This Boys Life: Essay Tips and Additional Information

Question 1

Compare Chuck and Toby.

Answer 1

Both Chuck and Toby get up to troublesome behaviour such theft easily, however Chuck only seems to do so when drunk. Chuck in fact got drunk almost every night, whilst Toby could never keep any alcohol down. Both boys were similar because they were both gentle and usually only hurt themselves, not others. Toby and Chuck also share the same dreams as each other, being to have a conventional family/life. However, whilst Toby didn’t always have a stable home, Chuck was used to having a conventional family, which was also free of abuse.

Question 2

Describe Rosemary’s past.

Answer 2

. Rosemary’s restraint is the direct result of her own abusive childhood, as she is deeply scarred by the violence and cruelty she has suffered at the hands of her father.
. Additional to her father being “a great believer of the rod” he also made her where bloomers and forced her to smoke to keep her thin
. She was spanked nearly every night by her father and he fired guns at any boys who came to see her
. However, they did live a luxurious life as daddy was a paper millionaire (until the stock market crash), they had a big house, cars and a ship
. Although Rosemary makes a conscious effort not to treat her children like her father did, she is attracted to men who use violence to assert their authority and power.

Question 3

What is the significance of the white paint?

Answer 3

White is a colour which represents purity and goodness because it has such a positive connotation. When Dwight decides to paint the whole house including the furniture white it was really strange and off-putting. This colour was used to create a facade of purity in order to hide the true sinister nature of Dwight which only Toby knew of so far.

Question 4

What American values does Toby aspire to?

Answer 4

. The american dream
. Wealth
. Success
. Masculinity (guns, strength)

Question 5

Why was Toby unable to apologise to the Welch’s?

Answer 5

Toby was unable to apologise because it was simply completely the insincere ritual. Just as Chuck and him “were ritually abashed”, they were also ritually lectured and ritually working out a plan to put the situation behind them, unfortunately this involved apologising. Whilst Chuck was easily able to pull a sad face and apologise, Toby was unable to do the same. The thought of what he had done to such a disadvantaged family like the welch’s overwhelmed him. Because Toby didn’t complete the ‘ritual’ Chuck was mad.

Wolff is critiquing the ritual civility which means nothing.

Question 6

Examples of the active voice.

Answer 6

Wolff’s memoir examines/explores/illustrates…

Wolff critiques/condemns/challenges/defies/implies/suggests…

Wolff’s use of imagery symbolises/portrays/depicts/emphasises….

Wolff condemns Dwight’s actions/male brutality…(by revealing that he hears Dwight’s voice in his own)

Wolff’s narrative reveals/explores that it wasn’t a golden era/examines the social issue of …

Wolff’s characterisation of Rosemary/his adolescent self depicts/portrays (etc.)

Wolff ponders/contemplates/comes to a realisation

Question 7

What is irony?

Answer 7

It is the difference between what’s expected and what actually occurs (this can be a humorous depiction of something opposite). Wolff employs irony thought his entire memoir.

Examples:
. The absolute inability for Rosemary and Toby to succeed
. Always running from abusive men, but always ending up back to square one
. Dwight’s shooting inability vs Rosemary’s shooting ability
. Toby and the Terry’s trying to be cool, but always being the complete opposite
. Toby “blubbered” over the squirrel, but he killed it
. Dwight painting everything white
. Toby wants a conventional family (ends up being oppressive)
. Dwight shaking Toby’s hand during his departure (not sincere, simply to keep up his reputation)
. Toby believing that he is a straight-A student, yet he truly isn’t

Question 8

What is foreshadowing and what are some examples?

Answer 8

This is one event/incident is hinting to another one to come.

Examples:
. The truck which careens over the cliff
. The car trip with Dwight “the curves ahead”
. The dying salmon Dwight shows Rosemary and Toby
. Chuck drinking whilst taking Toby to stay him and his family

Question 9

What does it mean to juxtapose and what are some examples?

Answer 9

This is when there something is being compared to another.

Examples:
. Compares Rosemary’s (loves Toby no matter what) love to Dwight’s love (through seeing Toby being violent)
. Rosemary’s old life to her life now (at one point in a “scabrous eyesore”)
. Former relationship with Arthur (innocent fighting) vs aggressive and competitive fighting
. Toby’s life in comparison to people with enough money to have thunderbirds (status, grandeur, wealth and supremacy vs Toby who is poor)
. Wolff’s recount of Dwight’s boxing lesson juxtaposes the innocence of childhood, through his former relationship with Arthur Gayle, with the aggressive and competitive make world that Dwight inhibits.
. Toby compared to the others boys doing the tests and Hill.

