Quarter Two: Blog 10

This week, I finished Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. Throughout the book, the only thing Eliza wants is to be the person that other people want her to be. She strives for the acceptance of everyone around her when what she really needed was to accept herself. The day before the national spelling bee, Eliza couldn't wait to spell, but because she just wanted the hullabaloo of the bee and everything that came along with it to be over. Ever since she made the district bee, her brother Aaron grew further and further away from her. Her dad, who had always been distant, became closer to her and soon, her dad skipped afternoon guitar lessons with Aaron everyday so that he could work on preparing her for the bee. As much as she enjoyed the extra attention from her dad, she would have traded it if it meant that Aaron were her friend again. Eliza's mom saw Eliza spelling and tried to make Eliza become like herself as a little girl, but her attempts never proved fruitful and both were disappointed. Eliza has dealt with being the disappointment of her family ever since she didn't qualify for the accelerated class in third grade. So, after the national spelling bee, Eliza realized something about herself that she had never known before. Suddenly, she realized that she could count on herself and that she was happy with who she was and that she didn't need to be anyone else.

Quarter Two: Blog 9

Since Aaron feels neglected by his family, he decides to rebel against them- his father in particular. Aaron realizes that when he walks into synagogue he no longer feels like "a prince beholding the kingdom he's about to inherit" (82). He realizes that he didn't "shop around for religions," he "bought Judaism without consulting the side of the box" (79). So, in order to keep himself from a devastating realization that Judaism is not the religion for him later in life, Aaron decides to test out other religions.

The religion Aaron picks first is Christianity. He pages through the yellow pages and finds that there are many, many different types of churches. Roman Catholicism stuck out to him the most, so he picked a church in a nearby town and left the following Sunday. Aaron was paranoid about going to church the second he got into his car. He had to park his car in the parking lot of the strip mall next to the church so that no one would see his car in the church lot. When he sat down in the pew, he was terrified that someone would figure out he was a Jew and that he would be kicked out of the church. Instead of being reprimanded when he incorrectly anticipates a kneel as he feared, the woman next to him turned and warmly smiled at him. Aaron begins to believe that maybe, Christianity isn't completely wrong for him.

Quarter Two: Blog 8

Dear Miriam,
How could you have ignored your daughter for so long? I understand that when you were young, you excelled in school and that Eliza never has, but that doesn't mean that she is not your daughter. How is it possible to see your own daughter as "a gosling born into a family of ducks, loved and accepted, but always and forever a goose" (59)? After 10 years of being ignored, Eliza finally attracts your attention when she is spelling at the state bee. You realized that while she was spelling, so absorbed in the words that "not even a burning building could distract her," (59) she looked exactly like you did as a child. A sour feeling hit you when you remembered how you learned to concentrate so diligently; "such powers of concentration come from years of being alone, of needing to focus so strongly on one thing because there is nothing else" (59). By keeping your distance from Eliza, you made her exactly like you as a child: a lonely outsider. So Miriam, how are you going to make her feel included and loved? What kind of mother doesn't include and love her daughter in the first place? You may not be a conventional mother, but I know that you love Eliza. So my advice to you is to show her how much she means you you because she doesn't know it yet.

Quarter Two: Blog 7

This Break, I read more of my book Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. In this section of the book, Eliza wins the state bee and begins studying for nationals. Her dad, Saul who suddenly wants to be with Eliza any second he can, offers to help her study. He takes her into his office, which Eliza has never stepped into because she wasn't allowed to, and shows her the corner he set up for them to study together. Eliza is ecstatic with all the attention her dad is giving her until she realizes that since Saul is so focused on Eliza, he stops paying attention to Aaron, her brother.

Usually, Saul and Aaron have a guitar session together after school in Saul's office. Although recently, because of Eliza's newfound spelling ability, Saul has been spending more time with Eliza and less with Aaron. Aaron, trying to be a good big brother, pretends that it doesn't bother him. In truth, Aaron feels rejected and he begins resenting his sisters success. When Saul announces to the congregation of their temple that Eliza won the district bee and is going to the state spelling bee, Aaron's quiet resentment builds and he stops talking to, looking at, and listening to his sister. The way he sees it, Saul loves Eliza more. Aaron had made the state science meet for a string of years, but his accomplishments were never acknowledged. So, although Eliza is going to the national spelling bee, her success is bittersweet because it means the loss of the already fading bond she shared with her brother.