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The setting of my book is kind of weird. It takes place in three different places. One place it takes place is where Jennifer goes to jog, where the blackberry bushes are. Another setting my book takes place in is at the police station where Jennifer went to get questioned. The police station is also where the detective wanted Jennifer to see a therapist. & The last setting of my book takes place at Jennifer's house. Her & her family, besides her sister Cass, who's never there, are obviously at her house a lot. Her dad works on his cooking career there. & they spend a lot of time at their home, like most people do.

heyyyy

In my book, the narrarator is the main character. Her name is Jennifer, & she's telling her story, & what she made up & what not. She was the one who was talking the whole time, about when she planned her "attempted rape", & everything else. & her dad is really worried about her, & is trying to get her bodyguards to jog with, & hes also talking about getting a gun. Now Jennifer is worried that her dad is going to hurt himself, & she didn't think that it would go this far.

In the beginning of this novel called Inexcusable ,Keir and his girlfriend Gigi Bondikan fights. There fight seem interesting but you don't know what they are fighting about. Gigi slaps and punches Keir and calls him bad names. So they breakup. But when you read this book towards the middle of it you see that Keir and Gigi go out to eat and talk after their prom. Keir is so kind to her because Gigi feet hurt from walking in her heels so Keir helped her took off her shoes and when inside he restaurant. The waitress was mean, she told Gigi to put her shoes back on because that was against the rules of the restaurant. Gigi didn't listen so there was this conflict with this waitress and Gigi. So the waitress kick them out. I can see how this part of the story looks like. I think that Gigi is a type a girl who don't care about what people say to her like if they talk to her in a mean way. That's how I am. I think I can relate Gigi and me. But Keir tells Gigi do she love him and she says no that she likes him only as a friend. I think that Gigi do love him she don't want to admit it. I don't know why she said no when he ask that simple question to her. I think they should go back out. Keir is a nice person. Probably more into the chapters they will go out and eventually fall madly in love and get married.

The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold, Chapters 10-14

Sometimes we are pulled toward one or two characters in the story. We identify with them or feel sympathy for them. With which characters do you identify in the book, and why do you believe you identify with them?

Well, the first character I'd have to say i relate to is Susie, the main character. She tells the story of her death and how it has effected the lives of her family and friends, and makes it sound so real. You have no choice but to feel sorry for the girl. I also relate to her because, call me cheesy for saying this or whatever, but i have always wondered what happened to people and their souls when they die. Even though its just a story, some body believes that that's what happens, and it leaves your mind open to your imagination.

The second character i can relate to is Susie's sister Lindsey. She doesn't know exactly how to deal with her older sisters death. If any one of my two sisters died, I wouldn't know how to deal with it either! Especially if I found out my sisters were murdered. I would go out every day and night to try and find their killer! But at the same time, I would be hurting inside, like Lindsey, and keeping to myself, because I wouldn't know how to deal with the pain either.

hi

so it says in the book that he's finaly ready to go back to school. This book is really good because i like never know whats gunna happen next in it like in the chapter that i jus tread he's talking about all the bad stuff he's done and how many feelings he's hurt over time. and he just wants all of that to go way and its beginning to because he's starting to see how other people felt. I cant wait to get to the end of this book because its teaching me alot of new things. He's actualy a good kid and he wants everyone to see that. I Really think his family is starting to see all the changes he's made.

hey

so im half way through my book and so far it is really good. so far he is living his life over and he's telling everyone how sorry he is for the way he acted before and he 's starting to change his life around and his parents are really proud and happy for him because he's starting to become more and more mature everyday. I think that they might actually be amazed by all of the changes he's made. I think that this book is a great source for teenagers who have a rough life and wanna just start over and think its to late but really its not..

hi

So far in my book, Jennifer is at the police station, & she is getting questioned, & they are taking pictures of her injuries, even though she caused them herself when she threw herself down the hill. But although Jennifer made up the attempted rape, she isn't being very smart about it. She is the very first victim that the police know of so far that has heard the attackers voice. No one else was spoken to by the attacker, when they were really attacked. & although Jennifer didn't really hear the attackers voice, because she wasn't really attacked, she said she did. Jennifer also said that he grabbed her, & she hit him & them he pushed her & threw her down the hill. I think that she's going to keep lying & get all caught up in her lies, & that's going to be her downfall, & what causes her to get caught in all of these lies.