Question 10

How do you structure an introduction?

Answer 10

. Author, title and type of book
. Contextual information (authors context, historical context and setting) and response to the prompt
. Contention statement
. Signposts

Question 11

How do you structure paragraphs?

Answer 11

Have at least 3 paragraphs and do not base them around characters, instead use themes.

TEEEEEEL

. Topic sentence
. Claim 1
  - evidence
  - link back to topic sentence (explain)
. Claim 2
  - evidence
  - link back to topic sentence 
. Claim 3
  - evidence
  - link back to topic sentence 
. Make sure everything has been linked back to you contention

Question 12

How do you structure a conclusion?

Answer 12

Restate your main points so you leave the reader with some sense of closure.

Question 13

How do you incorporate quotes?

Answer 13

Blend quotes into sentences or introduce them with lines such as:
. This is shown when…
. For example,….
. We can see this when…
. An example of this is in…
. This point can be seen in the way that…
. This point is reflected in…
. Here….
. Evidence of this is…
. For instance, …
. This is exemplified by….
. This is clearly indicated through/when…

Question 14

What is an example of a starting sentence that can be used in most essays?

Answer 14

Tobias Wolff’s memoir This Boys Life explores the turbulent 1950’s post-war era that Wolff’s younger self endured. Through the depiction of his own childhood, Wolff unmasks the facade of the 1950’s as a ‘Golden Era’ and shows the true adversities of the time.

Question 15

Toby was …..

Answer 15

A kid that was resilient

A kid that was plunged into …

Loved unconditionally by Rosemary

Question 16

Compare Arthur Wolff and Toby.

Answer 16

Both created poses for themselves and lied to make themselves/family seem better.
Arthur:
. Furniture - looked like old family furniture
. Tobias was an old family name
. His family had actually been jews
. Designed himself a coat of arms

Toby:
. Jack
. College applications

Question 17

What are the motifs in this boys life?

Answer 17

. Promises
. Betrayal
. Guilt and self-loathing
. Cars
. Guns
. Clothes and uniform
. Education

Question 18

How do you structure an essay?

Answer 18

Introduction
Body Paragraph 1: TEEEEEEL
Body Paragraph 2: TEEEEEEL
Body Paragraph 3: TEEEEEEL 
Conclusion

Question 19

What does TEEEEEEL mean?

Answer 19

T - topic
E - evidence/example
E - examination/explain
E - evidence/example
E - examination/explain
E - evidence/example
E - examination/explain
L - link

Question 20

Describe Toby.

Answer 20

. Vivid Imagination
. Turbulent Adolescence
. Faced with domestic abuse and emotional neglect
. Lies, and often believes the lies he is creating
. Strong sense of self
. Kind and compassionate towards his mother
. Constantly influenced by his peers to partake in criminal activity, to drink and to steal

Question 21

Describe Rosemary.

Answer 21

. Seen as impulsive, wanting to go on adventures to remove herself from abusive relationships, only to then move onto another abusive partner
. Wishes for a stable, conventional family for Jack
. Has suffered abuse and neglect due to her own relationship with father, and as a result, cannot physically or verbally reprimand Jack

Question 22

Describe Dwight.

Answer 22

. Introduced as a suave, polite man
. When Rosemary and Dwight marry, he seems to make it his personal mission to constantly degrade Jack
. Not only does he constantly berate and insult Jack, he asserts his authority and power through the use of force
. Readers learn that Dwight is dishonest, untrustworthy and pig-headed, only believing he is of any worth

Question 23

What are some interpretative assertions? (What does Wolff depict/examine/explore/comment on in his memoir? As the nature and contemplative writer, what ideas does Wolff suggest to the reader?) PART 1.

Answer 23

. The memoir DOCUMENTS the experience of Tobias Wolff’s your persona during his childhood/the 1950’s.

. Toby’s life REFLECTS a period of significant uncertainty, misfortune and failure. The narrative WORKS TO CHALLENGE the belief that the Post WWII was a golden era.

. Wolff’s memoir CRITIQUES the idealism of 1950s America that promoted the idea that this was a time of social harmony and stability, as well as boundless opportunity for economic prosperity.

