Outside Reading Q1, LAST POST!!

Body Image and How it Can Take Over Your Life

Throughout the memoir Wasted, by Marya Hornbacher, body image is what creates more problems for the main character Marya. Her disease causes many effects to what she sees. She becomes unable to stay at home alone because she doesn't trust herself. She reveals this thought when she thinks, "She wants her mother and father to save her. She says this, and Dad asks in earnest: From what? From myself, " (87). She is afraid of her self and hints that she needs help. Also, she has her father lock all of the doors and windows so that the man with the razor doesn't come in. She sits and waits for him every night in her bed. These illnesses also make her see her life happening through someone else's eyes. She remembers this saying, "I remember the whole thing as if I were watching myself: I see me being spanked from across the room, I see me hiding in the hamper from above," (13). She believed that she saw things like this so that she could keep an eye on her body at all times. She lets her eating disorders take over her life. They make her see things that no one else sees and do things that no one else does.

A positive body image is very important. The negative body image that Marya has makes her go insane. She looks in the mirror and calls herself a fat piglet. With eating disorders, one thing leads to another. Marya acknowledges, "At least 30% and perhaps as many as 50% of patients with bulimia nervosa also have a history of current or prior substance abuse....Substance abuse often is not restricted to street drugs," (72). She allows her body image to take control of her and she ends up using drugs. It is important to view your self in a positive outlook and admire what features you have.

Outside Reading Q1 blog 4

About the Book

Marya Hornbacher’s book is not new, but it is not one that will easily be forgotten. She wrote it in 1998 when she was twenty three. The memoir describes her fourteen years of tug-of-war with her eating disorders. Wasted is a mind-twisting reminder that obsession with weight can kill. It is difficult to read the heart-wrenching conflicts and her disturbing behavior. Her weight “has ranged from 135 pounds to 52, inching up and then plummeting down,” (2). This shows how destructive these diseases can be to your body. Overall, what amazing readers is her insightful mind. “Hospitalized six times, institutionalized once with endless hours of therapy,” (196). She digs into topics that are so personal, that she is an inspiration to all.

In this book, Marya's voice is astounding and really creates visuals for the reader. She doesn't waste time getting to her painful and tramatizing experiances. I feel inspired to help the millions out there suffering with anorexia, bulimia, and other illnesses. It has made me aware of these illesses and the effects they can have on people. I highly suggest reading this book, it was difficult to put down.

Outside Reading Q1, blog 3

Wasted & The 400 Blows

This book can be related to many pieces of literature that we have studied in class. One piece that is most similar is The 400 Blows. The 400 Blows and Wasted are alike when it comes to their main characters. In the movie, Antoine asks his mom if he can not go to school, and just make a living on his own. Marya experiences this same drive, but its when she wants to go to boarding school and never come back. She shares this by saying, "I imagined calling my parents from school, casually telling them of my grand accomplishments," (88). This reveals that the two main characters both want to prove themselves to their families, and to themselves.

Also, Marya and Antoine are similar because they both do drugs and drink alcohol. Antoine does drugs twice in the movie The 400 Blows, once when he is with his friend Renee and another time when he was in the jail cell. Also, Antoine drinks when he is with Renee. Marya gets into drinking and drugs in high school. She comes clean when she says, "I'd stumbled high and drunk through and out of ninth grade." (88). This shows how similar these two characters are. They both want control over their lives, and want their parents to stay out of it a majority of it. Also, they both go to drugs and alcohol even though they are underage because it can solve their problems for that moment.

Another way these two characters are similar is because they both do continuous rebellious acts to get themselves into trouble and corrupt their families. Antoine does this when he runs away from home and tries to steal the typewriter. This causes his parents to fight, and they don't want anything to do with him anymore. Marya does this when she gets involved into bad things (drugs, alcohol, and sex). Her parents get exhausted with her wrong doings, and it makes the family fight. In conclusion, these two main characters have many aspects in common.

Outside Reading Q1, 2nd post!

The three main characters from the novel Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia & Bulimia, have many struggles and conflicts as a family concerning Marya. Marya has been suffering from anorexia and bulimia since the age of nine. Her symptoms to these illnesses became realized by her family in her early teens. Her parents didn’t enforce any regulations or rules with their discovery. Therefore, she wasn’t put into treatment until her twenties. She was diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa with Anorectic features, substance abuse, and major depression. When Marya was being checked at the Teenage Medical Services Clinic (TMSC) with her father, the nurse said that she was going to check her into hospital treatment at Methodist Hospital. When Marya heard this news, she went insane and out of control. She admits to her behavior, “I lost it. I started screaming,” (142). Being sent into a clinic broke her family apart. Her parents continued to bicker and fight over her, and who was the blame for her actions.

