Fifth Post

Two Elements

 in my book, "Invisible Monsters" by Chuck Palahniuk, I've noticed that a constant is that all the characters want to be loved for who they are, and will go very far to get that sort of attention. For instance, Shannon McFarlane, the main character, as it had been described throughout the book, suffered a gunshot to her head, blowing off her jaw as her was driving. Her life seemed lovely right before, she was a beautiful model and dating a gorgeous guy, and was wealthy. In reality, Shannon shot off her own jaw, because she knew that forever if not, she would get most of her attention because she was beautiful, not for what's inside. Another example of how I see that trait within the characters could be
within Brandy Alexander. As it turns out, Brandy is Shannon's brother, Shane who has step by step been physically becoming a female, and looking exactly like Shannon used to.
As a teenager, when a sore throat turned out to be gonorrhoea and his parents found out and accused and didn't accept him of being gay, he suffered a terrible "accident" when a hairspray can exploded and blew up in his face in a garbage can and he finally got all the attention that he craved, out of sympathy.

Another factor that I think is important is the some of the characters ability to remould and in a way restart, parts of their lives. Shannon remoulded her life the way she wants by changing her appearance by disfiguring her face to be loved differently, “I'm so tired of being me. Me beautiful. Me ugly. Blonde. Brunette. A million fucking fashion makeovers that only leave me trapped being me.

Who I was before the accident is just a story now. Everything before now, before now, before now, is just a story I carry around. I guess that would apply to anybody in the world. What I need is a new story about who I am.

What I need to do is fuck up so bad I can't save myself.” (Chuck Palaniuk, Invisible Monsters) and her brother changes as far as changing his sex and his looks, starting over as Brandy Alexander.

Fourth Post

I think that in my novel, Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson, the protagonist Lia shows a lot of perseverance  in which when being told to give up by her conscience, and in not wanting to eat at all and hating her life so thoroughly, she still decides that she should eat enough to keep herself alive, though food itself repulses her. If not for her perseverance however, which  I entirely feel she had considered, her death would greatly effect the people around her. For example, her young stepsister Emma at one point in the novel walks in as Lia is cutting herself (insert quotation) and that very obviously effects Emma's well-being as she is very young, and becomes unallowed by their parents to be around Lia for a significant amount of time, which Lia did not plan on and had tried to prevent. I think she very often shows empathy, shown in my previous examples but also in the fact that throughout, other people's problems make her sadder than she is already, such as the strictness, neatness and lack of courage to be spontaneous of her mother, and of course Cassie and her taking on eachothers problems as their own.

Second Post

Imagery

In the book that I am reading, called invisible monsters by chuck palahniuk, a huge element, greatly effecting the way the story is told is imagery. Imagery is "Visually descriptive or figurative language, esp. in a literary work." Imagery is very prominent in this book, because looks seem to be a value of many of the main characters, or their looks are abnormal and eccentric and in a world of fashion and vanity that they find themselves in, without imagery everything including their looks (which established several of their careers as models ) would be vague and hard to picture. This goes for three of the most important characters,  Manus, the ex-boyfriend of the protagonist Shannon, who is obsessed with himself, the mysterious Brandy Alexander, and Shannon, the ex-model protagonist who's jaw had been shot off, morphing her face, ability to speak, and of course career and the way others treat her forever. She becomes 'invisible.'

Third Post

A book that I am currently reading, (along with "Wintergirls") is a book called "Lolita" by Vladmir Nabokov. It is, so I've been told, a classic, and an important book of last century, although it is banned in a few places. The book is narrated by the main character, Humbert Humbert, in first person. Humbert is a pedophile, but he's not out raping or molesting or destroying the young girls that he likes, he instead calls the girls, age 9-14, his little "nymphettes", and watches them, seemingly harmlessly, captivated by them and respecting their boundaries. However, the story follows Humberts life, in which he was never attracted to the women of appropriate age ever since his first love died of tuberculosis after a summer fling, which he seems to blame his attraction to the innocent on. Because of this, throughout his life, when he can he leans towards women who look young, petite and awfully youthful for their age such as his ex-wife was. Otherwise, coincidentally  he is a teacher. Humbert, after a long series of events ends up renting part of a widows house, where she lives with her young daughter. That's where Humbert meets 12 year old Dolores, or as he calls her, Lolita. This book contains many themes, however a theme of reoccurring rebellion to society's ideas of acceptable age difference in relationships always competes with Humbert's mindset, as his preferred age for is partners is inappropriate, and also, there is in a way, revolution as another reoccurring theme, in the way that Humbert doesn't want what he is "supposed to" want in age, sneaking by the public eye.

First Post

Three qualities I expect in a good book include firstly, lots of detail, enough to thoroughly allow you to understand and visualize whats going on, secondly, strong characters with developed backgrounds (or mysteriously underdeveloped ones) and thirdly, a good and interesting plot. The book I have read so far in english class, Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, contains all of these factors, and I'm really enjoying it.

As for an interesting plot, this book is great. It starts off in a very sad, unfortunate place, the main character Lia's best friend Cassie has mysteriously passed away and Lia is devastated. She becomes even more antisocial, "...my walls go up and my doors lock. I nod like I'm listening, like we're communicating and she never knows the difference." though she had already been in the past, and also suffering from anorexia for years as it touches on too. Lia is obviously not okay. As the story has gone on, it seems like memories are surfacing, ever so mysteriously about Cassie and Lia's friendship and all of the secrets they've shared, which just makes you eager and curious to read on.