The Secret Life of Bees (Part Two: Chapters 5-8)
Please respond to 3 out of the 7 prompts. In total, your responses should be 300–400 words.
Your comments should be posted by Tuesday night, November 3rd, at 8:00 p.m.
1. May Boatwright’s heart can’t bear all the pain and sorrows in the world, so in order to cope, she writes them down and hides them in her “wailing wall” (97). How do you deal with painful things that you can not change? Write down things about the world you wish you could change.
2. On page 130, Lily sees August reading Jane Eyre. Could this be symbolic? Before you respond, do a little research on who Jane Eyre is and about the story.
3. “Lily, I like you better than any girl I’ve ever known, but you have to understand, there are people who would kill boys like me for even looking at girls like you,” Zach tells Lily on page 135. What does this comment say about the social climate of the times? What other stories do you know about forbidden love? Do you see connections between those stories and this one?
4. Lily’s list of what she loves (139) could have been written as a list poem. Writer your own list poem of what you love, or write a list poem for another character.
5. Explain what August means when she says: “the hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters” (147).
6. Why does Lily call her father? Is she homesick? Worried about him? What did she expect to gain from talking to him? (159-160)
7. On page 162, Lily writes an acrostic poem about her father. Write an acrostic about yourself, someone you know, or another character in the book.
*Above questions from "The Secret Life of Bees Teacher Guide" (published by Penguin)
Prompt 1:
ReplyDeleteMay Boatwright says that her heart can not take all the pain and sorrow in the world. To cope with this she writes down and it makes her feel better. Since I was little I have had a similar issue. Certain things stressed me out more than it typically should and it causes my chest to feel so tight and my head full of so many thoughts to spin. On top of that, I had a very hard time controlling my anger. For a long time, I would just hold it in but that only made it worse because eventually when I’d had enough I would explode and take it out on other people and objects. I’ve tried many strategies since then to fix this issue I have. I’ve tried writing them down but that does not work for me. Strategies that I have found that work for me is exercising, using a punching or speed bag, doing something I like to do, or just listening to music. I still sometimes lose control because I did not release any anger but it is much less often.
Prompt 3:
Zach says that “there are people that would kill boys like me for even looking at a girl like you”. There is so much truth behind this quote. Zach knows that because of his skin color he can not be as close to Lily as either of them wants to be because it could put his life in danger. This is most definitely an example of racism. Because they are of two different races they are not allowed to be in love. I do not know of many stories of this kind of forbidden love but I do know of one more recent story that I would like to share. When my uncle started seeing my aunt they were close to my age (15 years old). My grandfather was not happy about it because my aunt was of color. They would argue about this a lot. My uncle finally got sick of it and when he was sixteen years old he moved out of the house and continued seeing my aunt. Obviously, they ended up getting married. My uncle and grandfather never really got along. I never knew my grandfather for he passed away when I was two months old. But I do know that my uncle very much regrets arguing with him so much and never making up with him. There are obvious connections between these two stories like racism trying to keep two people in love apart. Even though I do not know many stories about forbidden love I am sure there are hundreds maybe even thousands of stories just like it.
Prompt 7:
G - Glamorous
R - Rebellious
A - Admirable
M - Mustang driving
M - Missed
I - Impeccable
E - Exceptional
J - Jelly Bean loving
E - Entertaining
A - Amazing
N - Notable
Mason, this is a really thoughtful response. Thank you for sharing your personal connection. And what a nice acrostic poem!
DeletePrompt 3:
ReplyDeleteLily and Zach are good friends, but it’s clear that they both want to be more than friends. However, this quote of Zach’s explains why they can’t have a relationship with each other. She is white, and he is black, and it would be a scandal if their love was exposed. In 1964, it was frowned upon for people of different races to even form a friendship. Later on in the book, Zach comes to lunch with the news that a movie star is coming to town, and he’s bringing a black woman with him. He says he’s already overheard a white man’s plan to stand guard outside the theatre they’re attending and try to prevent it. Typically, attempts to integrate public places did not go well in the early 60’s, so this could potentially be a very dangerous move. Lily then thinks about how ridiculous it is that skin pigment is such a big deal. It only causes racism and hurt. Lily and Zach’s relationship is similar to the movie star’s relationship with his girlfriend, as well as many people in their situation during the time period. The reason that they can’t be together is because they’re scared of what people would do to them if they were.
