Shoplifting From American Apparel (Pages 68-103)

Title: Shoplifting From American Apparel
Author: Tao Lin
Pages: 68-103

SUMMARY: On the way to the police station, Sam meets a teenage girl in handcuffs and starts talking to her. This time real drama occurs in the jail. The inmates become violent and attack the police or other inmates. Sam sits there observing. Sam hangs out with Robert and Hester for many days. Robert informs Sam that Sheila was in a mental hospital. Sam goes to Florida away from all the worries and meets Audrey and Joseph. He texts Kaitlyn that he likes Joseph as a friend. Sam and Audrey spent more time together and Jeffrey joins in. Sam and Audrey go to the beach and kiss as they enjoy the evening. Audrey reminds Sam of Sheila and tells her that he wants to be a Marine Biologists.

QUOTATION: "'What did you want to be when you grew up?' said Audrey. 'Marine biologist,' said Sam" (Lin 103).


REACTION: This is the denouement of the book. It's humorous how random Sam is. When Sam and Audrey were kissing, they were at the beach and Sam was just staring at the water. When Audrey asked what Sam wanted to be in the future, I think the first thing that came to Sam's mind was Marine Biologist because he just guessed. The naive protagonist doesn't know what to do in future. He is just waiting as time passes by. I like the way how the book started with Sam and ended with Sam. Shouldn't the book be called "The Great Adventures of Shoplifting Sam" or just "Adventures of Sam?"

Shoplifting From American Apparel (Pages 34-68)

Title: Shoplifting From American Apparel
Author: Tao Lin
Pages: 34-68

SUMMARY: After released from police station, Sam chats with Luis on gmail and Luis reminds him that his life is actually miserable. Sam's parents were living in Taiwan and he got arrested. They again have an interesting chat about how Sam has good rankings on amazon. It turns out Sam has to do community service for weeks until he pays off for his crime. Sam resides with brother Ben and his girlfriend Julia in Manhattan. On Christmas Eve, Sam receives new year messages from Kaitlyn and Mallory then goes with them to drink. They get drunk easily with other writers. Sam and Kaitlyn go to Sam's brothers apartment and make love. Sam has a moment of paradox. He wants to move on with Kaitlyn but he doesn't want to forget Sheila. A month later, Sam walks into New York University 's computer store and picks a Sony "in-ear" headphones and put it in his pockets. A short Hispanic woman stops Sam and asks him what is in his pockets and he answers cellphone. Sam admits that she caught him and again he goes through the same phase he did back when he shoplifted from American Apparel. Sam again ends up in the police station.

QUOTATION: "'I haven't been arrested and my parents haven't left the country I'm residing in. I don't speak to my parents but I'm already over that. So it is different with you. You didn't tell me that. I feel like petting your head'" (Lin 37).

REACTION: The speaker was Luis. Luis compares his life with Sam. This quote made me realize how screwed up Sam's life is. He is an adult but it feels like he needs someone to guide him. That's my opinion because this guy keeps shoplifting. Is that a mental issue, does it have a reason behind it? I should have asked Mr. Tao Lin.

Shoplifting From American Apparel (Pages 1-34)

Title: Shoplifting From American Apparel
Author: Tao Lin
Pages: 1-34

SUMMARY: Sam is the protagonist. He has a girlfriend by the name of Sheila. Sam wakes up and eats cereal then goes to gmail chat where he talks to his online friend Luis about watching pornography and wasting lives doing nothing. Sam doesn't talk to Sheila much and lives sometimes in her mother's house in Pennsylvania. The relationship of Sam and Sheila is awkward. They move to New York. Their mundane conversation about the simplest things in life continues. Sam thinks about writing a book. Turns out, Sam was the one who didn't express any feelings for Sheila. Sheila becomes sad that Sam isn't interested in her anymore. Sam likes iced coffee. Few Weeks later, he shoplifts from an American Apparel. The police handcuffs him and takes his picture. After taken to the police station, Sam meets different kind of people; a skinny Hispanic, a bald Caucasian and a tall Asian. They were there for shoplifting reasons as well. More people get put thrown into the same cell. They all had eerie stories to tell and somehow started to sound like rapscallions. Most inmates were extremely angry at the police and yelled at the police as if it was not their fault. Sam was later released from the police station.

QUOTATION: "'Oh yeah,' said Sam. 'I don't have to worry about money anymore, I just steal batteries.' 'Do people really buy batteries off eBay,' said Luis. 'Yes. I have undercut the competition. Walmart is crying' (Lin 15).

