The Essence of Remembrance

Our compilation of memoirs, The Essence of Remembrance, is now ready for anybody interested in reading it.  

To be continued...

Like I previously stated, most of Revolution's words are basic and easily understood, sans adjectives. For some reason authors go CRAY-ZAY with adjectives that few people know. Or at least some that I'm not aware of. Other than that:

Askew: to one side; out of line; in a crooked position.

"... It's a whole city, a thousand thin paths, kilometers and kilometers of housewives standing outside askew miniature-sized houses..." (5)

An askew hat.

Drab: Lacking brightness, dingy or shabby.

"They looked drab and disarranged beside their cop counterparts in fine suits and unhappy helmets..." (23)

 The entrance of a house that looks drab. 

Coterie: a group of people who associate closely, clique. 

"He had a coterie of friends since childhood, who were protective, fearful for him." (23)

There is an eccentric coterie beyond the sunflowers.

"God's" Rebel(ution)

Have you ever eagerly waited to read a book but then realize you know what will take place? I hope not. That just happened to me. Today, like 7 hours ago. "Close read," he said, "it'll be fun." he said. Pause, not. I began to read the book's back cover and SHAZAM, Deb Olin Unferth ruined 80% of her interesting story in about 5 minutes. What a way to hook the reader into buying your book. 

As I read the first fraction of the book the wheels of AP Language and Composition that now reside in my head began turning. Yep, that would be a first time. Thoughts suddenly hit me like an unexpected wave in the beach. Ideas about diction, tone, and word choice attacked me incessantly. This is how it goes:

Revolution, the story of a Christian couple interning themselves in countries suffering from Socialism, contains changes. I grasped Unferth's tone as a neutral, matter-of-factly one. Her words seem to the point and I didn't feel any of them catch my attention, thus her diction seems informal but careless.

So far, I haven't felt anything as I read other than frustration and loathe towards the couple. What do they think, that Socalist revolutions during the Cold War were a way to escape their ordinary Christian lifestyle? Instead of joining it they should have fought, supported endng of it! So much for being God's messengers.

B as in Blogpost

Watch out for correct use of quotations! Even though we didn't get the chance to see "someone with a beard dealing with a head cold," aka Mr. Tangen, we did learn how to use quotations and comma splices. Punctuation marks didn't just show up like McDonald's do, they have had lots of history.

Just like Dante's Inferno defined Italian, there were many books and authors that determined the use of certain punctuals. These people could even create their own symbols and nothing could be done about that. The importance of trend and the "survival of the fittest" explains how the most prominent punctuation marks survived while those with less use lay forgotten. In disagreement with the author, a smaller amount of punctuals don't make languages less rich, they make it easier to understand what is written. Even today many people don't use semi-colons or even commas. This blandness creates tangible and monotonous comprehension.

Diction(ary) II

Everybody loves music, Brent included. In the third section of the story he makes allusions to at least five songs. I'm sure he love the Beatles because most of the songs mentioned were theirs. But the story was written years after. He could have easily chosen the songs according to what was happening! It's all a lie! Even when he's watching a show called Quantum Leap. The main character travels back in time and stops people from making the biggest mistake of their lives. What are the chances he finds this series playing? There is the same probability that he watches the children at the DuPont Institute dine, feels repulsed because they are not able to eat well, and suddenly remembers the song "Man In The Mirror." I absolutely think Brent has modified his story.

Brent also has a defect. He wants to deal with his feelings alone. This leads to choppy dialogues in which he constantly uses expressions like:

- Oh
- Yeah
- Okay
- I guess

This uneven and many times sarcastic dialogue helps the reader shape Brent's attitude with others in one's mind. It is clear that he keeps things to himself, suggesting a secretive and confused character.
The fact that he changes so much helps one understand what built up and lead to suicide. He did not want to talk to others. Brent also used very basic vocabulary, the kind of words a 12 year-old would use to express himself. This, I believe, is in accordance with the story and not with the context. This is good.

Diction(ary)

As I read The Burn Journals I noticed changes in Brent's writing. Ever since I began reading the book he has shown many intimate details in terms of his sexuality and feelings towards women. I feel awkward when I read those passages, like if I were invading some guy's mind because what he says is exactly how I picture any male's thoughts to be. It's a memoir, that's exactly what I am doing. 

As he writes on, Brent deems the reader even more trustworthy. He also begins to become aggressive towards his surroundings, specially the psychologists. The intensity of his words and thoughts actually scares me. I think a child who thinks of suicide, curses all the time, and thinks of sex most of it is a time bomb. He increased the use of informal words, thus there is very familiar register. 

I consider Brent's excessive cursing part of a more intimate relationship with the reader. One doesn't just talk about "Dr. Prickhead" and "Dr. Dickhead" (pg. 190) in front of some unknown person. There has to be reliance to avoid any judging. Now I feel the text began in a restrained matter but has now blossomed to allow the reader to learn Brent's most intimate secrets.  

When The Eye Meets The Mind...and a New Word

The source of  the definition of these now-known words is dictionary.com, but most of the book is written with commonly used words.

Grafts: a portion of living tissue surgically transplanted from one part of an individual to another, or from one individual to another, for its adhesion and growth.

La-Z-Boy: (as in lazy boy) a manufacturer of reclining chairs.

 Roughhousing:  disorderly playing, especially indoors.

 Pennant: a flag serving as an emblem of victory or championship, especially in baseball.

