Swallowing Stones Essay In the novel “Swallowing Stones” bly Joyce McDonald, Jenna, Michael and Joe have done some deeds that affect them throughout the entire story. Jenna is constantly fighting with her Mother, and Michael has shot off a gun, and Joe has lied to the police. The character’s decisions impact the entire story. Jenna Ward is affected by her father’s death the most because she blames herself for his demise. When Jenna’s father died she remembered her mother telling her to get off the phone with her friend to call her Dad in for lunch. Then when she did not call her father in she blamed herself for why he died. She told her mother, “It’s all my fault” (McDonald page 10). Jenna thought she could have saved her father from dying. Jenna also fights with her mother constantly throughout the entire book and when they try talking they blame themselves for her father’s death which does not help either of them. In conclusion Jenna Ward …show more content…
Michael had shot off the rifle that killed Jenna’s father. Michael had accidentally shot it into the sky to show his best friend, Joe, how it works. Michael then heard about Jenna’s father’s death and knew instantly that it was his fault. He “remembered the story about the girl who choked on a stone” (page 32) and knew that he was also choking on his guilt. Michael keeps denying that he killed Mr. Ward but he knows in the end that it was him. Michael has also lied to the police about where the gun is and how his best friend Joe borrowed it. Michael should be honest and tell the police what has actually happened and maybe he will not get into so much trouble. Michael has also cheated on his girlfriend with Amy Ruggerio. That has affected him throughout the story because his ex girlfriend was spreading rumors about him. In conclusion, Michael has done deeds that affect him in the whole
She has been tricked into working for the man on the streets; Vulture. And she lacks making smart decisions which would help her get off the streets. She struggles with drugs and prostitution throughout the book. For instance, She uses drugs and is getting abused every day by Vulture. When she talked to Dylan, she told him "I was totally wasted last night. "(81). Ever since she was addicted to drugs, her relationship with Dylan gets shaky, which gives vulture the perfect opportunity to get her into prostitution. Towards the end of the book Jenna and Dylan meet up at a parking lot where someone was dropping her off, Dylan confronted Jenna and knew she was doing prostitution "Turning tricks. You're turning tricks!" - Dylan. He is furious, but Jenna doesn't seem to care all that much. It seems as if this life, has become standard for Jenna and that's why I think she will be stuck in prostitution until Vulture thinks she is no longer
Michael Patrick MacDonald lived a frightening life. To turn the book over and read the back cover, one might picture a decidedly idyllic existence. At times frightening, at times splendid, but always full of love. But to open this book is to open the door to Southie's ugly truth, to MacDonald's ugly truth, to take it in for all it's worth, to draw our own conclusions. One boy's hell is another boy's playground. Ma MacDonald is a palm tree in a hurricane, bending and swaying in the violent winds of Southie's interior, even as things are flying at her head, she crouches down to protect her children, to keep them out of harms way. We grew up watching Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow and Peanuts. Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up watching violence, sadness and death.
Another link between these three characters is their family ties. They highly regard their elders, and consider the effects of the decisions they make on t...
...d few such as Anna, Stella, and Alice who broke free of the poison, lived their lives as Sam Toms’ did who rooted the family. They as he did lied, cheated, manipuled, and kept secrets to try to live a happy life which in actuality their lives were anything but.
...re the reader is not able to make any solid connection with any of these characters. It is arguably only through the stories foreshadowing where both authors prepare us with little details like the mileage of the car written down by the grandmother in O’Connor’s story likewise the boys preparation of the stones in Jackson’s Lottery that would inevitably help the reader to comprehend how both these author’s reached the horrifically shocking climatic endings in both short stories. I believe the authors similar use of these three variables help the reader to understand the message being delivered through these stories of the human condition and its effects on a society that only embraces its traditional moral beliefs and values.
The Stone children find out that their mom is dying in the movie, which is a family crisis. The book states that the death of a parent is second on the severity of life stressor with only the death of a child above it. (Lauer, 2012, pg 290) The Stone family shows they are a resilient family and have developed this label from communicating well and have worked together to develop strengths that help them deal with stressors. (Lauer, 2012, pg 302) None of the family members avoid the problem or try to find blame in something or someone for their mom dying. Avoiding the problem and finding blame in others are two ineffective coping strategies that some individuals use. Avoidance can make individuals ignore the problem and turn to excessive drinking to help keep the problem off their mind. Scapegoating is when the individual acknowledges that there is a problem, but they turn on someone else and put the blame on him or her. The Stone family learns to cope with the crisis of their mom being sick in a way that brings them closer. They balance their concern with the concern of their mother and they work together to make a happy Christmas for her. They all realize it is hard to deal with there mom being sick, but they know that together they can handle it and they know their own worth and the worth of their family. In conclusion, the family realized the problem and worked
Jenna has a past and memories that make up who she is regardless of the Jenna before the accident. Memories are vital because they make up an identity and every human has an identity. After waking up from a coma, Jenna doesn’t know her identity which leads her to think that she is not human. When Jenna started remembering who she once was, Jenna shaped into her old personality. Jenna shows this when she goes to Lily for help and Lily says, “Why are you telling me this and not your parents? I’m surprised she would ask. Is she testing me? We both know the answer. Because I always have” (Pearson 186). Jenna’s identity makes her who she is. She remembered the close bond she once had with Lily and regained a small part of Jenna Fox’s identity. More importantly Jenna realizes that she still has the same memories she did befor...
