Summary
As I approach the resolution of the memoir, Alice gives an ‘Oh my God’ moment that makes people wish there was continuation to this book. The trail continues and the defense attorney continues to ask questions that does not prove Gregory Madison’s innocence. The defense lawyer tries convey her to the jury as a racist by asking how many black people does she see a day. The next few pages go on and on with the simple yes or no questions asked and the simple yes or no answers. Eventually Madison is found guilty for his actions and sentenced to 8 1/3 – 25 years to jail on July 13, 1982. Yes! Jusitice is served. The man is behind bars and everyone moves on with their happy little lives, right? Wrong. Just when everything is starting to pick up, Alice’s boarding room at Syracuse is broken into and her roommate is raped. Just hen you think everything will go back to normal, her roommate gets raped. Then instead of taking legal actions like Alice did, she decides to ‘let this one go’.
Quote
“But it is later now, and I live in a world where the two truths coexist; where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand” (Sebold 251)
Reaction
This quote is the last sentence of the book and it has some meaning to it. This quote brought up a couple of questions. She lives in a world where the two truths coexist. What world and what truth is Alice talking about? This is what makes the ending of the book so interesting. Alice gives a quote that makes us want more, that makes me want to search for her and find the answers to my question.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Lucky: Memoir pg 126-180
Summary
Finally, Alice Sebold’s rapist is caught. A man named Gregory Madison. Officer clapper, an officer at Syracuse University, arrests Mr. Madison. He is taken to court to account for his deeds and Alice is needed to testify against him. She is asked some stupid questions that aren’t even relevant to the trail. Seriously what kind of lawyer cross examines a witness by asking her “Do you need your license” (Sebold 129). Anyways, Alice’s lawyer does a good job of proving that Madison is guilty by giving evidence taking from his DNA and the hair they found on her the night she was raped, and they match. The defense attorney tries so hard to prove Alice wrong by bringing out every little weakness in Alice’s testimonies. He tries to make Alice’s testimonies false by pointing out that she wears glasses and it was too dark, which fails. The trail continues and well I don’t find out the verdict yet…
Quote
“I was thrilled. I stood in my single at Haven and shook with it. I called my mother and told her. I was moving forward. The trial seemed imminent. Any day now” (Sebold 157).
Reaction
The significance of this quote is that it shows the excitement Alice must’ve had when she found the person who raped her. She had dreams, no, nightmares about torturing this man. Putting him in jail is the closet she can get to doing just that. Now that the police have found him, she can make that nightmare a reality.
Finally, Alice Sebold’s rapist is caught. A man named Gregory Madison. Officer clapper, an officer at Syracuse University, arrests Mr. Madison. He is taken to court to account for his deeds and Alice is needed to testify against him. She is asked some stupid questions that aren’t even relevant to the trail. Seriously what kind of lawyer cross examines a witness by asking her “Do you need your license” (Sebold 129). Anyways, Alice’s lawyer does a good job of proving that Madison is guilty by giving evidence taking from his DNA and the hair they found on her the night she was raped, and they match. The defense attorney tries so hard to prove Alice wrong by bringing out every little weakness in Alice’s testimonies. He tries to make Alice’s testimonies false by pointing out that she wears glasses and it was too dark, which fails. The trail continues and well I don’t find out the verdict yet…
Quote
“I was thrilled. I stood in my single at Haven and shook with it. I called my mother and told her. I was moving forward. The trial seemed imminent. Any day now” (Sebold 157).
Reaction
The significance of this quote is that it shows the excitement Alice must’ve had when she found the person who raped her. She had dreams, no, nightmares about torturing this man. Putting him in jail is the closet she can get to doing just that. Now that the police have found him, she can make that nightmare a reality.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Lucky: Memoir pg 80-125
Summary
As I continue reading more about Alice Sebold and her life before the traumatic experience of getting raped, things start to get a little strange. Her father actually becomes a fun man. Mr. Sebold who believes "Fun is boring" actually played a board game with Alice. During this time, Alice was a senior in high school and was visiting Emerson College in Boston. She applied to two other colleges as well. Alice view of Emerson college differs from her father's. Alice saw the college as a school "where long haired students called throwbacks...smelled like true authentic rebellion. They smelled like pot." Now, i wouldn't want to go to a college where pot and rebellions rule the land, but Alice describes the school as "my kind of place". While her father makes her consider Boston College, whose campus was far more nicer than Emerson, she sets her mind on Emerson. She later visits Syracuse college and falls in love with the college. We are then taken back to the day she moves from New York to Pennsylvania. Weeks after the rape, she sees her raper and she immediately notifies Syracuse Police and the Police immediately take action by combing the area for any one that could fit the description given to the police by Alice. And now the search for Alice's rapist begins!
