After reading The Liar's Club, Mary Karr, I thought it was a great novel. Karr was very skilled in writing her memories with such descriptions. When reading the first ten pages I had no idea what was going on, but Karr was keeping the reader wanting more of her novel.
It is very sad the way her parents turned out. By the end of the book, we find out that Mary's mother is explaining her life and how she had lied to her two children. They find out there are two other children. It seems as though Mary loved growing up, but her father hated seeing her grow up and leave him in Texas. I loved how Mary got to go travel around the U.S to get out of the problems at her home.
When Karr, is describing her memory of her fathers first fight in front of her, I got a different vibe about her father. The whole time Mary is always on her fathers side. She was always putting down her mother, but by this time when they are at the Legion he is a totally different person. Karr's fathers drinking problem was what changed him. Being in that small town, retired and drinking everyday took his well being. Some of the comments he says to Mary is just plain hurtful that no father should ever say to their children. Mary was worried about her father and his response,"what I got was way worse. Daddy shrugged. I don't give a shit." All along I thought the mother was the bad parent.
After reading about Mary Karr's life it lets me know that we might not always have the family we want, but they will love us and make us stronger no matter what. And that we will always go back to where we came from whether its good or bad.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
600-800 Response
"Anyway Mother's back to me in that rocker conjured that old Alfred Hitchcock movie she'd taken us to in 1960 Psycho...Mother turned around slow to face me like old Tony Perkins. Her face come into my head one sharp frame at a time. I finally saw in these instants that Mother's own face had been all scribbled up with that mud colored lipstick. She was trying to scrub herself out"(148). It seems that she doesn't see her mother as a care giver, or a role model. I don't understand how Mary can relive this memory when she compares it to the awful fiction of a movie.
I have seen the movie Psycho, so picturing her mother sitting in the rocker,is very weird, but an awesome comparison. It makes me thankful for how great my mother is. It’s a tragedy the way Mary's childhood is that of something evil in the world. I think the word Psycho is a perfect adjective for Mary's mother. It is sad that her memory is connecting this point in her life to that of a killer in a movie. I think there is points where we always connect something make believe with what happens in our true lives. We hope that what we make believe will come true and that sadness of our lives will disappear. At this point in reading we all know that Mary’s mother is an alcoholic and there is something else going on in her head. We finally understand that she did do to the loony place for awhile. I think that her father is putting up with these antics for the kids. He wants to protect them from the evil or craziness that is in Mary’s mothers mind. It’s crazy to think Mary’s father didn’t do something sooner. This is all stemming from the heartache that Grandma put on Mary’s mother. Mary’s mother gets her Nervous issue resulting from her Grandmother. It is sad that she died, but it’s a big change from when Mary’s mother drives the body across and comes back home. That road trip just made her mad. It’s if a light bulb came on and these horrible memories growing up came back to her. It’s really sad to read these hardships knowing that they really did happen, or did they? Maybe it isn’t as bad as we think.
Another disturbing image is, “If I tried to slide in with Mother too, she’d have unwrapped my arms from her neck, saying I made her hot”(180-181) It’s a tragedy when a child or even an adult is not comforted. It seems that Mary is not close with anyone. Since the beginning of the book she has some what has become closer to her sister, Lecia, but not like a sister relationship. There are so many descriptions of her mother ignoring her. No wonder she is closer to her father. It still not a close relationship. The alcohol and her mothers Nervous is a guard between all of them. I guess back then there wasn’t that much affection between family members. There was work and chores to be done. Her mother chooses to be close to Lecia because she would refill her alcohol intake. Mary’s mother was affected by her own mother. It seems as though Mary will not fall into her mothers footsteps. She has seen what her mother did to her childhood. I am sure Mary is grateful for the way she grew up, but also angry at the way her mother treated her. I am putting the blame mostly on her mother. Her father might have some faults, but she never describes them as neatly as her memories from her mother. Hopefully it will change. Maybe her mother will grow up and start being an adult.
