Summary

In the last section of the novel Toby finally seems to get what he has always wanted. He gets in to a boarding school that he has been scouting for a while which means leaving Dwight's abusive behavior, his mother moves from Dwight as well everything seems well. Until he cant live up to his false behavior and grades he sent to the boarding school, he acts out and he is eventually kicked out without graduating. His end result in life is fighting in the Vietnam war, not succeeding in his many life goals.

- Moses Allred

Word Watcher

scrutiny- a searching examination or investigation; minute inquiry.

skittish- fickle; uncertain.

herringbone- a pattern consisting of adjoining vertical rows of slanting lines, any two contiguous lines forming either a V or an inverted V, used in masonry, textiles, embroidery, etc.

pompadour- an arrangement of a man's hair in which it is brushed up high from the forehead.

agleam- gleaming; bright; radiant: a city agleam with lights.

admonition- counsel, advice, or caution.

musingly- absorbed in thought; meditative.

debauchery- excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperance.

- Moses Allred

Final Post- Discussion Director

At the end of reading 'This Boy's Life," I realized that Jack made no personal growth as a person. It was dissapointing because he seemed like a person that follows his dreams and tries to reach his goals, but in reality, he thinks it's just going to HAPPEN. He doesn't work hard to try to get to them, so at the end he's the same person he was in the beginning-wishing he could be someone else.

-Maggie Todaro

Illustration

Jack fails out of school at Hill and ends up joining the army and serving in the Vietnam War. Even though he failed yet again, Jack can only savor the future as the chance for a new life and endless possibility.

- Maggie Todaro

Excerpt

"When we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are rights…and that falling and dying are for quitters. We live on the innocent and monstrous assurance that we…have a special arrangement whereby we will be allowed to stay green forever"

In Part Seven, Chapter 1, the author reflects on how great he felt the night he and Chuck drove back from Seattle. "Green" represents youth and innocence, and in the state of "greenness" that he talks about, Jack feels entitled to the future he wants for himself. That future is only in Jack's imagination, so he forgets about reality and doesn't give any consideration to how he actually is going to go about achieving his goals.

-Maggie Todaro