UNC Middle School Lit discussion

If you are reading After Tupac and D Foster this week, please do the following:

[1:] Listen to the Tupac songs mentioned in the book. If you can, watch the music videos as well.

[2:] Write about a celebrity/musical artist whose life or death gave you a new perspective on life. (If you can think of an example during the younger stages of your life, that would be great. If you can't think of any, a more recent experience is acceptable.)

[3:] Write your favorite quote from the book.

As someone how loved A Knight's Tale, I was shocked when Heath Ledger died. Rather than an older celebrity, Heath was not that much older them me when he accidentally overdosed. I can't say that I was terribly shaken, but it did force me to realize that life really is precious.

My favorite quote from the novel is on page 78. "...I felt whole-like my two selves had come together- finally meeting for the first time. I closed my eyes and hugged myself harder. I wanted to hold on to this feeling. For always."

One of my favorite quotes is by Eleanor Roosevelt and was wonderfully reenacted in Kung Foo Panda. "Today is a gift. That's why they call it the present."

The first significant death of a celebrity that I remember was when Princess Diana died. I am fairly certain that this was the first time I had really been exposed to the importance of death and it was confusing to me why there was so much coverage and so many people talking about it because I had known of people dying prior, but there was no media that covered the event as in the death of Princess Diana.

I have two quotes which I enjoyed from the book.
1) “Then it made sense to me—crazy-fast sense in a way it hadn’t before. D walked out of her own life each time she stepped into one of those other places. She got off the bus or walked up out of the subway and her life disappeared, got replaced by that new place, those new strangers---like big pink erasers.” –p. 18

I really liked the above quote because she did such a good job analyzing D's actions.

2) “The loudest sound in the world is the soft click of the prison gates locking behind you.”-p.94
I liked this quote because of the contrast of words and figurative language.

The first celebrity death that I can remember having an impact on my life was Princess Diana. I was eight years old and my memories from that event are vivid. I remember waking up and going into the living room one morning. My mom was sitting in a chair reading the newspaper and when I walked into the room, she said, "Patricia, Princess Diana was killed in a car accident." I do not know why, but it really scared me. I also remember being confused about what day she actually died because I knew it happened after midnight in France, but before midnight where I lived. The pictures of the destroyed car that were printed in the newspaper were terrible and it seemed that there was nothing on television except coverage of her death.

I also vividly remember watching her funeral the following Saturday morning. It was so sad to watch Prince William and Prince Harry walk behind their mother's casket. I will never forget the camera focusing on the flowers on top of her coffin with an envelope that said, "Mummy." I also remember that her brother spoke during the funeral service and that Elton John played "Candle in the Wind." Even today, I think of Princess Di whenever I hear any version of that song.

Finally, Princess Diana's death is linked in my mind with Mother Teresa's death because the two ladies died within just a few days of each other. It startled me because I knew that they were friends and it seemed odd to me that they should die so close together.

There are two quotes that I thought were especially nice in the book. The first is on page 19 (in my book). "'The way I figure it,' D said, 'we all just out in the world trying to figure out our Big Purpose.'"

The second is on page 149 (in my book.) "'Your are a true-blue nut, Neeka.' 'Yeah,' she said. 'But I'm your girl anyway.' 'True that,' I said. 'True that.'"

I will have to agree with those who have said Princess Diana was their most influential celebrity death. I remember when she died too and how each update on her death was accompanied by all the wonderful things she did for the world. I remember being shocked by her death, as it was all over the news for a long time. I remember watching the funeral and seeing how many people were there and how many more were watching it on TV. I remember thinking that this really must have been a great lady to have so many people so sad at her death. The humanitarian work that she did was really inspiring to me and made me think of Mother Theresa.

My favorite quote from the book is on page 82 when the narrator is given a picture of her, Neeka, and D for her 13th birthday from her mama.

"She smiled, knowing I'd lose my mind with that much money. But I didn't. There could have been a quarter behind there-- or penny. Or nothing at all. The picture was enough. The picture was always."

I love this quote because I think it really show's the narrator's growing up as she begins to value the most important, priceless things in life, like her friendships. Also, it shows how much D means to her and how much she has learned about real life from knowing D.

In the later years of my life, I vividly remember hearing Ronald Reagan had died. Although he died in 2004, he had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for years. I loved President Reagan as a child and tried to learn everything about him. When he died I remembering being upset and hurting for his family. I connected with the death because as a young girl, my grandfather suffered from this disease, later dying from it.

My favorite quote was "You're a part of me. You're in my heart. Forever and always, all right? pg. 150.
So sweet!!