Sister Husband

In the novel Where the Heart Is, by Billie Letts, within the early chapters you are introduced to a very different kind of character. Sister Husband, an old christen women, always has knowledgeable advice, even when you least expect it. Most would write her off as a crazy women, losing her mind, but the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" seems to fit here. The way she speaks, with such a old voice full of wisdom, is enough to prove this. When Novalee, the main character, is given a bible Sister Husband tells her to only read small parts at a time to get the full impact. With advice like such, this is just one example of her wisdom.

Where Did He Go?

Author's Note-When 17 year old Novalee Nation, in the novel Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts, is abandoned by her boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens, in an unfamiliar town, she is faced with a sense of pain and sadness. You can only imagine the horror you would feel being left by someone you believed loved you.

Where did he go?

Why did he leave me here,

Without anything or anyone?

Willy Jack Pickens,

Where did you go?

I'm surrounded by people,

But I've never felt so alone,

The crowds of people,

All with places to go,

But where do I go?

I am so alone.

My belly aches,

My baby is kicking,

I wish the pain would stop.

All the pain,

Not just the physical pain.

Pain is everywhere,

In everything I do.

Pain is cruel,

It makes everything worse.

Pain is what makes life feel real,

Without it what would I feel?

A Letter To Him

What did I say to make you act like this? Did I scare you off when I told you how I felt? I've realized now that you can't expect all people to feel the way you want them to. No matter how hard you try you can't be in control of other people and their emotions. I know I'm not like her, but you can't expect me to change for one person, no matter how much they mean to me...now. What happens when I don't care as much for you? I will never be able to change back to the person I once was, I would forever be changed. I don’t understand why I’m not good enough for you, we both love a good laugh. If the only reason that you don’t care about me is because I can’t do what she does for you, then I will forget about you and the feeling of swelling happiness I get whenever I hear your name, or the pain I feel when it is another girl mentioning it. When two people are together, the reason should be nothing other than because you enjoy each other’s company, and if one person does not feel the same way, there is no point. Just promise me one thing, when I forget you and move on, please, don’t make this any harder for me. I just don’t think I could handle having to stare into your eyes and act like everything is okay, when in reality, it’s not. I’m sure that the hurt in my eyes will give me away when you see me next, but know that the hurt will probably be visible on my entire face. Although you will never read this letter, my love for you will always have a burning spot in my wounded heart.

Make the Best of Life

"Things didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to, but what can you do? You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it"(p 91) In this quote Martel is making it clear that you can't control the outcome of events in life, but instead of mourning, make the best of what the new outcome brings, even if it is different from what you expected. People are always trying to control their lives, but it is up to fate. Young teenagers are always discussing where they are going to college, but their is no guarentee that you will get in. You can volunteer or take advanced classes to make your resume look more impressive, but still you may not get the acceptance letter you want. Even if you don't get into that one school you want to study at, other school will accept you into their programs. Life is too valuable to waste on feeling sorry for yourself, especially when you can look at the outcome and find the good. If you only focus on the worst of the outcome, then you are wasting life.

Fahrenheit 451 Response

"Let's not quibble over individuals with memoriums. Forget them. Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean." (p.60) In the quote above Beatty, Guy Montag's boss, is describing the fate of the decessed, just ten minutes after death. How is it possible to forget someone you love, and watch their lifeless body wisked away to be thrown into a firey inferno? The world in this novel is not only distrubing, but errie; A world when everything we know as right is either wrong or unheard of. Fire is described as clean and bright, when really it is a way to get rid of evidence of somethings existance. The government wansts everyone to think they're happy, and with all the unhappiness asociated with death, it is impossible, so they burn everything and everyone to make you forget.

I Love You, William

How? Why? All words that describe the feeling in the pit of my stomach as Sarah, the one I once thought of as family, walks up with the object that occupies the center of my universe, hand in hand. Again the thought of betrayal floods my mind. How could she? When she knew of my love for him?

They have yet to notice me, but when he looks up and meets my stare full of pain and shock his eyes turn into a gaze of longing and sympathy. And then I run. I run past them, through the door, and towards the garden shed. Once inside, the only sound is of a horses hooves in the distance, but they are nothing compared to my sobbing. The sight of Sarah and him together in such a close, loving embrace is too much for me to bear, too much to hold in and too much to be able to stay strong. Why had I believed him when he told me he loved me over and over again? If I had known that I was just a pawn in his game of love, I would have never let myself feel for him they way I do. My love for him is indescribable, but it was real, for me.

The sound of horse hooves get closer, until finally they stop, right in front of the shed I am hidden within. His voice is like a river, smooth and lovely, as he calls out to me, his perfect voice plagued with grief and sadness. My sobbing gives me away as the image of him and my sister come rushing back, like a handful of knives being thrown into my stomach. He is searching through the bushes beside the shed, then on the other side. Finally the wooden door of the shed opens with a creek. When he gaze falls on my broken figure, sobbing on the ground, he leans down and scoops me to sit upon his lap. No matter how hard I shove, it is no use, for he is no longer the boy I met all those years ago, as I am no longer the gushing little girl, we have both matured into everything we promised we wouldn’t become.

As his gaze burns into my face, I still refuse to meet it, I wouldn’t be able to keep the control that I am fighting so hard to keep, the control I need to tell him I never want to see him again, although that is a lie. He tells me that it is not what it seems, that Sarah needed his help gathering the water from the well, that it was her that grabbed his hand, that I was the love of his life. I wanted to believe him, truly I did, but how can I be certain that this is not another part of his game? How will I ever be certain that he will not one day grow old of my presence and move on to another, more beautiful girl?

It took me minutes to figure out that I was talking aloud. When I could no longer resist the urge to look at his beautiful face, I gasped. His expression was full of a emotion I thought I would never see upon his face, an expression of more than pain, an expression of anguish. How could I ever believe for one second that he wouldn’t want me one day? He asked me. How could I ever doubt him like that? I knew I was slowly ripping his heart out, but he deserved better than me, he deserved to be able to marry whoever he pleased. I didn’t want to take that away from him, I couldn’t. I stare him right in the eyes, and tell him, I can’t go on seeing him, for I do not feel the way he wishes me to. I do not love you William.

With that he arms loosen and I slip through his grasp, out the door. I don’t hear him behind me but when I turn, there he is, with tears upon his cheeks. The sight of his weeping figure is too much for me, so for the second time that day, I find myself running, only this time it is not away from William. I embrace him with a forceful hug and stretch up on my tiptoes to reach his ear. I whisper, I love you William, and then I am gone running for the house, never to see him again.

Great Expectations Quote Response

“And sometimes, when her moods were so many and so contradictory of one another that I was puzzled what to say or do, Miss Havisham would embrace her with lavish fondness, murmuring something in her ear that sounded like, "Break their hearts my pride and hope, break their hearts and have no mercy!" Love. The theme of the novel deals with all types of love, each character having their own. In this quote the message is describing Miss Havisham’s love of causing others pain, and gaining this pain through Estella. By having her break the hearts of many men, Miss Havisham is able to let go of some the pain she so long ago endured . Miss Havisham taught Estella to be cold-hearted, so that others could feel the pain she has had to struggle with ever since she was fooled and destroyed with grief. As the quote states, Miss Havisham would embrace Estella fondly and murmur to her to break the hearts of many men, including Pip just to watch the pain creep into their faces, further explaining her hatefulness and cruelty.