Research Paper Ideas

I thought the self-image multi-genre project was very interesting.  I think that the multi-genre project would be fun to do.  It it not your traditional paper, it gives you more of a chance to explore and research in a fun way.

I know I may want to focus on "Blankets."  There are so many options and discussions that I will be able to pull out of the text.  I am not sure what I want my main focus to be.  I have done a lot of research on self image, I may want to go with that.  

Different options I may want to choose from Blankets other then self-image maybe relationships or adolescence. 

Blankets

In this this discussion I am going to talk about the panels on pages 13, 62-64.

When going through the reading I marked these pages because, for me, it showed great significance between Hell and the cubby hole.   The panel I am going to discuss is page 13 in the very beginning of the book. 

In the beginning of the story when Craig and his bother are being disruptive during the night.   Craig's father puts Phil into the cubby hole to sleep that night.  It surprises me how Phil was chosen to sleep in the cubby hole and not Craig.  I would think that since Craig is the oldest and should be more responsible he would be the chosen one for the cubby hole.  

In the imagery Craig's father is large and very over powering.  When Craig and Phil discuss the foot steps of this father and the imagery of them being scared.  He seems to be a strict enforcer as they seem to find him as the most the scariest person in their life.  This shows how frightened Craig and Phil are of their father.  I was interested how the author illustrated his father.  He looks vicious and mean.  It would not be a person I would want to grow up around of have my father be.  

On pages 62-64, Craig relates to the cubby hole to Hell.  When his Sunday school teacher was lecturing about Hell, images of the cubby hole came to him.  "But worst of all you can't find these people. You're separated forever.  And you can hear them...but you can't TALK to them...or COMMUNICATE...or CONSOLE each other in your pain."(62-64).  I believe that this is a very significant panel for the story. He was reminded of the cubby hole that his father induced both him and his brother in, when being bad.

I think this shows how terrible that the cubby hole was for them.  A child being locked him, with no communication or no way out.  This could almost possibly be the most terrible punishment a child could go through.  As a child I could definitely see how this could be related as Hell to them.  It also shows how dysfunctional his childhood would be.

I wanted to discuss the relationship that Craig had with himself.  It is very clear to see that Craig did not have an easy time growing up or in high school.  Not only did he feel pressure from his father but classmates and teachers as well.  As if being picked on was not hard enough he was unable to understand himself.  He considered life "worthless" and "unbearable."  When reading through the story I felt terribly sorry for him.  

Craig went through life day by day very unsure and unhappy of himself.  He tried his best and was unable to stick up for himself.  Not only is growing up hard enough, life can be harder with no self-esteem.  I believe he stays in this mind set until he meets Raina.  She was able to show him that he we indeed important and loved.  She was a life saver for him.  When he visits her family they are very open with him.  He received more comfort from her family in 20 minutes then he did throughout his entire childhood.  Riana is a significant person in his life will make him see how special he is.

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Passage

"I loved God and I love church, but I began to see that as more and more complicated.  It didn't help that I had no intention of becoming a missionary"(128).

The reason for choosing this passage was very obvious to me.  As a reader, I predicted that once Jeanette was of an older age she would see life differently then her mother and she did.  It is not that she did not love God and church, because she did.  She just saw life differently then from the others that belonged to her church.  

Being a member of her church was difficult for her because she was so different.  It was getting too complicated for her in the fact that everyone considered a demon child.  It was getting harder for her to keep hiding her secret.  She did not believe that she belonged with the church although she loved God very much.

She was a servant of God.  She loved him deeply.  This is why she had no problem joining the church functions.  Her mother considers her a sinner.  But she realizes that all servants of God are sinners.  You can sin and God will forgive you for all of them.  This is why she feels that the church was getting too complicated for her.  She knew that she was different and it was not the devil, it was just the way she felt.  She had no problem following through with her own emotions.  For a reader this is when I first consider Jeanette and strong person.

She does not think or believe the was the rest of the church does.  She believes in God and forever hold their relationship close to her heart.  As I predicted should did one day would feel differently from the others of her church.

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

***A bildungsroman (IPA: [ˈbɪldʊŋs.roˌmaːn]; German: "novel of formation") is a novelistic genre that arose during the German Enlightenment, in which the author presents the psychological, moral and social shaping of the personality of a (usually young) protagonist.

1. Belief is a strong word for me to use.  I have entered my second year of college and I have met people who do not believe in a higher power...'god'.  As I listen their points, which are very valid, I am most utterly confused in what to believe.  Being brought up as a Christian and discussing with my fellow peers, it is hard to say what I believe in.  There is something out there, it may be a god or my not, but for now that is all I am able to comprehend.

2. Family, friends, and peers have all changed my perspective on belief.  I will always take the time to discuss their ideas and beliefs.  I feel as the older I get there will be more ideas that come to me I will have a clearer belief system.  I am still young and there are many belief systems out there.  I feel that one day I will have a better idea on my belief system.

3. Last year, when some good friends and I had a discussion about god and how there may or may not be one.  I felt a little scared because they said "the world was going to end in a few years."  That was the first time other extreme beliefs came to my attention.  

4. Jeanette's mother is a very strict believer.  "You have been talking about Hell to young minds"(42).  Jeanette has being speaking her beliefs about god to her classmates and have caused them to have nightmares.  As her teacher wrote home to her mother about the situation, Jeanette's mother praises her by taking her out to the movies. Her mother is a strong believer about god.  She has jammed the bible into Jeanette.  I feel that her mother is not taking the right responsibilities for her daughter's actions.  It is OK to believe in what she does, but intensely protesting to her classmates is a little over the top.

5. I feel that as she gets older she will change her beliefs about men, women, god, and life.  She asks questions and does not seem to get all the answers.  I feel she will face other struggles with her beliefs and am excited to see what happens.  She has already changed her beliefs about men.  She refers them as "beasts."

6. She is growing up and facing more struggles as she grows.  She is starting to argue more with her mother.  Her beliefs about men have already changed and will keep changing as she grows.  She now has a friend and is becoming more accepting of herself.  I can not wait to see what happens later in the book for her.