This week, I worked on preparing for the character profile assignment. I like how we were given small steps to help us with completing the entire assignment. The topic proposal helped me understand what exactly I wanted to do and which direction I should take. The research update made me do some research and set up the foundation for my writing. Without these steps, I would be lost and I would dive headfirst into the assignment without putting as much thought in. This would make it harder for me to make something that is well composed.

I can’t wait to get started on reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.

This week, we read “Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault. I liked this read because it leaves me with a lot of questions. It is also frustrating for that same reason. I want to know if Arnold actually has feelings and what exactly he was thinking after his brother’s death. He dealt with it in an unusual way and that doesn’t necessarily mean he felt no remorse or grief. I am curious to see what a psychiatrist or any other mental health professional would have to say about his behavior. I feel like they would have an explanation for why he reacted the way he did. I don’t think Arnold is malicious or apathetic. I feel like he was in shock and he continued to suppress his pain and guilt. He was only nine years old. He was quite young and he might not have known how to handle a situation as insane as killing your sibling.

We also continued working on our character profiles. I think I’m going to use Seymour from ‘Bananafish’ because the text is interesting I want to unpack everything. I would enjoy taking apart the story and analyzing its meaning.

Last week, we finished up our personal narratives and read “The Swimmer” by John Cheever. The personal narrative assignment was quite difficult because I was having trouble trying to find a story from my life that connected with what we have read. I tried to make the story as interesting as possible. Most of my life is boring and I felt like my stories were not worthy to be incorporated into a narrative. I overcame that challenge and managed to complete the assignment to the best of my abilities. The past couple of weeks were a hard time for me and I am proud that I put in the work.

“The Swimmer” was an interesting read. The main character behaved like a child and behaved peculiarly. I was not able to figure out what was going on in his head. The author made it so that his actions speak for him rather than his thoughts. The class discussion helped me understand what went on in the story and why Neddy acted the way he did. There was a lot about him to unpack and it showed me the complexity of the issues he faced.