Sticks and stones may break Bone, but names will never hurt her

Getting into "Bastard Out of Carolina," I was immediately drawn to the character Bone, which I'm sure many are considering that she is the main character. She is very interesting, and I like her point of view. She's not very typical of a ten year old in my eyes, but still seems somewhat innocent and young.

In the start of the book it seemed like she was a bit of an outcast, but a happy little girl. She had a mother who was beautiful and they were very close, and eventually a little sister, Reese, with whom she always played with and it seemed like they were very close. I definitely think that Bone's mother was the most influential person in her life. It seems that she altered her life in order to please her.

For example, their happiest time seemed to be when Anney and Lyle were together. Bone never really said anything negative about her feelings or her mamma's feelings during that part of the book. Once Lyle died though, Anney became very sad, and I think that Bone really felt that. She hated to see her mother looking old, and see that empty smile. Bone knew that her mother was sad and lonely, and it seemed to me that Bone was a little sad too. She really cared for her mother, and worked very hard to please. While Anney was in this slump it seemed that Bone was very understanding for a young girl and that she wanted to help her mamma.

Then when Anney first met Glen Bone seemed pretty happy for her. Some feeling came back into Anney's eyes that she hadn't seen in a while. When Anney asked Bone if she liked Glen there was no way that Bone was going to say anything negative because she could see how badly Anney wanted her to like him.

Eventually, this protecting of her mother became an issue for Bone. It was no longer just trying to make her mother happy, but it was putting her in danger. When Glen beat Bone all the time and broke her bones, she never really told anyone what was happening. She wanted to make her mom happy more than anything. She could see how tired and old her mother was looking again, and she just tried to be the best girl that she could.

Although, I haven't yet finished reading, I can see that Bone has been through so much. She takes criticism and abuse all the time, but somehow she still seems strong. Although the readers can see that she is hurt, scared, and lonely, I can see a happy ending in the future for Bone.

"Walking on Water"

After we went over this poem in class and I understood it, I liked it. At first I was a little bit confused, but now that I know what is going on I find it to be a very calm, relaxing, and a sweet poem.

I like how the kid in the poem is so confident and really enjoys his little experience. He doesn't take his it for granted and really seems to use it to reflect on himself. Although his "walking on water" experience wasn't actually walking on water and it happened when he was a kid, he still reflects on it when he is an adult.

Dickey uses words that are relaxing and pretty. For example I like how he said this, "A curious pilgrim hiking/ Between two open blue worlds,/ My motion a miracle,/ Leaving behind me no footprint,/ But only the shimmering place of an infinite step upon water." Once I put the words to a meaning I got a strong mental picture. It just seems so peaceful and relaxing.

Throughout the rest of the poem Dickey uses the same language to make the child seem so happy just gliding across the water. When the kid sees the shark it's kind of scary, but he just keeps on going, like he has all of the animals in the water mesmerized. It almost seems that he is mesmerized at well. No one can really believe he's just pushing his way across the water all by himself.

I also like how Dickey is telling the story of him "walking on water." I feel that he is telling it as it has actually happened to him, and perhaps it has because the details that he uses are so familiar.

A Dog Sleeping On My Feet

Oftentimes I have a lot of trouble reading poems. There is always some hidden message and I feel that I can't ever quite figure it out. Occasionally though there is a poem that I like and I think I get the feel for. I liked this poem, "A Dog Sleeping On My Feet." I thought that it was a sweet poem that was very relaxing and cozy somehow.

I like how Dickey uses his pet dog for inspiration. He seems to be sitting in his chair with his dog sitting on his feet, warming them. Apparently the dog has been there for quite some time because his feet become prickly and fall asleep. I like how he tries to sit through it though and uses it as an inspiration. Not wanting to disturb his friend he writes. He writes about a fox and relates it to the prickles in his feet.
"All, all are running.
Marvelous in pursuit,
Like a dazzle of nails through the ankles,
like a twisting shout through the tress
Sent after the flying fox"

When the dog gets up he is nearly finished. He concludes describing how he will go into his bed and
"From the dream of an animal,
Assembling the self I must wake to,
Sleeping to grow back my legs."

I like all of the descriptions that Dickey used. While describing his "pine-prickling legs" I can almost feel the same thing, and I know exactly what he means. Also, I like how he can relate it to something, and use the scent in the air to bring everything together. It gives a certain feel to the poem that is very relaxing.

O'Connor

At first when I read the O'Connor story I didn't really realize that it was religious. Once we talked about it in class though I was able to see it a lot more in the second reading, "Revelation." I thought that "Revelation" was a very interesting piece. To me it seemed humorous and religious at the same time and it was enjoyable.

Mrs. Turpin was my favorite character. I thought that she was funny. I liked how she prideshe realized that she wasn't really the person that she thought that she was all along. She made a strong point in telling herself all the time that she was kind and good, and that she always went to church. She would tell herself that she was a good Christian and thank God and Jesus for giving her a little of everything.

Mrs. Turpin really seemed to appreciate herself. She saw herself as pretty, kind, a good Christian and although she was a little overweight she was very pleased with herself. This pleasure with herself seemed to have come from viewing others negatively. Throughout the whole story we hear her describing her impressions and the appearance of those around her in the doctors off. This one was fat, that one was ugly, this one was rude, etc... Luckily though she was none of those bad things, therefore it seemed that those negative things were just that much worse.

When Mrs. Turpin finally comes to the realization after the ugly girl calls her a warthog from hell I think it's really amusing. She knew all along that she wasn't that great of a person, but now hearing from someone that she didn't actually know really got her thinking about her life. She was completely devastated by a teenager telling her she was from hell. Although she sees this as a sign from God and that she has actually known this girl for years it still comes out of an ugly teenager.

I think it's interesting when they finally head home from the hectic doctors office and Mrs. Turpin expects everything to crumble right in from of her practically (her home, farm, Claude). She gets so upset and practically challenges God because of what he called her. Mrs. Turpin just didn't understand how someone so faithful to the church and above the white trash and the black people could be looked down upon so much by God.

As the reader we can see the whole time that she is very judgemental and critical of others. She has no respect for the lower class and really thinks of herself as better than so many people. When she finally is exposed to this knowledge it is almost too much for her to take, and I was just really amused at how she handled the whole situation.