Summary
Katherine’s father is a pharmacist, and owns two drug stores. He is handsome and physically active. He tells his wife to work out, but she brushes it off. Katherine gets her tennis skills from him. Her parents go to Mexico when business slows in January. Katherine’s mother’s parents come to stay with her and Jamie. Her grandparents practice law together in New York. Katherine’s Grandma is involved in organizations.
Erica and Michael come over. Michael brings Artie Lewin. Artie is enthralled with board games. Katherine and Michael have been dating for over a month. They kiss, and it is hard for each of them that they don’t go further. Erica does not understand why Artie does not kiss her. Erica asks Katherine if she loves Michael, but she only confesses to liking him a lot. Erica and Katherine talk about sex that night. Katherine thinks that you need to be in love with someone in order to have sex, but Erica disagrees. Erica calls Katherine a romantic, and herself a realist.
Katherine describes Jamie as being a gourmet chef.
Her grandfather has a hard time speaking since his stroke, but her grandmother treats him no different. Katherine says that people who come from happy homes have good marriages themselves.
Michael picks Katherine up from the hospital. Katherine works on the geriatric floor, and explains why it makes her feel good. Michael invites her to the school play where Artie has the lead. There is an after party at Elizabeth’s house. Michael says that he used to be with Elizabeth, but it wasn’t special.
Katherine’s grandmother warns her of having sex, emphasizing the risk for pregnancy and disease. Katherine was upset her grandmother had just assumed she was having sex. She adds that her generation is more involved with sex, but that doesn’t mean they are having sex.
Her grandparents go to a show. Michael comes over. Jamie cooks for them. Michael and Katherine are playful when cleaning the kitchen. Michael watches Katherine change her bra. Jamie knocks on the door, and then later asks her sister what they were doing. Jamie is very open when discussing sex.
Things That Make Me Go “Hmm”
I liked when Katherine said, “I’m realistic about myself. I think a person has to be.” She says this in reference to knowing that she cannot excel at everything even if she would like to.
I am not sure what to make of Artie Lewin’s weird obsession with board games in chapter four. I find it a little strange, but then again everyone has quirks.
(Monopoly, which Erica cheats at, image from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOH0UXNV41i0veJF8aWXbtAL3VZzKrXuOhjpZOhJ51o4OR4LgsncGxq70Pvxp_UTBrIN4XgMEA7rQlIWqXHF68w0Tn9wgxP_KMNa6psxVkKDq_J1MCYM-4dXmRLG4cUPYZthhbdAlEZ8Jw/s1600/monopoly+board.jpg)
I find Erica to be a very insightful person. With their different views on sex, Erica calls herself a realist and Katherine a romantic. Then Erica says that she sees it as a physical thing, and that Katherine views it as a way to express love.
I chapter five, Jamie makes a chocolate mousse almondine sauce. I had to look that up. Almondine sauce is in most cases over top chicken or fish. This shows me Jamie is like a gourmet chef, and that it was no exaggeration when Katherine said this about her sister. Therefore, I discovered that Katherine is a reliable narrator.
(Thick and creamy almondine sauce. Image from http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2709/4488082569_f927f8a7b1_m.jpg)
Setting and Context
Judy Blume does not come out and tell readers the setting of the story, but this can be learned from context clues woven throughout the book. The story takes place either in New York City or near to New York City. The biggest hint to this so far in the story is that Katherine’s grandparents go to a concert in Lincoln Center. Lincoln Center is in New York City. The story takes place sometime in the 1970’s. Judy Blume has woven a few clues into the book so far to hint at when the story takes place. This includes her telling us that Katherine is a candy striper. In addition, Katherine’s family hooks a rug, and Jamie embroiders jeans. These things are uncommon if not nonexistent to today; all hinting that the story was written in the 1970’s.
The setting of the story and the context of the story are the same. Judy Blume wrote the book as a present day novel (in the 1970’s). By understanding the setting and context, you can better appreciate the book because it will make better sense to you. For example, Judy Blume writes in the prelude, “When I wrote Forever… in the mid seventies, sexual responsibility meant preventing unwanted pregnancy. Today sexual responsibility also means preventing sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, which can kill you.” It is important to understand the context and setting of Forever, because the knowledge explains why “In the book, Katherine visits a clinic and is given a prescription for the Pill. Today, she would be told it is essential to use a latex condom, along with any other method of contraception.” As a reader, questions may arise in your mind about the reliability of the author if facts don’t seem factual. It could just be that the book was written at a different time (or place). When reading Forever you have to consider that the sexual revolution was coming of age in the 1970’s (born in the 1960’s). The Supreme Court declared abortion legal in the early 1970’s, and the birth control pill was developed. In finale, sex could exist seemingly without any guilt or consequence.
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