The Three of Us post 6

In this final post about the novel The Three of Us by Julia Blackburn, the main theme is reconciliation. Julia has learned to come to terms with who her parents are and who they always were and will be. In the process of doing this, she begins to better understand herself. "We chose our parents and through the process of choosing them, we become ourselves" (285). Thomas' therapist had explained this to Thomas and for thomas it was a way that he could process and overcome that information. With this, he was able to forgive his parents for his horrific upbringing.

Julia's upbringing was by any standard dysfunctional. Her father was a philanderer and an alcoholic and her mother's worst qualities were her sexual addictions and her emotional abuse of her daughter. Julia's parents did not nurture her in a way that would be expected by society as a whole. Her diary says, "Because we chose em, we must forgive them if we are to forgive ourselves and be free of tension" (285). This quote supports the theme of reconciliation because Thomas learns to forgive his parents.

The Three of Us post 5

In this portion of The Three of Us by Julia Blackburn,the most common and recurring theme is loss. When Geoffrey, one of Julia's oldest friends dies, Julia is not the only person to feel the loss of her friend. His second family does too. Her diary reads, "'Why didn't you do something Julia? You could have saved our daddy!'" (249). When a reader reads these words, a deep sense of sadness comes over the reader because not only did Geoffrey's wife lose a husband, but his children lost a father and Julia a friend. The children blame Geoffrey's death on Julia's friendship with him.

When Julia is at Geoffrey's funeral, she bends and "kissed the cold face and held the still warm hand in my own" (250). By the connotation in these words, the reader feels morose because Geoffrey must have died recently and the shock must still present over his death. She obviously loved this man alot because one feels that she is going to continue to hold this hand till it turns cold. It's as if she's savoring his presence.

The Three of Us post 4

"Stop all love, all feeling for Mummy, allow a complete death or I shall go mad" (200). At this point, Julia has realized the damaging effects of her relationship with her mother. This passage is in Julia's notebook under a to do list. Based on the connotation of the words, Julia still loves her mother. If she says she has to stop loving her mother, she obviously still does love her.

Later, Julia finds that she can't live without her mother. She says " I just feel so lost... I must come back" (200). She couldn't overcome the feelings she has for her mother. Even though her mother has never had any conventional love for Julia, Julia still feels mother- daughter bonds.

The Three of Us post 3

"It seemed like a good joke at the time" (154). Julia Blackburn, the author of the memoir The Three of Us, describes her reaction to a comment that Binky, one of Rosalie's friends, made referring to both mothers' sexual adventures chasing younger men. At the time, Julia finds this comment funny and amusing. When Julia goes for a swim with Binky's eldest son, she finds out how badly this boy has been damaged psychologically by his mother's behavior. Binky's sexual recklessness has included a sexual relationship with her adolescent son during a drunken evening. He says " I can't touch any woman because I ****ed my own mother, one night when we were both too drunk to care" (154). Her son will now carry the burden that he had an incestuous relationship with his mother.

In one sense, this echos the theme of abandonment because the mother, who bore him, should have taught him right from wrong. Binky had drawn him into a sexual relationship which is taboo in all cultures around the world. Julia realizes how psychologically damaged he is by this encounter. The reader gets the sense that Julia may be damaged by her relationship with her mother based on how damaged Binky's son is.

The Three of Us post 2

Another theme developed in this book is jealousy. When Julia is grown up, her mother tells her that she both loved her as a mother yet hated her because she was jealous of Julia. She says " she had always hated me, as well as loving me of course" (53). She says " I hated you because you're father stopped sleeping with me when you were born, and then I hated you because he had his mistress and would stay out all night and I was stuck at home. I hated you because he was kind to you even when he was being horrible to me... and I hated you because you went on seeing him" (53-54)

Julia's mother only loved Julia because she was her offspring. She could think of no reason other than that to love Julia. For Rosalie, Julia brought more unhappiness than she did happiness. The birth of Julia was the figurative end of Rosalie's life.


Blackburn, Julia. The Three of Us. New York: Random House, 2008.

The Three of Us post 1

The memoir The Three of Us by Julia Blackburn describes the author's life while growing up. We follow the author through her childhood and teen years, along with her parents, Thomas Blackburn and Rosalie de Meric. The main theme in this memoir is addiction. Her father, Thomas, is an alcoholic and a narcotic addict (55). Rosalie is addicted to sex and attention (62). As an adult, Julia comes to understand that these addictions are the result of each parents' deep need to find comfort and security. These addictions provide an emotional crutch to help them through each day. Julia's parents each suffered at the hands of their abusive parents. These addictions are a way to medicate themselves against the pain.

Julia's parents seem unaware that the pain and drama that they inflict on Julia is similarly painful. Because Julia's parents are so involved in their own pain, they seem unaware of the pain that they unconsciously inflict on Julia. Julia grows up thinking that her parents behavior is normal but as she grows older, she sees that their behavior is unorthodox.

Blackburn, Julia. The Three of Us. New York: Random House, 2008.

On The Waterfront

The difference between a traitor and a whistleblower is in the eye of the beholder. That is to say that there are two views in any conflict. For example, one individuals terrorist is another individuals freedom fighter. In the beginning of On The Waterfront, Terry Malloy believes that reporting the mob to the police would be wrong, (not to mention unhealthy). Because of Terry's experiences during the film, his thinking of informing against wrongdoing change.

What is a tattletale? In my opinion, a tattletale is someone who reports someone to an authority for doing something that the authority doesn't want them to do. I believe this is wrong to do. Unless, of course, that the thing that this person is doing is harmful or dangerous.