Date: 05-02-‘07
Name: Marjan
Class: 4VA
Title: Xmas, Jamaica Plain
Author: Melanie Rae Thon
Explanation of the title: It’s Christmas and the 2 main characters in the story have no place to live and are hungry and cold, so they go to Jamaica Plain and sneak into a house there. Emile: “ Home for the holidays. ” The owner of this house is on a holiday and the house is situated in Jamaica Plain, a place where it doesn’t matter if you’re white or black, it’s probably a mixed neighborhood.
Theme/subject: There are probably some more themes to this story, but the main theme is lack of love. The main characters in the story have been abandoned from their houses or walked away. They didn’t receive the love they needed there. Another theme is wanting to be a girl. Emile desperately wants to be a girl, but was unfortunately born as a boy. Neglecting is also a main theme, Emile has been neglected by their parents, and they are neglected by people who see them.
Characters descriptions:
Narrator (I person): She is young black girl, probably around the age of 17. She is a drug-addict and a prostitute. She is schizophrenic, she has a voice in her head who tells her what to do, but she believes it’s a sister she once had. She is a pessimist, but ignoring the sad truth. She is afraid of the truth and tries to deny it. She is friends with Emile and loves him very much. She has a big fantasy and thinks of strange things that could happen.
Emile: He’s a 16-year old boy who wants to be a girl. He got kicked out of his parents house because they found out that he wanted to be a girl. He is depressed and a self-hating person, in the story he commits suicide, because he doesn’t fit into women clothes anymore.
Clare: She’s the narrator’s ‘sister’ . She the voice in the disturbed head of the narrator. She seems more intelligent than the narrator, and let’s her make good decisions.
Lady who lives in the house: She is a female and has a little son and a husband. She is a wealthy person. When the 2 main characters are in the house she’s isn’t in the house. She has a driver’s license. She enjoys looking expensive, because she has a lot of jewelry. She could be depressed because she has valium in her house.
Gentleman who lives in the house: He’s the lady’s husband. He owns a pinstriped jacket and is probably rich.
Little boy: He is very and there are pictures of him everywhere through the house. He has blue eyes and blond long curls. He may be spoiled, because of all the items in his room.
Setting: In a house in Jamaica Plain, a mixed neighborhood.
Summary: A young black girl and boy have no place to live during Christmas, so they break into a house in Jamaica Plain, whose owners are on holiday. The house is in a mixed neighborhood, so they won’t have to turn their selves out. They are both drug addicts. Emile is the boy in the story, who earns his money by prostituting. He wants to be a girl, and dresses like a girl. In the house they eat, wear the owner’s clothes, and Emile eventually commits suicide. Emile didn’t fit into the woman’s clothes and was very unhappy about this. The narrator is left behind alone, shocked, and she listens to a voice in her head named Clare, who tells her what to do next.
Language/imagery: I have pointed everything out in the text. The narrator makes use of foreshadowing events and also makes a lot of use of similes and metaphors.
Structure: I have pointed out the climax and introduction in the story.
Personal opinion: I think the story is quite interesting, it grabbed me when I read it, and I was very curious for the end. The way the narrator makes you feel with the 2 main characters gets you more into the story. She also give some good ideas about drugs, and what they can do to your lives. She also gives two sides of the prostitute scene, and they way it can affect the person’s life. The story is very dramatic and pessimistic, but I believe this is a good thing and the writers shouldn’t have made a happy ending. The ending though was disappointing, because it was very vague and you don’t really know what happens to the girl.
Name: Marjan
Class: 4VA
Title: Xmas, Jamaica Plain
Author: Melanie Rae Thon
Explanation of the title: It’s Christmas and the 2 main characters in the story have no place to live and are hungry and cold, so they go to Jamaica Plain and sneak into a house there. Emile: “ Home for the holidays. ” The owner of this house is on a holiday and the house is situated in Jamaica Plain, a place where it doesn’t matter if you’re white or black, it’s probably a mixed neighborhood.
Theme/subject: There are probably some more themes to this story, but the main theme is lack of love. The main characters in the story have been abandoned from their houses or walked away. They didn’t receive the love they needed there. Another theme is wanting to be a girl. Emile desperately wants to be a girl, but was unfortunately born as a boy. Neglecting is also a main theme, Emile has been neglected by their parents, and they are neglected by people who see them.
Narrator (I person): She is young black girl, probably around the age of 17. She is a drug-addict and a prostitute. She is schizophrenic, she has a voice in her head who tells her what to do, but she believes it’s a sister she once had. She is a pessimist, but ignoring the sad truth. She is afraid of the truth and tries to deny it. She is friends with Emile and loves him very much. She has a big fantasy and thinks of strange things that could happen.
Emile: He’s a 16-year old boy who wants to be a girl. He got kicked out of his parents house because they found out that he wanted to be a girl. He is depressed and a self-hating person, in the story he commits suicide, because he doesn’t fit into women clothes anymore.
Clare: She’s the narrator’s ‘sister’ . She the voice in the disturbed head of the narrator. She seems more intelligent than the narrator, and let’s her make good decisions.
Lady who lives in the house: She is a female and has a little son and a husband. She is a wealthy person. When the 2 main characters are in the house she’s isn’t in the house. She has a driver’s license. She enjoys looking expensive, because she has a lot of jewelry. She could be depressed because she has valium in her house.
Gentleman who lives in the house: He’s the lady’s husband. He owns a pinstriped jacket and is probably rich.
Little boy: He is very and there are pictures of him everywhere through the house. He has blue eyes and blond long curls. He may be spoiled, because of all the items in his room.
Summary: A young black girl and boy have no place to live during Christmas, so they break into a house in Jamaica Plain, whose owners are on holiday. The house is in a mixed neighborhood, so they won’t have to turn their selves out. They are both drug addicts. Emile is the boy in the story, who earns his money by prostituting. He wants to be a girl, and dresses like a girl. In the house they eat, wear the owner’s clothes, and Emile eventually commits suicide. Emile didn’t fit into the woman’s clothes and was very unhappy about this. The narrator is left behind alone, shocked, and she listens to a voice in her head named Clare, who tells her what to do next.
Language/imagery: I have pointed everything out in the text. The narrator makes use of foreshadowing events and also makes a lot of use of similes and metaphors.
Structure: I have pointed out the climax and introduction in the story.
Personal opinion: I think the story is quite interesting, it grabbed me when I read it, and I was very curious for the end. The way the narrator makes you feel with the 2 main characters gets you more into the story. She also give some good ideas about drugs, and what they can do to your lives. She also gives two sides of the prostitute scene, and they way it can affect the person’s life. The story is very dramatic and pessimistic, but I believe this is a good thing and the writers shouldn’t have made a happy ending. The ending though was disappointing, because it was very vague and you don’t really know what happens to the girl.
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