It was a cool Autumn day in October, and I had just gotten into my dad’s car after a soccer game against our rival Upper St. Claire. I remember looking at my dad and noticing he was not acting like himself. He is usually a really happy funny guy, but in this particular moment he seemed very somber. I tried talking to him about the game however he seemed distant and distracted. This is when I noticed that he had two identical Nokia phones sitting in the cup holder of his car. Obviously, I thought this was a little strange, and in an effort to make some conversation I asked him why he had two phones. This seemingly simple question set my dad off into an extremely serious mood. He turned to me, drew a deep breath and said, “I split from the agency.” My dad had just left his job and was now putting the entire family’s wellbeing at risk. At the time I knew it was serious, but being only fourteen-years-old I do not think I understood the magnitude of the situation. Sure people leave their jobs to start their own businesses all the time, but this case was much more complicated. My dad’s old boss just happened to be his father-in-law, my mom’s dad. This broken business partnership would go on to change to the landscape of my family relations forever.
I would arrive at my house to my mom with tears streaming down her face. This was a strange sight to me because I had hardly ever seen my mom full-out crying. She was heartbroken over the breakup, but knew that it had to be done. For years my dad was essential running the company. For years he had tried to get the succession plan written on paper, but my grandpa refused and stalled. My dad also wanted his name attached to the company so it would be called Coyne, Berry Advertising and Public Relations. My grandpa being the stubborn man that he is objected to this unless my dad paid him some ridiculous sum of money.
I found it somewhat surprising that my grandpa would be so unreasonable about this. As someone who had split from an agency in the past to start his own, I thought he would realize what was at stake. He knew the risks that would be associated with losing my dad, but he continued to hold up a stubborn front. I think this has entirely to do with his personal pride. He likes to think of himself as a self-made man who was able to rise out of the steel environment of 1950s’ Pittsburgh and become very successful. He was the son of Irish immigrants, his dad a steel worker in the mills, and he grew up as a member of the lower class. With hard work, dedication and stubbornness he was able to get himself through college and into the working world. I have a sneaking suspicion that my grandpa did not respect my dad as much because they never had to experience that. I think he may have thought my dad was handed too much in life and that he did not know the value of hard work. On the other hand, this is entirely untrue. My dad is the hardest working person I have ever seen. This has been extremely apparent since he has started to run his own business.
Anyways, apparently negotiations had been taking place all that week unbeknownst to me. However, these negotiations only made the whole breakup even uglier as my grandpa threatened to take away country club memberships, my dad’s car, and access to his condo in Florida. My mom is an intelligent and realistic person so she knew she had to stand behind my dad and support him through these trying times. The entire ordeal had to be the roughest on her. It pitted her husband against her father and she had to pick a side. I cannot imagine having to face this situation and knowing that if you pick your spouse, your father may never speak to you again. This would be a terrible situation and one that I would do anything to avoid. To make the whole thing more complicated, my dad planned on taking a lot of his clients with him. He had his eyes on ten potential clients to take with him, and I think he ended up with nine of them when it was all said and done. This added business aspect of the dispute would only further strain the already fragile existence of the relationship between my immediate family and my grandpa.
The biggest question surrounding the fallout was what would happen with our family outside of the business atmosphere. Would we still have Easter brunch together? Would my grandpa be there to celebrate our birthdays? Overtime the answers to these questions would surface. At first it was as if my grandpa conveniently scheduled vacations to avoid family get-togethers. That first Christmas he was in Florida and when it came time for my birthday in May, he was in Hawaii. Was this coincidence or was it pre-planned? To the day I still don’t know but I suspect it was premeditated. As time would go on, things would be come more and more normal, or at least more normal for everyone in my family outside of my dad. There is definitely still tension between the two. It is an unspoken tension, but one that we can all notice. My grandpa started to do things with my brothers and I again. He would take my middle brother and I golfing. He even entered himself and my brother, Sean, in a father-offspring golf tournament. As for me, he gave me his hat that was signed by Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr. This meant a lot to me because it was something that I had always wanted from the time when I was little. When I was younger I had even laid claim to it upon his death. As horrible as that is, that’s how much I wanted that hat. Sadly this peace was short lived. A couple of months ago during break the feud erupted again. Once again, business got in the way of personal relationships. Hopefully, this riff in the relations will be resolved, and things can get back on track once again.
