The movie, “Crazy in Alabama”, would really appeal to an adolescent. The main characters are two boys around the age of 13 growing up at a time in the South when there are a lot of transitions going on with segregation of the African American people. The boys are going through a lot of transitions themselves… they have lived peacefully out in the country with their guardian, but that soon changes when their aunt drops off her many children. The boys then move to town with their guardian’s son and his wife, and nothing is the same after that. They wonder why African Americans don’t have the same rights as them, and soon start marching with them. They see a lot of unjust things going on, and seek to change the town they live in.
I think many adolescents feel helpless in the world. They have opinions of their own, but struggle in how to express those opinions. “Crazy in Alabama” shows these struggles in many different ways, and also how you can stick up for what you believe in, even if you are an adolescent.
I watched this move myself as a young adolescent, and recently bought it for myself. I loved the inner struggles all the characters go though in it, and the many themes the movie presents, and how the characters deal with it. I would recommend this movie to adolescents and adults!
Brief Summery:
Lucky is the main character in the book. “Higher Power of Lucky”. She lives in Hard Pan, California out in the middle of the desert. Lucky lives with a French woman named Brigitte who was Lucky’s father’s first wife. Lucky’s mother died and her father did not want to take care of her so she ended up with Brigitte. Brigitte is her guardian, but Lucky still feels as she could leave at any time. Lucky does many things to prepare herself to be ready for Brigitte to leave, thus what he story is about.
Why is that character acting like that?
Lucky really gets along with everyone… but there is really only 43 people in the town she lives to get along with. She is always trying to make other people comfortable. She does this one way by knowing when certain anonymous meeting are being held & cleans up after the other ones are held. For example, she the ex-drinkers smoke a lot, but then later in the day there is an ex-smoker group so she cleans up all the butts so they won’t feel uncomfortable. I think she also does this because there is really nothing else for her to do.
Lucky also likes when the people in the meeting come to the point in their stories when they hit rock bottom. Lucky thinks of what her rock bottom would be and what she would do when she gets there. What will her higher power be?
Where is the author going with this?
Susan Patron, the author, is explaining all the above because she wants to reader to see what Lucky’s fears are... being abandon, and what is really guiding her decision making… what the anonymous people are saying & how an adolescent interrupts that.
Has something similar happened to me? (text to self, T-S)
I remember times throughout my adolescent being afraid of my mother dieing ad no one wanting me , but I never had to experience that...thank god.
Have I read a book that deals with some of the same issues? (text to text, T-T)
Yes, I have read other book which deal with the same issues… Harry Potter goes through the same thing in the first two books… who wants him?
Is there something on a more global scale happening like this? (text to world, T-W)
Not that I can think of?? But there are people out there who feel nobody wants them.
Perhaps there is language in the book that is particularly descriptive or interesting.
The title: The Higher Power of Lucky… what is a higher power? So many different ways to interrupt that.
When I was is first grade I remember my mom having me go to a bunch of doctors’ appointments, one being to get my eyes checked. I remember that appointment because my older brother and sister both had glasses and I desperately wanted a pair of my own. The appointment ended in me not getting glasses to which I was greatly disappointed, and later found out that my mom was taking me to all these appointments, as I was not reading at the level I should have been. Throughout the year I ended up being tested and put into a program called, “Reading Recovery” I liked going and loved my teacher for that class, Ms. Maran. We would sit in this little room and read fun little stories. I don’t think I really understood why I was in a one-on-one session with her, but I think I liked the special individual attention I received. At the end of the year I was a part of a study, which my mom taped and still has, where I read with Ms. Maran while some people watched from the other side of a two-way mirror. It’s hard to watch how I was barely reading, but my mom said that everyone was amazed because I had outstanding comprehension on everything I read. My special times with Ms. Maran only lasted that a year, and in second grade everything seemed fine as far as my reading went.
After second grade I entered third grade, just like everyone else. A few months in I again started to struggle, but this time it was not with reading but instead spelling or written language as my IEP said. From third grade on into my freshmen year of high school I found myself in several special classes, which didn’t start to bother me until middle school, but then what doesn’t bother a middle school kid? I started resenting my shortcomings, and had a terrible attitude when having to go to my “special” class. Finally in ninth grade the teacher in my low level English class told my mom that I really didn’t belong there for 90 minutes a day and that she would really like to see me in a general education English class, and that had been the last of me seeking help in terms of what I have described above.
Throughout my life the people who read to me the most were my mother and sister. I also have memories of reading with my grandma Appletoft and all the interesting books she had to choose from. My mother, who was/is a teacher, would often bring home books for me to look at and often times we would read together. One book that I started requesting was one entitled “Jelly Beans for Breakfast”. I loved that book! I remember thinking of it when I was older and could not find it at the local public library. I was so bummed, but my mom suggested I look at the school she us to work at. The librarian was the same, and remembers me liking that book but she had thrown it out a few years back as it was old. I went on for years trying to find it, but had no luck. On my 21st birthday my mom sent me a container with jellybeans in it… I was confused as to why she had done so only to find that in another package there it was, “Jelly Beans for Breakfast”! I could not believe my eyes, and when I began to read it, I burst into tears. I now read the book to the different children I work with, and give them each a jelly bean as a treat when I am done.
I really don’t remember any of my friends reading at all throughout my childhood and/or adolescents. When I took a novels class in 10th grade they all thought I was crazy, but I was excited. In an earlier post I reflect on that disappointing experience.
I don’t remember writing up until 7th grade with Mr. Rhodie. Both my siblings had him as well as my mother. He was not very nice to me at all… I’m not sure why. Anyway, thinking back he had us write a lot of papers and speeches. One speech assignment was entitled “A trip worth taking”. I did mine on going to the Alamo, my grandparents had just taken a trip there and brought me home presents that intrigued me. I spent hours on the speech and visual aids, and received a B-. I was so torn by it that I came home crying. My mom got really upset as well because she knew how much time I spent on putting the speech together. She called him to ask why, but he was such a jerk about it. Reading was pretty much the same with him; I could never perform the way he wanted me to.
To sum up, reading and writing has always been a struggle for me. I have leaned to overcome many of the obstacles that have faced me, and keep moving forward! College has really helped me become a better reader and writer, and I have met many great teachers who have helped me along my path in becoming an educator.
