Jin+Kwon's+Summer+Reading



**__Ordinary People__** [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/c.gif width="30" height="30" caption="Horizontal Rule"]]
by Judith Guest- approved

//Each essay should include the following:// a. book title and author in the introductory paragraph b. a thesis statement that encompasses the main idea of your essay which should be how the selected chapter is reflected in your novel c. brief summary of the section to be discussed (no more than a paragraph)--just enough to get a sense of the context d. analysis of the section through the lens of one of the chapters from //How to Read Literature Like a Professor// e. a quotation you think is significant and your explanation of how the quote reflects the selected chapter f. each essay should be approximately three hundred words g. Copy and paste the essay! Do not upload a document!

Essay #1 - Communion
Individuals have the tendency to group together in most situations. What explains such behavior? Communions show us the types of interactions between certain individuals. In Judith Guests __Ordinary People__, most cases follow the latter scenario. Not only can communions demonstrate tight relationships and well-rounded bonds between individuals, but also the lack of these can express the exact opposite. The characters in Guests novel show that communions that host a certain atmosphere of bitterness explain the lack of family ties.

Calvin and his son Conrad are intriguing characters. However both have been deeply affected by the loss of Buck, Calvin’s older son and Conrad’s older brother. Ever since Buck’s death, family conversations and relationships have been damaged. Conrad’s life has been turned upside down and he has even attempted suicide by slashing his wrists. However the importance of the chapter lies in lack of connection between father and son. Calvin finds it very difficult to continue conversation with Conrad; he brings up different topics if one fails.

Chapter 2 of Foster’s __How to Read Literature like a Professor__ deals with communions and what they express. The communion situated in chapter 8 shows the sorrow in the hearts of Calvin and Conrad. In addition, because of this sorrow, family ties have eroded extremely. Thus, Calvin finds it difficult to motivate a traumatized Conrad to continue conversing with his father. Simply put, Conrad finds no point in conversation anymore. Calvin’s concern is evident: “Period. A long way to go for friendship...what happened to the people closer to home? (Chapter 8, pg. 60)" Interestingly, this quote also suggests that Conrad must leave home in order to feel connected with people, further proving that his relationship with his parents, especially his father, is no longer intact. The communion of father and son seems forever shattered.



Hi Jin!

While I was reading through your three hundred word-essay, I understood that your thought on communion and my though on communion were similar. The communion you mentioned was about a family who stopped communicating due to a death in the family. In my book, though the example is not similar, it was about lacking communication. One thing I would like you to have done better would have to do with flow. If you would use a phrase to relate one paragraph to another would help the reader's understanding. Also, your use of vocabulary was somewhat repetitive, therefor would have helped if there were various words used.

Sarah Cho

Comment from Kristie Lee: Your definition of a communion and mine seem quite similar. You also viewed it as one of the ways in which people make interactions and communications. Also, I wrote my essays on Ordinary People as well. While I chose to relate the concept of communion to chapter 2 of this novel, you chose to relate it to chapter 8, which is quite interesting. Your essay explains what communion is in literature well, provides a brief summary of chapter 8, and relates that chapter to the idea of communion using quotation which further explains your point. Also, I like how you pointed out the lack of family ties by observing the bitter atmosphere of the communion between the characters.

**Essay #2** - Meals
Many may not realize it, but meals attract the opposite charges in individuals. Many people eat together and feel a type of bondage. However, lack of speech or communication may also symbolize a lack of bondage. Judith Laws __Ordinary People__ perfectly expresses how meals bring individuals together to discover new things and ultimately become closer.

Throughout the novel, Calvin goes to work as a successful salesman. One day during his lunch-break he encounters Lazenby’s mother, one of his son’s best friends mothers. Thomas C. Foster insisted that the occasion of meals, whether it is a snack or dinner, brings people together under any circumstance. In __Ordinary People__, Calvin and Lazenby's mother are brought together by the occasion of lunch. After settling down, they begin to discuss many topics, especially their sons. They focus on how their sons don’t meet as often, as Calvin expresses with a sort of sentimental tone. The occasion of lunch reveals many secrets about Conrad, especially his past and how close he was to Lazenby. If it weren’t for lunch break, Calvin and Lazenby’s mother would’ve never met. Thus, the reader couldn’t have learned information about Conrad’s past.

Through the following quote we can learn several things: "A pleasant lunch...she asks about Con, and that makes it easy for him to inquire after Joe, to mention how he misses seeing him around the house, as he used to. (Chapter 11, pg. 88)" Most important of all, we know that something has happened to Conrad; if nothing had happened, he would still be a close friend with Lazenby. That ‘something’ must have been quite traumatizing for Conrad, since he neglected his best friend. This quote helps explain a lot about Conrad’s life and give insight to what terrible things he has faced in his life.