This personal dispute is just one of the conflicts that has taken place within my family. Differences in personalities, beliefs, and personal taste have all lead to some memorable fights in the past. Some of these are funny to look back on while others are side reminders of what could have been. In the extended version of this post, I want to dive deeper into some of these family conflicts.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Running part 2
After reading this second section of Running in the Family, I feel like a change in the style of writing took place. The first section seemed to be more about stories about his relatives that had been past through his family. Often these stories were humorous and entertaining. However in this second section, it seemed to me that Ondaatje really changed the direction of where this book was going. Some of these chapters had him in it, but we still didn’t find out anything about him. To me this is becoming a little bit frustrating. I still do not know anything about him, and we are already halfway through the book. Also I thought that the random poems contained through out these chapters were kind of strange. I think it took away from the message and the flow of the book in my opinion. Maybe if you enjoy poetry and analyzing it this would probably add to the effect of the whole thing. As for me, I really do not enjoy reading poetry, and especially do not like analyzing it. So I found these poems to be boring and a distraction from the book.
The one chapter that I did really enjoy was the last one of the section. I thought that it shed light on to what was happening in the country. It talked about the child soldiers and how they were attempting to take over the country. This showed me why he probably left the country in the first place. Apparently there was a lot of turmoil going on and his parents probably wanted to get him out of Sri Lanka, and make sure he did not join the child army. This part of the book made me stop and think how lucky we all are to live in America. We do not have to worry about these threats to our security and way of life. Overall I hope the book starts to back track to the original style of the first section.
The one chapter that I did really enjoy was the last one of the section. I thought that it shed light on to what was happening in the country. It talked about the child soldiers and how they were attempting to take over the country. This showed me why he probably left the country in the first place. Apparently there was a lot of turmoil going on and his parents probably wanted to get him out of Sri Lanka, and make sure he did not join the child army. This part of the book made me stop and think how lucky we all are to live in America. We do not have to worry about these threats to our security and way of life. Overall I hope the book starts to back track to the original style of the first section.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Running in the Family
When I first started to read Running in the Family, I was initially confused. I did not know where he was or what was going on. Eventually, I began to figure it out, and the book started to get a lot better. What really stuck out to me was how incredibly random these essays are. The one essay entitled Honeymoon had nothing to do with anything or a Honeymoon. I think I actually enjoy this unpredictable style of the author's writing. He only spends a short time on each story. So if I don't like a particular story, or I am bored by something, I know that it will be over soon. However, thus far the majority of these essays are very interesting. He seems to have a pretty crazy family with a lot of stories to tell. My favorite of these so far was that of his father and his experiences. The part about him stealing three years of Oxford tuition and using it to live the high life in England was really entertaining. Another thing that really stood out to me was the daily lives of these people. I am curious as to how they made there money so that they could live these lives. They just take off and leave for the summer to the northern part of the country. How can they just do this. I have been assuming that these are all prominent people in society who have large inheritances or something. During the days it seems like all they do is hang out and drink. They go to horse races and gamble all day long, and when they are not doing that it seems like they are swimming or dancing. This makes me think of how big of a role that dance seems to play in their lives. The author has already mentioned dancing numerous times. There is dancing in the morning, dancing and the afternoon, and dancing at night. I bet this is a huge part of the Southeast Asian culture. Overall, I am looking forward to reading more of this book.
Monday, February 9, 2009
900 word post
Fathers, Sons and Brothers author Brett Lott uses great detail in his writing to create powerful imagery. This is paramount to his success as a writer. Some may doubt that such minor details could be generated on an event that took place decades ago. On the other hand, I believe that these details are genuine and not just made up for the sake of the story.
