MeJackson

Book 2 starts in Artie's point of view/where he is in life now. I didn't understand that it was Artie's life for a second or two because of the shading in the back. That's generally used whenever Vladek is having a flashback moment. But, this gives us a little insight about how Artie came up with the character sfor his comic book. Vladek's marriage with Mala is what some people in America go through now. Their spouse is only using them for their money and for thier own personal gain.

Book two is where more of the descriptive parts of the Holocaust come into play. The fact that people were given numbers, and striped clothes that were too big or too small for them actually happened. Even having to shave thier hair, and run naked through the snow. This is a good example of how miserable Jews were while they were in the concentration camps.

PS: I'd also like to take this time to reccommend the movie 'The Boy in Striped Pyjamas.' It's a movei about the Holocaust through the eyes of a boy who's father is on the side of hte Nazis. It's really sad but a really good movie.

So far, there have been more speaking parts to his graphic novel. In this case, its easier to show the characters reations by drawing them and backing them up with dialogue. There are many parts of this graphic novel that are similar to waht actually happened in the Holocaust. For instance, people being moved to the ghettos and forcibly taken to be put on trains to go to concentration camps. How they knew whether it was Auschwitz or not they were going to, I don't know. But, there are other examples like hiding in places to escape the police, and risking other peoiple's lives to get them to hide them was true. Even the part where Vladek and his friends were ratted out by someone they thought they could trust happened. This goes along with how people thinkg Anne Frank and her family was found out. As soon as I was finished reading thefirst book, I got up to start reading the second.

Anyone know what Raus means? I know Juden means Jew but not Raus. Does it have anything to do with the title of the book?

Well, I just finished the book. The Epilogue was the last section I needed to read and was by far the shortest one. This book was amazing. It had plenty of drama, action, and bits of fantasy/supernatural in it. The only thing I didn't like was how the main characters are set in their 60s and you couldn't remember it. For most of the book, I kept thinking they were teenagers.

Anyway, Ralph and Lois got married (as was expected). I wasn't really looking forward to the epilogue because I thought it would be a ‘lived-happily-ever-after' kind of thing with all of this sappy lovey-dovey moments. But, it wasn't. Lois gave Ralph a puppy for Christmas. Both of them are in love with each other, but they can't help but keep thinking about their first husband/wife that passed away.

One day, years later, (actually in this case it is now 1997, Ralph woke up early. (5:49 am). He wondered why he woke up, but his subconscious mind told him he knew why. So, Ralph just lay there, listened, and heard the deathwatch. The same ticking sound he heard when Carolyn was dieing. Ralph started suffering from Insomnia all over again. He then started hearing the deathwatch everywhere, at the same volume. But, this time he knew it was coming from him.

Just like Harry Potter, Ralph's scar started hurting more and more. But, unlike Harry Potter, its not when danger is near (or Lord Voldemort is mad or anything) his scar hurts the louder his death watch gets, meaning, its almost time to fulfill his promise/destiny. Lois has figured out that Ralph has gotten insomnia again and is worried about losing him.

Ralph knew he was going to die. So did Lois. Ralph knew that Natalie, Helen's daughter, was going to get hit by a Ford unless he took her place. That was his promise. He would save one life for his own. So, in the end, Ralph died, but he felt no pain at all. Once he died, the scar on his arm vanished.

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Aura's are described as "gateway openings to a secret city of hidden meanings, concealed motives, and confined agendas" (pg. 758).

I have now completed Section 3 (Chapters 20-29/pgs 517-753). I have also found out what "ism" this book is. This book, and several other fictional stories that have to deal with people having powers that need to save the world is called Fatalism (the fact that everything happens for a reason).

Ralph and Lois are chosen to save the world (well in this case the people of Derry) from the Crimson King. In terms of British Literature, its like Harry Potter having to stop Lord Voldemort. The two books have main characters where everything happens for a reason but they don't realize they have the powers to begin with. For example, in Harry Potter, Harry made the glass at the zoo disappear when he was mad at his cousin Dudley, so he got stuck in an exhibit at the zoo. Ralph is suddenly able to see people's auras and to shoot out energy attacks at people with a karate chop motion. Of course, in both books they have friends that help them and have these certain powers too. Harry Potter - Harry, Ron, Hermione. Isnomnia - Lois. Also in every book, the main character goes through times where they have to sacrifice themselves for others or they have a time where they don't want to be soley depended on to save the world.

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Eyes:  

"Those dark Spanish  eyes of hers looked up at him, filled with brilliance and wonder" (pg 520).

