I have one word to describe Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison WOW!!! What a story!!! I have read most of the story and will try my best not to ruin the future chapters for you.
I see the "White Trashness of this family, but you also see the importance of family. I feel so bad for Bone she is condemned from the beginning with that stamp on the birth certificate. I was born out of wedlock and my mother choose also not to have the father on the birth certificate, but that was no long done because it was in the 80's. Without that stamp I knew from an early age that I was different and very much like Bone I called my stepfather "daddy" because my friends talked about their fathers and the time they spent with them. I always felt weird because I didn't have a father. You don't see this from Bone so much, she seems to think more about what her grandfather was like.
This family seems to put a lot of weight on Bone she seems to know too much about life too soon. Her mother works hard and loves Bone, but I feel almost like Bone is a burden to her mom especially seeing that she was so young when Bone is born. But at the same time you see this amazing mother, daughter relationship. On page 30 you see a snip it of this relationship
"I smiled wide, not really believing them but wanting to. I held still then, trying not to flinch as Mama began to brush relentlessly at my knotted hair. If I got a permanent, I would lose those hours on Mama's lap sitting in the curve of her arm while she brushed and brushed and smoothed my hair and talked soft above me. She always seemed to smell of buttery flour, salt and fingernail polish-a delicate insinuating aroma of the familiar and the astringent. I would breathe deep and bite my lips to keep from moaning while my scalp ached and burned. I would have cut off my head before I let them cut my hair and lost the unspeakable pleasure of being drawn up onto Mama's lap every evening." This was an astounding moment between mother and daugther. She knew at an early age she knew how important it was to let her mother brush her hair. When I was little I remember my mom brushing my hair and hating every minute of it. I complained and eventually she stopped. I wish I did as Bone did shut my mouth and cherish the moments.
One last thing that I think is with in the chapters that you all will read. Is that I predict that Daddy Glen is a bad person maybe a wife beater and Granny knows that he is bad that's why she doesn't like him. I know a little differently now. You'll see
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6 comments:
I also bagan reading Bastard Out of Carolina and was surprised about the story line. When I first read the title I thought it was about a disobedient child, but I was way off. After reading the first six chapters I also noticed how close the relationship was between mother and daughter (Anney and Bone). I felt that Anney cared for her children very much, and I thought she was a very good mother to them. It's sad that she married Glen because I feel that he's the one that is destroying their lives.
I agree Bone seems to know too much about life too soon. It seems that her surroundings are forcing her to grow up faster than she should have to. She doesn’t really have a choice in the matter due to the turmoil beginning to grow within her family, and Glen doing things that are obviously not right. It also seems as though a line is being drawn between Bone and her family. Even though her mother cares about her, at times Glen seems to be taking priority over Bone. Due to the circumstances, this could cause major problems for Bone as she may begin to realize further what is happening with her family. When Glen was complaining that Bone doesn’t love him I was hoping something would happen that would truly state the issues that are currently occurring. Instead the mother tells Glen that Bone does love him, and everything seems to be fine. The mother is oblivious to the other factors of what is happening with Glen and Bone, which doesn’t help the situation. Hopefully something happens before Glen causes more problems.
I agree that Bone has had to deal with a lot in life at an early age and I think that is because of the stamp on her birth certificate and the way people view her as well as the social class her family is in and how hard they all work, especially her mother. I did not get the impression that Bone was a burden on her mother, its understood that her mother had to work harder to support two instead of one but I don't think it was an unwelcome burden. This was shown in the mother-daughter relationship between the two.
Yea this was very different from our other readings. I thought this would be about the typical reacism of African Americans but it was different. It was more like on the white side. It talked about white trash and how she didnt have a father. I thought it was interesting how the author described a white "trashy" family in the south its good to read something different.
Family is an important part of this story. Although it is not the typical family situation, you can still see the love and care that all the family members have for each other. Anney's sisters and mother are always willing to take care of her children. Bone and Reese are very close with their cousins.
Even though she is young, Anney has experienced a lot in her life. She was forced to raise her daughter alone (with the help of her sisters and mother), she lost her husband, and she lost a baby. Despite all these hardships, she still managed to be a caring and providing mother.
i have to say that it is interesting to think how many children out there were borne out of wedlock and it is not a big deal. but then again that is form the point of view of a non-chatholic from the northern united states. deep in the south from which bone is borne, it is seen almost as if she was going to be a bad seed and the state was making sure that everyone knew it.
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