Essay on Amen Notes

Submitted By 257257
Words: 914
Pages: 4

This Boy’s Life notes

Section of text: Amen
Learning Intention: Analysing how texts convey ideas and values

Cues
Notes

Violence and control

Lies/truth
Identity

Identity

Childhood naivety

Childhood naivety

Relationships

Escape
“Dwight trailed her there and tried to strangle her in the lobby of our apartment building.” pg. 240
Rosemary had finally escaped from Dwight’s control. However this is not what he wanted. The cruel man that he is, he used violence to punish her for moving away. He had previously threatened to find her and kill her if she left him. (pg.) 193-196

“…but I said it almost gently, conscious of the falseness of my position. I had known someone was in trouble and done nothing.”pg. 240
Jack said ‘Bastard’ gently as he knew all along what Dwight was like. Jack blamed himself for what his mother experienced in the apartment and throughout her relationship with Dwight. He put the blame on himself because he knew what Dwight was capable of and he knew this put his mother in danger, but he failed to protect her.

“It scared me to do so poorly when so much was expected, and to cover my fear I came one of the school wildmen – a drinker, a smoker …”pg. 241
Since Jack basically lied about himself and forged letters to get into Hill School, he had this great reputation, he felt wanted. Jack wished his true self was what he was now perceived to be. He didn’t want the teachers to discover how he really was. So as a defence mechanism to forget about the pressure he felt he began to act out by drinking and smoking.

“…prayed that I would somehow pull myself up again so I could stay in this place that I secretly and deeply loved.”pg. 241
Jack was falling behind at school, to stay on top of the work it meant he had work very hard, he had to prove to the teachers that he was who he said he was. In reality he knew that he could not keep this reputation as he struggled to do the bare minimum of work.
Jack wished that he could stay at Hill School because he felt like he belonged, he loved this feeling.

“It seemed to me when I got there that this was where I had been going all along, and where I might still redeem myself. All I needed was a war.”pg. 241
Jack believed that army was the place for him to go if he wanted to be a better person and change.
He believed the army was a chance for him to change his identity.
Going into the army may link back to attending scouts, where he wore a uniform. ‘It was good to find myself back in the clear life of uniforms, ranks...’ pg. 241
Jack also used to try on Roys army uniform, Jack may have imagined himself as a militant from that day on.

“When we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests, and that falling and dying are for quitters. We live of the innocent and monstrous assurance that we alone, of all the people ever born, have a special arrangement whereby we will be allowed to stay green forever.”pg. 241
Here Wolff is saying that when we are young and don’t have knowledge about life we think