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Auras:

"Lois fixed the waitress...with a look of dark concentration. S she did, Ralph saw Lois's normal blue-gray aura deepen in color and draw inward, becoming a kind of body-hugging capsule" (pg. 534) aka Lois is jealous of the waitress

Because of the auras, Ralph and Lois can sense/read each other's body language.

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Topics of Book:

The bad = Bald Doctors and the Crimson King.  The Bald Doctors represent Order/Good and how Ralph and Lois has to defeat the agents of Random (Chaos/Evil) mainly Doc #3 aka Atropos and the Crimson King. Atropos made Ed the way he is; cursing and being abusive to Helen. Atropos has taken him over. Atropos has been telling Ed all about the Crimson King. Atropos has been making Ed go and get flying lessons to do a suicide flight.

Love =  Lois has had a crush on Ralph for years. Carolyn knew about her crush on him

Death = Thousands of people and Susan Day at her speech if they don't stop Ed'ssuicide flight attempt. Ed's mission is to kill Susan Day and everyone gathered at the speech with a suicide flight. Atropos, Ed, and Charlie Pickering set houses filled with women and children on fire. Helen Deepneau and her daughter Natalie are in one of the burning houses.

Climax of story = *Ask me for this. I don't want to spoil it for others*

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References:

Ralph referenced Hitler and suicide flights as a part of the Holocaust to what Ed is doing. (Pg.525 paragraph at the top of the page).

Lord of the Rings

In Chapter 2, on page 33, panel 3, there is a sign that a Mouse is holding that says, "I'm a dirty Jew." At this tpoint I was thinking it was like the star that Jews had to wear during the Holocaust to identify themselves. But, in this book this mouse was carrying a sign that identified them. Thew Jews and the Germans are drawn differently too. The jews are mice and the nazis are cats. I liked this idea because cats do chace and kill mice. Panel 5 on page 33 gives a breif description of what did happen in the Holocaust like burned synagogues. During one of Artie's dad's stories about him being in the military, he was caught by a Nazis soldier he was shooting at and was yelled at and screamed at. He was called a filty jew.

Artie = Art Spiegleman.

I love this book. I love this book because Stephen King kind of writes the same way me and my sisters do. We write stories about people who have powers that need to stop the ‘bad guys' and save the world. Turns out, the book Insomnia is kind of like it.

I have now read Section 2  (Chapters 11-20/ Pages 311-517) of the book and Ralph has shown that he can speak to people, and animals telepathically, and that he does indeed have powers. He can also control when he can see people's auras or not. In the process of doing that, he's found out that the difference between animals and humans are their souls reside in a different place. In animals; its in their throats, and in humans, in their heads. Other than that, humans and animals are similar in the case that they can show their emotions with their eyes or their whole bodies. All of this was happening while he was yelling (actually yelling with his mind) at a bald doctor, also known as Doc #3. Every single short, bald man, Ralph calls the Bald Doctors.

In this section, we also find out that Lois has insomnia too. But, no one she knew has died, so that's not the cause of her insomnia. But, hers had started a month or two before Ralph's wife died while Ralph's started a month or two after.

Somehow the two of their insomnia cases are related to each other, or have something to do with each other. The main factor between the two of them is Carolyn's death. Also, both Lois and Ralph went to/used to go to Dr. Litchfield to get help with their insomnia.

Ralph and Lois meet two more people with powers: Clotho and Lachesis. The two of them help guide Ralph and Lois, telepathically, on their mission to try and stop the Bald Doctors. Ed has become more and more aggressive and has planted a bomb where Susan Day is giving a speech, wanting to kill her.

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Bald Doctors:

Bald, wear white smocks, very short, don't belong in the right world, (pg. 359)

Can walk through solid objects

Has to have special powers to be able to see the doctors

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Auras

Black = Nightmare or deathbag

Balloon strings = life lines, the smaller and shorter the life line, the younger you are [ex. Baby's life line was a small stub]

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Attacks

Ralph - Karate chop gesture makes his blue aura colored crescent shoot out of his finger tips

Lois - Gun motion sends light gray/blue aura colored bullets out of her extended fingers

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Topics of Book:

The good = Ralph aka Peacemaker

The bad = Doc #3 and Ed

Love =  Lois and Ralph together

Death = Carolyn's Death, Almost death of Helen Deepneau

The only thing that has made me not like this book is how there are sections, in those sections are chapters, and in those chapters are more sections.

This book is set in a place called Derry, Maine.

Other than that, I have read the Prologue, and the first two sections, Prologue through section 1(Chapter 1-Chapter 10/ Pgs 1-309). Ralph Roberts is the main character and his wife, Carolyn, has died from a brain tumor. He, his friend, Ed Deepneau, a man named Dorrance Marstellar, and a man named John Tandy have gotten into an argument wihle driving. Ed was accusing John for being a baby murderer.

