Outside Reading #4

A major conflict that emerges as the story progresses is Fitz's love for Delia and Delia's unknown love for Fitz. Delia at the beginning only thinks of them as best friends, and Fitz knows that he loves her and he would do anything for her, which is obvious when he says, "She had always trusted me to fix what's wrong: a dead car battery, a flooded basement, a broken heart. This time, I am way out of my league, but I try to rescue her anyway"(61). He, like Eric, always wants to save Delia, even when he is afraid that he might not be able to. But Fitz has the disposition of not being Delia's fiance and that hurts Fitz as is seen when he says,"I hesitate a second before hauling her into my arms-touching Delia is something I am always careful about; it comes at such great cost to me"(61). Fitz can't have Delia, but Fitz is probably the one who knows her the best. The reader begins to think that Fitz is the one for Delia and not Eric. When Eric and Delia are fighting, Delia goes to Fitz's house and Fitz's description of the event is as follows, "She falls asleep this time holding my hand, Eric's diamond ring cutting into my palm like the wounds of Passion from the Crucifixtion. I would do that for her, I realize. Die. Be reborn"(393). This just once again illustrates the love and willingness of Fitz to do anything for his beloved Delia.

Eric constantly has to battle his alcholism and his rocky relationship with Delia that is even more on edge because of her father's crime. Delia fears Eric drinking again, while Eric fears losing Delia. These exact fears can be seen in an a conversation between Delia and Eric," 'You won't start drinking again, Eric.'
'I wasn't talking about alcoholism,' he says,'I was talking about losing you'"(285). The reader begins to get the sense that these two just cannot make this relationship work; that they are simply too different for each other. Eric tries to be someone that he is not for Delia and that leads to fighting and eventually leads back to Eric drinking again. He has a fight with Delia about how isn't allowed to tell her the details of her father's case because he is his lawyer and sharing details would be against the law. Delia is very uspet and Eric heads off to, "I head to the corner of whiskey's. The cashier puts the Maker's Mark into a brown bag for me and hands me back my change. When i leave the store I twist off the cap of the whiskey bottle. I lift the bottle to my lips and tilt back my head and savor that first, blessed, anesthetic mouthful"(261). Eric cannot be the person Delia wants him to be, and that takes a toll on their relationship and drives Eric back to his nasty habit of drinking.

Outside Reading #3

A major conflict in Vanishing Acts by Jodi Piccoult is obviously the fact that Delia's father Andrew kidnapped her and is now on trial for his acts. The conflicts that result because of this event are far more about what the book is getting at. For example, because Delia has never had a mother and her father told her she was dead, Delia's first curiousity is "Do I have a mother?", which as it turns out she does. For Delia it is hard to confront the mother she was supposed to have because for all these years Delia has been creating the perfect mother in her head, and no real person could stand up to that delusion. Seeing her mother would also be the proof that her beloved father had lied to her for her entire life. You can see Delia's nervousness about meeting her mother that she just found out she had when Delia says, "When your mother is made out of dreams, anything real is bound to dissapoint you"(Piccoult 140). And as it turns out when Delia finally does meet her mother, Elise, she is dissapointed. She goes on to say, "She wasn't who I wanted her to be"(143). Delia realizes that sometimes in life the things you yearn for the most can just never live up to your expectations. It wasn't that Elise was a bum or a drunk, or even cold and unwelcoming....she was just normal. She wasn't the superhuman perfect mom that Delia was looking for, the person that Delia's dad had always been to her.

Another major conflict that Delia wrestles with is her feelings towards her father. He has always been one of the most major people in Delia's life, and now all of a sudden he has been ripped away. She can't explain this to her daughter Sophie. She can't tell Sophie that her grandfather has been taken away on kidnapping charges, it is just too hard for Delia. At one point during the trial Sophie asks, "Did he break a window?"(144) and Delia responds in her thoughts," No,I think. Just my heart"(144). You can see that Delia is torn between her love for her father and the lies that he told her. She has to ask herself the question are all those years of him being the best father imaginable erased because of one wrong thing that he has done? She also has to find it in herself to forgive him, so that maybe one day they can put this event behind them.

