Whale Talk Reflection

In the book “Dead To You”, by Lisa Mcmann, the main character, Ethan, has returned. He was abducted 9 years before and now he is back. His family hopes that he remembers everything, but he does not. He slowly forms a new bond with his family, but it is still not perfect. His brother, Blake wants him to remember so badly. Why would he get into the car? Why was he gone for so long? In the end, he realizes why he doesn’t remember and everything falls apart.

When a child is first born, they develop the first memory of their life. When a child learns how to ride a bike, that memory is also implanted in their mind. And when a child first plays a sport they love, another memory is added to their mind. Thousands upon thousands of memories are remembered from almost every person. We never stop to think that, unfortunately, people have memory loss and that people lose precious memories and they can’t retrieve it back. This author, Tara Altebrando makes this the same for The Leaving, by whisking the reader off on a suspenseful and high staked journey where Scarlett Waters, Lucas Davis, Sarah Madson, Adam Acosta and Kristen Daley return with a blank mind and no memories of their past they left behind.

There are many different messages in the novel. “Whale Talk,” I think the most important and relatable in this book is bullying, harassment, and racism. There are many real-life situations of bullying and racism throughout the whole book.

Whale Talk is filled with difficult, hard to read, and disgusting acts of violence which do sadly happen in real life. Chris tries to bring some of these acts to light in this book and it works out very well. The book shows how much bad stuff can happen to someone and also how someone may be able to make it through the situation. Chris was truly trying to help people with this book while also writing a memorable and great

Despite the use of humor, the speaker of “Forgetfulness” establishes both a melancholic and deeply reflective tone in order to analyze both the inevitability of forgetfulness and the heartache that comes with it. Employing humor, Collins appeals to his audience and conveys the universal experience of forgetting memories as you grow older, “well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those / who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle” (18-19). The speaker humorously contradicts the old bicycle cliché that states that once you learn how to ride it, you never forget. According to the speaker, however, you do forget. And if you can forget how to ride a bicycle, you can certainly forget everything else. In no time, you will be blindly sinking into oblivion, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. On the surface, the speaker’s musings appear quite humorous. However, Collins’ words reveal an undeniable truth about the human condition -- that growing older and forgetfulness are inevitable. The speaker continues to emphasize this idea by comparing life itself to an individual trying to remember a book they once read:

Going into your first year of college is like going on a rollercoaster in an amusement park, you think it’s going to be scary, but it truly isn’t. You ride up a couple of hills, thinking it’s all fine and dandy but then it all seems to go downhill. Fast. And once you start moving faster, and faster, you feel like it will never end. That’s what it felt like for me in english class, there were sometimes everything felt easy and I’m essentially going uphill, but then I have to do an essay, and It all goes downhill. One problem that my professors have told me is I have the bad case of “Engfish”. Which I never saw as a bad thing, until I read the Michael Colson and Ken Macrorie perspective on “What is Engfish”.

In Margaret Atwood’s novel Surfacing, memories and forgetting are large themes, which show that memories are what truly define a person and are exceedingly important to the healing process. One way in which memories are prevalent throughout the novel is in the narrator’s “flashbacks” to her supposed husband. These flashbacks show how the narrator has created fabricated memories, and she experiences suffering and frustration from this, showing how the narrator does not feel whole as a person without the true memories of her past. When the narrator finally does remember all that has happened to her, she realizes that she needs to deal with these memories in order to achieve healing.

A young boy sits on the floor gazing up in amusement as his parents tell him stories that have traveled from generation to generation. Whether it be a tale of malicious war or brave acts of heroism, the little boy will always remember the impactful tales. But what about the parents; what is their motive for telling tales to their child? People tell stories for different reasons; a best selling author may write his story to sell books. While a parent tells a story to set their child straight, others simply want the thrill of telling tales of their adventurous life. For The Tao Jones ,or TJ, in Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk, the most impactful story he will hear and tell is his own. Someone might not solely tell their own story but, are also able to tell the story of those around them. Superficially, TJ’s story is one of brutal negativity and oppression. However, beneath the surface TJ and other peoples’ tale, is one of the unbreakable bond of brotherhood, unique self identity, and last chance at redemption.

