Current:Week 10

“If you love something, that’s the only way to survive.”

“Love and grief are inseparable according to the poets.”

“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”

I like the third quote best.  In one short line it says it all.  No matter what the problem seems to be at the time, it really is just a blip in time and can probably be overcome if you share your troubles with someone in the family or close friend.  The first quote is real important too, though, because I think you really do need to love yourself and the people you choose to surround yourself with to be able to make it through all of life’s low spots. 

This weeks pages read:  257
Last weeks pages read:  115
Total pages read:          1422

Life Rules

Audrey stays back and Jin-Ae and Owen take off to find Frank but first find a gun Frank has been hiding in the car.  Owen puts the gun to his head but changes his mind.  It ends up the gun didn’t have bullets in it.  Frank eventually shows u drunk and has Owen drive from there.  The next stop is Ernest Hemingway’s grave in Sun Valley, Idaho.  Frank chose this spot.  The four of them start getting cranky and agitated with each other but Audrey and Owen seem to be forming a bond.  Jin-Ae puts together a list of top ten suicide legends like Romeo and Juliet, Marilyn Monroe, and Judas who hangs himself.  Throughout the story they cut in with the chat room dialogue between the four before they meet up to take the road trip and it’s almost like they’re trying to convince each other to be suicidal.  For example, Frank says “Listen Jin-Ae, for real.  It would take some work and maybe some luck, but we could to it.”  Jin-Ae and Frank also share with each other that they’ve tried to call the suicide hotline but hang up before the call is answered.  If you’re dialing the suicide hotline, that would indicate to me that you’re trying to get help and not so sure you want to go through with it.  On their way to Seattle, WA, where Kurt Cobain died (it was Audrey’s pick), they create a list of stupid ways to commit suicide.  The few ideas from the list are licking an electric socket, pretend to have a gun and shoot at a police officer, and smother yourself with dry-cleaning bags.  Audrey and Owen are getting more cozy with each other with kissing and more.  At some point along the trip Owen points a revolver at his father’s headstone.  He gets hit from the bullet or rock splinter and it smashes the side of his head.  Blood gushes everywhere and Frank, Jin-Ae and Audrey are freaked out and start screaming out “don’t you die on us!”   That’s when they decide the suicide pact was stupid and they make a new pact swearing off killing themselves.  They end by listing the top ten reasons to live.  A few are, stars in the sky, mud fights, and moms.

Death Valley Here We Come

So far “Crash Into Me” is a real sad pathetic account of four teenagers who meet on the internet and decide to take a road trip together with the ultimate destination being the place they will die, that is, commit suicide.  The four characters, Owen, Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae, seem to all come from different backgrounds and have different reasons for feeling like death is their only escape.  Some of them have already attempted to take their life before meeting each other online.  The four of them make a list of the top ten bizarre ways to kill yourself.  A couple from the list are eating Froot Lopps and Drano, Locking yourself in a freezer, and cutting yourself and then swimming in the ocean with sharks.  What gross and morbid ideas!  I get how at some point in almost everyone’s lives there are times we experience serious sadness, pain, anxiety, or despair, especially when we loose a close family member, or maybe get rejected by a boyfriend or girlfriend, or are disappointed over not getting something you’ve really worked hard for.  None of those things, though, should drive us to feeling so defeated that we want to take our life.  Anyway, Owen narrates the story and seems to be the brains of the outfit by providing directions and things like that.  Each of the four picks out a celebrity that committed suicide and where they died and those are the places they plan to go with the final destination being Death Valley in California.  During their travels Owen recalls the questions people ask you when you try to kill yourself.  Usually they have to do with thinking about the consequences or make you try to think of how the people you care will feel.  His depression seems to be mainly over the death of his younger brother who drowns in the pool.  Jin-Ae admits to being gay and is afraid of her family’s reaction.  Up to this point, I haven’t really figured out why Audrey and Frank are suicidal.  They just seem like troubled but not enough you’d think they’d want to take their life.   Their first main stop is Woody Creek, Colorado where Hunter S. Thompson died.  That was Owen’s choice.  They stop at a hotel and when they wake up they realize that Frank took off and they need to go after him so they decide who says back and who goes after him.  The book is weird because it doesn’t have chapters that start you off with an idea. 

