What I think about Bread Givers so far...

     

      I really must say that I do not like this book.  I know that it is showing a different way of life, but it is too different.  In the past families were always portrayed like this: the father went to work and provided for the family, while the mother took care of the children.  In the world today, men and women both share the role of taking care of the children and providing for the family.  In the Bread Givers, Sara Smolinsky shows an entirely different way of life.  Her father does not have a job and does not provide for the family.  All that he does is read religious texts and tells the women in his life what to do.  This really makes me angry.  He has no life of his own, but feels the needs to feed off of those around him.  He would not let Bessie get married because he felt that he needed her to take care of him.  She felt compelled to say no as well, when that man asked her to go away with him because of her father.  I am outraged by this and cannot understand how someone could be that selfish.  Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that he is uneducated, or at least that is how it seems.  He relies on his religion too much and that is ruining the family.  What makes me even more upset, is that his wife is okay with the way he acts.  If I had a husband like that, I would have left him a long time ago.  Again, I really am not enjoying this book at all.

Walter "Red" Smith Quote and Response

"There's nothing hard about writing.  All you have to do is sit down and open up a vein."

-Walter "Red" Smith

I believe that writing is extremely easy and I do not agree with this quote at all.  I can be given a topic to write about and write pages upon pages about it.  It isn't just words that I put down too.  What I write means something to me and is actually pretty good.  When we work on writing workshop I get the first draft done in a period.  It isn't that hard and I do not understand why everyone has so much trouble with it.  If you just open up your mind and your heart it is extremely easy.  Writing is a way to express yourself.  Writing an essay is one thing, but creative writing is another.  If you are given some freedom and just a general topic to write about, there should not be any problem.  I completely disagree with what Smith said, although I guess it does vary from person to person.

Thanksgiving Top Ten List

I am most thankful for...

<3my loving family

<3my boyfriend

<3my house

<3my friends

<3music

<3my four cats and my dog

<3my job

<3snow

<3the beach

<3my license