The Call to Adventure

Ellie Linton's call to adventure occurs when her and six of her friends return home from a week long camping trip to a large, vegetated sinkhole known as "Hell." During the camping trip the group sees a large number of military planes flying through the night without lights on. They talk about it the next morning, but don't think it's of much importance. When they return they find that all the people are missing and their pets and livestock are dead or dying. Fearing the worst, they break into three groups to investigate Wirrawee's situation. They confirm that Australia (or at least, Wirrawee) has been invaded and local citizens are being held captive by the occupying force. 

"In the house nothing was wrong, and that was what was wrong. There was no sign of life at all. Everything was neat and tidy. At that time of day there should have been food spread out on the kitchen table, there should have been dishes in the sink, the TV should have been chattering in the background. But all was silent." (Marsden 56)

The Ordinary World

In the book Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden, the protagonist is Ellie Linton. Ellie's ordinary world is her home. She was born and raised on a cattle and sheep farm not far from the edge of the country town of Wirrawee, Australia. She lives a simple life in the country and she loves it. There is no place in the world that she would rather be.

I chose this image because it shows what Ellie's ordinary world is like. A normal, small, rural town.

"But in spite of our isolation, our unglamourous life, I loved being a rural. Other kids couldn’t wait to get away to the city. It was like, the moment they finished school they’d be at the bus depot with their bags packed. They wanted crowds and noise and fast food stores and huge shopping centres. They wanted adrenaline pumping through their veins. I liked those things, in small doses, and I knew that in my life I’d like to spend good lengths of time in the city. But I always knew where I most liked to be and that was out here, even if I did spend half my life headfirst in a tractor engine, or pulling a lamb out of a barbed-wire fence, or getting kicked black and blue by a heifer when I got between her and her calf.” (Marsden 78)

Free Choice

The book that I am currently reading is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. The big question that I have for this book is, Why is it so important to Mr. Bennett that his five daughters, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia, are trained in the deadly arts (killing zombies)?

I understand that he wants his daughters to be able to protect themselves, but to him it's more important that they can kill zombies than it is that they're happy. The girls are looked down upon by many important people due to the fact that their first instinct is always to kill. They don't really care much about how they look or act around anybody because their father taught them that it isn't as important as fighting.

"Elizabeth lifted her skirt, disregarding modesty, and delivered a swift kick to the creature's head, which exploded in a cloud of brittle skin and bone." (Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies page 28)

Character Archetypes

In Bram Stoker's Dracula, the character Lucy Westenra shows characteristics of the threshold guardian archetype. Lucy becomes ill and Abraham Van Helsing has to figure out what's wrong with her. It's only after he realizes what's making her ill that he’ll have the chance to face Count Dracula.

‘Van Helsing and I were shown up to Lucy's room. She was ghastly, chalkily pale. The red seemed to have gone even from her lips and gums, and the bones of her face stood out prominently. Her breathing was painful to see or hear. Van Helsing's face grew set as marble, and his eyebrows converged till they almost touched over his nose. Lucy lay motionless, and did not seem to have strength to speak, so for a while we were all silent. Then Van Helsing beckoned to me, and we went gently out of the room."My god!" he said. "This is dreadful. There is not time to be lost. She will die for sheer want of blood to keep the heart's action as it should be. There must be a transfusion of blood at once.”’ (Bram Stoker, Dracula pages 158-159)

‘Just over the external jugular vein there were two punctures, not large, but not wholesome looking. There was no sign of disease, but the edges were white and worn looking, as if by some trituration. It at once occurred to me that this wound, or whatever it was, might be the means of that manifest loss of blood.’ (Bram Stoker, Dracula page 163)

Popular?

To me, a classic is something that is never truly forgotten. In order for a book to be a classic, it doesn't always have to be about something that everyone knows about. Sometimes, the books that are considered classics are on topics that very few people knew anything about before the book was read, but other times, the things that are remembered for the longest amount of time are things that people are familiar with.

