Seize the Day (pages 57-114)

Summary:

After Tommy and his father end their confrontation, he runs into Dr. Tamkin and a flashback takes place to the day when Tommy gave his money to Dr. Tamkin. He was using his last thousand dollars to use Dr. Tamkin as his attorney against his wife. When Tommy begins to sit down and listen to Tamkin’s stories throughout their discussion he comes to conclusion that he is a liar. Although he would like to talk about the money gave him, he becomes distracted as Tamkin brings up other topics. Tamkin explains to Tommy that the issue between him and his father is the difference in age.  Tamkin hands Tommy a poem he wrote about himself and this leads him to start thinking about money and his responsibilities. When Tommy and Tamkin are at the stock-market, Tommy begins to feel closer with Tamkin as he realizes that he talks about important topics. He wonders what his life is outside of work. Due to the topics he discusses, Tommy is now comfortable around him. While they were looking at the commodities they invested in, Tommy began to worry because Lard had went down but Tamkin informed him that he invested in Rye as well. This made him feel more at ease. The Rye starts to rise and Tommy wants to leave while they have the chance but Tamkin wants to stay. Suddenly, Tommy goes into a thought about when he was sick and Margaret took care of him. He starts to wonder is he being robbed by Tamkin or is he trying to keep his mind off of selling the commodities.  They leave the market for lunch but Tommy is in a rush to get back as soon as possible. He doesn’t want anything to happen to his investment. Meanwhile, Tamkin tells Tommy stories and he begins to think to himself that Tamkin is lying. Tommy thinks of Olive but realizes he cannot marry her because of Margaret. Tamkin tell him that Margaret has drowned herself but Tommy doesn’t believe him. Tommy insist that they return to the stock market and they get back Mr. Rappaport, a blind elderly man at the market, asks him to come with him and Tamkin instructs Tommy to do so. Tommy was skeptical about him but all he did was tell him stories. When he returns, Tamkin is nowhere to be found but he finds out that Tamkin is suppose to be going on a trip to Maine and this angers him. He told Tommy that his money was tied up in investments. Tommy goes to the hotel for Tamkin but when he gets to his room, he isn’t there. He looks for his father and finds him in the massage room. He asks for his help once again but his father refuses as they get into a heated argument. Tommy explains to his father that he cannot breathe but he doesn’t understand and asks him to leave. He goes off to search for his father once more to be hit with a message from his wife concerning his kids. The two get into an argument and Tommy goes to look for Tamkin but ends up at the funeral of a dead stranger. He begins to cry uncontrollably and everyone is wondering who he is. He thought he saw Tamkin but he was moved by a crowd to the funeral.

Quote:

"I was the man beneath; Tamkin was on my back, and I thought I was on his." (Bellow, 102)

Reflection:

I wonder who the stranger could have been to make Tommy cry the way he did. I have a strong feeling that it could have been his wife or children although it was said in the book that it was a stranger. Why would a stranger have such an effect on him? I feel as though he was used by Dr. Tamkin but I'm not exactly sure for what. I don't believe that his relationship with his father with ever be the way it should but he's going to need him one day. The ending really confused me and I expected for it to end a different way.

Seize the Day (pages. 1-57)

Summary:

At the beginning of the book, you are introduced to a man by the name of Tommy Wilhelm who explains his dreams of becoming an actor. Although he had played the role of an extra in the past, he knew what acting was and what it should look like. Additionally, he tells the reader that he and his father live in the same hotel and everyday they greet one another in the elevator but today his father was already downstairs at breakfast. The hotel in which he and his father live in is called Hotel Gloriana. He feels out of place due to the fact that he’s in his mid-forty’s while he lives around men that his father’s age. He was used to a life full of excitement and living at a hotel with men past the age of retirement isn’t his idea of excitement. We also find out that Tommy’s real name isn’t Tommy, it was Wilhelm Adler but he changed it when he moved to California and he lost his job as a sales associate with the Rojax Association so he is currently working for a man by the name of Dr. Tamkin. Tommy has left his wife and his father doesn’t approve. He feels that Tommy should move back in with his wife and children. When Tommy asks his father about his mother’s death he becomes upset at the fact that he father isn’t able to give him a specific date as to when his mother died. You learn that Tommy takes pills but his father thinks that he takes them too much. While they are at breakfast, Tommy gorges himself with food and his father can no longer stand to look at him. They go into a conversation about how he left his wife with everything and when he asked her for their dog because they were so close with one another, she refused to give it to him. He told his father how she hates him and he feels as if he’s being strangled by her and begins to choke himself. She refused to divorce him and he was now falling in love for another woman. Tommy his dying for help from his father but he lets him know that he will guide him like a child. He tells him that he doesn’t understand how any man would take treatment like this from a woman and to just keep every single dime of his money.