REACTION: This conversation Sam has with Luis on gmail chat is hilarious but also painful. I viewed this as a dark humor whether Mr. Tao Lin intended it to be or not. The way these guys are just talking about the most random thing in life is funny but the dark side is that it seems like their lives are going to waste. Sam wakes up arbitrarily everyday and has no plans. The way these characters lives' are portrayed is so eerie. It goes to a point where they start having random conversation about the simplest things in life. With the book's title and the stealing of batteries gave me as a reader an obvious hint that Sam was going to shoplift. Also, these are real events because Mr. Tao Lin him self told me that he considered this as a memoir.

All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America (Pages 136-192)

Title: All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America
Author: Glenn C. Altschuler
Pages: 136-192
Chapters: 5-6

SUMMARY: Rock & Roll died after ASCAP led assaults. Politicians and parents tried to bring the music down in any means. With "Elvis in the Army, Buddy Holly dead, Little Richard in the ministry, Jerry Lee Lewis in disgrace, and Chuck Berry in jail," rock and roll in America was dead (Altschuler 161). However, not for long, in England, bands like The Beatles and Rolling Stones secured the music; altered it in their own way and smashed it into American markets. This was the great British Invasion. Little Richard on the other side began to loose his rock vibe and turned to the moral of Christianity and churches. Soon enough, his divorce with his wife brought him back to the industry and joined with The Beatles in early '60s in Liverpool. Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gal, which gave Anti-Rock 'n' Roll people the power to use this as a weapon to wreck his career. He was open about it and so was Myra. This brought a downfall to Jerry's career. He lost his fans, record labels tried to cover him but failed. On the other side, Chuck Berry was arrested for violating the Mann Act, bringing a Mexican-Indian minor to U.S. to work for immoral purpose. The Beatles brought Chuck berry back by singing his songs that inspired them. While other rock 'n' rollers were ruined by scandals, Elvis stayed patriotic as a private in the army. Motown Records started to release their singles with black artists like Berry Gordy and reached mainstream during the '60s. The Beatles copied '50s American Rock 'n' Roll artists and approached teenagers in America without annoying adults. They became the hit and Elvis Presley was like 'dandelion tea' compared to The Beatles.

QUOTATION: "Compared to the Beatles' '100-proof elixir,' even Elvis was mere 'dandelion tea,' " (Altschuler 182).

REACTION: Who knew the Beatles furtively took the style and music from Americans, sold it to Americans and won the heart of Americans? Although in the end it came down to the Beatles, lets not forget all those great yet tragic Rock 'n' Roll artists of '50s inspired them. The Beatles basically took away the raw, anger and other immoral things from American Rock 'n' Roll music and collaborated their originality into it and made it a great music. The long fight against Rock 'n' Roll led by parents around the nation and politicians was settled down by the Beatles. Parents weren't annoyed anymore and teenagers were still happy to hear the music. The Beatles = The Great Compromisers.

All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America (Pages 80-136)

Title: All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America
Author: Glenn C. Altschuler
Pages: 80-136
Chapters: 3-5

SUMMARY: With teens and their raging hormones, Rock 'n' Roll brought the sexuality out. Around the '57s Pat Boone and Dick Clarke became the messenger sent by God for the parents. They tried to put a lid on Rock 'n' Roll by creating dance shows such as Bandstand ,which attracted lots of teens. This was the moment of tranquility for the parents. This sent out message to many shows that Rock 'n' Roll should be banned but once Elvis appeared on the Ed Sullivan's show, it gave the show 43.7 ratings and 82.6 percent of the television audience. There was no stopping to Rock 'n' Roll when Elvis's body moves were magnetic and sexually arousing, Little Richard was charging erotically with his sexual lyrics and Jerry Lee Lewis was raping his piano. This became an entourage of immense sexual force that communicated with teens and became inexorable. Teenagers did not even exist before the 20th century. After the population in U.S. saw puberty decline and increase in youth marriages and that certain age group were associated with violence; the term was added as a slang. During WWII, teenagers took out their violence in public and began to rebel against their parents. To this, J.D. Salinger responded in a form of novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951) to express the feelings and actions of adolescents; how they were struggling like the protagonist Holden Caufield.

QUOTATION: "Jerry Lee Lewis 'raped his piano. He would play it with his feet, he would sit on it, he would stand on it, he would crawl under it, and he would leap over it.' He did the same with his microphone" (Altschuler 96).

REACTION: That is some rock 'n' roll spirit. I feel sorry for the piano and the microphone, however, it did belong to Lewis. This humorous line does suggest the torture and misuse of a piano but the deeper meaning is the actions and feelings of Jerry Lee Lewis. It is incredible how rock 'n' roll music can move a person (teenagers particularly) internally and externally making them have mixed sexual vibes inside and making them basically act like an unleashed beast. This was happening and is still happening to most teenagers. The moment they hear the music, it was like a command that said "Dance, Jump, Have Sex And Break Things," which eventually got them in trouble but it was addicting and undeniable.

