Mr_Shank

In this section of the story the time traveler is at the Palace of Green Porcelain. He is then running through the woods after he sets it on fire, being chased by the morlocks. He spends the night dazed in pure confusment. He lost his friend and the flames rage all around him. This scene reminds me of The Lord of the Flies. This scene is closely related to the scene were jack lights the whole island on fire. Ralph must run for his life in this pure confusion. They both have lost their friends and must fend for themselves. They both were the middle ground, Ralph the Ego and the time traveler the being between this light and dark.

     So my questions for you are, since Ralph made it home safely with the help of the coast guard do you think that the time travel will make it home with the help of somebody else or is it all his doings? Finally the scene were he goes crazy and is pounding the ground for help begging in exasperated weakness to be clear of this horror, do you believe that this changed him in a way. Will he ever recover from this trauma or will he go crazy and loose his sense with reality? Thanks a lot. Sorry if I revealed anything.

-Taran

Wow! A lot of action! First Blevins is executed! Then Rawlins is stabbed. OUCH! And we can’t forget about John Grady! I can’t believe that about Blevins, do you think he deserved it? I can’t quite figure it out. Then the fact that when they got out of jail they realized that it was the Aunt that bailed them out. Why do you think she did that? Do you think she realized what she did was the wrong thing? Has she realized how much John Grady and Alejandra mean to each other? All of these are running through my head.

Then Rawlins wants to go home, to Texas, and John Grady is going to go and try to take his princess (Alejandra) back. Didn’t they say that they weren’t going to leave each other? Will John Grady get her back? Is this whole getting out of jail thing a joke? Feel free to ask some questions of your own.

-Abbey

Since last reading, a lot has happened to all of the characters. It is difficult to stick to one character throughout this story, for they all have very large changes happening to them. Therefore, I am going to write a little section on each, like I have done in previous posts.

Dr. David Henry:  David is becoming more and more materialistic, both in his own life and even in the life of his son. He does not wish for Paul to follow his “dream” of music but rather wants him to persue a career that would make him a fairly wealthy man. Although David is in this situation having a doctoral career, he is not very happy with his life and I believe that he is trying to live a better life through his son. Because he was unseccussful with his life choices, he does not want to be known as a failure and if he could make his son sucedssful then he would not be known as such. Any thoughts on David’s persistance?

Norah Henry: It has been made obvious throughout the book, especially soon after the babies were born, that Norah is neither happy nor proud of her husband. Her sister, Bree, continues to question his decisions that involve the family and Norah tries again and again to defend her husband, but finds it increasingly difficult. This is a sign of a weak relationship for she either does not agree with anything he does, or does not find it important to involve herself in his life or decisions. Her actions with other men shows the reader how uncommited the couple is to each other. She is not very honest and is not shaping up to be an innocent character, like she came across in the beginning.

Caroline: This nurse and caretaker of Pheobe is a thinker. This means that I think that she is very in touch with her mind and thoughts. She has many contradicting ideas of what to do and think about David. She had at one point, and maybe even will continue to, love him which makes it hard to go against him and his wishes. But her instincts told her not to continue to the mental institute to where David wanted to his daughter. Since then, she has been making more and more decisions by herself without consulting anyone else. The situations she has been through has made her a very independent character, a very positive attribute to have as a person.

What do you guys think about the relationships between the three of them?

Is there anything that ties them all together?

Will Norah ever meet Pheobe? Would Caroline ever let this happen?

~Megan Douglas 

Aright, so I’m going to start off by talking about the theme of Chapter 6.  If you read my last post, I talked about how it was mainly about Gatsby achieving his dream of being with Daisy.  Chapter 6 serves to show Nick (and the reader) just how devoted Gatsby has been to fulfilling this dream. 

Now that that’s out of the way, I’d like to mention part of the plotline of the chapter.  Throughout most of it, we are learning the real story of Gatsby’s past – not the rumors circulating, or even the outrageous stories Nick was told in the car ride to New York.  By revealing Gatsby’s true past, the mystery around him disappears and the reader can see him as a real person for the first time in the novel.  However, up until now, Gatsby has been perpetuate most of these rumors himself.  So here’s my question: Why does Gatsby spread rumors about himself?  Or, more acurately, why does he not tell the truth?

My next topic is based on Gatsby’s pursuit of his dreams.  Now that we’ve learned about his past, we have also learned that most of his life has been spent chasing after Daisy.  It’s also important to mention how little Gatsby has grown since the age of 17 to now.  His life is still consumed with getting her, whatever it takes.  Gatsby is very determined, you have to give him that.  But this all-out desperation to win over Daisy seems a little bit dangerous to me.  How can dreams be both good and bad at the same time?

