Summary:
Toby and Arthur have drifted apart from each since the start of high school and they have been brutal with each other. When Mr. Mitchell saw them fight, he signed them up in his annual "smoker". The smoker is a school event in which enemies fight one another in a boxing ring. Dwight trains Toby for the smoker. When the fight takes place, Toby won the fight over Arthur, known as a sissy. Toby is scared by the fact that he has gotten closer to Dwight during his training and his moves in the boxing ring. Toby was rejected by all the private schools he applied for except for the Hill School. Mr. Howard, an alumnus of Hill school, was sent to interview Toby. He assured Toby that Hill is not an easy school. Later in the novel, Toby almost slices his hand during shop class. He spent nearly a week in the hospital.Toby took some of Dwight's alcohol to ease the pain in his finger. When Dwight realizes that some of his alcohol was gone, he confronts Toby. When Toby talks back, Dwight pushes Toby (not violently), that he stumbles and landed on his injured finger. That incident was the last straw for Rosemary so she sends Jack to live with the Chuck Bolger and his family.
Chuck gets drunk every night and often gets violent with himself. He and Toby would go to this girl's house named Veronica to drink and play poker. The reader learns that Mr. Bolger is a preacher. So Toby goes to church with the Bolger family. At church, Toby is fond of the liveliness of gospel music and goes to the "Amen Corner" where members of the church shout and clap to show their faith. One night, Toby, Chuck, Huff, and Psycho decided to drive to Bellingham but Chuck knew he won't have enough fuel to drive all the way there. So Chuck had the idea of stealing gas from the Welch farm. They walked a lot to get the gas and walked so much to go back. They were so tired that they didn't go to Bellingham after all. The next morning, Mr. Bolger woke the boys up and commands them to go back to the Welch farm and return the gas and apologize. Chuck apologized but Toby did not. Mr. Bolger asked why Toby didn't say anything. Toby didn't answer so Mr. Bolger had no choice but to call his mother and take him home. Toby then meets Father Karl and asks him sternly why he did what he did and if he wants to make his mother unhappy. Father Karl didn't get through Toby well. Chuck, Huff, and Psycho was charged with statutory rape that happened to an overweight, fifteen year old girl named Tina Flood. To not go to jail, Chuck had to marry her, which he didn't want to do. Then Huff agreed to marry Tina.
Toby gets accepted to Hill School and Mr Howard picks out his clothes to go to the school. Rosemary has a new job in Seattle which she will start in about 1 week and seems happy without Dwight. Then Toby is going to spend time with his father and Geoffrey in California during the summer. After that summer, Toby breaks into Dwight's house and steals his rifles, a pair of binoculars, and a hunting knife. He goes to the pawn stores and didn't receive a good price for the rifles. During Christmas break, Dwight meets Rosemary at Washington D.C where she lives now and tries to strangle her but she kicks him in the groin. Next, he steals her purse but got caught and arrested. Toby is doing terrible at Hill school that he gets kicked out in the middle of senior year. Last, Toby remembers as an adult now that he was driving to Chinook from Seattle singing hymns from the radio.
Quote:
"Chuck apologized," I said. "I didn't" (Wolff 247).
Reaction:
This quote was from the incident of the boys stealing gas from the Welch farm Chuck apologized for his actions but Toby didn't. This puzzled me. Toby was in the stunt of stealing gasoline but he did not want to take fault in the incident. From this passage, it shows that Toby has so much pride in himself for him to think that he should not apologize. I mean, Toby says as though that he feels sorry about the gasoline incident, but he can't say these two words, "I'm sorry" because, he said that he just can't. That is not a good excuse. That caused a strain in Chuck and Toby's friendship. I wonder why he doesn't want to apologize. That's the right thing to do, but he 's doing the opposite of good in keeping his mouth shut and to not take part of the blame. At least he was honest and said that he didn't say anything.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
This Boy's Life (155-214)
Summary:
Toby plans to run away to Alaska with eighty dollars in his pocket that he earned from his paper route job and money that he stole from other customers. Toby told Arthur about his plan and he didn't want him to come along but he soon changed his mind because he does not want to feel lonely in Alaska. Every November, Toby's scout troop goes the Gathering of the Tribes in Seattle. There, Toby tries to stay away from Arthur, so while he was there, he participated in a swimming tournament. Also, at the Gathering of the Tribes, he meets a trio of boys that came from Ballard, another troop and hangs out with them. One thing they all have in common is that they smoke. When the Ballard boys saw Arthur, they made fun of his name by asking if he is a "king". They asked him to smoke weed, but fortunately, Arthur said no. Later on, Toby made up with Arthur by giving him a stuffed pink pig. When Toby returned home, he met a new dog named Champion. One night, Toby took Dwight's car and took it for a spin. Then, the car got in the mud. Suddenly, a man drives past him and took him home. The next morning, Dwight confronts him of taking the car and he also met the man who was taking Toby home. Dwight knows the incident now and as a result, he went on top of Jack and started beating him up, so he abuses him.
