September 4th, 2011–

Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919

So everyone should walk into a book with “first thoughts.”  My first thought of the idea of reading this book was “oh, neat!”  Mainly because I’ve heard about this through my family.  They/we have always referred to it as the “Boston Molassacre.”  Probably irreverent, sure, but at least we knew about it.  My parents told me about it when I was little…probably after hearing so many people’s “You’re slow as molasses!!” comments…  Of course, that gave me great fodder to respond “molasses must be fast enough to drown people!!”  Though honestly, it always gave me a weird slow-motion picture in my head…

My mother has her grandmother’s baked bean pot.  So early on, I knew the connection of molasses to Boston, to the Puritans, to yummy dinner.  And I grew up with this.  And I’ve made my own baked beans and brown bread–Boston tradition…um, “Beantown.”  So I guess I’m fortunate enough to know about Boston’s connection with molasses.

A few years back, I was on a Duck Tour that stopped, gave homage, and briefly explained the Molassacre.  I read the “Author’s Note” in Dark Tide and it actually mentions this.  Puleo mentions that one of the Duck boats is named “Molly Molasses.” and that the tour guide sort of gives a brief history of the account.  I was on that “amphibious vehicle.”  I heard the tour guide.  This, and everything else makes me eager to read the book!

BTW:  It’s Sunday before school starts…and I’m starting the book now.  Sort of.  I read a few chapters back in June.  BUT–I’m journalling my thoughts now.  Read on, readers!

 

The Prologue:

This mentions Boston’s North End.  I was there a few times for dinner this summer.  In the prologue, Isaac Gonzalez crosses Hanover Street…as did I.  I may have even had dinner on that street–definitely dessert!  My cousin-in-law’s mom has worked at a place there for 30 years (for the older gentlemen: there’s a nice cigar bar downstairs ).  While I was there, I was thinking of this book.  It’s so fascinating to me that all of this history surrounds us.  I asked my friend where exactly the molasses tank was situated–he pointed toward the distance…

And I had a thought, when Stephen Puleo was giving his talk.  I wondered about the wildlife in the Boston harbor, and if it was damaged at all.  Isaac Gonzalez apparently emptied gallons of molasses each night into the harbor in hopes of alleviating the impending disaster.   So I planted a question with a student (thank you James Atkins), asking about the effect of such quantities of molasses to Boston Harbor.  Mr. Puleo sort of deferred it…said that molasses was a natural product and didn’t do any harm, and also, that there were few studies back then.  I’ve looked into it.  Yes, it did harm.  Yes, molasses is natural, but such quantities is completely unnatural–especially to the Boston Harbor environment.  Olive oil is natural, but if you chugged a few bottles of EVOO daily, it would prove harmful.  I imagine that molasses (sugar) would sink…so I wonder what happened to the lobster habitat that year…?  Science buffs should look into that…

 

Chapter 1–Deadline on the Waterfront

Wow…I have a few thoughts on this one.  First of all, being an English teacher, I loved the line “December could be Boston’s cruelest month…”  Nice play on T.S. Eliot!  So this chapter made me think.  I mean, I knew about the molasses…baked beans sitting in a pot all day because the household was out to church…but I didn’t realize it fed the war machine!  I wonder what the Puritans would’ve thought about that!  Only 20% went to rum (which the Puritans would have frowned upon, too), and the rest to distilled alcohol for munitions??  It’s also interesting how the government was totally cool with this…

The testing of the tank was awesome.  6 inches of water?  My friend just got a new cell phone case–lifebox?  It’s supposed to protect the phone through all weird, severe, life kind of things.  So upon receiving it in the mail, the instructions told him to put it together, and submerge it in water, sans cell phone.  This was to check for defects…flaws…etc.  He did, and the cell phone case is fine.  But it’s a cell phone case.  Worst case scenario, his cell breaks and he replaces it for a few hundred bucks.  A giant molasses tank???  It was too time sensitive to actually test??  Six inches is the same as if my friend had simply dashed the cell case under a stream of running water and said “Yeah, it works!”  I would think someone would want to be comprehensive with this sort of thing…

This chapter did shine a good light, however, as apparently there have always been protesters.  I don’t know…relatively new country and all.  So yeah, Jell was afraid that protesters would target the tank because of its war affiliation.  And while it’s written in a way that I should hate those nasty protesters, I kind of like that they actually existed almost a hundred years ago.  Someone has to say something when they know badness is upon them.  Don’t get me wrong: I’m not promulgating militant protesting (although I do give money to both Greenpeace and PETA…and I think “Whale Wars” is awesome)…but I think it’s good that people were rallying against the war machine.

*WHOOPS: Afterthought on this post…  Um…our country was sort of founded with the concept of “FREE SPEECH,” so I guess that my initial thoughts here were kind of dumb.  I mean…the Boston Tea Party, etc.?  I don’t know why I wasn’t thinking of that…hmmm.  I guess I’m guilty of doing exactly what I warned my students against: looking at historical events and figures as simply events and figures–not people.  I keep telling my American Lit students that a benefit of studying literature from any given historical period is the ability to get inside the heads of these people…to see what they see, feel what they feel, etc., and ultimately recognize that human beings are human beings, regardless of time period.  See?  I just basically skipped over 300 years–dismissed it as “Historical Time Period” without actually thinking about it.

