Post by Ser on Jun 10, 2012 20:06:24 GMT -5
In the novel Joy School by Elizabeth Berg, the main character Katie is a quiet independant girl with a small family and few friends. Throughout the book Joy School, Katie goes through a number of losses, starting with the death of her mother, leading to the figurative loss of her sister Diane, which causes the slow loss of her father, and ending with the heartbreaking loss of Jimmy. All of which Katie is stuck dealing with alone.
Throughout the book, Katie thinks about how things could have been different had her mother still been with her. "Before I go to sleep I think about making the pies and how it would have been different if my mother were here." Here Katie is desperately trying to visualize herself with both her mother and her elder sister Diane, having a good time baking the pies together. Whenever Katie is with Diane or her friend Cynthia's mother, she had a thought about her own mom, and comparing them, because other than Diane, who lives in Mexico, her father is the only family she has left.
That brings up the next loss, Diane. Though the book doesn't really say, Diane moved out of her fathers house and moved to Mexico to live with Dickie, her boyfriend. Their father really does not like Dickie, and when they come down for a visit he is quite hostile. "I wish I could tell him to go to my room, but that would be taking sides, and my father would just get madder." Because of Diane and Dickies love and their upcoming child, Katie is not only losing Diane figuratively, but she is also losing her father as he falls into slow insainity. Both Diane and Katies father are pushing eachother away, causing Katie to lose them both.
With all these losses happening around her, Katie develops a crush on the local car repairman, Jimmy. She meets him because of a simple ice skating accedent: She fell through the ice, and was freezing and needed to go to the closest place she could. The repair shop. As soon as things had calmed down she knew she really liked him. After that she made is a goal to visit him as much as possible. Katie, a twelve year old turning thirteen, had thought she had fallen in love with Jimmy, a twenty-three year old. Over time she learns that Jimmy is married but unhappy, so she strives to be the `better woman` and tried to make him happy again. She tried her best, but soon Jimmy has to leave. His wife wants to move, so he does. So in a flash Jimmy is gone, and Katie has never felt more alone.
This book is packed with so much loss for Katie. So much heartach. She endures is well, and by the end of the book, is seems she can move on from it all. But it will never fix all she has lossed and all the experiance this little thirteen year old will forever be scared with. Joy School is a book filled with sadness and no real happy ending. It is filled wish sadness and hurting but is still happy in its own way. By the end of it, Katie is still alone, but she is stronger. That is what matters.
Throughout the book, Katie thinks about how things could have been different had her mother still been with her. "Before I go to sleep I think about making the pies and how it would have been different if my mother were here." Here Katie is desperately trying to visualize herself with both her mother and her elder sister Diane, having a good time baking the pies together. Whenever Katie is with Diane or her friend Cynthia's mother, she had a thought about her own mom, and comparing them, because other than Diane, who lives in Mexico, her father is the only family she has left.
That brings up the next loss, Diane. Though the book doesn't really say, Diane moved out of her fathers house and moved to Mexico to live with Dickie, her boyfriend. Their father really does not like Dickie, and when they come down for a visit he is quite hostile. "I wish I could tell him to go to my room, but that would be taking sides, and my father would just get madder." Because of Diane and Dickies love and their upcoming child, Katie is not only losing Diane figuratively, but she is also losing her father as he falls into slow insainity. Both Diane and Katies father are pushing eachother away, causing Katie to lose them both.
With all these losses happening around her, Katie develops a crush on the local car repairman, Jimmy. She meets him because of a simple ice skating accedent: She fell through the ice, and was freezing and needed to go to the closest place she could. The repair shop. As soon as things had calmed down she knew she really liked him. After that she made is a goal to visit him as much as possible. Katie, a twelve year old turning thirteen, had thought she had fallen in love with Jimmy, a twenty-three year old. Over time she learns that Jimmy is married but unhappy, so she strives to be the `better woman` and tried to make him happy again. She tried her best, but soon Jimmy has to leave. His wife wants to move, so he does. So in a flash Jimmy is gone, and Katie has never felt more alone.
This book is packed with so much loss for Katie. So much heartach. She endures is well, and by the end of the book, is seems she can move on from it all. But it will never fix all she has lossed and all the experiance this little thirteen year old will forever be scared with. Joy School is a book filled with sadness and no real happy ending. It is filled wish sadness and hurting but is still happy in its own way. By the end of it, Katie is still alone, but she is stronger. That is what matters.