The Main Stuff

Eric Calhoun is a heavy-set swimmer. Eric was getting used to the fact that he would always be a bigger kid. He felt as though he got made fun of a lot but it was not very evident. Eric sees his opportunity to slim down by joining the swim team. He becomes very good at long distance and soon sees results. Although Eric loves his new shape, he is also worried about losing his best friend.

Eric and Sarah Byrnes have been best friends ever since the early school years. When Sarah Byrnes was younger, her abusive father pressed her face and hands up against a hot oven. Sarah Byrnes ended up with plenty of disfigured burns and no hospital treatment. From than on Sarah Byrnes made everyone call her Sarah Byrnes because she knew of the joke that could be made and would be made. Ha ha Sarah Byrnes and burned, that’s not very funny but I think that was very brave of her to point that out to everyone. In her own way she was getting even.

So we have a whale-sized, young boy and a disfigured girl. I can’t see what stops other people from liking them but they only relied on each other. So when Eric starts slimming down from all of his swim practices, but not because of his meets, he is worried that she might not want to be friends anymore. Eric thinks that they were only friends because they were the school outcasts. Eric wants to still be friends but they is the issue that he will become to busy with his new friends to hang out with Sarah Byrnes.

Eric Calhoun: Eric is a very oblivious person. He can’t figure out that Sarah Byrnes likes him and always has. I think that Eric needs to grow up and look at the world around him. Eric finds himself in CAT class sitting back and watching. By the end of the story, Eric is finally taking control of his actions and trying to make a difference in the world.

Sarah Byrnes/Sarah Lemry: Sarah someone is just too complicated. She never shows other people her emotions. Sarah Byrnes is up there just staring into space. She doesn't talk or respond to anything. She likes to be her own person. She tries to make it seem as though she is tough but inside she is really calm. By the end of the book, Sarah Byrnes learns to open up to others and show that she also has feelings.

Setting: The setting is somewhere east of Reno, Nevada. Although, they never say the exact location my best guess is somewhere near Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is pretty obvious that they live in somewhat of a larger suburb. Most of the book takes place in a high school. This makes much sense because of the large amount of topics that are discussed. Most of the issues in Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes include high school students. For example, abuse toward peers, suicide, and abortion.

CAT Class: CAT stands for Contemporary American Thought. In this class that most of the main characters take part of, they talk about important issues and try to share their opinions. In this class, they tackle topics such as; abortion, suicide, and many other issues that would not make most parents happy. I would love to be a part of such a class. I like hearing different ideas and also I like to talk about issues such as those because people always have a difference in opinion.

6 + 1 Traits of Writing

Ideas
The Ideas are the heart of the message, always help, the content of the piece, and the main theme, strong relationships. Crutcher chose details that are interesting, important, and informative. I think he may be one of the most controversial writers but I still could not put down Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes.

Organization
Organizational structure can be based on development of a central theme, chronological history of an event, or any of a dozen other identifiable patterns. When the organization is strong, the piece begins meaningfully and creates in the writer a sense of anticipation that is, ultimately, systematically fulfilled. Chris does an excellent job at writing with this style. I was able to follow everything he was talking about very clearly.

Voice
Chris Crutcher’s voice is defiantly portrayed in this book. From discussing with my classmates, I have learned that many of Crutcher’s books discuss such topics as abuse and loners. I saw that he often puts the same story with just different characters or settings. Many of his stories seem to be the same but, hey, if it works and portrays the message that he wanted, why not?

Word Choice
Word choice means that the words were really descriptive and flowed with other parts. This was not Chris’s strong point. Obviously it was adequate because he got his book published, but he didn’t use very vivid language and the book seemed too easy to read. I would really find it much more entertaining if the words were a little harder to read.

Sentence Fluency
It was amazing how much Chris Crutcher could say in just a little time. I thought it was so cool that he could push a whole event into just a page or two. It shows great writing when you can get a whole idea off without going into boring details. He only put things that mattered and he didn’t bore us on by adding useless facts.

