Final Post

Post A

Vocabulary (definitions from Dictionary.com)

embankment (269)-a bank, mound, dike, or the like, raised to hold back water, carry a roadway

buffer (276)- any flexible, insulated electric cord; an electric cord or extension cord

Figurative Language

Q: She feels Nicola tighten, under her fingers. She sees Nicola staring at her arm-as if they're getting into a fight. She feels her bones relax. She sees her look at Paula now, and smile. They're both trying. They're trying to meet. And they know it. (257)

Symbol: I'm fairly certain that this is a symbol. Firstly, Nicola is the last of Paula's children that she has left to describe a connection like this with. Also, I think that Nicola and Paula meeting in the middle like this, respectively organized and headstrong, is something that the author put in this final chapter not for no reason at all, but to give the reader closure, especially since this was such an open book with a sort of purposefully plotless air.


Q: The smell, the stale drink-the dead air is around her. She'd climb in. She'd lick every broken piece and bleed happily to death. (259)

Metaphor: This is mostly a metaphor. For example, 'the dead air' and 'she'd climb in'. The other parts are fancy language. I think that 'she'd lick every broken piece and bleed happily to death' might be a hyperbole, her state of mind is exadurating what she is capable of doing on her own free will.


Q: Fair enough, she says- My husband was shot. Your wife ran off with another bird. We're f****** fascinating. (265)

Irony: I really like this quote, it represents the notion that no matter how bad you've got it, someone else has is worse. It's ironic to me how plainly this irony is spelled out. And that Paula thinks that misfortune is fascinating. It's ironic that the two met in mid-tradgedy: the man, Joe, while he and his wife aren't legally divorced, and Paula where she is struggling to stay above the surface.

Quote: She wants to get down and look underthe bed. Pull back the duvet, feel the sheet and mattress. But she doesn't. She goes downstairs. She waits for Leanne.

Meaning: Paula has always been suspicious of Leanne, Leanne is addicted to alcohol as well, and so Paula tries to help by raiding her room and throwing anything wrong out. But since she stood by this time, I can see trust emerging between mother and daughter.

Theme: I can finally see rhythm speaking out, steadily taking hold of each character, and placing them in a state of mind to move forward. This is a good note to end the book on, I think. Each of their steps is different, but they're all moving forward.


Post B:

In the end, I find that this book really did meet my expectations in quality, just not my expectations in the storyline. Because of this, my mind wandered onto many different topics while I was turning the pages. For example, It took me a long while to figure out what exactly prodded me to pick this book off the shelf. It wasn't overlarge, didn't have a particularily becoming front or back, it was just there. So who knows why I chose it over the reccomended one. Second, Roddy Doyle... is that a penname or a birthname? I suppose I could look it up on the google Paula so cleverly discovered, but I don't. Which brings me to my next pondering. I've noticed (as has almost the whole of all earth's population) that technology has been growing ever more important. I line them up at night, the brand new phone that I'm completely befuddled with, the camera which I nicked from Dad to fool around with a bit (but only until he notices it's gone of course), the newly charged ipod, nothing special, a 4 year old hand-me-down and a survivee of drowning, dropping and purse inhabiting creatures, the phone that Elsa left here this morning by accident, the house phone, and my laptop. All next to the alarm clock, blinking away. I suppose that appreciation of diversity goes right along with appreciation of technology. Paula, a 49 year old widow with a job, 4 kids and an appartment doesn't even have a car, and I have the whole world at my fingertips. Why is this? I suppose there are a load of different answers, but it all comes down to what's normal. What's normal for me is typing a blog on the internet every Wednesday. In Somalia, the answer is gathering wheat as a child to make into bread. So, what is normal anyway? I believe that this is what Paula was trying to find in herself throughout the novel, and though I cannot relate to her in many ways, that is one battle that we both face daily. Who am I, and why am I here? Maybe not on the scientific plane, but just on the general every day hustle and bustle, the wind blows, the kids cry, we're alive level. I find it interesting that Paula explores both these extremes in different ways through the pages. The 'who am I' for her is a constant struggle with literal aches and pains, and the things she sees out of the corners of her eyes. The 'why am I here' is the question that balloons in her mind whenever she cannot sleep at night. It's a very interesting concept that I think all dreamers, authors, characters, and readers alike share. I believe that if nothing else, that is what made me chose this book off the shelf.