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Bear with me...
Hey Everyone!
This is the first time I've actually committed to doing this whole blog-thing, so bear with me. :-) I've created this site for us to use as a place of discussion for the texts we will read for the rest of the school year. Since this class is supposed to ready you for college, and much of education is now online, you need to be exposed to online discussions of texts, (if you haven't been already). What's great about this is it can help spark class discussions over what we are reading and just keep communication open about different texts. College professors won't just assign you reading, they will also assume you can have an intelligent conversation about what you've read. So dive in and give this a shot!!! :-)
This is the first time I've actually committed to doing this whole blog-thing, so bear with me. :-) I've created this site for us to use as a place of discussion for the texts we will read for the rest of the school year. Since this class is supposed to ready you for college, and much of education is now online, you need to be exposed to online discussions of texts, (if you haven't been already). What's great about this is it can help spark class discussions over what we are reading and just keep communication open about different texts. College professors won't just assign you reading, they will also assume you can have an intelligent conversation about what you've read. So dive in and give this a shot!!! :-)
Expectations
Choose a quote you have encountered during your reading and respond to it in at least one decent sized paragraph. You should also be continuously reading in your choice non-fiction book. In addition to the reading responses, I would also like you to comment once a week on someone else's post. Whether you agree or disagree, it doesn't matter. You also do not have to be reading the same nonfiction choice as that other person. Maybe you have a question about the novel, or maybe you have read it before and have a comment about their response. All totaled, I would like you to complete three posts a week. Two of those can be your own posts about the text you are reading, but at least one of the three posts needs to be in response to someone else's post.
This is a major part of your grade and will effect not only participation, but will go in the grade book as separate reading response grades. Feel free to email me with any questions you might have regarding this. My email is: mtinkham@msad9.org
This is a major part of your grade and will effect not only participation, but will go in the grade book as separate reading response grades. Feel free to email me with any questions you might have regarding this. My email is: mtinkham@msad9.org
k im reading lucky alright bye
ReplyDeleteI am reading this book! OMG!
ReplyDeleteMatt
Here is my test post! :-)
ReplyDeleteI was really shocked when starting the book. The rape scene is just so graphic, I didn't expect to read those details. It wasn't sugarcoated, it was her feelings of what was going on at that moment.
ReplyDelete-Chenye
"Life is not the amounts of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away." On pages 5-15 Sebold seemed not to be living or breathing. This is the creepiest thing I have ever read, its unbelievable and unimaginable. I just cant believe a person could do something that horrific to another person. "I wanted him off me, I wanted to shower and scrub my skin off." A situation like this cannot be forgotten.
ReplyDelete"Innocent child, looking so sweet.
ReplyDeleteI’ll rape your mind, and then your flesh I’ll reap." (lyrics from Daddy-KORN) I believe these lyrics share the emotion that Alice had with her rapist. He obviously didn't care what happened to her, or if he was hurting her. It was like he took over her mind for those ten minutes and made her feel dirty and violated. She would never harm him, she was innocent like a rain drop until he made her break against the cold ground.
Matt, I LOVE the last line of your post. "She was innocent like a rain drop until he made her break against the cold ground." Many writers use water or rain when attempting to describe something as cleansed or made clean, but this is an unusual case where she is being compared to the droplet...small and fragile compared to her attacker. There is something inevitable about rain, too. The falling of the droplet and it's short lifespan is inevitable. It's sad. I just love this image. :-)
ReplyDeletethere is a band named Brand New and I think that it is great to listen to during this book because the lyrics are about helplessness and dealing with life after rape. (there is one song about him getting raped but it's not graphic just chilling)
ReplyDeleteI noticed a lot of bonding between people in this book. Victor and Alice, Tree and Alice, and Alice and her mother. Victor and Alice, because her attacker was black but yet she still hugged him and he cried for her. Tree and Alice, because its two young girls that have this sympathetic bond ex. when tree had to wash her in the shower. And Alice and her mother, because her mother is scared for her and she is helpless except to comfort her. Very heartwarming i guess. Matt
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I feel frustrated with the friend when they are at the hospital.The one who "helps" her in the shower. She seemed to think her friend who was victimized was gross, and damaged. She needed to be strong for her friend and help her, not make her feel like she was alone. This was a really minor part in the book, but it really stood but it really stood out to me, if that were my friend, i would be strong for her
ReplyDelete*Chenye .
When her mom comes to pick her up, she was very different from the friend. She was very put together when she arrived, and didn't break down. This was the right thing to do, it helped the victim to feel a sense of security.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the book, but it seems like there is a lot of focus on the "rape scene" in the beginning. I think the author made this scene graphic on purpose, to give the reader an idea of how horrible it is. I doubt the book would be quite as good without it, although it would probably be less disturbing.