Close Reading BINGO

1. “touchy as hell”, http://littleduckkie3.blogspot.com/
Punctuation goes inside the quotations

2. Lacked colorful and exciting diction. http://ilikesoccer17.blogspot.com/
Uses a past tense verb.

3. His diction affects the reader as a young boy who doesn't have a story to tell, and is boring and dull. http://amandaprindle.blogspot.com/
Talks about how the language affects the reader.

4. In Nicholson Baker's work The Mezzanine, he uses elegant and intricate diction to create a formal tone. http://clayballl.blogspot.com/
Uses the verb "uses"

Practice Diction Analysis

The language used in the excerpt, “Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, parades a blatant malicious cordialness. It holds an uncensored array of words that give you the perception that nothing matters and the main character doesn’t feel a necessity in explaining any factual minutiae about his parent’s past. It also seems manipulating and compulsive like there is a hidden problem within the character that is expressed through sharp abrasive language. It’s relieved slightly towards the end when mentioning the work of the character’s brother’s “terrific book of short stories.”

Current

1. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy does not send a whimsical or inspirational feel but gives off more of a graceful or elegant feel.
http://bradey.blogspot.com/

2. Uris uses a elegant diction and a melodious language.
http://abiddetyafter.blogspot.com/

3. 1984 by George Orwell uses straightforward and exact diction, colloquial formality, and dull sound to create a harsh feeling for the reader, much like how Winston feels the chill of the bright cold day and the enormous eyes of the face watching him.
http://freefifteen.blogspot.com/

I like third one because it has good comparison and uses the words very creatively while still keeping to their ture meaning. It has strong word choice and uses meticulous diction that helps relay a true meaning of what is seen in the selection chosen.

Current:Week 9

“You’re outta your mind, Mitch.  If you think you can take your million and ride into the sunset, you’re a fool.”

“I knew we would have to have a lucky break to pull this off.  And I think we just found it.”

“You’ve got the money to do as you please, so forget about them.  Just tour the islands for the rest of your life.  There are worse things, you know.”

I like the third quote best because how awesome would it be to be stuck sailing around the Carribean with the love of your life and millions of dollars.  The only thing worse than that, though, would be that knowing if you stayed on land too long, it could mean your life.  Makes you kind of think about what is more important, money or freedom.

This weeks total pages:  115

Last weeks total pages:  159

Total pages read:           1165

Hide and Seek

Avery has a little stress attack and is sent to the hospital.  The firm orders him to stay away from the office for three months to get rest but it’s really part of the partners rouge.  Mitch really has a good scheme in mind working closely with Tammy to get as much information as she can while having access to areas of the firm’s building that Mitch isn’t privy to, including the basement.  In the meantime, Mitch is told he needs to fly to the Caymans for Avery to take care of some business but it’s really a plan to kill him.  The firm is going to plant a bomb type of device on the plane and while it’s over the ocean have it explode.

In the meantime, late at night, a prison guard tells Ray to get out of his cell and follow him.  He shows Ray the exact spot on the prison wall where there will be a heavy rope for him to climb up and over.  The spot lights will go out and the gun patrols will look the other way.  The guard gave him the word to run and Ray bolted for the wall and climbed over.  On the other side was a guy, Bud Riley, that gave him $500 dollars, drove him away from the prison and told him to be careful because it wouldn’t be long before the news media would be posting his face all over the place.  

Mitch has his first million dollars from the FBI, they get his brother out of prison, and now they are on the run.  Mitch meets up with Ray and Abby, who really didn’t leave Mitch, and Mitch devises this cat and mouse scheme to keep one step ahead of the firm and the mob.  They finally escape clear on a schooner boat that was waiting for them along with the eight million dollars Mitch managed out of the FBI.  His brother was out of prison, he had his wife to cruise the Carribean with, and he had his freedom back.  Kind of.  It would probably not be safe to ever surface on land for very long again.  Carribean, forty-foot schooner, money, beautiful wife . . . sounds like paradise to me.

