Citizenship

In this chapter a lot happened with Toby and his mom moving into Dwight's house. Toby is very upset with this so he paints the inside white. Dwight is not being very nice during the moving prosses. For example when Dwight wouldn't buy shows for Toby so he could play basketball. I think he should of because he should want to be sort of
like a father.

Dwight is not a good citizen

I feel that there is no good citizenship in the living situation Jack is in. When jack gets into the fight with Arthur, Dwight was actually proud of him. He was teaching Jack that fighting is good for him. Everyone thinks that Dwight is this good person in the community when he really is teaching Jack from wrong.

Footstep Follower

I noticed that Toby seems to follow in people's footsteps a lot and now that Skipper has started reaching out to him in some way he inspired and loves cars now. Toby always follows someone else's dreams and always let down in the end and Skipper is just another example.

What Now?

I really didnt understand why Toby was talking to his birth father now after everything that has happened in the past. Also Dwight is showing more and more of his true colors and a care taker of Toby and Toby's mother. Also I was really surprised when Skipper and his friend got hit with a bad sand storm, I thought something worse was going to happen like they would get into a car crash. This section didnt turn out how I thought it would, so it was interesting to read.

A lot in a little

In these few sections, I feel like a ton of events occured. Did 5 months go by? For starters, I noticed that Dwight has now been slightly more accepting of Toby since he was acting malicious. Really Dwight, we're encouraging bullying? Somehow I'm not surprised. Relating to citizenship, this bullying incident has made Dwight recognize Toby more as a citizen rather than another person to deal with. Although it seems like Toby and Dwight are bonding, the future events don't seem to reflect that. Especially the horrifying fact that toby has thoughts of killing Dwight?! There is many complications clearly seen in this "family," but why aren't they being solved. My question is what will it take for Toby and his mom to actually leave Dwight, we know they both don't like him. I'm interested in finding out what happens next. 

Is There Really Any Citizenship?

Yes, there is citizenship in Dwight's home. But is it really a good type of citizenship? And if it's not good does it really count? It is a learning experience. On page 113 Jack starts to fabricate his fight with Arthur to Dwight because he sees how interested Dwight is in his story. Jack finally realizes what makes Dwight's happy tick work and he will use it to his advantage; but what good is a relationship if it's only good off of lies. He only tells Dwight what he wants to hear, and that's that. That's not good citizenship on either end. Even more with Dwight acting more like a kid than a respectable, fatherly figure. Earlier in the book the women were complaining how Jack needs a father-figure in his life, now he has one. What's it doing for him, honestly? Another example of poor citizenship of Dwight is on page 121 where he makes attempts at attacking Jack's father.


I think this is the song that is mentioned that Skipper repeatedly play: "The Everglades" Kingston Trio

This shows citizenship in Skipper's new home, and hopefully he is a better role model and respectable authority figure in his own home than Dwight is/was.

Citizenship in Dwight's home

In the small town of Concrete Jack fought a "sissy" and lost so Jack sought advice as to how to fight correctly while at the same time Dwight is forcefully teaching Jack how to fight. Dwight is also known well in the community and because of his "perfect" personality everyone will see that he has citizenship in the house and in the community

Citizenship in the house

After when Toby had the fight with Arthur Dwight was happy, he encourage Toby about to when you can get into a fight you don't back down. Also Dwight was in "panic" mode when Toby's mom was moving in Dwight started to paint everything white, even the tiniest details. This shows citizenship because in this chapter Dwight showed that he was caring into what happened to Toby and painting when Toby's mom was going to move in.

What happened to mom?

When Jack and his mom first moved to Seattle they went to these boat races where they met some kind of creepy guys who they went back to their house with where they promised Jack a bike and a nice sandwich. Instead given a crappy sandwich and no bike like he was promised. Later that night the mom went out with them, when she came back home she was out of breathe and crying. She didn't tell Jack what happened but all you could do is assume the worst must have happened to her.

Dwight's a cry baby.

We realize exactly who Dwight is once they start to hang around him more especially at the turkey shoot when he tell Jack he can't actually shoot. His mom when he entered the shoot won and made Dwight look really bad and he through a fit making himself look even worse one for lying to Jack and  two losing to his girlfriend. When they all got back to the house he went to his room and continued his fit until he came out and decided to act human. This made Jack like him less I don't blame him.