ReplyDeleteChenye is right, the friend "Tree" should be more supportive of Alice. Maybe she was scared? but this was a critical point for Alice to regroup and become less fragile. Throughout the book she is looking for people to talk, Tree might be afraid but she needs to be a support for Alice to grab onto. Alice is like a glass flower if she is not taken care of she will break, even the shower is almost to much for her. Matt
ReplyDeleteThis book was very graphic in the begining. but it was a good book i just can't imagine someone treating someone the way the guy treated her. he took something sacred from her like it was nothing. he did not care about her or her life. all he cared about was raping her and then just leaving her there to pick up the peices . I think that is a terrible thing for someone to do to anyone.
ReplyDeleteLoralai
The rawness and truness of this book is amzing. It is harsh and hard to read at some points. but it is also heartwarming in some places with the relationship between her and some of the people that are close to her. overall I though it was a very good and captivating read.
ReplyDeleteLoralai
I agree with Loralia, I just don't understand I can't imagine how he could justify himself in his own mind. She told him " i am a virgin" and even though once that is taken you can never get it back, he continued to take that from here. I think every girl holds that pretty sacred, and for it to be taken in such a way is so gut wrenching. It is very hard to read, and i feel so hurt for her when i am reading, but she had people in her life to help pull her through. But that doesnt take away the pain for her. Men who do that to people are so disgusting and low, and i think at points he realized it, when he said sorry your a good girl, but then his sickness kicked back him and he forced her to go dow on him. Its hard for me to wrap my mind around it.
ReplyDelete*Chenye
As a guy its different for me. I could never have that bond like Alice and Tree and Mary Alice have. I noticed she is very tentative towards men after her rape, even her professor (Wolff). "He came near me. He wanted to comfort me, but then, instinctively, he pulled back." I feel terrible just reading the book and how this rape will haunt Alice forever. And as a guy If I met Alice I wouldn't know how to handle it, I feel awful but to me she has experienced something alien to me. And I could never connect with that feeling. This book is very powerful but different.
ReplyDelete'Matt
I am reading Lucky. This book so far has been so gripping and yet hard to read because of all the emotions Alice is going through. What she needs the most is for someone to understand what she has gone through, yet her friends feel alienated from her because of the rape. Alice also appears to feel some guilt for trying to confide in her friends because she doesn't want to push them away. It's so heart-wrenching to read what she faced after the rape.
ReplyDelete"But it is later now, and I live in a world where the two truths coexist; where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand" This has to be one of the strongest lines in the book, it is the last line but it has a certain boldness to it. She has experienced hell throughout this book and will never really recover from it. She may seem pretty open about her rape, but she is still holding back on that terrible night. She is a very strong and independent woman, that can continue with her life even after experiencing rape. Its like she has two sides to her, one side is a scar always reminding her of that night, the other is an untouched beacon of hope for her safety and maybe sanity. But she did the right thing and wrote down her thoughts and feelings about the rape, which makes her stronger and brave, I will always remember this book, because of its honesty.
ReplyDeleteMatt
"I had issued an invitation. In my mind, the rapist had murdered me on the day of the rape. Now I was going to murder him back."
ReplyDeleteThis man took away from her what could never be replaced, had in a sense murdered her. Maybe not physically, but definitely had murdered her spirit. Now it was her turn to take away his freedoms. She was determined to not let him win.
Loralai says: Yes it was truly and honesly a book about the raw truth of rape. and how she came out of it stronger but also how she will have to carry the scar around for her whole life.
ReplyDeleteYes it is sad what he took away from her. but it is also good that she is willing to be strong and open . and stay to her goal so that the man will not win and so that he will never harm anyone again.
(for the week of 4/20)
ReplyDelete"And somehow I ended up telling er my story. And she listened. She was not bowled over, not shocked, not even scared of the burden this might make me as her student." (98)
It's so heart-breaking to see how much Alice just needed to share her story, yet held back because she feared being rejected. And most people did. Something precious was stolen from her and because of this people avoided her when the found out--unfathomable!!
(for the week of 4/20)
ReplyDelete"Later, I didn't want to talk about it; I was putting the rape and trial behind me." (203)
I totally understand Alice's need to move past things, yet I think it was so important that she shared her story with the world so other women facing these circumstances can see what Alice came through and how she persevered through it all.
"Then, as if out of nowhere, I saw my rapist crossing toward me. He walked diagonally across the street from the other side. I did not stop walking. Or scream." (103)
ReplyDeleteI can't even imagine the horror I would feel at that moment if I were Alice. To come face to face with her rapist who has the audacity to smile at her as he approached and even call out to her as if she were a friend. It was as if he were toying with her, almost telling her that he was walking free and there was nothing she could do to change that. But Alice had the will to fight and to have justice done.
I finished this book and all I can say is "Wow".