Prompt 5:
Sometimes, in the face of a tough decision, it’s hard to choose what matters. One thing that came to mind when reading this conversation between Lily and August was choosing between yourself and others. It’s impossible to please everyone, since everyone has different desires and opinions and expectations. When referring to friendships (or relationships of any kind), it’s very important to make sure that you’re happy. In every movie or book about high school, there’s one character who doesn’t ‘fit in’ with their group. They aren’t themselves when they’re with this group, because they are trying to conform to their group’s constructs. But in the end, regardless of the story, they realize that they need to embrace their personality. This is a similar concept to code switching, and it shows why code switching can be so harmful. In our society, everyone wants to be liked, which often means we try to be like everyone else. Even though I’ve been lucky enough to not have many problems of this type, I still find myself making slight adjustments based on the situation. After taking a step back and realizing this, I think that what matters most is keeping yourself happy. Sacrificing yourself for others (when it isn’t absolutely necessary) is generally not worth it.
Prompt 6:
Lily called her father to give him somewhat of a second chance. When she was in the lawyer’s office, she noticed a picture of him playing with his daughter at the beach. She tried and tried to picture herself doing that with T-Ray, but she couldn’t. It seems like she felt sorry for herself. She wondered if T-Ray knew anything about her; even something little, like what her favorite color is. So, she called him on the phone and asked him if he knew. Since he didn’t answer her question, and instead started yelling at her, she hung up. Calling him on the phone was sort of like getting closure for her, to prove to herself that she’s better off without him.
Good post, Ceci. Very well written. I particularly like this line, "Calling him on the phone was sort of like getting closure for her, to prove to herself that she’s better off without him."
DeletePrompt 1
ReplyDeleteI think one thing that helps me when I am feeling sad about things i cannot change is to go for a walk or run in the woods. I definitely think this helps me when i'm feeling bad. I think one of the reasons it helps so much is that it is very calming. When you are walking in the woods especially in summer or fall it is so peaceful. I think nature is definitely something that helps make me feel better about how the world is going. Another thing that I think helps me is reaching out to a close friend or family member and seeing how their life is going. Sometimes hearing someone else talk about their life helps me feel better about mine.
Prompt 3
I think this quote definitely helps show what a twisted social world the 1960's were. It really shows how some grown men would decide to go as far as to kill a black teenager simply for falling in love with a white girl. I think another forbidden love story to compare to this is probably one of the oldest ones: The Tale Of Romeo and Juliet. Both were forbidden loves one by race and another by conflict between families. I think in both cases their family would not be happy about the two lovers being together. I also think that in both these cases the two people did not know each other for very long before deciding they were in love.
Prompt 6
I think the reason that lily called her father was to try and give him another chance. I think that after being away from him for a bit she was starting to think that maybe he wasn't as bad as she had always thought him to be. I think she called hoping to have T. Ray sobbing at the fact that she was gone and begging her to come back. She was instead met with hostility and a demand that Lily tel him where she was. I think this helped snap her back into reality and help her remember that her father hated her and probably always would.
-Finn Liland
DeleteFinn, good reflection here. I agree with you about nature being a very calming thing.
DeleteIn response to prompt one I have many ways to cope. When may is coping she writes down a note and puts it in a wall as a symbolic way of letting the trouble go. She might do this from a disability to let things pass in her head. I am fortunate to be able to go through this process in my head. While in a situation there is anger or a negative emotion I generally use techniques like meditation or specific focus to mitigate it. This is just my way of doing what May does; however with me it's mental rather than physical. I would change certain Injustices in the world. I would be careful in what to change as it could have certain unseen negative effects.
ReplyDeleteIn response to prompt two. I think that the choice of book is definitely symbolic. I think It reflects on the times and more specifically August and her sisters. Jane Eyre is In the book a girl who’s ambitions and independence cause her a great deal of trouble. She is forced to put up with a great deal of adversity caused by oppression of the time. This is symbolic of all the Characters but I think in this moment of the book it's symbolic of August and her sisters. They are clearly very smart and ambitious but aren’t able to live fully free because of societal constraints placed on them for something they can't help and something so trivial as skin colour.
They do appear to be fighting against this and maintaining their identity, their ideals and their morals along the way like in Jane Eyre.
In response to prompt three. The comment Zach makes is a window into the time. This shows to me how everything was segregated. In this example it's down to the basic example of who relationships can be formed. This is a crazy reality when looked at now. This illustrates well the social climate of the time by showing the extreme intolerance to black people being involved with white people in any way including basic human ways like the example given.
