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| Plot Summary of The Cornstalk Man |
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""The Cornstalk Man" is a hilarious and touching fiction-drama about an eight year old girl coping with her mother's severe bipolar disorder in the 1970's, when little was known about the disease. It is a coming-of-age story, not only for the girl and her siblings, but for mental illness itself."
, Resident Scholar
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"Rebecca Thompson is living with her mother (Lorraine), her sister (Cynthia) and her brother (Will) in a small 1970's town in Missouri, Rebecca is drawn into a "war" with the town. Her mother who suffers from Bipolar Disorder slips in and out of normalcy with her cycles of behavior. Lorraine (Mamma) schemes against the townspeople often imagining wrongs and dragging her children into her plans against the "guilty". The oldest daughter Cynthia is removed from the world Rebecca lives in, as she is the eldest and is trying to create her own normal life. Will the middle child is confused and hurt, as such he is withdrawn from his family. Her mother is drawn into her mood swings, confusing the girl as she tries to create a normal childhood for herself."
Joji McGrew, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Cornstalk Man |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
- humorous
Time/era of story
- 1960's-1970's
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Mother (or standin)
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- vague finding self/purpose in life (i.e. no plot to book)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Brain/Body disability?
- mental illness
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a kid
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- natural phenomena
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- deluded
- eccentric
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 8 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
- hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- impregnation/reproduction
- descript. of female anat. (the big B's)
- descript. of female anat. (the big V)
Lot of foul language?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Daniel Crocker Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Joji McGrew
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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