Mr_Shank

The characters in this story have changed drastically over the past 10 chapters we read this week.

Cattie: at first she did not seem so bad; she was having fun with Denn and liked him.  As we have now found out she was part of scheme that makes Denn lose most of his money.  Cattie is also a thief because in chapter 10 she stole a pair of earrings from a jewelry store, but ends up giving them away because they do not make her red hair well enough. 

·         Do you think that is the only reason she gave those earring away to the guy in the parking lot or are we still misjudging Cattie, did she feel guilty about taking them?   Could she have double identities or pretending to do this whole scheme for something else?

·         Cattie also did not know Denn when she first agreed to the man and said she would try to “fall in love” with him in chapter 16.

·         Why do you think the mystery man wanted Cattie to fall in love with Denn?  Do you think he knows Morty ad Frisk?

·         What do you feel about Cattie’s character at this point in the story,&  why?

Denn:  Denn has gone from a grand amount of money to a minute amount in the past week or so because of distractions while he was playing poker.  –I find myself thinking that Denn in his mid twenties while I read but I have to remember that he is still a teenager and not much older than us-.  Saying that, in chapter 15 he goes back to his empty apartment and wants to order a pizza because he doesn’t have any food.  

·         If you were living alone in Las Vegas, NV and only had $73 left would you buy a pizza for yourself? 

·         Would you be able to survive on $73 and only get what was complete necessary or would you spend it elsewhere? 

·         Is Denn mature for his age, why or why not?

Jimbo tells Denn about the Big Deal poker competition that is happening at King’s Crossing, a new in town.  The only problem was Denn needed 10K to enter the tournament.  I like how Denn puts his mind to his 10k goal and starts to raise money by playing poker with some older people at Lucy Lous.  Over I think Denn is a good guy who is just trying to live his life.

Jimbo: 

·         Who do you think Jimbo is, good guy, bad guy, old or young, who do you think he is as a person?

Jimbo tries to help Denn the best that he can throughout the chapters and that is all we have basically seen him do so far.

Morty Deasel:  Cattie’s friend who is helping to take down Denn and steal his money out from under him.  Friends with Frisk.

Frisk: Friends with Morty and Cattie

Okay, so this book starts off with Anil arriving at Katunayake Airport and then she was driven into Colombo. When she was younger, Anil was a fantastic swimmer and nobody in Colombo ever let her live that down. Now that she is 33,she doesn’t like people to recognize her as being a swimmer, she wants that to recognize her as Anil- a great anthropologist.

The second day she was in Colombo Anil went to a hospital to workwith forensic students at the hospital. Within a few minutes, Anil had figured out how one of the corpses died, but she left that to the students to figure out.

The next morning she went for a ride in a bajaj, a three wheeled taxi that was opened on both sides. It was raining that day so she felt the rain on her legs and it took her to a flashback of a dinner party that her family had years ago. It started to rain and it pretty much ruined the whole dinner that hosted outside. Next, she met Sarath Diyasena, whom she would be working with in the human rights investigation. He was so interested in her swimming, he didn’t ask her about anything else. Sarath and Anil are staying on a boat where they do a lot of their work. Anil finds out that people have found 3 bodies in government protected caves. Sarath and Anil are going to get a permit so they can go and search for more bodies in those cave and see if the government is the one putting those bodies in there.

On her first weekend, Anil went to her father’s friend’s house. Her name was Lalitha and she is one of few of her dad’s friends that is still alive. She had a short conversation with each other and Lalitha’s granddaughter and then she left. She went to the hospital again to use some equipment and people kept coming up to her asking her if she was the swimmer that got the scholarship. She met Dr. Perera and he asked her to give a 30 minutes speech on snakebites. She had no idea what to say, but she agreed to it anyway. She met another doctor in the hall that knew her father and then he asked her if she the swimmer and she walked away nodding.

The next day, Anil asked Sarath to go get dinner with her, but he declined. She began to ponder what his real job in this investigation really was. Was he a spy for the government? Was he just an archaeologist? Then the book goes into some weird italicized chapter about a man on a train that kills another man when they go through a tunnel. It said there were police officers all over the train, so the police officer that killed the other man was probably there because he government wanted that guy dead. The police officer shoved the dead man out the window after he strangled him with a chain.

