30 August 2010

the secret life of ceecee wilkes: belle on heels' response to chapters 21-35

1. do you think tim is the one sending the money?  i think it's either tim or naomi.  i'm almost more inclined to say it's naomi, because she really seemed to soften towards ceecee, but i think it's going to end up being tim.

2. so far, there's been a lot of discussion on ceecee/eve and her choices. what choice(s) would you make differently from her?  i think the most obvious would be to not help tim in the kidnapping.  then all of the other choices become moot points.  that aside, i think not turning herself and the baby into the police was a huge mistake.  i think the police would have seen her for what she was: a scared, naieve kid who got caught up in something she didn't understand.  sure, she would have had some punishment, but i think turning over the baby and being a witness against tim would have gone a long way. 

3. what do you like about jack? are there things about him that you don't like?  i think he is a good guy with a good heart who seems to be completely trustworthy, and that's what eve needs.  he doesn't seem to have any pretenses...what you see is what you get.  he also doesn't seem to judge her at all for her past decisions.  all of those things are great about him.  the one thing i don't like is that he seems a little too good to be true, like a character with very little depth.  he's handsome, he's happy all the time, he's patient, he loves eve, he loves cory, blah blah blah.  it would be nice if he showed a flaw or something!

4. what are the differences between ceecee/eve's relationship with tim and eve's relationship with jack?  she is much more guarded, more cautious, and certainly much more in control of her relationship with jack than of her relationship with tim.  she's older and also experienced and changed so much since she met tim, so in some ways, she is much more mature.  she is putting her and cory's happiness and well-being ahead of jack's, whereas in her relationship with tim, she put him above everything else.  this feels like a real relationship, one that grows slowly out of a place of mutual love and respect.  tim was just young starstruck "love" and lust.

5. do you think eve is to blame for cory's fears? what could she do, specifically, to help cory feel like less of an outsider?  i'm a big believer in nurture in the nature vs. nurture debate, so yes, i think eve is to blame.  i can see why she would raise her that way, as a result of her own fears, but not only does she teach cory to be overly cautious, but then validates her irrational fears to the point where cory is completely isolated not only from her family, but her entire peer group. i'm not sure i could point to one specific thing she could do to change things.  she should encourage cory to try and explore new things, even if they scare her, instead of coddling her whenever she is scared.  she should reassure cory that she is safe and it's ok to do different things.  In short, she should treat cory like she treats dru.  Putting her in a private school was a good step in the right direction.  So was encouraging her to try out for the play.

6. do you think eve appropriately answered cory's questions about her father? do you think cory will question her father more as she grows older?  i guess she answered them appropriately for covering up the truth.  that's a tough question!  i think cory will absolutely question her father more.  it's natural to want to know about where you came from and eve isn't giving her anything to go on.  she already feels like an outsider, so i think she obviously is going to assume she's more like her father and want to know more about him so she doesn't feel so strange.

1 comments:

Melissa said...

I agree - Jack does seem a little too good to be true! Especially because it seems like he never asks Eve much about her past.

Cute blog! :)