I chose Anna Quindlen because I'm not a big reader, so I asked Mrs. Byma for suggestions. She recommended Anna to me and ended up giving me a quick overview of the plot of one of Anna's novels entitled Black and Blue. I never heard of Anna Quindlen or the book before, but based off of Mrs. Byma's description, I was intrigued. What interested me about the book was that it seemed to be the type that'd keep me on my toes. Typically, I would rather read books that are more uplifting; however, the whole anticipation aspect that Mrs. Byma portrayed the book to have is what really drew me in.
Considering one of the main topics about the book seems to be the effects of abusive relationships, it makes me wonder why Anna chose to write about that. Has she been involved in an abusive relationship? If not, how was she able to get inside the mind of someone who was abused? She wrote from the abused woman's perspective, so I wonder how she was able to put herself in the shoes of the woman in her book if she never was abused herself.
The character from the book I'm reading, entitled "Blue and Black" by Anna Quindlen, is named Robert Benedetto. Robert is the elementary school aged son of the protagonist in the novel, named Frannie. He caught my attention because of the way the author describes his mindset and perspective on his family situation. Robert's mom, Frannie, was abused by her husband, Robert's dad, for years. Frannie always tried to keep it a secret from Robert, but in the back of Frannie's mind she knew that Robert had a clue. I found Robert so intriguing because he is only a little kid and had to deal with a lot of heavy stuff. Also, the day Frannie came to the realization that she needed to get out of her marriage with Bobby, Roberts dad, she took Robert and ran away. Robert then not only had to keep the secret of his mother being abused under wraps, but then he also had to adapt to a new life. Frannie even went as far to change her name to Beth Crenshaw and told Robert he was now Robert Crenshaw. Robert clearly had a tough life because he had to keep so much bottled up inside. He is significant to the story because he is a character that contributes to the tone, mood, and he created a turning point in the story which resulted with Bobby finding them.
ReplyDeleteI connect with Robert because I know how it feels to not be able to discuss things with people and keep emotions bottled up inside sometimes.
Since we are allowed to discuss anything, I'm going to express my predictions as to what I think will happen next in the book. As I've been reading, I've noticed that this character, named Mike Riodan, has increasingly become more significant in the life of the main character, Beth Crenshaw. It started out with them meeting and seeing each other at the soccer games in which Mike coached and Beth's son played in, but then it escalated into the two jogging together often and even spending Thanksgiving with one another. I'm continuing to see their relationship develop, so because of that, I predict that they will eventually fall for each other and start a relationship that's more than just friends. If this happens, I wouldn't be surprised based on how Anna, the author, is having the characters develop; however, knowing Beth and the way her personality is portrayed, I'd be surprised if she let another man back into her life.
ReplyDeleteHer previous husband, Bobby, was very abusive to her, and that's why she ran away and started a new life. I'd be surprised if she trusted another guy with her, her son, and that secret because of the experience she endured with him. She lives in paranoia every day because she's afraid that some way, some how, someone will discover that she's not who she really claims to be, and that that'd lead to Bobby finding them. Mike has no idea of Beth's former life, so if she tells him, I'll be interested in reading his reaction.
My author, Anna Quindlen, as a very interesting way with words. I like how she's very descriptive when it comes to what the main character, Frannie also known as Beth, sees, experiences and thinks. It really makes me feel as though I am there because I can get a better mental image as to what is going on in the book. She brings me into Beth's world with her writing. I also find the way she structured the book to be interesting. Beth's life has been hard, you get that sense right from the beginning of the story; however, Anna never outright has Beth explain her life situation. Throughout the story, Beth recalls her past and explains stories which ultimately resulted in her decision to run away with her son. Her "old life" is depicted in pieces, but the reader is easily able to put them together to understand it. I really like that Anna structured it this way because it allows the reader to learn new aspects of Beth sporadically, which keeps the reader interested.
ReplyDeleteThis writing style of hers contributes to the mood of the story because it helps demonstrate Beth's regret and paranoia. She thinks back to her previous life and thinks "why the heck did I ever stick around for so long". With those thoughts also brings paranoia because she knows Bobby is strong and has connections because he's a police officer. She's worried that he'll find her and their son and hurt them. Her style of writing really just better portrays Beth's attitude and allows the reader to connect with her well.
My research question was, what is Anna Quindlen's inspiration when it came to developing the theme of her books. To represent this question in project form, I think I'm going to do something with a light bulb. Light bulbs can represent an idea that came to mind, so I feel as though that would be suiting to represent the answer to my question because inspiration is an idea. I don't have a concrete idea yet, but I'm thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteOne idea I have is to make a big light bulb out of paper and then have the answer(s) to my question attached. I'm not the most artistic, but I was also thinking maybe a brain with a light bulb attached and have the answer(s) on that some how. Considering I'm not a good artist though, I'm not sure how I'd really execute this idea, but it may be possible. Overall, I'm planning on creating something involving a light bulb.
As far as the pros and cons for whether this assignment helped develop us as readers, I feel it was somewhat beneficial. A pro to this project was that it helped us to think deeper about the book and author rather than just creating something that summarized the book. A con, however, I feel is that some research questions may only have a one word answer. For instance, one my friend came up with "What was the author's target audience". That's basically just a one word answer: teens, or adults, or children. For those who have one word answers, I imagine creating a visual may be tough. As far as communication with other readers, I don't really see how that aspect was incorporated other than at the end when everyone evaluated two of the projects. So considering that was incorporated, I think that's a pro, but this aspect was not incorporated that much, so I guess I'd consider that a con.
ReplyDeleteThis did help us learn more about the author though, or at least it presented the opportunity to. I, for instance, got to learn a lot about her personal life as well as her purpose and inspiration for writing two of her books. So, that's a pro. I don't really think that the project presented any cons in this category. As far as researching, this project wasn't very intensive with that, which to many including me is a pro. It did involve some, but anyone who would say it was a hard project i mean... I don't know what to tell them. What I struggled with personally was just finishing both books on time.
So overall, I think this project was pretty beneficial. If I had to give a suggestion, I'd say to somehow broaden the research topic. Maybe have them choose between asking a question about the author, and asking one about the book, so that it's easier to come up with an idea for a visual.