Quarter 2, Post 8: Facts are the enemy of the truth

For my blog post today I have decided to talk about a quote that I have come across while reading the book The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry. I like this quote a lot and I also think it fits perfectly with what is going on in the book right now.

“ ‘Facts are the enemy of the truth,’  Eva quoted Don Quixote." (page 167)

As soon as I read this line, I immediately thought how stupid it sounded to say that facts are basically not true, because they are. However, as I continued to think about it, I realized that this is not what the line is saying at all. Rather, it is saying that facts sometimes get in the way of the truth or keep one from really seeing the truth. This is very true, because I can think of many times that people just stuck with what they see instead of what they feel to make a decision. This is, however, a very naive way to look at something because it is often the things that are hidden that matter the most. For example, right now in he book Rafferty is looking at all the facts of Emma’s case and trying to connect these facts to Angela. The problem is, there is nothing that is connecting them in any way that he can see in the files. The problem is, their relationship might not be something so concrete, but have to do with the lace readings, which is certainly not factual, but more fantasy. Even though they are not reliable, I fully believe that the lace reading will be the key to finding Angela, and that fact is holding Rafferty back from thinking of this himself. I am hoping that soon he will stop holding back and search deeper in to the case to discover this.

Quarter 2, Post 7: Rafferty's Flashback

I have been continuing to read over the break and my book, The Lace Reader, is continuing to get more interesting. I am on page 155 right now and I am really enjoying the way that the plot it forming. Right now, Rafferty is continuing to try to find out more information about Angela’s past. While looking through files and records, he comes across records of the Whitney family. Suddenly he has a flashback:

Emma Boyton and Cal Boyton were married at the time Cal started to beat her. Finally one day he hit her so hard that he broke her jaw. That night he disappeared. While Emma fought for her life Cal tried to escape on a stolen boat. When he was found several days later almost dead, Eva filed for a restraining order. Through the divorce Emma received all of Yellow Dog Island. Cal became very religious after claiming to have seen “ the face of God” and lead a group of Calvinists.

… His flashback went on and on, going into detail the lives of the Whitney’s during this difficult time in their life. I am curious as to why Rafferty knows so much about their lives and how he know so much about Emma, someone he had never even met before. I am beginning to think he has some type of connections or relationship with someone or had one in the past that we don’t know about yet. I was also very shocked about the things that he remembered and wonder if it all is true. Hopefully Rafferty will clarify some of there things later in the novel.

 

Quarter 2, Post 6: Angela

This week I have read four more chapters in The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry, and it is starting to get a lot more interesting. I don’t have any answers to my previously asked questions yet, but I am positive that they are soon to come. Towner and Rafferty have just gone looking for a missing girl named Angela. Angela is a teenager from town that has been known to go missing every once in a while. Eva usually finds her without a problem because the two were very close, but since Eva has recently died everyone sadly goes out to find her themselves. Little do they know it wont be as easy as they think…

Everyone has just begun their search for Angela, checking all the normal spots for her to hide. They even break into her house but it is dark and empty. This is where the plot starts to get interesting. I don’t know what will happen next but Rafferty seems to be getting very discouraged. He even broke a few windows out of pure frustration. When Towner and Rafferty first went out on this trip to look for Angela, I though it might be a chance for them to “redo” their date that had been cut short and get to know each other a little better. Now I think that they both will be too occupied with the search to pay any attention to each other. I don’t know where they plan to look for Angela next or what challenges they will encounter in the next few days, but I do know that I have reached the exciting part of the book!

Quarter 2, Post 5: Towner and Rafferty

I am continuing to read The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry. The plot has advanced more in the past few pages than it has in the entire first part of the novel, so I thought for my blog post today I would break down everything that is happening in section two (up to page 139).

