Reading Journal: A Piece of Cake (APOC) - Assignment Example

Chapter 35 Question You heard me. That is your problem, you know. Marriage will make you stable, which will make you more attractive to employers because they like stability. It will make you seem more okay with yourself and the world. And it will make me more secure. I won’t be afraid of losing you because you’ll be mine.”
Question 2
After stints of job switches, the writer’s trend was worrying especially to Tommy. Since Tommy met the writer, he has been determined to make positive changes in her, though he was himself not perfect. The great idea of settling down with the writer would cement a certain level of responsibility, which at least would keep them off the series of partying and mess-ups. The quote portrays Tommy as visionary and determined to achieve the best.
Question 3
I like watching soap operas and one running theme across all of them is the institution of marriage. Indeed marriage comes with responsibility, which in turn nurtures stability. My parents are a good example. They have been stable together for over thirty years, and I do not see anything coming their way to cause havoc. If well handled, marriage can be a paradise on earth.
Question 4
Tommy has a great idea, but it comes up in a haphazard way. Marriage needs proper planning and organized approach. The couple in question suggested marriage in the hope of getting out of difficulties and problems occasioned by drug use. Surely, no marriage can bear fruit on such soil, and it indeed happened to this couple.
Chapter 41
Question 1
“I’m sick of this shit! All y’all do is get high and fight! Get high and fight! Can’t you two see what that shit is doing to your lives?”
Question 2
Fights and quarrels were a frequent occurrence in Tommy and Cupcake’s marriage. The use of drugs fueled all these. The marriage was so abusive and hopeless. Daddy had lost hope on the couple. He had tried all he could in a bid to salvage the situation, but it got worse each day. The quote portrays a situation of hopelessness and desperation. Daddy sees no future in the marriage.
Question 3
In my neighborhood once lived a couple with similar mysteries as the writer and Tommy. Theirs was a problem of alcoholism. When they became drank it was noise, insults and fights even in the middle of the night. It took the intervention of police officers to calm down the situation. The couple was driven away from the neighborhood, and nobody knows their whereabouts up to today.
Question 4
As a parent, one should not approach such a situation in the manner Daddy did. Addicts require special counseling to get them off the drugs. No simple talk or warnings can change their minds. Daddy should have done this long time ago, but he hesitated until it got out of hand. Although he later sought counseling for the couple, it came too late and was of no help at all.
Topic – Effects of Drugs
Main Idea
Prolonged use of drugs had adverse consequences for the writer and her husband.
Supporting Details
i. The writer lost jobs as soon as she found them
ii. The writer’s marriage was ruined
iii. The writer suffered serious health effects, including nausea and rampant blackouts.
Pattern
Problem/Solution – Marriage could solve Cup’s tragedies, as she would settle down and concentrate on raising her family and staying committed to her job. She would have little time drinking and using.
Critical Thinking
i. What can effectively get a hardcore drug user out of the whole mess?
ii. Is God the ultimate solution to all the writer’s troubles and tribulations?
Works Cited
Brown, Cupcake. A Piece of Cake: A Memoir. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007. Print. Read More