OR post #3

What are the major struggles and conflicts that your characters encounter?

In the novel, a major struggle for the main character, Cal, is his relationship with Gretchen, the seemingly crazy girl who wears strange clothes. At the beginning of the book Cal did his best to avoid her by ducking into nearby rooms when they crossed paths at school because he feared that she was trouble. Now however, Cal has strong feelings toward her because he wants her to be safe after he found out about her abusive father. Cal realizes he has to risk everything he has to save her from her cruel father when he draws inspiration from his father who risked his job to save a dog. Cal has this realization when he says, "and what my dad did, risking his job and all, convinced me that I had to do the same for Gretchen, no matter what, that I couldn't let her suffer anymore" (West 118). Upon Gretchen's request, Cal begins to spy on her at her house and see what her dad does. Another way Cal helps Gretchen alleviate her suffering from an abusive father and from her contained lifestyle is to take her out to a mall. Risking detention, Cal uses fake passes to take Gretchen out of school and have a fun time at the mall. Gretchen has a great time as it becomes apparent to Cal that Gretchen rarely, if ever does anything fun. It was her first time at the mall and when Cal hears her laugh for the first time his emotions are revealed as he states, "Gretchen laughed and I felt like grabbing her and twirling her around the whole cafeteria" (West 134). By committing part of his personal time to help someone in need, Cal is able to feel the joy that comes from charity.

Another conflict that is part of the novel is the conflict between Gretchen and her abusive father. Since the beginning of the novel Gretchen tells Cal of how he abuses her by showing him marks that were made by her father. She wants desperately to be free of the binds of her current way of life and asks Cal to help her. Cal agrees to help and also promises to never tell anyone about her father for she fears he will do something terrible to her as was done to her sister when she disobeyed their father. Cal shows Gretchen friendliness by visiting her at work and bringing her things her father would never allow. This allows Gretchen to learn that she has been extremely isolated for her whole life. Once she dreamt about Cal killing her father but felt bad because she did not want to displease God with thoughts of murder (West 115). So we learn that Gretchen wants very badly to get her father out of her life and she learns about herself by experiencing something so different than she ever has when she is with Cal.

Jack-O-Lantern

OR Post #2

Things are getting more involved in the novel When the Streetcars Come Back by Stanley Gordon West. Cal Grant, the main character likes this girl Lola and at this point in the book Lola's boyfriend can no longer see her because of his father. Cal gets the opportunity to go to some dances with her but instead of going as a genuine date Cal is acting as fake date. By doing this Lola can meet up with Tom at the dances and his father won't find out that the two are still going steady. Albeit acting as a double, Cal becomes very excited. After several fake dates Cal and Lola become close and Cal's dream of kissing her comes true (West99).

On the contrary to Cal's fortune with Lola, Cal's situation with Gretchen Uttermam, the strange girl with an abusive father, gets more complex. Cal begins to visit her at her place of employment, the bakery, every Sunday at her lunch break. We begin to see how Cal becomes attached to her when he buys her a pair of loafers (West 66). His anger with her father grows in magnitude as Cal learns of Gretchen's new injuries. She tells him how her dad beat her as she says, "With a cane" (West 92).

Among all the intense drama, Cal and his high school friends still find time to have fun. For a thrill, Cal and his friend Scot decide to bring their unknowing friends to the doorstep of a crazy guy that chases kids. After they ring the doorbell, Cal's friends Jean and Susan are unpleasantly surprised to find an angry senior chasing them across the neighborhood (West 58). Cal's final year of high school is full of surprising and dramatic events.

The Value of a Memoir

A common desire in people is to share their life. To be heard among the millions and pass on something they have learned. A great way to do this is to write a memoir. Memoirs are a fantastic way to share stories because they are true accounts of the writer's life. Someones whole life, or just a passage from it can be shared through a memoir and be written to any degree of detail desired by the writer. An added benefit of writing a memoir is that it can be slightly dramatized or fictionalized to better convey the message. A writer may choose to write a memoir because they can not remember every detail but feel they have a story that needs to be heard. Memoirs are a perfect way to get a personal message to the outside world.

Unlike a piece of fiction, memoirs are real life accounts of what has happened in a person's life. A memoir focuses on the events and feelings of the writer, thus making a story as true to life as possible. This is important because memoirs may provide us with some of the most accurate accounts of someone's life and therefore bring the deepest meaning. Reading a memoir comes with the added benefit of knowing that it is a first-hand account from the writer, giving it the added aspect of reality. The reader know that the thoughts, dialogue, and descriptions are the true voice of the author. These types of stories provide more inspiration and draw more emotion from the reader compared to fictional, manufactured pieces of literary work. These aspects of a memoir set them apart, , making them one of the best literary techniques to get a message across.

Outside Reading post #1

Who are the main characters of your book? Describe their personality and what seems to motivate them.

In the novel Until They Bring the Streetcars Back, by Stanley Gordon West, the main character Cal Grant is a typical teenager living in the late 1940's. Attending high school in our very own Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Cal finds himself in detention for joining in on a prank against one of his teachers and talking in class, making him miss his football game (West 4). Because of this Cal becomes incredibly and irrationally outraged against the girl who he was talking with and declares that it was all her fault. He proceeds to avoid her at all costs by ducking into the most nearby rooms around school when she gets close, and one time almost entering a girls' bathroom (West 28). I believe that his adolescent mind and hatred for the girl is causing him to act so unreasonably. We do see a kind side to Cal as he nurtures a rabbit back to a healthy state in his closet after being tormented by some wild fifth graders (West 11). Although being occasionally unreasonable Cal is a kind person.

The other character is Gretchen Lutterman, the girl who spoke with Cal and got them both into trouble. We see that she is an odd ball when she starts muttering to herself, "My father will hurt me. He'll whip me r-e-a-l bad" (West 6) after being caught talking with Cal. We also see that she is a strange person when she does bizarre things like staring at Cal when his back is turned (West 30). Her motivation as a person has been driven by her strange life. Her father beats her, she wears strange clothes, and she has no friends. Gretchen is an odd character who is motivated by her odd surroundings.

2nd Post - What does Richard hunger for?

What types of things does Richard "hunger" for
and what are the effects (positive and negative) of hunger?

Throughout the novel, Richard develops a hunger for many things. An obvious hunger that Richard has is his physical hunger for food. Whenever Richard works, his money goes to feeding himself and his family because of their lack of food. A figurative hunger that Richard has is his need to be with people. As Richard states, "Nevertheless, I was so starved for association with people that I allowed myself to be seduced by it all, and for a few months I lived the life of an optimist" (Wright 151) he is telling how he longs to be with people. He is already ignored by everyone in his family except for his mother and wants to be accepted. One more hunger Richard has is his longing to get out of the house. He expresses his wish to go north when he states, "I dreamed of going north and writing books, novels" (Wright 168). A final hunger that Richard develops is his hunger for justice. The principal want Richard to recite a speech that Richard did not write and Richard refuses as he says, "Professor, I'm going to say my own speech that night" (Wright 175).
Most of the effects of his hunger are negative. By being hungry for food, Richard's hard earned money goes to his and his family's stomachs, not to his savings for leaving home. When Richard longs to be with people he becomes lost as to what his real aim is of going north. In the example of the speech, Richard loses all chances of becoming a teacher by refusing to recite the principal's work. Most of the effects of hunger are negative.