"Sitting in a yellow leather wing chair, the Missing Link turns to the Countess Foresight in the next chair and says, "So? Who did you kill to get here?"
Everyone pretends not to know what he means.
Each of us trying to be the camera, not the subject.
"Doesn't it seem like we're all hiding out from something?" the Missing Link says. With his long nose, his awning of a single dense eyebrow, his beard, he says, "Why else would people walk through that door with Whittier - a man they don't really know (Palahniuk 288-289)?""
This passage is important to the development of theme and characterization. Like i have said previously, the theme i see is that 'seemingly normal people sometimes hide dark and disturbing secrets.' The Missing Link now reveals to the reader that he thinks they are all there because each person is hiding from something, whether it be a murder, an attack, or some other legal issue. This relates to almost all of the stories being told because they each tell of a significant point in the person's life, and also usually tell why they are hiding. I think now that the 'hostages' realize that they are all hiding from something in the outside world, their stories may intertwine, or something big will happen... like all of them will get busted or something.
i wanna know,
how will they get out in the end if mr. whittier is dead, and took with him to the grave the knowledge of where the key is hidden?
will they ever get out??
how is it possible that no one will find them in this theater?
what's with this ghost business? is there really a ghost, or whats up?
will the stories of the characters ever intertwine with each other? (a la 'Crash')
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
the people get weirder
"Whoever can show the worst suffering, the most scars, they'll play the lead role in the public mind. If the outside world broke in to rescue us right now, Direct Denial would be our biggest victim-flashing the stubs of her severed toes and fingers, flaunting them for sympathy. Making herself the lead character. The A Block on any television talk show.
Making us her supporting cast.
Not to be outdone, skinny Saint Gut-Free borrowed a cleaver from Chef Assassin and lopped the thumb off his right hand. A radical thumb-ectomy.
Not to be upstaged, Reverend Godless asked to borrow the cleaver and hacked the smallest toe off each his feet. "To be famous," he said, "and after that, wear really narrow high heels (Palahniuk 148).""
I thought this passage was a intriguing example of characterization, because it demonstrates the depth of the trapped people's insanity. They at first were all apprehensive at the old house/kidnapping situation, and tried to be rescued, but being held captive has really taken a toll on their minds. They have developed into people that no longer try to be discovered and saved, but now would rather stay in the old theater constantly worsening their conditions, so that when they are finally let out, the world will take pity on them as they observe their suffering. Each character is trying to make his situation worse than those around him so that they can be the 'hero' when the world hears their story. This characterization is crucial to the story because the mental state of the characters shapes their stories being told, as well as the overall actions in the plot.
I want to know,
somebody's got to bleed to death. Who's it gonna be?
everytime someone gets up on stage to talk, the book says a movie reel relating to their story was playing on their face, as if from a projector. is this a metaphor or is it literal?
what will they do for food, now that they've run out?
is mr. whittier really dead?
Making us her supporting cast.
Not to be outdone, skinny Saint Gut-Free borrowed a cleaver from Chef Assassin and lopped the thumb off his right hand. A radical thumb-ectomy.
Not to be upstaged, Reverend Godless asked to borrow the cleaver and hacked the smallest toe off each his feet. "To be famous," he said, "and after that, wear really narrow high heels (Palahniuk 148).""
I thought this passage was a intriguing example of characterization, because it demonstrates the depth of the trapped people's insanity. They at first were all apprehensive at the old house/kidnapping situation, and tried to be rescued, but being held captive has really taken a toll on their minds. They have developed into people that no longer try to be discovered and saved, but now would rather stay in the old theater constantly worsening their conditions, so that when they are finally let out, the world will take pity on them as they observe their suffering. Each character is trying to make his situation worse than those around him so that they can be the 'hero' when the world hears their story. This characterization is crucial to the story because the mental state of the characters shapes their stories being told, as well as the overall actions in the plot.
I want to know,
somebody's got to bleed to death. Who's it gonna be?
everytime someone gets up on stage to talk, the book says a movie reel relating to their story was playing on their face, as if from a projector. is this a metaphor or is it literal?
what will they do for food, now that they've run out?
is mr. whittier really dead?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
and the plot thickens
"This moment, it's a plot point we've never dared dream. The first-act climax that would make our lives worth cash money. Mr. Whittier's busting open, the event we could witness to become someone famous, a famous authority. Like Lady Baglady's ear, Mr. Whittier's belly splitting open was our ticket. A blank check. A free pass.
We were all soaking it up. Absorbing the event. Digesting the experience into a story. A screenplay. Something we could sell (Palahniuk 106)."
This passage is an example of how the theme has taken a different turn in the story. At first, the theme seemed to center on the stories being told, and how they illustrated the person telling them. Now, the main occurences in the play have started happening between stories, in the telling of the events at the writer's retreat. The theme has developed into "The trapped people try to make the most of their situation," in a way. They've started realizing their situation could be the foundation of a thrilling movie or book, and are constantly taking mental notes on the important points of their stay in the old house that could be exaggerated to create a movie/book worth watching/reading. This passage specifically talks about how Mr. Whittier eats too much, and how his possible death would make a great plot thickener for each person's fantasy work. The trapped writers have stopped trying to escape, and are now creating a new theme for themselves by focusing on what is going on in the present, and not what happened in the past.