Quotation:

“He thought, The money! When I had it, I flowed money. They bled it away from me, I hemorrhaged money. But now it’s almost all gone, and where am I supposed to turn for more?” (Bellow, 6)

Reflection:

Tommy’s father seems as if he’s not really proud to have him as his son. He has a really negative attitude towards him but I feel that he could be because he’s sick of living with him because Tommy should be out on his own. He doesn’t understand that Tommy is no longer happy with his marriage so I don’t really feel as though his advice was helpful because it isn’t as easy as he was making it seem. Additionally, he didn’t have much sympathy when talking about his Tommy’s mother. I notice that the author talks about Tommy using his ordinal name similar to how his father calls him “Wilky” for short. The author is constantly using detail and entering Tommy’s thoughts to tell the story.

The Sixth Wife (pages 240-300)

Summary:

This was the last chapter in the book and it began with Cathy and Thomas arguing about letting Elizabeth talk to Cathy's son, Harry. Apparently they'd been sending love letters to one another and Cathy wasn't pleased about this seeing that she knew how Elizabeth was. She did not see her as the right one for her son and she wasn't going to let it happen. Thomas on the other hand insisted to let them both go forward with it and when Cathy disagreed, he'd threatened to tell everyone what she had done with him. She became hesitant when he mentioned that because she knew that it was cause a lot of tension and she would lose her best friend. She couldn't let it happen so she told him that she would risk her reputation to protect her son. With all of the drama occurring, Kate asked Elizabeth to leave her house for some time and explained to her that she needed some time to herself. Elizabeth didn't want to go because this had been the first time in her life where she had actually felt like she had a mother. Everywhere else that she went, she felt as if she was just staying with that person but Kate had been the first to accept her and treat her as a mother as a mother is expected to treat their daughter. Kate felt where she was coming from but still she insisted that go for some time. Elizabeth left but she and Kate wrote to one another and she would let her know how things were going. Kate had the baby a week earlier than everyone expected and she became really sick with a fever. While going through labor no one wasn't able to find Thomas and everyone was beginning to find out that he interested in Elizabeth. Eventually, Kate found out and she couldn't believe it because she trusted both of them. It became a very stressful for her on top of trying to deliver the child. She and Thomas talked before she died and he had apologized but Cathy never did get the chance to tell her what happened. This was her reasoning for her hatred towards Thomas at the beginning of the story because she felt as though he was the blame for what happened between them and he caused Kate's death. Kate did believe that if anything were to happen to her Thomas would be able to support the children as a father figure. Cathy ended up caring for the child along side with Thomas although she didn't want to.

Quote:

"My instinct, too, was to check back with Kate after my absence. As if to say hello. Except that her bedside was for goodbyes now, wasn't it. But even if that was what I wanted, even if there was anything to say, I was too late." (Dunn, 286)

Reflection:

I'm not sure if you could consider this story to be considered a tragedy because Kate died but it seems that it could be. I did not enjoy the ending because this all occurred while she was pregnant as I said previously. It wasn’t fair that she died. I'm glad that she was able to give birth to the child but it was unfortunate that she could not be there as a mother for it. I believe that Kate was the tragic hero because she held the tragic flaw of being naive and not analyzing what was going on around her although she shouldn't have had to do so. These were supposed to be people that she trusts. I feel bad that Cathy wasn't able to tell Kate what happened between her and Thomas but it's a lesson learned and she now has to live with it for the rest of her life. I wonder if whenever she looks at the child will she think of mistake.

The Sixth Wife (pages. 180-240)

Summary:

Cathy had returned back to Sudeley to visit Kate. While she was talking to Kate, she was explaining to her how Thomas has his downfalls but no matter what she believes that he would never be unfaithful to her. It made her happy to say this because she didn't feel like not a lot of wives could say it. When she mentioned this Cathy's heart dropped because of how she betrayed her and she most likely feels the same way how she feels for Thomas for Cathy as well. Ms. Ashley told Kate how she'd been noticing how close Elizabeth and Thomas had been with one another but she didn't really think anything of it. She just looked at it like that's how he is with everyone, that's just the type of person he is. She did mention how this could cause him to get in trouble because Elizabeth is royal and he shouldn't barge into her bedroom for "tickling time". Cathy didn't really understand and Kate explained that he reaches underneath her covers and tickles her. Kate looked at it as them doing it in the sense of a father and daughter relationship. Cathy thought to herself that he couldn't get any dumber and he was making it extremely obvious in a way. When Cathy tried to assure Kate that he should try to be more careful and she didn't agree. Kate said she wasn't going to mention it to him because that would only cause him to do it more and informed Cathy that he meant no harm by it. Kate had her son and she named him Harry. Surprisingly, Cathy is now pregnant but I'm not sure by whom. Elizabeth is protestant because that's how she was raised by her mother Ann before she moved in with Kate but weirdly she has similar beliefs so it just makes what Elizabeth's believe stronger.