Toby's strength, Mom's weakness

Poor Toby. This is the first section in the book I feel any sort of sympathy for him (even if he might not deserve it). All I can say is he is definitely changing. As much as a jerk Dwight might be, he is kind of helping Toby become this stronger person. We can see that it's very rough for Toby at first, leaving his mom and having Dwight aggressively drive home, hitting animals with his car and smoking. I almost see Dwight as a vaccine of an illness that is injected into Toby's life, and the vaccine is working. It's helping Toby become stronger.
He really does suck it up and copes with his inner pain very well. Obviously many of Dwight's actions are not necessary, as seen by Norma and Skipper's empathy for Toby's suffrage.  It's a shame that Toby's change is kind of abusively forced, but it's working. Toby is actually becoming more of a man, and not relying on his mother to do everything for him as usual. I was shocked how Toby told his mom that everything was going "fine," when he saw her. I'm quite frankly proud of him, and probably wouldn't have done that myself. He just smiled and went off with charming Dwight.  My question is how long is Toby going to be able to keep this up, when is he going to break and release all his inner feelings that are building up inside? He keeps telling his mom these things that aren't true, why? I'm also getting the feeling that mom is unsure about moving in with Dwight. I get this feeling from her excessive assurance of what Toby wants and how he is. I'm sure most people have similar feelings.  

Motif? I Think So!

A very common motif in this book I noticed was money it's in every section. This motif is probably the biggest one because Toby is slowly gaining more and more as he goes on, he started this book off with absently nothing other than clothes and a car, now he has his own job and living in a house he may not appreciate the hardships he has at this time but he will soon to come find out that he will have it a lot better then most the people in the world and he will be grateful for it even though Dwight might be whipping him a bit to much at the moment.    

Dwight's a copycat

I see that Dwight is like my "father" if you would. Because Dwight is someone who would take advantage of someone's abilities. The same with my "father" he would drag me along for things I wouldn't even be apart of, like work he would say you'll help me paint and fix dry wall. But I sat in an empty house doing nothing but complain. The same with Jack although Dwight uses Jack's  abilities to apparently set him straight but he's not. He's just a copycat of my "father".

Hard work for nothing

In my opinion Dwight is taking advantage of Toby and screwing him over. I have a prediction that Toby is gonna turn around and stand up for himself. I also think that Toby's mom is gonna come into the picture and do something about it.

Does He Love His Mom?

In this section of the book we get more of an insight on life with Dwight. Dwight's not too fond on bringing Jack with him when he goes to visit his mom, and when he does he blatantly lies to her. What's the difference now? The difference now is Jack feels guilty lying to his mom, one because he loves his mom — but it's mostly because Jack is in a bad situation with Dwight. "She made the world seem friendly. And somehow, with her, it was... My mother did not expect to find people dull or mean; she assumed they would be likeable and interesting..." (99). Jack was explaining his mom as a loving, nurturing person but he still doesn't explain why he treated her the way he did. So far, I think this "whole new deal" for Jack has given him a lot of time to think and now he's realizing that some of this things he's said and done haven't helped anybody or anything. I don't think it will continue to have positive affects on Jack and this is a short term feeling (of guilt and such) for Jack.

Childhood

Being a privileged child,  I can understand wanting to have things your way and also wanting attention. But yet I was also very down to earth. Toby on the other hand, is handed a lot given his situation. Toby does not appreciate things that are given to him even though the reality of the item he is given is huge in his situation. He is a brat and his mother deserves more. I can see maybe because he is a child he does not really understand but because he is in a hard situation he should understand even more that he needs to be happy with little things and be grateful. Toby constantly must have the attention on him and the money spent on him. Its one thing to be gratefull but antoher to simply be selfish.

Step-Father like Step-Son?

Dwight calls him a "Hotshot" in a drunken anger while going probably 70 or 80 miles per hour and "Lays down the law" to Toby and says "You pull that hotshot stuff around me and I'll snatch you bald-headed, you understand?" (Wolff, 91) Dwight is trying to be a Hotshot himself which in terms he is completely contradicting himself as drunken fools usually do. This shows how bad of a person he really is if he is trying to change Toby from what he is claimed to be, even though Dwight is already a more of a "hotshot" than Toby.

Dwight finds out

This part of this boys life Dwight acted like a real d* bag. First he hit a beaver purposely   and tried to make Toby pick it up. He then went to a tavern and made Toby just wait there for hours. He couldn't even turn the radio on. When he comes back Dwight goes on about how he's a hotshot and that he lies a lot. Dwight knew that Toby did impression of him and got really harsh at Toby. He just wanted to change the way Toby acted but I felt like he was being too harsh. They kept swerving on the road so they could of gotten hurt. It really did make Toby listen up to him because if he acted up again who knows what Dwight could of done.