I have seen the movie Psycho, so picturing her mother sitting in the rocker,is very weird, but an awesome comparison. It makes me thankful for how great my mother is. It’s a tragedy the way Mary's childhood is that of something evil in the world. I think the word Psycho is a perfect adjective for Mary's mother. It is sad that her memory is connecting this point in her life to that of a killer in a movie. I think there is points where we always connect something make believe with what happens in our true lives. We hope that what we make believe will come true and that sadness of our lives will disappear. At this point in reading we all know that Mary’s mother is an alcoholic and there is something else going on in her head. We finally understand that she did do to the loony place for awhile. I think that her father is putting up with these antics for the kids. He wants to protect them from the evil or craziness that is in Mary’s mothers mind. It’s crazy to think Mary’s father didn’t do something sooner. This is all stemming from the heartache that Grandma put on Mary’s mother. Mary’s mother gets her Nervous issue resulting from her Grandmother. It is sad that she died, but it’s a big change from when Mary’s mother drives the body across and comes back home. That road trip just made her mad. It’s if a light bulb came on and these horrible memories growing up came back to her. It’s really sad to read these hardships knowing that they really did happen, or did they? Maybe it isn’t as bad as we think.
Another disturbing image is, “If I tried to slide in with Mother too, she’d have unwrapped my arms from her neck, saying I made her hot”(180-181) It’s a tragedy when a child or even an adult is not comforted. It seems that Mary is not close with anyone. Since the beginning of the book she has some what has become closer to her sister, Lecia, but not like a sister relationship. There are so many descriptions of her mother ignoring her. No wonder she is closer to her father. It still not a close relationship. The alcohol and her mothers Nervous is a guard between all of them. I guess back then there wasn’t that much affection between family members. There was work and chores to be done. Her mother chooses to be close to Lecia because she would refill her alcohol intake. Mary’s mother was affected by her own mother. It seems as though Mary will not fall into her mothers footsteps. She has seen what her mother did to her childhood. I am sure Mary is grateful for the way she grew up, but also angry at the way her mother treated her. I am putting the blame mostly on her mother. Her father might have some faults, but she never describes them as neatly as her memories from her mother. Hopefully it will change. Maybe her mother will grow up and start being an adult.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Mary's Grandmother. When Mary and her sister are getting picked up from school by their uncle to be informed their grandmother "passed away" she is humming, "Ding Dong the Witch is dead, the witch is dead," from the Movie The Wizard of Oz.
The Impala Mary's Grandma was driving before she was sick. Mary's mother drives it almost crashes during the drive to get away from the impending hurricane. Also, the car her mother drives for 14 hours to bury her grandmother.
Image List
1. "When I lay in bed next to Lecia's solid,sleeping form, that picture of Grandma's pale arm with the ants would rear up behind my closed eyes."(103)
2. "They held each other while they cried, or fell to their knees, or screamed up at the sky. But you could tell by the moans an bellows those grown men let out that their grief had nowhere to go."(104)
3."The truth--that death came in a big blind swipe--was gradually taking from in my head, picking up force and gaining motion like its own kind of storm."(105)
4."I can still see Daddy coming down the beach toward us. He had his black swim trunks on, and black basketball Keds. He'd put on a red Lone Star baseball cap and was slipping into his blue work shirt while he came toward us. He had the easy glide of men who labor for an hourly wage, a walk that wastes no effort and refuses to rush. His barrel chest and legs were pale. There was a blodd colored scar up one shin...On the same leg, just above the knee, there was a knot of ironblue shrapnel bulging under the skin left over from the war."(109-110)
5. "I'd never seen a shark up close before, and what struck me was how chinless it was, its mouth drawn low down where its neck should have been. This gave it a deep, snaggle-toothed frown and kept it from looking very smart. plus his body was one big muscle..The shark meanwhile was thrashing from side to side in the air." (111-112)
6. "The tentacles stayed wrapped around Lecia's leg, which had started to swell up. Up near her hip joint the tentacles came together where the bubblehead had been. They fanned out down her leg all the way to the ankle." (115)
7." Mother and I are flying underwater like light green phantoms. It reminds me of the Matisse painting that she razored out of one of her art books and taped over the bathtub. In it the woman dance nude in a circle. And we are like those huge women, fluid and pale, Mother and I. Ahead of us in the green water, I can see Lecia's pale white feet like the neon tailfin of a mermaid slipping away just out of reach"(117)
