South of Broad (week of 10/17)

Although Sheba is experiencing hard times with her brother Trevor's death, Leo is in a tough situation himself. Leo had married Starla, and had since separated and divorced. Starla became mentally ill, and Leo had to leave her. He simply could not take care of her anymore, and left. As Leo had married Starla, long time friends Molly and Chad married each other as well. But, Molly was feeling as Leo, and wanted to get away from her philandering husband. Leo proclaims his love for Molly and tries to win her over. Their relationship grows tighter as the gang drops everything they have to travel to San Francisco to try to find Trevor through his AIDS battle.

The book continues to battl with different struggles that everyone faced during the 60's and 80's. The book is about to flashback again to the 60's and compare the hard times the group of friends face as high school students and adults of the real world. High school gives them problems like cute girls, relationships, and the big Friday night football games. But now, in the 80's, real life has thrown at them the problem of handling jobs, battling AIDS, and even the hardships of realtionsihps with spouses.

South of Broad (week of 10/17)

Finally, I've finished part one of South of Broad. So far, we've met Leo, the main character, who is struggling with internal conflict with the loss of his brother and the feeling of not being good enough for his well-to-do mother. We've met Sheba and Trevor, the new neighbors with the alcoholic mother, Niles and Starla, the brother and sister orphans, Chad, Molly and Fraser, the affluent teenagers from the yacht club, and lastly the talented high school football coach and his son Ike. These characters are all going to play a big role and Leo's life now, as he has become friends with all of the new people.

Part two of the story develops twenty years after Leo and his friends meet in high school. Leo is now a newspaper columist. Sheba Poe, the beautiful neighbor, turned into a highly known Hollywood actress, something Leo and the rest of the people who knew Sheba, could predict. As time has passed, Sheba reveals to Leo that she has lost contact with her brother, Trevor. They haven't spoken since high school, and she is afraid is he dying of AIDS. It has reached a height in the gay community in San Francisco, where Trevor had been living. Leo remembers Mrs. Poe constantly refering to Trevor as gay, and being highly embarrassed of his sexuality.

South of Broad (week of 10/10)

After Leo meets all of the new kids in his neighborhood that he must take under his wing, he treches to school to meet his new football coach. Leo is surprised to find that his coach is black. It is the first coach to coach an integrated football team at Leo's high school, Penninsula High. The coach seems nice, but strict. Leo finds him intimidating, but is ready to learn under him. Later, Leo meets the coaches son, Ike, who will be named as captain along with Leo of the team. Eventually, Leo and the rest of the high school characters he meets will become a big part of each other's lives. They go through numerous struggles together. Since the book is placed in the 1960's, there are still cultural struggles in the world going on. These struggles include black and white, rich and poor, and the difference between city and country. Eventually the kids bind together, and become one, integrating all their differences into each other's lives, for the better.

South of Broad (week of 10/10)

After Leo meets his new orphan friends, his mother assigns him to meet and greet some other new kids. They are new to his neighborhood, and will attend his high school, the same high school his mother is principal of. Leo's mother assigns him to bake cookies for the new neighbors, Sheba and Trevor Poe. Once Leo arrives at Sheba and Trevor's home, he is stunned by Sheba's beauty. Sheba is Leo's age, and beautiful. Trevor is a little younger, and very outspoken. But, although the two children seem very polite and perfect, there was a downside to their lives. Their mother, whom Leo meets during his neighborly visit, is a raging alcoholic. Her behavior is rude, and outrageous when Leo introduces himself. She is quick to tell Leo to leave their house and not return. She acts dramatic, and eventually Leo gives into her dramatics and asks to please her. Leo the leaves, turning to find his mother's next order. He has to attend the yacht club luncheon with his mother. There he meets Chad, Allie, and Fraser, the three affluent teenagers. Two of the three teens were kicked out of their private high schools that they once attended. Leo is beginning to realize that all of the new teens he has met today, have something in common. Although they aren't all criminals, Leo find that they are all on the wrong track. They all need a fresh start to find better lives. Leo was in this same place at one time, and had to make a turn around. Leo thinks that his mother sees some of Leo in all of these new kids, and that Leo can help guide them all back to perfect lives. Although Leo is scared, he decides to take on the challenge anyway and befriend all these kids to try to help them, mostly in order to prove something to his mother. Little does he know, that he will be friends with these kids for the rest of his life.

Currently

Pages this week: 150
Pages this Semester: 1457
Book: South of Broad by Pat Conroy

Style Mapping

1. Anna Godbersen, the author of The Luxe, uses fancy, yet simplistic language which makes the story understandable. On the first page, she is introducing the life of the main character with descriptions that are simple, yet elegant making it seem more interesting. Leaning towards the denotative side, Anna uses her orante style to pull this story together.