Another conflict that arose in the memoir was when she was in high school. During her struggles with anorexia and bulimia, Marya decided that drugs wouldn’t be such a bad idea either. She would rebelliously sneak out of her house at night. When her parents found out about the foul acts, they were very curious as to where she got the illegal substances. Marya explained her annoyance of her parents, “My parents wondered later, where I got the drugs. They wondered who, and how. They wanted to know when,” (74). This incident added extra trips to therapy and added many more arguments. Her parents would yet again fight over whose fault it was that she was doing drugs and who was supplying her. Throughout the memoir, Marya’s acts seem cause the characters to blame others. Marya learns that she is causing trouble in her family. Her parents learn that their competition over her has created monsters out of them. They begin to notice that they have been selfish and they try to focus more on Marya’s troubles.

Outside Reading Q1, 1st blog

In the novel Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia & Bulimia, there are three main characters. Marya is a thirteen year old girl that lives in Edina. Her personality is very grim and depressing. This is because she is suffering from anorexia and bulimia. She is very serious when it comes to her habit of living, making her dull and stressed. The things that keep her motivated are to make her parents happy. Because she is an only child, her parents fight over her. When she is not obligated to making her parents happy, she is determined to keep her weight off. She focuses on eating only healthy foods, and little of them because she is worried about blowing up like a balloon.
Another main character from this book is Marya's mother. She is very stiff and unnatural. Also, she can be very quiet and uneasy. Marya's mother is a very unrelaxed person, especially when it comes to Marya's father. When Marya's father is feeding her excessively, Marya's mother tries to win her over by buying her objects. For example, Marya shares "Mom thinks Dad is shoving her out of the family, so Mom buys Marya new books", (24). She gets very depressed over not being her daughters favorite parent, but is motivated to keep trying.
Marya's father is another main character in the book. He is very fun and outgoing. Because of his approachability, he is very entertaining to Marya. This is explained when Marya states, "Dad thinks Mom is being cruel to him, so Dad takes Marya for ice cream. Marya is greatful and lovey-dovey, so Dad is happy and Mom is jealous", (24).This helps him become the favorite parent. He would go the extra mile to make her happy. This is his motivation so far in the book. These characters are vitally important to Marya's personality and how she looks at herself.

Here is my picture!

Blog # 3: memoirs

I think people write memoirs because they are able to express themselves and their feelings. Usually writers bottle up their life experiences and then share them to let out their emotions. People write memoirs to teach others from thier experiences and give insight on how they dealt with them. Also, writers are able to tell their side of the story and inform others that these situations do occur. For example, in the book Black Boy, Richard focuses on racism and how it was a part of his everyday life. He told the affects and shows how he dealt with it. It helps the readers imagine what life was like back then and gives new insight on life as a whole. Memoirs also prove to the reader that they have gone through the same thing and doesn't make the reader seem alone. I have learned so much through memoirs about the tragedys and obstacles that they have had to overcome.
There is a lot of power in telling your own stories. When you tell your own story, you are telling the truth to readers. When you tell your own stories about your life, you are expressing your feelings and the situations that have scared your life. Memoirs are powerful because they can teach readers that they are not alone. Also, it can teach readers about what really goes on in other peoples lives that they have never imagined was possible. In the book, Black Boy, Richard Wright shares his experiences with racism and family issues. The book is so intense and powerful, that it made me think about my life and how different they are. Writing your own stories makes you more powerful by giving insight to others and sharing what you have been through.

Richard's hunger's

In this book, Black Boy, I think Richard hungers for a lot of things. One detail in particular is his hunger for knowledge. Richard is a smart boy, but strives for more. He wants to read literature and books. We know this because when he had the opportunity to learn to count to a hundred, he didn't let anything stand in the way of his learning at that moment. Also, when Richard was a young child, he was very curious and yearned to know everything he could take in. I think Richards hunger for knowledge is positive. He is determined to learn and become successful in his future. He is in a good mind set and will achieve anything in school that comes his way. He is motivated to reach his goals and make himself into something more. There are also negative effects of Richards hunger. When Richard steals Ella's books, he learns horrible words that he repeats to his grandmother. He received severe consequences for his actions. Another negative aspect of Richard's hunger is when he sells the newpapers that are by the teachings of the KKK. Although it wasn't Richards fault, he used his hunger for knowledge in a negative way. Overall, I believe that the outcome of Richard's hunger is more of a positvie and will allow him to reach his dreams.

Another hunger of Richard's is food. Richard battles the amount of food everyday. He knows there is not enough and slides by on the food that is offered to him. Richard believes that hunger will always be lingering in his life and he cannot control it. When he lives with his aunt and uncle, Richard is shocked at the amount of food. Even though there was enough food for him to eat every meal of everyday, he stole biscuits and kept them to make sure there was enough for later. I think Richard's hunger for food has mostly negative affects. First, his lack of food isn't healthy for his body and can cause him to become weak and brittle. Sometimes his hunger overtakes his mind, so that he cannot focus on school or work. Richard has developed a little habit of stealing as well. One positive of his hunger is that he is forced to work in order to eat. At work he will learn how to maintain a job and can learn valuable lessons for his future.