After reading the second section of this story, It was amazing to see how things can seem to be going smoothly but then eventually crash right back down. Looking at the pages 98-192, I was searching similarities or differences between the life of Mattie Gokey, and also my life. The first time where their had been a very different reaction between what my father and her father would have done. When her father arrives at home and sees her sleeping on the kitchen table, he gets angry with the decision she had made to buy a notebook. Upon finding out how much money it cost, he says "You mean to tell me we've been eating mush for days on end and you had sixty cents all this time" (99)? This is a crazy incident because if I had sixty cents my father would say big deal it's sixty cents. The reason for this is because sixty cents to them is a lot deferent then sixty cents now. Apparently you can actually buy food and make meals other than mush with sixty cents, but now sixty cents probably couldn't even get you mush to eat.
Later on in the book, she is cleaning her Aunt Josie's house, and just discussing about people like Royal Loomis, and how since her mother is gone she cannot support Mattie as well as she is needed. So the Aunt says that Mattie can ask her anything, so she asks what she has been wanting to the whole time at her house which was that she had made it into college, and if she could pay for her books and train ticket to New York because she had money, and she reacted in a very obscure way, "You are just as bad as your no-account brother, selfish and thought less. It must come from the Gokey side, because it doesn't come from the Robertsons. What on earth can you be thinking? Leaving your sisters when they need you? And for a terrible place like New York" (113)! If I had gotten a full ride scholarship to a school because of academic grades and for being a good writer, and my family could afford a plane ticket and books, the last thing my cousins and aunts would do is leave me in the dust and saying no. It is so confusing to see how when given an opportunity like this, not being able to take, and I don't think this would happen to me or nearly every kid in the world if given this chance. One more case where I can see a connection to my life is when she is figuring out how to do polynomials! Weaver said "Figuring polynomials is just a matter of simplifying a bunch of values to a few. Just like boiling down a lot of sap to a little bit of syrup. It's easy, so stop being such a mule" (121). Ahh great polynomials, as Weaver said it is simple, but first the process is needed, and if you do not know the first step, then it is hard to get to the second, and the third. Polynomials are hard, but if you just concentrate they become easy, as Weaver is telling Mattie to stop being such a donkey.
This was a great section of reading, as Mattie experiences several different experiences, and also receives a gift of a pen, and wonders of how amazing it will be if she gets her own dictionary. Still not unfolded all the way is the death of Grace Brown, but the author is definitely planning on making a bold entrance soon enough in the novel.
I had similar thoughts as you on this section. I find the costs of things today compared to back then to be incomprehensible. Nobody thinks anything of 60 cents today but that was a lot of money in their time. Life was much different then than today. I also agree with your thoughts about her not being able to get support with her college acceptance. If I recieved a full scholarship to a scholl, I know my parents would be unbelievably happy and proud of me. They would actually probably be mad at me if I didn't go to that college. I feel bad that Mattie can't get support from her family. I think this defintely shows how education wasn't important at that time which is the exact opposite from now.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything that you said. I, like you, have always had the full and complete support of my family and can't imagine what my life would be like without it. I too know that opportunities like the one Mattie has are very rarely not taken advantage of nowadays and am just as shocked as you are at the lack of support that Mattie is recieving from her family. Also, it has been continuously mentioned by the group, but the difference from Mattie's time period to now is astonishing. Sixty cents could be found in the seat cushions today but could buy food for an entire family back in 1906. This jump in worth is incredible to me, and I'm glad we have been exploring this change through our blogs.
ReplyDeleteI like how you connected with this section of the text. Its true, 60 cents certainly cannot get you much nowadays and I too found it intriguing that Mattie’s father made such a big deal of it. To him and the rest of the family, the 60 cents would have helped. I also found it interesting that Aunt Josie seemed furious that Mattie would leave the farm to go to college. What nerve! Being smart and getting a scholarship to college (sarcasm, duh). Just like your parents, mine would be elated to hear that I got a full ride. In Mattie’s case, her family needs all the hands they can get to work on the farm. This situation definitely makes you feel bad for Mattie. She’s worked so hard and, in my opinion, earned this opportunity. It’s quite upsetting that her own family may deny her it nonetheless. I also liked your reflection on polynomials. Good times in algebra 2 last year, good times.
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