Blog Post #4: Marked

     

     My novel, “Marked” by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast is told in first person. I think the authors chose this point of view because having the protagonist's (Zoey's) feelings being told along with what is actually happening physically in the story gives us as readers a better story to read and relate to. The protagonist shares their thoughts on each character and setting which gives us an insight to the character's feelings and moods which helps us overall relate to the character in different ways. An example of this is with Zoey's step dad. During the novel, her thoughts show us that she most definitely hates him with a passion. But without her thoughts, we would have only seen the way she speaks to him directly which would definitely not show the readers her true emotions which overall help the reader to relate once again.

     If i were given a choice to change the point of view, I definitely would not! I think having the protagonist writing as first person gives the readers a much better understanding of everything happening. If the author had chosen to write the novel in a different point of view, the novel would definitely lose interest more quickly because we would not be as attached and connected to the characters as we are with the protagonists thoughts being told to us. Overall, the novel has gotten me attached because of the way it was written with the character so I wouldn't change a thing!

Cast, P. C., and Kristin Cast. Marked. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007. Print.

Blog Post #3: Marked

     

http://girliegossip.com/marked-by-pc-cast-and-kristin-cast/

     The novel I'm reading currently is called “Marked” by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast and the name of the protagonist in my book is Zoey. Zoey has just been marked a vampyre by what's called a Tracker and is unsure of what to do. Throughout what I have read in the first few chapters, I've thought that Zoey is a very angry protagonist. Especially when she goes off during these few lines of the story. “ “Shut the hell up! I've had a really bad day and I do not need this crap from you.” I paused to look from the now wide-eyed and silent Drew to Dustin and added, “Or you.” And as I kept eye contact with Dustin I realized something—something that shocked and weirdly excited me:Dustin looked scared. ” (Cast 14) You can definitely hear the anger in the mood and tone of her voice.

     Also, I think Zoey is a very rebellious protagonist. I think this is a really good thing because it makes the story much more interesting and there's more suspense to whether she will get caught in the act. This part of the story shows really well how an ordinary teenager keeps her rebellious character. “Good thing I've always been “the bad kid” and was well prepared for a situation like this. Okay, i wasn't exactly thinking about escaping from my house so I could run off and join the vampyres when I put a spare key to my car under the flowerpot outside my window.” (Cast 28)

     Zoey is definitely not only rebellious but very determined. She's especially determined to get to her Grandmother's house after she has been marked. This is very simply shown when the author writes the sentence, “I didn't even glance in the rear view mirror.”(Cast 29) Which is in Zoey's perspective. Not glancing in the back mirror shows that she is determined to get away and won't look back on the things that could stop her from getting to her Grandma's.

     Finally, I think Zoey is very clumsy. This very long paragraph, definitely shows how clumsy Zoey is as she stumbles through the pathway around her Grandma's. “I didn't see the root that broke through the hard ground of the path. Completely disoriented I tried to catch myself, but all of my reflexes were off I fell hard. The pain in my head was sharp, but it lasted only an instant before blackness swallowed me.”(Cast 36)

     Overall, Zoey is definitely an evolving and interesting protagonist that has kept me interested throughout the novel.

Cast, P. C., and Kristin Cast. Marked. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007. Print.

Blog Post #2: Mean Girls

     

KAREN SMITH

     The stock character I have chosen is Karen Smith off of the movie Mean Girls. The audience assumes that she is a stereotypical "dumb blond". The audience assumes this because she has blonde hair and she has a dazed look across her face with wide eyes which shows that she's a bit slower than the rest of the characters when it comes to understanding fully right away. Also, the audience can tell by the clothes she wears that she is very centered on how she looks, which also falls into the "dumb blond" stereotype. 


     Further into the movie, the audience is shown and told that in reality, she basically does fall into the "dumb blond" stereotype. Karen Smith says things that show that she processes things much more slowly like when she says, "It's like I have ESPN or something." Which is her actually wanting to say ESP for extra special powers. Also, she falls into that stereotype because we get told she is very centered around looks when she introduces the "days of the week" and what to wear on those days such as "on wednesdays, we wear pink".


http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi345571609/

Blog Post #1: Mockingjay

Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print.

(http://booksunderthecovers.blogspot.com/2010/11/mockingjay-by-suzanne-collins.html)

     I think the mood created in the opening of my novel is a mixture of depressed, drained and gloomy. I think this mood is created because of the word choice and the image the descriptions are creating.  

     For example, there's a gloomy and depressed mood when the author writes, "The bricks of the chimney, which collapsed in the charred heap, provide a point of reference for the rest of the house. How else could I orient myself in this sea of grey?". The narrator, Katniss Everdeen is showing us that the remains of her house is a sea of grey. Which personally, I take as very gloomy. Also, when she says that the bricks of the chimney provide a point of reference for the rest of the house, Katniss is saying the bricks of the chimney are practically nothing. Which shows us the house is practically nothing aswell.

     A second quote from the book that helps to show the drained and gloomy mood is, "A month ago, the Capitol's fire bombs obliterated the poor coal miners' houses in the Seam, the shops in the town, even the Justice Building". The setting of the coal miners' houses in the Seam, the shops in town and the Justice Building is described as destroyed with fire bombs. With a setting that is ruined like this, a drained mood is reflected since the houses, shops and Justice Building have been drained and destroyed.

     Finally, the quote, "I stick to the road out of habit, but it's a bad choice, because it's full of the remains of those who tried to flee. Some were incinerated entirely. But others, probably overcome with smoke, escaped the worst of the flames and now lie reeking in various states of decomposition, carrion for scavengers, blanketed by flies." truly shows a gloomy and depressed mood. Katniss is walking around the dead bodies of all her lost friends and neighbours that she lost because of her unintended actions. Surely that would get any person  or story in a depressed and gloomy mood.

Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print.

(http://booksunderthecovers.blogspot.com/2010/11/mockingjay-by-suzanne-collins.html)