Miracle’s BoysNotes: One
1-3Period 5
Charlie- “Newcharlie”; he and Aaron are like brothers; his attitude has changed since he came back from Rahway (juvenile hall-committed crime); he’s repeating 9th grade; he’s forgetting about the narrator (youngest)
narrator- 3 years younger than Charlie; he’s hurt that his brother ignores him; jealous about Cha and Aaron
Ty’ree- the oldest; he protects people—vulnerable;
Aaron- bully
Mama- curly hair-Charlie takes after her; religious; strict; connection: “armor of advice”-Clint Smith
11/10
3-13Brothers are half PuertoRican ; African American
Charlie: Cha, stereotypical; was the opposite of how he is now: used to care about animals—cried, prayed, sympathetic; Rahway changed him: not as content as he used to be; depressed; close to his little bro. Since his mom died he’s acting differently; mortified by incident, scarred by the incident at Rahway, why couldn’t Charlie be himself at Rahway?
Mama: Died; cares about impressions; trying to raise sons to be gentlemen;
Aaron:Puerto Rican; acting stereotypical; he’s posturing: trying scare, intimidate, warn; has a reputation for being a bully; doesn’t like Lala; ignorant; negative influence on Charlie
Aunt Cecil: Cares for the brothers, like their second mother; visit her in the summer time
Dad: he isn’t around anymore
Lafayette: he gets angry when people make fun of him or when people are racist/stereotypical; he’s educated, smart
11/12
One 13-Charlie: Blames Lafayette for mom’s death
Aaron: has some respect because he wouldn’t “go there” about mom’s death
Two 11/12
16-20Lafayette: Wants to learn Spanish to bond with mom, or to have a connection; mom was pregnant with him when Dad died
Daddy, Lafayette Sr.: Saved a woman and her dog, in Central Park, in the winter, and died ofhypothermia
Charlie: Angry at father for not being there; tries acting tough when Ty’ree isn’t around; gave his life and abandoned his family; taught Lafayettehow to pray: religious, respected brother, patient, wanted to be a role model; had a tantrum and burned all the family pictures, the memories (rage, depression); he had a breakdown; Maybe Charlie dislikes Lafayette because his name is a reminder of their father
11/13
Three
21-28Lafayette: Pretends mom is there; Smitty, and PJ is his brother
Charlie:Wants to be a rapper- fast money; taking care of plants helps them becalm; nurturing a live thing helps them care for something or someoneelse; helps develop empathy; gives him control
Ty’ree:Ty’ree is in Mama’s room, as he’s taking her place in a way: takes care of them and provides for their needs, like their father; what if Charlie gets into trouble because then he lose custody; doesn’t want to break down thefamily more than it is; being lonely (22); money, making ends meet; at work he gets blames for things he didn’t do; fearing Laf’s possible bad childhood
Mama:Mom sang to the boys; liked singing “Me and Bobby McGee” because it was escape and she wanted to be free from the loss of her husband;Missingsupport- emotional, financial; experiencing loneliness; family falling apart, and she’s worried, and she misses to wholeness/ togetherness of the family
11/ 18 FOUR
29-36Mama: Died from insulin shock; was diabetic
Charlie: * Students wrote independently
Lafaytte:Feels responsible for her death because it was too late when he came to wake her up (4th Grade); guilty for not calling before; how the pj memories include Charlie, which reveals they are considerate, and sensitive towards mother’s feelings
11/ 20 FIVE
37-41
Charlie: Wishes he could’ve helped/saved their mother; he doesn’t acknowledge the fact that his brother is just a fourth grader, but he’s really angry at himself for the choices he made, and he regrets that the last image their mother has of him is a criminal because he was being a role model. While he was away he didn’t realize she had passed, so this was a rude awakening; he still has emotions, but he doesn’t know how to express them (connection to animals and mom dying)
Lafayette: Very vulnerable (mom’s death, brother’s anger directed towards him, his age, his father not being there); he’s being accused without any chance to defend himself; he doesn’t understand; confused with the yelling
Ty’ree:Difficult for him to be a father figure because he has to worry about both; challenging for him because he’s 18; he also has to take care of himself; he had plans for his future, but due to a traumatic/ tragic event, he has to put them aside; and now he has to take on both roles like their mother did after the husband’s death
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*Students completed Six (42-47) Notes Independently 11/30-12/1
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12/2 Seven (48-60)
Lafayette:The dream may symbolize the blame over his mother’s death (external- Charlie. internal-guilt): vulnerable, diminished, and disheartened.
Charlie:He is lost; before he went to Rahway, he knew who he was, he was sympathetic, encouraging, admires brothers, and now he is hateful towards Laf., and he disrespects and rebels against Ty’ree
*the tapping: someone is trying to tell Laf. something: Mama- everything is going to be alright, my death is not your fault
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Eight-Eleven
61-88Students took notes independently and with the Sub
Twelve
89-92
12/8Lafayette: Complaining that Ty’ree is not a saint/perfect. Might still be upset that Ty’ree did not reveal the fact they both shared a painful memory for which they feel guilty about parent’s death, and Ty’ree is spending more time with girlfriend/ignoring/blocking him out Lafayette; he might be painted out of the picture of Ty’ree’s priorities
Thirteen
93-96Lafayette: * Students wrote their own note about Lafayette’s feelings, or something he reveals in this chapter
Fourteen
97-107Lafayette:Starting to be sympathetic towards Charlie because he originally didnot want to go to the precinct;defending
12/9his brother toOfficer Joseph. He sees his brother is broken and the same as he was before
Ty’ree:He is angered at Charlie because violated parole and Ty could lose custody; Ty feels Charlie is only thinking of himself
Charlie:Learned his lesson, and wasn’t as guarded as before; feels left out in his family, which drove him to join gangs; he’s disappointed in himself