#cullenthomas

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

Week 7 Blog

“Brother One Cell”

Pages Read: 282-326

Word Count: 258

Summary(150):

Wrapping up the book Thomas gives us some closure on his life and his friends lives. He tells us about Green and how he tries to turn his life around after jail but even though he tries really hard he ending up dying of cancer. His then girlfriend Rocket; now ex-girlfriend went to greet him at tge airport when he arrived back in New York. Knowing that the relationship is over on both ends he still feels something for her but knows he must move on for her. He tells us about his parents getting a divorce. At first he thinks it’s because of them but he knows they’ve been deteriorating for awhile. Thomas also explains the title of his book; “Brother One Cell”. In Taejon before he left he was brought to the first cell on the 6th block and would always sign his letters off that way since.

Critical Analysis(100):

The quote “When I taught in Seoul as a free man, however, I did it mostly for the money. In Taejon there was no money to be had, and the students seated in front of me weren’t cute little kids or businessmen or university students but convicted murderers and r*****s.”, means a lot to the book. Thomas originally went to Korea to teach English to children and anyone who could afford it. But know Thomas finds himself teaching the other inmates English while in jail. For Thomas that was much more rewarding than teaching the businessmen he taught before.

Personal Response(108):

I think the way Thomas wrapped up the book and really cleared up everything in the end was really good. I love the way he would write about the good things he perceived was in jail or the highlights of being in there. He also detailed to us the bad things going on. Like the gangs and corrupt officers. But also the nice people and the good officers. He talked about the different kind of foreigners in the jail; why they were and how they have been treated. Thomas also detailed his time after jail a bit. What he was up to and how his life is now. 

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"I gave myself a new name, Brother One Cell, and started signing my letters home with it. I was the monk of cell 1, an army of one, made new by Taejon's fire. That fire had burned away the last of my resistance."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (330)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"In prison we stitched our numbers onto our uniforms above the chest, but it's as if the needle and thread had been thrust deeper, so that Korea and the people I met there are forever sewn inside my heart."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (347)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"That was the one blessing of the inspection: that when it was over, and our control prison life returned, it seemed wide and almost pleasant in comparison."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (323)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"Air-Raid Horns sometimes blared across the prison."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (311)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

Week 6 Blog

“Brother One Cell”

Page Count: 234-282

Word Count: 323

Summary(107): Thomas explores the mental health of the other prisoners in the facility. Thomas’ friend Godfrey has been suffering from Biopolar Depression all his life. He was going undiagnosed for all of it. You see Godfrey murdered his two children. Godfrey would always wonder what compelled him to do such a thing. He didn't believe much in mental health. He never really knew anything about it. It was like the jail was going to help either. So taking into Thomas’ hands himself he contacts the embassy to get Godfrey some help. Sadly they don't do anything until Godfrey attempts to take his own life in his jail cell.

Critical Analysis(107): The quote "The task the justice ministry set for itself was simply to hold us, as effortlessly and cheaply as possible, to sit on our chests and pin us down until they'd said we'd had enough.”. I think that quote is very important right now in the book because it relay shows how much the people in jail don't get the help they need. The more of just do the bare minimum and expect you to be okay. Most times they even do less and ist just too cruel. You don't get to escape jail until they say you had enough. Until they think you suffered enough.

Personal Response(109): Thomas exploring the other inmates he was able to help or just be in contact with is very eye-opening. To see how people who had it worse in the prison were going through life. How they got there. How they got out. What kind of a person were they outside and inside the jail. How Thomas gave them his address back in America so they could stay in touch. Building friendships in jail and not just situationships. I like how we also get to see the different kinds of relationships he makes. Not just friendships but enemies. Also seeing the many different backgrounds and countries everyone comes from.

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"I had smuggled myself into prison, so to speak, and now a prison guard was helping me smuggle my story out."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (283)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"The task the justice ministry set for itself was simply to hold us, as effortlessly and cheaply as possible, to sit on our chests and pin us down until they'd said wed had enough."