This was all taking place during a thunderstorm so I automatically thought that it would be like Ernest Hemingway and how everything bad happened while it was raining. That same night, Ralph's wife was having seizures due to her brain tumor, but she survived that night.

The rest of the days in the book, unless otherwise states, its really hot.

The rest of section one is Ralph trying different ways to get rid of his insomnia. Helen Deepneau, Ed's wife was assaulted by her husband one day when Ralph was at the store. He helped her, and her baby, Natalie, but she didn't want him to call the police on her husband. Ralph did so anyway, and Helen and Natalie moved to another house to start a new life, away from Ed.

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Some things that I noticed was referenced to a lot

Deathwatch:

Before Carolyn died, Ralph always referred to how tired she looked and acted as a deathwatch. He could always heard the ticking when her time of death grew closer and closer. It wasn't from the walls, but from her. He stated that she could heard the death watch judging by the look in her eyes. After Carolyn died, Ralph found that he had been waking up earlier and earlier than before.

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Eyes:

I've noticed that Stephen King has numerous occasions talking about the looks in people's eyes. For example, on page 4 when he says, "...he would see that she heard it too. He would see it in her dark eyes...but later even when her eyes were hazed by the pain medication she took." Also on page 13 when he was talking about his friend Ed, "It was murder he had seen in Ed Deepneau's unblinking eyes....it was the look fighting cocks must wear when they launch themselves at each other, spurs up and flashing."

"Lois had large dark eyes...and he bet that they danced through the minds of dozens of boys during Lois's high school years," (pg 49).

"One of her eyes was puffed shut...her good eye seeming to see nothing; it simply stared," (about Helen Deepneau, pg. 66).

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Cures of Insomnia:

Listening to classical music half an hour before bed: "Just drink a glass of warm milk and listen to classical music a half an hour before you go to bed," (Hamilton Davenport, pg 43).

Whiskey: "Just mix a tablespoon of honey with half a shot of whiskey and hook it down about fifteen to twenty minutes before you hit the hay," (Bill McGovern, pg 56).

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Reasons for Insomnia

Depression

REM (pg 141 with Joe Wyzer)

Murder --> Susan Day (referenced through out the book) --> Assault = Ed (refer back to argument between Ed and John Tandy at the beginning of the book)

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Aura

Ralph starts seeing people's aura

Mother and son = white and blue à "Tendrils of aura was rising from their clasped hands; white from the mother, dark blue from the boy" (pg 153)

"The aura which surrounded her was the firm, no-nonsense gray of a West Point uniform," (pg. 287).

Redolent (pg. 155) - fragrant or aromatic, having a sweet scent; Having the smell of; suggestive or reminiscent

Indiscernible (pg 155) - barely able to be perceived

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So we find out that Nick had a sleepless night, Tom didn't hurt Daisy, Daisy didn't leave the house, and Gatsby stayed outside of Tom's house until four in the morning. And this is also the time where Nick tells Gatsby to give up on Daisy. Of course, Gatsby automatically ignored what Nick was saying. Gatsby is a strong believer in true love/you can only love one person. He doesn't want to give up on Daisy because he believes that she is the only love for him. We then find out that back in Gatsby's past he did indeed court Daisy. We also find out that Daisy said she would wait for Gatsby to return from the war, but married Tom instead because his life was already set in stone.

Now, to me, this was pretty obvious. When Gatsby started telling his story about him and Daisy, I could easily predict what Gatsby was going to say next. But, what I didn't expect was for Gatsby to die. And for him to die without getting Daisy, while thinking about his life and how Daisy isn't in it. That's a horrible way to die. At the funeral we find that Gatsby had a book of self-improvement --> Moral plan anyone?

 I can't pick just one quote for this chapter, a lot of them were very important, but if I had to choose one, it would be when Tom was blaming Gatsby for running over Myrtle.

Dilatory (pg 119) - inclined to delay; slow or late in doing things

Caravansary (pg. 120) - an inn in some eastern countries with a large courtyard that provides accommodation for caravans

"I wanted somebody who wouldn't gossip. Daisy comes over quite often - in the afternoon" (Pg 120 Gatsby)

So now, I have two thoughts about Gatsby.

• 1.) He's being a hypocrite. He threw so many extravagant parties so strangers could come and talk about him hoping that Daisy would hear. Of course, he also just wanted to show off how wealthy he was because he thought that's what Daisy wanted. Unfortunately for him, the parties he did throw, she didn't go to.
• 2.) Gatsby's plan worked .As soon as he finally got Daisy, he doesn't want someone else to gossip about him. If someone does gossip about him, he's worried that they'll say something bad about him and drive Daisy away.