When something really has an impact on your life, you are more likely to remember it. In Brett Lott's case he seems to remember every single detail about it. For example on page 147 he writes, "a johnboat lying upside-down in a side yard, its flat bottom and squared-off ends in sharp contrast to the soft jasmine tendrils snaking up a trellis beside the house; a row of crab nets hung from eaves of a carriagehouse; a tree fort high in the fork of an oak, up the trunk a crooked row of two-by-four pieces nailed by a child's hand." This paints an amazing picture, one which I can actually see with my own eyes. I suppose the question with this passage is could Lott actually remember all of those details and be able to put it on paper so perfectly after so much time has passed. I would argue yes, this is a realistic scenario. The drive to Wadmalaw seems to have had a huge impact on his life. We know this from the following passage, "Though she does not know it yet, the view form here is the most beautiful gift I can remember Melanie giving me, and already I'm lining up words in my head to give back to her once we drive back home.... words that will amount, I know already, only to a meager translation of all I've seen" (149). This quote tells me a lot about the author. First, I think it helps me understand his entire purpose for writing this memoir. He is obviously better at writing his words and thoughts down than actually saying them. I believe that this is contrary to what we talked about in class. In class we said that he was almost wasting his time writing this because he would never be able to capture what he saw and felt. I feel like he did capture his surroundings and his feelings through the words and details that he used. After reading this, I would bet that his wife, Melanie, now understands how great of a gift she gave him. Second, I believe that this is testament to the fact that these details are genuine. Why would he make up details about a story that seems so insignificant to us? If he was trying to impress us with his writing and detailed stories, he would probably apply them to a cool story. Maybe something about a fight he was in or something crazy that happened to him. Not this story about a simple drive through an isolated island. What I am getting at is that making up details, especially in the passage I selected, would serve very little purpose.
Another thing that Brett Lott does well is recall quotes of what people said. Some may argue he remembers them too well, but I believe that the quotes he used in the memoir were very significant to his life. These quotes taught him life lessons, created bonds between two people and reminded him of the past. A quote coming from Uncle Lynn helps illustrate my point, " Only through concentrated effort... can one achieve one's goals. Sowing wild oats should be one of your goals" (page 56). It is obvious why this would stick out to Brett. At the time it was probably very awkward, but this awkwardness also made it very memorable. The quote also defines Brett's relationship with his Uncle Lynn. Lynn never had that father-son relationship so he fills this void by making these kind of statements to Brett. A few sentences later Lott writes, "He loved to use words, I came to see during that week, and articulated each one so that it sat by itself for a fraction of an instant between us before the next one arrived." This shows how the previous quote had an impact on Brett Lott. Through hearing his uncle talk, he learned how to use words. Lott has applied this lesson on words to his writing. I get that same kind of feeling described when reading his work. With all of these factors working for him, how could he not precisely remember all of these quotes. It is not just in the last quote where there are so many reasons for him to remember it, but in every quote of the memoir. I have gone threw a lot of the book looking for some irrelevant quotes, quotes that there is no way he could possibly remember. So far I have not been able to find any. All of the ones I have come across are either about significant moments in his life or more recent memories. An additional example can be found on page 49. Lott quotes one of his coworkers, Red, as saying, "Seventy-two dollars and sixteen cents... Now how the hell am I suppose to live off this?" Like many of the other quotes in this book this played a significant role in his life. This is the point in his life where Lott realized that work was work and serious business. It was not all about just making money for the movies or saving up for a bike, it was a matter of living and providing. This event also put everything into perspective for him. On the next page he explains this by saying, "This wasn't fun, but a job. How you lived."
Through evaluating the above sources I have determined that Brett Lott has the ability to remember specific details about the past. He is able to do this with extreme clarity and detail. I believe that this detail and clarity is genuine and not created for the sake of the story.
When something really has an impact on your life, you are more likely to remember it. In Brett Lott's case he seems to remember every single detail about it. For example on page 147 he writes, "a johnboat lying upside-down in a side yard, its flat bottom and squared-off ends in sharp contrast to the soft jasmine tendrils snaking up a trellis beside the house; a row of crab nets hung from eaves of a carriagehouse; a tree fort high in the fork of an oak, up the trunk a crooked row of two-by-four pieces nailed by a child's hand." This paints an amazing picture, one which I can actually see with my own eyes. I suppose the question with this passage is could Lott actually remember all of those details and be able to put it on paper so perfectly after so much time has passed. I would argue yes, this is a realistic scenario. The drive to Wadmalaw seems to have had a huge impact on his life. We know this from the following passage, "Though she does not know it yet, the view form here is the most beautiful gift I can remember Melanie giving me, and already I'm lining up words in my head to give back to her once we drive back home.... words that will amount, I know already, only to a meager translation of all I've seen" (149). This quote tells me a lot about the author. First, I think it helps me understand his entire purpose for writing this memoir. He is obviously better at writing his words and thoughts down than actually saying them. I believe that this is contrary to what we talked about in class. In class we said that he was almost wasting his time writing this because he would never be able to capture what he saw and felt. I feel like he did capture his surroundings and his feelings through the words and details that he used. After reading this, I would bet that his wife, Melanie, now understands how great of a gift she gave him. Second, I believe that this is testament to the fact that these details are genuine. Why would he make up details about a story that seems so insignificant to us? If he was trying to impress us with his writing and detailed stories, he would probably apply them to a cool story. Maybe something about a fight he was in or something crazy that happened to him. Not this story about a simple drive through an isolated island. What I am getting at is that making up details, especially in the passage I selected, would serve very little purpose.