Inexcusable

Keir is this novel is loving and caring. He says and I believe it that good boys don't do anything bad.He lives with his father which his name is Rey. His father gives him lots of things. Keir and his father bond a lot. They play the game of Risk and they compete at who is going to own which land on the game board. Mary and Fran are his older sisters who are in college already and wants Keir to follow their footsteps in life. Rey, Keir and Keir's sisters father don't care about Mary and Fran. This can be a problem because his sisters probably think that their so called nice father is treating Keir right. But Keir loves his father. He thinks everything is going great with his father not like his mother treated Keir but Rey is a good father to me I think.

The Allure of the West

<i>Into the Wild</i>, Jon Krakauer, pgs 144-207 (end)

<i>Death of a Salesman</i>, Arthur Miller, pgs 1-97

So, I finished <i>Into the Wild</i> and started rereading a book that I'm studying with my AP Literature class.  As I read the first act of the play I was struck by the similarity between Chris McCandless and many of the characters from <i>Death of a Salesman</i>.  The main character of this story, Willy Loman frets over a missed opportunity to accompany his older brother to Alaska to make money. Instead he is 60 and stuck in a dead end sales job.  Interestingly enough, Willy's father abandoned <i>him</i> as a child to also seek fortune in Alaska.  In a weird twist, Willy is disappointed in his son Biff because he is constantly seeking work outside of the norm of the day.  He's worked on cattle farms and other jobs that Willy does not respect.  Biff explains that he likes these jobs because he's not stuck inside at a desk and can be out in the open air.

In American culture the west has always been symbolic of the open frontier, a vast unexplored wilderness where a man could make his living outside of the realm of laws and societal constraints.  It's interesting that these two books, written 50 years apart, have such similar themes.

Does anyone else know of any characters who seek a life outside of society?  Anyone have a friend or family member who constantly wants to go out on the open road?  What do you think drives a person to feel like this?

__________________________________________________

<b>Dear Blogger:</b>  This is not a spam post.  I am mailing to publish this on all of my student's blogs in order to provide a sample and to engage in discussions.  Please call off the spambots.

part 2

In the first couple chapters of my book, Jennifer starts her plan to make it appear that she was raped. She was going for a run, & then she threw herself down a hill, and got all scratched up & everything, then walked out onto the road where a cop car was driving by, & they stopped, & thats when Jennifer told them that she was raped. They wanted to take her in for questioning, & to find out more about her situation so they could find out who did that to her. Little do they know that there is no attacker, & that Jennifer is making the whole thing up. I want to find out what's going to happen next in the book, & I want to see how long it takes them to figure out what she's doing, & why she's doing it.

hey again

So far my book is really good i've read chapters one through four and in those chapters he talks about his life and how his life was kinda different from others. He's one of those boys that sorta gets himself in some awkward situations and doesnt really know how to get himself out. He lives with hs parents but there kinda having promblems and that put's some stress on him. His friends kind encourage him to do some stuff that kinda gets out of hand. So therfore he has to get himself out. Im really looking forward to what happens next in my book because its a really good book so far.

hiii

The book I am reading is called "rundown". It's written by Michael Cadnum. It is about a girl, who sets herself up, to make it appear that she was raped. She thinks she did a good job setting up her plan, but she didn't do as good of a job as she thought she did, & someone knows about what she's doing. What I like about this book so far, is that it makes you wonder what's going to happen next, & it makes you want to know if people are going to find out that she was lying about the whole thing all along.