So I take it back.  Yes, there have always been dissenters and protesters…even from our earliest formal government structures.  I should know better…boo Ms. H. .  The only excuse I have right now was that I was still in “Summer Mind” and not thinking thinking…  Hopefully people have read through this point and have not dismissed me as an idiot .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2010/2011

http://hannahtinti.com/

I am TOTALLY excited to read Hannah Tinti’s The Good Theif. So because of this, I’m going to model a “reading journal” online so that my students can see MY thought process as I read a book.  Generally, I like to mark up books–nasty English teacher habit–writing all over them…notes in the margins, etc.  Usually this isn’t possible for you as our books must remain intact.  FORTUNATELY, through very special  grants (THANK YOU MS. FREY!!!!  AND MR. FREY!!!!) , we were able to procure a copy for all future 10, 11, and 12th grade students!  Considering how much books cost, this is really very cool.  VERY COOL.  Wait, I have to say it again–OMG: THIS IS VERY VERY COOL!!!    So, I’m going to read this book along side of you so you know what and how I think chapter to chapter…

This is just a model.  You do NOT need to think or feel as I do while you read.  Every book brings something different to every reader.  That is the beauty of literature, it plays on individual experience.  No two people experience the same thing in the same way.  That’s why we’re all different people…and that’s the total beauty of literature: it hits each soul in exactly the right place, though those places may be different–or if they’re the same, your individual experiences will color them differently.

So here we go…let’s read together.  You may agree or disagree with my thought process, but it is just that–my thought process.  And since I’m a separate human being it will be different from yours.  But as a model…here we go!!!!

DISCLAIMER: I’m writing this as I would write a journal. I’m basically “thinking” in type. And I ramble… I’m basically doing this to show where MY mind goes when I read things. When journaling, you should ALWAYS allow your brain to roam wherever it does. You never know where your own meanderings will take you!

AUGUST 26th–
Well, I didn’t leave it to the last second as I assume most of you did. Truth be told, I couldn’t resist myself and read the book at the very end of school/onset of summer. And it was good. It was quick, so I didn’t stop and journal. HOWEVER, in order to refresh, I’m still going to reread to model for you–and also to keep it fresh in my mind for school. We have about a week. Um…this is sort of like writing the research paper before writing the outline, but whatever, it’s just a model. And also, the practice of rereading books is actually very beneficial! I do it all the time and ALWAYS find new things! So, to my emailers who have been eagerly awaiting, here we go!

ENTRY 1: The Good Thief…okay, so first thoughts bring me immediately to the Biblical allusion. Tinti may have mentioned this in her talk. But “The Good Thief,” is–according to Christian mythology–a condemned man who stood up for Jesus by saying “Hey, we’re all guilty and deserve our fates, but this guy is innocent” (not verbatim). He then asked Jesus to please think of him and reserve a place in Heaven for him, to which Jesus said “sure.” Again, I’m not quoting directly. So okay, that in mind…what is this book going to be about? I mean, IS it a biblical allusion? Or is it just going to be about a thief who is good…but then, essentially, the biblical allusion is really just about a thief who is repentant and a decent person… Hmmmm… Just because someone is a thief does not make them necessarily bad anyhow…not saying thievery is good, but still, some circumstances might warrant gray areas. Jean Val Jean, for example–stole a loaf of bread to feed his family….

Okay, I’ll read on…but I’m anticipating some religious overtones. We’ll see… Oh wait–one more thing. Let’s look at the cover. While it’s true you should never “judge a book by its cover,” it’s still good to look at it. So I see two people: one big, and one small. They seem to be dressed in a sort of 19th century Dickensian garb. And the green? The vines? This signifies life and growth to me…

AUGUST 27th–
ENTRY 2:
Right..so I went to a Catholic school. Sure, I wasn’t in an orphanage or anything like that…but still, some things resonated with me. And if not me, stories from my mother as well. BTW: this strategy is called Text to Self…in that you are relating a text to your life… But moving on…the whole life of saints bit… I remember memorizing them. I just thought they were neat. And then, a few years back, I was part-time working at the Estee Lauder counter at Macy’s…and a woman told me her name and I referenced a saint…and she was floored! Because apparently no one else knew? Idk…anywho, the point is that Ren made off with the book about saints…I understand that. Perhaps there’s something comforting in them. Maybe they’re like misfits…and to all misfits comes some greater challenge that you either accept or deny… Um, but, stealing a book about the saints??/ Yes, the dude found out and ultimately gave it to him…but seriously, what can we gather about this character who STEALS a book about the saints?