“I walk outside, scream at the top of my lungs, and maybe it travels two blocks” said Tj Jones. In the novel Whale Talk by Chris Cutcher, Tj Jones and Andy Mot go against the commonwealth and people’s suppositions.

The situations that T.J., the misfits, and the other characters are faced with throughout the book can be agreed in by all as harsh, but unfortunately all too common in today’s society. People will be judged, bullied, and called names for the way they look, the way they are, or the things they do. Whale Talk provides an opportunity for young readers, as well as parents and teachers, to learn some profoundly important lessons about life. Much like a whale out on the ocean who sings because it needs to, whether its song is heard by other whales or not, everyone needs to sing their own song -- of trauma and of triumph. Racism, violence, prejudice, loneliness are all ugly. They are ugly, but yet so common for teenagers and adults. No matter how many books you ban that will never change. You cannot ban books for telling the truth. T.J’s father said it best, “"I realized I had reached adulthood without even knowing what it is to be human. Nobody ever told me how dangerous it is, how risky... My parents were wonderful people, I suppose, but they didn't want me to know what was out there. They didn't want me to know the real skinny on sex or love or disappointment. They sold me their wishes as if they were fact.” page

This semester I learned a lot about writing in English 151. It has been a roller coaster ride with these essays for me this semester. I learned step by step how to write a good essay and how to have your readers be engaged in what you’re trying to tell them. Each essay I did has taught me something valuable I can take to the next level of English. I feel as if as the semester went by I did not take my writing that seriously and that reflected in my grades I received in each essay. It made me a better student and writer and it will reflect next semester. In this essay, I will reflect on what I learned throughout this semester that you should apply in your writing when you begin English 151.

Susan Griffin, a feminist writer and finalist for the Pulitzer Price in non-fiction, explores the concept of forgetting in her chapter “Our Secret”. Unlike Foer, Griffin (1992) doesn’t seem to be too much a fan of remembering, describing memory to be like “a long, half-lit tunnel, a tunnel where one is likely to encounter phantoms of a self, long concealed, no longer nourished with the force of consciousness, existing in a tortured state between life and death” (p. 258). In fact, Griffin might argue that there are several benefits to forgetting, and that the collective memories of a traumatic past should not be remembered or preserved. Failure to retrieve memories may not always be a bad thing, in fact, unwanted memories – of childhood trauma, emotional rejection, or any of life’s inevitable disappointments - have the ability to torment and mentally exhaust a person. Throughout her essay, Griffin explores the hidden shame and pains that several characters carry, herself included, and the consequences they bring. She writes of one woman’s memories of the cold war, who, as a young child, witnessed “shoes in great piles. Bones. Women’s hair, clothes, stains, a terrible odor”, all of which left her sobbing and screaming in fear (Griffin, 1992, p. 233). Another gruesome account Griffin (1992) writes of, is as

The film Whale Rider takes A large portion of the film fixates on the dynamic of this connection amongst Koro, the tribal chief, and his granddaughter Paikea. Paikea respects her grandfather, and has a puzzling association with the tribe’s ancestry; her namesake, Paikea the Whale Rider, travelled from Hawaii to New Zealand on the back of a whale. Paikea spends the most of the film trying to prove her worth and gain respect from her grandfather. Unlike many of the other tribal youth, she reveres the ancestral tribe’s dances and songs, and becomes highly skilled in both. She is exceptionally proud of her heritage and is finally given the opportunity to prove herself when a pod of whales become beached on the local shore. Mirroring her namesake, Paikea rides the largest whale back into the waves, saving the pod from disaster and death. At the end of the film, her strength, courage, and supernatural appointment as future chief is enough to convince Koro of her leadership abilities, and a new generation of Maori is given hope and guidance for the future.

There are certain details that glue to your brain about some events. The first time your fall off your bike, your first kiss, the first time you get caught smoking pot. I remember very little of my childhood. I know from stories that is wasn’t a good one. I know from the gripping panic I wake up to after a bad dream, that I can’t ever remember, it’s probably a blessing I don’t.

Have you ever wanted to own your own island? Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, we will never be friends? Well , this story might change your mind. Island of the Blue Dolphins was written by Scott O’Dell. It was published in 1960. This book is based on a true story, but it's not all factual.