Angela's Ashes

In Frank McCourt’s memoir, “Angela’s Ashes,” McCourt discusses his life as an Irish-American child. As McCourt delves into writing about his childhood memories, readers meet his alcoholic father, dedicated-Catholic aunts as well as other family members. As a part of a seven child family growing up in the 1930’s, there were many struggles Frank McCourt had to endure. His father’s need for alcohol caused many problems for the family and became a main theme in the book.

Frank McCourt’s father, Malachy, had an addiction to alcohol from before any of his children were born. His problem became an even greater issue when it started affecting his family. Malachy’s inability to live without alcohol caused him to spend all the money he earned at work on alcohol. Which then resulted in him not brining any money home for his family. This affected all of the members of his family. Malachy’s kids were unable to eat properly because there was no money for food. Malachy’s alcohol habit also affect his relationship with his wife. Frank’s mother Angela was not happy when she wasn’t able to eat or feed her children. This anger started to strain Frank’s parent’s relationship.

Malachys alcoholism became a main theme in this book because of it’s relation to everything event in this book. For example, when Frank and his brother have to beg for food it is the fault of the father wasting all their money on alcohol. Addictions to alcohol cause problems for families all over the world. The book, “Angela’s Ashes” illustrates the problems that come along with having an alcoh

Cross Dressers of the Civil War

In the Article, “Cross Dressers of the Civil War” author Veronica Majerol brings up surprising facts about The American Civil War. While most people think that only men fought in the infamous Civil War, it has been discovered that women also fought in the many battles. The Civil War took place many years before the women’s rights movement, and even though women were not allowed in the army, many enlisted after cutting their hair and making a fake man’s name. Marjerol explained the many reasons women enlisted, what she wrote were the top three? “…Love, money and patriotism.” Throughout the article, Majerol makes the point that women are just as able to be in the army as men.

            The author proves her point through very distinct craft moves. Majerol added a timeline to her article showing the evolution of women in the military. It helps prove her point because it shows the defiant yet empowering women who helped make gender equality changes in the military. Majerol also statistics from the book about the women who fought in the Civil War “They Fought Like Demons.” The statistics such as “14 percent of the women receiving promotions, compared to the 10 percent of men.” Quotes like these help explain to the reader that women, who were not even supposed to be in the army, could be superior to men.

            After reading this article I was reminded of the fictitious Disney movie Mulan. While I knew that women dressed up like men to go to war in Disney movies, I had no idea it also happened in America’s history. I have been learning about the Civil war in school, and like the author stated in the article the women stories of who fought in the war are virtually unknown. I believe that stories about the strong women who went to war would be a compelling addition to any Civil War curriculum.

The Lovely Bones (Number 2)

In the book The Lovely Bones, author Alice Sebold uses many artistic craft moves to convey specific information. The Lovely Bones is about Susie Salmon, a fourteen-year-old girl who was murdered. The book is written as Susie is watching over her family from her niche in heaven. This book is told through a series of flashbacks as well as in modern day time, where Susie is giving her prospective from heaven. Using flashbacks allows author Sebold to convey specific information from a unique prospective.

            Alice Sebold was able to show how Susie changed throughout the book by using flashbacks. Susie looked back on the time when her mother said, “you look invincible.” In that moment, Susie said, “I am.” Later in time, after Susie has died, the author shows that Susie is starting to realize that things don’t last forever. This is one way that the author shows Susie’s emotional development. Another method the author uses is to show Susie reflecting on the experiences of her family on earth, which she is in heaven. Susie watches her family grow and change into different people. When Susie was alive, Susie most likely thought that her parents’ marriage would be monogamous, but she was wrong. She was shocked when her mother cheated on her father with Len.

            Writing using flashbacks gives the author ample opportunity to convey specific information the author may not be able to convey in another writing format. I appreciate this artistic writing style, because I feel that I am able to see more character development. As a reader, I will continue to look for artistic ways tha

The Lovely Bones

People express their social beliefs in many different ways. Living in New York I have the opportunity to see a wide array of social commentary expressed in different ways. Walking down the street I see graffiti expressing opinions, and I see billboards full of controversial adds. Another prominent place that I see social commentary is in the books I read.   

