I'm back with new reading stuff for you :))
Our teacher recently gave us the task to write down all our thoughts that come up to our mind about a special quote out of chapter 3. But before I write about the quote, I have to let you know what happened meanwhile. Otherwise you probably wouldn't be able to understand the connection between the quote and what you already know so:
You already know something about Sam's character, his family (history) and his first meetings with Alicia.
The third chapter starts with the sentences
"I dreamed my way through school for the next few weeks. I dreamed my way through life, really." (p.47, ll.1f)Sam seems to be on clound seven because he's so in love with Alicia.
Sam's mum doesn't like seeing her son spending so much time with his girlfriend. Because of that one evening she wants to go to the cinema with Sam, just to avoid that he's seeing Alicia again. The hours without Alicia are horror for him.
"(...) knowing that I wouldn't see her UNTIL THE END OF THE NEXT DAY, and that was more like (...) torture (...)." (p.50/51, ll.33-1)This night Sam's mum talks with Sam about his relationship with Alicia and asks whether Alicia can come for eating with them one night. Sam agrees and his mum answers:
"I'd like that. I wouldn't be so scared of her, then." (p.56, l.22)
The bold tiped sentence is the quote given by our teacher. Now we are asked to think about why Sam's mum is scared of Alicia. Here are my ideas:
- Sam's mum could have have bad prejudices against "rich people" like Alicia's family (make her feel scared)
- made experiences with bad relationships (wants to protect Sam; Alicia might only use Sam)
- she's scared of the unknown/ the future and therefore also Alicia
- she's scared of not being able to protect Sam if he's too much into the relationship with Alicia
- Alicia might want Sam to do things he doesn't want to (he won't realize it because he loves her so much) --> his mum is scared
- Alicia could take up all of Sam's time (his mum can't let him go/can't let him live his own life)
While writing this I thought about the situation Sam's mum is in and how I would react being her. I think Sam's mum exaggerats a bit. Of course it's a whole new situation for both of them and she doesn't know Alicia yet, but in my opinion there's no visible reason to be scared of her.
Telling him that she's kind of afraid of his girlfriend might makes Sam feel bad. I mean, every teenager wants their parents to like their girl- or boyfriend, doesn't he/she? Sam's mum should probably just talk to Sam about her feelings and her fears.
The next night Sam and Alicia are so happy being able to spend time together again, that they're being intimate. You know what I want to say? I'm sure you do.
The thing is: the way Sam describes the moment shows that they didn't really want it to happen. But it did happen anyway...
What comes up to my mind right now is that maybe this moment is the reason why their lives are going to be messed up. Like it says on the back of the book:
"(...) suddenly one moment changes their lives forever and presents him with new responsibilities (...)."Why couldn't a baby bring these new responsiblities? What do you think? Could that be? Let me know in the comment box!
Now just a few words to chapter 4:
Right after Sam and Alicia had this one night together, Sam talks about their relationship starting to get worse.
"I just woke up one morning and didn't feel the same way." (p.60, ll.3f)The quote
"And then two or three weeks later, we were bored with each other. I was bored, anyway."on page 60, line 17-19 is just one of many showing how the relationship between our lovecouple has changed.
Sam is aso joining Alicia's family for dinner one night. I can perfectly imagine the situation Sam describes at Alicia's home. Her parents try to talk with Sam about his future and other things, but you can feel that they don't really like him - believe me!
At the end of chapter 4 Sam's mum is meeting a man who she already met the night she was out with Sam. His name is Mark, but Sam always calls him
"(...) Mark, like a mark on your trousers (...)." (p.54, l.19)Maybe it's irrelevant what his name is, but for me it sounded really funny, that's why I wanted to let you know haha.
To be honest I'm kind of confused how everything changes so fast in this novel. At first Sam is so into Alicia and suddenly he's bored of her. Sam's mum gets rid of her boyfriend and now she gets to know a man.
I'm really really excited how it's going on with Sam and Alicia. I'm sure it's not their end because we're only in chapter 4 of 20, but I don't know what happens for sure.
I'm excited and I hope you too :)
Maike
PS. While I was reading chapter 3 I thought about showing you a picture of a couple like I imagined Sam and Alicia.
After reading chapter 4 my illusion about the lovecouple isn't really there anymore. I was really surprised and a bit shocked that Sam was writing about getting bored after only a few weeks. I know that love can go away sometimes or that there are couples splitting up after a short time, but the way Sam was talking about Alicia I would have never thought that their relationship would end this fast. Anyway, here's the picture:
Dear Maike,
AntwortenLöschenI enjoyed reading your entry. You analysed the line very thoroughly; one can really tell you like the story and enjoy putting your thoughts and feelings down. Impressive work!
Mind the following:
- "I mean, every teenager wants their parents to like their girl- or boyfriend, or?" - "Or" is a Germanism. Use a question tag: every teenager wants to ..., doesn't he/she?"
- "showing how the relationship between our lovecouple changed." - As you are talking about an ongoing event (as in: you have read the book only to a point where the relationship is still changing), use the present perfect: "...has changed".
- "they act like they're trying to have a baby" - a nice, typically subtle British expression for this is "they are being intimate"
- One theory why Sam's mum doesn't want her son to spend too much time with Alicia could be that she knows from her own experience of the things teenage couples might do when they meet in private (and no adults are around. How do you feel about that? Plausible? Too far-fetched? Happy to hear your thoughts.
Dear Mr Zillikens,
AntwortenLöschenthanks for commenting on my post and for making me aware of the few mistakes I made - I corrected them right away :)
I agree with your theory! I think it's very pausible that Sam's mum is worried about his son making the same "mistake" she did when she was his age. I mean, many people've got something which they regret and they try to avoid that other people (people they love) have to experience the same. Probably she just wants to protect his son in all possible ways.
I really enjoy reading this novel and I like putting my thoughts down. At first it's been a bit strange because I've never done something like this before, but now it's fun :)