Discourteous Dwight

In this short section of the book, a lot of Dwight's true identity was revealed. I noticed this especially when he went out of his way to hit the beaver on the street while he was with Toby. I felt particularly sorry for Toby because he is seeing a completely different side of Dwight- that his mother isn't seeing, and may never see. Hopefully Toby stays strong and does the right things to properly deal with Dwight. I wonder what he'll tell his mother, if anything.

Beaver Hamburgers

In pages 87-91 I was really thinking how crazy Dwight really is. I'm not for sure why he would go out of his way to hit the beaver in the road, and then try to make Toby pick it up and put it in the trunk. The other part that really got me is when he was asking if Toby was a liar or if it was his mom who was a liar. This section of the book really showed how crazy Dwight is.

This Should Be Fun

In this chapter you finally get to see the true, rude, heartless, messed up Dwight: it's great. We all knew, anyways, that Dwight is most likely a terrible person, and now that that is out in the open the book can only - in a sense - get better. Jack is going to be with Dwight for a while and I can't wait to see what kind of impact that has on Jack, and what, in particular, Dwight is going to do to make him less of a "hotshot". Jack is "in for a whole nother ball game" (91) with Dwight, there will be no more shenanigans and Jack is going to behave himself. I can't wait to read about what Jack does, and how he handles different situations. I think it's about to get serious, and although I'm glad we finally know who Dwight is, I hope he's not in the picture for too long.

JACKS ACTING SKILLS

Jack is somewhat forced to move in with Dwight in Chinook. On the way there after purposely killing a Beaver, Dwight makes Jack put it in the trunk where Dwight plans to sell the pelt for money. Which disgusted Jack. When finally heading for Chinook after going to a tavern Dwight asked Jack how good of an actor he is. Which Jack didn't answer. Then Dwight got Jack mad by bringing up Marian a friend of his moms saying that she's said he's a descent actor and that he had acted as Dwight. So Dwight demanded that he see his act. Which Jack didn't oblige to, which made Jack a horrible actor.

CAN ANYBODY REALLY TRUST TOBY?

I see Toby as a deceiving, cunning psychopathic liar. Now someone may say "well you jump the gun" that may be right but believe me I've been there and done that. While smoking a joint with four friends he wrote "Fuck you" on the wall in the boys bathroom. Being questioned by the vice principal with mom at his side Jack insisted he didn't do what was done in the bathroom. When in reality he did do it. Yet him mother still believes him. I hope when the time comes Dwight sets him straight.

Burgers and beavers

This chapter you get more detail on Dwight how he's more demanding than you think, he's was demanding on Toby by yelling at him to pick up the beaver but he didn't. This must have been awkward for Toby because he doesn't really connect with Dwight and all he was doing was yelling at him, and calling him hot shot.

Friend Helping A Friend Out

In one part of the book Toby's mom and him were  at the beach, they met two men one named Gil and another named Judd. Gil was being a "wing man" for Judd and helping him distract Toby from his mom. Judd was trying to get Toby's mothers attention by making it sound like he had a lot of money, by saying that he would buy Toby a really expensive bike for that time.

Liar liar pants on fire.

During this chapter Tobias was lying to his mom and principle about carving the swear word in the wall and says that he he was framed by the weed fiends and sticks with that as his story as his mom backs him up all the way because she thinks that he never lies to her.

Ungrateful

Toby's behavior has been terrible towards his mother. Not only is he lying to his mom constantly about smoking and stealing he is taking advantage of her. He acts like she has all the money in the world but he knows that's not true. Toby spends her money all the time. He is rude and selfish for doing this. His mom is trying to make their life easier but Toby is just ungrateful.

Toby`s Actions

In this section that I read it talked about Toby`s delinquent actions. I felt like the things he got into just got worse and worse. He was smoking in the guys bathroom at school and was swearing a lot . Toby scratched the words f* you into the wall. When the vice principal tried to get him to confess he kept saying it wasn't him. But when the principal explained how his friends told him he was there with Toby he denied. He even got his mother to believe that he was telling the truth. I feel bad for Toby`s mom because all shes trying to do is stand up and look out for him. But all hes doing is manipulating her into thinking that hes a good and innocent child.

