Beautiful Children Post # 6

Recently in Beautiful Children, Bock has started talking about the "girl with the shaved head". She, like all the other characters in this book, is extremely messed up. This girl only appears to be completely free. She doesn't go to school. I don't think she has a job. She doesn't have to follow any rules so she seems to have completely let go; getting high and drunk probably the majority of her time. When we are first introduced to her Bock writes, "On the spur of the moment, the girl slapped the side mirror of a stretch limousine. From behind tinted windows, its horn bleated. SHe howled back "MOTHERFUCKERS."" (199). I believe that most kids had a moment in there life when they consider running away... wanting to be free and released of the normal pressures in everyday life. But by looking at her anger I can see she truly isn't free. She's trapped in a bock of guilt and it makes me feel very bad for her.

In relation to the quote above Bock illustrates how screwed up this girl must be by writing, "A game of My Past Sucked the Worst was erupting, with tempers flaring over the hierarchy of incest abuses, whether you got more points for parents or grandparents, activity or grotesqueness" (200). Its so devistating to see how corrupted these young kids can get due to there parents. I believe almost every one of my past blogs has been centered about parenting. Bad parenting is the cause of future bad parenting. There are sick people out there not meant to have children and it is so sad to see their children suffering along side of them.

As a final goodbye to the posting of this book I'd like to recommend Beautiful Children to everyone. Its very depressing but I think its a good example of how parenting can ruin a child. Every runaway is this book has had a difficult past; struggling with self esteem and denial...most of it caused by there childhood experiences. I plan on finishing the book this weekend and if anyone wants to talk about it outside of this blog site come see me anytime!

Beautiful Children Post # 5

Recently in Charles Bock's novel, Beautiful Children, the parents of Newell Ewing, are focused on more directly. Bock gives readers the inside scoop of how hard it is for the families of a runaway and I think he demonstrates how Lincoln and Lorraine deal with Newell's dissapearance perfectly...not missing any detail of the misery they go through. As Lincoln recalls Newell's child hood and his own past of being a father Bock writes, "In a high-pitched voice, Lincoln would blurt out ridiculous insults and nonsensical sentences, driving along and tickling and poking and jabbing Newell, bringing light to his kid's eyes, filling the pickup with titters, the boy laughing so hard he cramped up" (194). The innocent Newell shows a father son connection so strongly here it is hard to believe he ran away because of his family.

Unfortunately, the relationships between children and their parents change drastacilly when they start getting older and opinions clash. I would know! It's very hard to be stuck with parents in the same house for so long if the fighting doesn't stop. Sometimes the little things like making a child laugh isn't enough to sustain a relationship. As a child gets older you can't just tickle them to brighten their eyes... I wonder if Lincoln just didn't know how to show affection as Newell got older and the relationship became empty. Lincoln was so affected by his sons disappearence. He now acts empty, just like Lorraine and spends most of his time thinking to himself. There isnt much dialogue in his part. As he recalls the time he hears of Lorraine on the phone with Bock writes, "He could hear the voices coming from the phone, the violent shouting. For the rest of his days, he would remember Lorraine's expression. The moment when life as he knew it ended" (198). The parents have so drastically changed as people. Since part of them (Newell) is gone its impossible for them to feel fulfilled again. In order for the couple to survive they need to save Newell.

Beautiful Children Post # 4

As I continue reading this week I sink further into the depression that the story generates. Through the runaways sad stories reality surfaces, showing a truly tainted society we live in, along with the countless people, too afraid to do something about it. First Bock speaks of Bing writing, "He'd seen naked girls, kneeling inside half-filled plastic kiddy pools, doubled over, holding their ribs, looking helplessly at the disc jockey" (142). This line is such a clear indication of how some women in today's society are longing for love or affection so much that they are willing to disrespect themselves in such vulgar ways. These are all major contributions to the issues of today...women thinking they need to be racy to catch a man's eye reflects on how disgusting and cruel society can be. Following the quote abovce, Bock writes, "Bing had watched more than his share of these sad spetables and he had wanted to step in and he'd had no idea how to begin, and so he had sat, a bystander, falling in love, in his own minor fashion, with each and every tragic young woman" (142). This confuses me. Here is proof of Bing realizing how wrong it is for women to feel the need to exploit their bodies that should be kept sacred. But at the same time Bing's profession is to draw nude women. I don't know quite enough about his character to tell if he draws these bodies because he thinks they are beautiful.

BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN #3

Lately, in Beautiful Children, Bock writes about Kenny from his youth to his current teenage years. He seems to be a pretty well rounded kid but the way he is described makes him seen to have a troubled childhood because of his mother and father's frequent absence. Thankfully, Kenny is often with his aunt. She works at a pawn shop but she is very kind and one of the closest persons in Kenny's life. Bock writes, "Kenny could not help but feel the weight of the past" (68). Although the author does not tell us exactly what has happened to Kenny we can assume it was because of his father's addictions and his mother's bad parenting. Bad parenting is a very big reason why kids throughout the world suffer and maybe make choices that can lead to others suffering. For example; their own children. I am afraid Kenny will learn enough from his aunt so he doesn't have to make the same decisions his parents have. Also, Kenny is surrounded by very inappropriate people and language while still a little boy. A customer at the pawn shop starts yelling at Kenny' aunt for not pricing an engagement ring high enough. He yells, "MOTHERFUCKING KIKE" at her and Kenny is very surprised and scared (64). These types of things can lead Kenny to use the same language when he gets older getting him into a lot of trouble. Before you know it he will be another one of them. One's bad examples truly do impact younger generations and can be the leading cause of many people's suffering.

Beautiful Children Post # 2

As I continue to read Beautiful Children characters are focused on more and I am able to make out their own sad stories little by little. Currently I am getting to know Bing a bit more. He is a man seemingly going through the motions of life without really living it. He has no relations with woman what-so-ever, and he doesn't socialize much at all, (with the exception of the on going chat rooms he attends). Although Bing's life seems quite dull from my past descriptions, he has real talent: he is amazingly creative and intelligent. One night Bing is in a chat room with a few friends. As he explains his new genious ideas he types, "BBIXXE: If it has dimension & perspective, it kind of stops being your average tatt" (55). It may be hard to make out at first but after I read this quote I knew it had a double meaing; I believe Charles Bock writes this in attempt to describe who Bing really is as a character. Sure, from the looks of him, Bing looks like the average guy walking down the street who is neither particularly special or important. But when you stop to look at him with perspective and look at who he really is, intelligent, artistic, kind, he begins to have more hidden dimensions.

As Bing continues to venture out I believe he will finally be recognized for his dimension and his life will change for the better. I think he will be respected more and then be able to become more social and really blossom from his isolated personality. During Bing's time in the chatroom his friend under the name of ] KC_FTT_B, writes, "R_naways d_de. Nobody cares abowt r_naways" (61). I believe this quote will forshadow the rest of the novel because how I see it so far, this book is all about runaways. It could be someone running away from their emotions, someone running away from home, or someone running about from life, like Bing.

Beautiful Children # 1

This quarter I chose to read Charles Bock's novel, Beautiful Children. This book takes place in Las Vegas where Newell Ewing's distraught parents try to unravel the mystery of their son's sudden disappearance. The stories of multiple "misfit" characters categorized as: "a shy and possibly disturbed young artist; a stripper who imagines moments from her life as if they were movie scenes; a bubbly teenage wiccan anarchist; and a scheming gutter punk" are brought up in the story, all linking to the Ewing's missing son.

As I begin to read the novel many different characters are introduced along with their interesting stories. The main character, Newell Ewing is a troublesome twelve year old boy with a huge interest in comic books. Readers can see through Newell's relationship with his parents that he is ill tempered and very immature. The day Newell goes missing he makes plans with his friend Kenny who is an artistic comic book illustrator. Kenny then meets an older man, Bing Biederboxx. Bing is a self conscious 24 year old man who is also involved with comic books; having his own nude comic book series.