Conventions
Obviously Chris did well on this part because he had some of the best editors in the world reading over his books. I think that Chris can afford to pay for the best because of his great success. I did not notice any parts that didn’t make sense because of grammatical mistakes but than I guess he did a great job at this.

Presentation
I guess it was good because it was professionally made. I really like the cover with Sarah Byrnes on the front sort of faded into some flames. It looked very nice and it wasn’t boring or anything. At least it had a cover unlike some books that think just cover and spine is all that is needed.

Conflicting Issues

Child abuse is one the most conflicting issues in the world. About 84 % of all prison inmates were abused as children. If you think about that, that isn’t too hard to believe. If all you see growing up is hatred and fighting, then of course you will have some problems with the world.

Do parents actually think that they can get away with horrible things like that? Not only will the attacker probably be put away or spend some time in a way in which they would not want to, but the child will be affected for most of their life. I feel really bad for the kids that get neglected throughout their childhood. How can a person take out their anger on an innocent kid?

Many authors see this and write books about them. Some books that our school library has are; Breathing Underwater, by Alex Flinn, Don’t you dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and also, Chinese Handcuffs, by Chris Crutcher.

Suicide should not be the answer. I think that people should run their own lives but I don’t think they should end it. There are many places that people can go if they are trouble with the lives. Some people may think that they don’t want to live anymore, but is that the best way to think? What if Thomas Edison has given up his life right after his first attempt of the light bulb or electricity was unsuccessful? I believe that people should be able to choose their fate. I could never commit suicide, or even cut myself. If someone is thinking about committing suicide, they should think it over. Is ending your life really better than getting help and talking to someone about your problems? Studies have shown that certain types of music can cause kids to have thoughts about suicide.

When two people that are blood relatives can not talk with one another, something needs to change. When we saw just how bad Sarah Byrnes and her father’s relationship was I felt bad for Sarah Byrnes. She has total trust issues because her father is a jerk that physically abused her and her mom left right when she needed her. Trust is a very important thing for people to have. If I never trusted anyone, I would live by myself with no contact with the outside world. I could not cross streets with my pal the chicken because I would not trust drivers of other cars to stop their vehicles. Everyday we are forced to trust people, sometimes with our lives. I trust my science teacher to make sure the gas levels are where they are supposed to be. I don’t even think about things as simple as that but if you don’t trust people, think about what you could never have experienced.

Works Cited

Works Cited

Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York City, NY: Harper Collins, 1993.

McIntosh, John L. "Rate, Number, and Ranking of Suicide for Each U.S.A. State*." Suicidology. 12 Nov. 2006. US Department of Health. 14 Jan. 2008 .

"Music & Suicide." Suicideinfo. 1 Sep. 1999. Center for Suicide Prevention. 15 Jan. 2008 .

"National Child Abuse Statistics." Child Help. 2006. US Department of Health & Human Services. 13 Jan. 2008 .

Misc. (Religion, Swimming and Suicide)

Swimming

One of the most frequent activities in the story is Eric’s swimming practice. Eric and his best friend Ellerby, always try to upstage fellow swimmer named Mark Brittain. This is the cause of much pain and grief and it shows that nobody is all good. Wouldn’t someone be even more humiliated if they were shown-up at an actual meet? One of the ways for Eric and his friend to get their anger out is to take everything out on Brittain.

Religion

I get so annoyed with all of the religious happenings in the book. I am not very religious but that does not mean that I will preach my beliefs onto others. If someone has a difference of opinion, I am okay with that as long as they don’t think they are the only right ones. Mark Brittain is always fighting with Mobe and Ellerby about religion. If Mark had such a need for his religion to be every other person’s around him; why didn’t he go to a private school.

