exploring theme

This is a Lighthouse Writer's Workshop class assignment from 10-27-09.

1. read the rest of Stop-Time by Frank Conroy

2. complete theme exercise started in class

(15 minutes, writing every single theme Foster Princess could possibly be.)

coming of age

liberation

influence and escape of books (like oh god it's me Margaret)

privilege of place and race (whiteness) in the system/entitlement

what we hold onto vs letting go

transition framework (endings,neutral zone, new beginnings)

father complex/oedipal

surviving his god complex

survival

middle class to middle class, and rags to riches

outsider, wanting in-

finding family

finding place

belonging- and being picky about it

unwanted

fitting in/chameleon/shapeshifter/true core

anger as fuel

gospel of me: what is truth? what are records? bias? perspective? labels

leaving who, in whose wake?

cinderella story (I did have an evil step mother, and at least one evil step sister)

labels- how we use them and transform them: manipulative to strategist

secrets that we keep

the guides/people that raised me (mothers, fathers, grandparents, staff, siblings)

portals into the craziness

escape routes

aloneness

rituals

control- what you can and cant control (survival mechanisms)/loss of control

forgetfulness

depression in children

time- when is it a slow crawl/when its too fast to even record/passage and different speeds

born at the wrong time,

nourishment-emotional and physical

INTIMACY- emotional and physical (sexuality)

resiliency

innocence regained

unbecoming evil

cleansing/making space

redemption

the culture of foster care

Now, highlight the ones with the most energy, (just 2 or three) and write a paragraph about each.