The book, The Lovely Bones, by American author Alice Sebold is full of social commentary, however the social commentary that is the most prominent throughout the book is about race. The Lovely Bones is a book about a girl named Suise Salmon, who was murdered. This book is written from the prospective of Suise who is looking over the earth from her new home in heaven. The book includes multiple flashbacks from when Susie was alive, as well as a continuous story line taking place during the current time. An interesting part of this book that allows a more comprehensive racial social commentary is that the book takes place in 1973. This allows social commentary about strong race injustice.

In The Lovely Bones characters who are not white are considered inferior and delinquent. The author conveys this by expressing the police’s thoughts about the first suspect in Suise’s murder, Ray Singh, a young Indian boy who had a crush schoolboy on Suise. When they were questioning Ray the police “..were fueled by guilt they read into Ray’s dark skin…” In other words, the believed he was guilty for a reason none other than his skin color. Another moment in the book when a race injustice was quite apparent was in the beginning in the book when Suise’s friend Clarrisa made a comment about Ray Singh, she stated that his facial features were “freak-a-delic,” this was because Ray’s eyes were different from hers.

In conclusion, The Lovely Bones has a strong focus on social commentary about race. This was proven by the many times where the white characters act as though the characters of color are inferior. This book was able to convey this race injustice because it was written in the 1970’s , a transitional time in the United State’s history. This was a time when racial equality was controversial. Overall, The Lovely Bones sheds light on the racial divide in the 20^th century, while still being a fantastic read.

Polar Bears and Guns, Oh My!

In Upfront Magazine’s article “No Job? Get Lost!” author Andrew Higgins explores Norway’s northernmost territory, Svalbard, and the unusual law it maintains. Unlike most places in the world, Svalbard has a law that prohibits unemployment and homelessness. People in Svalbard who are unemployed and/or homeless get deported. This unique archipelago has an almost non-existent crime rate, even though most citizens own guns to protect themselves from the increasing threat of polar bears. The governor of Svalbard, Odd Olsen Ingero, attributes the low crime rate to the law against unemployment. Author Andrew Higgins makes the claim that living in Svalbard, despite the low crime rate, would not be pleasant.

            The author uses specific craft moves to support his claim. Although Svalbard is a territory so safe people feel confortable leaving their front doors open, Higgins choses to highlight the negative aspects of this town. Higgins devotes a subsection of his article to detail the “Guns & Polar Bears” in Svalbard, noting the high rate of gun ownership and the constant threat of polar bear attacks. Although Higgins does mention the positive aspects of Svalbard, he consistently undermines his comments by stating other negative facts about Svalbard with the intent of de-glorifying the territory. Higgins also delves into the high taxes of Svalbard comparing Svalbard’s 25 percent sales tax to the highest sales tax in America, which is only 9.5 percent. The author supports his claim by using a quote from an American named Mark Sabbatini, who lives in Svalbard and states, “If you want to live here, there is something slightly warped about you.”

Higgins article struck a chord with me. Since the 2008 recession hit, there has been non-stop news coverage of the fluctuating unemployment rates in the United States. Although the unemployment rates in the U.S. constantly change, in the history of the country there has never been an unemployment rate of 0 percent. I can’t imagine there being a U.S. city where there aren’t homeless or unemployed people, it’s part of what makes the U.S so economically diverse.

Furthermore, in the United States, it is a foundational belief that everyone is created equal. If any state, city or town in the U.S. were to deport unemployed or homeless people, staunch supporters of civil rights would cause a tumultuous uproar. Unemployment and homelessness is so widely accepted as a cultural norm in the U.S. that there are American T.V. shows built around it, from The Real Housewives to Extreme Cheapskates. Unemployment may not be considered a positive aspect of our country, however it defines the U.S. The U.S. will always be a country that has a wide array of socioeconomic statuses, and will never be a country with a low crime, homeless or unemployment rate.