**Essay #3** - Violence
Violence isn’t just violence, especially in literature. It always serves a certain purpose. Many people kill for vengeance, as do many psychos kill for pleasure. Out of all the reasons to violence, Judith Guest uses expression and escape in her novel __Ordinary People__. The main character, Conrad, faces a harsh and relentless life full of pain. The following chapter encompasses a motivation behind cruel violence and why it’s so significant.

Buck was an important person in Conrad’s life, as all big brothers are the eyes of younger brothers. After Buck passes away, Conrad’s life takes a sharp spiral downwards, as he begins to feel extreme sorrow and depression. It gets progressively worse, until he decides to commit suicide. However, he fails, but his scars on his wrists still haunt his parents. As Thomas C. Foster said, violence isn’t violence, but more of an action driven by a certain motivation. In this chapter of __Ordinary People__, violence is a way to express pain and his feelings. Conrad attempts to kill himself in order to escape the stark realities of his life.

The severity of Conrad’s actions cannot be ignored: "He meant business," the intern told him in the ambulance, "Horizontal cuts, the blood clots. It takes a lot longer. You were damn lucky to catch him. (Chapter 8, pg. 70)" As evident, Conrad was serious in his suicide attempt; he nearly succeeded. Fortunately, he was stopped before he could lose enough blood. However, the importance doesn’t lie in the fact he survived, but why he would cause himself so much physical pain. His resulting scars from his suicide attempts reflect all the stress in his life, mostly concerning the loss of his brother. The emotional pain was too much for Conrad to bear. He could only find one solution to end his suffering: suicide.




 * //Comments//**

Hey Jin, it’s your best buddy Kevin G to make the first comment on your essays! Okay, let me get straight to it. Overall your essay seems to flow well, with a good beginning, middle end structure, excellent word choice and some good analysis. Your intro (mainly your hook) seemed a bit weird for me; i thought it could be made into a longer sentence or you could add some sort of connection between the 3rd and the 4th sentences. I like how you used your quote to show how serious Conrad's attempt at suicide was. It really allows the reader of your essay understand how depressed he really was. However, your last 2 sentences seem like they could be placed in a different location. Its somewhat confusing because it somewhat sounds like Conrad attempted to commit suicide again after his first attempt (I have not read this book so if this is what you tried to do, ignore this completely). Again, overall your essay is a very well written one, with just little things here and there that I found confusing. Also, this books sounds extremely depressing so I hope you aren't all gloomy by the start of school. -Kevin G Lee

Hi Jin. Hope you had a great summer. Anyway, to the task at hand. First of all i want to say i disagree with kevin about your first line. (Sorry Kevin!) I think it's great. It's different and makes me want to read on. I completely understand what you are saying about how violence is not just someone being unnecessarily cruel; it always has a reason to be there. Although i've never read this book, you have given enough information that connects to your point for me to understand what you are talking about so, well done there. The second paragraph flows really well. Your quote, "violence isn’t violence, but more of an action driven by a certain motivation." fits perfectly in this section, the motivation for Conrad to attempt suicide clearly being the death of his older brother. Although your last paragraph flows well and clearly shows your voice, i think it strays slightly from your original thesis about violence being more than just violence. One more sentence linking the two ideas together might just make that paragraph fit in better with the other two. But overall your understanding of the book is clear, your voice is strong and your ideas are well presented. Good job Jin. :D Livvy Edwards

Yo Burmjin! This is your best soccer buddy Nathan… I hope you are having a great farewell to your summer vacation. OK SO~ Let's talk about your essay! This essay is so emo ha ha ha. What happened to you!? I thought you dislike this kind of gloomy and cheerless book. Overall, your essay seems fine: organization, flow, and clear and strong statements. I think there are few things that is kind of lack in your essay. First, I think it will be better if you give little bit more information about the story or the protagonist, such as background, in the introduction to make it more interesting. Second, the tone of this essay is too negative and depressing. However, I think your interesting ideas and flow motivate readers to keep on reading, which is good. Nevertheless, I think the essay will sound better if you make it neutral by not exaggerating or using less extreme words. Third, I found a sentence that seems like a general statement: “as all big brothers are the eyes of younger brothers”. When I red this, a question came up to me: All brothers are like that? I mean this statement is good because it sounds positive and quite logical. However, I think this statement is your general belief. Besides few of those problems, overall your essay is great. Good Job Jin :) Nathan Cho

Hey, Jin! I decided to comment on your essay since it seems so amazing out of everyone’s essay. I read your essay twice just to have the honor of commenting on your essay. Anyways lets get straight to it. Your essay overall is really good. The essay flows really fluently and naturally and I didn’t find any grammatical mistake. (Yay~!) But it would have been better if you gave more background information about the story (or the section) to the readers. Also just my opinion, but I wished that you had chosen a more happy, cheerful and exciting novels instead, because you are that kind of person. But in total your essay is very well written. Haha anyways have a great last day of your summer vacation. Sam Lee

**Essay #4** - Symbolism
The interesting thing about symbolism is that it’s never definite. Thus, judging by the amount of people there are in this world, there could be an infinite number of symbols. __Ordinary People__ by Judith Guest is a novel in which symbolism is open to opinion, just like how it is in every other novel. There is no right or wrong solution to what ’this’ or ‘that’ symbolizes. Instead, it’s the ‘why.’