8."Nor can I figure what exactly led to Mother's near-fatal attack of Nervous. Maybe drinking caused Mother to go crazy, or maybe the craziness was just sort of standing in line to happen and the drinking actually staved it off a while. All i know is that first Mother was drinking, then she and Daddy were fighting worse than ever, and finally they were hauling her away in leather fourpoint restraints." (125)
2. "They held each other while they cried, or fell to their knees, or screamed up at the sky. But you could tell by the moans an bellows those grown men let out that their grief had nowhere to go."(104)
3."The truth--that death came in a big blind swipe--was gradually taking from in my head, picking up force and gaining motion like its own kind of storm."(105)
4."I can still see Daddy coming down the beach toward us. He had his black swim trunks on, and black basketball Keds. He'd put on a red Lone Star baseball cap and was slipping into his blue work shirt while he came toward us. He had the easy glide of men who labor for an hourly wage, a walk that wastes no effort and refuses to rush. His barrel chest and legs were pale. There was a blodd colored scar up one shin...On the same leg, just above the knee, there was a knot of ironblue shrapnel bulging under the skin left over from the war."(109-110)
5. "I'd never seen a shark up close before, and what struck me was how chinless it was, its mouth drawn low down where its neck should have been. This gave it a deep, snaggle-toothed frown and kept it from looking very smart. plus his body was one big muscle..The shark meanwhile was thrashing from side to side in the air." (111-112)
6. "The tentacles stayed wrapped around Lecia's leg, which had started to swell up. Up near her hip joint the tentacles came together where the bubblehead had been. They fanned out down her leg all the way to the ankle." (115)
7." Mother and I are flying underwater like light green phantoms. It reminds me of the Matisse painting that she razored out of one of her art books and taped over the bathtub. In it the woman dance nude in a circle. And we are like those huge women, fluid and pale, Mother and I. Ahead of us in the green water, I can see Lecia's pale white feet like the neon tailfin of a mermaid slipping away just out of reach"(117)
8."Nor can I figure what exactly led to Mother's near-fatal attack of Nervous. Maybe drinking caused Mother to go crazy, or maybe the craziness was just sort of standing in line to happen and the drinking actually staved it off a while. All i know is that first Mother was drinking, then she and Daddy were fighting worse than ever, and finally they were hauling her away in leather fourpoint restraints." (125)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Family Image
...I can hear the shells fall to the stoned cold earth from the gun. Smoke still lingering around like a ghost. Goosebumps forming on my skin affected by the below freezing weather. Tears falling down my face while standing over the hole bigger than me, dug up in the earth so a box could be placed there. The flag is folded and gathered lightly to be given to my step-grandmother sitting close to her late husband. I couldn't imagine how she can deal with this loss. How does someone grieve over a loved one that once shared a bed with you, or spent every waking moment with you? Til death do us part. It boggles my mind. As the cold wind brushing against me blowing my hair over my face, tears getting caught by the strands. My fathers hands on my arms holding on for life protecting me and maybe also me protecting my father. His chin placed lightly on my left shoulder tears falling down melting my coat. Feeling his pain every minute as the service men express their prayers for their loss comrade. I scan over the members of my family and strangers as they grieve for this loss, but hoping that that someone would be in the crowd smiling over all of his loved ones. As the service came to an end each grandchild was given a rose to put on that "box" that was going to be in the sacred earth forever. Slowly walking to my grandfather praying for his soul and all of us standing there saying our goodbyes the rose was still not enough of a thank you for all his love he gave me. At that moment my father gave me a hug which would be our second embrace in our 19 years together. It felt safe and that everything would be alright. I knew that my grandfather would want me to take care of his son. This was one of the saddest and happiest moments of my life. As we stood there together with my father's mother, father and brother laying right next to each other it seemed everything stopped and I feel they brought my father and I closer together. It's weird what can happen after something is gone. Life goes on, but our greatest memories stand still in our mind just as they happened. It was just last Saturday before I came back to OU that I was watching a football game with grandfather. "The storms in life test our faith," Bible verse. A verse from the reading I read in mass, "The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead, and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace," Book of Wisdom.