--Cullen Thomas, "Brother One Cell", (272-273)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"They asked you to keep going forward; to take what you had, whatever skills, all the accruing weights and wounds, and keep carrying it all forward; and as I began to do so, I felt like I was beginning to see over the wall and mountains, out into the wide open sea of what we'd be next."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (258)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"It's frightening how many demons there must be. This place is apparently crawling with them."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (254)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"He often spoke of the great battle we wage in the flesh, of how one could stand in that fray of eating and suffering, both caused and received, and still carry oneself with dignity."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (238)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

Week 5 Blog

“Brother One Cell”

Page Count: 202-234

Word Count: 368

Summary(126): Being tall has everyone wanting him on their gang basketball team. Willing to do most favors just to get him there. He finally takes up one of their offers. Thomas details how his writing has gone. He likes writing to the women in his family more as they respond much more, while the males in his family barely write back. His girlfriend Rocket has been writing to him recently. Feels lonely that he never gets to see her again but thankful she's finally writing to him. He feels left out of her life. Like if he had put her in harm's way and never done what he did, they could still be together. She won't move on with either boyfriend, move on in life; or explore the world without him.

Critical Analysis(117): The quote "They had so much more to deal with than I did, and yet they left me to wonder if I was the only one who cried at night, who cursed and threw things at the walls, who hid under his blankets trying to escape poisonous feelings of loneliness and despair.". I think this quote for Thomas and the reader is very eye-opening. To him, it seems like he's the only one suffering. S to him to the wandering that those guys who are in jail for way worse are just okay or just good pretending. When he hangs out with all these other inmates they seem just perfectly fine, he's the only one acting out.

Personal Response(125): I really appreciate the way the book is moving right now. Last week I was a bit bored, honestly. So to see it finally picking up and giving me some context clues into his life there and others. I also love how Thomas keeps bringing up his family and the feelings around them. How awful prison life is, especially in an unknown land. Thomas also gives us the connections he makes while in jail. The people he meets and their stories are even more intriguing than his own. I think Thomas’ memoir in this book is very good. It doesn't just side with him and only his story but also with others. Making you get the full picture while also centering the story on him.

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"I'm sure that hell was in his head then, in those quiet days in our cells, as his mind and memory tortured, shamed, and condemned him beyond all reason."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (224)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"'As long as I can read and write I am in the business of living"'

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (213)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

"They had so much more to deal with than I did, and yet they left me to wonder if I was the only one who cried at night, who cursed and threw things at the walls, who hid under his blankets trying to escape poisonous feelings of lowliness and despair."

--Cullen Thomas "Brother One Cell" (203)

[jessicas-southkoreanlitblog]

Week 4 Blog

“Brother One Cell”

Page Count: 152-202

Word count: 354

Summary(109): Thomas learns of a new prison being opened up for all and just foreigners in other prisons. Thomas sees this as a new start for himself. Getting there Thomas realizes how close the prison is to the 38th parallel. You can hear war helicopters and bombs going off. Rattling the walls. In this prison, Thomas learns of his ancestor who was imprisoned in an Irish jail for being accused of smuggling guns on a ship. Thomas gets encouraged by his story and believes she can be reformed too. Thomas starts acting out. The jail weighed on him greatly. His friend in the jail helps him calm down, bonding with them.

Critical Analysis(120): The quote “Your day was having someone watch you s**t in a trough in a cell the size of a closet; being awakened by someone cursing you and kicking your metal door; being forcibly shut out of the world's goodness because you didn't deserve any, when somewhere in you, in a submerged and now barely reachable place, you still believed you did.", is really when you get to see Thomas’ tipping point. You really don't see Thomas acting out and telling until this scene in the book. Thomas has always confined his anger to his writing. Thomas likes to detail to us his anger in writing and how he rages against them only until he finally cracks.

Personal Response(125): I really hope that the book picks up a bit in tempo. I feel like we've been stuck in the same scenes for a while. I feel like it's getting a bit repetitive. I want to see something new. A new struggle in his life. New people he meets. It needs to pique my interest again. Because it really lost it. I want to see the connections he makes in jail. The way his family feels during this time. Maybe add in some conflict. I don't really know. It's just been feeling repetitive. I do like he finally addresses his anger out loud and not writing. His writing during that time has been a safe haven so it's nice to see a change in pace with him.