August 28th–
Entry 3: Okay…a couple things about the first chapter (to go back for a second)… First of all, Saint Anthony’s? Interesting name for an orphanage, considering he is the patron saint of lost things. Seriously, the next time you lose something try it out “Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please look around. Something is lost and cannot be found”–seems to work for me, and I have a tendency of misplacing things. Okay, so this kid, as a baby, gets dropped off at the gate of this orphanage…and 3 letters are stitched into his shirt “REN.” So they call him Ren. Well, I’m guessing we’re talking initials here…unless the mom was trying to name him Renfield and got lazy (it does say the last letter appeared to have been done in haste). But any mom who would name a kid after a lunatic psychopath from Dracula probably shouldn’t raise the kid anyway. I’m just saying… So we have the baby dropped off at an orphanage, the namesake of which is the patron saint of lost things. Okay.

And he’s missing his left hand.

What?? Yes. The kid is missing his left hand. It wasn’t lost in some bizarre orphanage accident, but rather, it was gone when he was dropped off there. All that remains is a scar in the shape of a “V.” I’m sure I could dig more into that one…but for now let’s think about the hand. Can this be considered a grotesque? In that, I mean, a character that has some kind of disfigurement or something that doesn’t evoke fear, but rather a sort of empathy. Also, it’s usually a physical deformity that corresponds to some internal quality. So what would a hand signify? Immediately, I want to say something like usefulness, or ability in general. If you think about it, it is our hands–well, opposable thumbs–that set us apart from other animals. So if the kid is missing a hand, what does that say? But it’s his left hand, not his right. Right hands are more frequently the doers…and left-handedness used to have a negative connotation. The word “sinister,” meaning kind of evil and creepy, is derived from the Latin word for “left.” Hence, lefties were sinister. And if this kid was raised in a Catholic orphanage, most likely they didn’t allow lefties…generally forcing them to write with their right hand (I’m not making this up). That’s how my aunt became ambidextrous…but I’m rambling (how unusual…). So yeah, if he doesn’t have a left hand, does that mean he’s lacking any “sinister” qualities?? Hmmmn…

September 1st–
Entry 4: Oh there’s a lot here. I keep seeing so much! So first, a quote that I liked from Chapter 2 (p.21) “There was a stream behind the orphanage. Ren liked to put his hand in and feel the water rush through his fingers. He watched the leaves and twigs floating downstream and felt the tug of the current on his wrist. It was the same pull that came sometimes when he prayed–the sense of being carried off to a deeper place. But he never had the courage to follow through. As soon as he felt the the urge to let go, he’d take his hand out of the water.”

I like this quote because I know that feeling. I can feel the water…the tug…and it’s exactly like that with life sometimes…that pull, that tug–but the way Ren pulls out of the water out of fear…that’s it too. What if the water carried us away? What if the promise of something different yanked us down and eventually drowned us? Great imagery…Tinti is goooooood.

So moving on…the wishing stone. Ahhh…the wishing stone. I’ve been looking for them all summer. A friend took me to a beach in Nahant that has a TON of them. Somehow, though, they didn’t feel right. Somehow, to me, it felt like something that had to be found, not something to simply be picked up. Or maybe something to be given to me…idk. I went to my friends’ house in Maine for a day or so this summer. It’s on a lake. While on the beach, I spent most of my time scouring the rocks for wishing stones (there were a TON of funky rocks). The stones were all very round…and I attempted skipping them with their amazing sons (whom I absolutely LOVE), but unsuccessfully. Round stones don’t skip so well…lol. BUT, I did still pocket a few…

This makes me think of how Ichy and Brom gave Ren a stone–not a wishing stone–but just a pretty rock when he left. I do that…I take rocks from places as keepsakes…something to mark a moment, maybe, or a place. I have rocks from all over, marking different places…different experiences. For the most part, I can’t remember all the places the rocks have come from, but I keep them nonetheless. I know that they are important in some way, or else I wouldn’t have them. I think I got this from my mom…she always picked up random rocks from random places, and I grew up looking at them on the kitchen windowsill. The funny part of this is that when anyone picks up my purse, they invariably say something trite like “oh my gosh! What, do you have rocks in here or something??” And the answer is…um…yes…lol.

Okay, moving on…we meet Benjamin Nab. Nab? Really? To “nab” something is to take it. So this random guy shows up and “nabs” Ren…claims he’s his brother. Is he? So then he takes Ren to the house of the gentlemanly farmer from the first chapter…and then makes off with his horse and cart! Poor Ren is trying to figure out how many prayers he needs to say for penance…but Nab basically tells him: you take what you need in order to survive in life. What a different life philosophy! But you can kind of see Tinti hinting toward that…at the very beginning when the nice farmer questions God’s actions (“We do not question His ways”–Father John. “I do.” –farmer)… So here, poor Ren has spent his life believing in one thing, indoctrinated–as it were–and now, something completely different. Where is she going with this??

September 5–
Entry 5: Have you seen The Sixth Sense? Okay, and have you seen it twice? Or more than twice? Yeah, that’s sort of how I feel while rereading this. There are SO many things that I keep seeing and think: OMG How did I not see that?? So obviously I can’t give away all these things… And oh, it’s tough!