Blume exemplified, throughout the story, the difficulties the young couple went through and the memories they shared together. While telling a story about such young, yet intimate, relationship it can get confusing. You don’t know whether to be descriptive on what is going on with the two of them, or to keep the reader guessing what will happen at the end. Blume did an excellent job with proving that doing both of these is quite possible.
Blume showed myself, as the reader, what it was like to be in such a young, intense relationship. She used very descriptive words but not too descriptive. She gave too just enough to know what was going on behind closed doors with the couple without spoiling that first, young, and high school relationship we all personally experience. We all go through that “first love” that you truly don’t believe you could live without. The feeling of emptiness when you are not with them and then feeling safe when you are in their arms again. Blume described the way that this feeling is very well with Katherine and Michael.
Blume touches on how difficult a marriage is with distance let alone a young relationship consisting of two young people who cant even fully make all of their own decisions independently. The saying “ distance makes the heart grow founder” is completely evaded in this book. Blume stresses of the fact that distance at such a young age inspires curiosity with other people while not being able to have your significant other. She also explains the heartbreak in distance. It causes stress and dishonesty, which could damage a relationship for forever. Its always a good lesson to teach young kids who are getting curious with the opposite sex, that its not always all fun and games. If you are willing to put yourself into such a serious relationship, spending all of your time together, you will grow very strongly towards each other. It is part of our human nature. It taught me a good lesson on what to do and what not to do when faced with a challenge like Katherine and Michaels. Relationships take time and energy twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. When that time and energy is no longer there, neither is the relationship.
Michael
Throughout the novel Michael was made out to be a typical high school student. Blume did a very good job isolating his mind set and carrying out all of the actions he performed. Michael is an interesting seventeen year old boy who possesses many ideas which he is not afraid to share. It is intriguing to see how Blume captures the essence of Michael’s character. He is kind and flirtatious, but also very bold and even aggressive. Blume does an excellent job portraying all aspects of Michael’s personality and makes it easy to relate to this character as well.
Michael is not the most secure person to say the least. This insecurity leads to difficulties in his relationship with Katherine. It’s almost like he wants what he wants when he wants it. However, he is not willing to work for it. He is essentially paralyzed by his insecurities. Blume touches a great deal on the struggles that Michael has as a young child in the beginning of the novel. This captures the reader’s attention and makes you want to read more and more. She didn’t make his character out to be your stereotypical troubled kid. Instead, he is actually very interesting and fascinating. I enjoyed reading about him in the first couple of chapters, and Blume’s introduction of him allow the reader to feel like you know him personally, in the present and through is history.
Blume touches on Michael’s inability to clearly and effectively communicate his thoughts, ideas, or point. Blume explained throughout the novel how Michael had a terrible time saying exactly what was on his mind, especially when emotions or feelings are involved. He never seems to get his point across on how he feels about a specific topic or idea. I kept wondering why men (boys) have such a difficult time getting their point across. Blume showed how Michael’s lack of communication would just leave him in the dust.
My favorite part about Michael is his interest in Katherine and their relationship. He truly cares about her well-being and wants the absolute best for her and their relationship. Blume shows his caring personality through her intense vocabulary. It leaves you waiting and wondering what the next sentence, page, chapter will bring.
Blume's Writing
Blume really captures the essence of loosing someone who is very close to you. She sweeps the readers up into a world of young love, romance and heartbreak. Blume makes this young romance seem all encompassing and life without each other unbearable. When you’re minors though, not all decisions are their own, and distance can be devastating to a relationship. At the end of every chapter the reader is left with a question that keeps you turning the pages.
Her pros flowed smoothly, but the vocabulary was basic and even child like in most instances. Unfortunately, Blume did not do a very good job making the reader feel like they were there with the young lovers. Most of the time I felt like I was listening to someone tell me a story rather then in the story with them. I wanted to be on the pool deck with Katherine and Theo, smell the chlorine in the air, hear the children screaming and feel the shock waves of the new arrival. This escape that a truly gifted author gives their reader is a joy that I never felt withForever. Although in some instances I did feel as if I wasn’t in the scene that was being portrayed at the time in the story, she also rekindled the fire with other parts that really did put me in either Katherine or Michael’s shoes. One thing that pulls me into a greater liking of the book is being able to feel the tension, good times, sad and hard times of the actual story and Blume managed to do all of this and more in some parts of the story, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
There were times in the story where Blume did not so much stress on the depth of situations, instead she just simply told the story. She should have put more emotion in some scenes, like when they first became intimate with each other. That is a big step in a relationship and should be taking seriously. She could have pulled me in closer if she would have explained the history behind the decision Katherine and Michael made. For the most part I felt like I wasn’t in the book with the character and I really wish that I was, so I could have shared that experience the emotion and intensity of the story.
October 22, 2013
Forever by Judy Blume
Katherine
Katherine is in her Junior year of high school. She is your typical all-american girl next door. She is a swimmer, she gets good grades, and is a lifeguard at the aquatic center near her house. You get the feeling she is attractive, but not really a double-taker. Her personality is probably what people are attracted to most about her.
You immediately like her because she is confident in herself without being arrogant or conceited. She says what’s on her mind, without offending you. She is not too concerned, if at all, with what others may or may not think of her. At the end of the day, she knows what she wants and what she needs to do to get it.
Blume does a great job of tapping into the psyche of a teenage girl in today’s society. Her use of description and detail make you almost feel and think exactly like Katherine. You sense Katherine’s emotions, but continually have to guess her reaction. For example, when Katherine first meets Michael, she is very stand-offish. It’s easy to understand and relate to this because most of us are that way when we first meet a possible love interest. What surprises you about Katherine is that she is typically so self-confident and self-assured, that you expect her to almost be the pursuant and not the pursued.
Blume speaks a great deal about Katherine’s image and the situations she deals with in everyday life. These situations are not just fairytale situations, or only things you would read about in storybooks, but situations that everyone can relate to. You will find yourself thinking often about how you have already experienced what Katherine has experienced. It is easy to relate to her reactions and emotions because the situations don’t seem to be just made-up.
Blume has a way of transporting you into the life of Katherine. You feel like you are experiencing everything she experiences, and feeling everything she is feeling. The book’s context brings you right into the life of Katherine through the language and depth of detail Blume uses. You get the feeling the author must be a teen in today’s society. It is hard to imagine the author is anyone other that a teenager. Blume does an excellent job portraying the naivety of a young teenager who thinks she has the world in the palm of her hands.
