Mr_Shank

This book to me is heating up.  I feel we have just reached the climax because of the fact that the wedding is going to occur.  Will Claudio marry her?  Will Don John get into the minds of both the prince and Claudio?  I think not because love can overcome anything, and I think Shakespeare wants to make drama occur to show that love is powerful.  What are your thoughts on this so called affair that really never happened?  I think it is wrong to say but it does heat up the climax of this book.

Next I would like to talk about Benedick.  Will he get married?  I think so but I also think he will find out that tricks are being played to set these two up.  I feel that it is wrong, but in a way it might allow for him to loosen up.

Lastly I would like to discuss the title.  A Much Ado About Nothing does not seem to mean anything right now.  I feel that Shakespeare wrote this for himself and did not want it to be out in public.  I think a better title could have been selected if he were to show it in the theater.  What do you guys think on this matter?  Do you think that there is a better title?  I would have selected something funnier such as Mistaken Identities, which would give the reader a clue to what will happen.  I have seen no clues to predict what will happen next.  Out of nowhere Shakespeare adds anything.  Also my title would make sense as people have dressed up like one another, and have even tricked people into love. 

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

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

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.

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 have decided to follow Lucie and her father, Dr. Manette throughout this reading.  They both go through strong ups and downs.  Both also play big roles throughout the second book.  We also get a lot of our questions answered about them.

First I would like to talk about Lucie.  Last time there were many questions that were left without answers.  We learned that Charles Darnay is in love with her and was going to ask for her hand in marriaged.  It was also learned that Mr. Stryver asked for Lucie, but he was turned down.  Was Lucie going to marry Darnay?  This question was answered with a huge yes.  The two finaly got married.  They decided to live in an apartment above of Dr. Manette.  Lucie and him have developed a great, strong relationship.  These livind arrangements should keep these two happy.  Later in the story we find out that the marriage is going great.  Charles is treating her well.  They also have had a little girl with the name of Lucie.  Unfortunatly all this good news for Lucie ends when her second child dies when only a toddler.  This upsets Lucie.  She seems to be kind of depressed.  With this I believe it is important to ask if Lucie will recover and continue a happy marriage with Charles?  Will her relationship continue to get better with her father?  The outcome of these questions will control the outcome of mthis story.

Next I would like to talk about Dr. Manette.  He is now freed and back to normall living.  Him and his daughter have a great relationsip.  It almost seems that he needs her.  When she gets married he says that he is upset at losing her.  Though he isn’t really losing her, she will be right up above from him.  He is so worried that he might lose his daughter that he starts making shoes again.  This is very confusing.  He is going back to his old way of living.  He makes shoes for nine days straight.  Mr. Lorry and Miss Pross think this is terrible and that Lucie can not see her father like this.  Eventually Dr. Manette is back to normal.  Why did Dr. MAnette do this?  Will Lucie find out about this breakout that her father had?

-Julian Garcia

Alright as the character watcher I want to discuss Mr.Lorry, Darnay, and Monsieur the Marquis. 

First lets start off with Mr.Lorry.  He seems to be an obvious main character in this story.  So anyways in these 12 chapters of the book 2, he is in the trial and marriage problem.  In the rial he is a witness where Darnay, is found not guilty.  Also in the marriage, Mr. Stryver comes to him to talk about the topic of marrying Ms.Manette.  So it almost seems to me as Mr.Lorry is like the town mayor.  What do you think of the identity that Dickens has gave Mr.Lorry.  Do you agree that he is like a mayor?

Next lets talk about Darnay.  In his part of the book he has had a trial of treason, and is also apart of the marriage problem.  He is the main one in the trial, because it is said that he was targeting French, and English soldiers.  What did you guys think about the trial?  Was he guilty?  Also he was apart of the marriage.  His fate was not yet determined, but Mr.Stryver was.  Do you think that they could make a good couple?  Also do you think that his name thing will affect his chance with Ms.Manette?

Then we have Monsieur The Marquis, which is a powerful lord that is stuck up.  He only thinks of himself.  In his part he kills a poor boy, when he ran him over with his coach.  What he does is throw money and keep going.  It makes me sick when I read about this part, because what man could possibly do that?  What do you guys think of this part?   Also should the wealthy be able to treat the poor like this?  This book is making me sick just thinking of how brutal it is to be poor.

That is it for main characters in the book , but lets look at the minor characters.

-Mr. Stryver- A pretty wealthy man who wanted to marry Ms.Manette, but was rejected.

-Dr.Manette-Did play a role in the trial, and discussed the matters of marriage with his daughter.

-Ms.Manette-Played a witness role in the trial, and was the one that was basically deciding on marriage.

Do you think that Ms.Manette will get married in these next couple chapter?

These are all the characters I have for you, so answer the questions with thorough explanations.

-Leah

It has come clear that a major charchter in this novle is Mr.Lorry.  He is a banker at the Tellson’s.

CHAPTER1-  Not very much detail in the first chapter except for we get an idea on how the Kings and Queens of the two cities are very mean, and mistreat the poor.

CHAPTER2-  We learn that Mr. Lorry is acually Mr. Jarvis Lorry.  We find this out when a stranger comes up to the carrige and asks for him.  The stranger brings a message, that instructs him to wait at Dover for “Mam’selle.”   He says that he will give him the message.  It is very funny that this stranger knows that this carrige knows Mr. Lorry,and can give him the message.  Then Mr.Lorry replies to the message that he was “Recalled to life.”  What do you thnk that this means considering that this was chapter 1 title?  Does he know what the stranger was talking about?

CHAPTER3-This book seems to be getting pretty strange.  In this chapter Mr.Lorry is having a bad dream where he meets this dude that has been buried for 18 years and alive.  They have a conversation but it always talks about a girl.  It seems to me that the message from the stranger would explain it all.  Does anyone have a better understanding of this weird dream?

Chapter4-Wow now the message is coming to sence.  Mr.Lorry went to Dover and met a girl named Miss Manette .  She understands that now she is going to take a over a small property of her older father.  But the catch comes in when Mr.Lorry also tells her that he is to be alive in Paris and they are going there to identify him.  The dream comes to sence now as the guy was the father to Ms. Manette.  What kind of thoughts are going through your guys heads as you keep seeing more and more unfold?  Also what do you think about this Mr.Lorry/Banker?

CHAPTER5-All the charchters that I see in this chapter are an older gentlmen.  This chapter takes place in Paris so I do believe that it is the father of Ms.Manette.

CHAPTER6-Alright Mr.Lorry and the daughter enter a shop where a man is making a shoe.   Mr.Lorry adresses him as Dr.Manette.  He answers as he is in a state of depression after he sees his daughter.  They enter a carrige and they leave.  This book is getting more interesting, but what do you think of this Doctor?

SOME MINOR PEOPLE IN THE STORY-Ms.Manette-she is an orphan who has never seen her father.

Dr.Manette- the father, who hasn’t see his daughter in a while.  Is supposebly dead.  I link this dude to the message for Mr.Lorry.

-Alex