To start Chapter 7, I’d like to talk about two characters we haven’t seen that much of: Tom and Daisy.  Let’s start off with Tom.  Personally, I think he’s quite a funny character.  He’s so arrogant and conceeded that it’s almost comical.  In this chapter, I found him particularly amusing.  The scene in which Daisy proclaims her love for Gatsby is the one that I was basing this off.  She goes up to him boldly and kisses him in full view of Tom.  Tom becomes enraged because he finally confirms his suspicions that his wife is having an affiar.  But wasn’t he the one that had a mistress in New York?  Isn’t that just a tad ironic?  Why do you think this confirmation angers Tom?

Now on to Daisy.  Up until now, she hasn’t had much depth to her.  In this chapter she begins to evolve more as a character, but I’m not so sure that it’s a good change.  My scene regarding Daisy is the same scene that I used to talk about Tom.  In my opinion, her going up to Gatsby and proclaiming her love is showing me that she is playing mind games with those around her.  She is simply using Gatsby to prove a point to Tom – to get back at him, to make him jealous. 

But I’m not done talking about Daisy yet.  If we go back to the hotel scene, it appears to me that Daisy left Gatsby out to dry under Tom’s anger.  She obviously doesn’t really care for him and never really intends to leave Tom.  As if this doesn’t degrade her character enough, there is also the incident involving Myrtle and the car.  Although it can’t be certain that Daisy did it on purpose, it seems that her quest for revenge on Tom got the better of her.  The person she hit with the car was Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, so I’m thinking that she hit her on purpose.  What do you guys think?  Also, what does this accident reveal about Daisy’s character?  What does this chapter as a whole reveal about her character?

Recap:

1. Why does Gatsby spread rumors about himself?  Or, more acurately, why does he not tell the truth?
2. How can dreams be both good and bad at the same time?
3. Why do you think the confirmation of Daisy’s affair angers Tom?
4. Do you think Daisy hit Myrtle on purpose?  Why or why not?
5. Also, what does this accident reveal about Daisy’s character?  What does this chapter as a whole reveal about her character?

That’s all for now! 

Erin B. 

Wow this had to be the most revealing part of reading so far in this book.  We have learned about Artie Kingston, why Cattie is the way she is and how Denn is going to get into The Big Deal.  This book continues to be a great read.

To start off I would like to talk about a passage instead of a quote.  Throughout chapter 21Cattie explains what her childhood and her mother were like.  Her mother always had money problems.  She would leave Cattie at home alone, while she was out with her many boyfriends.  When she was home she told Cattie that money meant happiness. This is was obviously important to the way Cattie turned out to be.  Like her mother , Cattie steals and will do anything for money.  Though in the end of this chapter Cattie says that money does not bring her happiness.  Do you guys think that money means happiness in Cattie’s case.  I believe she is correct, it doesn’t.  This is proven when she is dating Denn.  She seems to be having lots of fun.  She even is sad when she had to set him up.  When earning money Cattie seems upset and tired. So it seems to me that inside Cattie feels that love is the most important thing.

“So why didn’t you let the guys at the Bellagio finish me off?  For that matter, how come you didn’t just sit in on that game and finish me off yourself?  Why set me up with Morty and Frisk?  Why use Cattie?” (Pg. 111) This could be the most important quote of the entire book.  This is said by Denn to Artie Kingson about why he set him up.  First we must remember who Artie is.  He is that old man who Denn won the restaurant from.  When Denn won Artie said that he would get Denn bask.  So he set him up.  Artie goes on to say that the only reason why he used those people to set Denn up was to show that all of Denn’s friends didn’t care about him.  This shows what type of person Artie is (bad).  Even after he told Denn that he set him up he ask if Denn will be going to the Big Deal.  It is Artie’s tournament and he is in it.  Do you guys think that Denn should go to it?  I feel that Denn should just stay at home.  First, he knows that if he does go Artie will have a way for Denn to lose.  Second, Denn doesn’t even have enough money to get in to it.  Lastly, there is only one winner.  The odds that Denn will win are low.

What do you guys think of this quote and passage?

-Julian Garcia

Okay guys so a lot has unfolded during chapters 20-34.  We have learned more about the characters and Pete Hautman is getting more in-depth with their decisions and stories.

