Thursday, September 18, 2008
Detail in Jesus Land
One of my favorite passages in this book is on page 25. The way Scheeres describes being sweaty during a hot summer day is so vivid. Not just being sweaty, but "A bead of sweat runs down my back". She describes the sky as low cloud quilt and a pearly glare. The best part is the 1/4 mile walk to the mailbox, "an epic journey through hot Jell-O". It's humid and heavy and you can feel it with Scheeres' words.
Jesus Land Details
There were so many sections that used excellent details, but I really liked this one.
As the Mustang bears down the road, AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” thuds from the speakers. The car skids to a halt at the intersection and I hear voices arguing under the music. The song clicks off and I hear someone say “Indian Meadow Lane”—my address—and then the music starts again. The car lurches forward and I lay under the bushes and watch the red eyes of the tail lights until they wink out and I’m alone in the dying light with the crickets and my heart pounding like a brick in my chest. (Pg 95)
The strategies that are used are that she gives exact names: song title and car model. Also she ‘cracks open’ the picture of the car driving off by comparing the tail lights to eyes that ‘wink out.’ She also adds to the senses by describing the sound of her heart pounding, the voices, and the music. I can't even imagine the fear and pain that she is feeling while hoping that they don't find her hiding under the bushes.
-Sydney
As the Mustang bears down the road, AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” thuds from the speakers. The car skids to a halt at the intersection and I hear voices arguing under the music. The song clicks off and I hear someone say “Indian Meadow Lane”—my address—and then the music starts again. The car lurches forward and I lay under the bushes and watch the red eyes of the tail lights until they wink out and I’m alone in the dying light with the crickets and my heart pounding like a brick in my chest. (Pg 95)
The strategies that are used are that she gives exact names: song title and car model. Also she ‘cracks open’ the picture of the car driving off by comparing the tail lights to eyes that ‘wink out.’ She also adds to the senses by describing the sound of her heart pounding, the voices, and the music. I can't even imagine the fear and pain that she is feeling while hoping that they don't find her hiding under the bushes.
-Sydney
Painful Details in JL
Some of the situations in this novel are so difficult for me to imagine surviving, but Julia Scheeres does such an unbelievable job placing us in these awful places by using vivid detail and description. This passage was especially easy to imagine:
"'My brother, but he's not really my brother', is all I can say before a loud buzzing fills my ears. The noise is new since I entered The Program, and it happens during stressful situations, like during 2a.m. sessions or when I see staff shoving students around. Sometimes the sound is like a waterfall and other times it's like a thousand tiny bells ringing, but mostly it's a bussing, as if a wasp were crawling inside my head. It prevents me from thinking too hard about whatever is happening, and in that way, the noise is soothing" (263).
Julia is using the methods of similie and metaphor to describe this sound. When she is describing it, it is so easy to imagine this sound. She is using sensory imagery and playing up the sense of sound as well. The way she writes this passage speaks to the senses in a way that is emotional, she shows us that she is mentally shutting down without actually telling us.
This whole novel was a great demonstration of what a memoir should be like, and I feel like it presented a good example for me when it came time to write my first draft! I cannot wait to hear her speak in person!
~Kari
"'My brother, but he's not really my brother', is all I can say before a loud buzzing fills my ears. The noise is new since I entered The Program, and it happens during stressful situations, like during 2a.m. sessions or when I see staff shoving students around. Sometimes the sound is like a waterfall and other times it's like a thousand tiny bells ringing, but mostly it's a bussing, as if a wasp were crawling inside my head. It prevents me from thinking too hard about whatever is happening, and in that way, the noise is soothing" (263).
Julia is using the methods of similie and metaphor to describe this sound. When she is describing it, it is so easy to imagine this sound. She is using sensory imagery and playing up the sense of sound as well. The way she writes this passage speaks to the senses in a way that is emotional, she shows us that she is mentally shutting down without actually telling us.
This whole novel was a great demonstration of what a memoir should be like, and I feel like it presented a good example for me when it came time to write my first draft! I cannot wait to hear her speak in person!
~Kari
Jesus Land Details
Hi everyone,
I've been searching through our novel to find some touching pieces of detailed writing, and I believe that my favorite instance falls on page 73, pertaining to Jerome and David:
"The floodlights shine down on his back like a spotlight, and I cringe. Fat welts lace his skin like red leeches. Dad put them there last night, as punishment for running away and stealing the Corolla. Spare the rod and spoil the child.
Both boy's backs are riddled with welts, the fresh ones red, the old ones molted gray, the deeper ones hardened into jagged scars. They avoid taking off their shirts in public, and seeing their bare backs always makes my throat thicken, makes it hard to breath."
