Stitches discussion

Emma Klein
Mr. Kawel
ELA 9
6 December 2018
Stitches is a realistic book about a child and his family and the struggles in which the family experiences throughout their lifetime. The author, David Smalls, wrote this book as a depiction of his own life story. Because this book is a memoir, it shows that Smalls experienced many difficult things throughout his lifetime, such as being around mentally-ill people, being neglected by his parents, and losing something that was very important to him. Throughout the whole book David is talking in first person giving the reader an overall view of how his childhood was spent. Because Smalls uses the first person throughout his novel, the reader is able to connect to the book in a much deeper way that allows them to understand where the author is coming from.
In both “The Odyssey” and “Stitches,” there are many themes about steering clear from evil and by keeping what is most important on your mind. David’s father was the evil figure in “Stitches.” David’s dad ran many tests on him over the years which resulted in cancer. One day david woke up with a cyst on his neck, but no one knew what it was besides his dad. His dad and everyone else kept it a secret from David. David’s dad eventually told him after he realized he had to go into surgery. When David awoke from his surgery he could not speak because his vocal chords had been taken out. He tried talking but nothing came out. Daniel got so mad about his voice being gone that he ran away from his home, the main reason being to get away from his dad.
David’s life plan was found when he went to a therapist who told David to pursue his dream of creating art. David's dream was to get noticed for his art, which was not the person David’s dad wanted him to be. In the beginning of the book, David is drawing a map of what he wants his world to look like. He does this with a box of crayons by his side in every color of the rainbow which portrays the colorful and vibrant world that David wishes to live in. He talked to his therapist about the damage living with his dad caused throughout his life. David’s therapist pushed David to be the best that he could possibly be. This can relate to Odysseus in “The Odyssey” because when Odysseus focused on the bad things that were happening in his life, he and his crew were not getting anywhere and nothing seemed to be going right for them. When Odysseus focused on the positivity in his life, he was able to move forward with his journey home. For example, when Odysseus had the idea to blind Polyphemus it worked out very well because he and his crew got out of the situation in the best way possible (book 10, 377-378).
Throughout David’s return he starts getting more and more noticed for his art. Since David moved away from home as part of his life plan, he did not know very many people, he was not praised by his community, David did praise himself for not following in the footsteps of his mom or grandma, who was locked away in a mental institute, and that was a big deal for him (Small 224-225). Later David did end up getting praised for his artwork, from people he did not even know (Small 202). This can relate to Odysseus from “The Odyssey” because when Odysseus returned from traveling for so many years he was not loved by his community due to the fact that he came home in silence, to defeat the Suitors. Later after everything settled down for Odysseus he is praised and welcomed home by his family. This is like when David returns in silence then is praised later on in the book. After the return phase in most books life goes back to normal, but for David everything just keeps getting better, because normal was bad for David’s life. David never wanted to go back to normal. When David’s return is over and the everything goes back to normal, the story ends and that is exactly what happened in the book stitches, the story ended as David went on to pursue art, which is exactly how he wanted it to happen.
The two books, “Stitches” and “The Odyssey,” are both about heroes and there journeys. When David lost his voice is when his journey started to find his voice again. Even though both books are not exactly the same, there are multiple similarities/ connections between both of the books. In “The Odyssey,” Odysseus is on a journey for his life. In the book “Stitches,” David is on a journey for his mind. Both David’s and Odysseus journeys help them learn and become better people. Anyone would enjoy either of the books. They have the same message, but they are different reading levels.
Leeming, D.A. “An Introduction to the Odyssey.” Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005.

Small, D. “Stitches.” New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2009.