Good points here, Daniel. Be sure that you're avoiding those repetitive sentences. But I liked what you said about August and her sisters fighting against societal constraints!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletePrompt 5:
ReplyDeleteAugust tells Lily that the hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters. I think she means that sometimes people have to decide what choices they care most about. For example, August had to decide between making her sister happier or having the paint color she wanted. Knowing that May got very upset and sad a lot, she decided that having her house painted pink would be better for her sister. With hard choices, it is important to think about the outcome of certain things. Like Starr in The Hate U Give. Starr has to choose between knowing that she would be safe staying quiet, or speaking out against the police officer to bring justice to Khalil, even if it is dangerous. She has to decide if her safety is more important to the world knowing what actually happened to Khalil. I think for Lily, she will have to make a hard decision later in the book, maybe when August and her sisters finally realize her story or if T. Ray finds her. She will have to decide who or what is more important to her. Making decisions can be hard, but deciding what matters is really important.
Prompt 6:
Lily called her father to see if he really cared about her. After seeing a picture of the lawyer and his family, she wondered if T. Ray was worried about her. She decides to call him, to see if he could remember anything about her that showed he cared for and loved her. Lily wanted to find out if she made the right decision to leave. When T. Ray picked up, he immediately started yelling at Lily, saying that she needed to tell him where she was and that everyone was judging him because she left and broke Rosaleen out of the hospital. When she tried to ask him what her favorite color was, to see if he actually knew it, he ignored her and continued to yell at her. She promptly hung up the phone and realized that she had made the right decision to leave her father.
Prompt 7:
D- Daring
A- Adventures
V- Vivacious
I- Intelligent
D- Determined
G- Goofy
T- Talkative
Nice job. Love the acrostic poem about your brother.
DeletePrompt 3:
ReplyDeleteWhat Zach tells Lily about people willing to kill boys like him for looking at girls like her, this encapsulates the mindset many people had in the 1960s. Lots of white people believed that black people were inferior to them and therefore were angry at interracial relationships, or merely, as Zach says, angry at a black person for “looking at” a white person. Indeed, there is a very famous case of this exact thing happening--a black teenage boy getting murdered for looking at a white woman, or, allegedly, whistling at her. The murder of Emmett Till in the 1950s is an unnerving example of why Zach and Lily had to be careful because the very thing Zach feared had happened to a teenager even younger than him not too many years ago.
A forbidden love story that also comes to mind at this line is a book I read earlier this year called “Loving Vs. Virginia,” named for the civil rights decision in 1955 that ruled that laws banning interracial marriage were a violation of constitutional rights. It’s a nonfiction story about Richard and Mildred Loving, plaintiffs in the Loving Vs. Virginia case, who wanted to get married despite Virginia’s laws banning it. Lily and Zach obviously aren’t trying to get married, but as two people of different races falling in love in the South in the 1960s, their struggle is similar to what Richard and Mildred Loving experienced.
Prompt 5:
When August says that “the hardest thing is choosing what matters,” I think this is a very apt statement. I think she means that it can be very difficult to put the greater good first. Sometimes in a situation, you know what you have to do to benefit other people, but it can be hard to choose to make other people happy over making yourself happy. Most people instinctively act out of self-preservation--they choose what will help them. It can be hard to override that self-preservation and take the time to observe and choose what other people need as well.
Prompt 6:
While on the surface it seems that Lily called her father just to ask if he knew her favorite color, I think that the call represents something a little more significant. If T-Ray did know Lily’s favorite color, then that would be a sign that he had paid attention to that, that he cared enough about her to notice a little detail like that. Lily wanted to know if her father really does care about her, her likes and dislikes and personality.
- Leo
Hi Leo, I have Loving vs. Virginia on my bookshelf at home. Nice connection. I haven't read it yet, but intend to and look forward to it. Good response.