Get it together

I'm ashamed in Toby. Why is he doing this to his mother. He's getting into bad things and he's not making it easy for anyone. His mom is single (currently) and works a job while also raising him. And then she has to come into the school to hear this nonsense about Toby acting up? That's wrong. He is treating his mom so disrespectfully! I also can't believe how stupid his mom is being. She thinks Toby doesn't lie to her? Hello, where have you been. I mean Toby is smoking, hanging out with mischievous kids and what not, she doesn't even have a clue as to who Toby really is! If things don't change the situation is only going to get worse. Toby needs to get his act together and mom needs to pay more attention to Toby.

Down With Dwight

After this section of the book I wouldn't be surprised if Jack turns out to be, yet another version, of the boy who cried "wolff". After his little bathroom scandal, he got into deep trouble. It just so happened to be in that moment where Jack actually felt sick: go figure. Did the vice principal believe it? Not for a second. Jack has told so many lies that he's finally starting to believe them himself, Jack expresses on page 78. He was starting to believe in his own innocence of the situation. Not only does he have himself convinced of this false innocence, he's got his mom on a leash, practically, with his lies. I feel bad for her in this case because she hasn't raised him in a way to be like this. But in another way I don't feel bad for her because she hasn't given him more discipline. I'm not trying to say his mom is a bad person, she just could have made a couple of better choices. Anyways, Jack's in for it now because he's going to be spending a lot of time with Dwight. Hopefully this will knock some sense into him, but in my opinion living with Dwight will only make things worse - for Jack and for mom.

More delinquency

Toby has been showing more delinquency, getting into trouble with the vice principal. Also  his delinquency is getting worse is because of the people he's hanging out with. In my opinion I think he's gonna mess up bad and Dwight is gonna lose it and mess up in front of  Toby's mom.

Blind As A Bat

Toby's mother needs to find her that fell off her head. Toby's mom refuses to see what is wrong with Toby even though he is the one that scratched "F*** You" on the wall, Toby's Mother refuses to accept anything that he did wrong and asks him if he did it he said no then his mother turned to the principle and said "See, he doesn't lie to me." Like I said blind as a bat if any mother thinks that their kid doesn't lie to them they have a problem it's just how kids work they lie....

This Girls Life

This Boys Life is anything but a good one. Whilst reading this book I have begun to compare my life to Tobys. I have realized that although in Tobys persecutive of his life, it seems to be okay despite the hard patches the come along, the amount of badness is minimal to him. I understand that Toby is only a child at this point and his view on life makes things seem a little less important or evident in a bad situation. I can understand the seriousness of a situation and I can comprehend everything that is going on in Tobys situation because I am older, more privileged, and I feel, more educated. Overall, looking at my situation I can understand that I have a lot in my life.

Deceiving Dwight

This book is anything but ordinary. This book shows that someone as nice as Dwight all the time must be putting on some kind of show. I personally don't think that someone could be as happy as Dwight all the time. Once "Jack" and his mom go to stay at Dwight's house his true personality shows when he communicates with his children. One thing that showed how fake Dwight is, is when he promised "Jack" to shoot turkeys on Thanksgiving, and then the day of Thanksgiving he told "Jack" that it was just for adults.

Is it a lie?

"Dwight was quite after my mother told her story. Then he told one of his own about a Thanksgiving he'd spent in the Philippines, when starving Japanese soldiers ran out of the jungle and grabbed food right off the chow line, and nobody even tried to shoot them." (Wolff 75). On multiple accessions Dwight has lied but I can't seem to tell if this story is a lie or not... I think he's starting to slip with his fake but oddly believable personality, but I still can't see why Toby's mother can not see it like us.  

Dwight's other side

I'n this section of the the book I felt like we got to know Dwight a little more. He acted so nice and sweet at first when he was around Toby and his mom. Later in the section they go to a turkey shoot and Toby's mom beat Dwight. He acted really furious and immature about the whole situation. He wouldn't even talk to her the way home. I felt like Dwight should of at least apologized or handled the situation differently. I'm not quite sure if this relationship Toby's mom is getting into the best for her. She even says that it feels like she's getting rushed into something but doesn't seem to be ready yet. Dwight could think differently and might want her and Toby to possibly move in. She's doing well in work and feels as if she's getting somewhere. Toby even agrees with her that later is better than now.

