COMMENT:
TWO PARAGRAPHS:
1) Now that you have digested the entire book, what is the dominant sensation that it has left in you?
2) What was the moment IN THE BOOK that left the strongest and longest lasting impression? (SKIP the description of Geremio's death.)
AND REPLY to the classmate who left the comment immediately after yours.
Anger is the dominant sensation I am left with upon finishing Di Donato's CHRIST. This anger can be attributed to the many failures in society, religion, and humanity that constantly plagued Paul and resulted in his trying plight. To further pronounce this theme, Di Donato provides the ultimate contradiction in Paul, an innocent, God-fearing, and hopeful young boy who is forced to battle against a world that is everything in a dire attempt to keep his family alive. I just could not (and still cannot) wrap my head around such an exchange; it angers me to think that the evil in the world overshadows that of the good and just.
ReplyDeleteThe moment in the book that left the strongest impression on me was the scene in which Paul visits Father John for food. Here we see a Holy figure and alleged man of God sitting down to a lavish meal filled with everything Paul and his family lacks, only to respond to the hungry and desperate boy standing in front of him with "But tell me, what can I do?" Sending a starving child off with a slice of cake is no remedy and this scene only deepened my anger at the treatment of those with authority over Paul, simply because of factors such as his heritage, age, and financial state. It also represented the failing of the church, in that when Paul needed Him most, God could not answer his prayers through Father John.
1) The dominant sensation I feel after reading this book is shock. I was shocked when I read the ending of the book and a little unsure and worried about what happened to Annunziata.
ReplyDelete2) The strongest moment for me occurred on page 185 with the conversation between Louis and Paul. Louis is talking about how God is not real and he goes through a series of questions with Paul. This was a powerful moment for Paul and it was his first encounter with a person denying his faith. Faith was a huge part of Paul’s life and his fundamental beliefs in basically all his actions. Paul’s faith pulled him through the hard times with his father and his family starving, he had always turned to God; so for him to hear Louis disregard God and his “powers” it left a lasting impression for me.
Hey Sydney,
DeleteThe scene you mentioned left a strong impression on me as well; for Paul, a poor and overworked boy surrounded by tragedy and sadness, to meet another of his own age who has lost faith in God signifies a temptation that Paul ultimately proves unable to resist. I'm completely with you in that this scene was a turning point in Paul's narrative, and it left a lasting impression on me for sure.
After finishing the entire book, the dominant sensation I feel is confusion. What exactly happened to Annunziata? I read over that section of the book a few times. The first time I thought she had killed herself. The second time I though she was just pretending and being over dramatic. Answering the question in our assignment that was due that last I had said that, yes, she did indeed die. But now speaking about it again I am not entirely sure. Why did Di Donato write this book like this? Was he trying to tell a story through his story with the way that this book is written? I have many questions.
ReplyDeleteThe part of the book that left the strongest and deepest impression with me was when Annunziata was told she would not be getting any money from Geremio's death. I believe this is an extremely degrading part for Annunziata because a man who is more powerful than her has won and she is left poor having to feed 8 children including herself. The moment Paul stood up to Geremio's boss is when, for me, Paul became the man of the household. He stood up for his father who is gone and has taken control. He provides the income and will work just as hard as his father did to take care of the family.
1) I am left feeling worried. I don't know what happens to Paul or Annunziata. Does she die? (I think she does, but this is largely left up to interpretation). Does Paul take care of his family, is he able to pick up the shoes of his parents and essentially become the parent?
ReplyDelete2) The thing that stuck with me most after reading this book is when Paul denounces his belief in God to his mother while she is on her death bed. I understand, being that I don't believe in God myself, why someone who has experienced such tragedies, and who is questioning his faith would denounce it to himself, but not to his mother--especially on her death bed.
After finally finishing the book, I am left with a feeling of confusion and anger. My confusion and anger steam from the fact that when Paul went to the church to see Father John, he was turned down and only able to leave with a "good portion" of cake. .. Seriously, you are the church, disciples of God, highly respected among people of your belief, and the most you could do to help a younger man trying to support is 7 other siblings and mother is offer a "good portion" cake. This leads me to think and question whether this would happen today.
ReplyDeleteThe strongest lasting impression on me from the book was Ci Luigi and Cola's wedding celebration. I love food and my family, and this chapter in the book reminded me of my own family. When we have celebrations, everyone pitches in to have a good turn out and that is what happened in the book. The women cooked, and some men made the wine. I also enjoyed reading about the different meals that were cooked. The last part that I enjoyed was when they were all around sitting and talking. Everyone was happy and it was a great day of celebration.
After finishing the entire book, I felt confused. Book was very hard to read and first in my experience. On top of different writing techniques that I was having hard time the was not too much of a connection in every story or character in this book. At the end I was confused what happened to Annunziata and how fast Paul was asking to forgive him because what he said about his disbeliefs. There was very fast transfer from Paul’s disbelieve in god and right away after Annunziata got sick he is saying he was wrong. And also situation with Annunziata confused me, I did not really understand if she died at the end.
