Journal Entry #5
Pgs 116-144

5 Comments
-James found that his step-father was the true father figure in his life due to the fact that his biological father died before he was born. His step-father was a strong man who admired organization and loved all of his children.
- James's step-father had a stroke and became very ill afterward. Later he suffered a relapse and died. This had an affect on the family i a negative way from that point on.
-Ruth's mother's famil was very secretive and lived in New york City. the family was only concerned with making money. Ruth recieved an abortion due to the help of her Aunt Betts.
-The mother was affected the most by the passing of the step-father and it showed threw her day to day activties. She begna to stagger through the motions of life.
-James began to get involved with street activities. His grades began to drop due to him constantly skipping school. After being kicked out of summer school he was went down south to live with his sister Jack.

4 Questions
-Why did the step-father only show up on weekends and why didn't he move the whole family into his community?
-If he truely loved his father, why would there be in isssue in telling him that he loved him?
-Why didn't James help his mother threw these hard times?
-Why would James turn to the street instead of dealing with this problem of his loss?

3 Vocabulary Words
Pg 144 Maimed-to commit the felony of mayhem upon
pg 143 Clairvoyant-able to see beyond the range of ordinary perception
Pg 142 Ingenuity-skill or cleverness in devising or combining

2 Literary Devices
"The sound of her cries circling the house like a spirit"pg 128 This is an example of a simile
"The sound of her cries circling the house like a spirit and settling on all the corridors and beds where we lay" pg 128 This is an example of personification.

Summary Sentence
After the death of the step-father, the family began to break down and branch away even further from one another.