A Tiny Clack of Sparks: Collin, Charlotte, Allie, Isabella

[Collin Brown]

Origional

[Collin Brown]

So far, one line has stood out to me the most, "I had enough evidence to believe that any habit; regardless of how compulsive, how deeply ingrained, could be broken once and for all..."(316). This line stood out to me the most because I can relate to it myself. When I was younger, I had the habit of biting my fingernails. I was doing it for a long time until my dad found a solution. He would take water and wet my nails, then sprinkle some pepper on them so when I would go to bite them, I would get the pepper taste instead of having just the "nail" like taste.

[Charlotte Cichowski]

One part of this short story that stood out to me is the scene where the main character goes into the school library and uses the dictionary to look up the word homosexual. This scene was interesting to me because it showed me as a reader that this particular character was unsure of his sexuality, and was trying to see if he matched the actual dictionary definition of someone who likes others of the same sex. When he discovered that he did in fact fit this description he decided that he was going to force himself to be the opposite. This says a lot about this character as a person.

[Charlotte Cichowski]

The quote used in Collin's post stood out to me as well because the descriptive words that the author uses such as compulsive and ingrained shows the reader what the character is going through and how strong he feels about the situation he is in.

[Charlotte Cichowski]

As a heterosexual it is not easy to directly relate to the main character of this story. As a reader I think I also would feel self conscience if put in this characters position. I most likely would have problems accepting who I was especially in a world where no one else does. How do you guys think you would handle this situation?

[Collin Brown]

Another scene that stood out to me was on page 318 "...all the while an image intruded, an image of Grady erupting from our pool, rivulets of water sliding down his chest." This stood out to me because he was trying to still find out what sexuality he was. He tried to kiss a girl but the same image of Grady kept entering his thoughts. He couldn't erase the memory so it still kept coming back.

[Isabella Cialfi]

The part of this story that stood out the most to me was when he said, "I had enough evidence to believe that any habit, regardless of how compulsive, how deeply ingrained, could be broken once and for all". This line stood out to me because he is saying that he could just change himself and start being attracted to girls. In my opinion, I don't think that people who are homosexual can just change the way they are so this part stuck out to me because it must have been a huge struggle for him growing up thinking that he was "wrong". This part showed me a lot about the main character.

[Collin Brown]

I agree with Charlotte because the author was just a ninth grader just entering high school. He still had a lot of time to choose where and how he was going to live the rest of his life. By him finding out the meaning of homosexual shows him that he is going to follow that path.

[Allie Giove]

As I was reading this story I could not help but feel bad for Bernard. I can't imagine not being able to show how I truly feel. I think that Bernard must have gone through a lot of confusion and mixed feelings in his childhood because he did not want to be known as a "fag" or as an outcast. From my point of view I thought Theresa was not a nice character at all. I would never ask anyone "are you a fag?" On the contrast, I do believe that Theresa might have opened Bernard's eyes to the fact that he might be different. Bernard never had any bad feelings towards Theresa so I am assuming that he did not think of her as mean and he wasn't that hurt to the question she asked him.

[Isabella Cialfi]

@charlotte I agree with you that if I was in the main characters position I would have huge problems with accepting who I was because like you said most of the people in society and the world do not completely accept people like him. I think I would handle this situation the same exact way that he did by trying to change myself because I wouldn't know what else to do.

[Collin Brown]

I agree with your ideas of how Bernard didn't want to be called a "fag". He was still finding out who he was going to turn into because he was only in ninth grade. He had a lot of time to think about what he was going to turn into.

[Charlotte Cichowski]

I couldn't agree with you more Isabella. I believe that it is impossible for a homosexual person to force themselves into being attracted to the opposite sex considering they were born attracted to the same sex. Unfortunately many homosexuals who have trouble accepting who they are try to perform this act.

[Charlotte Cichowski]

One reason I found this story interesting is because of the authors style of writing. I really liked how they wrote it in a way that made me as a reader feel like i was in the main characters mind. It was easier to relate to the character because I consistently knew what he was thinking and how he was feeling.throughout the entire story.

[Isabella Cialfi]

I agree with Charlotte because I also liked the authors style of writing because he would always describe exactly what was on his mind and how he was feeling at that moment. I like that style because it helped me understand the main character a lot.

[Allie Giove]

@charlotte I agree with you because it was hard for me to relate to the character because I have never felt like he has before. In a world that we live in today, with all the bullying and prejudices it would be very hard for me to accept something like he had to. I give him a lot of credit for finally accepting himself and to not continue to force himself to try and change. I would probably do the same thing he did though, because I would not know what else to do.

[Isabella Cialfi]

The quote that Collin used also stood out to me because even though he was trying to change his sexuality by kissing girls and trying to force himself to like them, he still could not stop picturing the image of Grady coming out of his pool and that proves that he couldn't change himself no matter how hard he tried. Also, that passage used really good words and description.

[Allie Giove]

@charlotte I think I enjoyed this story as well because of the way the author chose to write it. If the author had written the story in a different perspective I may not have understood it clearly because the problem in the story was not something I could easily relate to. It deffinitely made relating to the character and understanding how he was feeling a lot easier.

[Allie Giove]

Something that stood out to me a lot while reading was the fact that Bernard wanted to try and change who he was because he did not want to deal with what other people would say,especially his family. I think that it is very sad that Bernard was trying to change who he really was because of fear. I believe that people should be who they are no matter what and not be afraid to show how one really feels. It makes me upset knowing that this is probably happening to kids in our school and to kids all across the country. It is a shame that some people have to be afraid to show who they really are because they are scared of the consequences.

[Allie Giove]

While reading the story, on page 316 when Bernard asked his mother what a "fag" was, I was very surprised to see the mother's reaction. "My mother turned from the stove, flew at me, and grabbed me by the soulders. 'Did someone call you that?' she cried." From that one desciption the reader can clearly see that the mother was very concerned if someone had called her son that. Bernard lied and said no one had called him that, rather another friend. The mother seemed relieved. I think Bernard was scared to tell his mother in fear of what she would do. During this part I could feel Bernard's sympathy because I think it was sad that he had to hide that from his own mother.

[Collin Brown]

"I've lived with a man for seven years. Some nights, when I'm half-asleep adn the room is suffused with blue light, I reach out to tough the expanse of his back, and it seems as if my fingers sink into his skin, and I feel the pleasure a diver feels the instant he enters a body of water"(321). This second to last paragraph stood out to me because it tells us how his whole life turned out. He gave us all the emotions he felt as a ninth-grader. Now he shows us how he still feels after some time has past. This was a very usefull paragraph in his side of his own sexuality.