"The Christmas Sweater" POST #3

(pages 124-164)

SUMMARY:

After Eddie's mom had past away, it has been a rough patch for him. He's not controlling his feelings properly, which hurts his grandparents. Eddie is growing up, but with a wrong sense of how his life wants to be. He doesn't understand why things had turned out like they did. Anger builds up each day, and its seems that he he wants to do is disrespect his grandparents. However, his anger decreases little by little after he made a new friend named Taylor and a man named Russell. Taylor has the life that Eddie wants because Taylor's family buys him everything he wants and goes out to eat. Russell is the neighbor that wishes to change Eddie's point of view on his life and help him realize that things just happen, just like his mother would if she was still alive.

QUOTE:

"Everyone wants to be loved, but when all you feel is alone it's tough to accomplish anything else (Beck 173)."

REACTION:

The author had placed two important new characters in the picture. Which is Taylor and Russell. They both would help Eddie realize that money doesn't buy love and how great is life is already without material things. Taylor's family is the opposite of Eddie's family. It's interesting when the author gives the story a bit of contradiction. Eddie's family is what Taylor wish his family was like and Taylor's family is what Eddie wish his family was like. One family has no warm connection of a family and one family has the warmth and the love. The quote is when Russell was having a conversation with Eddie. It connects to the story because Russell is trying to say that Eddie is lacking love in his family but if he doesn't realize that there's still people that love him, he'll feels alone and it's challenging for him to go through a rough stage.