This semester there have been ups and downs like there is always in life. This is the year I have had to adapt and survive out of any year I have lived. There have been many obstacles that have changed my behavior towards many things. School for me is an obstacle but not an excuse for failure. I feel like I haven't put forth half the effort I can. I don't have the tough male figure setting curfews and reenforcing rules at home. At times I can say that I'm free to do what I want but there are punishments and boundaries but not as enforced as I'm used to.
This semester I'm maintaining my A/B average but English and Math have been tough. I don't find the thrive and motivation in completing my Blogs week by week. Personally, I feel like I'm wasting my time because I'm not presenting my work or directing it at a specific audience. It's floating somewhere in Cyberspace where an English teacher reads it while sitting at home and jotting notes and some other weirdo in the world might run into it and read it for fun. I don't even try my best because I have no one to impress. Researching my topic was tough because many of the blog topics were debatable and the deadlines were short term so in-depth research was too time consuming acknowledging the fact that there is work for other classes.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Book Response
The memoir, "A Child Called 'It'" written by Dave Pelzer, is a heartbreaking yet heartwarming at times. This is not only what he went through everyday of his childhood from when he was five to around eleven. It makes you want to keep reading while wiping tears and reading through the ripples of fluids created at the bottom of your eye. Every word is written with emotion and many words are written with hatred and anger towards everything. He narrates what he goes through on a daily basis, from weeks of starvation, blows to every inch of his body, years of torture, and hours of being submerged under water and sometimes in a gas chamber of ammonia and bleach. These are many of the effects of having not only one but two alcoholic parents in the household. With alcoholism stimulates thoughts, induces violence and conflicts with kindness. Mother was the aggressive one while father was to busy fighting fires or too scared to confront her. Peltzer wrote this book to make people realize the severity of some circumstances and to prove to those ignorant drinkers that alcoholism is a problem affects everyone.
This memoir begins as an enchanting tale of the perfect family. Dinners together, field days out, a walk around the park or even a picnic day on beautiful days. All of a sudden it becomes a book of heartbreaking, gut wrenching happenings that are too hurtful to lock up emotions. Dave's mother was often to drunk to have any respect for anyone not even her father. On page 147 he writes, "She often telephoned Father at the station and called him names. 'Worthless' and 'drunken loser' were two of her favorite names for him." She had no respect for his image at work, or as a family man. She made him seem like a horrible example while losing respect for herself in insulting him publicly. Dave himself explains the atrocity of a life he lives not having father.
"After awhile, Father didn't even stay home on his days off. He would come in for only a few minutes.
After seeing my brothers, he would find me wherever I was doing my chores and say a few sentences,
then leave. It took Father no more than 10 minutes to get in and out of the house, and be on his way
back to his solitude, which he usually found in a bar. When Father talked to me, he'd tell me that he was
making plans for the two of us to leave. This always made me smile, but deep inside I knew it was a
fantasy"(103).
Not only did Father lie to him but abandoned him to his luck knowing that he was the only person he could ever rely on or at least feel like he might be safe. He knew he was never safe but he knew at least punishments wouldn't be as hostile and bellicose. This book clearly depicts how problems between parents or others affect the children and entire household even thought they might not be noticeable.
The life Dave Peltzer went through is much more sever than what many other children go through. They might not be tortured or starved but they might be neglected or misunderstood becoming of less importance. It shows every side of everything. How hypocritical parents can be and whether there can be trust in certain circumstances. In the end the book is the prime example for the fact that he was affected both emotionally and physically.
This memoir begins as an enchanting tale of the perfect family. Dinners together, field days out, a walk around the park or even a picnic day on beautiful days. All of a sudden it becomes a book of heartbreaking, gut wrenching happenings that are too hurtful to lock up emotions. Dave's mother was often to drunk to have any respect for anyone not even her father. On page 147 he writes, "She often telephoned Father at the station and called him names. 'Worthless' and 'drunken loser' were two of her favorite names for him." She had no respect for his image at work, or as a family man. She made him seem like a horrible example while losing respect for herself in insulting him publicly. Dave himself explains the atrocity of a life he lives not having father.
"After awhile, Father didn't even stay home on his days off. He would come in for only a few minutes.
After seeing my brothers, he would find me wherever I was doing my chores and say a few sentences,
then leave. It took Father no more than 10 minutes to get in and out of the house, and be on his way
back to his solitude, which he usually found in a bar. When Father talked to me, he'd tell me that he was
making plans for the two of us to leave. This always made me smile, but deep inside I knew it was a
fantasy"(103).
Not only did Father lie to him but abandoned him to his luck knowing that he was the only person he could ever rely on or at least feel like he might be safe. He knew he was never safe but he knew at least punishments wouldn't be as hostile and bellicose. This book clearly depicts how problems between parents or others affect the children and entire household even thought they might not be noticeable.
The life Dave Peltzer went through is much more sever than what many other children go through. They might not be tortured or starved but they might be neglected or misunderstood becoming of less importance. It shows every side of everything. How hypocritical parents can be and whether there can be trust in certain circumstances. In the end the book is the prime example for the fact that he was affected both emotionally and physically.
Interpret Data
Many times information and statistics obtained don't correlate in any way, shape, or form or have an explanation on why it happens. On my poll, the question was, "Do you feel that family problems currently affect your mental state and self-worth?" The three answers were, 'Yes, strongly', 'Moderately affect me', and 'Don't affect me at all.' When I saw the answers I wasn't surprised much. Forty-two percent of the people who answered, answered that they were strongly affected. Fifty-eight percent answered that they were moderately affected. What was a bit surprising was that no one answered that they didn't feel like they weren't affected at all. I feel like there are people that answered the poll who act like they aren't affected around their peers and school in general. Truth is that they are affected no matter what, even though it affects everyone in different forms.
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