The following is an excerpt from another email I recently received.
"Also, there's a part of me that loves the idea of what the parents are trying to do. Live off the grid. Defy conformity. Be self-sufficient and tell the world to [go jump off a bridge]. But I've never had the nerve to follow through. Still, what happens to people who just can't fit in? What happens to people who can't do the 9 to 5 thing? Are they destined to live on a knife edge? Are they destined to become self-absorbed and self-destructive? The parents are so crazy and selfish, but I see some of their points. How many creature comforts do we really need? Does the security of a "normal" middle-class existence KILL the adventure of life?"
I included this because it raises a few things worth reflecting on. To start, what does happen to those of us who are uncomfortable with the 9-5 conventions of daily life. Is there a space in our society for those people to thrive? Does our society force round people into square holes?
What about this idea of living off the grid is that even possible anymore? What about it is so appealing? How can we harness those things about such an existence that ARE appealing and some how work them into otherwise conventional lives?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Brian's Thanksgiving...
Well, people in town are certainly talking about The Glass Castle and I was trying to think of ways to stir up some more chatter on this blog. If you are too bashful to post, please feel free to email me your thoughts and I can post them anonymously for you.
One staff member at the high school recently emailed me to say:
"I loved the book for its portrayal of yet another questionable style of raising kids....A few random thoughts: I loved how the brother says at Thanksgiving that it isn't that hard to put food on the table, I wondered what Jeanette thought about the mother's art since the canvases and art supplies travelled with the family when little else did. "
For me, Brian's statement at Thanksgiving was one of the most haunting moments of the book. In small part because Walls recounts many of her memories in such a straightforward fashion. For the most part, it is what it is. The bluntness of what she is saying lends it power. But in that one sentence, Brian says and means a lot. While the moment seems to be one of reconciliation. Brian shows that all is not forgiven. He reminds the reader that this really isn't a story about "alternate parenting" or "trying your best" or "alls well that ends well" -- but about parents who were too self absorbed to give their children what they owed them.
Thoughts?
One staff member at the high school recently emailed me to say:
"I loved the book for its portrayal of yet another questionable style of raising kids....A few random thoughts: I loved how the brother says at Thanksgiving that it isn't that hard to put food on the table, I wondered what Jeanette thought about the mother's art since the canvases and art supplies travelled with the family when little else did. "
For me, Brian's statement at Thanksgiving was one of the most haunting moments of the book. In small part because Walls recounts many of her memories in such a straightforward fashion. For the most part, it is what it is. The bluntness of what she is saying lends it power. But in that one sentence, Brian says and means a lot. While the moment seems to be one of reconciliation. Brian shows that all is not forgiven. He reminds the reader that this really isn't a story about "alternate parenting" or "trying your best" or "alls well that ends well" -- but about parents who were too self absorbed to give their children what they owed them.
Thoughts?
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