Please read the requirements for this post carefully. Last post to this blog is due by Monday 12/15/08 by 10:30 p.m. HOWEVER, you must post three times by Monday. Your post must appear from Wed-Mon (12/9-12/15); you may not post all three reponses on the same day. I will check your progress daily. I want to see you actively thinking and writing about your final blog to TGC. This post will be graded for: content (originality/insight), quantity, and mechanics/punctuation. Please be thoughtful in your response. You may post more than three times. CHOICE AS ALWAYS! Some may be possible essay questions. Please feel free to bring up any questions or comments in class. A high school teacher may clarify; a college professor may not…it is up to you to clarify! Do your best and remember this test will be all essay.

1) Discuss any moments when her parents came through, were there for her or supported her. 2) How did the Walls children escape poverty? To help you you need to know what resources the Walls children had? I’m sure they have more than 1-2. Which ones do they have and explain how the resources helped them escape Welch/their “old lives”? 3) Re-read pg. 216. How is chaos/turbulence a motif in the novel? Think about when it is mentioned. What do you think it means? 4)a Re-read pgs. 256-257. Obviously this scene is ironic, but what do we know now or did we learn about the hardship and obstacles that the underclass face? Be specific. 4)b. Prof. Fuchs suggests both sides of the homelessness argument. Is it as the conservatives suggest a “result of drug abuse and misguided entitlement programs” or is it as the liberals argue, “cuts in social-service programs and the failure to create economic opportunity for the poor that “created this problem? State your opinion, nuance how you deem necessary, and hey! what do you think Jeanette Walls thinks? 5) What motifs/symbols have you noticed in the novel? Do you have any ideas on what message Walls is trying to convey?

Pick one of the below prompts. Please respond by Sunday, November 23, 2008 by 10:30 p.m.

• Feel free to comment on any motifs or symbols that you have noticed so far. Make an inference (give an educated guess) and see what you come up with on your own!
• Rose Mary says she is an “excitement addict.” How does this addiction or Rex’s addiction further complicate their turbulent lives? How do the childrens’ reactions to their parents’ addictions exacerbate the situation? Think about Christmas if you need help on this one.
• When Brian, Lori and Jeannette tell their dad about thier placement in the gifted program, their dad tells them that he had always told them they were special. With a “sideways look”, Brian says “If we’re so special,” he said slowly, “why don’t you…” and stops (95). What does he not say? Give your best guess. Think about Brian (his character) and how he differs from Jeannette, especially in his relationship with his dad.
• Roach massacres, pervert hunting, patching termite infested floors with chickenwire to violent drunken church disruptions….these are some of the tragic and comic tales Walls relates. Post an insightful comment on any that stood out to you.