Quote:

"Thomas is true, isn't he. True to himself. He gets scrapes, yes, which doesn't make him the easiest of husbands, but I've never had cause to his devotion to me, and how many wives can say that?" (Dunn, 180)

Reflection:

Seeing that majority of the events going on happen in reality, I think of some situations that I've seen similar to this. When I hear what Kate says I look at it as a cry for help because it's not fair that everyone's betraying her. On top of that she's pregnant and all of this going on and I feel like that just makes it worse. Additionally, I wish she wouldn't be so naive and she would open her eyes in regards to the situation going on with Elizabeth and Thomas. It seems more than them trying to form a father daughter relationship.

The Sixth Wife (pages. 120-180)

Summary:

The section begins by Cathy explaining how Kate's bleeding stopped although it continued for a few more days but she decided to stay for more time than she was suppose to just in case it started again. During that time she and some others went to re-do a church. She explained how she didn't mind getting dirty and she would happily strip the church. While she was there, she thought back to when she was a little girl and how she would talk to God and Jesus. She referred to them as her brothers and when she wasn't talking to them she would be talking to her husband Charles as she got older. She looked at Jesus as her hero because that was the person she was able to go to when she needed someone to talk to. She lived a lonely childhood but she was never lonely when she could speak with them. Jesus would understand her when she needed him to and sometimes he would involve humor. When she would go out at night with Elizabeth, Thomas, and sometimes Kate, they would have to do most of the dancing because Kate wasn't well. They would spend most of the night dancing with him. She and Elizabeth would switch off but it was hard for her to keep up with Elizabeth because she was younger. Some nights when she wished she could stay in by the fire place like Elizabeth, she would have to go out at night and freeze. She noticed how Thomas forced Elizabeth to sit down on his lap but she didn't resist. He would grip her around her waist and listened to who was on the stage. Kate didn't notice but Ms. Ashley noticed and she gazed but didn't say anything. Cathy didn't understand why he would be doing this after all the rumors going around that he had interest in Elizabeth because it didn't make it look right especially with Kate sitting in front of them. One day Kate was talking with Cathy and Thomas joined them but they all decided to go back inside and Thomas kissed Cathy on the back of her neck. She couldn't believe that he'd done that but found herself kissing him later that day in the dark. This caused her to cut her trip with Kate short because she couldn't believe that she actually done it and she didn't even want to think how it would affect their relationship as best friends.

Quote:

"I'll rephrase: it's not beauty that I have anything against, but the covering up of the truth." (Dunn, 120)

Reflection:

When I read this quote, it made me think of a female automatically and the girls that surround me because they try anything to cover up their looks if they don't feel beautiful. In regards to what happened in the story, I’m in complete shock because it doesn't make sense that Cathy would be so concerned with whether he's cheating on his wife with Elizabeth but she would kiss him? I'm not sure what to think and I'm both curious and anxious to find out what's going to happen.

The Sixth Wife (pages 60-120)

Summary:

During this section of the book, Cathy informs the reader a bit about her childhood. She explains how her mother wasn't around much and she describes her father as hopeless in terms of financial income as well. So when he father died, she was sold. Back at this time when a girl didn't have any parents, she was sold. A man is paid to have a girl given to him along with her inheritance and as she gets older, he makes an effort to find someone that would place the best bet to marry her. This was how she became introduced to woman that had taken care of her as a child, Mary Rose. Princess Elizabeth has now moved in with Thomas and Kate. Cathy wasn't too sure about how that would work out seeing how she had suspicions about whether Thomas may have had feelings for her but she didn't want to mention this to Kate. Kate thought of Elizabeth as her daughter almost and that she was such a smart and mature girl for her age. She felt bad that such a sweet girl had to live around an evil half sister, Mary who was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII. Kate became pregnant and Cathy didn't feel like Elizabeth should have known about it although Thomas decided that he would go ahead and do it anyways. He explained that she was now a part of the family and there wasn't anything wrong with it and he felt the urge to share the news with someone. It was making Cathy upset that everyone was becoming a "family" because it used to be just her and Kate. It then became her, Kate, and Thomas then her, Kate, and the baby and now she was surrounded by everyone else and didn't fancy the idea. She explained to him that she wasn't a part of the family. She felt like Thomas would flirt with Elizabeth and she would do the same as well. She would smile at him a lot and play around with him in a way that they shouldn't. They didn't want to let off any signals but the only one that noticed was Cathy and she was surprised that everyone around was letting it happen. One night, Kate began bleeding and it worried everyone whether she may be keeping the baby or not because it's happened to other before and everything turned out okay. Thomas felt that he wasn't ready to be married because he was trying too hard and he didn't feel that it was enough. Cathy tried her best to encourage him that he was doing fine or that it could be that he was doing too much. This made her think about her husband, Charles that died a few years back and she began comparing him to Thomas where he was experienced with marriage.

