Ryan’s blog

Character Analysis- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Oskar Schell- Throughout   the reading of this novel Oskar consistently demonstrates that he is an analyzer. He loves the facts of a story, he not one to anybodies “word for it” he must figure it out on his own. Oskar’s most favorite person in the whole world besides his dad is probably Stephen Hawking. He loves him so much due to the fact that he is an explorer and a seeker of the truth. Oskar also is an analyzer because he lacks spontaneity. He likes to plan things out before he does them, and have things in an organized manner. An example is when he searches through the phone book looking for the Blacks that he must find. He organizes the names by how close they are to each other and how close they are to him. He also demonstrates that he is an analyzer by saving face. He likes to be right and is rarely wrong. When he can’t find the right person he likes to say that his Dad did not leave him enough clues or that the people are hiding something from him. “I got incredibly heavy boots about how relativity insignificant life is…”( Foer 88). Oskar always says then when he is sad or when he wants to be precise and describe himself in a way we can understand.

Grandma- Grandma is Oskar’s main support in his current life. She talks to him when he was down and also gives him advice when his mom is not around to talk to him. She is also a supporter because she is according to the 5 facts sheet “supporters are wonderful caretakers and nurtures.” Everyday after school Oskar goes over there to wait for his mom. His grandma also helps him learn to be strong in the face of danger, or when he loses his dad. She is always the strong person that he can look up to when his mom is no help to him. Even late at night they have conversations on the wakie-talkie to help Oskar figure things out.

Dad- Oskar’s dad is him main inspiration and his biggest hero. Even though he is gone he is still the force that drives Oskar to do what he does and also the way he lives. His dad is probably the best example of a supporter. Even though he is not physically there he provides Oskar with structure and the way Oskar to live his life. According to the five facts sheet “supporter love to help, and also to save the relationship and morals to the main character,” this describes how Oskar’s dad helps him along the way.

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

Ryan Schappacher

            James Frey’s memoir about his time in rehab is one that has been questioned by many. The book opens with James waking up on an airplane to finds himself with a hole in his cheek and all of his front teeth gone. As the novel progresses he finds himself at the best rehab institution in the . He goes through the constant struggle with addiction. On top of that he also must go through the surgery of having his two front teeth put back in and the other two with root canals. He has to go through without meds and it is the most painful experience of his life. He continues on and meets a girl which changes his life and lets him realize that there is more to life that just getting high. He then goes on to make a full recovery.

The San Francisco Chronicle

It gives away nothing to say that he finds himself whole at the end of A Million Little Pieces. How that came to be would be a first-rate tale of suspense, if it weren't drawn so hideously from an actual life.—James Sullivan

 - I find this review to be very accurate of how the book is depicted. Frey depicts to us a very violent recovery with many graphic details that make his story less believable, but more compelling to the reader. This book almost reads like a mystery even though it is not even close.

Star-Tribune “We finish A Million Little Pieces like miners lifted out of a collapsed shaft: exhausted, blackened, oxygen-starved, but alive, thrillingly, amazingly alive.”

- I agree to this review also because the book was very eye opening to the problems that face people in our society. I found out from the novel that people from all walks of life and you can feel their emotions as Frey describes.

GQ “Frey comes on like the world’s first recovering-addict hero. . . . [His] criticism of the twelve-step philosophy is provocative and his story undeniably compelling.”

-         I find this quote to be a little to praising of the book. I find it hard to believe that he was the first druggy to ever overcome and addiction and face his problem. The book was a good account of one person’s life but they need to realize that tons of people overcome addiction every year.

Magazine “We can admire Frey for his fierceness, his extremity, his solitary virtue, the angry ethics of his barroom tribe, and his victory over his furies… A compelling book.”

            -this quote is one that again overdoes it and leads the reader to believe that this book is one of the greatest books of our time which it is good but not that good.

“Powerful . . . haunting . . . addictive . . . A beautiful story of recovery and reconciliation.” – Press-Citizen

            - I agree that this is a good story of recovery and can also touch the lives of many people.

I would rate this book a 7 out of 10. The story is good but all it is, is some druggy getting over addiction and how he defies all the people in his way. It is very amazing that he did what he did but so do many people in life.

Rating: 7/10

Links

www.barnesandnobels.com

www.amazon.com

www.metacritic.com

Movie Soundtrack: Wise Guy

Ryan Schappacher

Track:

1.)    Rags to Riches-Toney Bennet

·        Scene- Henry going to work for the cabstand and racking in money

·        Pg 18-19

·        Rational: This up beat song promotes the mood of going from nothing to having what ever you want. The 30’s tone shows the time period and style of the people.

2.)    You Can’t Touch This- MC Hammer

·        Scene- Henry and the gang begin to run their small cargo stealing business out of the airport and begin for the first time to live like kings.

·        Pg 102-103 

·        Rational: The songs lyrics tell Henry’s story to a tee. The song is fast paced just like the mood in the book and Henry and his friends feel invincible. They partying and spending money like it is their job and get addicted to the good life.

3.)    Welcome Home- Daniel Boling

·        Scene- Henry is released from Allenwood which was a changing point in Henrys life; at this point he is dealing drugs and doing drugs which will lead to his downfall.