Dwight's A Baby

In this chapter you get to see a "new side" of Dwight. In reality, you knew this was coming. We discussed in class that no one could ever, truly be as happy all the time as Dwight is, and that his happiness was an act. Dwight is all about "respect" from his kids, and he does get that. When his kids try to have a real conversation, or correct him in anyway, Dwight becomes disrespectful and lashes out at them. Although Dwight is trying to brag about how great Chinook is, in all reality it's not that great. Even Jack's mom said she didn't want to rush into anything - somehow Dwight is making everything continue to move fast. More importantly, what bothered me the most, was how much of a baby Dwight is. He lost the turkey shoot, blamed it on the gun, and gave Jack's mom the silent treatment. You would think someone in that position would be proud of their spouse, or whatever. Skipper corrected him, and he turned into a sarcastic baby and got all defensive when the comment wasn't direct to him.

DWIGHT'S APPEARANCE

Dwight's appearance is the the key. The key to what I believe is his thought that he can get in with Jack's mom. He also in my opinion is a guy that would straighten Jack out due to his personality. For example when Jack and Dwight are going Chinook where the rifle club is holding a Turkey shoot out.  Jack thought he was going to shoot a Turkey but the truth was found out when Dwight used Jack for his gun. In the end Dwight's appearance is what's going to shoot him down.

Dwight's big Show

One of my favorite parts in this chapter is when they all go to the turkey shoot and Toby's mom signs up, shocking Dwight. Of course, she wins and discourages Dwight while his children laugh at his anger. "He killed a deer once" "with his car!" He is so mad about Rosemary "showing him up" and it's really funny. He wants them to move up there with him and is putting on this great "show," for Toby and his mom to impress them. But the show starts going downhill at the turkey shoot, for Dwight at least.

Good detail and knowing Dwight

In this chapter I didn't really connect but I noticed a lot. I noticed that this chapter had good detail about Skipper and Norma. It gave good detail on how Skipper had a "wedge shaped head, a flat back and a long bladed nose". It also gave good detail on how Norma had "big red lips, how she stretched she showed milky slices of belly, and how she had thick red hair". Finally in this chapter we were getting to know Dwight, it shows how he's not that perfect guy he's strict and mean.

Gil and Judd

I found this section in TBL to be kind of creepy. These two men, one who wanted to get with Toby's mom and the other guy was his wingman. They thought if they could get Toby to like him then he would feel safe if the man was with his mom. At first they offer lunch and would give Toby a hamburger but he got a sandwich instead. Then the men said he would get him a bike. They were just full of bs. They just wanted to make the mom feel happy that they were acting caring and nice to Toby. When Toby's mom gets home from her date with one of the men she was crying and I felt like he just took advantage of her.

Stuck

In this chapter you see Jack's mom get caught up in another, what seems to be, some kind of abusive relationship. Or, in a more accurate statement, a dud relationship. Jack's mom reminds me of Liz's mom, how they're always getting stuck in a line of bad relationships. Why is this occurring? Just like in Jack and Liz's situation, they're in an unstable environment, more particularly: the moms are in bad sexual/romantic relationship(s). Both Ma, and Jack's mom want better for their children, and have little support, so they find themselves caught up in bad relationships that are promised to help support not only them, but their children. They each only wanted what's best for their children, and sometimes what's best for one person isn't the best for another. I think by the end of the book Jack's mom will realize there's better ways to support Jack, and will find herself becoming more independent, than male dependent.

Sketchy scene

This last section was really shady. There is definitely something up with these 2 creepy guys. Where did they even come from? It seemed like all of a sudden the story was engulfed by these guys, asking questions, inviting them over, acting a little strange. I'm surprised jack wasn't suspicious about how the guy was separating Jack from his mom, while the other man was with his mom. Then they began asking all these other questions. Something is definitely up.

The cycle of time that never seems to end

I think that Jacks mom is in too deep she needs to chill and think about what she's doing. At the same time I think Jack needs to do the same i mean he wants his mom to go on a date with Gill while having trust in him that he won't destroy their home. And the only reason he wants her on the date is so he can get the bike that Gill promised. And in the process her heart got broken and he never got the bike so I think that Jack and his mom need to think about the men they see and know about before they let them in their life.

The wing man

I thought this reading was funny, but there were no connections. I thought this was funny because there was these two random guys walk up to Toby's mom and are hitting on her. Another reason why I thought it was funny was because Gil was paying attention to Toby, making him lunch, and buying the best bike on the market, and then Judd is getting good with the mom, that's why I called it wingman.