Eric has the challenge of trying to change who he is to live up to Delia's expectations of him. This becomes obvious when he says, "It's funny. I started drinking heavily because I wanted to see that expression in Delia's eyes when she looked only at me, and it's the same reason I quit drinking. She isn't just the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, she's the reason I have one"(29). He wants to be the person that Delia can depend on, who his daughter can depend on. He wants Delia to look up at him as the man who can do anything, but on the inside he knows that he can't do anything. He battles his drinking daily and has a hard time controlling himself. He even agrees to be the attorney for Delia's father even though he is completely unsure of himself and not particularly trained in this sort of law, all because he knows it will mean the world to Delia. His thought process is, "I am completely unequipped to be Andrew's attorney; I don't have the experience or the wits or the confidence. But I think of Delia, begging; believing that I am someone who was once a failure might still be a candidate for a hero"(48). Eric wants to prove that he can be the man Delia wants and needs him to be, no matter what the cost.

Outside Reading #2

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Piccoult relates in many ways to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. First of all, Delia, just like Oskar loses her father. The two lose them in different ways, however. Oskar's father died in a terrorist attack, while Delia's father was discovered to be a wanted fugitive for kidnapping his own daughter and he was put in jail. Delia feels like she has lost her father and that she no longer knows him like she thought she did. You can see this when she says exactly that while talking to her best friend Fitz, "And I thought I knew my father...but it turns out that was the biggest lie of all"(Piccoult 60). Delia, just like Oskar, is now not sure who her father was. She just wants things to be back the way that they were. She even says to Fitz, " I wish I had never found out"(60). She loved her old life and she loved her dad and she doesn't want to question her love or move on with her life. Oskar is similar in that sense because he couldn't just simply move on from his father's death, he had to complete his own journey to heal, as Delia will have to as well.

Not only had Delia lost her father she feels like she has lost herself. Oskar feels similarly because he, just like Delia, had always defined himself in terms of his Dad. Now that they have lost their dads they are confused and lost about who they are. This becomes apparent when Delia says, "I have a mother, but I have no idea who I am"(60). Part of this is also because she was kidnapped and has no memory or knowledge of her old life, but I also believe that part of it is because she always relied so much on her father to help her through and see who she really is, just like Oskar's dad did for him. And both Oskar and Delia are still so painfully in love with their fathers, and they really don't want to question or forget that. Delia even says when talking about her mental idea of a mother says, "Someone who would give up her life if it meant I couldn't be apart of it. Someone my father had always been"(76). Her father had always been one of the most important things in her life, and now he has been ripped away and Delia has to learn to deal with that, just as Oskar had to learn to deal with the pain of his father's death.

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Outside Reading Post 1: Characters

The most prominent main character in the novel, Vanshing Acts by Jodi Picoult, would have to be Delia Hopkins. Delia is a very determined, passionate woman, who is extremely dedicated to anything she decides to do. She is a search and rescue person, so along with her dog Greta, she goes out to find the missing people of her city. Delia is motivated to find people because on the inside she herself is the one that feels lost. Finding people is a way for Delia to feel like she is finding her way through the mess of her life. She thinks that if she can find people, then there shouldn't be any reason that she cannot find herself. She is a dedicated mother to her beloved Sophie, who should would do anything for. Delia's greatest fear is losing Sophie. You can see this already in the novel when Delia says, "I can't imagine anything more terrifying than losing Sophie" (Picoult 7). She loves Sophie with all her heart and it is hard for Delia to ever let Sophie out of ther sight because Delia is surrounded by so much loss every day. Just as Delia has begun to settle into her life, she finds out that it was all a lie. Her father took her away when she was very young, and the life that Delia was supposed to lead, was wiped away. Now Delia is thrown back into a pit of self-doubt and curiousity, and her sense of loss begins to make more sense. She is torn between the love she has for her father, and the terrible thing that he did.

