A Summer's Reading - Reflection

Reflection – p.49

1. Did you enjoy reading the story? Why or why not? 
I enjoyed reading the story "A Summer's Reading" because I liked the way George's life and  George's personality are described in it. George has a certain goal but he doesn't have the mental and environmental tools to reach it.  Therefore, it is interesting to go through George's learning process, which begins with the lie he told Mr. Cattanzara. 

2. How did learning about the skills of Explaining Cause and Effect and Uncovering Motives influence your understanding of the story? Give examples. 
Learning about the skill of Explaining Cause and Effect helped me understand George's cause by lying to Mr. Cattanzara. He wanted Mr. Cattanzara to respect him and when Mr. Cattanzara asked him about what he is doing these days, he panicked and lied to him. 
The skill of Uncovering Motives helped me guess what could be Mr. Cattanzara's motives for trying to make George understand the importance of education as a key to succeed in life. 
His motive might be that he cares about George and wants him to succeed in his life.

3. How might awareness to characterization add to your enjoyment of future stories?
Awareness to characterization may add to my enjoyment of future stories because I'll know how the author builds characters in the story. First of all, he describes the character's appearance and then goes on to describing the personality and the characteristics. In future stories I will read, I will know to pay attention to every single detail about a character and then I'll know how to understand the character better. 

A Summer's Reading - Post Reading

Post Reading - p. 49

I chose task number 2: Write a letter from George to Mr. Cattanzara ten years after the   story ends.

 November 1st, 1930                                                                       

Dear Mr. Cattanzara,

I haven't seen you in the past five years but I wanted you to know how grateful I am. I am proud to say that my lying to you was the best thing that ever happened to me, since I wouldn't have the guts to get up and start living my life, as I always wanted, if it weren't for your support and belief in me. Now I know that what I needed to do was to leave my laziness behind and start reading in order to pick up my education.

In the first year I had to constantly remind myself why I was doing it and I had your support and Sophie's that kept me going. I would never forget how excited I was when I finished reading my first book, "The Magic of Oz". I ran straight to your apartment and we talked about it during the whole night. That's when I first felt like I could do this. And I will owe you for that for the rest of my life.

Another day that I would never forget is the day I left the neighborhood for my new job as a factory worker. This wasn't the best job ever, but it was more than I had ever had in my life. I lived with four roommates in a little apartment in the middle of New York City. Even though it was hard, it was a lifetime experience. From that point, I continued to work until a better offer came along, and after it a better offer. 

Now, I am happy to say that I have achieved my goal. I'm living with my wife, Christina
 (if you want to know how we met, it is a story for a different time…), at a cottage in the middle of New York City. We are expecting a boy that will keep us busy for a while. I work as a lawyer's assistant and hope to become a lawyer myself in a couple of years. But right now, I cannot be happier. The only thing that is missing in my life is you and Sophie, and I would like us to be in touch and visit each other.

Please tell me how you're doing in your next letter and send my love to Sophie and to your family as well. 

Love, 

George Stoyonovich (or Georgie for you…)

Very good letter.

(94)

Daphna

A Summer's Reading - Bridging Text and Context - FIXED

Bridging Text and Context - P. 49 

The information given in addition to the story helped me understand it better by notifying me about the author of the story. It says that Bernard Malamud used to write about how ordinary people, often immigrants, tried to fulfill the American middle class dream in their poor life circumstances. Moreover, almost all of his characters were isolated and had to face their problems by themselves with almost no moral support from their environment.  

The story "A Summer's Reading" is one of the author's collections of short stories, which include characters who search for hope in their miserable lives. In our story, nineteen-year-old George Stoyonvich is a son of an immigrant family, who lives in New York in the twenties, during the heavy depression in the United States. George dropped out of school at the age of sixteen and has a hard time getting a job due to the depression and his lack of education. He dreams of having a permanent job, living in a nice house, having a loving wife and family and be respected by others. However, George knows that he will never achieve his goals unless he picks up his education, but tends to find excuses for not doing so.
 

All of a sudden, George meets Mr. Cattanzara, "the change maker" whom he respects and appreciates. George, who wanted to win Mr. Cattanzara's respect as well, lies to him by telling him that he plans on reading a hundred books during the summer. This lie grows along the story and leads George to feel ashamed about himself more than ever, but not enough to make him change his situation. We can learn that George is one of Malamud's typical characters. He has a hard time facing his problems by himself in order to achieve his goals in life. George knows that proper education is the most important thing that can help him move forward in his life, although he doesn't have the motivation to pick up his education.

In conclusion, George had to overcome some major obstacles in his life, like his environment, his lack of moral support and his personality in order to start acting to pick up his education and, eventually, achieve his goals. We can learn that getting a good education is necessary if you want to succeed in your life, especially if you are an immigrant, who wants to live the American dream which you left your country for - like lots of Malamud's characters, including George.  

This is better, although it is still too long.  However, well done.

(92)

Daphna