Anil flew into Miami and met a man named Cullis. He was in the bathroom withher while she took her bath and she slept with him naked I think. She took her camera and recorded the hotel room and him while he slept. She recorded his “lovely ribs” and his writing.They had met before and went bowling, but being naked around him after meeting him once seems odd to me.

The next chapter goes through people that died and what they were doing the last time they were seen. Man of them were at friend’s houses, taking baths, or even praying. This just goes to show that Sri Lanka was and is a very dangerous place to live.

Sarath and Anil drive up to where the 3 skeletons had been found and they are searching for a 4th. When Sarath and Anil were talking on the ride up to the mountain, we find out how her parents died- in a car crash. It was after she left Sri Lanka and she never saw them again. That is why she didn’t return to Sri Lanka until now. They go for a swim and talk about a friend that taught Sarath a lot who was a monk. He got killed and when Anil asked who killed him, he said “Now we all have blood on our clothes.”

The next day, they go into the cave where the 3 bodies were found. Anil finds a their body that was previously buried. It was burned, but not totally. This body was not prehistoric like all of the others people had found. They named the body Sailor. Anil is sure this body was a victim of a political murder and it sort of seems like Sarath is trying to convince her it is not. She questions him about his relative that works for the government. She does not trust Sarath.

The next day Anil just looks over Sailor and tried to find out how he died and what tests they can do to find out where he was previously buried. Sarath goes out and Anil goes to the rest house owner. She asks him about his wife and says that she’s very nice. Sarath told Anil that his wife died, but the owner of the rest house says that she is still living. Anil gets sick and by noon the next day, she had a terrible headache.

Anil becomes delirious because she is sick and almost cries during dinner. She saw monkeys in the hallways and she believed what she saw. One minute she was freezing and the next she was sweating. Anil tries reading but the lights were too dim. She calls Sarath to bring up brighter bulb and he quickly returns downstairs int he hotel to where he was before. Leaf calls and Anil can barely speak to her be she is so delusional. The next day Anil asks Sarath if she can trust him and he tells her she has to. Anil finds out how Sailor died and he was shot in the neck by a .22.

Next, we find out that Anil’s name is not really Anil. She took that name from her brother and she hated her real name. It took 100 rupees, a pen set, and tin of 50 Gold Leaf cigarettes, and a sexual favor for her get the name “Anil” from her brother.

She met a man named Chitra and he took her out to eat. She found out that he can help her out in finding out where Sailor was first buried. The book then goes to Sarath inspecting all four of the skeletons on the ship. He coats them and takes pictures of them. He takes part of Sailor’s skull and he takes pictures of him without his head. He realizes that he and Anil need help with this mystery.

I chose all 5 of these words because I had no idea what any of them meant.

Anthropology- The scientific study of the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans.

Guerilla- A member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, etc.

Cuneiform- Anatomy. noting or pertaining to any of various wedge-shaped bones, as of the tarsus.

Vainglory- Excessive elation or pride over one’s own achievements, abilities, etc.; boastful vanity.

Languid- Lacking in spirit or interest; listless; indifferent.

Frentic- Frantic; frenzied.

Mallory Stickler =)

Hey guys! Sorry if I am not doing the right post. Just let me know and I will change my role. I will be the character watcher for this round at least. Anyway, so far in this book, we have been introduced to a few characters. They are Dr. David Henry, Caroline, Norah, Pheobe, and Paul. Just so we have an introduction, I will give an overview of each character we have met so far.

Dr. David Henry is a 34 year old doctor living in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife, Norah. So far, his characteristics and actions reveal him to be easily swayed and manipulated by his emotions. He also is one for needing or preferring cold hard proof in a situation, making his new fatherly role a bit difficult.