Quote
"That night I had a Dream. Al Tripodi was in it. In a prison cell, he and two other men held my rapist donw. I began to perform acts of revenge on the rapist but to no avail" (Sebold 121).
Reaction
This quote shows the effect of the experience on Alice's mentally. She has dreams about this man and she wishes to torment him. Normally, people wouldn't have dreams about tormenting others in a prison cell, but because of the experience she had, things like that start to come up. This quote shows the anger Alice has. She actually wants two man to bind this man together and she torments him. She gives no thought about forgiving him, whoever he is, but actually to torment him. But, she has endured alot though, so it will only be normal for her to feel this way.
As I continue reading more about Alice Sebold and her life before the traumatic experience of getting raped, things start to get a little strange. Her father actually becomes a fun man. Mr. Sebold who believes "Fun is boring" actually played a board game with Alice. During this time, Alice was a senior in high school and was visiting Emerson College in Boston. She applied to two other colleges as well. Alice view of Emerson college differs from her father's. Alice saw the college as a school "where long haired students called throwbacks...smelled like true authentic rebellion. They smelled like pot." Now, i wouldn't want to go to a college where pot and rebellions rule the land, but Alice describes the school as "my kind of place". While her father makes her consider Boston College, whose campus was far more nicer than Emerson, she sets her mind on Emerson. She later visits Syracuse college and falls in love with the college. We are then taken back to the day she moves from New York to Pennsylvania. Weeks after the rape, she sees her raper and she immediately notifies Syracuse Police and the Police immediately take action by combing the area for any one that could fit the description given to the police by Alice. And now the search for Alice's rapist begins!
Quote
"That night I had a Dream. Al Tripodi was in it. In a prison cell, he and two other men held my rapist donw. I began to perform acts of revenge on the rapist but to no avail" (Sebold 121).
Reaction
This quote shows the effect of the experience on Alice's mentally. She has dreams about this man and she wishes to torment him. Normally, people wouldn't have dreams about tormenting others in a prison cell, but because of the experience she had, things like that start to come up. This quote shows the anger Alice has. She actually wants two man to bind this man together and she torments him. She gives no thought about forgiving him, whoever he is, but actually to torment him. But, she has endured alot though, so it will only be normal for her to feel this way.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Lucky: Memoir page 43-80
Summary
As I continue to follow Alice Sebold on her life after the experience of being raped, she takes us to her childhood. I start to learn more about Alice and what happened to her while growing up. I learned that her mother used to be an alcholic, and is still. Her mother's alcoholism changed her and her sister, Mary. Sometimes during the night, she would wake up to hear her mother making "horrible noises" and when she goes to her parents room to find out what's going on, she sees her mother spewing out blood. Her mother also had these "flaps", when her mother gets crazy. These flaps occured anywhere and anytime. Sometimes when the went to the store to buy gorceriris, Alice's mother would be rubbing inappropraite body parts and Mary would yell hat her to stop doing what she's doing. Alice finds out that her family as 'weird'. Not weird as in the sense of 'koko' but weird as in the do not do what other families in the community typically do, just like the Bradleys in TO KILL A MOCKINBIRD. She noticed that most fathers would drink beer, mow lawns, or play with thier kids. Her father, however drank sherry, ate raw meat, read a huge Latin dictionary and spoke spanish on the phone. When her friend, whose name is not mentioned in the memoir, tells her that her family was considered weird in the community, Alice begins to cry and evaluates her family and starts to see that the community is right, her family is weird in a sort of way.
Quote
"But I watched my sister develop from a child who thought the world would fall apart to a young adult who resented how the flaps made us different, exciting stares and comments in public" (Sebold 48).
Reaction
This quote shows and symbolizes the effects of Alice's mother's "flaps" on their childhoods. I can't imagine going to school and with everyone knoing that my mother was a crazy drunk. It must have had a huge toll on both of the girls. Not only was Mary, Alice's sister, affected, but Alice as well. While Mary was being the bossy "Don't do this in public" or "Don't Do that in public", Alice was being the kind and caring duaghter, sothing and comforting her mother whenever needed, which was most of the time.