False Hope

To me something that is a motif in This Boy's Life and Breaking Night is false hope Toby has been offered false hope by his mom all the time, but now he gained more false hope from Gil his false hope always turns out bad as you expect. In Breaking Night Liz was showered in false hope by Carlos about money, shelter, and all that good stuff. Let's just hope Toby gets some trusty hope.

Jack: Mommys angel and Neighbor hood delinquent.

Jack thinks he is one of the baddest coolest kids around that lives in a bounding house. Him and his friends are always causing trouble,stealing ciggarettes, and making dumb remarks to,his friends sisters and the tv. At this point in his life that makes him cool. When in reality it makes him detestable to most people. His moms friend Marian sees right through his act with his mom she knows he's trouble and not the little angel his mom thinks he is but she kinda just keeps her mouth shut about it. But hey to most kids he's living the dream being a "badass" and getting away with it.

Family

After reading these few sections in the book, you can tell that his mom does love him and she tries to discipline him. He knows that his mother cares but the discipline part is hard for her. Because Toby's mother is a single mom there isn't always someone there to tell him right from wrong, because she has to work to support them. I think from his actions that he does is from not knowing right from wrong. If he had a good father figure in his life Toby wouldn't be getting into doing some of the wrong things that he does.m

Twist plot

What was a big twist in the story was when terry silver got home with his friends and pulled out the nazi arm band. What shocked me the most was the fact that he is Jewish and he does this when no one is home at his house. I think he does this because his dad left him and his mom and went and has a new wife, also the fact his dad was Jewish too so he wants to be something that doesnt like the Jews just like the nazis..

Devious little Ba...

Toby yet again is getting in to trouble and in my opinion it is just going to keep increasing... I feel that Toby uses juvenile behavior to cover up that he have pretty bad life home as some kids do and really it can turn out to shape Toby as person very greatly or very poorly... I really don't want to wait to find out.

Toby's Mess

During this book we've really gotten to knows about Toby's life. I feel like he has a great loving mom but she is not always there for him. For example when he would go and vandalize things she was at work. I know that's where she should be because she needs to put a roof over their head. Toby just needs to be more grown up and be responsible.

Toby's Out of Control

I feel like after getting to know Toby a little more hes an out of control 11 year old. The things he does is just not something kids his age would do. I feel like his friends have a bad influence on him because of the havoc they cause together. They all have issues in their lives so i feel like they can relate to each other, and just don't really give a care in the world so they can do whatever they want.

This Boys life...is a mess!

In this last section, the things I noticed most were that Toby and the kids he hangs out with have no supervision whatsoever. Why is this? Where is his mother, is she off to work, and just leaves him home to do whatever he pleases? This just blows my mind how he is 11 years old and has complete freedom. His mother has no idea about the types of trouble he gets into. Crashing stolen bikes into cars, stealing things, smoking, and so on. The other thing I don't understand is how these kids go from being dirt bags and "bad-asses," to then going home and watching Mikey Mouse Clubhouse!? Lol-what??? I guess that explains the section title, "Uncool."

Victim Of Circumstance?

As I continue to read, I have begun to see something between Breaking Night and TBL. In This Boys Life, we see Toby who has a somewhat stable Mother and 'okay' overall life, yes it is still a little off the hinges, but it is still a better life then Liz's. In Breaking Night we see that at a younger age than where Toby is,  Liz had to provide for her family and live with her drugged up parents. Liz's life was overall a train wreck and anyone who would look at her childhood would cringe. And yet I see that Liz had a worse situation than Toby by a lot, but she seems to be the better person out of the two of them. What I have found is that Toby is constantly finding himself to be the trouble rather than fixing the trouble or doing what he can to help. Toby has a somewhat stable part to his life and yet he is constantly trying to rock the boat. Liz on the other hand, has a unstable base to her and finds every possible way to steady herself and others. TBL vs Breaking Night has made me think about the ideas of circumstance and bettering yourself. I wonder when Toby will being to think about this too, and if he ever will.

Toby Is Not Liz

It's only still the beginning of the book but I'm already starting to make connections between TBL and Breaking Night. They're more differences than similarities.  Liz and Toby's situations are different, but similar in the way both lacked a stable home life and family. Liz didn't act out the way Toby has in the book so far (she did but that wasn't until she was a teen). Liz wanted to do good for herself, she wanted to go places, but most of all she wanted her parents affection. Toby? He wants to be a boy. He wants to talk about girls, hang out with friends, shoot guns, egg cars, make people mad, and not even care most of the time. He doesn't want to show love or affection, he wants to be feared and in control.
It just goes to show that no matter what situation you're in it's how you handle yourself that makes the difference. Scientifically, girls brains are 2/3 years ahead of boys (about - not in all cases - boys brains stop growing at 29 and girls around 24/25). But overall I've just been making connections like these - maturity, adaptation of situations - between the two books. Toby hasn't had good examples of men in his life, hasn't had a stable home, isn't educated enough to understand simple things (that are truly common sense - like: don't egg people's cars).  But it is also just apart of being a boy, a pre-teen, the whole rebelliousness of it. No one is exactly alike, I'm not trying to generalize genders, this just something I've noticed - similar situations but two different maturity levels.

