Francie starts as an innocent little girl blind to the evil and danger in the world. She really shows her innocence when she stares at the old man's feet. As she stares at the old man's feet she realizes that she fears growing up even though going from an innocent little child filled with wonder to an elderly person bearing the knowledge and wisdom of the ages is the most critical part of growing up.
Francie may be astounded at the world but she is also the little girl who is content sitting on the fire escape, reading, with a bowl of candy. She is also the mature woman who is leaving for college. This change happens as she gets older and as she gains more experience. As Francie gains more experience, she slowly realizes that the world isn't the place she once thought it was. When she was little, her innocence protected her from the evil of the world, but as that innocence fades, she encounters and recognizes the evil in the world. This is the most important point in every person's life. They can either succumb to this evil or fight it as Francie does. The guidance of friends and family is needed to help you overcome this difficult time, but when you get out of it you will realize that this was the most important time in your life and you will always hold the memories of that time in a special light
Betty Smith writes this novel on a very common subject but she writes with a very unique style. She writes this like how a fisherman reels his lure. Slowing it down almost to a dead stop then ripping it upwards. This method may be enticing to some but to others this dangling carrot isn't worth the effort.
Going from innocence to experience is the biggest part of everyone's life and if they mess up then they are doomed for eternity. That is why this book isn't suited for teenagers because teens need something relaxing to read and the author gets distracted in the tiniest little details and the overall plot isn't appealing in the least. Stay away from this novel if at all possible. Books are supposed to help you and make you feel better but this book ignited my inner ire and didn't help me at all.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Time
Time is the executioner of all life that was, is, or will be. It is and it isn't. We cannot see or hold Time but is always there. It decides when we are going to die and when we are going to be born. Francie is learning that the older you get your outlook on Time changes.
When you are little the future seems impossibly far away and Time seems to creep along slower than a snail. As you grow in age the future seems just around the horizon and Time whips by in the blink of an eye. To Francie the days were slow and pleasant. She'd start the day selling junk and then she'd read the day away. Now her day consists of large amounts of work and school. Her outlook on Time completely changes because she is going from innocence to experience.
As Francie is getting older she is gaining more knowledge and in that knowledge is the Truth that Time isn't slow or fast it just is. Francie's dealings with Time have only just begun, as have all of humanities. People will always struggle with Time and Time will always struggle with people. It is part of the eternal balance that allows everything to live. But beware, for Time can end life in the blink of an eye.
When you are little the future seems impossibly far away and Time seems to creep along slower than a snail. As you grow in age the future seems just around the horizon and Time whips by in the blink of an eye. To Francie the days were slow and pleasant. She'd start the day selling junk and then she'd read the day away. Now her day consists of large amounts of work and school. Her outlook on Time completely changes because she is going from innocence to experience.
As Francie is getting older she is gaining more knowledge and in that knowledge is the Truth that Time isn't slow or fast it just is. Francie's dealings with Time have only just begun, as have all of humanities. People will always struggle with Time and Time will always struggle with people. It is part of the eternal balance that allows everything to live. But beware, for Time can end life in the blink of an eye.
Monday, December 14, 2009
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Truth. Philosophers have struggled with the meaning of this simple word from the beginning. Today we still don't know the full meaning and we probably never will. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn helps middle-schoolers, like ourselves, to better understand the many meanings of the word by showing the story of a girl in Brooklyn going from innocence to experience. It is vital for middle-schoolers to learn about Truth because they are our future.
Francie is slowly being exposed to Truth, as she should, but it is coming to her in a different way. As Francie matures in one of the darker neighborhoods she slowly encounters Truth in more ways than one. She realizes that her dad is a drunk and that the world isn't the happy utopia she thought it was. Yet, Francie sees that there is still a lot of hope and opportunities in the world. Her parents on the other hand see only the bad things in life. Johnny uses alcohol to try to escape from the world, and while Katie only sees a dystopic world too, she fights it and tries to give her kids the best life she can.