Crybabying Around

I say, "I'm trying, but it's hard," and my voice sounds really whiny and babyish. (pg. 86)

Brent's word choice shaped the imagery in my head. After two months in the Burn Unit, Brent must learn to walk again. He is like a newborn baby who must learn how to walk, and the words the author used really helped achieve a clearer image in my head.

Words like these also helped me determine which this part´s tone. Even though tone is everchanging throughout the story, in this piece Brent´s tone is one of irritation with his inability to walk, thus negative. When he finally is able to, his tone turns into an optimistic one. The memoir has constant changes in tone.

Other than that, as I read it pained me when Brent's self-acceptance turned into feelings of hate. He "realized [he] was such a monster." Aunt Gayle's foolishness of bringing a small child, a person slightly aware of the social construct, to see a sick person. One can be certain they will act or speak in an inappropriate manner. Even without meaning to, Amara made Brent feel like an abomination, which could have been avoided.

B for Burned Hands

Alida, one of Brent´s brunette friends visits him. Being an important event for Brent, he thouroughly narrates how he looked while Alida dined there.

"And my hands are starting to work better, I don´t even have to wear bandages on them anymore. They´re still purple but not as bad as they used to be." (Pg. 59)

When reading these words I could only picture a scene in one of my favorite movies, V for Vendetta. The setting shows V, the main character, cooking breakfast. He also suffered an accident involving fire and covers his scars with clothes, a mask, and gloves. V removed these gloves because they were hindering his cooking and didn´t realize Evey, a woman with curly brown hair he abducted, was watching intently. His hands are mostly scarred and pink, creating an unpleasant contrast with the food being cooked. When V realized Evey had seen his hands, he quickly forgives himself and asks Evey if she lost her appetite after having caught a glimpse of his hands. 

V resembles Brent in many ways. Both were part of an accident involving fire, both feel like monsters, and both survived and had to deal with what followed. Women helped ease the pain of not accepting themselves but most importantly, both seek revolutionary change. V attempts to shape his society into one of functional anarchy instead of living in a world of abuse and corruption. Brent wears black as a manifestation of his disapproval of war and even at a younger age, he had already considered suicide.

Not only their hands resemble each other, their radcial way of dealing with things is also similar.

For the Love of a Mother

A question that killed me inside: "Mom, no one´s ever going to love me, are they?"

As usual, mothers can heal even the deepest wounds.

"Brent, listen to me, honey, you are so smart and so kind. You will fall in love, and someone will fall in love with you. I promise." 

That´s just like when you have not taken a bath and your mom thinks you could be walking down a Victoria´s Secret runway. I don´t mean Brent will never find love nor much less, I´m just praising the dedication and commitment motherhood develops in a person. The love of a mother is the same everywhere, the love of a mother is irreplaceable.

Many times, my mom has told me she would sacrifice anything for her children. I´m sure most moms feel this way. But what really struck me was how Brent´s physique was so important for him, he feels if he´s not attractive no girl will fall for him. He is just like Alice Walker. And like anybody else. In a world where looks can be more important than brains, how else would this child be thinking? Until Walker removes the "glob," she never really appreciated herself. I would assume Brent will have a similar outcome in terms of scaring and healing the burnt skin. Both have written a book and attempted to overcome their past. The process is alike to Daren Strauss´s. Is there a set of rules to comply when one has an issue like these?

Unconvincing Death

Suicide´s how some show weakness, or their strength. A person must pick a side: Ending their suffering and causing their family mounds of pain, or dealing with their issues while their loved ones live obscured by secrets. There is no grey, just black or white. Or that´s what I used to think. 

It is not common for people to survive a suicide attempt because, well duh, it´s suicide. But what if the person wasn´t certain of dying? Could this be the missing shade of grey? It is in our genes and implanted in our mind like a microchip: we are born, not prepared to die nor ready to embrace death. This, Brent Runyon wrote in The Burn Journals, and I totally agree with him. After five failed suicide attempts, one is certainly not convinced to meet Death. And this boy seems so normal. He´s 12! Does he want to commit suicide because he could get caught stealing or was there something else? It is common for children who are molested or abused to seek death. 

But once again, the benefit of sight is also the beauty of deception. Take Susan Boyle as an example. On the X Factor, she stands on stage and people just laugh. Then, this woman, who has never had her first kiss, blows the disbelieving audience and judges away.

Excuse the cliché: one must never judge a book for its cover.

Applying Half a Rhetorical Triangle

After one watches a scary movie, it is not uncommon to feel paranoic. Brent was continously in that state. "There´s a camera in the balloon. I know that because every time the balloon moves, there is a sound like a hidden camera and that means that they´re watching me, but I don´t know who they are." (Pg. 28) He´s totally under control.

Maybe this paranoia led to his suicide attempt. The events that followed make me question who the audience was and what Runyon´s motive for writing the memoir was. Up to what I´ve read, I´d say he wrote it either for therapy or to communicate with people who have survived their own suicide attempts. Another example of writing for therapy would be Darin Strauss´s Half a Life, previously discussed in class. He had not been able to overcome Celine´s death until he discovered the meaning of the suicide note and wrote down the details after the accident. In both cases, it seems that both time and inditing memoirs can help overcome tragedies. The context in both memoirs would be regret in their adult life for something that happened when they were younger. Actually, both Half a Life and Burn Journals are similar in terms of of the rhetorical triangle. As I continue reading into the narration, there is a chance I´ll change my opinion about these topics.