Summary
In these last pages of the book, Jane talks about the birth of her new daughter, Sophie, and that she was glad that Richard and her mother hadn't found out that she had become pregnant again(pg.205). She also mentions how her and Steve were trying really hard to make everything betweeen their family be at ease, although she may have stressed Steve out just a bit. She also talked about how, once she told him the truth, him and his parents felt that it would be best if she went to the police so that Richard could get arrested, but Jane didn't have the courage to do so. She talks about how she and Steve had money problems, and how she felt bad that she couldn't get Emma some decent gifts. The rest of the chapter finishes up when Jane decides to get the courage to tell the police what has happened to her. She also gets in contact with her father and old friends, including her brother Jimmy. The last thing she mentions at the end of the chapter was how she was nervous as the first day of the case was approaching, and some horrifying thoughts she had(pg.232).
The next chapter starts off by talking about the morning of the trial, and how nervewracking it was for her(pg.235). She then goes on to mention how she was called in first, and how her brother Pete and an uncle of hers kept trying to intimidate her, and how she hid her face so she wouldn't have to see Richard. She continued on by mentioning how she felt embarrassed because everything had to be explained with graphic detail. The case went on for about three days, and on the third day, she encountered Richard, and even after she wanted to keave, he followed her into the office, just never entering, and she felt the same fear she did as a child, and had a nervous attack(pg.242). The chapter ends by some of Jane's witnesses declaring their bit, and in the end, Richard was found guilty for almost everything, and that he would be in jail(pg.247).
In the last pages of the book, Jane mentions how Richard was given fifteen years, which was the maximum. She also mentions how some of the people that testified for her kept getting threatened by her family, and how her brother Tom still remained by her side, even if the others weren't. She also got in contact with some old school friends, and decided to meet up with them. In the end, she lost her mother for staying by Richard's side. Also, she got hurt for going back to the area where she used to live, but how she felt she had to do what was right, even if she got beat up.
Quote
"I wasn't going to back down now. I had no respect for any of the people who caved in and refused to back me up. After all he'd done to them as well. I stared back defiantly at my brother and uncle and shook my head, as if telling them I couldn't believe what they were doing, that I was disappointed in them as men"(Elliott 236-237).
Reaction
In this summary which finishes the book, the author gets the confidence she has needed. She mentions how even if she was scared of her family and friends getting hurt, she was still glad that she did what she had to do. She also explains how most of her family turned against her, and how that disappointed her, because Richard has mistreated them as well, yet they remained loyal to him. She may have gone through a tough depression and suicidal thoughts but in the end, the author came through and made sure Richard was put in jail, so he would no longer be harming her or other people.
This quote is important because it shows how the Jane's confidence increased while in court. It shows that she wasn't giving up in her stepfather being arrested, that she had gotten this far and that she didn't plan on backing down now just because she was being intimidated. Through this quote, the reader can learn how Jane learned to not care so much about the people who turned agaisnt her, even if they had gotten mistreated as well. The quote shows the emotional growth Jane experienced, and how she no longer felt bad in what she was doing, because she knew it was the right thing to do.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Little Prisoner (Pgs. 131-200)
Summary
In this new section of the book, Jane begins by talking about how, as she got older, she was given a bit more freedom. Including, one night, she was allowed to attend a party, and in this party she met a new guy named Joe. She started a relationship with him, and after about three months of dating, they slept together(pg.131). Richard was nice about her being with him, but he didn't know that she had slept with Joe. Richard still messed around with Jane, only in ways that would humiliate Joe(pg.132). After a while though, Richard kept asking Jane if she had already slept with Joe, and after she was on the floor with him holding her by the throat, and she had to confess. She provides an important detail, that being that no matter what way Richard abused of her, he had never "penetrated her"(pg.134). Richard's response to her confession, though, was surprising. He told her that now that she had slept with Joe, she would have to be doing it with him as well, claiming that it would be the same as with Joe. Jane then goes on to mention the horrible experience she had, and how she would have to keep doing it. It got worse when her mother got a job helping out as a secretary at a boxng club her brothers attended, and she would be stuck with him alone once she returned from work(pg.138).
In the next chapter that follows, Jane talks about she went out with Paul after Joel, and how Richard would continue to play the game of being friendly, welcoming him to live with them, but then not wanting to see him when he wasn't in the mood. One day, while Jane and Paul were still asleep in her room, Richard came into her room, threw away her birth control pills, and told her that she needed to make him a granddad. Even though she tried not to show her happiness, she truly was excited, and she developed the idea that if she became pregnant, she would get an escape from Richard(pgs.144-145). She continued to try and have a baby with Paul for about three months, while when with Richard, he used a condom. At that third month, she became pregnant, but it turned out to be worse for her because Richard decided that now that she was pregnant, he wouldn't need to use condoms anymore. Even as her stomach got bigger, Richard still wanted to be with her. After she gave birth to her baby, which she named Emma, Richard was really affectionate with the baby, and Jane's mother signed a letter for her to move out the house, which Richard didn't get upset about it. But, as usual, this meant he would figure out where she would be living, so he could continue to torment her.