Toby starts off his freshman year at Concrete High with good grades by copying other people's homework. Every morning before school, Toby and his new friend Chuck would smoke. During his sophomore year of high school, Toby receives a letter from his long lost brother, Geoffrey and sent him a Princeton t-shirt. Then Toby had an idea that he could hitchhike to Princeton to be with Geoffrey, but to do that, he had to forge a check and he almost got caught with that fake check. Toby and Geoffrey continued to talk to each other. After Dwight slaps Toby for throwing away a mustard jar when it wasn't "empty", Toby called Geoffrey and told him the story. Geoffrey was disgusted. Then, Geoffrey talked him into applying in a prep school like Choate and Deerfield. Then, Toby's real father called him and told him the same thing.
Quote:
"Then he was on me. He caught me with one hand under the covers...he was kneeling on the bed, his legs on either side of me, locking me in with the blankets...he kept hitting me in a fast compulsive rhythm and I knew he was beyond all hearing..." (Wolff 177).
Reaction:
The first thing I have to say is that this quote from Toby is very explicit. The picture is just....ugly, in a way that a parent or a step-parent should not be doing this abuse to their child. I don't know how Toby can handle this abuse. To think that Dwight was going to be a good step-father. What I notice is that every time that Toby gets abused, Rosemary (Toby's mother) is not present. Sometimes, that does not make sense to me. What I want to happen is that Rosemary finds out all that abuse Toby has been suffering through and for the two to move out and live somewhere else and for Rosemary to divorce Dwight. At least Geoffrey knows about Toby's predicament and he will find a way for Toby to get out of it. One question that I have is that why isn't Toby telling his mom about this? This is important and it has to stop. Another question that I have is why is Dwight abusing Toby in the first place? Even though Dwight doesn't like Toby that much, that is not an excuse for treating the kid like trash.
Toby plans to run away to Alaska with eighty dollars in his pocket that he earned from his paper route job and money that he stole from other customers. Toby told Arthur about his plan and he didn't want him to come along but he soon changed his mind because he does not want to feel lonely in Alaska. Every November, Toby's scout troop goes the Gathering of the Tribes in Seattle. There, Toby tries to stay away from Arthur, so while he was there, he participated in a swimming tournament. Also, at the Gathering of the Tribes, he meets a trio of boys that came from Ballard, another troop and hangs out with them. One thing they all have in common is that they smoke. When the Ballard boys saw Arthur, they made fun of his name by asking if he is a "king". They asked him to smoke weed, but fortunately, Arthur said no. Later on, Toby made up with Arthur by giving him a stuffed pink pig. When Toby returned home, he met a new dog named Champion. One night, Toby took Dwight's car and took it for a spin. Then, the car got in the mud. Suddenly, a man drives past him and took him home. The next morning, Dwight confronts him of taking the car and he also met the man who was taking Toby home. Dwight knows the incident now and as a result, he went on top of Jack and started beating him up, so he abuses him.
Toby starts off his freshman year at Concrete High with good grades by copying other people's homework. Every morning before school, Toby and his new friend Chuck would smoke. During his sophomore year of high school, Toby receives a letter from his long lost brother, Geoffrey and sent him a Princeton t-shirt. Then Toby had an idea that he could hitchhike to Princeton to be with Geoffrey, but to do that, he had to forge a check and he almost got caught with that fake check. Toby and Geoffrey continued to talk to each other. After Dwight slaps Toby for throwing away a mustard jar when it wasn't "empty", Toby called Geoffrey and told him the story. Geoffrey was disgusted. Then, Geoffrey talked him into applying in a prep school like Choate and Deerfield. Then, Toby's real father called him and told him the same thing.
