Coming of Age - Connor Guarnieri

     Through Black Swan Green Jason transforms from a shy, quiet kid desperate to fit in to a hard, authoritative figure in the span of a year, at the same time abandoning his fear of Hangman and Maggot. One example of his transformation is his interactions with people, and the figurative "trials" he is put through in the book. For example, the chapter Bridle Path shows him on an Odyssey like adventure where he encounters many different people on the path. His reactions to each of these events show the stark contrast between his actions then, and by the end of the book. The first encounter he has is with a man and his three dogs. "'You're goadin' my boys!' I swallowed. Laws down the bridle path are different to main road laws 'I don't appreciate that' (71)". Jason simply replies "They're...beautiful animals". He clearly doesn't say the right thing, as it further ignites the mans anger. The man then correctly deduces that...

 Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is an autobiographical analysis of young Allison Bechdel, who is reflecting on her past, with a fresh perspective on her life. She is assessing her fathers death, or suicide as she thinks, and using this to paint a picture of her father, one she had not done as a child. The whole basis of her claim, the one where Bruce committed suicide, is not completely unfounded, but takes a little too many liberties. Throughout the book, Allison debates continuously about her own importance to her father, and if that meant anything in the light of his death. She almost wishes for this to be true. "And with my fathers death falling so hard on the heels of this doleful coming out party, I could not but help but assume a cause and effect relationship" pg. 59. She very clearly states that she believes that her fathers death had something to do with her. The problem with this assumption is the strained relationship we see earlier in the book, where her father see...

  Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is filled to the brim with symbolism and meaning, and details the story of young Esther Greenwood's breakdown. Esther tells the reader how she has a metaphorical "bell jar" around her "... wherever I sat - on the deck of a ship or in a street cafe in Paris or Bangkok - I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air". This bell jar follows her throughout the entire book, but thankfully by the end, she recognizes that it has been lifted, but it will always remain. During an in class discussion, I noticed how symbolic my book cover was, and wanted to expand on this symbolism in this blog.  Literally, a bell jar is a glass casing used for creating a vacuum, usually made for science experiments or gardening. This leads me to the cover of the book. The flower represents Esther, which was trapped in the figurative bell jar. We learn very quickly in the book that Esther is very unwell, and struggling with s...

 Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, we learn more and more about our protagonist and narrator. From the beginning of the book, to the end of the book, Holden is telling us more and more about himself and the events spanning around two days, and we have to pick up the fragments and piece together a character. He really doesn't give much info, but one major theme easily seen in his story is the depiction of childhood and innocence. He holds this above a high standard, and reveres it, and almost protects it from the dangers of adulthood.  One piece of evidence for Holden regards child innocence highly is when Stradlater mentions his past friend, Jane Gallagher. This was a very emotionally charged scene for Holden, as the moment Stradlater mentions Jane, his whole demeanor changes. He goes from a goofy attitude to a serious, and inquisitive one. He mention many details about their relationship during their youth, which Stradlater doesn't really care about. This awkward moment reac...