Tax Day

Chapter 29 starts out on tax day, April 15^th.  Since Bendini, Lambert & Locke specializes in tax law, they were super busy trying to get all their clients taxes prepared and filed before the day was over.  Since Abby supposedly left Mitch for a cooling off period, Mitch worked almost twenty-four seven.  Mitch’s mentor, Avery, had a client that was extremely upset over having to pay a very large sum in taxes so Avery had to fly out to smooth things over.  After driving Avery to the airport, Mitch went back to the office and carefully got into Avery’s office.  He was curious about some file cabinets that were off to the side.  He took a key that was made by Tammy posing as a cleaning lady in the firm and opened the cabinets.  He found a bunch of files that looked suspicious and started copying them.  He was a little worried about copying so many files because you have to load a client access code in before copying so each client is charge right.  He faked the system and punched in bogus access codes so no one would get suspicious.  The firm always shut down the day after tax day to give everyone a break.

Tarrance, the FBI agent, tracks Mitch down to see if he was ready to make a deal to help infiltrate the firm and dig up enough evidence to allow the FBI to take the firm down.  Mitch reminder him that until all his demands were agree on, there was no deal.  The toughest demand was getting his brother, Ray, out of prison.  Mitch seemed to be in power and control now with the FBI.  Probably because the FBI new that Mitch was the closest ticket they had in getting the evidence on the firm.

DeVasher is very suspicious of Abby and Mitch’s separation.  He doesn’t believe it’s real.  He is also suspicious of all the copies ran on the 15^th and based on everyone else being out of the building and the location of the copier, it had to be Mitch.  The partners decide to run prints on the files in Avery’s office.  It’s getting very evident that the firm doesn’t trust Mitch and eventually the mob boss orders DeVasher to start the process of taking Mitch out, killing him.

Style Mapping

In the book "Deadline"  by Chris Crutcher, the language is vulgar and it expresses the thoughts through straightforward formalities. The language used is that of a typical high school teenager where things are bluntly said and without conscious of what the people think. Some meager profanity is used to direct a certain point more blatantly. In "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury, which is slightly different in language than "Deadline," the elevated organization of language displays heightened emotions and prevailing arrays of in depth meticulousness. Its different in that it is very suggestive towards the meaning of hidden enigmas.  In the book "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yoden, the type of language depicts a very unembellished style with factual perception such as the harshness induced by the German Nazis towards the innocent Jews.  The direct and tactile language exemplifies  ruthlessness, inhumanity, and mercilessness. 

Quarterly

     I have surprised myself because I dont usually this much in the first place so its been much. I feel that some weeks with all the extracirricular stuff and work that it can be much. i dont always have time to read during the week because I work every day. I pulled it off though and enjoyed it a little bit. My favorite read was "Deadline" because its so down to earth. It talks the talk of an actual high school student. It does use derrogatory language but it sets the tone and makes the book better. It puts you in the main characters shoes and allows you to follow him closely and how he feels and sees things in life. Another good book I was "Psych" because its a comical investigation and mystery. It places you in medias res of the story and makes you think. Shawn and Gus have a peculiar personality that strikes everyones attetion. They work hard but goof off just as much. They follow their own path and dont really listen to orders very well. But in the end the mystery is solved and the investigation is complete. Least favorite was the firm because Its too serious and I just lost interested. Im still reading it so i can say i finished it but its definitely not my favorite. One that stuck with me was "The Devils Arithmetic." It was a serious book and thats why it wasnt my favorite but its striked my attention due to its harshness and realness. The crude and extensive punishment the Jews went through really gets to you and makes you want to continue reading.
     And to finish this off i enjoy reading outside when its sunny out in the backyard on our outdoor sofas. I kill two birds with one stone. Lay out and tan while I read. I read at the lake a few times when we went up. Just sat on the boat and read. I cant read at night cause Im too tired to comprehend and focus on whats actually going on. So yeah thats about it. And a goal Im setting for myself is reading more Teen related books cause i like them and can understand what they are going through being that im a high school student.

Current:Week 8

“You’ll have to testify against all your buddies at their trials.  Could take years.”

“Let’s take the money and haul ass.”

“I must go.  I’ve taken a leave of absence at school.”

I chose the third quote because it’s reflects what I wish I could do at this point in my school career.  It would be great to take a break from school right now. 