2. Annie Proulx, Cormac McCarthy, and Paolo Bacigalupui all have their own way of expressing themselves with their diction. Annie Proulx writes with a figurative but a familiar tone. She expresses her words with mostly common words, however; she is extremely descriptive in her works. "Gleaming with sweat" from the excerpt "The Mud Below" is a simple yet intriguing description. Cormac McCarthy writes with a completely different style compared to Annie Proulx. McCarthy expresses his words in a literal, poetic way. "Now comes days of begging, days of theft" is a line from Blood Meridian. His style in this excerpt shows his lyrcial ways of using words. Paolo Bacigalupui has a similar writing tone as Annie Proulx. He wrties figuratively with a touch of suggestiveness. His diction is more blunt rather than Proulx and has a little more edgineess to his words. "The staples pinged about the cramped metal passage like coins offered to the Scavenge God" is a line from his award winning book the Ship Breaker. In this short line, he shows his extrodinary writing style.

3. Kenneth Kamler, the author of the book Surviving the Extremes, write in a very scholary and elevated tone. He uses a lot of the type of language you would hear in a hospital room full of doctors. This type of language is very well educated and flanery. "In these cases, however, it is not the fractured skull itself that causes the most injury; as long as fragments aren't propelled inward, the breaking bone absorbs the shock and the brain survives."  Max Brooks, the author from the book World War Z, talks in a more blunt and common tone. "I had a devil of a ton finding the place. Officially, it didn't exist and therefore wasn't on any map." He writes in a very straight forward and literal manner. Explains things in little detail and lets you create your own image of the setting. It is journalistic as he takes a radical idea and writes about it in a reportive manner. Nic Sheff, the author of the book Tweak, writes in also, a very blunt and somewhat offensive way. "Back in high school it was just pot, maybe i'd do some acid and muschrooms on the weekend." His grating talk on life and drugs captures you into the book as its prey even though the content of his words is suggestive. Straight forward is almost the ideal word to explain the type of writing. His playful use with words is also to be accounted for.

I saw that a lot of blogs did something different. Although everyone examined diction and literature, many people deeply analyzed their piece of work instead of just looking at it.

Close Reading Bingo

Weaknesses:

Rule Number 1 - There is a chattiness about the writing with words like "black Penguin paperback" and "integral signs swooping upward between two floors". From Happy Go Lucky 

Rule Number 6 - J.D. Salinger masters the voice of his protagonist, Holden Caulfield, in the first page of his novel Catcher in the Rye, using direct, colloquial, and bluntly offensive diction.  From Zengerine

Rule Number 8 - Baker describes his surroundings as "towering volumes of marble and glass" and "long glossy highlights to each of the black rubber handrails". To Kill A Mockingjay

Rule Number 2 - "Turned toward the escalators, carrying a black Penguin paperback and a small white CVS bag, its receipt stapled over the top," describes the harsh clattering of the setting." T-Rex


Best Close Reading

In the excerpt from his novel Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger’s blunt, informal diction depicts the wry frankness of the narrator. The narrator briefly discusses his “lousy childhood” and “all that David Copperfield kind of crap” before exclaiming to the reader that he will not tell his “whole goddam autobiography.” After all, he explains, his parents “would have about two hemorrhages apiece” if he revealed any personal information about them. He discloses that he lives in a “crumby place” and admires his brother’s “dough.” This terse introduction emphasizes the outspokenness of the narrator. Also, the narrator’s repetition of slang suggests that he is uneducated or unconcerned with perfecting his speech.

From Keep It Classy

The Mezzanine Nicholson Baker Close Reading

The dignified formality of Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine describes the unusual tolerance the narrator feels for escaltors in his work place. His strange admiration is expressed with metaphors like "the free-standing kind: a pair of integral signs swooping upward" and "a temporary, steeper escalator of daylight" which help make a mental picture of the escalators as well as give an appreciation for the escalators. Baker's scholarly yet straightforward lexicon holds the flowing simile "like the radians of black luster that ride the undulating outer edge" to convey the graceful energy the narrator feels toward escalators.

Quarterly

Throughout this first quarter, I have read way more than I think I've read in my whole life. I find myself reading a lot of like pop fiction sort of books. Romance novels and teen novels are also a genre I find myself being attracted to most. When I read, I usually read at night, right before I go to bed. It helps me sleep. I get all cozied up in my bed, read a little, and then I'm set up to easily fall asleep. Since I started reading, I feel like I've started picking more challenging books. I started off with an easy read, just to get into the habit of reading. Now, I'm reading a book my mom recommended to me, and it is really challenging. A lot of our vocab words are in it. It's more of an adult book. But, I'm really starting to enjoy it. For the next quarter of this class, I want to try to read even more books. I think I want to try to get out of the romance novel genre and start to read different types of books. Maybe more literature, classic literature that is. I think that will help me expand my vocabulary and just help me gain a little more knowledge in other relms of the lit. world.