The Liars Club Pgs.23-96
After reading this section from the novel, the author is pulling me into her stories as a child. She is very descriptive when describing what is coming to focus from her past. An example how the author is descriptive when writing is, "looking back from this distance, I can also see mother trapped in some way, stranded in her own silence. How small she seems in her silk dress, drinking stale coffee. i can see the panther pace back and forth behind the bars on the surface of her sunglasses, as if he were inside her peering out at us." When reading this quote I feel that i am at the zoo and I am witnessing this tragic memory. The poem by Rilke talking about the animals being trapped in the cage gives us a picture the way Mary describes her mother.
From this reading too, "Nervous" is used again and again. One time it was used to describe Mary's mother when taking care of her grandmother. I was surprised when the author explains the story of her cousin being considered "Nervous" after coming home for the war and shooting himself at such a young age. I am not surprised being in the war was the cause of his suicide. It is very tragic. "I always associate my grandmother's house with Mother's silence and the old woman's endless bossy prattle," this explains somewhat of why her mother is "Nervous" a lot of how it is taking a toll on her when her mother comes to live in their household when she is sick.
I can't wait to keep reading to hear about other stories from a strangers past during the 1960's.
From this reading too, "Nervous" is used again and again. One time it was used to describe Mary's mother when taking care of her grandmother. I was surprised when the author explains the story of her cousin being considered "Nervous" after coming home for the war and shooting himself at such a young age. I am not surprised being in the war was the cause of his suicide. It is very tragic. "I always associate my grandmother's house with Mother's silence and the old woman's endless bossy prattle," this explains somewhat of why her mother is "Nervous" a lot of how it is taking a toll on her when her mother comes to live in their household when she is sick.
I can't wait to keep reading to hear about other stories from a strangers past during the 1960's.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Liar's Club and The Memoir and the Memoirist 1/7
When first beginning to read The Liar's Club I was very confused. From reading it over and trying to decipher what the author was explaining to us of two different events. I hope this is right. I think she is telling us a dark memory from her childhood about her doctor/pedophile trying to look at scars, which are not there. But then it switches to a story of a father killing his family when she was 20. The book interests me, but i think it will take a little time to really get into it. The author is very descriptive in her writing. An example , "There must have been an ambulance outside, because at intervals big triangles of red light slashed across the room. I could almost feel them moving over my face.' (Karr 5) One of my favorite parts is when she is talking about the Republicans being the "bogeyman" of her childhood. "Daddy said a Republican was somebody who couldn't enjoy eating unless he knew somebody else was hungry." Sort of comical. When she gets to the actual Liar's Club which is held in the American Legion it reminds me of home. In the little town I live in, there is an American Legion. The same kind of actions happenat home as they do in the book when the wife is looking for her husband, he is usually down at the Legion. Some of my family members go down there and everyone knows each other. All these men tell stories about the past and present. It has been a part of my family even before i was born. Reading about the legion and how the author explains what goes on there, may hook me into the novel more.