This weeks pages:  159

Last weeks pages:  147

Total pages read:  1050

Woman Power

Right after getting back from his seminar in Washington he races to see Abby.  While at dinner he tells Abby to act normal but that he’s been approached by the FBI and they’re watching closely.  He also tells her that the firm is very suspicious of him and they are watching him also.  Abby is scared and cries.  Tarrance, the FBI agent that introduced Mitch to Voyles, spots Mitch a week after returning from Washington and they duck into a shoe store to talk.  After spotting a spy from the firm, they act out a big fight with Mitch telling Tarrance to get the heck away from him and pushed him away.  Mitch ran directly to Avery and told him he was forced into the shoe store.  Mitch is taken to Locke to tell him the whole story.  They let Mitch go but DeVasher insists that Mitch wasn’t forced but went willingly into the shoe store.  He is very suspicious.  DeVasher wants to be sure Mitch doesn’t talk so he takes him for a ride and shows Mitch pictures of him making out with the island girl from his trip with Avery to the Caymans.  Mitch gets the message.  Mitch throws himself into his work day and night and Abby and him are extremely careful at home.  Mitch gets a letter from Tammy, a.k.a., Doris, who wants to meet him.  DeVasher announces that the mob has starting talking about taking Mitch out but there’s a few in the firm that think it would look too suspicious having another death of another associate so they decide to keep watching him.  Tammy sets up a freelance secretarial service in a building just three blocks from the front of the firm as a front to be able to communicate with Mitch and run copies of files.  Mitch makes a few more rendezvous trips to get more info from the FBI while him and Tammy scheme behind the scenes.  Abby comes to Mitch’s office to tell him her mother is sick and she’s leaving.  The firm sees it on camera and figure she’s leaving Mitch for good.  Instead, she heads to the Cayman Islands with Tammy, they drug Avery, get his keys to a room that has twelve fireproof legal-size file cabinets full of dirty files.  They scheme to copy them all before Avery wakes up.  Abby leaves the island to care for her mom, Tammy sorts and arranges the files just like Mitch demanded, and the mob puts a hit man after Mitch.

Who's on First

When Mitch gets back from his trip from the Caymans he drives to Abby’s school where she teaches to surprise her.  He’s feeling really guilty that he just cheated with an island girl.  He doesn’t know it but the island girl was a set up.  The firm had pictures of him taken with the girl to use as blackmail later.  DeVasher is still tapping the McDeere’s homes phones and cars and following them most of the time.  Kay Quin and Abby met for lunch and Abby kind of dumps her frustrations with Mitch’s late nights on Kay.  Mitch gets Abby to a restaurant and finally tells her that they’re being taped and followed and about his meeting with an FBI agent and how careful they have to be now.  Christmas is celebrated with huge bonuses for everyone.  DeVasher orders even tighter surveillance on Mitch and has him followed when he travels to Washington for a tax seminar.  While there, he is approached by Lomax’s secretary, Tammy.  She’s kind of a crusty middle-aged lady that has connections.  Also, Mitch learns that he is being solicited by the Director of the FBI, Mr. Voyles who wants to meet him.  Mitch is given secret directions so he’s not found out by the firm.  He ends up at the Wall, a memorial that lists the names of all the veterans killed in 1972.  Mitch’s brother, Rusty, is listed on the wall.  Mitch is escorted to Voyles who tells him the law firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke is owned by the Morolto crime family in Chicago and that no lawyer has ever left the firm alive.  He wants Mitch’s help to take the firm down.  Over time, Mitch agrees but negotiates to two million dollars, the release of his brother Ray from prison, and personal protection for him and Abby.

Response

Books Read Previous Week

1. Deadline
2. The Devils Arithmetic
3. The Firm (currently reading)

Current:Week 7

 “A base salary of eighty thousand the first year, plus bonuses.  Eighty-five the second year, plus bonuses.  A low-interest mortgage so you can buy a home.  Two country club memberships.  And a new BMW.  You pick the color, of course.”

 “There’s’ pressure, overwork, eighty-hour weeks and time away from home.”

 “We aren’t supposed to know these things, but the folks in Nashville told us that you made the highest score on the bar exam.  Congratulations, Counselor.”

“From the balcony off the second-floor bedroom, Mitch watched the small boats drift aimlessly over the sparkling sea.  The sun was beginning its descent and the small waves reflected its rays in a million directions.”

I chose the second quote because I can relate to it most.  It reminds me of school and what college is going to be like.  There’s going to be a lot of new things to learn and remember which will be really stressful and I’ll probably be studying most of my days and nights away.  And, if I get into the college I want, I’ll be away from home.