This boys life uncool

I liked how Toby couldn't get along with Marian when they moved to the west part of Seattle but had to try keep up appearances with her by responding to her with yes or no ma'am

Starting in Seattle

At the start of the Vhapter Toby and his mom moved to West Seattle in a heart beat. Toby in Seattle was still the same kid he was making trouble left and right. Toby lived in Half timbered house with a landlorder with burnt sink from a fire, Toby thought he was an awkward man becaause he kept touching him. Toby met two new friends named Terry Taylor and Terry Silver they were both deeliquents like Toby. These boys only did tree things, cuase troble, go to the pawn shop and look at guns in the window, then go and watch Mickey Mouse club house, then go on a roof and stair at the man with a 55' Thunder bird.

Gun Control

Gun control should be regulated more for people like Toby. I know things were not so difficult then and gun control wasn't really a big thing or deal then. But when things like taking a gun and aiming it at someone out of your window that's when things start

Should kids be trusted With guns?

I feel like young kids shouldn't be able to hold onto a gun because they can be really immature. Toby for example was pretending to be shooting at people through his window. What if the gun accidentally went off? Parents need to supervise their kids safety more often then letting them be free with a weapon. You never know what could happen if a gun ended up in the wrong hands of someone. It should be locked up some where safe before ever using it. And Toby should wait to use it when his mom and Roy is around.

Should gun restrictions be Heightened?

As we read in this last section, Toby has 24 hour access to this gun given to him by Roy. However, Roy and Toby's mom keep the ammunition in a "hidden" metal box in Roy's closet. The problem was that Toby knew where it was, it wasn't a problem for him to find the ammunition. His parents are unaware, or more his mom for that matter, that Toby knows where to find ammunition for this gun. He has a gun, he has access to ammunition, and he is left unsupervised at home for hours often. This is a serious issue. As we discovered in this last section, that when he is home alone, he gets mischievous and comes up with these "scenes," where he dressed up and acted as a professional militant. "The camouflage coat made me feel like a sniper, and before long I began to act like one (24)." This makes him feel as if he knows how to use such a dangerous tool, but he really doesn't. In the real world gun control is a serious issue. Guns need to be stored securely and safely. Special precautions need to be taken by any person handling or owning a gun, and gun licensing standards need to be heightened to increase the assurance of public and personal safety.  

Should gun restrictions be heightened?

As we read in this last section, Toby has 24 hour access to this gun given to him by Roy. However, Roy and Toby's mom keep the ammunition in a "hidden" metal box in Roy's closet. The problem was that Toby knew where it was, it wasn't a problem for him to find the ammunition. His parents are unaware, or more his mom for that matter, that Toby knows where to find ammunition for this gun. He has a gun, he has access to ammunition, and he is left unsupervised at home for hours often. This is a serious issue. As we discovered in this last section, that when he is home alone, he gets mischievous and comes up with these "scenes," where he dressed up and acted as a professional militant. "The camouflage coat made me feel like a sniper, and before long I began to act like one (24)." This makes him feel as if he knows how to use such a dangerous tool, but he really doesn't. In the real world gun control is a serious issue. Guns need to be stored securely and safely. Special precautions need to be taken by any person handling or owning a gun, and gun licensing standards need to be heightened. 

Smart use of guns

Gun control overall is a good thing especially for younger children. In the book when Toby was given the gun he wasn't tought how to use it properly or when to use it. When Toby was using the gun he was shooting animals, scaring his mom with it, and to if so hit off he was pointing it at old ladies. So overall gun control should be a smart thing to address especially to younger kids learning how to use guns.

Confession

In the book something that really caught my eye was when Toby agreed to go see the priest after talking to the nun. He ended up going to the confession. He told the priest everything. Another thing that I was surprised by was when Toby wanted to changes his name to jack.