Albert Kingston- A.K.A. mystery man.  Remember at the beginning of the book when Denn bought a restaurant from a guy, well this is that guy.  This guy is a creep, he hits on younger women, Cattie, and just reading about his actions scares me.  This guy is up to no good and Denn and Cattie both know it.  Albert owns Kings Crossing which was all a set up for Denn to loss more money.  What do you guys think of Albert?  What do you think of him entering his own poker tournament, fair or not fair?

Cattie Hart-  Bad girl, not really.  Cattie has taken a beating through life, growing up in a trailer park and having a slut as a mom can rally bend your character.  Cattie is a good girl and knows what she is doing, she isn’t easy even though she can seem like a bit of a “gold digger” at times.  She knows when to say no and is quite responsible.  Cattie still likes Denn a lot and it shows when she offers him 10 grand for the Kings Crossing tournament.  If you still don’t think Cattie is on Denn’s side please explain your reasons why.  Do you think Cattie will stay on Denn’s side or go back with Albert?  Did she ever have a choice?

Denn-  Could care less about money right now, his main focus is Cattie.  He fell hard for this girl and does not want to see her get hurt.  Denn is getting better at playing poker and now we just have to wait and see if he will win the Big Deal.

It seems to me that this story is going around in a circle, that you can kind of see what is going to happen.  Do you guys agree?

Also, do you think Cattie and Denn will become a couple again now that we know they still care for each other?

-Rebecca Krick

Okay, this post should be covering chapters 15-21 (you should read chapter 21!!!). This is a pretty interesting part of the book. Below, as usual, are some questions

1. In chapter 18, Van Helsing and every major character in the book meet and they are told of the legend of the Nosferatu (un-dead). What do you make of this scene? Could you tell it was coming? Explain.

Here’s a hint: what is the purpose of this scene?

2. It is revealed that Dracula has been feeding on Mina. How does he get it? Dracula can’t get into a house without being invited. Lucy was bitten outside when she was sleepwalking. What are your opinions on this?

3. In your opinion, who do you think fits the character of damsel in distress better: Lucy or Mina? Explain your thinking.

4. You might need to look up this question: How does the scene where Mina drinks Dracula’s blood mock Christianity? I know this is probably a difficult question, but it seemed to just come to me when I read this scene.

And a Happy Easter to you!!! (sorry if you don’t celebrate Easter)

In this section of the book we learn more about Sarath’s brother, Gamini, and his work as a doctor. We learn about his obsession with his work and how being the second born children made him more secluded and secretive. We also learn that he has become addicted to speed and that he used to love Sarath’s wife.

Gamini is not working with Sarath and Anil on uncovering the truth about Sailor, so why do you think that the author chose to go into so much detail about him?

Also, Ananda, the man who worked with them to reconstruct Sailor’s face just tried to kill himself. Why do you think he did this?

Adam Lough

Regardless of Brett’s doubting predictions about my posting status, here’s the third post.

1977 -

Caroline accepted Al’s proposal, and they have been married for five years now. That means Paul and Phoebe are 13 years old, which brings along the tough transition into teenage years. Phoebe was confirmed. The private nurse, Dorothy, has retired, and starts a new chapter with Trace, her lover.

Over the years, Caroline has saved up the money David sent for Phoebe and she now put it into a trust fund. David wants Phoebe and Paul to meet, and sent Caroline a letter about a possible encounter. Caroline rejects the idea because she feels that David basically neglected Phoebe until now while she is making progress, not turning out to be just some mentally handicapped child.

Meanwhile, Paul has turned out to have a very talented gift for music, and hopes of Julliard. Norah and David continue to drift even farther from each other, and now differ on their views of Paul’s future. Norah wants him to follow his dreams and be content, but David wants him to choose a career that will lead to money. Norah ends up having an affair that David knows about, but the subject never comes up.

Words to Watch -

vocation – a particular occupation; a ‘calling’ (David says he would hate for Paul to miss his vocation, that he should pursue basketball with his height.)

immaculate – free from spot or stain (Norah cleaned the kitchen of all evidence before she and David went back inside)

perspective – the mental view or prospect (David mentions that the viewer of the picture he’s taken of Norah will notice elements in the photo, and then their eye will be caught by something, and they will have to look for “the woman” in the photo.)

Which brings us to our riveting discussion topic of the week.

Do you all think that what David (and Norah) said about perspective can tie into the story as a whole? Could it have ‘helped’ David make the decision about Phoebe? Could different perspectives be the driving factor that pushes David and Norah apart?