Moving the Reader

Ass Burger
"A weight has been lifted. And I understand why sometimes people speak in clichés because sometimes there is simply no other way to describe something. A weight has been lifted. It's not all my fault. I'm not retarded. Or slow. It's him. It's always been him. And nobody knew it."

This passage moves me the most in the article. I think it touched Augusten Burroughs emotionally more than other passages do. This must be a very significant turning point in this chapter and also Burroughs’ life. After all the years being mocked by his brother, it turns out it’s him who isn’t normal. This must be a shock as well as a relief for Burroughs. Knowing he wasn’t the “retarded one” at all and having his brother as new problems to worry about at the same time are some of the most contrary things I can think of. The emotional complex is totally revealed to the readers through these words.

"The more I read about this condition, the more I read about my brother, an individual unlike anybody I have ever met before. Clearly, not only does my brother have Asperger's syndrome, he is the poster-boy for it."

This passage also moves me because it shows how Burroughs cares about his brother deep down in his heart. You can feel the weight being lifted on Burroughs’ shoulders as he discovered the reason of his brother’s weird personality. Knowing his brother is not alone in the world in this case must made him feel relieved.

After the Falls
"I could hear all this because he was still screaming at the top of his lungs. A fool of myself. That phrase exploded within me and has clung forever like napalm. No matter what I ever did with men, I worried about making a fool of myself. I didn't know the rules. Had I looked needy and pathetic? I must have or my father, who was the picture of reason, wouldn't have acted that way.”(25)

This passage moves me because it clearly shows how strong that Jim’s words had affected his daughter. The word “exploded” is a magnificent and vivid use here to describe the power of the words and how they left a permanent effect on Catherine’s life. It’s quite a shock for me to see how words can hurt people so much.

"I had no idea then that I was leaving behind the least-troubled years of my life. Strange, since I felt there was no way I could cause more trouble than I'd caused in Lewiston."(5)

This passage moves me because it shows how Catherine misses her old home. It is a difficult experience having to move during young age. Catherine was clearly upset and angry about the downgrade of living condition and struggle she has to go through to fit in to unknown environment. As a person who travelled thousands of miles away from homeland I can totally relate to her “homesickness”.