do the work of two waitresses and you don’t have to hire a second?” (87)

Later in the novel, she gets a job at the Howard Johnson as a short order cook, something she is not particularly accustomed to. She is fired for her inability to make a Western and other orders when complaints start to come into the kitchen. However, she knew “There was no way I could have done that job.” (127). Fortunately, she sticks around just long enough to take over for a hostess who has just hurt her ankle. Working at this hotel, she is given a wage increase of three years and part-time work whenever she desires. This comes as a shock when she politely serves none other than Howard Johnson himself. I have not had the pleasure of such a fortunate coincidence, but can imagine how definite part-time work in Toronto would be spectacular.

One of Cathy’s most influential jobs took place at New York State Welfare. The office seemed to be at a standstill and “The first few weeks I was on the job, I attempted to look busy, but it only seemed to annoy people, so finally I started going home shortly after noon like everyone else.” (196) However, Cathy realized that no matter how many people are doing it, it is still immoral and decides to work “a full eight hours every day.” (197) She decides to start a program to “match the teenager to the position.” (208) and succeeds when she gets a job at a riding school for Flaps, a polite and kind son of a prostitute who survives on his own and has a special connection with horses. Cathy goes back to the riding academy a few years later and finds out that Flaps “had worked at the club all through high school” and “Everyone had heard of him. He’d managed an entire stable that was as long as a city block.” (211) She feels she has truly made a difference in someone’s life and takes note that this can be achieved with hard work.


D) Cathy’s friendships

Throughout "After the Falls", Cathy builds and ends multiple relationships like many people in their lifetime. As a child she spends hours with Roy, the McClure’s Drugs delivery driver. When she looks to her age group for friendship in highschool, she befriends a very spirited Fran Stephens and one of her only close male friends, Kip Rogers. As a young woman, she is awestruck by Laurie Steme and builds her first intimate relationship with him until it all comes crashing down.

As stated above, Cathy’s was “far too close with my father and Roy and needed to have female friends or I would not be “socialized” correctly.“ (20) Her mother grew concerned that she lacked friends her age and often asked for guidance from Roy. In fact, she has a vision of Roy at the end of Chapter 11 who reassures her that her father loves her unconditionally and knows “what teenagers get themselves up to. He was one once.” Roy describes a relationship as “a feeling” and “All bad acts in the world won’t destroy it. They might chip away at it, but it is pretty well buried in the soul, where no everyday sharp bits and pieces can get in and cut it out.” (166)

As high school begins, she meets Fran Stephens and they become somewhat inseparable. “Fran and I were the class cut-ups. We never completed, for her expertise was in physical comedy and mimicry, and mine was in verbal-mostly abuse.” (52) The two are very close and stay that way until a boy’s recklessness comes in the way of the their friendship. Cathy “knew then that I had to come to the end of the line with Fran. We could never be friends again. I didn’t say anything.” (78) I have come to this point with a relationship with a friend and also decided to draw a line and take action when it is crossed. However, Cathy does manage to have a long-term relationship with her best male friend, Kip Rogers. He is one of the only men her age that she feels comfortable with on a regular basis. Unfortunately, he is drafted in the army and eventually killed in action in Vietnam. She is told when visiting her high school friends at a bar and is overwhelmed. In the bar, Doc toasts to his death and says, “To our Kip Rogers. Never once said a bad word about another living soul. May he rest in peace.” (248)

When Cathy meets Laurie after they both win the Fun City poetry contest she is taken aback by his good looks, but lacks some initial social skills to break the ice. However, the two “travelled around the state, eventually winding up where we’d started, in western New York.” (235) and slowly became closer. It seems as though the relationship was over at the end of the speaker series, but she is surprised to find out that he attends Ohio State and a more intimate relationship could be possible. This relationship is a substantial focus of the memoir for many chapters as they become a couple. She learns to loosen her grip on life and let things happen when she is with Laurie. However, all that Cathy knows of Laurie comes crashing down when two FBI agents tell her he was a con man and most likely selling drugs at Ohio State. Her trust in men had reached new heights with Laurie but now was at a new low. Thankfully, I have not had to deal with an experience such as this.

Moving the Reader

Ass Burger by Augusten Burroughs:

"The more I read about this condition, the more I read about my brother, an individual unlike anybody I have ever met before. Clearly, not only does my brother have Asperger's syndrome, he is the poster-boy for it." (176)

This passage moves me emotionally because you can feel the weight being lifted on Augusten's shoulders when he discovers the condition behind his brother's confusing personality. His lack of social skills, lack of interest in other people, avoidance of eye-to-eye contact all match up with the symptoms of Asperger's syndrome. The idea that his brother is not alone and that people with this syndrome are often associated with genius must also be quite relieving.

"My next emotion is one of protection. I will now beat the shit out of anybody who is mean to my big, lumbering brother with his unusual, one-in-a-trillion brain." (177)

This passage moves me emotionally because it shows the bond between siblings that is very common, but at the same time quite special. Augusten feels for his brother and would do anything to protect him from malicious verbal attacks even though he is a full-grown man. I hope to have this same bond years from now and be willing to do anything for my brother and sister.

Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett

""You went to Vermont. You don't know how it was."" It was the meanest thing I could say to her, because Lucy couldn't stand the thought of being anywhere other than exactly in the middle of where everything was happening." (221)

This passage moves me emotionally because I have had the same feeling of longing to be in the middle of all the action whether it be the catching of a great fish or seeing a building fire in person. It is often painful to hear about things that happened second hand and understand that you could have seen it happen with your own eyes. Photographs can only capture so much and in the end a vivid memory will last a lifetime.

"History is strangely incomprehensible when you're standing in the middle of it." (218)

This passage moves me emotionally because even though I have truly never witnessed history in the making the idea that it is, "strangely incomprehensible when you're standing in the middle of it" is quite interesting. It is hard to imagine what Adrian and Ann were thinking while watching the World Trade Centres fall, but one can guess they were dumbfounded. We read about events like this in a history textbook, but do not experience their true shock-value.

After the Falls by Catherine Gildiner:

"I could hear all this because he was still screaming at the top of his lungs. A fool of myself. That phrase exploded within me and has clung forever like napalm. No matter what I ever did with men, I worried about making a fool of myself. I didn't know the rules. Had I looked needy and pathetic? I must have or my father, who was the picture of reason, wouldn't have acted that way." (25)

This passage moves me emotionally because of how powerful an effect Jim's words had on his daughter. The sentence, "That phrase exploded within me and has clung forever like napalm." is a spectacular description of what she is feeling. These words have stuck with Catherine for her entire life, which is quite shocking and therefore catches my attention as a reader. This is a perfect example of words that have the capability to scare someone for life.

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

“Duddy woke with a bone and pulled the sheet over his head. His toes were stuck together again. He sat up in bed, rummaged around for some empty cigarette boxes, and stuffed silver paper between each of his toes. I’d still get up, he thought, and do everything, but there’s no toilet paper. Next time he woke the room was dark and outside it was raining hard. The thunder and lightning excited him, but after the storm the heat seemed even more oppressive. I’ll wait here, he thought, until somebody comes with good news. But nobody came and when he woke again it was dawn.” (257)

I believe this passage from The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is especially good writing due to its ability to accurately express Duddy’s current depression after Yvette’s abrupt exit from his life. He has done nothing but sleep for days and cannot find the motivation to get out of his bed, which is acting as a set of shackles that will not budge. The weather outside has mirrored his mood as seen in the sentence, “Next time he woke the room was dark and it was raining outside.” and this is a perfect example of pathetic fallacy. There has been a time in my life when I felt the same way as Duddy in this passage and the way Mordecai Richler communicated this feeling of despair and lack of incentive to the reader was almost identical to the way I felt. The line, “I’d still get up, he thought, and do everything, but there’s no toilet paper.” describes his lack of motivation and the eventual passing of time is seen when he “woke up again and it was dawn.”

I woke with a bone and pulled my soiled sheets over my head. The stale orange juice on the floor and now my feet had passed tolerable. I sat up quickly, my head began to throb and that was enough. I’d still get up, clean the room, deal with my rancid toes and shave the grizzled beard that had made itself feel at home on my cheeks, but just not yet. Next time I woke the room had been engulfed by darkness and outside was no exception. It was raining heavily, but the thunder and lightning sent an exhilarating chill down my spine. Unfortunately, that didn’t last nearly long enough. The humidity after the storm seemed to tighten shackles keeping me under the sheets. “I’ll wait here,” I said out loud. Someone will come with good news, with a reason to continue on in this dreary world. But nobody came and the next time I managed to raise my head to see the time, it was dawn.

The Topic of Cancer

A) Comment on Hitchens' attitude about his diagnosis and quote him directly.

Christopher Hitchens' attitude towards his diagnosis is a very accepting one. He understands that his lifestyle of smoking and partying has undoubtedly led to this outcome, but would do it all again if given the option. This is made clear when he says, "it's impossible for me to imagine having my life without going to those parties, without having those late nights." He makes light of the grim situation by saying things such as, "if I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken much better care of myself." but at the same time he knows that the end of his life could be far too soon. There is a genuine sense of honesty when Hitchens speaks of his cancer, which gives the audience an insight into his personal life. It takes a lot of courage to avoid the constant feeling of self pity like Hitchens' has achieved in this interview and that shows the true collectiveness in his personality.

B) Comment on the emotional appeal of both pieces. How does Hitchens connect to the audience?

Cancer connects to one of the broadest audiences in the world. However, when a well-known and controversial journalist comments on how his life has led him to this point, it becomes significantly more engaging and emotional. The first thing that comes to mind when listening to this interview is the truth behind Hitchens' words. He allows the audience into his personal life and does nothing to cover it up. Charlie Rose is genuinely interested in who Hitchens is as a person and Hitchens responds by saying, "Well, with that understanding, I don't mind." The audience is given the opportunity to connect with Hitchens on a personal level and I'm sure there are many people out there in the same unfortunate situation he has found himself in. It is interviews like these that give people not only hope but a feeling of strength and an optimistic outlook whether they're life is threatened or not.

C) Copy a short excerpt from "Topic of Cancer" that is especially good writing and explain why you think so

"The whole cave of my chest and thorax seemed to have been hollowed out and then refilled with slow-drying cement."

This sentence is truly remarkable in the sense that it allows the reader to comprehend the pain that Hitchens woke up with one morning in June. One can only imagine slow-drying cement within their chest and this is exactly what makes this sentence so graphic. In fact, after reading this sentence I had to stop and imagine the pain he was enduring at the moment and that clearly shows why it is an example of exceptional writing.