I like that Chris Crutcher put in his novel that Mr. Mautz had a Christian cross in his office. I thought that he was trying to emphasis the fact that there are a lot of different opinions in the world. I think that a school employee should have a symbol of their religion hanging in their room. I do not think that in a public building, people should get to have that much freedom. I’m not saying that those are my beliefs but for their own sake. If I was flaunting my ideas that openly I think that I would offend and even upset some people.

Suicide

I know this is a hard topic to read about but because it a main event in the book. I feel it must be given some attention. I know it is a horrible thing to have someone you know try to commit suicide but the national average for high school students trying to commit suicide is about 17%. In Minnesota, that is down to about 10%; 4th lowest.

I would feel so horrible if I ever thought that someone tried to commit suicide because of me. That is how Eric and Ellerby feel after Mark had tried to take his life. I think the biggest reason is that Mark is always told that he must stick to his religion and be perfect. I think the stress just caught up with him and he cracked. Also there is the issue that everyone knows that he and his girlfriend got an abortion; even after he has been telling everyone that abortions are really bad.

Issues and Child Abuse

Everyone should give their opinion. I think that is why Mrs. Lemry invented the idea of the CAT class, Contemporary American Thought.

I would love to be an active part of this class. I really like to have my thoughts heard and also to hear others opinions. I think that to have your own opinion is good. I don’t mind if you agree with me but as long as you have your own thoughts about the subject I will listen to you. I would love a class where we got close to free reign. I think that people should be able to put in input but they should not be able to preach.

By writing this book, Crutcher has broken the age barrier in books. This book was not written for a specific age but rather for the human spirit.

Child Abuse is wrong; just like any other abuse.

About 84% of all prison inmates were abused as children. I think that this makes total sense. If you are raised with abuse in your family, of course you will relate that in your adulthood. If when you were younger and all you saw by your elders was fighting; not many people will forget that. If someone gets abused, then most likely they do not enjoy being with their parents or other close relations. They would have no role model to look up to.

On average of 1,200 babies each year suffer from (SBS), Shaken Baby Syndrome. Of course this is going to take a toll on children. This can mess you up in many ways.

About 50% percent of recorded child abuse cases were brought to attention by professionals in contact with the child. About 40% of all cases where the child was school age, their teachers were the helper.

Happy Endings and Love?

Ending

I really did not enjoy the ending of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. It was unrealistic and confusing. If a murderer throws a knife at your back and you barely even stumble; that’s a bad ending. If you are down and a man is ready to kill you, but at the last minute does not; that is a bad ending. If you try to hide on a hill at night but there are headlights shining on you, and no one can see you; that is a bad ending. The end of the story almost ruined the story for me. I was very excited when I first started reading Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. I could hardly put down the book. When I got to the last section, I started getting bored because I was not hooked into the reality of the book.

Alternate Ending

If I could write my own ending I would have less murdering. I would have had Sarah’s mom come home and help get Sarah’s dad put away. I could have had the climax be that Eric would have had a swim meet. Since Eric and Mark don’t swim the same races; they could have both helped their team win. I think they would have made up for their feud with each other. I think toward the end they would have respected each other’s beliefs and ideas. I would like to think that Eric and Sarah Byrnes ended up together which leads to my next topic.

Relationships

One of the main theme in the story is relationships. I believe that the best "2nd step" relationship that was not portrayed very well is that of Eric and Sarah Byrnes. Throughout the whole book Sarah Byrnes seems like she has a crush on Eric. Especially when he tells her about Jodi and him, she seems very upset. These two were always with each other. If either had grown up without meeting the other, they would have been pushed to the side of society and not given a second glance. Together they made great things happen. If two people co-write an "offensive" magazine, they should eventually end up with each other.

If you and your girlfriend are close enough that you have "done it", than i think it is safe to defend them and their choices. If your girlfriend is going to have an abortion with your baby than you better go into that clinic with her. I'm not saying abortion if good or bad, but if you force your girlfriend to get one, you better back her up instead of treating her like scum.