A Piece of Cake outside reading post # 2

10 Loaded Words

1) prostitution(page 78): This word represents something Cupcake was willing and risking to do to survive. It has so many emotions behind it because it is so sad when when people decide to take this route in life.
2) druggie(page 81): This word is categorizing someone as a person who takes drugs, this is a negative term and you do not want to be known as this. This is sad because this is a bad situation when people involve themselves in doing drugs and it messes with your mind and life.
3) asshole(page 96): Just like every other swear word, this word can be very offensive towards people. You should never say this word to anyone, especially someone like your grandmother or a teacher because it shows you have no respect for that person and it shows poorly of you.
4) gang(page 106): This is a loaded word because the word gang symbolizes violence. Violence is something that is clearly bad and is never represented in a good way for obvious reasons. Some people are a part of these types of groups andthe rest of us are scared of them. Usually people join gang so they can feel needed or wanted like Cupcake did.
5) nigga(page 113): This word is an extremely hurtful word and should never be said. It is a very racist and is an offensive word, mostly towards black people.
6)shooting(page 117): This word can be interpreted in many different ways. But in the context of this book, it is representing the violence Cupcake faced and was involved with.
7)homies(page 120): This word can be used as a fun name to call your friends but it can also be represented as a negative name, directing towards a gang member.
8)miscarriage(page 146): This word can be very emotional for some people. For anyone who has ever delt with a miscarriage, it can bring back thosehard times you went through
9)gang banger( page 146): This word can be offensive or just hard to comprehend and try to understand how a person could have such a sick mind to do this to someone. These people will do this to feel powerful and have complete control of a vulnerable perosn.
10) abused(page 154): This word is also a touchy subject because people who have been experienced abuse in their life would see this word and it would remind them of all the pain and suffering they went through, and for the people who have never been abused know that abuse causes emotional and physical damage.

Summary:

This section of the book is very similar to what was going on last section. Cupcake continues her bad habits and ways of smoking and drinking. She is once again back living with Diane and then running away. Despite Diane's diagnosis of diabetes, she continues to be just as mean as ever. Cupcake also continues the pattern of running away and being forced back into Diane's house several times. Cupcake also gets pregnant in this section but has a miscarriage. Diane does not support or comfort Cupcake through this time, instead she makes her suffer through the physical and mental pain at the house and does not even allow her to go to a hospital. After this tramatic experience, Cup runs away and goes to Hollywood. Once she arrives in Hollywood, she joins a gang. Everything keeps getting worse and worse and she is slowly throwing her life away by all the bad decisions she is making. She continues her drug and alcohol addictions through these sections. In the end of this section, Cup returns to the man she once called "daddy."

Reaction:

Dear Journal,

My feelings of this section were just like the last. I feel so badly for Cupcake and I can not see how she can remain living with such poor conditons and scary situations. While I continue to read this memoir it seems so real like I'm right there with her, wanting her to change her ways and turn her life around. I almost feel like i know her personally and am with her as she faces so many difficult times and because her descriptive and real-life writing helps me visualize and makes it feel like this were taking place in present time. I can't even imagine how she must have felt through that and all the emotions she must have been feeling.