The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold, Chapters 1-9

The plot of the book pulled me into reading the book! It is about a 14 year old girl who gets raped and murdered and tells how her death has effected the lives of her family and friends. After her death, she went into what she calls her "heaven." From there she watches her family and friends and how they are living their lives day by day still effected by her death. She tells about people she met in her "heaven" as well. How one older lady reminds her of her mother and this girl about the same age is like one of her friends. She tries to let the people around her know that she's still around, but the only one who catches on so far is her father. It also tells how her best friend had pretty much turned into a rebel sort after her death. Her sister had found a boyfriend, and her little brother was still too young to understand what had happened to his big sister. The people most effected by this were her parents. Her mother acting like a zombie, not paying attention half the time and her father, always finding something to do to keep his mind off of his daughters death.

(This is in responce to the second bullet under conflict.)

The book that I'm reading is called Inexcusable and the author of this book is Chris Lynch. This book is about a boy who says he is a good, intelligent and a football player. He thinks that good guys dont do bad things. One thing I like about this book is that its a raw and powerful book that will make its way into your heart and haunt you.

Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer Pages: 1-144

So, the book I'm reading is about this early twenty something kid who
is pretty alienated. It's a nonfiction book, and since I haven't
summed it up yet in a previous response, it's about a kid who is
searching for meaning in life and seeks this meaning by exploring.
At the beginning of the book we find out that he ends up dying in the
middle of Alaska to exposure.

Even though I think I'm supposed to, I'm having a really hard time
identifying with the main character, Chris McCandless. I look at
the cover and there's this picture of Emile Hirsch portraying
McCandless. He's a good looking kid, and he's kind of sitting in this
"top of the world" type dominant pose. The author seems to really
identify with the character, and spends a couple of chapters relating
his own similar experiences. And McCandless is seemingly the rugged,
individualistic antihero that Americans celebrate.

But, I can't get into him, and I think it's because I'm a parent
now. I see the way this kid abandoned his parents, went off into the
middle of nowhere, took chances, didn't write home, and espoused his
theories on the way life works to whomever would listen, and I'm
like, "dude...call your mom, dad and sister. They're worried sick."
The kid is kind of portrayed as this spiritual, deep Thoreau quoting
prophetic figure, but he just strikes me as naive and self centered.
I don't know what I'd do if I was his parent. I would be devastated
if my son took off after graduating college and just disappeared.
It's really rather sad.

(By the way, if you're wondering, this response is to the 7th bullet
under character. The total length of this response is 279 words. I
summed up the book to start because I figured you'd need that
information, but then I really tried to stick to talking about
whether or not I identified with the main character and why.)

Hello

hello everyone i am reading a book called rewind. its about a boy who has made lots of mistakes in his life, until one day he gets hit by a car and all he asks for is one change to live his life over. one thing i like about the book so far is that it deals with giving second changes to people and i think everyone deserves a second chance. by: Jessica Tyler

The title of my book is The Lovely Bones. The Author is Alice Sebold. The story is about a girl who gets raped and murdered by a man in her neighborhood and nobody knows about it. She tells her story from her "heaven" and describes how her death has effected her family and friends.

One thing I like about the book is the tone the author uses and the suspense she builds. She give s the book so much life by the details she uses. She makes you feel like it happened to you or like your in the story because you can visualize everything she describes due to the vivid details she uses!

Your 1st Post!

Today in class we will be posting to our blogs. To keep things simple, this
first post will be a kind of introductory thing. Here's what I'd like each
of you to write (make sure it is under your own display name):

1. In 2-3 sentences, give us a taste of the book. What is the title? Who
is the author? What is the "gist"? (It's about a girl who...)
2. In a separate paragraph of 2-3 sentences, finish this sentence: One
thing I like (or don't like) about the book so far is...

Welcome

Hello folks. I just wanted to give you a hearty welcome to the
blogosphere (the world of weblogs, according to my widget dictionary).

I'm going to send you more meaty information in the next few days
(right now I'm testing out the "mail to blogger" option I told some
of you about today).

But for now, I want to talk to you about grammar and conventions.
These are blogs for my English class, and I expect you to follow the
rules of standard English as best as you can. Some of our previous
rm305 blog discussions were replete with mistake after mistake. You
may IM your friends and write on Myspace one way, but on these blogs
we are going to assume a more academic diction.

Thanks for the help. If you have any questions, let me know.