As I continue to follow Alice Sebold on her life after the experience of being raped, she takes us to her childhood. I start to learn more about Alice and what happened to her while growing up. I learned that her mother used to be an alcholic, and is still. Her mother's alcoholism changed her and her sister, Mary. Sometimes during the night, she would wake up to hear her mother making "horrible noises" and when she goes to her parents room to find out what's going on, she sees her mother spewing out blood. Her mother also had these "flaps", when her mother gets crazy. These flaps occured anywhere and anytime. Sometimes when the went to the store to buy gorceriris, Alice's mother would be rubbing inappropraite body parts and Mary would yell hat her to stop doing what she's doing. Alice finds out that her family as 'weird'. Not weird as in the sense of 'koko' but weird as in the do not do what other families in the community typically do, just like the Bradleys in TO KILL A MOCKINBIRD. She noticed that most fathers would drink beer, mow lawns, or play with thier kids. Her father, however drank sherry, ate raw meat, read a huge Latin dictionary and spoke spanish on the phone. When her friend, whose name is not mentioned in the memoir, tells her that her family was considered weird in the community, Alice begins to cry and evaluates her family and starts to see that the community is right, her family is weird in a sort of way.
Quote
"But I watched my sister develop from a child who thought the world would fall apart to a young adult who resented how the flaps made us different, exciting stares and comments in public" (Sebold 48).
Reaction
This quote shows and symbolizes the effects of Alice's mother's "flaps" on their childhoods. I can't imagine going to school and with everyone knoing that my mother was a crazy drunk. It must have had a huge toll on both of the girls. Not only was Mary, Alice's sister, affected, but Alice as well. While Mary was being the bossy "Don't do this in public" or "Don't Do that in public", Alice was being the kind and caring duaghter, sothing and comforting her mother whenever needed, which was most of the time.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Lucky: A Memoir pg 1-42
Summary
Lucky a memoir by Alice Sebold starts out with the day she was raped. Alice Sebold was coming back from a end-of-the-year party from Syracuse University in New York. Alice Sebold was grabbed by a man she has never seen before and was forced to sleep with him. When it was all over the man who raped her slept for a while. He wakes up when Alice tries to escape and starts to apologize for what he did. He starts to be sincere and ask to carry her book or if she needs a ride home. She refuses his help and goes to the University clinic where every boy and girl stare at her because they see blood running down her legs. The Nurse gives her some Demerol which is suppose to relax her since she is shaken up by the the event that has taken place. Mary Alice, Sebold's friend, comes to visit her at the clinic. The doctor, nurses, and police start to search and examine her body for evidence. The police find a lock of hair left from her attacker on her body and use that to try and identify him. Alice refuses to tell her mother what has happened fearing her mother would have a major panic attack. Alice takes a shower and starts to have visualization about the man ho raped her. She starts to get mental images of the incident that occured earlier. Alice Sebold later decides to prosecute the man who did this to her. I wonder what happens next? If she finds the man and if the man pays for what he did?
Quote
"Leaving with anything other than what he had: all of me, except my brain and my belongings. I wanted to leave the tunnel with both of them" (Sebold 22).
Reaction
This quote shows that the man who raped her, still unidentified, took everything from her, except he brain and belongings. He took her virginity, he took her pride, and her security. She might not be comfortable to go out alone with any boy because of what happened. This quote shows the damage that the man has done to her. Even though the man might see it as something that happened 'mistakenly', Alice sees it has him taking everything from her.
Lucky a memoir by Alice Sebold starts out with the day she was raped. Alice Sebold was coming back from a end-of-the-year party from Syracuse University in New York. Alice Sebold was grabbed by a man she has never seen before and was forced to sleep with him. When it was all over the man who raped her slept for a while. He wakes up when Alice tries to escape and starts to apologize for what he did. He starts to be sincere and ask to carry her book or if she needs a ride home. She refuses his help and goes to the University clinic where every boy and girl stare at her because they see blood running down her legs. The Nurse gives her some Demerol which is suppose to relax her since she is shaken up by the the event that has taken place. Mary Alice, Sebold's friend, comes to visit her at the clinic. The doctor, nurses, and police start to search and examine her body for evidence. The police find a lock of hair left from her attacker on her body and use that to try and identify him. Alice refuses to tell her mother what has happened fearing her mother would have a major panic attack. Alice takes a shower and starts to have visualization about the man ho raped her. She starts to get mental images of the incident that occured earlier. Alice Sebold later decides to prosecute the man who did this to her. I wonder what happens next? If she finds the man and if the man pays for what he did?
Quote
"Leaving with anything other than what he had: all of me, except my brain and my belongings. I wanted to leave the tunnel with both of them" (Sebold 22).
Reaction
This quote shows that the man who raped her, still unidentified, took everything from her, except he brain and belongings. He took her virginity, he took her pride, and her security. She might not be comfortable to go out alone with any boy because of what happened. This quote shows the damage that the man has done to her. Even though the man might see it as something that happened 'mistakenly', Alice sees it has him taking everything from her.
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