. His memoir HIGHLIGHTS the American vision of personal transformation and optimism, but the memoir also highlights the adverse effects of unrealistic expectations and aspirations.

Question 24

What are some interpretative assertions? (What does Wolff depict/examine/explore/comment on in his memoir? As the nature and contemplative writer, what ideas does Wolff suggest to the reader?) PART 2.

Answer 24

. The memoir DISTILS the harsh realities of Toby’s life in 1950s American conservative post-war society.

. Wolff EXPOSES how Rosemary and Toby are affected by social forces and prevented from realising their dreams of “freedom”, “transformation” and plans for compensation for years of hard work and misery. In reality, Rosemary and Toby suffer from misfortunes, living in near poverty, barely making it, living for a time in the “most scabrous eyesore” that was scheduled for demolition. Tobias ADMITS that Rosemary had explained to him many times that “she had no money at all”.

Question 25

What is a motif (and some examples)?

Answer 25

This is a repeated word/idea/theme or even symbol which is emphasised as a core image in a text.

. The concept of masculinity is a dominant motif throughout Wolff’s memoir and it is constantly associated, and reinforced by, imagery if cigarettes, cars, drinking and guns. This cumulative collection of symbols indicates the readers how Toby’s understanding of what it was to be a man was shaped during his formative years.

. Identity functions as a motif in the Bildungsroman, as Wolff recalls the adversity faced by a number of individuals who struggle to bridge the gap between their ideal and real selves.

Question 26

What is symbolism (and some examples)?

Answer 26

This is one idea, image or item which represent a bigger idea.

. The beaver that Dwight swerves to his symbolises his need to control and willingness to exert power and violence over those he perceives to be weak or in need of discipline. Toby is his primary target and this incident serves as a warning to brace himself “for the next curve.”

. Wolff recalls his teenage fascination with weapons and particularly guns which, for Toby, become treasured symbols of his own masculinity, honour, duty and power. This is later consolidated by his induction as a scout and the uniform he adorns which has a transformative effect on his identity as a citizen.

. The salmon, who die as they transition into fresh water represents Toby and Rosemary who will essentially die as they transition into Chinook.

Question 27

What are some simple statements you can include in your body paragraphs, or even conclusions, during an analysis of the text?

Answer 27

. In his depiction of the successive failures of most individuals who inhabit Chinook, particularly deserving subjects like Norma and Skipper, Wolff insinuates that for the unlucky and marginalised, the American Dream was merely as fallacy.

. Wolff appears critical of the aggressive and restricting templates of masculinity that were constructed in his childhood, his depiction of male role models like Roy and Dwight reveal that being “manly” was routinely associated with guns, war, drinking and smoking rather than hard work and integrity.

Question 28

What are some values of individual characters?

Answer 28

. Rosemary values family and desires security above all else.

. Toby’s decision to forge his transcripts despite the risk involved indicates that status and recognition are his primrary motivators and incentives.

. Chuck’s refusal to submit to a life with Tina flood proves that the fantasy narrative he has constructed regarding a future that includes a conventional life and wife are prioritised above his current freedom.

Question 29

Wolff’s narrative voice.

Answer 29

You can distinguish between the voice of the reflective adult (Wolff) and the young boy (Toby).

Eg.
. Toby recounts his experiences with Dwight, saying that “Dwight told me not to use the radio because it might wear down the battery. I still felt bad about being afraid of the beaver, and I didn’t want to get into more trouble. I wanted everything to go just right.”

. Wolff contemplates how he as bound “to accept as my home a place I did not feel at he in and … a man who was offended by my existence and would never stop questioning my right to it.”

.

Question 30

More Wolff’s narrative voice stuff.

Answer 30

Memories or reflections related to the reader by Wolff are not strictly chronologically ordered.

Incisive not Toby experiences can trigger a contemplative train of thought that reveals other experiences Wolff recollects in his life when he was younger and when he is older, this stream of consciousness style of writing is captured when Toby and Rosemary are on the road on their way to Utah and the thought of transformation sets off the train of thought about Rosemary’s childhood and “Daddy”.

Toby’s change of name into jack also is an incident where Wolff contemplates his father’s situation, “actually his family had always been Jews. But I had to wait another ten years before learning this … [he] was rolling in money at the time - he had married a millionaires”.