Outside Reading, Week 2, Post A

Vocab
commissary (56) - a store that sells food and supplies to the personnel or workers in a military post, mining camp, lumber camp, or the like.

barite (54) - a common mineral, barium sulfate, BaSO₄, occurring in white, yellow, or colorless tabular crystals: the principal ore of barium

Appeals
"And we'd smile and order hamburgers or chili dogs and milk shakes and big plates of onion rings that glistened with hot grease...poured the milkshakes from a sweating metal container into our glasses." (55-56)

I felt that this appeal could be both emotional and logical. I thought that it had an emotional aspect to it because Jeannette goes into more detail on the taste and tries to convey the relief and the feelings that she felt after eating the same poorly prepared food for weeks at a time, and then finally getting a chance to eat something much more fulfilling and flavorful. However, I thought that this could also demonstrate a logical appeal. She goes into more detail on the way the food looked too and how it was absolutely picture-perfect, but this could be exaggerated to appeal to the reader.

"Mom bolted out of the car and ran into the darkness.
'You crazy bitch!' Dad hollered. 'Get your goddamn ass back in this car!'
'You make me, Mr. Tough Guy!' she screamed as she ran away. Dad jerked the steering wheel to one side and drove off the road into the desert after her. Lori, Brian, and I braced one another with our arms, like we always did when Dad went on some wild chase that we knew would get bumpy." (43)

This passage is from when Jeannette's mother is pregnant and is on her way to the hospital. On the way there, the Dad and the Mom start arguing about how long she has been pregnant and Mom runs out of the car. This demonstrates an emotional appeal. Jeannette is trying to convey a feeling of safety in the midst of chaos, sort of the way it feels right before or after a storm. Although her life and the lives of her family members are in danger, she uses no wording that would indicate fear or anxiety. I thought that this may be a difficult appeal to pull off because not many people have felt this before or if so, feel it often.

"We hit a huge pothole and the back doors on the U-Haul flew open. The wind shrieked through the compartment. We were afraid we were going to get sucked out, and we all shrank back against the Prospector. The moon was out. We could see the glow from the U-Haul's taillights and the road we'd come down, stretching back through the silvery desert. The unlocked doors swung back and forth with loud clangs.
We banged on the sides of the U-Haul and hollered as loud as we could, but the engine was too noisy and they didn't hear us." (49)

This quote, again, could demonstrate either an emotional or logical appeal. I think that emotional is probably the most prominent and obvious. Just from reading this small excerpt, you can feel the sense of urgency and disaster that Jeannette was feeling. This is amplified when she and her siblings try to warn their parents that the back of the U-Haul is open, but are unable to reach them. However, I felt that this could be logical too. Jeannette describes this with almost a movie-like quality too it. I can easily visualize this in my mind with help from all the detail that she gives.

Quote
"Mom and Dad enrolled us in the Mary S. Black Elementary School, a long, low building with an asphalt playground that turned gooey in the hot sun." (58)

Although this quote is not very descriptive or interesting, I think that this is going to signify a turning point of Jeannette. Up until this point, she has not had any formal schooling, so this may allow her to have a good education and have potential.

Theme
I'd say that the theme hasn't really changed much since last time. Despite her conditions, Jeannette is still surprisingly happy and loves her family. She hasn't mentioned anything about running away or longing for a better life. So, overall, I believe that there is still a theme of safety in the midst of chaos.