Another main character in the novel is Delia's father Andrew. Andrew appears to be the perfect father on the outside. He has always been there for Delia and has always been a positive force in the community. He is on the town council, and single-handedly created the town's senior center. He took Delia away from her life when she was very young, and the specifics are not yet quite clear. However, it is obvious that he is not sorry about taking Delia because when he says, " In my shoes how do you know that you wouldn't have done the same thing?" (53). He's not showing remorse for what he has done and apparently believes that the reason he took his daughter was legitamite. He fights for what he wants and he fought for the best life that he thought he could give to his daughter. He strived to be the perfect father and put the past behind him, but the past caught up with him, as it catches up with us all. He seems resigned to go to jail, which also suggest that his character knows that what he did was wrong, but that doesn't mean he's sorry. He knew he had been living a lie and was pleased to be rid of it in jail. We can see this when he says,"The moment I gave up my clothes for a baggy orange jumpsuit I also peeled off the skin of the person I've pretended to be," (52). However he has the repurcussions of what will happen to Delia and the emotions she must deal with if he goes to jail, which I believe will become a major player in whether he pleads guilty or not guilty.

Another main character in the novel is Eric, Delia's fiance. He has an addictive personality. He and Delia have had a long and tumultuous relationship, but they love each other through and through. However, Eric has a self-control problem. He can't stop drinking. He has tried to stop for Delia and their daughter Sophie, but somehow he always finds his way back to the bottle. In front of Delia he puts on a strong front, to her he is her knight in shining armor. But on the inside he is very unsure of himself, and questions most of his movements. He is also a hopeless romantic in a sense. He gave everything up for Delia. He could have been a high powered, high paid lawyer, but instead he chose his love for Delia. Eric changed himself for Delia, which can be seen when he says, "It took me some time, but eventually I realized why Delia said no to my proposal. I had asked her to spend the wrong life with me, but at any moment, a person might start over from scratch. Just like Delia is also very dedicated and motivated when he puts his mind to it.

Why Do We Write Memoirs?

I think people write memoirs because it is a way for them to put a little piece of themselves out into the world. They can share who they are, and how they felt, with everyone. There is alot of power in that. The author is able to make people feel like they know that author, and that they can relate to him/her. It can also be a release. An angry memoir probably meant that at the time, that person was housing alot of anger. But instead of taking it out in a "typical" way, they chose to write about how they felt about it, and how they experienced the event. They make us feel their anger, which as a reader, as a huge effect. Memoirs can also be about life experiences and lessons. Black Boy, for example, was all about the choices that Richard Wright made, and the lessons he learned from each of his choices. We as the reader can see his struggles with poverty, peers, and authority. He chooses to leave home, and as a result is free from a stifling life. That part of the memoir teaches the reader that breaking away can free our minds. We also get to see Richard looking back on the events of his life, showing how much he has grown up. When you write a memoir, it can be difficult, because you really are putting a little bit of your life out in the world for everyone to see. But in a way most people deep down want their lives to be remembered and their stories to be heard. A memoir is a way for your own story to be heard, loud and clear.

Richard's "Hunger"

Richard "hungers" for a better life. He may be physically hungry most of the time, because his family cannot afford that much food, but Richard is also mentally hungry. He wants to learn and to think for himself. He has dreams to become a writer, an unheard of dream in the black south. His family doesn't understand his hunger, especially not his grandmother. She wants him to be a sensible, religious, boy who gets a boring job that brings in decent money. But Richard hungers for more. He hungers for more than his life has offered him thus far, he pushes the limits of everyone around him. He works hard in school so that he can be the best he can be. He works strenous and time-consuming jobs, just so he can have enough money to eat himself. Richard talks about leaving quite often and I think that is because his family and the south are trying to hold him back from his big, bold dreams. The positive effects of "hunger" are that they cause Richard to dream big and work so very hard. He is not fine with settling with the life that has been set before him. However, on the negative side "hunger" brings enemies. People do not believe in Richard's dreams, isolating him. If any whites ever found out they might be inclined to kill him, or at least try to stop him. He will never be a true member of his peer group because while most of them are willing to settle, Richard voices his want for more beyond the south. This must make Richard and other black dreamers feel very, very alone.