Running away doesn't help

His mom has a habit of running away from things. Like her creepy ex boyfriend Roy, and her car. I wonder how long it will take her to run away from the situation she just got herself in. 

This boy's life Unholy Confessions

What really caught my attention while reading the book was when Tobi in "This Boy's life" wanted his name changed to Jack. In order for this to be done he would have to be a Catholic and have his Baptismal be Jonathan. Tobi was getting ready to be an official Catholic when he would have to make a confession to the priest in the confession stand. The first time he did he didn't make a confession so sister James convinced him to be honest and not worry about an outcome so she gave him examples of what to confess. So he lied in the confession stand and told the priest exactly what sister James told Tobi

Sinful actions

I found it interesting how Toby had a difficult time finding a sin he had done, so he talked with the nun, and took her examples of sin. He deffinetly has some sins to talk about now!

He is Just a Creep!

After finding out that Roy followed them from Florida it creeped me out a lot. Then reading more about him following Toby's mom to her work everyday it makes him look more obsessed than a stalker. It seems like all he wants is sex.

Toby to Trevor

I can connect to Toby because of the way he acts around his parents. I say that because Toby can be a rebel against his parents, he talks back to his parents, he doesn't listen, and he gets in trouble. I can do the same thing from time to time.

Your past has way of catching up

Both him and his mom are running away from their past. He's trying to make a new life for himself and to be a better, but his old habits are starting to catch up with him. I feel that no matter how fast you run from who you are and your past it will aways be there.

Confessions

I thought it was funny how Toby told the priest exactly what Sister James told him the things she use to do. Toby didn't know what to confess to so he stole what she told him about stealing the money from her father and how she would say things about her friend behind there back.

"Father"

I found it to be interesting that Toby has missing a father figure for a long time in his life and then as soon as he is opening up to someone in the church they are a Father. That must have been weird for Tovy because he has never had a person to call a father before and then he is trying to be open with someone who he is calling Father. That word "Father" must be hard for Toby to get out,especially to a no face, stranger.

Family Connections

I thought a lot about the connection between Toby and his mother in the car scene when there driving through the desert "As we drove, we sang-Irish ballads, folk songs, big-band blues" it sounds to me that they have a tight relationship.

Wolff Makes His First Bark.

Tobi–A.k.a. Jack–has made his first leap at a long spiraling journey. Tobi towards the beginning of the chapter he shows the first of his juvenile mentality when him and his buddies from archery camp sneak away and start shooting at each other.    

This Boy's Life

                                                     
On page 16 it shocked me because in a way it really seemed like Roy and Toby actually liked each other.  In the book it said "Roy smiled at me, and I gave in. I smiled back".  But after that it seems that Roy has gone back to his own ways of being rude to Toby's mom.

This Boys Life..... Right now kinda sucks

In this boys life he moving a from Florida to Utah to get away from his moms creepy ex boyfriend but of course he just follows them because well duh he's creepy and creepy guys it's what they do them will follow you to the moon and back you they will be 40 feet behind you and you might not know immediately but they are there but the. He just shows up with a gun for Toby (the boy) he just really reminds me of little bit like my life and I feel bad for him. But now he is also know as jack because he has changed it by getting baptized his father hates it but his mom loves to make him mad. Yeah jack is happy now but he is getting in some trouble with the school nuns.

Toby wanted to change his name and he couldn't his mom said unless he went to a church. Something else that I thought was odd was towards the end when he was with the priest. Toby said lots of stuff like stealing from his mom. He was very open to the priest.

Controlling or Crazy?

One thing that really caught my attention, and struck a nerve, was how creepy and controlling Roy was. What was even worse was when he would be so creepy in front of Toby. From pg. 14-15 we found out Roy would follow Toby's mother - with Toby. Eventually Toby's mother left work early to go shopping, and of course Roy was watching and got upset and angry at the fact that she "lied" even though she has no obligation to tell him anything considering he's a creep. Soon after, when they got home, Toby was put in the middle of a short, but not sweet, argument. "Roy smiled at me, and I gave in. I smiled back" was what Toby explained of the situation; he basically took Roy's side (16). This is what Toby was explaining earlier in the page, that if he had winked back or given any acknowledgement of what Roy was about to do - was doing - he would have taken Roy's side.
We know they get away from Roy, but I hope this happens sooner rather than later.

This Boys Life

I made a connection with Roy and one of my cousins ex husbands who followed her from Canada to our house and watched people shower.

Welcome to our class blog on This Boy's Life.

I look forward to reading all your comments!