Quote:
"Then he was on me. He caught me with one hand under the covers...he was kneeling on the bed, his legs on either side of me, locking me in with the blankets...he kept hitting me in a fast compulsive rhythm and I knew he was beyond all hearing..." (Wolff 177).
Reaction:
The first thing I have to say is that this quote from Toby is very explicit. The picture is just....ugly, in a way that a parent or a step-parent should not be doing this abuse to their child. I don't know how Toby can handle this abuse. To think that Dwight was going to be a good step-father. What I notice is that every time that Toby gets abused, Rosemary (Toby's mother) is not present. Sometimes, that does not make sense to me. What I want to happen is that Rosemary finds out all that abuse Toby has been suffering through and for the two to move out and live somewhere else and for Rosemary to divorce Dwight. At least Geoffrey knows about Toby's predicament and he will find a way for Toby to get out of it. One question that I have is that why isn't Toby telling his mom about this? This is important and it has to stop. Another question that I have is why is Dwight abusing Toby in the first place? Even though Dwight doesn't like Toby that much, that is not an excuse for treating the kid like trash.
Friday, October 15, 2010
This Boy's Life (107-154)
Summary
Toby and three others were on the sidewalk making fun of Arthur Gayle, who had a reputation of being called a sissy. However, no one has ever called Arthur a sissy directly to him, until Toby, also known as Jack now came along. After Toby called Arthur a sissy, he didn't respond very well. In fact, he responded with a fight. At the end, Arthur won the fight and made Toby take back what he said about him. Later in the novel, the reader learns that Skipper, Dwight's son is going to graduate high school. After he graduated, he took a job at the power company and continued living at home so he can save up money to buy his own car. Soon Skipper earned enough for his car and drove to Mexico with his friend. Toby felt sad that he left without him, but got over it. Skipper came back home in a few weeks. At school, Toby is a basketball player and one of the best of his team. Norma and her boyfriend Bobby always picked him up after games. Meanwhile, Dwight has a drinking problem and everyone in the family can see that because he always mimics people, and doesn't even sound like the person. One time while he was drunk, he accused Rosemary for not thanking him for taking in a divorced woman with a kid who is a liar and a stealer. Rosemary didn't even fight back.
Toby likes to go through people's private items. One day, he found a letter in his mother's drawer and it was from his Uncle Stephen. He lives in France. When Toby copied his uncle's address, he wrote to him about his nightmares at Chinook and begged him to bring him and his mother to Paris to live with him and his family. Stephen replied back with expressing his sympathy and proposed that Toby live with him and his family for one year, but soon changed it to five years, so about now to when he finishes high school. Dwight was all for it. He wanted Toby to move away. When Toby changed his mind about moving to Paris, Dwight was outraged with his decision and forced him to change his mind. That didn't work. A couple of weeks before Christmas, Norma, who already graduated from high school, called up to say that she wants to marry Kenneth, a new boyfriend, instead of Bobby. When Kenneth came for Christmas dinner, nobody liked his personality. In fact, Dwight tried to convince Norma to not marry him. Soon, Norma did marry Kenneth and had a child together, but she didn't seem happy living with Kenneth.
Quote
"She and Dwight weren't getting along. They hadn't gotten along since the night they returned from their honeymoon in Vancouver, two days early, silent and grim, not even looking at each other as they carried the suitcases into the house and down the hall to Dwight's room" (Wolff 111).
Reaction
When the narrator stated that quote, I could visualize it in my head. What I question is that what happened during the honeymoon. I mean, coming back two days early, something must be wrong. My prediction is that Dwight was drinking during the honeymoon and maybe he spoke phrases that he shouldn't have said or didn't mean them in a serious way. My evidence is on page 132, when Dwight said that Rosemary should be thanking him for taking her in and her lying, stealing, and just plain horrible kid. I think from that place is the start of the downfall of their marriage. Also, on pages 135-136, when Dwight came out of the tavern, he had the keys to the car to drive. That is a bad idea because he came out drunk. Rosemary would not get in the car unless she takes the keys. After a long time, she finally got inside the car but without the keys. As a result, Dwight started driving recklessly. Rosemary and Toby begged for him to stop, but he mimicked them back, and shows that he does not give a darn. All I am saying is that if he doesn't stop his drinking, he might be a divorced parent...again.