DeletePrompt 1:
ReplyDeleteI love May’s story, and how when they had no clue what to do with her sorrows and experiences, they figured something out. The wailing wall is a really good idea and it is very good that it helps her with the depression she has from missing her sister, April. As someone who cries and gets emotional over just about anything sad, I have always had just little things that I do to make me feel better. First off, I just cry it out, bottling up your emotions is not good for you, pretending everything is fine is not good for you (that is where May and I are alike). I make sure to cry it out, and then next, I usually journal. Journaling leaves the world to just me and my notebook and for me to say what I want to say without judgement or anything to make me more sad. I write down ways on how I can fix this, and especially in a time like this, I remind myself of one of my favorite quotes “accept the things you can not change and change the things you can not accept”. This is a really important quote because it reminds me that I can’t always be in control, and things that are above me are hard for me to change. I just wish all the time I could change how people treat each other. Wishing people would treat everyone equally and with kindness is someone I wish was the way the world was everyday. I can do things about it, personally, but I can’t change other people.
Prompt 3:
I have heard so many stories about forbidden love. I know that especially back in the 1900’s during segregation and the civil rights movement there was a lot of forbidden love, because there was a lot of belief that people of color could not be with white people. But as someone like me, I believe that anyone should be able to love anyone. This one story I heard was about this lesbian couple in the fifties, and they had to hide their relationship until gay marriage was legalized in 2015. This is a great story of forbidden love, and how it is terrible that people have to hide who they love because of what society and the world pins as “not right”.
Prompt 7:
H happy
U unicorn crazy
D daring
S ister
O optimistic
N nervous
Good connection in Prompt 3, Acadia. I like what you wrote there and I love the line, "Unicorn crazy" in your poem.
Delete3. This is a very powerful quote. Zach knows what could happen if he is seen with a White woman because Black men and boys have been beaten and killed for interacting with White women for centuries. In the case of Emmett Till, all he had to do was whistle (illedgidly). I am sure Zach is scared for his life every time that he is seen in public with Lily, because of the hate that surrounds him. When the two of them are riding in the truck and Lily starts to cry he pulls over and consoles her, but quickly realizes what could happen if they were seen together, especially because Lily could be seen as upset. When he tells her that they cannot be together, she understands because she believes that there is a racial issue, but he is fearing for his life.
ReplyDelete4. Things That I Love:
The Rain.
The smell of leaves in the fall.
My family.
Apple Pie.
The joy I find in running.
Hearing an echo.
Summers in Vermont.
Looking at the stars.
Talking about nothing and everything.
5. The reason that choosing what matters is so hard, is because it is what matters. What I mean by this is that when someone chooses something that matters, often the more complicated thing, it makes an impact. It changes something whether it be yourself or others, Itt holds weight which can be daunting. Choosing something that matters is an active choice to put yourself in a position of vulnerability, of kindness, and that makes people scared. Showing empathy and caring for others can be perceived as weakness, which no one wants to be affiliated with. Things that matter are often complex and messy, that is exactly what makes them matter. When they are not simple, it is not easy to choose them, analyze them, or understand them.
This is well said, Mary: "when someone chooses something that matters, often the more complicated thing." Good work.
DeletePrompt #4
ReplyDeleteThings that I love:
I love the eighth snow of the Winter. The snow that sticks. Not that two-three inch crap that melts before you wake up.
I love the sound of the fireplace movie. The one where you think the TV is an actual fire so you stand next to it.
I love those peanut butter smoothies that are initially really gross but you have to drink it just because it’s there.
I love pancakes in the shape of Lisa Simpson’s head.
I love the color green, the dark olive green color.
I love Christmas because of the lights and the color and the music.
I love taking my helmet off after skiing in the negatives.
I love listening to the same song on repeat so I can learn all of the words.
I love putting on a sweatshirt that just came out of the dryer.
Prompt #5
It can be hard to choose what matters when put in a tough decision. Something that came to mind in this conversation between Lily and August about choosing between yourself and others. You can never please everyone. There will always be someone who is displeased by your decision. For instance, August let May choose the color to paint the house. Although she thought it was tacky and wanted a different color, she saw it made May happy. Doing this lifted May’s heart. August didn’t care about what other people said about her house because what they thought didn’t matter.
Prompt #6
Lily calls her father to find out if he loves her. And to give him a second chance. She has never been shown love from her father, but with her absence, Lily wanted to know if her father missed her. “Do you know what my favorite color is?”(160). This is not a very complicated question, but to Lily, this will prove her father’s true feelings for her. When she said this though, T-Ray didn’t even acknowledge the question, he was too busy yelling at over the phone to answer. T-Ray had his second chance. He could have shown Lily he cared or that he missed her and that she was loved. He didn’t though.
Annie, your explanations in prompts 5 and 6 are nicely put. I also really love your poem. The line about pancakes shaped like Lisa Simpson's head is such a great image!