The great description of the leech-like welts on the back of Jerome's back as he plays basketball, followed by the italicized "proverb" that Dr. and Mrs. Scheeres modelled their parenting around, really gives a powerful recollection of a painful memory. For me, this passage was one of those that moved me to the point of wanting to read it over about three times before moving on to the next few pages. -Sofia R.
I've been searching through our novel to find some touching pieces of detailed writing, and I believe that my favorite instance falls on page 73, pertaining to Jerome and David:
"The floodlights shine down on his back like a spotlight, and I cringe. Fat welts lace his skin like red leeches. Dad put them there last night, as punishment for running away and stealing the Corolla. Spare the rod and spoil the child.
Both boy's backs are riddled with welts, the fresh ones red, the old ones molted gray, the deeper ones hardened into jagged scars. They avoid taking off their shirts in public, and seeing their bare backs always makes my throat thicken, makes it hard to breath."
The great description of the leech-like welts on the back of Jerome's back as he plays basketball, followed by the italicized "proverb" that Dr. and Mrs. Scheeres modelled their parenting around, really gives a powerful recollection of a painful memory. For me, this passage was one of those that moved me to the point of wanting to read it over about three times before moving on to the next few pages. -Sofia R.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Detail in Jesus Land
Where do I begin! Julia Scheeres use of detail in her writing is overwhelming. I love it! I could only dream to find the wit to tap into this talent. Her use of words is masterful and it transcends the reader to the environment she was in. One passage in particular uses descriptive and action verbs to paint a picture in the readers mind.
Only when we bumped down the gravel lane to our house do I notice the trembling cottonwoods, the frenzied chirping of sparrows, the dirt devils churning across the back field. On the horizon, heat lightning dances along a column of towering thunderheads.(12)
Scheeres uses personification to describe the "trembling cottonwoods" and "lightning dancing" which illuminates the impending situation. The detail makes me feel the tornado approaching from the comfort of my easy-chair. The use of the active verbs like bumped, trembling, and churning makes this passage more descriptive and eminent.
Only when we bumped down the gravel lane to our house do I notice the trembling cottonwoods, the frenzied chirping of sparrows, the dirt devils churning across the back field. On the horizon, heat lightning dances along a column of towering thunderheads.(12)
Scheeres uses personification to describe the "trembling cottonwoods" and "lightning dancing" which illuminates the impending situation. The detail makes me feel the tornado approaching from the comfort of my easy-chair. The use of the active verbs like bumped, trembling, and churning makes this passage more descriptive and eminent.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Nice Video
Joyce,
Thanks for posting the various links in your blog. You'll have to show me how you do this, it is great!
Marc
Reflecting on JESUS LAND
Just finished the book, and I wanted to add my thoughts.
David, with a busted arm in the basement
Julia, after swim practice, being held down in the hall
David, still caring about Jerome in the cold polebarn
Julia, listening to David's story about being "branded" through the intercom
I think Scheeres is brilliant in her depictions of her own hypocricy- and how she struggles with her whiteness throughout. The "reform school" in the Dominican Replublic was particularly horrifying. I found this video on YouTube, if anyone is interested in learning more. Jesus Land is the first thing mentioned, and then a report follows- troubling, indeed.
How does the methodology used at New Horizons inform the assumptions at work in our public schools? Are students routinely forced to "play a game" in which they are encouraged to perform meaningless tasks, repetitively, and then given meaningless rewards? Are teachers and administrators weilding their power to create an atmosphere of terror, and shame? Are we, as pre-service teachers, able to change this kind of social dominance without addressing our own notions of what it means to be a teacher?
David, with a busted arm in the basement
Julia, after swim practice, being held down in the hall
David, still caring about Jerome in the cold polebarn
Julia, listening to David's story about being "branded" through the intercom
I think Scheeres is brilliant in her depictions of her own hypocricy- and how she struggles with her whiteness throughout. The "reform school" in the Dominican Replublic was particularly horrifying. I found this video on YouTube, if anyone is interested in learning more. Jesus Land is the first thing mentioned, and then a report follows- troubling, indeed.
How does the methodology used at New Horizons inform the assumptions at work in our public schools? Are students routinely forced to "play a game" in which they are encouraged to perform meaningless tasks, repetitively, and then given meaningless rewards? Are teachers and administrators weilding their power to create an atmosphere of terror, and shame? Are we, as pre-service teachers, able to change this kind of social dominance without addressing our own notions of what it means to be a teacher?
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