Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis is about a 17 year old, African American, boy named Michael Oher. His mother is a drug addict and he has no idea who his father even is. Everyday when he wakes up, he has no idea where he will go to sleep that night. Eventually, a rich family, the Touhy family, comes across Michael Oher through a friend who had earlier taken him in for a few days. They had gotten him into a private school, on one condition. Michael Oher had to raise his grades up. The wealthy Touhy family offered for him to stay at their house and Oher accepted the invitation. He was a very quiet kid who lacked any communication skills, and it took him a while to open up to the family. The family hired a tutor for him, and he was able to get his grades up high enough to play basketball. He was a good basketball player, being the big and tall kid that he was, but he knew it was not his calling. As he continued to improve his grades and communication skills, he decided to go out for the football team. He is a very tall and strong kid and the coaches can see his talent right away. He becomes an essential part of the football team at his school and around this time, the Touhy family ended up adopting Michael. With a strong and supportive family, he becomes a more confident kid. College scouts from all across the country came to see him play football. They all wanted Oher to go to their school and play football on scholarship. Michael Oher got so many different offers and had many options to choose from. He ended up attending Ole Miss, coincidentally, where Mrs. Touhy went to college. He was successful in college and loved playing football. Michael Oher was then drafted into the NFL in 2009 to the Baltimore Ravens. The Blind Side is a touching book in which a loving family saw someone in need and took him in. The Touhy family cared for him and loved him, in hope to give him a bright future, and they accomplished their goal.


1) Why do you think the Touhy family took Michael Oher in and gave him a place to stay in the first place?
2) Why do you think Michael Oher was able to improve his grades and communication skills once he was taken in by the family?

18 comments:

AnaleeL7-8 said...

1. I think the family took him in because they couldnt stand to see such a good person struggle.

Tyler W 1-2 said...

I believe he improved his grades because he had a chance to start a new life and become somebody.

Sarah N. 7-8 said...

2. I agree with Tyler. I think he was able to improve his grades, because he got a second chance at life. He also strove to improve his grades, because he was so interested in sports, which gave him an additional incentive.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

Analee-I think you're right. I think they saw a nice kid who was in need and didn't want to see him struggle any longer.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

Tyler and Sarah- I think you're right too. I think he had a chance to start a better life with a loving family. He was cared for by them unlike he had ever been before.

Nicole H. 7-8 said...

I agree with Sarah and Tyler. This was his second chance to do something with his life, and he wanted to improve it, and he did so by improving his education.

Sydney M 7-8 said...

1. I agree with everyone above, the Touhy family saw a good kid struggling and wanted to help. They didn't want to see him have a hard life anymore.
2. I think because Michael was taken in by the Touhy family he felt like he was getting a fresh start. He was determined to make a better life for himself.

Lisa T. 1-2 said...

2. I think that Michael was able to improve his grades and his communication skills because he knew he was given an opportunity and to better his lifestyle was to not take that opportunity for granted. Making the best of the luck and empathy he recieved from human nature is a way to show he deserved the chance to change his life.

Sydney S. 1-2 said...

1. I think that they saw that he was a nice kid and that he was struggling. They couldn't not do anything about it.

2. I think that Michael was able to improve his grades and communication skills because he was given an opportunity to better his life. I also think that he was in a good enviornment for it; his new family supported him and helped him every step of the way.

Sara D. 7-8 said...

2) I think Michael was able to improve his grades and communication skills because maybe he felt like he had a purpose in life and wanted to thank the Touhy family for giving that to him.

Nathan S. 7-8 said...

2) I think having people that would be disappointed in him if he didn't improve his grades and communication skills was sufficient motivation to do so.

Laura P 7-8 said...

2.) I think that Michael did not want to let the family down and wanted them to feel like they were really helping him by taking him into their home.

Adam B. 7-8 said...

2.) I think he wanted to improve his grades and communication skills so he could play football and to make his new family proud of him.

Andrew C 7-8 said...

1. I think the Tuohy family took in Michael because they saw him struggling and they knew that they could help him. They saw his potential to be a better person.

Andrew C 7-8 said...

2. I think Michael was able to improve his grades and communication skills because he was in a place where people talked to him and cared about what he did unlike when he was poor and on the streets.

Anonymous said...

1. I think the Touky family took Micheal in because maybe they were bored with their life. They maybe wanted something new and exciting in their life and thought they would do good by taking someone in without a home or family.

2. I think Micheal was able to improve his grades because he had a goal to achieve. He loved football more than anything and he was not going to let anything stand in the way. He probably also wanted to make his new family proud of him.

Miranda R. 7-8 said...

2. I think Michael was appreciative of the chance he was given by the family and wanted to so his best to improve and make something of himself.

Morgan O 7-8 said...

2) I think that it is hard for people to rise to their full potential when they don't have their fundamental needs met. Once he was adopted he was properly cared for and he saw that someone cared about him. This most likely made him care more and want to make a better life for him self.