Toby and three others were on the sidewalk making fun of Arthur Gayle, who had a reputation of being called a sissy. However, no one has ever called Arthur a sissy directly to him, until Toby, also known as Jack now came along. After Toby called Arthur a sissy, he didn't respond very well. In fact, he responded with a fight. At the end, Arthur won the fight and made Toby take back what he said about him. Later in the novel, the reader learns that Skipper, Dwight's son is going to graduate high school. After he graduated, he took a job at the power company and continued living at home so he can save up money to buy his own car. Soon Skipper earned enough for his car and drove to Mexico with his friend. Toby felt sad that he left without him, but got over it. Skipper came back home in a few weeks. At school, Toby is a basketball player and one of the best of his team. Norma and her boyfriend Bobby always picked him up after games. Meanwhile, Dwight has a drinking problem and everyone in the family can see that because he always mimics people, and doesn't even sound like the person. One time while he was drunk, he accused Rosemary for not thanking him for taking in a divorced woman with a kid who is a liar and a stealer. Rosemary didn't even fight back.
Toby likes to go through people's private items. One day, he found a letter in his mother's drawer and it was from his Uncle Stephen. He lives in France. When Toby copied his uncle's address, he wrote to him about his nightmares at Chinook and begged him to bring him and his mother to Paris to live with him and his family. Stephen replied back with expressing his sympathy and proposed that Toby live with him and his family for one year, but soon changed it to five years, so about now to when he finishes high school. Dwight was all for it. He wanted Toby to move away. When Toby changed his mind about moving to Paris, Dwight was outraged with his decision and forced him to change his mind. That didn't work. A couple of weeks before Christmas, Norma, who already graduated from high school, called up to say that she wants to marry Kenneth, a new boyfriend, instead of Bobby. When Kenneth came for Christmas dinner, nobody liked his personality. In fact, Dwight tried to convince Norma to not marry him. Soon, Norma did marry Kenneth and had a child together, but she didn't seem happy living with Kenneth.
Quote
"She and Dwight weren't getting along. They hadn't gotten along since the night they returned from their honeymoon in Vancouver, two days early, silent and grim, not even looking at each other as they carried the suitcases into the house and down the hall to Dwight's room" (Wolff 111).
Reaction
When the narrator stated that quote, I could visualize it in my head. What I question is that what happened during the honeymoon. I mean, coming back two days early, something must be wrong. My prediction is that Dwight was drinking during the honeymoon and maybe he spoke phrases that he shouldn't have said or didn't mean them in a serious way. My evidence is on page 132, when Dwight said that Rosemary should be thanking him for taking her in and her lying, stealing, and just plain horrible kid. I think from that place is the start of the downfall of their marriage. Also, on pages 135-136, when Dwight came out of the tavern, he had the keys to the car to drive. That is a bad idea because he came out drunk. Rosemary would not get in the car unless she takes the keys. After a long time, she finally got inside the car but without the keys. As a result, Dwight started driving recklessly. Rosemary and Toby begged for him to stop, but he mimicked them back, and shows that he does not give a darn. All I am saying is that if he doesn't stop his drinking, he might be a divorced parent...again.
Friday, October 8, 2010
This Boy's Life (57-106)
Summary
Marian, Kathy, and Rosemary(Toby's mother) all decided to rent the house together. Rosemary picked the place. The yard was high in weeds, there was a collapsed barn. When Kathy and Mariam were flabbergasted when they saw the apartment. Soon, they did some repairs so the apartment would look descent. On Halloween, Toby, Silver, and Taylor broke some windows of the school cafeteria. When they got away with it, that causes the trio to do some more crimes like damaging street lights, opened the doors of cars and releasing the emergency brakes so they be smashed with the other cars and stealing. Meanwhile, Marian tried to fix up Rosemary with a man she can be with. After all the men Rosemary interviewed, she finally found a man who was descent whose named was Dwight. Dwight had 3 other children Pearl, Skipper, and Norma from a previous marriage. He lives in a place called Chinook, 3 hours north from Seattle and kept driving down to Seattle to visit Rosemary every other weekend and eventually every weekend.
