Week 2 Post A

Vocab:

• ecstasy: an overpowering emotion or exaltation.
• grotesque: odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre.

Appeals:

1. '"Now I won't have to go looking for you. Why don't you check your room and make sure I've got everything." "We going somewhere?" "Yes"' (30). This quote is an emotional appeal to show the struggle between Toby's parents. Yet again Toby's mom is taking Toby with her and moving away from her abusive husband, Roy.
2. "One afternoon I pulled the trigger. {...} I had to shoot. I looked up and down the street. It was empty. Nothing moved but a pair of squirrels chasing each other back and forth on the telephone wires" (25). I believe the author used this logical appeal to show how impatient and intrigued he was about guns when he was a kid. He just couldn't resist to stop pretending to shoot things and actually loading up the gun and killing a squirrel. This lack of self-control is similar to that of his father.
3. "We went for the biggest and most pretentious, sneering at ranches and duplexes--anything that smelled of economy" (37). In this quote Toby is describing how him and his mom would go for walks around luxurious neighborhoods looking in awe at the houses. This appeals emotionally, since it shows Toby's as well as his mom's desire to be able to one day live a luxurious lifestyle.

Quote:

"That's a real coincidence, because I was thinking about Phoenix myself. I even got the Phoenix paper. They have lots of opportunities there. Seattle too. What do you think about Seattle" (30)? This quote basically sums up what Toby's childhood was, so far in the book. This is the second time that Toby and his mom have moved. Toby's mom claims the reason that they leave is to go to somewhere where there is more opportunities, however Toby, as well as me as the reader believe it is in order to get away from her abusive husband, Roy.

Theme:

Another theme present in this memoir is the struggle to find happiness. This theme is displayed throughout the book, when Toby's mom constantly decides to move in hope to find hapiness. Hapiness in the sense of getting a higher income as well as getting away from her abusive husband.