In the last few or so pages left of what was read, Jane talked about how she had to break up with Paul, she met Steve. and fell in love again. She also mentioned how she stood up to Richard, saying no to him when he came once to picking up Emma, and how because of this, Richard practically kidnapped Emma. In the last chapter read, Jane explains how she had to tell Steve the truth about Richard. After he found out, he was in shock, he decided they needed to move to a different place, and she talked about the difficult transition it was for her to get accustomed to having freedom, and how she was still terrified because her thoughts tormented her.
Quote
"Although I was now physically free of Richard, I was still suffering mentally from everything that had happened before, as well as from the ever-present fear that he would track me down and turn up on the doorstep"(Elliott 199).
Reaction
In this summary, the author endures more mental and emotional pain as she continues to recall how her life kept falling apart under the hands of Richard. The only moments of joy she had were when she had Emma and the times she fell in love. She seems to be reliving everything as if she were there all over again, explaining everything that she felt, and what was going on in her mind. But, in this summary, she finally decided to take a stand and control her life. She needed to do what was best for her daughter and for herself, and she needed to place Richard in the place where he belonged, which was jail.
This quote is important to understand because it shows the mental and emotional abuse she underwent, and the damage it has done on her. It shows that even if she was physically free from Richard, the scars he left will never quite heal completely. It also shows that he will always have control of her, because she will live in fear for practically the rest of her life. He has made her paranoid and the damage that he has made might even spread through her daughters and other people. This quote shows how she needs help from somebody before she decides to do something that will not benefit anybody, or before she falls apart completely.
In this new section of the book, Jane begins by talking about how, as she got older, she was given a bit more freedom. Including, one night, she was allowed to attend a party, and in this party she met a new guy named Joe. She started a relationship with him, and after about three months of dating, they slept together(pg.131). Richard was nice about her being with him, but he didn't know that she had slept with Joe. Richard still messed around with Jane, only in ways that would humiliate Joe(pg.132). After a while though, Richard kept asking Jane if she had already slept with Joe, and after she was on the floor with him holding her by the throat, and she had to confess. She provides an important detail, that being that no matter what way Richard abused of her, he had never "penetrated her"(pg.134). Richard's response to her confession, though, was surprising. He told her that now that she had slept with Joe, she would have to be doing it with him as well, claiming that it would be the same as with Joe. Jane then goes on to mention the horrible experience she had, and how she would have to keep doing it. It got worse when her mother got a job helping out as a secretary at a boxng club her brothers attended, and she would be stuck with him alone once she returned from work(pg.138).
In the next chapter that follows, Jane talks about she went out with Paul after Joel, and how Richard would continue to play the game of being friendly, welcoming him to live with them, but then not wanting to see him when he wasn't in the mood. One day, while Jane and Paul were still asleep in her room, Richard came into her room, threw away her birth control pills, and told her that she needed to make him a granddad. Even though she tried not to show her happiness, she truly was excited, and she developed the idea that if she became pregnant, she would get an escape from Richard(pgs.144-145). She continued to try and have a baby with Paul for about three months, while when with Richard, he used a condom. At that third month, she became pregnant, but it turned out to be worse for her because Richard decided that now that she was pregnant, he wouldn't need to use condoms anymore. Even as her stomach got bigger, Richard still wanted to be with her. After she gave birth to her baby, which she named Emma, Richard was really affectionate with the baby, and Jane's mother signed a letter for her to move out the house, which Richard didn't get upset about it. But, as usual, this meant he would figure out where she would be living, so he could continue to torment her.
In the last few or so pages left of what was read, Jane talked about how she had to break up with Paul, she met Steve. and fell in love again. She also mentioned how she stood up to Richard, saying no to him when he came once to picking up Emma, and how because of this, Richard practically kidnapped Emma. In the last chapter read, Jane explains how she had to tell Steve the truth about Richard. After he found out, he was in shock, he decided they needed to move to a different place, and she talked about the difficult transition it was for her to get accustomed to having freedom, and how she was still terrified because her thoughts tormented her.
Quote
"Although I was now physically free of Richard, I was still suffering mentally from everything that had happened before, as well as from the ever-present fear that he would track me down and turn up on the doorstep"(Elliott 199).
Reaction
In this summary, the author endures more mental and emotional pain as she continues to recall how her life kept falling apart under the hands of Richard. The only moments of joy she had were when she had Emma and the times she fell in love. She seems to be reliving everything as if she were there all over again, explaining everything that she felt, and what was going on in her mind. But, in this summary, she finally decided to take a stand and control her life. She needed to do what was best for her daughter and for herself, and she needed to place Richard in the place where he belonged, which was jail.