Questions:
1. Is mr. whittier going to die?
2. Is anyone else going to die?
3. Are all 23 of the trapped writers going to write a script/book based on this retreat?
4. What did they do with the body of the woman who has already died?
5. Is mr. whittier actually only 13?
A lot of these questions probably don't make that much sense unless you've read the book..
We were all soaking it up. Absorbing the event. Digesting the experience into a story. A screenplay. Something we could sell (Palahniuk 106)."
This passage is an example of how the theme has taken a different turn in the story. At first, the theme seemed to center on the stories being told, and how they illustrated the person telling them. Now, the main occurences in the play have started happening between stories, in the telling of the events at the writer's retreat. The theme has developed into "The trapped people try to make the most of their situation," in a way. They've started realizing their situation could be the foundation of a thrilling movie or book, and are constantly taking mental notes on the important points of their stay in the old house that could be exaggerated to create a movie/book worth watching/reading. This passage specifically talks about how Mr. Whittier eats too much, and how his possible death would make a great plot thickener for each person's fantasy work. The trapped writers have stopped trying to escape, and are now creating a new theme for themselves by focusing on what is going on in the present, and not what happened in the past.
Questions:
1. Is mr. whittier going to die?
2. Is anyone else going to die?
3. Are all 23 of the trapped writers going to write a script/book based on this retreat?
4. What did they do with the body of the woman who has already died?
5. Is mr. whittier actually only 13?
A lot of these questions probably don't make that much sense unless you've read the book..
Thursday, September 18, 2008
post dos
""It's not a matter of right and wrong," Mr. Whittier would say.
Really, there is no wrong. Not in our own minds. Our own reality.
You can never set off to do the wrong thing.
You can never say the wrong thing.
In your own mind, you are always right. Every action you take- what you do or say or how you choose to appear-is automatically right the moment you act.
His hand shaking as he lifts his cup, Mr. Whittier says, "Even if you were to tell yourself, 'Today, I'm going to drink coffee the wrong way...from a dirty boot.' Even that would be right, because you chose to drink coffee from that boot."
Because you can do nothing wrong. You are always right.
Even when you say, "I'm such an idiot, I'm so wrong..." you're right. You're right about being wrong. You're right even when you're an idiot.
"No matter how stupid your idea," Mr. Whittier would say, "you're doomed to be right because it's yours."" (Palahniuk 60)
This passage made me think a lot. To me it seemed like a good example of the twists in the story so far, because there seems to be a reoccurring idea like "Well, actually..." These 23 characters thought they were going to a writer's retreat in paradise for three months, but actually they got stuffed into a moldy old house with instant food and dim lighting. They thought they'd be able to leave if they needed to, but actually, Mr. Whittier, the organizer, hid the key and would rather die (literally) than tell anyone where it is hidden. In this passage, i saw the motif of "Actually..." appear again, in an argument about what lake a villa was on. This motif defines the story for me, because it seems to center around the big illusions that they are all normal people, but actually, they have disturbing secrets, and they thought this writer's retreat was going to be nice, but actually, it's closer to hell. These misconceptions lead to the increasingly more desperate tones of the stories they tell, and are the reason that the story plays out the way it does.
Questions
1. If you are right about being wrong, doesn't that still mean you were wrong in the first place?
2. What happens if they run out of food?
3. Is someone going to die later in the story?
4. Where are they that no one can find them?
5. Why does Mr. Whittier want them to write so badly? What is he getting out of this?
6. Why doesn't he let Miss America out to get medical treatment for her pregnancy?
Really, there is no wrong. Not in our own minds. Our own reality.
You can never set off to do the wrong thing.
You can never say the wrong thing.
In your own mind, you are always right. Every action you take- what you do or say or how you choose to appear-is automatically right the moment you act.
His hand shaking as he lifts his cup, Mr. Whittier says, "Even if you were to tell yourself, 'Today, I'm going to drink coffee the wrong way...from a dirty boot.' Even that would be right, because you chose to drink coffee from that boot."
Because you can do nothing wrong. You are always right.
Even when you say, "I'm such an idiot, I'm so wrong..." you're right. You're right about being wrong. You're right even when you're an idiot.
