Goodbye, Columbus Chapters 4-8

Parallel: Throughout chpaters 4-7, there is talk about Brenda leaving, either she leaves him or she goes off to college. In Chapter 4, Neil is afraid of being in the water to long because he is scared Brenda will leave him. in Chapter 6, Neil says "...I had been more and more with the thought that when Brenda went back to Radcliffe, that would be the end for me". It shows that throughout the end of book, Neil is becoming more aware that summer is ending and that they will no longer be together and hang out everyday. 

Contrast:

In Chapter 7, Neil is at Ron and Harriets wedding. Throughout the wedding, people are telling Neil that he and Brenda will be together for a long time and that they are the next wedding. It seems like the chapter is proof that Neil and Brenda were meant to be and that college and long distance will not come between them but at the end of chapter 7, Neil says "I drove Brenda to the train at noon, and she left me". 

Goodbye, Columbus Chapter 3

Parallel: At the beginning of the book, Brenda has asked Neil if he and his sister were black. Now in chapter 3, Neil says that the little in at the library has a "southern negro dialect". I feel like in each chapter, there is a question or description that involves race and I think that is interesting that it is very present in each chapter. 

Contrast: I thought that there was an interesting contrast between Neil and Julie when he is playing ping pong with her compared to when he was playing basketball. When Neil and Julie were playing basketball, the whole family was watching and Neil let Julie win. Now that the family is out of the house and he and Julie are alone, he plays ping pong with her and doesnt let her win. I thought that was interesting on how he behaves around Julie when people are and arent present.

Props:

Coffee

Orange Crush

Green train cars

Cigarette

Britannica 

Art Books

Glasses

Ice Bucket

Decanter

Mixer

Swizzle Stick

Shot Glass

Pretzel Bowl

23 bottles of Jack Daniels

Greenage Plums

Black Plums

Red Plums

Apricots

Nectarines

Peaches

Grapes

Black, Yellow, Red Charries

Canteloupes

Honey Dew

Watermelon

Keys

Ping Pong paddle

Ping Pong ball

Phone with Cord

Goodbye, Columbus Chapter 2

Parallel: Like in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 starts with Neil, Brenda, and the glasses.It is almost exactly the same beginning, where Brenda asked Neil to hold her glasses while she went swimming. 

Contrast: In Chapter 1, Brenda was always asking Neil if he or his cousin, Doris, were Black. In Chapter 2, on page 23, they describe Mr. Patimkin at the dinner table "pulling his shirt up and slapping his black, curved belly". I thought this was interesting contrast since Brenda was always asking if somebody was black but I dont think anyone ever really thought the Brenda could be black.

Class Consciousness: On pages 25 and 26, Brenda is talking about her mom not wanting to waste any money they have. Brenda sees it in the sense that "she still thinks we live in Newark". Even in brendas family, not all of them feel upper-class. Her mom doesnt want to waste any of the money they have.

Props:

Glasses

Black Tank Suit

Cuban Heels

Knuckle-Sized Rings

Straw Hats

Big Blue Umbrella

Chaise Longues

Irons

Golf Balls

Tennis Can

Baseball bat

Baskeball

Glove

Riding Crop

Chrysler

Goodbye, Columbus Chapter 1

Contrast: On pages 10 and 11, the passage has a cntrast of light and dark. One page 10, it says "the darker it got the more savagely did Brenda rush the net...". On page 11, Neil is describing Brenda as "...tiny-collared white polo shirt, right where her wings would have been if she'd had a pair". I thought of this as a contrast since brenda is being describe in both of these sentences. When stating that it was darker, Neil mentions that Brenda turned into more of a savage, but when he is describing her white polo, he mentions, infering that she looks like an angle. 

Parallel: I noticed that Brenda is always asking what people look like. On page 7, Brenda asks what Neil looks like and on page 12, she asks what his cousin Doris, looks like. I thought this was interesting especially since the beginning of book started with the moment when Neil was holding Brendas glasses while she dove into the pool. I think that Brendas vision may start to play a role in the plot. 

Class Conciousness: On page 8, Neil is driving to the park where Brenda is playing tennis and is describing the streets and places around him. At the beginning of the paragraph he is listing places he is driving past such as Dairy Queen, Lumberyards,  and used-car lots. In the middle of the paragraph, Neil is then describing the house around him and that there long lawns had twirling water, which I would assume are sprinklers. He also mentions that there are streets with names of eastern colleges. At the beginning of the paragraph, Neil is quickly naming the places he passes without giving more detail, but once he gets to the wealthier neighboorhoods, he is describing them in more detail. On page 11, Neil talks about college and automatically assumes that Brenda may go to Boston University, but instead, will be going to Radcliffe, which is an even more prestigious than BU.

Props: 

Glasses

Diving Board

Suburban Phone Book

Telephone Table

Dresser with missing left leg

Black Whirring Fan

Salt Shaker

Copy of War and Peace

Tennis Racket Cover

Map of the Streets on Newark

Framing

This is a close up shot of squirrel that sits in my backyard waiting to be fed. He is very big and takes up the center of the shot which gives him our attention and focus. The sun is also shining on him, making him look like he is glowing. 

I liked this picture because of the uniformity of the tennis rackets. The contrast of white rackets on the dark wood makes the rackets stand out more. The lighting is brighter in the center and then fades around the edges. The lighting is also making many shadows on the walls making it look like the rackets are moving.

In the background of this picture, you can see that I was at the beach. At the beach, there are no people even though it is sunny. In the foreground, you can see snow and ice on the ground, giving a hint that it is winter time and that not many people will be at the beach. You also get a view of the car facing towards that beach, which shows how I got there. 

These are christmas cookies that we made. It is a high angle shot looking down onto the cookies. You also notice that there are four main colors: red, green, white, and blue, and that there are also four shapes: a glove, a tree, a star, and a gingerbread man. 

This is a picture of a dog running into the water. The dog is in the middle to bottom right hand corner of the shot. You are able to see the background, which is water. In the water, you are able to see a glare of sun which is also telling you the time of day, sunset. 

The Road pages 136-160

Parallel: the son is starting to pick up on new terms and sayings such as "warm at last" (147) and "what are our long term goals" (160). In both so these cases, the father asks the son where he heard the term and the son is never sure. I think this shows how mature and smart the son is without any form of an education. 

Contrats: In all descriptions of the bad guys, they have beards. The father also has a beard until page 152, when he shaves it off. This is just one of the physical apperence differences you see between the good guys and the bad guys.

Questions:

What is the creature the dad talks about on pages 153-154

Why do the son and father abandon the hiden shelter with the food, water and heat lamps and continue their walk in the cold weather? If I were them, I would have stayed in the shelter for as long as possible. 

The Road pages 119-135

Paralell: On pages 129 and 131, they talk about carrying the fire and mending a fire. Both the man and the son talk about the fire. On page 129, the son talks about carrying the fire. I think this relates to both  god and the son. Carrying and keeping in mind god wherever they as well as the life of the son. On page 131, the father talks about mending a fire and then goes into a memory of his wife. Just like keeping god on mind, the father may be mending the memories of his wife. 

Contrast: On page 131, the father is walking through town with his son holding one hand and his revolver in his other hand. I thought that this was an important contrast because you have the thing keeping him alive (son) as well as what could kill him (revolver). In the section before, the fathers thinks about killing his child and now he has the weapon and target in either hand. 

Questions:

How long have they been in a post apocylptoc world if they are still able to smell cows.

Why does the father always leave his son while he searches around? Wouldn't you be nervous that your son can be taken while you are not their?