Reading Response: The Kid by Sapphire

      Reading Response: The Kid by Sapphire

       Have you ever not wanted to let go of something? In the book The Kid by Sapphire the main character, Abdul, doesn't want to accept the fact that that his mom is dead. He doesn't want to let go of her because he never wants to loose her.Based off of the evidence so far I can clearly see that 

Abdul isn't ready to say goodbye to his mother and I can understand why. Overall I think that Abdul still holds on to his mother as a way to grieve. I also think that he should let her go because dwelling on to her death won't help him in the longrun.

       One way that I have seen Abdul not accepting his mother's death is that everything that happens in his life after her death reminds him of his mother. Through out the book so far there are moments where the authour cuts to another time, when Precious was still alive. These moments represent thoughts and memories of Abdul's that in his head link back to his mom. For example on page seven there is a part that says "You ever gonna leave me, mommy? Well, I can't really say, baby. What I can say is, I never wanna leave you." This is one example of a moment where Abdul get sidetracked and begin to dwell on the death of his mother. This shows me that Abdul is dwelling on Precious's death because he knows how much his mother loved him and how she was fighting AIDS for him and to be with him. I think that makes it much harder for him to move on.

      

       Another example that shows how Adbul isn't letting go of his mom is on page 17. Here, it says 

"She could just jump up laughing and climb out of the casket hollering, Psyched you out! Pysched you out! Then grab my hand and say, The fun is over. I don't have time for all this foolishness!" Here, Abdul is even missing the serious side of his mom. I think that this shows me how he doesn't want to let  go of the fun times, but also the more serious times with his mom. He misses all of her; the funny side and the strict side. Also, it also shows me he wants to live in an alternate reality instead ofrealizing his mother isn't coming back and that it's not a prank. He doesn't seem to see that life goes on even though it will never be the same as it once was.

      Overall, while reading the book The Kid by Sapphire Abdul doesn't want to accept reality and face the facts: his mother, Precious, isn't coming back. He has shown me this through his denial and through his overall outlook on the death of his mom. This story so far has made me think about how I might react in a situation like Abdul's. Would I accept the reality? Would I, too, be in denial? This story  has made me think of how fortunate I am that I haven't been through what Adbul has.