Another thing that Brett Lott does well is recall quotes of what people said. Some may argue he remembers them too well, but I believe that the quotes he used in the memoir were very significant to his life. These quotes taught him life lessons, created bonds between two people and reminded him of the past. A quote coming from Uncle Lynn helps illustrate my point, " Only through concentrated effort... can one achieve one's goals. Sowing wild oats should be one of your goals" (page 56). It is obvious why this would stick out to Brett. At the time it was probably very awkward, but this awkwardness also made it very memorable. The quote also defines Brett's relationship with his Uncle Lynn. Lynn never had that father-son relationship so he fills this void by making these kind of statements to Brett. A few sentences later Lott writes, "He loved to use words, I came to see during that week, and articulated each one so that it sat by itself for a fraction of an instant between us before the next one arrived." This shows how the previous quote had an impact on Brett Lott. Through hearing his uncle talk, he learned how to use words. Lott has applied this lesson on words to his writing. I get that same kind of feeling described when reading his work. With all of these factors working for him, how could he not precisely remember all of these quotes. It is not just in the last quote where there are so many reasons for him to remember it, but in every quote of the memoir. I have gone threw a lot of the book looking for some irrelevant quotes, quotes that there is no way he could possibly remember. So far I have not been able to find any. All of the ones I have come across are either about significant moments in his life or more recent memories. An additional example can be found on page 49. Lott quotes one of his coworkers, Red, as saying, "Seventy-two dollars and sixteen cents... Now how the hell am I suppose to live off this?" Like many of the other quotes in this book this played a significant role in his life. This is the point in his life where Lott realized that work was work and serious business. It was not all about just making money for the movies or saving up for a bike, it was a matter of living and providing. This event also put everything into perspective for him. On the next page he explains this by saying, "This wasn't fun, but a job. How you lived."
Through evaluating the above sources I have determined that Brett Lott has the ability to remember specific details about the past. He is able to do this with extreme clarity and detail. I believe that this detail and clarity is genuine and not created for the sake of the story.
FSB post
I enjoyed reading this section of Fathers, Sons and Brothers. It really made me think of the way people's lives turn out. In doing so it made me think of where I might end up 5, 10, or 30 years down the road. The way Brett changed what he was doing with his life just over the course of a couple years was amazing. He went from first wanting to be a a forest ranger, to a marine biologist, to a salesman, and finally deciding on being a writer. Right now I am an advertising management major, but don't know if this is what I want to do. Perhaps I am in this major because this is what my dad does (he has his own advertising agency). Even though he has never pushed me into doing this it is where I have ended up so far. Also adding to me being here could be that advertising is a sort of family business. Virtually my entire family has worked in that industry, and it is all I really know as far as business goes. Maybe I ended up at this point as a way of subconsciously making them happy. I don't really believe this but you never know, it could be something that has happened without me noticing. This section also makes me think about where my brothers will end up. Hopefully they don't end up like Brett's brother Brad. Even though he ended up in an alright situation, his life was all in all somewhat of a failure. It's kind of scary how Brad went from being a model citizen to falling down the slippery slope that eventually ended in his going to rehab and dropping out. Like I said earlier, I would hate to see either myself or one of my brothers go down that road. Brett Lott's writing really does a good job of making the reader think about whats going on in their own life.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Thesis
Father's, Sons and Brother's author Brett Lott uses great detail in his writing to create powerful imagery. I believe that these details are genuine and not just made for the sake of the story.
Monday, February 2, 2009
600 Word Post Revision
The author, Mary Karr, loads this book full of heavy and moving imagery. Throughout the entire time we have been reading The Liars' Club we have been discussing imagery and the role it plays. We have blogged about different images and how they make us feel about certain characters. For example, the father is a heavy drinker and a liar, but because of the way he is described and the imagery that is used I seem to like the guy. I believe imagery plays the most important role in her writing when talking about her mother and her fits of nervousness. It shows how unstable she really is and how shocking this is to Mary. Her breakdown was what stuck with me the most after reading this assignment.
