Wednesday, August 22, 2012

"Stepping Heavenward" Diary Entry #1

August 22nd, 2012

Dear Diary:

"How dreadfully old I am getting! Sixteen! Well, I don't see as I can help it."

Chapter One of Elizabeth Prentiss's novel Stepping Heavenward began with the line above, and I was immediately intrigued by the sheer queerness of the statement. I am sixteen years, eight months, and nine days old, and I assure you that I do not feel "dreadfully old." I do, honestly, feel quite tired some days (in a poetic, soul-wearied way), and there are small moments here and there where I long for the innocent sun-drenched days of childhood laughter and vivid imaginings; but I never feel dreadfully old. Nevertheless, I do understand that young adults grew up much faster and assumed heavy responsibilities at a much earlier age during that time period, so her opening statement does, in fact, make sense. In this chapter, I found the narrator and protagonist, Katherine, to be a bit shallow and trivial; I was especially annoyed (and even mortified and a little taken aback) when she was complaining about her mother tending to their sick neighbors, and the little boy she had just been whining about died the next day. However, I did like her honesty and her hot temper, because they made her seem very realistic.

Chapter Two began with Katherine and her experience at church with a pastor named Dr. Cabot, and I really liked reading through their conversations concerning God and how we are supposed to love (or express our love to) Him, because Katherine asked genuine questions and Dr. Cabot gave good examples. I especially liked when he explained how obeying God really is a way to prove your love for Him, by saying: "If you had no love for [Him] you would gradually cease to dread [His] displeasure, whereas it is in the very nature of love to grow stronger and more influential every hour (Prentiss16)." I was, however, highly annoyed yet again with Katherine when she ignored Dr. Cabot's visit because she was vexed with her mother (RUDE!). But then I was a little shocked and very sorry for her when her father died suddenly, although I admire her mother very, very much for the way she handled his death.

Chapter Three delved into Katherine's life about half a year after Chapter Two ended, and she had graduated from school. I liked reading of her novel addictions and her conflicted jealousy regarding her best friend Amelia being "stolen" by a girl named Jenny Underhill, because I've experienced similar things to both situations before in my own life. Katherine also does end up falling for Jenny's handsome older brother, Charley. I was caught between snorting with laughter and smiling without irony at Charley's Greek love note, although I had a sense that it was very likely a doomed and trivial affair of selfishness as soon as Charley was disrespectful towards her mother (really, he asked Katherine why she [her mother] couldn't be sick once in awhile!). Turns out my super-novel sixth sense was correct: by the end of the chapter, I was sincerely ready to slap some of my slightly feminist policies on How To Be the Kind of Man a Woman Needs/Wants into that whining boy-child. He made her half-strangle herself because of his comment about being scared of consumption, when really he should have made her a pot of tea and kissed her forehead before leaving if he was really that scared of germs. But overall, I am looking forward to finding out what happens next.

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