Her parents weren't exposed to Truth gradually enough and that is why they turned out like they did. Because Francie is growing more knowledgeable her view of the world is changing. The old wonders of her world don't seem as wonderful as they did before because Truth is exposing them for what they really are. This may sound evil but Truth exposes more wonderful things than a child's imagination can procure.
Francie is struggling with Truth just as all humans have, are, and will. Humanity has been trying to decipher this complex symbol for ages so we can pass that knowledge on to our adolescence. This novel helps our struggling minds comprehend this elusive cypher. But maybe the knowledge we need is acquired in the journey and not necessarily the answer. Truth is the hardest thing for humans to understand as Francie is finding out.
Francie is slowly being exposed to Truth, as she should, but it is coming to her in a different way. As Francie matures in one of the darker neighborhoods she slowly encounters Truth in more ways than one. She realizes that her dad is a drunk and that the world isn't the happy utopia she thought it was. Yet, Francie sees that there is still a lot of hope and opportunities in the world. Her parents on the other hand see only the bad things in life. Johnny uses alcohol to try to escape from the world, and while Katie only sees a dystopic world too, she fights it and tries to give her kids the best life she can.
Her parents weren't exposed to Truth gradually enough and that is why they turned out like they did. Because Francie is growing more knowledgeable her view of the world is changing. The old wonders of her world don't seem as wonderful as they did before because Truth is exposing them for what they really are. This may sound evil but Truth exposes more wonderful things than a child's imagination can procure.
Francie is struggling with Truth just as all humans have, are, and will. Humanity has been trying to decipher this complex symbol for ages so we can pass that knowledge on to our adolescence. This novel helps our struggling minds comprehend this elusive cypher. But maybe the knowledge we need is acquired in the journey and not necessarily the answer. Truth is the hardest thing for humans to understand as Francie is finding out.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Essay Response to "The Circuit"
Stuck in an endless cycle of cruelty and your only hope is to get and education and break the circuit. But if you obsess over your only hope it will dry out and leave you in the darkness forever. Panchito blocks out everything but school and learning to play the trumpet, so when he sees the packed boxes it shatters his little world and sends him into spiraling despair.
This story truly is a tragedy because there really is no hope for Panchito. Because he doesn't realize the difference between passion and obsession, he obsesses over school and when he sees the boxes it finally hits home that his family is moving. What Panchito doesn't realize is that passion is what drives the human nature. It keeps our eyes focused on the goal and gives us the power to succeed. Obsession may seem better but it blocks out the world and that can be dangerous because you can't see the danger around you. When reading this story you find symbols that the author dropped in to let on the true meaning behind this story. Some symbols are barking dogs, twilight, black, and winter. These are a few of the many tragic symbols in this story.
The real tragedy in this story is that Panchito wrought this on himself without knowing it. His obsession of school and learning to play the trumpet completely ruined his life. At the very end of the story the author shows you his cards and reveals the true hopelessness behind the story. He is trying to teach us not to obsess over wonderful things. It is fine to love them but when you start to let them consume your life you are as good as dead.
Stuck in an endless cycle of cruelty and your only hope is to get and education and break the circuit. But if you obsess over your only hope it will dry out and leave you in the darkness forever. Panchito blocks out everything but school and learning to play the trumpet, so when he sees the packed boxes it shatters his little world and sends him into spiraling despair.
This story truly is a tragedy because there really is no hope for Panchito. Because he doesn't realize the difference between passion and obsession, he obsesses over school and when he sees the boxes it finally hits home that his family is moving. What Panchito doesn't realize is that passion is what drives the human nature. It keeps our eyes focused on the goal and gives us the power to succeed. Obsession may seem better but it blocks out the world and that can be dangerous because you can't see the danger around you. When reading this story you find symbols that the author dropped in to let on the true meaning behind this story. Some symbols are barking dogs, twilight, black, and winter. These are a few of the many tragic symbols in this story.
The real tragedy in this story is that Panchito wrought this on himself without knowing it. His obsession of school and learning to play the trumpet completely ruined his life. At the very end of the story the author shows you his cards and reveals the true hopelessness behind the story. He is trying to teach us not to obsess over wonderful things. It is fine to love them but when you start to let them consume your life you are as good as dead.
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