As the story unfolds, symbols are scattered all across the page. Throughout the beginnings of the novel, the Jarnett family is introduced, along with their residence and each family member. Interpretation is something that Thomas C. Foster said was not limited. There is no judge to decide whether a certain interpretation of a symbol is right or wrong.

The Jarnett family can be best described as disconnected. The death or Buck, the older son, rocked the household. Mornings have been dismal, and meals together have never been the same. The house the Jarnett family owns is also rather big. The sheer size and mass of this structure symbolizes the lack of communication and most importantly isolation. People can be far away from each other if they choose, and considering that the family only has three members, it isn’t difficult to see why. As a result, this only leads to further silence and loss of familial ties.

It’s almost like a system of caves: "This house. Too big for three people. Straining, he can barely hear the early-morning sounds of his father... (Chapter 1, pg. 4)" Apparently, it the house is so gargantuan, that it is difficult to communicate with other people in the household, even if they wanted too. However, in the case of a depressed teenager like Conrad, it is the perfect place to be left alone and cast out of society.




 * Comments**

Hey, Jin! I think your essay was great. Especially, your thesis was quite catchy! Your ideas, in general, were clearly stated, and your essay was clear. By reading the essay, I completely understood what you meant by the family being "disconnected" and about how the house seemed big, after Buck's death. You gave me enough important details about the novel you read, allowing me to get the general idea of this novel. Your overall flow was well done, and your choice of words were good. However, there were some spelling mistakes that you have to change. Also, I think that the last two sentences of second paragraph did not link to the former sentences. Thus, if you try to link these sentences together, I think that your essay will be better understood. Overall, though, your essay was written very well :) GOOD JOB!! - Sun Young Park


 * Essay #5** - Baptism

Masters of literature know it, but many others don’t. Many readers don’t realize the importance of drowning or surviving in a body of water. There is a lot of religious affiliation with this topic, however it can be broadened. Although not definite, __Ordinary People__ by Judith Guest uses drowning in a very identifiable manner. Judith Guest uses the incident of drowning to define the atmosphere of her entire novel.

Buck and Conrad were loving brothers until the incident that redefined the lives of the Jarnett family: the death of Buck. Calvin, Conrad’s father and Beth, Conrad’s mother always argue for what’s best for Conrad simply because they don’t want to lose another child. Thomas C. Foster stated that you either survive or die when faced by the forces of water. If you survive and come out breathing for air, you have been baptized. Obviously, it’s a good sign that will have a lasting effect on the rest of the story.

If you don’t survive in body of water, it’s the exact opposite of a baptism. Even for readers who aren’t religious, it’s simple to realize that death is an atrocious sign. This is very true in __Ordinary People__. The fact that Buck drowned changes Conrad’s life: "Unforgivable. It is unforgivable. They wrestle with the boat together, the sails snipping like rifle cracks in the wind "Get it down! Get the goddamn sail down! (Chapter 26, pg. 217)"

Conrad feels guilty and always puts the blame of his brother’s death on his shoulders. Out of guilt and depression, horrible events occur. The death of his brother is what starts the quiet chaos inside the Jarnett household: the suicide attempt, the arguments, the extremely bitter conversations. Thus, the importance of drowning in this particular novel cannot be denied, for without it, the story would not be.



//**Comments**//

Sup Jin! Your essay was very well written. It hooked me as reader and made me interested the whole way through. Not just because of the way you write, but also because the contents of your essays were very interesting too. I really liked how you interpreted and correlated the Novel Ordinary people and How to Read Literature Like a Professor with each other. Everything you have mentioned about the book you have chosen had a relation to baptism mentioned in How to Read Literature Like a Professor so it was really interesting to see how that worked out. By the way, I also liked how you how you wrapped the essay up with a very clear conclusion. Well Done! -Andrew Nogamoto

1. Select and read two of your peers' essays. 2. Underneath each essay, thoughtfully comment on the ideas put forth. 3. This comment should be no more than one succinct paragraph. 4. Post and label the comment on //the writer's page// with your name at the bottom of your comment. 5. Copy and paste the comment onto //your// summer reading page in the comments section. 6. Write the writer's name and essay # underneath the comments on your own page.
 * Comment #1**

(same as above)
 * Comment #2**


 * IMPORTANT: Your summer reading assignment page should have five essays (copy and pasted) and two comments (copy and pasted). If I have to look for your assignments, points will be deducted!**