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sophieborchart 's review for:
Cherry
by Mary Karr
review from my English class:
I am not very successful as a little girl. When I grow up, I will probably be a mess"
-Mary Karr's diary, age 11
Some praise the cherry for its beauty and fragrance, others honor it for its political tranquility, courage, and bridge to friendship, while many use cherries as a metaphor for suicide. However, Mary Karr manipulates the cherry into a symbol of death and rebirth, innocence, and sexuality. In Cherry, her 276-page memoir, teenage narrator Mary Karr alternates between first and second person narration with eloquence, wisdom, and witty humor to invite us into her personal coming of age story. Karr’s childhood was by no means desirable; however, she uses her storytelling talent, prose lyricism, and Texan dialect to engage readers in her unsugarcoated story.
Set in 1970’s America, Karr begins her story shortly before 7th grade. She discusses loneliness and how that contributes to her intellectual advancements; she effortlessly receives A’s in AP English and AP History. Her love for literature and poetry is perceptible through her numerous analogies to famous writings. She shows conversions between blushing at the thought of holding her dazzling crush’s hand and fantasizing over her older boyfriends and adopting a promiscuous lifestyle. She reveals her interest in experimentation by exploring drugs with her friends while encouraging her virtuous friend Meredith to accompany her. She morphs from innocent to rebellious through little triumphs of commonly defying school dress code and ditching class but also larger mistakes such as being arrested under multiple charges. The novel ends around the conclusion of her high school career leaving her abandoned by many of her friends and uncertain of the future.
Karr’s family’s influence in her upbringing is evident; she explores her low self-worth and disposition by continually reflecting upon her surroundings. She compares her body to her sister, Lecia’s, mature and attractive one and repeatedly comments on Lecia’s flirtatious mannerism and effortless accomplishments. Lecia does what she can to appear apart from her dysfunctional family, a characteristic Mary attempts to adapt. Karr shows steady transitions into independence when she stops sleeping with Lecia, even though she dearly misses her sister’s company. She edges on suicidal thoughts and attempts to kill herself through prescription drugs resulting in only a stomach ache and receiving her father’s comfort. The compassion she receives from her father is apparent not only through her actions in high school, but also through the rest of her life seen through her sympathetic writing style. Her sensitivity and maturity come from her mother who has recently returned from a mental hospital; due to her mother, Karr has become numb to the actuality of suicide after it had been tossed around as a norm countless times.
Karr splits Cherry into four key parts: Elementary’s End, Midway, Limbo, and High. She repeats the mantra “I was there to watch” at turning points in her life. The mantra can be discerned by the way she writes her memoir; we are here to watch her life and all the ways she transforms, though we do not do anything to modify or see it as anything less than its actuality and unchangeability.
Cherry is an essential read for adolescents because of its ability to stay brutally honest while remaining sincerely tender. As said in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Teenage girls might come away from it knowing that they’re not freaks, that mistakes aren’t fatal, and that good writing kisses just about everything better. And for teenage boys, reading Cherry would be like stealing the other team’s playbook”. Mary Karr comforts and helps the American youth feel accepted through their experimentation and growth by relating the common fears and triumphs to her own brutal childhood and teaching the value of self-forgiveness.
I am not very successful as a little girl. When I grow up, I will probably be a mess"
-Mary Karr's diary, age 11
Some praise the cherry for its beauty and fragrance, others honor it for its political tranquility, courage, and bridge to friendship, while many use cherries as a metaphor for suicide. However, Mary Karr manipulates the cherry into a symbol of death and rebirth, innocence, and sexuality. In Cherry, her 276-page memoir, teenage narrator Mary Karr alternates between first and second person narration with eloquence, wisdom, and witty humor to invite us into her personal coming of age story. Karr’s childhood was by no means desirable; however, she uses her storytelling talent, prose lyricism, and Texan dialect to engage readers in her unsugarcoated story.
Set in 1970’s America, Karr begins her story shortly before 7th grade. She discusses loneliness and how that contributes to her intellectual advancements; she effortlessly receives A’s in AP English and AP History. Her love for literature and poetry is perceptible through her numerous analogies to famous writings. She shows conversions between blushing at the thought of holding her dazzling crush’s hand and fantasizing over her older boyfriends and adopting a promiscuous lifestyle. She reveals her interest in experimentation by exploring drugs with her friends while encouraging her virtuous friend Meredith to accompany her. She morphs from innocent to rebellious through little triumphs of commonly defying school dress code and ditching class but also larger mistakes such as being arrested under multiple charges. The novel ends around the conclusion of her high school career leaving her abandoned by many of her friends and uncertain of the future.
Karr’s family’s influence in her upbringing is evident; she explores her low self-worth and disposition by continually reflecting upon her surroundings. She compares her body to her sister, Lecia’s, mature and attractive one and repeatedly comments on Lecia’s flirtatious mannerism and effortless accomplishments. Lecia does what she can to appear apart from her dysfunctional family, a characteristic Mary attempts to adapt. Karr shows steady transitions into independence when she stops sleeping with Lecia, even though she dearly misses her sister’s company. She edges on suicidal thoughts and attempts to kill herself through prescription drugs resulting in only a stomach ache and receiving her father’s comfort. The compassion she receives from her father is apparent not only through her actions in high school, but also through the rest of her life seen through her sympathetic writing style. Her sensitivity and maturity come from her mother who has recently returned from a mental hospital; due to her mother, Karr has become numb to the actuality of suicide after it had been tossed around as a norm countless times.
Karr splits Cherry into four key parts: Elementary’s End, Midway, Limbo, and High. She repeats the mantra “I was there to watch” at turning points in her life. The mantra can be discerned by the way she writes her memoir; we are here to watch her life and all the ways she transforms, though we do not do anything to modify or see it as anything less than its actuality and unchangeability.
Cherry is an essential read for adolescents because of its ability to stay brutally honest while remaining sincerely tender. As said in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Teenage girls might come away from it knowing that they’re not freaks, that mistakes aren’t fatal, and that good writing kisses just about everything better. And for teenage boys, reading Cherry would be like stealing the other team’s playbook”. Mary Karr comforts and helps the American youth feel accepted through their experimentation and growth by relating the common fears and triumphs to her own brutal childhood and teaching the value of self-forgiveness.