How To Fly

Two words: Room's wack. That being said, we get a lot of insight into Jack's thoughts and how he deals with transitioning from living in a eleven by eleven room for 5 years to the wide and open space of Outside. While it's obviously a difficult and perplexing transition for Jack, we can see glimpses of how difficult and traumatic the transition is for Ma. Most obviously, she freaks out at any door-related sounds: whenever a door is opened or shut without her knowing, it's clear that it's an unpleasant sound for her. It's clear that their both in the psychiatric hospital for a reason, and we can see Dr. Clay being very patient with them, expecting that they will need a long time to recover. Another problem that becomes obvious is "separation anxiety" that both Ma and Jack do and will face. When Ma gets defensive the first time the term is brought up, she says something along the lines of "Me and Jack will never be apart", which is a problem ...

I've never read anything like Jefferson's Diary. It's definitely one of the most unique things I've ever come across in literature, for a multitude of reasons. This blog post will highlight what I found most compelling about the journal: his grammatical and spelling mistakes. Reading Jefferson's entry is tough on your mind. Trying to decipher Jefferson's words and thoughts isn't easy, especially when some of his misspelled words are other correctly spelled words. However, I think that Gaines does this intentionally; by trudging through Jefferson's innermost thoughts, we can better understand and appreciate them. To be honest, if Jefferson's notebook was written in perfect prose, I probably would have skimmed over a lot of important stuff, reading this late at night before going to bed. However, because I had to consciously make an effort to understand him, I felt like I was engaging with him as a character more than any other in literature. His tho...

I think it's safe to say that the last few readings have really shaken up our perspective on the characters. Character development aside, I think I can say with confidence that most people's opinions on Addie have really changed after reading her chapter, for better or worse. It's with this context that I want to chime in with my character opinions. First of all is who I alluded to in the title of the blog post. Cash is subjectively the most selfless player in the journey. His only ulterior motive is merely to buy a record player that he can enjoy after a hard day's worth. What's more, he's also one of the few who deeply feels for Addie's death, as shown through his meticulous work on the coffin. Furthermore, he's objectively the hero of the river crossing, valiantly trying to recover the coffin while urging Darl to jump to safety. All of these isolated instances of Cash's bravery and selflessness make him my favorite character in this motley crew....