All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America (Pages 60-80)

Title: All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America
Author: Glenn C. Altschuler
Pages: 60-80
Chapters: 2-3

SUMMARY: Little Richard and other black rock 'n' roll bands began to march and make history as their flamboyant shouts attracted many fans including white girls. Little Richard became famous with the hit "Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti Frutti," however, they had to change the lyrics simply purifying it for all audiences. Despite the purifying, Little Richard was still a hit even among whites. The people feared their uprising into the white society because white girls were all over him. Others simply stepped back because they thought he was homosexual. Little Richard used to do lots of make up which is why he was ambivalent about his homosexuality and danger to appear threatening to whites. Chuck Berry began to approach and adapt to his white listeners. This gave him and Little Richard a voice to black culture and social aspiration. Berry became one of the first rock 'n' roll superstar with his instant hits. He created his song in a way where it held different meanings of race and oppression. The racial innuendo went to another limit when Berry released his song "Brown-eyed handsome man," which lyrics' contained superiority of a brown-eyed man over other men, even doctors and lawyers. After a while, Berry began to cut down on the racial stuff so fans wouldn't view it as bias and stopped presenting his characters in the song as colored men. Unlike other rock 'n' roll era, '50s was a simple one which emphasized on love and marriage not teenage sex and pleasure. It was less formidable and opposite of what critics feared. This '50s rock 'n' roll music brought parents to the attention of sex. Parents magazines began to give instruction on talking to their kids about sex. Even high school sex courses began to attract more parents. This didn't feel like Rock 'N' Roll.

QUOTATION: "'By wearing this makeup,' he claimed, 'I could work and play white clubs, and the white people didn't mind the white girls screaming over me...They was willing to accept me, 'cause they figured I wouldn't be no harm'" (Altschuler 61).

REACTION: My reaction was also ambivalent as I dwelt upon a question. This whole makeup fabrication was clever but it came to my concern if Little Richard was homosexual. Was it his way to just cover up his homosexuality? If not, then it was very intrepid of him to put of silly makeups and perform. He became one of the first few black rock 'n' roll musicians to actually reach out to white listeners, more specifically, girls. Although, Little Richard did claim that he was doing all of this in order to appear as a non-lethal musician so he could be permitted to play in front of the white crowd, questions still raise about him hiding his ambivalence about his homosexuality. On the bright side, other musicians such as Chuck Berry received chances to approach white listeners then it grew on from there.

Title: All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America (Pages 40-60)

Title: All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America
Author: Glenn C. Altschuler
Pages: 40-60
Chapters: 1-2

SUMMARY: Elvis Aron Presley, rock 'n' roll legend, was born in 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was born in a middle class family. He was a well-rounded student and joined mostly all the clubs in school. Despite the fact that he was well-rounded, ironically he was a misfit and an outcast. His interest in clothes and hairstyles were very avant garde to the society. He began to sing in Ellis Auditorium's All-Night Gospel Singings. After he graduated, he drove a truck and worked as a machinist and usher in the movies. Elvis started to play the guitar and teach himself basic chords. The greatest moment in Rock 'N' Roll history occurred when Elvis walked into Sun Records. He sparks an interest in Sam Philips, owner, realizing his unique moves and sound. Elvis records his first song mixing, R&B and country hillbilly creating a hybrid known as "Rockabilly." This unique music sold lots pf records in many places although other DJs called it country and didn't play it on their radios. Many were unaware that Elvis was white so in his first interview, he was told to say he is a white musician. After the first performance Elvis had, he began to feel confident and the fans loved it. Elvis also credited African Americans for the music and wanted racial equality. Mobs began to outrage and beat up black musicians who even barely played Rock 'N' Roll.

QUOTATION: "Attacks on Negro Performers and rock 'n' roll tended to polarize in many quarters they evoked more vocal support for the civil rights movement" (Altschuler 40).

REACTION: Rock 'n' Roll really messed things up but also fixed other things. Although many mobs feared the rise of black musicians and assaulted many, this was strengthening the civil rights movement. Rock 'n' Roll helped save African Americans from segregation. This music in my eyes seem like this gargantuan hands filled with immense power trying to mold the races together. It also relates to the first ROAR book "Warriors Don't Cry" I read. Since, it was the era of Civil Rights Movement plus great music (Rock 'n' Roll), the equality line was appearing closer. People listened to the music and the musicians supported African American integration. This had an effect on the listeners or the audience per se. I am very glad to hear Rock 'n' Roll was part of the process in bringing people together.