DeletePrompt 5:
ReplyDeleteI think it is a very meaningful part of the story when August talks about how “the hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters” (147). In many situations, a person is faced with a decision. They probably know what the right answer or thing to do is, but it is very hard to actually go and do that. In the example that August talks about with May and the paint, she says she knew it would make May happy if they painted their house Caribbean Pink, but it was hard to actually paint the house that color. August didn’t want their house to get made fun of and she didn’t want it to grab everyone’s attention. However, she knew that May felt a lot of pain from other people, so she wanted to bring her joy in any small way she could. August knew that painting the house Caribbean Pink was the right thing to do, but she didn’t want to do it because she was worried about getting made fun of for it. I think a lot of people feel that way with hard decisions. The decisions are only hard because the person doesn’t fully want to do the right thing. There’s something at stake if they choose the thing that matters, but they know that doing the wrong thing would be bad in other ways. I think that is what August meant when she said that the hardest thing is choosing what matters.
Prompt 6:
While Lily is waiting for Zach to get back with Mr. Clayton, she gets a strong urge to call her father. She is looking around Mr. Clayton’s office and sees a picture of him with his daughter. She thinks to herself that he probably loves his daughter and knows all sorts of small details about her, including her favorite color. She then starts to wonder if her own father, T. Ray knows that her favorite color is blue. She sees a phone and decides to call him and see if he loves her and if he misses her. Lily believes that if T. Ray knows her favorite color, it means he loves her. It may seem kind of silly or childish, but Lily hasn’t had a lot of people in her life that love her, especially when she was living with T. Ray. Because of this, she craves love and desperately wants to be missed by someone, in this case, her father. She thinks that maybe, after she left, T. Ray thought about how cruel he was to Lily and feels bad about it now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like T. Ray has had any change of heart.
Prompt 7:
L - Longing for love
I - Independent
L - Liar
Y - Yearning for forgiveness
O - Outgoing
W - Wily
E - Exploitative
N - Nervy
S - Searching
Margaret, your response to #5 is really great. I think you raise a good point about people struggling to do the right thing and choose the right thing because it might not be what they want to do.
DeleteSaylor Billiau
ReplyDeletePart 1
Response to #1:
One way I deal with painful things is through crying, like many other people. Crying over pain and frustration is the worst because you are very sad, but also cannot do anything to fix the problem. Other times I do not cry, but just sit there in disappointment or anger over something. I might also stop doing what I’m doing and focus on something I like to erase the sour feeling, though that only works a little bit since the pain usually does not stop. I get upset over anything. Whether my favorite character in a show died, a loved one died, or just frustrated at myself.
I think the main thing I would change about the world is racism. Most importantly the systemic racism in our country. But there are other things that I would also change altogether if I could like sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, transphobia...basically all of the “-isms”, “anti-s”, and “-phobias”. But there is no one singular most important problem. If you say “Black Lives Matter”, that means you want to raise awareness of the problems black people face on a regular basis. It does not mean that the other race’s problems are not important. But if you say something like “Racism is a bigger problem than homophobia”, it can be a little (for lack of a better word) “iffy”. Both people of color and LGBTQ+ people have experienced their unfair share of abuse and neglect by not just the United States, but globally. Remember, gay marriage was only legalized five years ago and POC who faced racism and hate crimes in the 1950’s and 60’s are still alive and are still fighting for equal rights.
Like I mentioned above, I generally cry over T.V. show characters, loved ones dying, or frustrated with myself. But to me, there is no one singular problem I would put that upsets me more. Whether it’s the pandemic, the systemic racism, the election, or any other major event(s) that is going on in our country right now, each problem is extremely important and affecting every person in a certain way.
Response #4
This is a list poem for myself. It’s just things that I love and make me happy.
-Sleepovers with my friends...I always enjoy going over to somebody else’s house to eat junk food and stay up until 1:00 a.m. talking about and our daily life and laughing at every single sentence we say.
-Music...I love listening to music. Whether I am dancing to it, mouthing along the lyrics, or learning it on my keyboard or clarinet, I always try to incorporate music into my daily life.
-Watching T.V….I love looking into the lives of Manhattan’s Elite other people in made up worlds (or maybe it’s a show based off of a real story). It’s also nice to sit back and relax, and watch other people worry about their own problems instead of your own. Plus, you can eat a nice snack while doing so.