Caroline is a younger nurse who works beside Dr. David Henry. She has a slight crush on him, but is careful not to show her emotions, for she sees him in a professional environment, and is not the type of person who would care to make his wife upset. She is caring, for she makes it her responsibility to take little Pheobe in as her own for the time being. She is very smart and skilled at her job as well.

Norah Henry is a 23 year old woman living in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, David. So far, she has given birth to a set of twins, unknown to her, and takes her motherly role very seriously. She seems to be a strong woman who has faith in herself and in her husband, when sometimes neither deserve it.

Pheobe is a newborn baby girl with down syndrome. She was one of the twins born to David and Norah one winter evening in a Lexington clinic in the middle of the night. She is somewhat of an embarrassment to her father, and as of now, her mother does not know of her existence. Caroline, the nurse who assisted in the deliverance of her, took her in and is raising her as her own for a while.

Paul is a newborn baby boy born with no problems, unlike his sister. He was one of the twins born to David and Norah one winter evening in a Lexington clinic in the middle of the night. He is the only child Norah knows is living, for David did not make her aware of her daughter, saying that it would make her upset to see her and possibly have her pass away soon. 

What do you guys think of the characters so far?

Do you have any opinions about certain characters?

~Megan Douglas

First of all I will be following the character of the time traveler.  He seems to be an interesting character.  He is quite obviously incredibly smart or a genious, but it seems at this point he may be verging on insanity.  This is atleast the view of the host’s guests.  They think this because of his absurd stories of time travel.  We do not know much personal information about the character, however.  For instance, the author does not tell the reader his name, or anyone’s name in that matter.  We do know that he is a very bold man.  While in a room filled with people he does not seem to have any problem voicing his opinion, even when he is being judged by them.  This is made even more evident by the contrast of the timid people in the room.  Other people seem to have a problem believing him because of his ingeniousness.  As the narrator says if someone else would have told his tales he would have been more likely to believe them.  The description of the character after he returns from “time traveling” is quite absurd.

“His coat was dusty and dirty, and smeared with green down the sleeves; his hair disordered, and as it seemed to me grayer- either with dust and dirt or because its color had actually faded.  His face was ghastly pale; his chin had a brown cut on it- a cut half-healed; his expression was haggard and drawn, as by intense suffering.”

So my questions to you are:

1.  Is the time traveler insane or did he actually discover the way to travel through time?

2.  What is the reason for the author not using anyone’s names?

3.  What do think the reason for his appearance is?

~Erin C.

Pete Hautman created some pretty great characters in this book so far and I can’t wait to start discussing them with you guys.

Character Overviews

Jimbo:  Seems to be the narrator of the story, meets Denn while playing poker, and hasn’t really played a huge role yet.

Denn- 17 year old high school dropout, who moved to Vegas to play poker, great observation skills, in love with a card dealer named Cattie, was played by Cattie, Morty and Frisk but we don’t know why.

Cattie- a 19 girl from Minnesota who worked her way up and now is a great card dealer, keeps things to herself, I think she has some tricks up her sleeve, has multiple “jobs”, and was with Denn.

Morty- helped to set up Denn in poker and play him, gave $10,000 to Cattie (reason unknown).

Frisky- Helped to set up Denn in poker and play him with Morty.

Through out this book I will follow Daisy and see how she changes through out the story.  Just a reminder that we only read the first two chapters and Daisy was only in the first chapter so this post may be short.

So far we know that Daisy is Nick’s (who is the narrator and also lives next to Jay Gatsby) cousin.  She is married to Tom Buchanan and lives in New York.  We also know that there is the rumor of her husband having another woman on the side.  Yet Daisy doesn’t seem to be upset about this.  We can tell by this chapter that Daisy is very independent.  She doesn’t let things upset her such as the rumor of her husband having and affair.  She seems well educated and also by her description she is beautiful.  My question for this week is:  What is your first impression of Daisy?  Do you like or dislike her, why or why not?  As a prediction do you think Daisy will change through out the story and if so how?  Enjoy!

~Lauren Gress~

LAST BLOG!!

