Overcoming Affliction Book Group
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posted by Ms. Clapp @ 12:03 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Hi guys,
So, we enter the third part of the book with the seperation/divorce of Jacob's parents. I looked up divorce in Judaism because in the introductory quotation on page 175 it says that if a man dislikes his wife, "then he shall write her a bill of divorcement and send her out of his house".
It turns out that, in Judaism, a man can right out a bill of divorce, hand it to his wife and kick her out. I believe it was later changed to include the wifes consent but the idea is ridiculous.
Moving on to the actual story, it seems the roles are reversed between father and son. After his parents tell them about the seperation, Abram latches on to Jacob, and being dramatic, cries about how he needs Jacob to hold him and tell him, "it's gonna be okay" (181).That's the parents job in a situation like that, not the childs. It just adds to Abrams self-centered personality. Earlier on he was described as being of the, "genus Narcissus...there is, in such a genus of man, a pervasive and well-known pattern of grandiosity and egocentrism" (173).
So, I have two questions.
1. How do you guys think that Abrams overbearing clingyness will affect Jacob? Will he resent his father more and rebel?
2. What did you think about Jacob's letters to Megan? When he gets angrier throughout the letters at the lack of response do you think it was because he was solely angry at her or do you think there is more to it?
Heyy
Yes, ahh the inevitable divorce, I must just say that im finally happy it happened. The whole facade of a happy family was so ridiculous and watching them crumble was even less fun to read.
I must agree with Courtney the roles have changed slightly. Abram is definetly the more vulnerable one at this point. However he stills makes it seem as though it is a privledge that he is "loving" (183) Jacob. He almost reprimands him and he is in shock . This is ridiculous becasue hes almost telling him how he should react to this. So he doesn't completely loost that controling state of mind.
About the letter toward Megan, i defiently think that the anger in the letters are coming from and outlet he has stored up. Writing things down usually releive stress for people and yelling at Megan through these letters and saying i "hate you" (192)is just the anger coming he has surpressed from his father after all of these years. I think he confided in Megan and trusted her, and she disappointed him just like his family had. This is Jacob's first "heart break" and all his emotions are coming out in the letters.
I also am a little uncelar about the clingyness of Abram to Jacob , but my guess is that Jacob could blow at any minute.
Ah, sorry if the "clingyness" thing cunfused you. I meant to say that now that Jacob's mother and Asher have left, and Gabe and Dara being mostly secondary characters, that the only person Abram technically has left is Jacob.
Later on when Asher leaves, "He blows me a dramatic kiss that flings his arm above his head and I walk into the street so he can see me. And I can see him. Disappear" (208), Jacob is upset because of the promise Asher had made to take him to Rhode Island with him. Now Jacob only has his father, seeing as he is angry at his mother for leaving his dad and having a new boy'friend. On page 215 Jacob says,"I am my father's salvation for Asher's crime; I am His very hope to stay on this stage". In saying this he is stating how he is his fathers only connection to being somebody. I guess he tries to live through Jacob.
Moving to something else, what do you think about the est group that Abram joined. Sounds like a cult. I found it funny when Rona told Jacob, "if you take responsibility for your own life than aaaaaaaall the horrible things that have happened to you become your own responsibility and the reason for this is that you alone caused them to occuu-uuur" (216-217). Okay, who thinks that Jacob is responsible for having disfunctional parents? Somehow I don't think she's right...atleast not completely.
ok, well first i wanted to start out by saying that finishing up this book, I think Jacob really does remind me of Holden from Catcher in the Rye and Charlie from Perks of Being a Wallflower which we have all said before.
About the letters that Jacob wrote to Megan, I thought they were the joke letters like the thank-you notes Jacob was writing through out the story. Seeing the desperation that Jacob had for an answer from Megan showed his longing for affection from Megan and that she was someone he loved and as Annie said gave Jacob his first heartbreak. I was wondering what people thought the reason that Megan did not reply was. I thought that somehow Megan truely wasnt getting these letters and she would not ignore him especially after the last couple letters where he would say how upset he was about this.
I forgot to add this quote that I found:
"Overcoming... obstacles is .. to me.. one of the hardest things in life, and my son can overcome anything you put in his way. Hes a hurdler."(170)
Since the theme of our book is overcoming affliction I thought that this quote went along with it. I found it ironic that Abram said that Jacob can "overcome anything" but the biggest obstacle is Jacob's life is Abram.
I absolutely agree with steph113 about Abram being Jacob's obstacle in life. It has been made obvious throughout the story that Abram is the main affliction that Jacob had to overcome. He calls himself an "appendage...one paid in hollow bursts of love" (253). He is merely a part of his father's perfect act. The book leaves off with Jacob walking to Temple leaving us with no way of knowing what happens next. I think that when he starts running he isn't just running in a physical sense, he is running from his father...or at;east trying to. So what do you guys think? "Where the hell is that kid going" (259)?
Well to what courtney said about where we think Jacob is going, I think that it was left unanswered for the reader to decide. I think it depends on if you are a optimist or a pessimist. If you are an optimist, then you would think that Jacob runs to the train station and goes to Rhode Island to live with Asher and life is happily ever after. On the other hand, if you are a pessimist, then you would think that Jacob is running away for the short while, but is then forced back by his father to live his unsatisfactory life. In my opinion, I think Jacob feels that he is running away from his life and hardship with his father, but he will end up back where he belongs.
I was wondering if anyone thought if this book really fit in with our theme of overcoming affliction? It is well known that Jacob's affliction is his father, but I didn't really see how Jacob overcame this problem.
The irony that is present in the statement
"Overcoming... obstacles is .. to me.. one of the hardest things in life, and my son can overcome anything you put in his way. Hes a hurdler."(170)
presents the ignorance that Abram has toward his own personality. He has no idea that in fact he is the one that casues most of Jacob's problems. He doesn't realize that anger that Jacob has built up from him or why Abram is so rebellious.
Okay I would like to touch on Jacob's constant mention of his raging hormones. When you go back to the beginnging of the story when he ejaculates on Megan all the way to now when he looks at Beth's "cleavage" (203). I'm wondering if his costant mention of these things mean something.
I think in the end Jacob is running to get away. At the end when he asks the question "where the hell is that kid going", I really think he is asking himself. He doesn't even know. This is why I do agree with Steph because I really don't think that he overcame anything. At this point i believe he really has just snapped and he doesnt know what to do with himself.
Also the comparison to Holden and Charlie is good becasue like them Jacob is lost. His childhood so far has been anything but normal and he can't seem to find away to get away.
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