These characters, however different they lie on the morality scale, all share the sinful trait of greed. They all ask, and take too much, ruining what the good that they had in their lives. Understanding their mistakes offers its useful readers a lesson, not to demand too much of the things we are offered. The characters struggle with their desires, each of them succombing to their passions.
Joe and Bazil 's status as the immediate family members to a sexual assault survivor allows readers to see how sexual assault can impact an entire family unit; a frequent situation that many people find themselves in, but don 't know how to sensibly handle emotionally. Through Joe 's perspective as a child in this novel, Erdrich guides her audience into understanding how complex of a societal issue sexual assault is by displaying how far reaching its effects are on the victim, family, and community of a
In conclusion, the tenuous relationship Sethe shared with her mother led to Sethe’s inability to provide for her children. Consequentially, the murder of Beloved built an emotional barrier that added to the preexisting issue of concerning her stolen milk left Denver with too little milk and the primitive drive to live that at first seemed foiled by her mother’s overbearing past. Yet, against all odds Denver was able to break her family’s legacy of being engulfed in the past and began taking steps for a better future.
Specifically, Matthew and Claire explain, "'There are a lot of people who have laid their lives and careers on the line for you, Jenna. We had to be careful. If you slipped and told someone, you would not only jeopardize your future but theirs as well,'" (Pearson 138). To put it differently, Matthew could not have saved Jenna on his own and he needed others to help him. As a result, everyone who helped Matthew accomplish this illegal task is accessory to a crime. Another illustration of how important Matthew's compromise is shown when Jenna states, "'My hands are artificial,' I tell him. 'My legs, are too,'" (Pearson 121). This shows how most of Jenna's body is unnatural, and in fact, only ten percent of her body is. Therefore because of Matthew's choice, Jenna will spend the rest of her life feeling like she has incommensurable qualities. Not only that but Jenna will also worry about how others will think of her and live with their judgment for as long as she lives. Ultimately, life is about choice's and Jenna's life and the lives around her will forever be affected by Matthew's significant
Granny Weatherall has weathered all with more than her fair share of life’s adversities. The oldest adversity Granny recalls is George’s jilting. Joseph Wiesenfarth declares the jilting is the “central fact of her life,” (“Internal Opposition” 107). Anyone is hurt by being left at the altar and would have thought about it over the years. Granny wishes to forget the jilting because she is self-disciplined with no desire for self-pity. The internal quality of self-discipline is a means of standing firm through adversity. Granny states she is on intimate terms with “a few favorite saints” and mentions St. Michael (81). St Michael is a warrior. Granny views herself as a warrior and has fought and conquered her adversities. A fighting spirit is a means of persevering through suffering. Joseph Wiesenfarth insists that after George’s jilting Granny never risked loving again (“Internal Opposition” 108). This fallacy implies Granny felt no real love for John. Granny wishes to show off the children to John, not George. Granny remembers her appearance and youthful looks when remembering John, not George. Granny has not forgotten the pain of the jilting and that painful memory serves to contrast and enhances her love for John. Granny knows true love because she has known true sorrow. Granny’s true love for John is what carried her through the hardships of life, and John is the bridegroom she looks for at death. Love is a powerful means of dedication through
Furthermore, Mary’s father was abusive in the family home to both Mary and her mother. A lifelong criminal, who was known to commit violent armed robberies, was not a good influence for Mary. Billy was often out of work, depending on earnings form Betty to sustain the house. It must be noted that there is some question if Billy is actually Mary’s father, given Betty’s profession; chances are great that Billy was just another victimizer in Mary’s lif...
The eldest brother who is also the narrator of the story gives the reader a glimpse into their lives and the struggles that he and his younger brother Sonny go through. Through the narrators eyes Baldwin does a wonderful job showing how the brothers grew up to lead different lives but are both still struggling from the hold that poverty in Harlem has on them. Baldwin shows how both “the narrator and Sonny are both imprisoned and also free in exactly opposites ways” (spark note). For example, Sonny has physically been imprisoned due to his addiction to drugs but was able to escape from Harlem and create his own life through music. Whereas the narrator is physically free but trapped in the housing projects of Harlem which he clearly hates. It is Baldwin’s unique style of writing that has the characters asking themselves the question, “Does one embrace the hand that they are dealt in order to live or does one bow down and allow it to consume them?” Baldwin shows how each brother at different times in their life allowed for it to do both. For instance, in the beginning Sonny seemed to be consumed by his suffering which led him down the path of drugs but by the end he had embraced it and let his suffering playout through music. The narrator on the other hand seemed to embrace everything that he was dealt and did the best he could to better his life.
... story as it shows the grandmother and her family’s lives have no importance until their encounter with the Misfit. Furthermore, O’Connor develops both her main characters, the grandmother and the Misfit, primarily through the structure of her disarrayed and segmented storyline with the intention of exposing her theme to her audience.