·        Pg 191

·        Rational: This describes the feeling of a long lost hero returning home and how it feels to be home. This is what Henry and his gang feels like the day that he is released from prison. He can’t wait to get home to start his old life style again. The style of the music is laid back and happy which is the mood that the book gives when he is released.

4.)    In Over My Head- The Fray

·        Scene- This is Henry’s finial downfall, the drugs have taken over and he is trying to juggle to many this at once. After this point in the book he loses everything trust, fame, and his best friends

·        Ch 19

·        Rational: The Lyrics in this song demonstrate the feeling very well, they tell the story of how he is in over his head and everything is falling apart. The song has a fast but sad tone which is the way that Henry feels when he has to give himself up to the police and betray all of his friends.

5.)    It’s All Over Now- Rolling Stones

·        Scene- Henry breaks it off with his first girl friend while being married to Karen. This is his first big fight where he has no one to go to because Karen is mad and he hates to fight with her.

·         Pg 162

·        Rational: The lyrics to this song describe exactly what Henry is going through when he feels the pain of being alone for the first time in his life, even though he still has his family he is still experiencing the pain, and the frustration fits the style of the song

6.)    Somebody Saved My Life Tonight- Sir Elton John

·        Scene- Tommy and Jimmy kill the leader of a small gang over a stupid remark about how Jimmy used to shine shoes for a living.

·        Pg 152

·        Rational: The words of this song fit what Billy was feeling when nobody came to his aid when he was being murdered and how his gang did hunt Tommy for killing him.

7.)    Purple Haze- Jimmy Hendrix

·        Scene: Henry starts to get into drug trafficking pretty heavily and starts to use the drugs that he is selling. He is selling marijuana and cocaine to most of the local hoods in and also Jimmy and people in .

·        Pg 191-192

·        Rational: This song is kind of an over view of what Henry goes through when he first gets started in the drug trade and what he describes it as feeling like to him and Karen.

8.)    Mission Impossible theme song- Mission Impossible: The Movie

·        Scene: Jimmy and the crew go to raid Lufthansa for over 6 million dollars, this is the perfect spy theme for the perfect robbery.

·        Pg 207-212 

·        Rational: The spy music goes along with this scene because it was all about stealth and not even one shot was fired.

9.)    Hurt- Johnny Cash

·        Scene: Henry hits rock bottom, no friends no life no money and all he has to show for it is that he was a rat and did not one any good.

·        Ch 21

·        Rational: In the song Johnny describes how he had hurt himself and how he had nothing to show for what he did and all he had is the pain, much like Henry.  

10.)Don’t come around here no more- Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers

·        Scene: when Paulie tells him that he is not working for the gang any more and that he basically disowned him right in the restaurant.

·        Ch 18

·        Rational: This song tells Paulie’s story about how he hates Henry and how he does not want to see him any more or have anything to do with him.

       11.) Another Brick In the Wall- Pink Floyd

·        Scene: When Henry and his family are put into the witness protection program and he is just another average Joe with a boring life and noting interesting in his words he was a shmuck.

·        Epilogue

·        Rational: Henry is now just another brick in the wall of society how has to blend in to survive. He now has become just what he didn’t want to be growing up.

        12.) Rags to Riches- Toney Bennet

·        Scene: The book ends with Henry and his family going in the opposite direction and losing all of their money and having to start all over the way the did 15 years earlier.

·        Credits of the movie/ Epilogue

·        Rational: This song describes what he now is going through to get his money back and get his family back on their feet and establish himself in the world one again.

From the crime laden streets of in 1865 comes a murder mystery from young author Matthew Pearl. The Dante Club featuring four of ’s greatest poets spins a web of mystery and confusion for the local police which are trying to piece together a string of murders that are far from the norm. The murders, unknown to the police, are a recreation of each of the rings of hell that Dante’s Inferno described.

            This first novel by Matthew Pearl definitely has a distinctive writing style that we only see in few authors of our time. His attention to detail rivals that of poets such as Emerson and Longfellow. wants to entice your imagination with the sights and smells that his characters experience. For example during the autopsy of the second murder, in which his feet have been lit on fire, Peal describes “Charred to a crisp… the two remaining blobs were protruding awkwardly from the ankles, displaced from the joints…was bloated cracked open by the fire.”

            As reviewed by the New York Times http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E1D61F38F934A35751C0A9659C8B63  they also concur that Peal uses his use of detail and his previous knowledge to construct a novel that holds readers to the pages of this novel for hours. Even thought his distinctive writing style might defer some readers, the plot and setting for this novel are strong enough to keep the story alive.

            Although the story of these four poets becoming detectives by night is a little far fetched, once you get past that fact then the story becomes a novel that rivals the DaVinci Code for its story based on historical fiction. According to the chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/02/02/RV27934.DTL  they agree that the book is a little far fetched from the truth.

            This novel is one that needs to read on one of those rainy weekends in the spring. The slow start leads to an incredibly explosive end which will throw readers off guard as they are not expecting it. Book Page.com http://www.bookpage.com/0302bp/fiction/dante_club.html has given this book a good review and also gives credit to where credit is due, this book is an good work of fiction that can be enjoyed by the avid mystery lover, or any one looking for a good read.

WHAT SLOW START, the conversation in the book is very confusing with too many characters

The Dante Club: A Novel

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