Meeting the Orphans

So, as I said, Leo had been on probation for some reason that the author has yet to reveal this far into the book. Leo's mom has taken Leo's actions as just unexcusable and unforgivable. She looks down upon Leo and expects so much more from him, just because Leo's brother Steve, was absolutely perfect. To try to make up for his illegal wrongdoings, Leo's mother makes him do chore-like tasks for her. After Leo and his parents go out to breakfast at their nomal diner that their friend Cleo works at, Leo's mother reads off a list of things that Leo needs to do for her. She considers these "things" hours of community service to her for Leo's bad acts. Although the list is long, the main focus of Leo's day is to meet the brother and sister pair who have been brought to the city's orphanage. They are rude, runaways, that have been in numerous different foster homes. Starla and Niles are the brother and sister orphans. Their attitudes and personalities are harsh and rough, with little to no kindness or happiness in them. Leo is assigned to help them get to know the high school that they will attend with Leo better and to give them advice as to how to get along in the city and with other kids. Leo only wants to help them have the best time they can, without making mistakes like Leo has. At first, Starla and Niles resent Leo, and don't want his help, but after Leo admits the Sisters at the orphanage can be quite violent, Starla convinces Niles to give in to Leo's plea and lets Leo help them. The orphan's attitudes become a little more refreshing and polite, and here is where Leo begins his first friendship to start the formation of the becoming tight knit group he will have for life.

South of Broad

South of Broad by Pat Conroy has become, almost depressing. Leo has started to share even more details about his live, and his brother's death. Leo tells of how his brother lead the absolutely perfect life. He had great grades, he was charming, he had the best looks of the family, and everyone he met, loved him at first meeting. Leo was opposite. He was shy, but polite, wasn't the smartest kid on the block, and didn't have the best genes in the family tree. Leo's parents favored Steve, his brother, in every way possible. Steve was always the talk of the town, while Leo just sat and listened. But, although Steve's external life seemed absolutely perfect, inside he didn't feel that way at all. Steve wasn't satistifed with himself. He was a definite perfectionist and felt as if he wasn't living up to his standards. So, he commited suicide. Leo's parent's never felt the same after that day when Steve took his own life. Leo never felt the same either. Leo knew he had new standards to live up to, and now all eyes were on him. As the newspaper delivery boy, Leo tried his hardest to satisfy every customer he served to make sure he kept everyone happy, and to not make a mistake or embarras his parents. Leo's father, was much  more appreciative of Leo than his mother. Leo's mother was a harsh, cold woman, who only saw Leo's failures. Up to this point in the book, I've learned that Leo was just let out of probation. But, the reason for his probation, hasn't been stated yet. Leo says it wasn't a very big mistake or big deal, but his mother looks down on Leo, even more than she already did because of it.

Currently

Pages this week: 150

Pages this semester: 1107
Currently reading: South of Broad by Pat Conroy

1. If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.
Winnie the Pooh

2. The past can hurt. You can either run from it or learn from it.
The Lion King

3. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true.
Cinderella

As you can see, all of my sentences of the week have been from Disney Movies. I was in the hospital on Thursday night, until Friday morning, and have been sitting home all weekend so I've had nothing to do but watch movies. If you haven't guessed yet, the only movies I've been watching are Disney movies. Although I am a teenager, and even getting ready to go off to college, I still love these movies. There is always some kind of hidden message under the theme of these movies. They always hit close to home with me. My favorite quote of the week, from Winnie the Pooh is probably one of the cutest things I've ever heard. I've always been the kind of girl who loves love, and this quote has love written all over it. It could be with a lover, or even a friend. I think in this case, Pooh was meaning it to his friends. He loves them so much, as I love mine. I wouldn't want to go a day without my friends either. I want to have them in my life forever.

The Beginning

South of Broad has definitely proved itself to be a great pick. It has a very sophisticated feel to it, which is a good change from the other books I've read before. The vocabulary is much more intriguing, adding a different feel to the book. So far, from reading, only one character has been introduced and his life has been described. He's a 17 year old boy, named Leo. His father is a teacher at the local high school and his mother is an ex-nun. Leo is a newspaper boy and an absolute perfectionist. He concentrates really hard to make his newspaper route perfect. All he wants to do is make the people he sees and helps happy. Behind his perfectionist exterior, Leo and his family do struggle. Leo's brother commited suicide when Leo was only 10 years old. Leo was the first one to find his brother dead in the bath tub when he came home. His brother was the perfect child, and seemed to lead a happy life. On the inside, nothing felt right to him. So, in the end, he decided to take his own life. That took a toll on the family, and the close knit family started to grow apart. Leo's parents work constantly, and they rarely spend time together. Leo has started to feel unworthy, and left out of the family.

South of Broad

So, I'm finally starting a new book! It's called South of Broad by Pat Conroy. It's a much much more sophisticated book than all of the other books I've read. My mom recommened it to me, saying she absolutely loved it. It's plot consists of a group of teenage kids who grow up in 1960's together. Each kid has a different background to their life. For example, one boy has a father who is a local high school teacher, an ex-nun for a mother, and had a brother who commited suicide. He becomes friends with this tightly knit group of kids who have similar stories to himself. There are twins with an alcoholic mother, and a prison-escaped father, runaway brothers, and a popular couple. Their circle of friends grows up together through two decades. They also encounter the AIDS
crisis in the '80's.
The group endures eachother's company for years. They survive marriages, loves, longings, and success as well as breakdowns. But, in the end, they are always there for each other. Toward the end of the book though, which I am excited to encounter, the friendship is tested and brings the group San Francisco for an event that no one is prepared for.