Sometimes, Toby, Silver, and Taylor would hang out in the bathroom, smoking. Toby showed his rifle to his friends. While Toby was in the bathroom, he scratched f*** you with his comb into the soft paint of the wall. Soon, the vice-principal was 100% sure that it was Toby who wrote the profanity on the bathroom wall. When his mother was called up, Rosemary did not believe a single word that the vice-principal was saying. As a result, Toby was suspended for only 1 week. Later on in the novel, Dwight has the baddest attitude toward Toby. Mariam told Dwight that Toby was making fun of him by mimicking his attitude when he (Dwight) drinks. When Toby stays over Dwight's home, he works hard on chores as a slave, then Toby makes up lies to his mother that him and Dwight are quality time together. Toby knows how much Dwight means to his mother so he keeps his slavery a secret.
Quote:
"My mother had faith in me. She didn't have faith in discipline. Her father, Daddy, had given her plenty and she had yet to see the profit from it" (Wolff 59).
Reaction:
At first, I didn't believe that quote. Maybe Rosemary doesn't want to discipline his son hard because she does not want to turn into her own father. Rosemary's father was really strict and he spanked her every night even if she did not do anything wrong. To think that parents completely trusts their children with no doubt on the back of his/her head, that is hard to believe. I had that thought until the profanity incident. When, the vice-principal AND the reader knows that it was Toby who put that profanity on the wall, the mother bravely went against the vice-principal's word and actually trusts his son. When Rosemary asks Toby if he did the crime, he said no and she thought that was the end of discussion. While I was reading that part of the novel, I asked if Rosemary had a doubt in her head. Also, I'm asking if she showed any discipline to Toby because in my opinion, he should not be let off the hook that easily. I wonder if the discipline towards Toby will begin when Rosemary and Dwight officially gets married and Dwight is the new step-father. The author of the book makes it seem that Toby is kind of in charge of his mother because she wants to make her son happy, no matter what and Toby takes advantage of that. I just hope that advantage doesn't go too far.
Marian, Kathy, and Rosemary(Toby's mother) all decided to rent the house together. Rosemary picked the place. The yard was high in weeds, there was a collapsed barn. When Kathy and Mariam were flabbergasted when they saw the apartment. Soon, they did some repairs so the apartment would look descent. On Halloween, Toby, Silver, and Taylor broke some windows of the school cafeteria. When they got away with it, that causes the trio to do some more crimes like damaging street lights, opened the doors of cars and releasing the emergency brakes so they be smashed with the other cars and stealing. Meanwhile, Marian tried to fix up Rosemary with a man she can be with. After all the men Rosemary interviewed, she finally found a man who was descent whose named was Dwight. Dwight had 3 other children Pearl, Skipper, and Norma from a previous marriage. He lives in a place called Chinook, 3 hours north from Seattle and kept driving down to Seattle to visit Rosemary every other weekend and eventually every weekend.
Sometimes, Toby, Silver, and Taylor would hang out in the bathroom, smoking. Toby showed his rifle to his friends. While Toby was in the bathroom, he scratched f*** you with his comb into the soft paint of the wall. Soon, the vice-principal was 100% sure that it was Toby who wrote the profanity on the bathroom wall. When his mother was called up, Rosemary did not believe a single word that the vice-principal was saying. As a result, Toby was suspended for only 1 week. Later on in the novel, Dwight has the baddest attitude toward Toby. Mariam told Dwight that Toby was making fun of him by mimicking his attitude when he (Dwight) drinks. When Toby stays over Dwight's home, he works hard on chores as a slave, then Toby makes up lies to his mother that him and Dwight are quality time together. Toby knows how much Dwight means to his mother so he keeps his slavery a secret.
Quote:
"My mother had faith in me. She didn't have faith in discipline. Her father, Daddy, had given her plenty and she had yet to see the profit from it" (Wolff 59).
