Thursday, August 12, 2010
Group C Connector
Post your connections to the book. These may be connections to: your own life (text to life)To happenings at school or in the neighborhood or in the newspaper (text to world)To other books or stories (text to text)To other writings on the same topic (text to text)To other writings by the same author (text to author)Please respond to each other's entries.
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While reading this story and trying to make connections back to my own life, other books, and the world, I was having a difficult time. I can't recall any other books that I have read that reminded me of this book.
ReplyDeleteText to World Connection: The Loch Ness monster has been a mystery and an attraction that people have been courious about for years. This book made me think of all of the myths that have been told about the Loch Ness Monster.
The biggest connection that I could make was Text to Self. The main character, Vanessa, reminded me very much of a few students and friends I have have over the past few years. Vanessa, was a younger girl who seemed very depressed and hurt over the loss of her mother. She was having a hard time moving away from her loss and being happy with what she has left. Vanessa seemed very lonely, and also hurt with her father, because he was able to move foward and find another significant other to share time with. Vanessa, did not agree with what her father was doing and was hurt by his decissions. She was also upset with her brothers for being able to accept this new woman into their lives.
Vanessa reminded me of two friends I met in college. A few months before college began they both lost one of their parents (one was a father and one was a mother). They were having a very hard time moving forward and accepting their new life the way it would be. They seemed very distant, and always felt "alone". I remember one of my friends also dealing with their father who started to date, not to long after the passing of their mother. My friend was devasted, hurt, and felt like her dad was betraying her and their family. My friend was not welcoming to this new woman, and wanted nothing to do with her.
Another connection I made which is similiar to my friends situation, was also from a couple of students I've had. This two students, were from families that had recently gone through a divorce. Their parents had started "dating" other people and bringing them around the young children. My students would come to school, crying their eyes out because they didn't understand why their parent(s) would start dating someone other than their mother or father. They felt like their parents were trying to hurt them, and they suffered through the whole "dating process". These students reminded me a lot of Vanessa because of the way they felt towards their families and parents.
When reading this book I was thinking of many connections that I can make to it.
ReplyDeleteI made a text to text connection with Loch Ness and Alice in Wonderland. It was funny how the book stated that Vanessa fell into a world like Alice in Wonderland. I was thinking that when she fell into the water and appeared in a cave. She had to eat the algae to stay alive. Just like Alice, when she had to eat the mushroom to grow and drink the liquid to shrink in
Wonderland. This author represented the make believe world of Nessie just like the author of Alice in Wonderland did in his story.
I could make a text to self connection to my own life. Vanessa lost her mom and was very angry with her father because he was spending time with Lee. Vanessa already was having a difficult time adjusting to her loss. This added fuel to her pain because she thought Lee was going to replace her mother and her family would never be the same. This happened to my husband. Even though he was much older than Vanessa when his mother died the pain was very evident to me. He was very distrought by the fact his mother was no longer there for us. Our boys would never be able to experience the love she had for them. He was very distant for awhile with everyone in the family because he couldn't get past the fact that life was going to be different now. Then what made matters worse was when his father got married 3 months after her death. The family drifted apart even more because my husband and his brother couldn't get past the fact his father remarried someone in a short period of time. He had a hard time moving away from his loss and being happy with what he had left. Just like Vanessa who seemed very lonely, and also hurt with her father, because he was able to move foward and find another person to share his time with. Vanessa, did not agree with what her father was doing and was hurt by his choices, just like my husband.
Another connection I made was with my friend's sister. She was fifteen and a sophomore in high school. It was the last day of school and she never came back home. She disappeared for several days before she was found in a bad neighborhood with friends we didn't know. Everyone was frantically looking for her. We had search parties out for her. We made signs with her face and description. We were so desprate just like Alan. It opened the wounds of my missing friends sister and I could feel the pain once again when I was reading how Alan and the boys felt in the story. Not knowing where a love one is could be so detrimental to the person's soul. Even after you find them, you wonder what that person was going through and why did they do it in the first place. Then, you are afraid to even ask the question why or how come.
Sorry I posted this in the wrong group.
ReplyDeleteI agree about being able to relate Vanessa's character to people in our own lives. I found Vaness to be a character that many could relate to, as we have all heard about or are a part of families that have separated for any reason at all (death, divore, etc).
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading the story, I was sort of anticipating how the author was going to make Nessie a part of Vanessa's life. Also, I had questions about Lee, and how she was all pulled into the story.
Most importantly, the connection I made to the story was that Vanessa and her family are from Ireland (as well as the author), and I just recently visited there. It is a beautiful country, and from an outsiders perspective, the beauty of Europe is so surreal while you are visiting, that it almost seems as though you, yourself is in Alice in Wonderland. Even looking at photographs online of the actual Loch Ness, the surreal nature of the environment, amost makes you believe that this could actually be "real".
I also agree that Vanessa is a good character to relate to people in our own lives. Unfortunately for many children, they can relate to the loss of a parent.
ReplyDeleteI think that Vanessa was a very curious, and adventurous girl. Looking past her depression stemming from her mother's death she had a wonderful mind! She had such an imagination...and like a typical growing girl felt very lost without her mother.
Vanessa reminded me of Naomi Leon, in "Becoming Naomi Leon" by Pam Munoz Ryan. In this story, Naomi's mother was not fit to take care of her and she was raised by her grandmother. Naomi was adventurous and curious just like Vanessa and had such determination in the story. Naomi's mother ends up coming back with another boyfriend to take Naomi and her brother, but they escape to go find Naomi's father. Just like Vanessa was searching for a way to connect with her mother, Naomi was trying to find a way to connect with her father.
As for relating this text to the world, I think it is amazing to read about all the sightings of Nessie. Just going on the website that is designated for Nessie is so interesting.
I really liked Jaclyn's text to world connection. When Professor Kurkjian told us we would be reading this book, I think that everyone in class made a connection to their background knowledge on the Loch Ness Monster. I agree also that the main character, Vanessa, is very easy to identify with, even if you haven't experienced the loss of a parent. The author's style in writing allows you to delve deep into the psyche of Vanessa. I think students who have a loss a parent can easily relate to this story. I also agree with what Jen said about readers making connections about divorce. I related to Vanessa's unwillingness to accept Lee as I felt the same when I first met my stepmother. I also connected with Vanessa's feelings that through time, acceptance, and understanding, we can begin to look past our feelings of hurt and move on.
ReplyDelete