ReplyDeleteOne of the part that made impression on me was Luigi and Cola’s wedding. I know it is not so important part of the book but after reading Fiesta part I was very impressed. I like reading about their wedding and all the traditions that they went thru on this wedding, I liked all the traditional foods that were mentioned. Reading it was very interesting because we know that there lots of cultures that have their own traditions and becoming familiar with Italian traditions was very interesting for me.
After finishing the book, Empathy and anger I would say are the dominant sensations I was left with. From beginning to end, Geremio's family, especially Paul seemed to have all odds against them. I felt an enormous empathy for all of the unfortunate Paul had to witness and experience after the death of his father. He needed faith to have something to keep him going, and instead everything that could go wrong, did leading him to lose all faith he ever attained. Losing those close to him, very limited options, the experiences of his friends that rubbed off on him that only supported the loss of faith that he was beginning to experience and more. Anger was another sensation I was left with knowing that with just a change in certain factors, the outcome of Geremio's family and himself could have been different. One example of this is the bad feeling Geremio had about the work site, and how the job was being managed. The necessity is so real, and as an immigrant with limited options you have fear overpowering your sense of self, and your courage to stand up for what is right which leads to making choices that have a unfortunate outcomes at times, like Geremio's death.
ReplyDeleteThe strongest moment in the book for me that I remember in detail was the part where Paul realizes the lack of food that there is in the house, and he willingly starts to take charge in order to find a solution for the family. Rejection after rejection, from the man at the grocery store, to the man who opened the door when he was trying to see the priest, and finally the priest himself. As I was reading that part, I was waiting for the happy outcome where Paul would find a way, or someone would feel sympathy for him and help him but instead all he got out of it was some cake.
I felt very sad after finishing Di Donato's work. It is a work that really makes you think about life and how we all struggle to make it but find ourselves so very different after our trials and tribulations. We all start out with the best of intentions but then life (and in Christ in Concrete, Job), gets in the way.
ReplyDeleteI am saddened to see Paul not only lose his childhood but his faith, and his most beloved family members. He lives a physically and emotionally taxing life at such a young age. He struggles to find a balance between his need to take care of his family and his own need to exist and think and feel for himself.
I am sadder still for Annunziata. She leaves Italy in the hopes of a better life for herself and her family and she is then faced with the ultimate loss of her husband, the pain of her brother's accident, and the eventual loss of her own son. She realizes that this loss is because of their circumstance and it is that circumstance that she would rather do without.
Annunziata's death, for me, marks the defeat of their dreams, the crushing reality that dreams are not meant to be in a country that only wants you to work and does not care about what else you need to survive. It marks the triumph of Job over family and ultimately over the individual.
1. After reading Christ in Concrete I felt emphatic for Paul and his family. I also felt angry for them. Throughout the entire book they proved themselves to be a hardworking, good family who kept being thrown obstacle after obstacle and I felt angry at how unfair it was and empathetic for how the characters must have felt during this time.
ReplyDelete2.I think the part that left the strongest impression on me was the part where Paul took the cross from Annunziata's hand and broke it. His disconnection with his faith in this scene made me feel saddened and also surprised at how his personality transformed from once being fueled by his faith but was now fueled by anger and hatred.
1. The dominant sensation I feel is understanding. I feel this way because I can connect to Paul and his feelings of being wronged by society and how he decided to turn away from God. I feel this way not because I experienced the same things, but rather because I, too, was confused and frustrated for the longest time.
ReplyDelete2. The lasting impression that I am left with comes from the ending, when Paul revealed to his mother that he has no faith in God and, in a way, dealt the "final blow" to her already beaten down body. He felt as though God turned his back on him, and so he did the same to God.
1. This book played a big role in showing the relationship between religion and the hardships in life. When times get tough, people often look to religion for comfort. Being that Geremio’s family was very religious, this was the case in this book. I was taken away by the way Geremio’s family changed their perspective on religion as the book went on. The family started off very religious but towards the end, their faith steadily decreased as the unfortunate events continued to pile up.
ReplyDelete2. The moment in the book that left the strongest and longest lasting impression on me was the moment when Paul told his mother that he doesn't believe in God. This left such an impression on me because it was such an imperative part of the book. This was such a crushing blow to Annunziata. Due to all of the unfortunate events, I feel as if Annunziata felt that all she has left is her faith. This is why Paul must have really hurt Annunziata when he told her he doesn't believe in God.
Hey Joseph,
DeleteI think your reasoning is very similar to mine, and I chose the same scene for question number two. To expand on the last two sentences, I believe that Paul both hurt his mother by abandoning his faith, since her faith was all she had left, but also the fact that he was her son added to the injury.