-Play Video Games...though I do not play video games as much as I did in the past, I still enjoy a round of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with my younger brother, thwarting my mom in Super Mario Bros., or an attempt to get a full combo on a rhythm game about happy Japanese Taiko Drums.
-Seltzer...it’s a carbonated flavored water drink that excites my tastebuds. Even though it does not go well with most food, it serves as a good distraction while writing an essay that it due within 24 hours that you have not yet started.
-Painting my nails...painting my nails is a good stress reliever for me and I do it usually while watching some show. I like how I can paint my nails almost any color (out of the ones I have and/or stole from my mom).
-My friends (duh)...they are always there for me when I have to complain about some T.V. show or book character.
-My family (I guess....)...we get into a lot of fights, but I do not take them for granted because we have a lot of fond memories together that I would never want to erase.
Part 2
DeleteResponse to #7
Like Lily, I am going to make a list poem about my dad. Unlike hers, mine is a happy one.
F - Fun, my dad likes to do fun things out of the blue. Once, my brothers and I were watching T.V., and an Ad for Marvels ‘Captain Marvel’ played. My dad asked us if we wanted to go see the movie (we said yes we never go to the movie theater) and we went that day. It was very fun and I had a good time.
A - Adventurous, he likes to go hiking a lot and enjoys trying new things. He has told me about how he went out shooting with his coworkers and how they shot cardboard cutouts of aliens from a moving ex-military jeep.
T - tidy, my brothers and I often trash the living room while watching movies so he will constantly remind us that the room isn’t our playing room as he cleans it up himself. He is also very adamant about chores and cleaning our rooms and bathrooms. To be honest, it is pretty annoying, but it’s better to have a dad that cleans then a dad that isn’t.
H - happy, he’s a very happy man. But sometimes, he’s a very angry man. He’s usually happy if he has his coffee and my brothers do not start another war between the hours of 6:00 A.M. and 11:00 P.M. He is also very happy after he has a rehearsal with his band since he got to play guitar and drink beer for several hours.
E - exhausted, he is usually staying up until 11:00 P.M. (a.k.a. Old people code for 2:00 A.M.) so he is very tired. The reason he stays up that late is that he is petting our dogs and watching old movies about detectives, ghosts, or little girls with green triangles. He is also tired because he has to clean up after everybody. I always try my best to take care of my messes though.
R - really awesome, he’s just a cool dad in general. I have had one of my friend’s come up to me saying my dad is really cool, and I agreed with her because he is. He plays the guitar, he codes, he talks to people in Pakistan, goes skiing, wears weird Christmas hats, listens to classical and jazz music, and is a nice person.
I love your list poem! I love your Acrostic Poem.
DeleteHi Saylor. I can really relate to your response to the first prompt. I have a hard time dealing with painful things. I do not cry a lot, which can be good and bad. Sometimes I am glad I do not cry a lot, but sometimes I want to just get all the bad feelings out of my system and cry. When I am upset, I have a hard time getting out of feeling that way. Like you, I try to just not think about it, but end up just getting more and more upset and mad at myself. I would also like to end racism in the world. I think it is so crazy that certain people think that they are better than other people just because of the color of their skin. Also knowing all the bad things that have happened to POC in our country makes me so sad. For prompt #4, I also love some of the same things as you. I love sleepovers with my friends, staying up late and eating a ton of junk food. I also love music. Although I do not have very good taste in music, I love just listening to songs that make me happy. I also love watching TV. I have many comfort shows that make me feel better and safe, in a way. I love rewatching Parks and Rec, Gilmore Girls, and The Office. I love how supportive, caring, and funny my friends and family are. Unlike you, I do not really enjoy seltzer because I can never finish it. Painting nails also makes me extremely mad because I always mess up. Like your dad, my dad is adventurous and likes to do and try different things. While my dad is not extremely tidy, he does like cleaning up. He kinda wonders around, randomly moving and cleaning things. Overall, it seems like we have a lot in common and I really enjoyed your response!
Delete1. The way I deal with painful things I cannot change is by running away from them. Whenever I am confronted with something unchangeable, I will do anything I can to distract myself from that reality until I am forced to deal with it. It doesn't do anything but stall the inevitable and it really only makes everything worse. There are many painful, unchangeable issues in our world today that I wish I could change. Government corruption, restriction of human rights, intolerance, poverty, and world hunger, just to name a few. Unfortunately, there is no foreseeable way for these changes to come to pass.