Quote:

"Blood. No mistaking blood, it's not like pain, it's so clear a signifier and yet there's no telling what it signifies. Both triumphant and sly, is blood." (Dunn, 113)

Reflection:

The quote above has me confused which would be my reasoning for choosing it. What does the author means by it's no mistaking blood? On the other hand, it made sense to me because I can signify that I'm bleeding because I hurt myself but there are times where I don't know why I'm bleeding. I hope that everything with Kate's pregnancy goes well and I'm wondering what could be wrong that she's bleeding because it doesn't seem normal to be bleeding before you give birth and to have such pains. I'm still curious on Thomas's reasoning for marrying Kate as well and is there anything going on between him and Elizabeth. Could it be possible that she may have feelings for him?

The Sixth Wife (pages 1-60)

Summary:

The book is narrated by Kate's best friend Cathy. The story begins by her explaining how Kate is now dead and she will not be attending her funeral. Katherine Parr was the wife of Henry VIII. She was one out of six of his wives who survived before being killed like the others. Cathy explains how she set up her funeral but she doesn't want to attend due to the pain she feels. Everything at Kate's funeral she took part of but she has decided that she's going to stay home to watch the new born child that Katherine had before her death. She believed that Thomas, Kate's former husband was the cause of her death. It seems as if she has a strong hate towards him because she explains how she knows that he won't be at the funeral and that she doesn't want to see his face. Also, it would be clear that if she blames her best friend’s death on him she would develop a hate towards him. She thought that Katherine should have stayed a widow and if she did, she wouldn't had any problems to deal with when she made the decision to marry Thomas. She then goes into how Kate met Thomas and when she found out about their marriage. It had been a month after Henry died when Kate told Cathy and of course she was shocked. She didn't understand how she could possibly have made such a huge decision in such a short period of time. She figured that they were close which played another part in the shock because Kate didn't tell anyone until after it was done and she wasn't giving much detail about how it all happened. Cathy became skeptical about Thomas because she wondered what was it that he could have possible seen in Katherine to make him want to marry her all of sudden. I say all of sudden because Cathy mentioned how before he became a married man, he had his eye on Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn who was barely a teenager at the time. Cathy described Thomas and Kate as fairly close friends so she expected that she would be the last one Thomas would decide to marry. She wasn't sure whether he wanted to be with Katherine because she was rich or did he truly have feelings for her. Ed Seymour, Thomas's brother found this funny as well.  Kate set up arrangements for Cathy and Thomas to meet. It had been some time since Cathy had last seen him and he was now forty but she said there wasn't much that changed about him. She felt that it was about time she'd see him now that he was married to her best friend.

Quote:

"With everyone at the chapel, the house was deserted and I'd never been so alone. It might have been that everyone had died. Everyone in the world, even, so that I could have walked from the house and kept walking but never found anyone again. Just kept walking until I, too, died. From starvation or exhaustion or perhaps sheer loneliness- can you die from loneness?"

Reflection:

When I'm reading, I usually look from passages that stand out to me besides the plot of the story. As a human, there have been times where I've felt lonely although it's not as much as Cathy seems to be feeling. When I came across this quote, it made me think could it possible that I could ever feel this way myself because I haven't been through an experience like this? Additionally, I understand Cathy's point of view on the decision Kate made because it doesn't seem like it was the right move to make after only a month of being a widow. It makes me think whether or not there was much thought put behind her decision or could it be that Kathy's just over analyzing the entire situation?