Out of the two sections of reading that I read my favorite was the The Memoir and the Memorist. It grabbed my attention right away. I like how he talks about writing his own memoir and helping others trying to write theirs. "To write memoir is to be selective; to write one's biography is to be indiscriminate."(Larson 2) That quote caught my eye in the beginning. Another quote in the same paragraph, "Don't worry about remembering events: they have already shaped themselves in your mind and emotion, though you should be on guard for how you reshape them as you write today." I believe when writing that is true. You remember the events that have really affected you, whether they are good or horrible memories. As you write those memories they may come back to you about facing the truths of the past. They can impact positively or negatively. In this memoir the author mentions that the people he is helping have all read The Liars Club. It was interesting to me when the author was mentioning ways of how to write a memoir. I liked how he said that anybody can be an author. But, my favorite part is when the author says, "..above all try to be honest about the slipperiness of telling the truth. I say try because honesty is never simple. And telling the truth, to ourselves and to others, guarantees emotional anguish. In fact, trying to be honest about the difficulty of unearthing what's painful may be the truest thing one can do." I think this can relate to everyone. So far from reading this novel writing is never easy especially when it is about your own life and I can't wait to read deeper into the writing of Thomas Larson.
Out of the two sections of reading that I read my favorite was the The Memoir and the Memorist. It grabbed my attention right away. I like how he talks about writing his own memoir and helping others trying to write theirs. "To write memoir is to be selective; to write one's biography is to be indiscriminate."(Larson 2) That quote caught my eye in the beginning. Another quote in the same paragraph, "Don't worry about remembering events: they have already shaped themselves in your mind and emotion, though you should be on guard for how you reshape them as you write today." I believe when writing that is true. You remember the events that have really affected you, whether they are good or horrible memories. As you write those memories they may come back to you about facing the truths of the past. They can impact positively or negatively. In this memoir the author mentions that the people he is helping have all read The Liars Club. It was interesting to me when the author was mentioning ways of how to write a memoir. I liked how he said that anybody can be an author. But, my favorite part is when the author says, "..above all try to be honest about the slipperiness of telling the truth. I say try because honesty is never simple. And telling the truth, to ourselves and to others, guarantees emotional anguish. In fact, trying to be honest about the difficulty of unearthing what's painful may be the truest thing one can do." I think this can relate to everyone. So far from reading this novel writing is never easy especially when it is about your own life and I can't wait to read deeper into the writing of Thomas Larson.
Monday, January 5, 2009
What do I think about English? ...Writing?... Not a big fan. Reading?....I would love to.
Through the years as a younger student I did not like English class. Writing was my worst enemy. In time though my ideas of English class became more positive. I finally figured out and became aware that if you didn't write you couldn't do a lot of things in your everyday life. As a freshmen at Ohio U I am looking forward to my English 152 class. I have become more fond of reading books. Not books that are under 100 pages, but lets say novels that express the meaning of life, comedy, biographies of the greats, and disasters. Reading can put ourselves in another persons shoes. I can picture exactly what the characters are doing. Novels can help us dream of the impossible and let our thoughts flow of what there could be. When reading I always want to relate to someone in the novel. Reading and writing can help us enter our imagination through the telling of our lives. As humans we have so many examples of what we can write. Family is probably the easiest idea to write about. Our family is 24/7. Our family will always be our family no matter what. We can write about our family and how they compare to others. We might have a dysfunctional family as we see it but to someone else we might just have an ordinary life. Family is part of who you are. You are considered family to a lot of people. Family is not common it's the way of life.
Through the years as a younger student I did not like English class. Writing was my worst enemy. In time though my ideas of English class became more positive. I finally figured out and became aware that if you didn't write you couldn't do a lot of things in your everyday life. As a freshmen at Ohio U I am looking forward to my English 152 class. I have become more fond of reading books. Not books that are under 100 pages, but lets say novels that express the meaning of life, comedy, biographies of the greats, and disasters. Reading can put ourselves in another persons shoes. I can picture exactly what the characters are doing. Novels can help us dream of the impossible and let our thoughts flow of what there could be. When reading I always want to relate to someone in the novel. Reading and writing can help us enter our imagination through the telling of our lives. As humans we have so many examples of what we can write. Family is probably the easiest idea to write about. Our family is 24/7. Our family will always be our family no matter what. We can write about our family and how they compare to others. We might have a dysfunctional family as we see it but to someone else we might just have an ordinary life. Family is part of who you are. You are considered family to a lot of people. Family is not common it's the way of life.
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