Sharon Creech's Bloomability The contemporary realistic fiction book I chose to read was Bloomability. This book was written by Sharon Creech and was published in 1998 by Harper Trophy of HarperCollins Publishers Inc. It was written on the reading level of ages 8 - 12, or grades 5 8. Bloomability has won the following awards: IRA/CBC Children's Choices 1999, Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award 1998, and Chicago Public Library Best Books 1998.
Sharon Creech uses her life as a basis for many of her books, and Bloomability is no exception.
Marigolds “Marigolds,” written by the author Eugenia W. Collier, begins with the main character, Elizabeth. The story is told in first person, being told by Elizabeth when she gets older. “Marigolds” takes place in Maryland during the Depression. The reader can tell it is the time of the Depression because in the story it says, “The Depression that gripped the nation was no new thing to us, for the black workers of rural Maryland had always been depressed.” Both the setting and time in this short story are important.
I. Sharon Creech experienced many journeys as a child, triggering a spark in her writing career.
Another area of focus when creating her books is nature. As a child, nature became Brown’s life as she notes,
Hile, Kevin, and Diane Telger, eds. Novels for Students. Vol. 3. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1998. 264-271.
Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn presents the problems of a young girl coming of age, a time when she is faced with new challenges and must overcome obstacles. Throughout the book the protagonist, Francie Nolan discovers herself maturing as she struggles with loneliness, the loss of innocence and a life of poverty in a Brooklyn slum. This theme is evident in (1.) her love for books which she uses as companionship, (2.) her outlook on the world as she matures and finally, (3.) her realization that in order to succeed in life she must obtain an education and work hard to do it.
Stanley, D. A. (Ed.). (1999). Novels for Students Volume 7. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Research.
" Bloom's Literature. Ed. Facts On File, Inc.
The end of child innocence is a significant part of transitioning into young adulthood. This is illustrated in “Marigolds,” a short story written by Eugenia Collier, that takes place in a small town trapped in poverty during the Great Depression. The main character Lizabeth is a fourteen-year-old girl who is playing with her brother and neighborhood friends and just being kids when she simultaneously encounters an experience that teach about compassion, which eventually helps her step into adulthood. Through Lizabeth’s childhood experience, Collier portrays that maturity is based on compassion and overcoming the innocence of childhood.
After reading and annotating Marigolds by Eugenia W. Collier, I learned that there are some things we don’t know or realize when we are a child. When we become a woman, we have a different perspective on things. That is what Eugenia learned by the end of the story. Once she ruined all of Miss Lottie’s marigolds, she immediately felt guilty. Miss Lottie stood there with no anger on her face, just disappointment. Eugenia said that was when she saw her childhood fade and womanhood start to begin. Once she began womanhood, she learned that those flowers were precious to Miss Lottie and she was tying to make some beauty out of her shanty house. She viewed Miss Lottie as “… only a broken old woman who had dared to create beauty in the midst of ugliness
Bloom, Harold “Bloom on Macbeth.” Bloom's, Shakespeare though the Ages. New York Facts on file,
The novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith is a both significant and interesting novel for its fascinating story of Francie Nolan’s physical and emotional growth. To begin, young Francie lets the reader understand that even through poverty, it is important to enjoy the little things in life, to value life itself even when it is evidently polluted by greed. Secondly, as Francie grows up, her fall from innocence during her conflicts in life causes her not to be jaded with the world but to become stronger. Growing up is filled with both joy and acrimony, and Francie Nolan’s life is a great example of how a young woman should grow up to be.
The Wild Iris by Louise Gluck is an enjoyable read and the collection functions to state the author’s beliefs in religion and the incorporation of nature. The overall collection gives you the sense of a philosophical view of life and death by relating it to the nature implications of her poems. Louise Gluck create emotional responses with her elements of her theme, her stance on religion and life, meaning, senses, and etc.
Bloom, Harold, ed. English Romantic Poets. . New York New Haven Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
Like the flower the film is named after we can still bloom late and the appreciation for the
... not as they conceptualized. As adulthood is commonly linked with age, the shift from adolescence to maturity arises with experience. In Joyce’s “Araby”, the emotional journey for the narrator, begins with the infatuation with his best friend’s sister, and ends with his disillusionment for love. In Mansfield’s “The Garden-Party”, Laura acts as a tie between the brightness and wealth of the Sheridan’s contrasted with the darkness and sorrow of the Scotts. While struggling with inner confusion, she attempts to build a unique identity for herself. Her emotional journey culminates with the viewing of the deceased man, and her powerful realization of life, where her life is put into perspective of life on a universal level. Both main characters experience major changes in their personality, as well as their psychology, and these insights change both of them incredibly.