Alright, the character I am going to focus on first is Sydney Carton; this man has changed the most out of all the characters in the story.  Carton use to be rude to and jealous of Darnay and Lucie, He loved Lucie even though he couldn’t have her, and he ends of dying for her happiness.  When Carton first comes back into the story in book three he doesn’t want to see Lucie, he doesn’t want emotions to form and something bad to happen between them. 

-If Carton would have seen Lucie the first day he came back what do you think would have happened, would of it been a good or bad occasion?

I think Carton felt like he owed something to Lucie and Darnay because why else would he have saved Darnay from the guillotine?  Overall I was very impressed with Sydney Carton at the end of A Tale of Two Cities.

The next character I would like to talk about is Lucie Manette.  We got to see how much love she had for her husband in book 3 when she would stand outside his prison everyday from 2-4 p.m. even though she couldn’t see him but there was a chance he could see her.  Yes, it is a very “lovey dovey” situation and a bit funny but I think their love is what the story needed to bring everything to together in the end.

-What do you think Charles Dickens message was, if any, when he wrote this story? 

Was it Charles Darnay who buried the shoemaking tools in the garden or was it Mr. Lorry, because at the end of the book after Charles is taken prisoner again Dr. Manette starts to get a bit crazed because he cannot find his shoemaking tools and bench.  His tools and bench were definitely a comfort to him when he had tough times.

-Sydney Carton- Bad guy to good guy dies for Charles Darnay and Lucie’s happiness, a true hero.

-Lucie Manette- Loving wife and caring mother

-Dr. Manette- Great guy who would help a friend in need, loves making shoes when he is stressed.

-Mr. Lorry- Loyal friend

-Madame Defarge- Evil spy, DEAD!

-Miss Pross- good friend, DEAF!

And can we get some discussion going, please?

Great job guys! =]

I chose to follow Carton. He has changed a lot throughout the story. In the beginning he was rude and didn’t really want to deal with people. By the last chapters he is more mature and is willing to do things for others. For example, in chapter 4 Carton says to Darnay, “I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me.” This makes him sound like a misanthrope that doesn’t want to bother with anyone and wants to be left alone. But in the last chapter Carton demonstrates some kindness. When Darnay has been condemned  his family is very upset, so Carton switches clothes with him and dies in his place. I think that was very considerate of him, and I see him as a hero. That is not an easy task, Carton has definately grown a lot.

What do you think caused the change in Carton? Why was he so willing to do what he did for Darnay? Do you think you could have done the same thing?

=)

Alyssa

Colin Easter

In these past chapters the narrator has stayed remarkably calm. He has changed from panicking at the martians arrival to staying calm and thinking about what he needs to do.  We learn that he has a brother but it seems that his introduction is mostly to describe the scene in London.  The narrator seems to be less concerned with his own survival now.  When he saw the martian destroyed in the river, he didn’t immediately try to escape from the resulting wave of scalding water.  The narrator is starting to take the place of a leader.  He is the one who makes the decisions (usually dealing with where to run) when he is with someone else.  For example, when he is with the curator, he is the one who decides to hide in the ditch to escape the martians.  He is still hopeful about the defeat of the martians as well.  Why do you think that the narrator has changed from acting instantly to survive to thinking before acting?  Do you think that the narrator will become more of the leader later in the book?  If so, why is he motivated to become a leader?

In these chapters I have decided to watch and follow the narrators wife. Now I know that we haven’t heard or seen much of this women, but I feel that she is a very important person in this book. She is the reason why the narrator is having all of these adventures. If it weren’t for this women being a part of this man’s life I don’t even think that there would be a book called the War of the Worlds because the man would probably be dead.

The things we know about the narrators wife. She is in Leatherhead hiding with her cousin who (lets face it) is probably going to run away without her if he sees, or comes in contact, with a martian. Another thing that we know is that she is a supporter of her husband (just like every wife), but she is a special person. In the beginning of the book I thought that her husband was away a lot, but she put up with it.

My questions for you are:

What would this book be like if roles were reverse and the narrator’s wife was the narrator? Really think about this question. Think of all of the details that would change. Would the knowledge of the martians change? Think really hard.

Abbey