The first image of her mother in this reading section that really stood out to me was the following, "Mother turned around slow to face me like old Tony Perkins. Her face came 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..." (148-149). This is the part where you see how full blown crazy she really is. Before reading this I thought maybe she just struggled with occasional nervous breakdowns fueled by binge drinking. However, after this passage you can tell that she has absolutely lost her mind. Visually she strikes me as a mix between a zombie and the joker as portrayed by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. I imagine her makeup and hair is just as wild and out of control as Ledger's. I see her movements in my mind resembling that of a zombie. She slowly turns her head around and incoherently stares at her daughter. This is a really creepy image that Karr draws up and is a little frightening. I can only imagine how a little girl would react to this. I'm sure it would be extremely scary and put a person into shock. This image sets a tone for the rest of her breakdown that day as she sets things on fire and comes in with a knife.
A second passage the I found to be very powerful was, "Then a dark shape comes to occupy that light, a figure in the shadow. She has lifted her arms and broadened the stance of her feet, so her shadow turns from a long thin line to a giant X. And swooping down from one hand is the twelve-inch shine of a butcher knife..." (155). This selection shows the full extent of the mother's "nervousness." We all knew that she was crazy and was even willing to drive everyone of a bridge, but I did not think that she had it in her to savagely butcher her own young daughters. This part of the book really had me on the edge of my seat wondering how far she was going to go. The suspense and curiosity I felt was because of Karr's ability to paint a vivid image. She does this extremely well when dealing with her mother and events that seem particularly frightening or gruesome. The first part of this quote that talks about her entering the room is probably the best part. It seems as if the mother is some evil figure whose darkness is so great that she absorbs the light. Rather than saying she walked in the doorway, Karr uses this description. This portrayal is way more powerful and better at painting the picture of someone who has lost everything including their own mind. The mentioning of a knife is scary in itself, but when she introduces the knife as a shadowy outline it is way more effective.
Mary Karr does a great job of creating and utilizing powerful imagery. Without her ability to do this The Liars' Club would not be the entertaining book that it is. Karr's writing is at the top of its game when describing her family and most importantly her mother. The scene and passages retelling the breakdown show how effective strong imagery can be. I hope there is more great imagery to come in following books.
The first image of her mother in this reading section that really stood out to me was the following, "Mother turned around slow to face me like old Tony Perkins. Her face came 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..." (148-149). This is the part where you see how full blown crazy she really is. Before reading this I thought maybe she just struggled with occasional nervous breakdowns fueled by binge drinking. However, after this passage you can tell that she has absolutely lost her mind. Visually she strikes me as a mix between a zombie and the joker as portrayed by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. I imagine her makeup and hair is just as wild and out of control as Ledger's. I see her movements in my mind resembling that of a zombie. She slowly turns her head around and incoherently stares at her daughter. This is a really creepy image that Karr draws up and is a little frightening. I can only imagine how a little girl would react to this. I'm sure it would be extremely scary and put a person into shock. This image sets a tone for the rest of her breakdown that day as she sets things on fire and comes in with a knife.
A second passage the I found to be very powerful was, "Then a dark shape comes to occupy that light, a figure in the shadow. She has lifted her arms and broadened the stance of her feet, so her shadow turns from a long thin line to a giant X. And swooping down from one hand is the twelve-inch shine of a butcher knife..." (155). This selection shows the full extent of the mother's "nervousness." We all knew that she was crazy and was even willing to drive everyone of a bridge, but I did not think that she had it in her to savagely butcher her own young daughters. This part of the book really had me on the edge of my seat wondering how far she was going to go. The suspense and curiosity I felt was because of Karr's ability to paint a vivid image. She does this extremely well when dealing with her mother and events that seem particularly frightening or gruesome. The first part of this quote that talks about her entering the room is probably the best part. It seems as if the mother is some evil figure whose darkness is so great that she absorbs the light. Rather than saying she walked in the doorway, Karr uses this description. This portrayal is way more powerful and better at painting the picture of someone who has lost everything including their own mind. The mentioning of a knife is scary in itself, but when she introduces the knife as a shadowy outline it is way more effective.
Mary Karr does a great job of creating and utilizing powerful imagery. Without her ability to do this The Liars' Club would not be the entertaining book that it is. Karr's writing is at the top of its game when describing her family and most importantly her mother. The scene and passages retelling the breakdown show how effective strong imagery can be. I hope there is more great imagery to come in following books.
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