Ebbeling 1

Matthew Ebbeling

15 Feb 2011

Honors Global Connections

Microtheme for Boyhood

I thought that the Boyhood memoir was someone difficult to read. I think that he is a very

troubled child that had some psychological problems. I do not like the way he views his family.

One day he likes his mother and the next day, he does not like her. He never really seemed to

like his father throughout the novel. Also, he was disgusted about Aunt Annie because was ugly.

Even though someone may not be perfect, they are still family and they should be cherished for

who they are. I would never call my grandmother ugly because she is old and wrinkly because

that is not polite. This is part of the aging process that every person goes through during their

lifetime. At first, he did not want to go to his Aunt Annie’s funeral but his mother pleaded for

him to go. It seems that he likes to have all the power; he likes to be in control and have people

pleading for him to do something.

I think that he is trying to find where he is in society. He said he was Roman Catholic but

did not know anything about the religion. He even lied so he did not have to go to catechism,

which is required to be Roman Catholic. If he was a true Roman Catholic, he would have gone

and not made a false excuse because that would be considered a sin. Moreover, he always likes

to be perfect. Where he went to school, the teacher flogged the boy’s every day. He did not like

that because he considered himself a perfect student and thought he should not be flogged like

everyone else.
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Also, to be considered an Afrikaan teacher, you need to be initiated before you can teach.

This requires you to do crazy things like drinking urine. When I read this, the first thing that I

thought of was hazing. I was very surprised because I do not think it sets a good example to

society. When I think of a teacher or professor, I see their professional side and would expect

them to be similar out in society. I cannot image my Biology professor drinking urine to be able

to teach at UNC Charlotte.

Overall, I thought this was a very interesting memoir. The boy needed severe

psychological counseling growing up. As he grew older through the novel, I think he found his

place in society and seemed a little better. However, he was not a “normal” boy even at the end

of the novel. I am surprised the author wrote some of the things. If I was writing a memoir that is

to be similar to this one, I would never write as much detail because I would be afraid how

society would view me as a person even twenty years later.