This quote is important to understand because it shows the mental and emotional abuse she underwent, and the damage it has done on her. It shows that even if she was physically free from Richard, the scars he left will never quite heal completely. It also shows that he will always have control of her, because she will live in fear for practically the rest of her life. He has made her paranoid and the damage that he has made might even spread through her daughters and other people. This quote shows how she needs help from somebody before she decides to do something that will not benefit anybody, or before she falls apart completely.
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Little Prisoner (Pgs. 91-130)
Summary
In the following pages, Jane continues to mention the sexual abuse that she had to undergo under the hands of Richard. She mentions how he created sheds, and how he would have to "help him sort out his tools", but in reality, after they got in there, he would lock the doors and he continued his abuse form there(pg.91 92). She mentions how Richard's grandmother seemed to dislike her as much as he did, and her mom would do what she could so she wouldn't to anything. But, because she lived about five miles from their house, he would take her with him and from there he would get carried away with continuing his abuse(pg.92). He also would take her with him for when he went to buy something, and in the car, she would have to, "Masturbate him in the front while he drove"(Elliott 95). Jane summed up the rest of chapter four by telling the reader the other means of torture Richard thought of to hurt her, most being ways to sexually abuse her, but also painful things in which she would have to hold heavy books in her arms without dropping them, while standing without clothes.
In the next chapter, she mentioned how she became a "young lady" when she first had her menstrual cycle, and how at first, it seemed to work as an advantage for her because she got pampered, but it was also used against her because then she had to stay home longer when it got really bad. She then went on to mention how she loved school, because it served as mean to escape the torture she lived through at home (pg.105-107). She also never showed that she was an abused child, because she was always a happy child in school. But, she had to deny the abuse she ever had if she went to school hurt, because Richard would show up, and so the people in school dropped it. The chapter finishes by her explaining how she couldn't do homework because she wasn't allowed, and how, as she turned into a teen, Richard seemed to have an interest in her(pg.111). Education was seen as a bad thing, but she was allowed ro work so she could help pay the expenses of the house.
To summarize the rest of the pages read. Jane explained how she fell in love with a boy named Nick. At first, Richard seemed to be okay with it, but after a while, she was forced to dump him because Richard seemed as if he were jealous of all the time she spent with him, and how she couldn't cry because then she would have gotten beaten.
To summarize the rest of the pages read. Jane explained how she fell in love with a boy named Nick. At first, Richard seemed to be okay with it, but after a while, she was forced to dump him because Richard seemed as if he were jealous of all the time she spent with him, and how she couldn't cry because then she would have gotten beaten.
Quote
"Despite all the things that he did to me physically, Richard still seemed to have a fantasy life about me as well"(Elliott 118).
Reaction
In this summary, the author seems to recall more the sexual abuse she experienced. She explained everything she was forced to do in detail, which shows how she seemed to remember the most disturbing moments with vivid detail, when she wanted to forget it all. She just seems to be going back into her past, as if she were reliving everything, and it's as if it is hurting even more in the present than it did in the past. She also shows how she had no control over her life, how her life was controlled as if she were a puppet that had to obey every order.
It is important to understand the quote that was chosen because it shows how twisted Richard was. He abused her in every way he could, and yet he still would fantasize about her, when he would tell her that he hated her. Because of his twisted mind, it gave him more ideas in how to torture her, because he hated her yet he wanted her in an inappropriate way. This quote is also important to understand because it helps readers see that the reason why she could have constantly been abused was because he was attached to her in an odd way, and that could have been why she never was able to stay with her first love. She even said Richard was "jealous", which shows that he could have had very sick thoughts of them actually being together, and that's why he constantly sexually abused her, and wouldn't let her go.
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Little Prisoner (Pgs.47-90)
Summary
In these pages, Jane describes the physical abuse Richard gave not only to her, but towards anyone that he encountered, and how people in their neighborhood hated him (pg.47). He loved to get into fights with anyone, and even at one point, their house was attacked with bricks from a group of men Richard had started a fight with (pg. 53). She also mentions how they were poor to buy the necessities of the house despite the fact that Richard and her mother spent their money fixing the house. She explained how she would have to go to neighbors and ask them for supplies they needed. When Jane was sent to do an errand for Richard, she was strictly told that she was to do the errands and couldn't stop to talk to friends. She also mentioned how, as her brothers got older, she had to do more duties toward them, but she didn't mind because she cared about them, while her mother and Richard would stay in bed most of the time. Richard would usually stay in bed when her mother got up and Jane would have to send him tea, where he took the opportunity to sexually harass her, and she was forced to play along with him (pg.51).