ReplyDelete3. Zach’s comment tells us about how interracial relationships were viewed in the 60’s. What happened to Emmet Till is a good indicator of how people felt about them. There are several stories about forbidden love that have been told throughout the ages. One of the most prominent ones is Romeo and Juliet. I am not going to be talking about Romeo and Juliet, though. Instead, I will tell the story of Rayla and Callum, from the show The Dragon Prince. Rayla is an elf, and Callum is a human. Humans and elves have been enemies for 1,000 years, but after Rayla and Callum join together on a mission to make peace, they eventually fall for each other. Unfortunately, due to the racism on both sides, their relationship would not be accepted by most. It’s not as extreme as in the real world, as no one would necessarily kill them for their feelings, but they would certainly face a lot of discrimination if they were to tell the world about their relationship.
7. Passionate to a fault, thus he is
Eccentric to the point of concern, thus he is
Tedious to others, thus he is
Embarrassing himself constantly, thus he is
Regretful about everything
Peter, great insight here. I especially like the connection you made between Zach and Lily, and Rayla and Callum. I really enjoy The Dragon Prince (but I'm still getting caught up on the newest season).
DeleteList Poem - I Love:
ReplyDeleteI love flying
I love reading
I love ‘why’-ing
I love breathing
I love Mom
I love Dad
I love song
I love sad
I love to play
I love to think
I love to say
“I love a sink”
I love light
I love dark
I love a sight
In a park
I love quirks
I love weird
I love perks
They may have neared
I love to rake
The thoughts in my head
I love to fake
Lots of mead
Lily calls T. Ray:
Lily is slightly homesick. The real reason she calls is because she hopes for a chance of T. Ray loving her. She originally expected a yes but upon further reflection, she decides she was being stupid for hoping so. While I don’t agree with the majority of her “letter” that she writes, I do think she was partially justified in it. She refuses to believe that her mother left her despite it being a possibility. This greatly taints her view of T. Ray, possibly unjustly. Even if T. Ray was lying, he still supports her. He is not the best dad but he does at least loosely care about her, which should count for something. Lily may be slightly overreacting to him saying her mother left her, as she continuously talks about T. Ray being a horrible liar. If someone lies once, even about something important, that does not mean they are instantly a horrible person, nor does it mean they are untrustworthy. Rather than constantly attack him, Lily should try to at least come to mental peace with him, if not actually talking to him and settling it. For this to happen, however, T. Ray needs to be willing. He is not currently, and that would need to change.
Acrostic Poem:
Meager
Excellency
Aided
Dread
I Love the line, "I love ‘why’-ing." Well done, Aden.
ReplyDeletePrompt #3
ReplyDeleteLily finds herself having feelings toward Zach. In Lily's head, she starts to realize she has feelings for Zach but she said to herself that she didn't think it was possible to have feelings for a black man, she thought it was impossible. “Lily, I like you better than any girl I’ve ever known, but you have to understand, there are people who would kill boys like me for even looking at girls like you.” At these times a black boy dating a white girl was unthinkable and wrong. Zach could get in some trouble for dating Lily. It wasn't acceptable at those times for Zach and Lily to date. Zach and Lily’s situation is like a lot of love stories where they want to be together but things they can't control don’t want them together. Forbidden love stories like Romeo and Juliet and many others.
Prompt #5
August and Lily were talking about love and choosing what matters. August was talking to Lily about their bright pink house. August didn’t want a bright pink house, August wanted a Tan house, she had the color picked out and everything. May found the Caribbean pink and August saw how happy it made May. Even though August did not like the color, it mattered to May and it made her so happy. August knew that it mattered to her so she let her have the color. August tells Lily that she knew that it mattered but still didn’t want to do it. August explains to Lily that choosing what matters is the hardest thing on earth. Choosing what you want and what matters is two completely different things.
Prompt #6
Lily called her father when she was at the courthouse. I think Lily called her father because she wanted to know if he cares about Lily. BY asking him if she knew her favorite color, I think that was Lily’s way of asking do you pay attention to me? Do I matter to you? Do you care about me at all? When T Ray didn’t answer her question and just told her that she needed to come home, I think Lily got her answer. When T Ray explains to Lily that she needs to come home because people are looking at him weird in town, I think it shows that T Ray only cares about himself and not Lily, He only cares about his reputation and not his daughter. I think if T Ray answered differently I think that events would have turned out differently.
~Mary Veracka