Chloe's Blog

        Ragtime's unique and ironic blend of history and fiction distinguishes it from others of that genre, notably through how Doctorow uses historical figures to send a message. Doctorow assumes an omniscent-like position while narrating, describing often baseless fictional events with the same conviction as a history book, but not without including jabs at different figures or situations. While any piece of history or fictional can never be fully immune to bias or the author's agenda, Doctorow seems to embrace it, and doesn't shy away from sending a message through his interpertation or editing of history.      Doctorow's depiction of J.P. Morgan doubles down on the irony and dramatics, successfully using one of the richest historic figures to dismantle what he stood for and what the world associates him with. This can be seen with Doctorow's depiction of J.P. Morgans internal dialouge, where he's characterized by his extreme ego, wealth, and views...

       As not only a coming of age novel but one based on the author's own childhood, Sag Harbor excells at portraying the different aspects of what summer is like growing up. From the excitment and desire to reinvent yourself that comes with the start of the summer, to the bittersweetness of the end, Sag Harbor  uses these universal parts of the summer experience as a teenager to make the novel even more compelling. Regardless of whether you stay in the same place all summer, or don't do nearly as many things as Benji and his friends did, there will likely be an aspect of the novel that's relatable.      For me, one of the aspects of summer that Colson Whitehead did the best at portraying was the bittersweet feeling that comes with the end of it. T he final chapter of Sag Harbor, called "The Black National Anthem", represents the culmination of the events of the summer, and includes an outlook on the schoolyear to come. It also features Benji co...

  Black Swan Green is a novel that centers on the coming of age story of the protaginist, Jason, while also drawing on the experience of the author, David Mitchell, growing up in 1980s England. Like the other novels we've read this semester, such as The Bell Jar  and Fun Home , it's heavily based on the author's own life, which provides the reader with an original and personal story. One way that the use of the author's own life experience stands out in the story for me is with the character of Hangman.     Hangman is the personification of Jason's stutter, and is treated in the story as an actual character that is seen talking in Jason's head. It acts as an ever looming presence in Jason's life, and the threat of stuttering in front of his peers causes Jason to became anxious and hyper-aware of the things he says, to the point that he'll meticously plan out his sentences to avoid trigger words. While I've never had a stutter that I've personifie...

  The story of  Fun Home  centers around the relationship between Alison Bechdel and her father, Bruce Bechdel, as it contrasts and overlaps with both of their coming of age stories. Alison sees herself and her life as a parallel to her father's, a different version of his life where he was able to live the type of life he wanted. She wonders throughout the book not only if her life is a better version of her fathers, but if she would've ended up like her father if she was put in the same situation as him. Her complicated relationship with her father, a mixture of resentment and wanting to connect with him, is an overarching theme in the novel.  Alison and Bruce's is explored throughout the book, but one of the scenes that best encapsulates their relationship and has always stood out to me is when they're in the car together on page 118. It's one of the few scenes in the story that shows an entire scene without breaking it up, using a unique format for its panels. T...

   I think one of the parts of  The Bell Jar  that stood out to me the most was Esther's view on life,  and the role it plays in why she eventually attempts suicide. One of the main things that Esther struggles with is the question of what her future is, and if the one she's on track to is what she really wants. The uncertainity of who she wants to be, paired with the question of whether or not that's possible for her, haunts her. When Esther is faced with the path that she worries is currently laid out for her, one of being married to Buddy and having his kids, it only furthers her spiral. Seeing the woman give birth, and her realization that one day it will have to be her being tortued on that table, being forced to forget it, all so she can repeat that same process eliminates a possible future for her.      On page 79, Esther compares her life to a fig tree, with each fig representing a different life that she could lead, until, "I wanted each ...

     One of the biggest reccuring themes in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye  is change, something that the main character, Holden Caulfield, is shown to struggle with. Holden has gone through many big changes and events in his life, the first of which was the death of his brother, Allie. This was extremely hard on Holden, as he was very close with him, and was so distraught that he punched all the windows in his garage to the point that his hands became permenently messed up. Allie's death was Holden's first real introduction to how cruel the world can be, which led him to lose some of his childhood innocense, causing his deep-seatted fear of change. This had such a big impact on him that he was forced to frequently change schools, which also made him lose a sense of stability in his life.       Holden's frequent and often negative expereinces with change manifested in his idolization of consistency and childhood innocence. This is why when...