This weeks' pages:  146
Last weeks' pages:  164
Total pages read:     891

Lady Gagas Outfitts

Gotter' Done

Mitch was able to fix the Capps crisis and Avery was proud of his work.  He referred to Mitch as a machine.  The problem was Mitch spent too much time on the case and not enough time study for the bar exam.  In memory of all deceased firm associates, they hang a portrait of them and Hodge and Kozinski.  The firm only had one female partner and died.  No one liked her referring to her as the “super-bitch”.  She was killed by a drunk driver.  While alone one morning, Mitch starts taking note of the five dead lawyers’ portraits and starts writing their names and date of death done.  All of a sudden Nathan Locke appears.  Mitch thinks he’s the most evil looking man he’s ever met.  Mitch refers to him as “black eyes”.  Locke chews Mitch out for not being ready for the bar.  The Saturday after the bar exam Abby’s parents come to visit.  Mitch isn’t impressed with the Sutherlands.  He thinks they look down on him because he came from a poor and dysfunctional family.  Mr. Sutherland kept asking questions about the place trying to find out how much the place cost, and finally came right out and asked.  That caused a stir and they all ended up going for a car ride and nobody talked.  Finally, Mitch was called in Lambert’s office to find out whether he passed the bar or not.  At first they led him to believe he did not but then broke out in cheers and congratulated him.  Abby clipped the news article with Mitch’s name in it for passing the bar and mailed copies to her parents and to Mitch’s brother, Ray.  While getting a sandwich, Mitch is approached by an FBI agent that warns him of the firm.  He tells Mitch not to trust anyone, that he’s being bugged at work and home, and that “money don’t grow on trees”.   Mitch is immediately called in the office to tell the head partners what he remembered from the discussion with the FBI agent and they record what Mitch says.  The firm tells Mitch the FBI harasses them all the time and not to be concerned.  DeVasher wants Mitch watched closely. Mitch secretly visits his brother in prison.  He is sent on a trip to the Caymans with Avery where he learns that Avery is drunk cheat.  Mitch cases Avery’s place and starts checking into the deaths of the two firm members that recently died there.  Mitch is definitely certain something illegal is going on but is set up and seduced by an island girl.  When he gets back to the office there is a lot of concern over trusting Mitch but they have pictures of him and the lady on the beach that they will be able to use as blackmail.

Life in the Fast Lane

This is about a tax law firm, Bendini, Lambert & Locke and a fresh new law student named Mitch McDeere.  The law firm was located in Memphis and relatively small compared to the law firms in the larger cities.  It was very successful and was willing to scout out and pay top dollar for the perfect new law associate.  Mitch McDeere was their number one change because Mitch was one of the top in his graduating class, he played starting quarterback, he was happily married to Abby, a kindergarten teacher at a private school. And didn’t smoke, drink much, or do drugs.  He was also in debt from school loans and was hungry for money.  Mitch had offers from other law firms, Bendini, Lambert & Locke offered him the highest salary, and BMW, and a low interest rate house loan.  While getting to know the partners and their wives, Mitch and Abby ran into some odd things like being told the firm really pushed having kids and they insisted you own a luxurious home and they wanted everyone to look and act rich.  It was all about money and loyalty.  Nobody left the firm until they retired.  They also only hired unattractive secretaries so the men wouldn’t be tempted to cheat on their wives.  There seemed to be a lot of secret and forbidden places within the firm, like the office of DeVasher that had a small metal door and a camera over it.  Mitch decided to sign with the firm and what would have been his first day at the office was instead attending the funeral because two associates at the firm had recently been killed in the Grand Cayman.  While scuba diving, a boat exploded and it was presume Joe Hodge and Marty Kozinski drown.  What Mitch and Abby didn’t know was that their house was bugged and they were being followed constantly.  Avery Tolar was assigned Mitch’s mentor and the most important thing they needed to do was get all the help Mitch needed to past the bar exam.  Mitch’s first assignment was to review the Sonny Capps case who was being charged with not paying taxes.  In the meantime, it becomes apparent Kozinski and Hodge were ordered to be killed by some mafia type group that the head firm partners were involved with because they were going to meet with the FBI about something illegal going on.  Because of this, everyone’s phones had to be bugged.