Push (pages 100-150)

Summary:

At the beginning of the book, Precious wasn't able to read or write. She would write in her journal and spell words how she thought they sound. Ms. Rain would write underneath the proper way to spell it and reply. Each night she would write in journal and Ms. Rain would respond. When you move towards the end, she's able to write in full sentences although some words are mispelled and she is close to getting her G.E.D and hopefully going off to college. She went to get tested for HIV and found out that she tested positive. She told everyone at the program and they were supportive. Precious and her mother went to meet with the social worker because Precious's mother says she wants her to come home. The social worker askes her to explain the abuse and when it started to begin. She explains how Precious was fast as in acting grown for her age. It began from the time she was just a toddler. Her mother said she despises her because that was her father but that was her man. He wasn't suppose to be doing that to her and she didn't want him to hurt her. Precious just moved on and didn't pay attention to what her mother had to say. She made the decision to do what was best for her and her children. She re-took the TABE test again and scored a 7.8 where before she could barely understand what was being said before. This was a test she had to take to be accepted into the program. Before her score was a 2.0 and 2.8.

Quote:

"He pulling on my earring, want me to stop daydreaming and read him a story before nap time. I do."

Reflection:

I'm happy that she is now able to read to her children and for herself because she deserved it. I wonder what's her mother going to do now that Precious isn't going to be staying with her? It's time for her to learn how to do things on her own and gain some responsibility as a woman.

Push (pages 50-100)

Summary:

When Precious arrived back at school, she was confident that she knew the alphabet. She had no problem going up in front of the class reciting it. School has been going really good for her. She loves her teacher and  she's learning how to read and write. Things haven't been so great with her mother. A social worker comes to her house to see how everything is going because her mother told the social worker that she takes care of Precious's first born and her. What the social worker didn't know was that Mongo, Precious's first born, stays with her grandmother. If the social worker found out, Precious and Mongo would be taken off of her welfare. She had her second child, Abdul, but doesn't have anywhere to go. She was living with her mother but ever since she slipped up and told the social working about Mongo living with her grandmother, her mother wants to kill her. She returned back to the hostpital hopeful that she could get help from someone but they just sent her to a shelter. When she arrives at the shelter, her only blanket for Abdul is taken from her by a crack addict and when she falls asleep, the bags she had are no longer there and she is missing one of her shoe laces. She had to get out of there. She went to Ms. Rain and was able to get put into half way house where she could be safe. Her mom stopped by and informed her that her dad was dead and he had the AIDS virus. This made Precious worry because this meant that her or Abdul could have it too. Her mother tried convincing her to come back home but she refused.

Quotation:

"I might say some bad things I get mad or somebody mess with me or somethin', but I try to show respect for peoples."

Reflection:

I wouldn't expect someone that has been treated so ill her entire life to make an effort to have respect for others. I commend her for that because I don't believe I could do it. Not only has my parents treated her as if she was nothing but others that surround her as well. It shows that on the inside she is a good person and makes an effort to overcome the triumphs she has faced.

Push (pages 1-50)

Summary:

The story begins by Precious, the main character, explaining how she constantly got kept back in school and how she is pregnant with her second child. She then moves into what it’s like for her while she’s in her math class with Mr. Wicher. How she sits in the back of the room and usually doesn’t speak but yells at anyone who interrupts the class. She was sitting in class like any other day until Mrs. Lichenstein pulls her into her office. She asks Precious if she is pregnant with her second child and how old is she. When she finds out that Precious is sixteen with her second child she tells her that she needs to have a conference with her mother. Precious makes up an excuse that her mother is busy and Mrs. Lichenstein tells her that it leaves her no excuse but to suspend her. This outrages Precious and she jumps over the desk to fight her principal while she screams out security but she just leaves. Later on that night she goes home and is yelled at fiercely by her mom while she makes her dinner and is forced to eat it with her. Mrs. Lichenstein stops by and apologizes for what she had to do but tells Precious about an alternative school by the name of Each One Teach One. This make Precious’s mother go insane that a white woman is ringing her bell and that Precious needs to get on welfare and quit trying to get an education. The next day Precious goes and takes the test to get her G.E.D but before she does that she needs to work on her reading and writing because she scored low on the test. On her first day of school she meets her new teacher by the name of Ms. Rain along with five other girls. They go around and introduce who they are and they are there. This is hard for Precious because this was her first time ever sitting at the front of the classroom and the girls there are nice for her. They start by saying and writing out the alphabet. Ms. Rain tells them they will need to write in their notebooks everyday and she will be expecting them to recite the alphabet the next time they meet.

Quote:

“The longest journey begins with a single step.”

Reflection:

It’s fairly hard for me to comprehend why should anyone have to this they way? Why does her mother like she’s someone that has done something so cruel to her? How does she still move on with her life after it all? The questions are endless but with quotes like the one above, it helps to carry one. I don’t know what to say but I’m just left with questions because it doesn’t seem real that any of this really happens.