Post #5

Summary: pg 230-287 

In august 1993, Clem commits suicide. She never told anyone the reason why she would do something like that. She only left a letter to the guy she was having an affair with. His name was R.B. in her letter she made a list of the things she was going to miss and talking about the relationship her and R.B had. Through the lines, she didn’t mention any reason of ending her life. While reading her sister’s last words, Louisa got really mad. She was really mad that her sister didn’t even mention her once in her letter. Louisa and her parents had flown to Florida so they could get Clem’s things. Everyone Louisa met reminded her of Clem. The whole time, Louisa wanted to know the truth about Clem’s suicide. She asked R.B and he told her that she used some of the medicine that they used to put the bear to sleep and it killed her. Years later in August 2005, Louisa has gotten married to a real estate man. She was still living in New York. Even though she had heard thousands of reasons for Clem’s death she would still not think any of those was the real reason of Clem’s suicidal. 

Quote:

           

             “And there was no mention of me. No reference at all. “You worm,” I say out loud. “You monster.” My hands are shaking. I throw the letter down on the bed, as if it’s scorching hot… “It’s like I don’t even exist,” I say” (Glass 255)

Reflection:

            This quote explains how Louisa felt when she found the letter that Clem left for R.B. In the letter Clem did not mention Louisa. Louisa was sad after her sister committed suicide and maybe she felt bad that they couldn’t fix their relationship in time before Clem was gone. Maybe that’s why she was disappointed that Clem didn’t include her in her last words. To me it seems like once again Louisa wanted to make everything about her. It seemed like she felt left out and not important since Clem didn’t mention her.

            I’m also sad that Clem killed her self. Clem’s death is still a little unclear to me. But based on what Louisa and Ralph were discussing during their dinner, I think that Clem found out she had HIV and she couldn’t go on living in the pain of knowing she was going to die at any minute. Instead of waiting for death to come slowly, she ended her life before she could suffer. I can relate Clem’s death to Antigone. Antigone refused to accept her punishment and her death to come slowly and more painful. Like Clem, Antigone also decided to end her life before suffering. 

Summary:

In 1989, Louisa and her husband of five years Hugh visit her mother in Rhode Island. One day all three of them have lunch on the beach and her mother tries to convince the two of them to have kids and not wait for “the right moment”. Louisa tries to change the subject but her mother brings it up again. Two years ago Louisa had been pregnant but before even telling anyone she miscarried. While cleaning her stuff, Louisa found a box with letters from her best friend Eliza that were over 10 years old. They describe Eliza’s summer romance with a man named Jeremy. Looking at the letters made her realize that her marriage with Hugh was in “trouble”.  Seeing Hugh asleep in the bedroom made her realize why she wanted to keep the letters.

In 1990, the narrative voice changes from Louisa to Clem. Clem wakes up from a coma and cannot remember anything about the last five weeks. She remembers Jerry and their talk about Jerry wanting to have kids. She reflects back to how she met Jerry, the last winter in Maine and how she says that “I never wanted a guy the way I wanted Jerry, almost the minute I met him”. She explains how she was crazy and jealous of everything he touched. By sitting in her bed at the hospital, she reflected back to the times she had been at the hospital. Age 1: she bit through her tongue rolling off the table, Age 2: dropped the heavy stone head on her right foot, Age 4: bitten by a rat in the barn, 7: allergic reaction to blue cheese dip, 10:stunge and had her ears and eyes swollen. Age 15:broke her nose diving in the pool, age 22: racing on a bike when a station wagon sideswiped her and left a foot long gash, 22 again: ectopic pregnancy, Age 23: became pregnant again.

Quote:

"As I read them, I realize why it thrilled me so much that summer to get them. They are love letters: letters all about love, at least how it begins," (Glass, 133)

Reflection:

I chose this quote because it expresses Louisa’s thoughts and feelings towards her husband Hugh. She questions their marriage and she can’t figure out what is keeping them together. She goes through the letters of her best friend Eliza and reads all about love and her summer romance. I think that It reminds her of what love should feel like and that’s why she kept the letters. To remind herself of love and she doesn’t feel like it exists between her and Hugh.

I See You Everywhere pg. 44-90

Summary:

              In this new chapter, the reader is introduced to Clem’s character and her love for wildlife. Louisa mentions Clem’s relationship with her boyfriend Luke. She explains how Luke is really committed to her and wants to marry Clem but she doesn’t even want to get married. She explains how Clem is not that committed to Luka as he is to her. Louisa also talks about her and Clem’s relationship during the summer. She mentions how she and Clem talked about during activities during the summer and their encounters with strangers.  In these pages the reader is also introduced to Louisa’s feeling towards Sam, a painter that she fell for who was different and full of surprises as she describes him. The reader also is introduced to the jealousy that Louisa got towards Clem because she wasn’t in charge of her anymore as Clem grew up. At a dinner where Louisa was suppose to meet up with Sam, Clem and Luka show up as well. At first Clem didn’t tell Louisa what happened but in the end she ended up explaining how she had something with a guy named Spider and that she got pregnant. She was very confused and didn’t know how she was going to tell Luka about it.

Quote:

          "I could do her do just about everything. I was supreme, in charge…Suddenly she no longer took my threats seriously. Try as I might, I could not gain her fear, her respect, never mind her trust. Well, I thought, this is what I deserve for being such a tyrant, for having assumed my regime was infallible. Tyrants, no exception, fall" (Glass 53).

Reflection:

          I chose this quote because it expresses Louisa’s feelings towards her sister and how things changed between the two sisters. This memory of the childhood shows where the relationship got damaged. Louisa was always used to controlling and taking care of her sister Clem. Once Clem grew up and became stronger than her, she felt like it was harder to control her.