"No matter how stupid your idea," Mr. Whittier would say, "you're doomed to be right because it's yours."" (Palahniuk 60)
This passage made me think a lot. To me it seemed like a good example of the twists in the story so far, because there seems to be a reoccurring idea like "Well, actually..." These 23 characters thought they were going to a writer's retreat in paradise for three months, but actually they got stuffed into a moldy old house with instant food and dim lighting. They thought they'd be able to leave if they needed to, but actually, Mr. Whittier, the organizer, hid the key and would rather die (literally) than tell anyone where it is hidden. In this passage, i saw the motif of "Actually..." appear again, in an argument about what lake a villa was on. This motif defines the story for me, because it seems to center around the big illusions that they are all normal people, but actually, they have disturbing secrets, and they thought this writer's retreat was going to be nice, but actually, it's closer to hell. These misconceptions lead to the increasingly more desperate tones of the stories they tell, and are the reason that the story plays out the way it does.
Questions
1. If you are right about being wrong, doesn't that still mean you were wrong in the first place?
2. What happens if they run out of food?
3. Is someone going to die later in the story?
4. Where are they that no one can find them?
5. Why does Mr. Whittier want them to write so badly? What is he getting out of this?
6. Why doesn't he let Miss America out to get medical treatment for her pregnancy?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
First blog post for independent reading!
The book I'm reading is Haunted, by Chuck Palahniuk.
I'm only on page 67, but so far it's INSANE. And moderately disturbing. Here we go.
Page 37-38:
"Then Angelique does what you've never seen before. She gets down on her knees. She opens her mouth, her lips stretched wide and thin, and runs her tongue along the bottom of Lenny's sole. Angelique cups her lips around Lenny's heel, and Lenny starts to moan.
Don't laugh, but there are jobs worse than the worse job you can imagine. A media mogul with no history of high blood pressure, he's found dead of a stroke in a room at the Four Seasons. A rock star in perfect health dies of kidney failure after a foot massage in the Chateau Marmot.
We have access to the feet of presidents and sultans. CEOs and movie stars. Kings and queens. We know how to make a paid hit look like natural causes.
This is what Angelique tells you on the way down in the elevator. After Lenny moaned and thrashed. After Angelique mouthed his foot until the one long moment Lenny sat up on the mattresses, clutching his chest in both hands and gaping his open mouth at her still sucking his heel. After his heart stopped, Angelique pulled the bedsheets up to his chin. She wiped the lipstick off his foot and smeared more around her mouth. She unplugged his phones and told the guards Lenny was taking a long nap."
This passage really helps to develop theme for me. The theme I see so far in this book is that "People who seem normal sometimes have dark and disturbing secrets." The passage illustrates how a girl (Angelique), whom the storyteller (Mother Nature) used to know, began to do different things with her life. She started as a foot masseuse, and progressed into doing worse and more dangerous jobs with her skills. This story out of the book tells the dark secret of a rich, beautiful woman, and talks about how a lot of rich people got their money by learning the technique of making a person's body respond in obscure ways by massaging different parts of their feet. This passage directly contributes to the theme, as does one of the other stories told by a boy who's secret is that his intestines got sucked out of his butt by the drain on the bottom of his swimming pool and he survived. And yes, that one is based on a true story of someone Chuck Palahniuk knows... yikes.
I predict that the stories being told are going to get much worse, even though that seems nearly impossible after the story about the pool drain...
I'm only on page 67, but so far it's INSANE. And moderately disturbing. Here we go.
Page 37-38:
"Then Angelique does what you've never seen before. She gets down on her knees. She opens her mouth, her lips stretched wide and thin, and runs her tongue along the bottom of Lenny's sole. Angelique cups her lips around Lenny's heel, and Lenny starts to moan.
Don't laugh, but there are jobs worse than the worse job you can imagine. A media mogul with no history of high blood pressure, he's found dead of a stroke in a room at the Four Seasons. A rock star in perfect health dies of kidney failure after a foot massage in the Chateau Marmot.
We have access to the feet of presidents and sultans. CEOs and movie stars. Kings and queens. We know how to make a paid hit look like natural causes.
This is what Angelique tells you on the way down in the elevator. After Lenny moaned and thrashed. After Angelique mouthed his foot until the one long moment Lenny sat up on the mattresses, clutching his chest in both hands and gaping his open mouth at her still sucking his heel. After his heart stopped, Angelique pulled the bedsheets up to his chin. She wiped the lipstick off his foot and smeared more around her mouth. She unplugged his phones and told the guards Lenny was taking a long nap."
This passage really helps to develop theme for me. The theme I see so far in this book is that "People who seem normal sometimes have dark and disturbing secrets." The passage illustrates how a girl (Angelique), whom the storyteller (Mother Nature) used to know, began to do different things with her life. She started as a foot masseuse, and progressed into doing worse and more dangerous jobs with her skills. This story out of the book tells the dark secret of a rich, beautiful woman, and talks about how a lot of rich people got their money by learning the technique of making a person's body respond in obscure ways by massaging different parts of their feet. This passage directly contributes to the theme, as does one of the other stories told by a boy who's secret is that his intestines got sucked out of his butt by the drain on the bottom of his swimming pool and he survived. And yes, that one is based on a true story of someone Chuck Palahniuk knows... yikes.
I predict that the stories being told are going to get much worse, even though that seems nearly impossible after the story about the pool drain...
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