Reaction:
At first, I didn't believe that quote. Maybe Rosemary doesn't want to discipline his son hard because she does not want to turn into her own father. Rosemary's father was really strict and he spanked her every night even if she did not do anything wrong. To think that parents completely trusts their children with no doubt on the back of his/her head, that is hard to believe. I had that thought until the profanity incident. When, the vice-principal AND the reader knows that it was Toby who put that profanity on the wall, the mother bravely went against the vice-principal's word and actually trusts his son. When Rosemary asks Toby if he did the crime, he said no and she thought that was the end of discussion. While I was reading that part of the novel, I asked if Rosemary had a doubt in her head. Also, I'm asking if she showed any discipline to Toby because in my opinion, he should not be let off the hook that easily. I wonder if the discipline towards Toby will begin when Rosemary and Dwight officially gets married and Dwight is the new step-father. The author of the book makes it seem that Toby is kind of in charge of his mother because she wants to make her son happy, no matter what and Toby takes advantage of that. I just hope that advantage doesn't go too far.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
This Boy's Life (3-56)
Summary:
First set in 1955, Toby and his mother Rosemary are moving from Florida to Utah to flee from the mother's violent boyfriend. It has been 5 years since the divorce.They both wanted change, a new beginning and to leave the past behind. The first change that Toby wanted was his name. He wanted to officially be known as Jack. Toby's father did not like the idea at all. Also, his mom was making him take catechism classes. The father didn't like that idea either. Before he was about to get baptized, he was going to have his first confession to the priest. That did not go well as planned but it did happen anyway. A few weeks later, Roy, Toby's mother boyfriend tracked the family down and lived with them. Later on, Toby received his first rifle from him. When Roy stated to Toby that he and his mother was thinking of having a baby, Toby didn't explicitly said no, bad idea, but he just nodded, hiding his feelings. One day when Toby came home from school, he saw two suitcases already filled and saw his mother packing another one. He learned that he and his mom was moving...again to Seattle. So they are moving away from Roy, but the narrator does not say why. At Seattle he and his mother live at a boardinghouse and he befriends Terry Taylor and Terry Silver. They spend a lot of time together, especially at Silver's house.
Quote:
I think Rosemary feels embarrassed but the fact that she doesn't have a lot of money. Toby described his mother's face as coldly. I know that it shows that she wants to make his son happy with his needs and his wants. In my opinion, I think that Rosemary feels that she failed as a mother by not getting him what he wants, a bike. On the other hand, a bike is a want not a need. I think that this is the reason why Rosemary and Toby move constantly, to find more opportunity to make a living and live life to its fullest.
First set in 1955, Toby and his mother Rosemary are moving from Florida to Utah to flee from the mother's violent boyfriend. It has been 5 years since the divorce.They both wanted change, a new beginning and to leave the past behind. The first change that Toby wanted was his name. He wanted to officially be known as Jack. Toby's father did not like the idea at all. Also, his mom was making him take catechism classes. The father didn't like that idea either. Before he was about to get baptized, he was going to have his first confession to the priest. That did not go well as planned but it did happen anyway. A few weeks later, Roy, Toby's mother boyfriend tracked the family down and lived with them. Later on, Toby received his first rifle from him. When Roy stated to Toby that he and his mother was thinking of having a baby, Toby didn't explicitly said no, bad idea, but he just nodded, hiding his feelings. One day when Toby came home from school, he saw two suitcases already filled and saw his mother packing another one. He learned that he and his mom was moving...again to Seattle. So they are moving away from Roy, but the narrator does not say why. At Seattle he and his mother live at a boardinghouse and he befriends Terry Taylor and Terry Silver. They spend a lot of time together, especially at Silver's house.
Quote:
"I saw the good humor leave my mother's face, just as I knew it would. She looked at me coldly and I looked coldly back at her. The subject of bicycles turned us into enemies. Our problem was that I wanted a bike and she didn't have enough money to buy me one. She had no money at all" (Wolff 52).Reaction:
I think Rosemary feels embarrassed but the fact that she doesn't have a lot of money. Toby described his mother's face as coldly. I know that it shows that she wants to make his son happy with his needs and his wants. In my opinion, I think that Rosemary feels that she failed as a mother by not getting him what he wants, a bike. On the other hand, a bike is a want not a need. I think that this is the reason why Rosemary and Toby move constantly, to find more opportunity to make a living and live life to its fullest.
Welcome
Welcome! This blog is about the memoir This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff. Toby's parents are divorced and he has to live with his mother. He and his mother are constantly on the move. When Toby receives his new, abusive stepfather, he will see his experiences in the joys and downfalls of his adolescence.
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