Towner is still in Salem, but plans to leave shortly until a realtor approaches her and asks her if she is planning on selling Eva’s house. Towner hadn’t really considered it until then, but decides that selling the house might be what’s best for everyone, even though she personally doesn’t want to. She immediately goes home and starts to clear Eva’s things out. This so when she realizes just how much stuff Eva kept. There were boxes and boxes of this that looked like trash to Towner, but she knew that if it was packed it must have been important to Eva, so she treated it all with care. Towner even stumbled upon some pictures of herself when she was young. Seeing herself so happy and innocent just makes her resent the accident even more, and all she can think about is Lyndley, her late sister. It is hard for her to keep remembering the past, especially since she can't “find” all of her memories because of the accident. This frustrates her so she decides to take a walk, where she runs into Rafferty again. They begin talking, and suddenly he invites her to dinner. She agrees and they leave that night on the boat to eat on a “floating restaurant”. The date is awkward and they both are feeling weird being with each other. However, what makes it even weirder for Towner is that she can feel people staring at her and hear them think about her. Suddenly, a fight breaks out and Rafferty goes to help break it up. Towner is mortified when she realizes that the fight is about her. The couple immediately leaves the restaurant. Towner thinks the date could not have gone worse, but to her surprise Rafferty asks her to do it again sometime.

I do not know what Towner and Rafferty’s relationship is going to turn into, but I do know that it has changed for good. I am also interested to see what Towner decided to do about Eva’s house. I can imagine that the decision will be a very hard one to make, and I can't wait to see what happens!

cites to use

http://www.religioustolerance.org/statbelief.htm

http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/safehaven.cfm

Research Paper Blog #1- Annotated Bibliography

Is it ethical to abandon your child under the Safe Haven Law?

Myers, Alicia. “Alternatives to the Safe Haven Law”. 8 October 2008. KOLN/KGIN. http://www.kolnkgin.com/home/headlines/30664609.html

 

Alicia Myers is a reporter for KOLN/KGIN, a major broadcasting station in Nebraska and Northern Kansas. In this article, Myers examines the alternatives to abandoning a child because of the Safe Haven Law. Some of these substitutes are turning to family and neighbors, seeking help from community outreach programs, and even getting counseling and guidance from the state itself. She uses the expertise of Todd Landry, Director of the Division of Children and family Services Department for the State of Nebraska, to help her in this piece as well. Landry, “gives the legislature credit for trying to put a law into effect to try and protect kids from danger or being harmed.” However, he does believe that the alternatives listed above are what is best for everyone involved in most cases and encourages parents to the Safe Haven Laws as a last resort. I think that this article was intended for aggravated parents that need to make decisions about their child’s future and want to do it in a positive way. This article can help me a lot in learning other ways that frustrated parents can help their children instead of abandoning them, as well as how necessary the Safe Haven Laws really are.

 

 

 

Koch, Wendy. “Nebraska ‘Safe Haven’ Law for Kids Has Unintended Results”. 26 September 2008. USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-25-Left-kids_N.htm

 

Wendy Koch, a writer and reporter for USA Today, discusses in this article the outcomes of Nebraska’s new Safe Haven Law. She shares the stories of the 14 children that have been abandoned since the law came into effect. Learning the reasons for some of the abandonments and the outcomes of these tragedies really has showed me the messy side of these laws. Todd Landry, Director of the Division of Children and family Services Department for the State of Nebraska, is quoted in this article as well. He says, “We really opened a can of worms,” and that now, “We have a mess.” I believe that the Safe Haven Law in Nebraska was meant to have a positive outcome, but has taken a turn for the worst. The facts in this article really show some of the negative sides to such laws and reasons that maybe these types of laws should not exist.

Quarter 2, Post 4: Towner's Past

This week I have read 7 more chapters into The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry. So far I like it a lot, but there hasn’t been much action yet which was something I was hoping for in this book. However, the continuous character development and further descriptions of the setting of Yellow Dog Island are keeping me interested. One thing I have been especially enjoying is the memories that Towner keeps flashing back to. We learned recently in the book that Towner was in an accident of some sort just after her sister died, and lost her long-term memory. In fact, her and her brother refer to past events as BTH (before the hospital) and ATH (after the hospital) while talking to help Towner recall things easier.

Towner’s great aunt Eva passed away at the beginning of the book, and her funeral has taken place in these past few chapters. Since all of Towner’s family attended the ceremony, we have discovered a lot about the family’s past that explains a lot about Towner and Beezer’s lives now. For example, their mother sent them to live with Eva when they were young because there wasn’t a good school where they lived, and that is why they were closer to Eva than to their own mother. We have also learned a little bit more about Lyndley, Towner’s sister that has passed away, but not enough to piece anything together into the real story of her death. I am beginning to think that this is what the book will be about. Even if its not, I am really hoping I find out more about Lyndley soon.