Although I am only 50 pages into the story I can tell the rest of the story will be filled with darkness and unfortunate instances. So far I get an uncomfortable vibe from the story and the characters make me feel very uneasy. For instance, Lorraine and Lincoln Ewing. This couple start the story off with what seems to be an awkward silence. Bock writes, "He watched when the house was dark and Lorraine was safely locked away inside what Lincoln still thought of as their bedroom" (12). Out of all the misfit character's in this novel I would expect Newell's parents to be the most "normal" but they actually make me feel most uneasy. Their quiet, shaky, non-sexual, relationship seems to be very off balance and it leads me to think they were not able to raise Newell correctly. The couple show no signs of affection to each other...Lorraine doesn't even look at Lincoln as her husband! The lack of nuture the couple show lead me to think Newell received the same treatment. The possibility of Newell running away because of his parents seems very likely to me right now. As Lorraine picks Newell up Bock writes, "her tanned flesh has all but spilled out of her baby-blue swinsuit top, and her wrap-around sarong had been clnging to her in something sttraight out of sophomoric dream" (24). This line shows how Newell's mom acts more like a teenage model than a mother. The fact she wheres very inapropriate clothes leads readers to believe she is in desperate need of attention. My guess is that Lorraine is used to getting attention more than giving it to her son.

Angela's Ashes #4

Recently in Angela's Ashes, Frank's life takes a turn from decent to devastating. At 10 years old he is diagnosed with typhoid, causing him great discomfort and short lapses of unconsciousness. He is brought to the hospital where he meets a girl his age, Lilly, who has cancer. They become good friends, reading each other Shakespeare, and keeping one another company. Although things are surely rough for Frankie he looks at life rather optimistically, rarely complaining and appreciating small things. At one point Frank writes, "Dad nods and puts his hand on mine again. He looks at me, steps away, stops, comes back, kisses me on the forehead for the first time in my life and I'm so happy I feel like floating out of the bed" (McCourt 193). Just by reading these few lines I am able to understand that Frankie values love over everything else. He doesn't care that he is poor, he isn't feeling bad for himself because of his brutal condition, he gets happy just from his father's action of love.

Frank McCourt's memoir is so innocent I have no doubt in my mind he grows up to be an ethical person. Frankie not only recognizes the importance of recieving love, he recognizes the importance of giving it. When recalling his time at the hospital with his father McCourt writes, "He's like Paddy Clohessy the day I gave him the raisin. When he looks sad it's the worst thing in the world and I start crying" (McCourt 193). The fact a ten year old boy, terribly ill with typhoid fever, focus's his greatest worries on his father's sadness is amazing. I believe that although Frank McCourt's life was filled with despair and suffering, he was able to mature from it and he teaches himself what he believes is most important in life.

Angela's Ashes #3

At his point in Grank McCourt's memoir, Angela's Ashes, Frank has befriended a neighborhood boy named Mikey. Frank is also involved in the Catholic Church and his First Communiun is about to take place. Mikey gets Frank excited by telling him the best things about the First Communiun day, "Mikey got over five shillings on his First Communiun day and ate so many sweets and buns he threw up in the Lyric Cinema" (McCourt 117). Although Mikey's life seems nice, at least to Frankie, his family is also having a hard time financially and his mother is a bit "crazy".
This chapter is finally humorous and nothing completely rough comes upon the McCourt family. Frankie is in school, he is making friends, and life just doesn't seem so bad. Although Frankie's new friend Mikey Mollow seems like the type of boy who could possibly "ruin" Frankie's innocence with his sexual expertise, "grown up talk", and fascinating stories Frank does not change. One day Frankie says, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I overslept. I nearly missed my first communiun"(McCourt 129). Frank confesses to the smallest of sins which demonstrates his eagerness to be good even when the world is confusing and full or despair.