Jane mentions how on few occassions her mom would decided to leave Richard, but she never got far because he always forced her to be by his side. She also said that Richard wanted the rest of them to have them fight people strangers as well, and how she was forced to beat up innocent people, whether they may have hurt her by accident or if they didn't do anything at all (pg 55). He even made them fight each other.
To summarize the rest of the pages read, Jane explains how she had a best friend named Hayley, and she was shockingly allowed to go over her house. Once, she even got drunk, but her mom and Richard just laughed it off (pg. 76-78). She also recalls on how the sexual abuse continued, how she was first introduced to pornography, and how Richard pushed her grandfather away from her. The section ends when Jane woke up one night to see that Richard was abusing her mom and how when she tried to intervne, he came to attack her. Her mother went to defend her and stabbed him with a knife, and he went to the hospital. When he came back, he even apologized to Jane, something he had never done. Then, once, when Richard decided to get a girlfriend, she thought she would be free from him. Her mom even went out with a friend. But, he returned, and when he saw she had gone out, he was furious.
Quote
"'Janey,' he whispered as I pretended to be asleep. 'I'm really sorry'. He'd never apologized to me for anything before, but maybe he was only doing it now because he believed I was asleep and couldn't hear him"(Elliott 88).
Reaction
In this section that was read, the author includes a lot more details than before. She seems to be recalling everything with more detail now. Is this section, the author also seems to interact with more people, rather than only talking about Richard, her mother and brothers, altough they are the people she's mostly with. The last thing the author includes in this section would be explaining how other people may have felt, while also including her own thoughts and feelings.
Using the quote to connect it to the entire story, it is important to understand because it showed how Jane wasn't having hope in Richard changing. It also showed his somewhat weak side, although the reader isn't given enough information to know if he was sincere or if it was all an act. He had never apologized to her before, so it could be a turning point for him, although she truly believes he may not be sincere. The reader can assume Jane has stopped having hope for everything to end, and although it seems she may wish that deep down, she won't permit herself to believe he was changing.
In these pages, Jane describes the physical abuse Richard gave not only to her, but towards anyone that he encountered, and how people in their neighborhood hated him (pg.47). He loved to get into fights with anyone, and even at one point, their house was attacked with bricks from a group of men Richard had started a fight with (pg. 53). She also mentions how they were poor to buy the necessities of the house despite the fact that Richard and her mother spent their money fixing the house. She explained how she would have to go to neighbors and ask them for supplies they needed. When Jane was sent to do an errand for Richard, she was strictly told that she was to do the errands and couldn't stop to talk to friends. She also mentioned how, as her brothers got older, she had to do more duties toward them, but she didn't mind because she cared about them, while her mother and Richard would stay in bed most of the time. Richard would usually stay in bed when her mother got up and Jane would have to send him tea, where he took the opportunity to sexually harass her, and she was forced to play along with him (pg.51).
Jane mentions how on few occassions her mom would decided to leave Richard, but she never got far because he always forced her to be by his side. She also said that Richard wanted the rest of them to have them fight people strangers as well, and how she was forced to beat up innocent people, whether they may have hurt her by accident or if they didn't do anything at all (pg 55). He even made them fight each other.
To summarize the rest of the pages read, Jane explains how she had a best friend named Hayley, and she was shockingly allowed to go over her house. Once, she even got drunk, but her mom and Richard just laughed it off (pg. 76-78). She also recalls on how the sexual abuse continued, how she was first introduced to pornography, and how Richard pushed her grandfather away from her. The section ends when Jane woke up one night to see that Richard was abusing her mom and how when she tried to intervne, he came to attack her. Her mother went to defend her and stabbed him with a knife, and he went to the hospital. When he came back, he even apologized to Jane, something he had never done. Then, once, when Richard decided to get a girlfriend, she thought she would be free from him. Her mom even went out with a friend. But, he returned, and when he saw she had gone out, he was furious.
Quote
"'Janey,' he whispered as I pretended to be asleep. 'I'm really sorry'. He'd never apologized to me for anything before, but maybe he was only doing it now because he believed I was asleep and couldn't hear him"(Elliott 88).
Reaction
In this section that was read, the author includes a lot more details than before. She seems to be recalling everything with more detail now. Is this section, the author also seems to interact with more people, rather than only talking about Richard, her mother and brothers, altough they are the people she's mostly with. The last thing the author includes in this section would be explaining how other people may have felt, while also including her own thoughts and feelings.
Using the quote to connect it to the entire story, it is important to understand because it showed how Jane wasn't having hope in Richard changing. It also showed his somewhat weak side, although the reader isn't given enough information to know if he was sincere or if it was all an act. He had never apologized to her before, so it could be a turning point for him, although she truly believes he may not be sincere. The reader can assume Jane has stopped having hope for everything to end, and although it seems she may wish that deep down, she won't permit herself to believe he was changing.
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