ReplyDeleteIt definitely is a hard book to read with all the emotional aspects Alice faced in her young adulthood. From being raped and rejected by friends, to fighting for justice and a sentencing against her rapist, then watching her best friend cope with her own rape and totally shut her off, and finally her realization that she needed help. Alice moved on with her life and has chosen to share her story with millions. Though I can imagine it must have been difficult to relive these moments, I'm sure this book will help many women struggling to continue on.
(for the week of 4/13)
ReplyDeleteLucky is a vary graphic book. The opening scene is deeply disturbing because it is based on a very disturbing act. It does a vary good job of putting you in her place and making you realize just how horrible the experience was for her. It must have taken a lot of guts to write about something like that in so much detail. Amazing.
(for the week of 4/13)
ReplyDeleteReading the rape scene again, I found something that I hadn't noticed before. Kim mentioned that the rapist had "the audacity to smile at her as he approached and even call out to her as if she were a friend." Alice conveys a sense of character into someone that would normally be written as less then human character. Despite the horrible acts this person committed, she still saw through him enough to understand his character. I think this makes her a truly great writer.
(for the week of 4/13)
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Alice grew up in a house where there was very little love or compassion. Her father was very distant, and her mother had her own troubles to worry about. She said that her best childhood friends were a pair of basset hounds. In this case I'm not sure if there's a connection, but it seems like she fits the profile of a rape victim. When you hear about rape, it's usually someone who has already had a rough life, and who doesn't have that many close friends. Of course there are plenty of exceptions. Maybe the people who are already considered outcasts are the only people who feel free to talk about it, the others afraid to be shunned from social circles?
(for the week of 4/20)
ReplyDelete"I share my life not with the girls and boys I grew up with, or the students I went to Syracuse with, or even the friends and people I've known since. I share my life with my rapist. He is the husband to my fate."
This quote shows exactly how much the experience has damaged her. It's like none of her other experiences matter anymore, like everything that happened in her life was leading up to one horrible moment. Now every time she looks at a man, she doesn't see them for who they are. She is only reminded of the one horrible experience that would scar her life forever.
(for the week of 4/20)
ReplyDeleteThe courtroom chapter is brutal. Watching her be attacked by the attorney is horrifying and disgusting. It is so powerful because she makes you identify with her rape so much, that when she is attacked over little details, it's just grueling.
It seems almost unjust to have to put someone through a second ordeal after what already happened. I can see why it has to happen, otherwise there wouldn't be any justice in our justice system.
(for the week of 4/20)
ReplyDeleteWhen Madison is convicted, it almost seems like an empty victory. I leaves you thinking "wait, he's only going to jail?"
People always seem to be dissatisfied with the sentence for a rape case. With something like murder, or grand theft, the sentence seems to make people satisfied. With rape, the few years in jail is never enough. Everyone always wishes death, torture, and mutilation on the offender.
I think the sentence should be increased, and I think most people would agree. I wonder why it hasn't happened yet?
(for the week of 4/27)
ReplyDeleteWhen you find out that Alice's friend was also raped, the feeling is almost surreal. You aren't expecting it, and it seems almost out of place. It seems like something that you might find in a fiction book, but not in real life.
It's too much for their relationship to handle, and they end up not being friends anymore. Alice has been spending her life since her rape wishing she had someone she could identify with. Now that she does, she can't handle it. It's something that she has to deal with alone.
Final Blog for April 10th:
ReplyDeleteReading Noah's comments, I agree about Madison's conviction. I would think a few years of time is no where near enough for taking away this girls virginity, innocence, and almost her life in the sense she will never be the same. I feel so bad, I know if this happened to me and my offender was sentenced inadaquitely I would fight for me to happen. It is all just really messed up. Also, with your last comment Noah, your right where you said it is something you might expect to find in a fiction book, but in reality, its so heartbraking knowing its true, its surreal and you just think uh no way...its really terrible.
*Chenye
(for the week of 4/27)
ReplyDeleteAfter what happened to her friend, Alice eventually ended up in a life of drug addiction. That entire section of the book is very muddled, probably because the author can only remember bits and pieces. There are some comparisons that can be made between Alice and Koren (Author of Smashed). They both came from families that didn't seem to understand them. They both ended up surrounding themselves with friends who promoted bad habits. In the end, they also both pulled themselves out of their addictions to write a well written non fiction book about their experiances.
(Final Blog Entry)
ReplyDeleteFrom the very beginning of the book, Lucky seems horribly real. Alice Seabold does a very good job of putting you in her place for her terrible experiences. Everything is explined in such full detail and precision that you would know it really happened even if you were unaware of it being a nonfiction book. As she details her experiences after her rape, you realize how much of a strong person she is. Even at her weakest points, she is looking for the a way out, or the next step in a process. It's horrible to know that something like this can happen to someone with so much potential, and consume their life so completely. I would consider this one of the best written books that I have ever read, even though it was far from enjoyable to read.