Not Easily Broken Pages 125-185

Summary:
Feeling unwanted by Clarice, Dave began to look for that feeling in Julie. Feeling bored on evening, Dave called Julie asking her if she like to go to lunch with him. At lunch, they were laughing, talking and were having had a good time. Julie then revealed to Dave that she was beginning to have feelings for him. She said that it had been a long time since she had feeling like that for a man. At that point Brock had spotted then and interrupted their good time. Dave began to become irtiable. He had a little jealously for the way Brock was hitting on Julie. When Brock tried to confront Dave later at practice, Dave became very defensive and standoffish.

Felling like she losing her husband Clarice began telling Michelle how she feeling and how Dave’s been quiet and was being very nonchalant towards her. Michelle told Clarice a couple words of encouragement and told her she should consider going to a marriage counselor.

When Dave came home Clarice confronted him. Dave then became very defensive and once again became irritable He was upset about the fact that Clarice thought he was sleeping with Julie. Dave then began to tell Clarice that Julie appreciated him and that is what he needed. When she asked him if she had feeling for her, he told her he didn’t know. At the end of the argument they both agreed that they wanted to work things out and she needed to end all connection with Julie and Clarice was going to find a new physical therapist. Clarice also told him about her depression. At counseling Clarice and Dave were able to express themselves yet things remained unsolved because they both were unsolved because they both were unwilling to change.

Julie was hurt when Dave told her he could no longer she her. She was also upset that Bryson lost a male figure who was very interested in him. Brock the called her asking about her well-being and Bryson. Julie was amazed at the support she was getting and was grateful. Upset at the way Clarice and her mother had been acting, Dave called Julie to see how he was holding up and how Bryson’s meet went. When Julie got off the phone with Dave she walked into the same salon that Clarice and her mother were in. No confrontation erupted but tension was in the air. Meanwhile, Dave was a Brock’s house to apologize for his behavior and got a little upset when he seen that Brock was working out and was talking with Julie.

While watching the news Clarice and Dave seen that a kid had died at the YMCA while doing a back flip off of the diving board. Both were shocked to realize that the kid who had died was Bryson. Dave immediately grabbed his keys to rush to the hospital and comfort Julie. Before he could leave out the door, Clarice gave Dave an ultimatum. Either he went with someone to the hospital or she would be gone by the time he got back. Dave chooses to go to the hospital.

Quotation:

“No… I been listening to you for the last fifteen year (Jakes 185).”

Reflection:
Here Dave expressed the way he felt throughout their fifteen years of marriage. He could not believe that Clarice was giving him and ultimanium at this point in time. I can understand Dave’s anger towards this whole situation because she was a little out of line in my opinion. Although he should have went with his wife to the hospital she should not have messed with his emotions at that time.

Not Easily Broken Pages 61- 119

Summary:
Immediately after Clarice’s surgery, David began looking for a physical therapist to start building strength in Clarice’s leg. He then came across women named Julie Sawyer. She was willing to run house calls which was perfect for Clarice’s condition. Once Julie met with Clarice, she immediately realizes that Clarice was depressed and a friendship was formed. Feeling useless and extremely bored, Clarice called her job and told them she would be returning to work. Once she returned to work her assistant Michelle also realize something was wrong with Clarice. She began having a conversation with Clarice. During this conversation Clarice revealed that her leg was taking a big toile on her emotional state.

During that time Clarice’s mother had called to let her know she was on her way to the house to spend the week. Claries mother is very control live and she has a very strong personality that does not rub well with Dave. When Dave went to go ask caprice what was the reason her mother was staying he realized that she was extremely fidgety and turned the computer off as soon as he entered the room. He did not think too much of the situation and figured it was something from work.

At the end of the first physical therapy lesson, Julie’s car would not start and she was going to be late to pick up her son. In order to prevent that from happening Dave gave her a ride and offered to pay to fix her car. That situation was the beginning of the relationship between Dave and Julie. During this ride Dave met Julie’s son Bryson and invited him to join him once baseball practice to see how he would like it.

Bryson took Dave up on his offer and actually did really good at the practice when it came to getting along with the kids. He had gained much respect from these kids and Dave was very surprised and also kind of proud of him. The relation between Dave and Clarice was also becoming worse. They no longer talked everyday. It actually got to a point in which they would go days without talking. During this time Clarice had become very excluded and quiet. That caused Dave to feel useless and unwanted. His reaction was to act like he no longer cared about her. He began taking phone calls outside and coming home later than usual. This cause Clarice to question him causing even more seperation between the two.

Quotation:

"Who was that on the phone?" "Nobody" (Jakes 117).

Reaction:
This quote represents the type of question Clarice was asking Dave when she suspected him of cheating. I do not blame her for questioning her husband but I also do not blame Dave for his reaction. As a married couple Clarice should want her husband to care for her and she should want to be the center of all his thoughts but she wants the opposite. She wants Dave to be as far away from her as possible. I do not think that the way in which Dave is handling the situation is correct but I do understand the idea that he wants to catch Clarice’s attention some way. I hope that things do not escalate pass this point because you can tell that Dave has a lot of love for his wife.

Not Easily Broken

Summary:

Dave and Clarice Johnson is a professional couple who is struggling with their marriage. Clarice is an independent woman who was raised to be independent and to get things for her. Dave is a caring and loving man who feels inferior and unwanted by his wife and he begins to lose interest in their relationships. One evening when Clarice and Dave were running late for a function, in which Clarice was to receive an award, a drunken man hit the side of Dave’s truck causing Clarice’s leg to be broken in several places. This was the first day that Dave was able to feel like he was wanted and needed by his wife and it caused him much joy. Unfortunately, this feeling did not last long because she soon realized that she will be unable to walk for several months. She immediately went into an independent mode and asked the doctor to begin the procedure to insert a metal plate into her leg. Although Clarice was beginning to shut down, the relationship between her and her husband was getting a little stronger because he was caring for her and treating her like a princess. The doctors asked him to immediately start looking for a physical therapist and that is exactly what he did.

Quotation:

" I'm not saying you shouldn't do all you can, baby. I'm just saying that sometimes you got to let other people help, for a change." "Why? So you can feel important?"(Jakes 35)

Reflection:

This quotation demonstrates the relationship between Clarice and David. This quote shows the way in which their marriage is failing. During the time of an injury, you would expect that someone may want to be vulnerable or want someone to care for them but in Clarice’s case she wClarice excludes Dave from her. She refuses to be vulnerable and that is the reason whyants the complete opposite. I think that the only way that Clarice and Dave will be able to fix their marriage is if Clarice can expose her true feeling to Dave and if Dave can respect the shyness that Clarice hides behind.