Right now I'm reading Dracula by Bram Stoker, which is actually one of the books in the Scholastic Classics collection. This book is a classic because when it was published in 1897, vampires weren't a hugely popular topic. People were curious as to who exactly Count Dracula was, so they read the book. The book was written with journal and diary entries, and letters from multiple different characters, giving the reader the story from more than one perspective. This way of writing isn't the most common style, so it's interesting to read. Future generations of students should read this book because over time, the image of the vampire has changed drastically, into something completely different then what it was originally. Modern vampires are showed as being just like regular people. They can blend in with everybody else. Future generations should read this book to get a sense of what a vampire is meant to be like.    

This reminds me of...

"The castle is on the very edge of a terrific precipice. As far as the eye can reach is a sea of green tree tops, with occasionally a deep rift where there is a chasm. But I am not in heart to describe beauty, for when I had seen the view I explored further. Doors, doors, doors everywhere, and all locked and bolted." (Bram Stoker, Dracula pg. 14)

This reminds me of an article that I read about Bran Castle, which was the inspiration for Dracula's castle. The article talks about the history of the castle, and how it is currently on sale for $100 million. The castle is Romania's biggest tourist attraction, but the Ministry of Culture in Romania fears that the new owners will transform it into a tacky Dracula theme park.The descriptions in the article are very similar  to the description that Jonathan Harker gives in the book. It explains the incredible view from the towers of the castle, and how there's 57 rooms in total, along with a secret passageway leading to the towers. This is one of the text - to - world connections that I made while reading Dracula.

This a video of a tour around Bran Castle.

 

Main Character

"But there was no reflection of him in the mirror! The whole room behind me was displayed; but there was no sign of a man it it, except myself. This was startling, and, coming on top of so many strange things, was beginning to increase that vague feeling of uneasiness that I always have when the Count is near; but at that instant I saw that the cut had bled a little, and the blood was trickling over my chin. I laid down the razor, turning as I did so half-round to look for some sticking-plaster. When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat. I drew away, and his hand touched the string of beads which held the crucifix. It made an instant change in him, for the fury passed so quickly I could hardly believe that it was ever there." (Bram Stoker, Dracula page #34)

I feel that this quotation describes Count Dracula very well because it's one of the first times that he shows what he truly is. He's usually very composed and he's careful not to act abnormally around his house guest Jonathan Harker. In this part of the book, however, he loses control and actually behaves like a vampire. The moment only lasts until he touches the beads that hold the crucifix that Jonathan wears around his neck. It's shortly after this part that Jonathan puts together the strange habits of the Count, and realizes that he's more than just a very peculiar man.

From what I've read of the book, I predict that Count Dracula will move to his new house in England as he said he would. He wants to get out of Transylvania, where his legend scares away all living people. I think that Jonathan will try to stop him at any cost, so he doesn't have the opportunity to kill everybody. Jonathan doesn't know anything about vampires, though, so he will most likely have to enlist the help of somebody who does. 

I chose Dracula's theme song because it's very dark and mysterious, like Count Dracula himself. It truly represents the Count's menacing side.

Summary and Review

    

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

http://exlibrisandrea.blogspot.com/2010/05/wondrous-strange-lesley-livingston.html

To seventeen-year-old Kelley Winslow, faeries are just make believe. Then she meets Sonny Flannery, one of the guards of the Samhain Gate, which connects our world with the Faerie’s magical Otherworld. The Gate is usually kept shut by the faerie king Auberon, but it stands open once a year, exposing the mortal realm to malicious faeries. Now Kelley must come to terms with her powerful heritage in order to save herself and her beloved world. 

Wondrous Strange is a captivating story that merges the realm of Faerie with the mortal world. The book is told from the perspective of both Kelley Winslow and Sonny Flannery so the reader gets a feel as to who the characters really are. Another amazing aspect of this book is the mixture of factual and fictional Faerie history. The author included many different mythical creatures along with myths and folklore associated with the Fey. Any person that enjoys Faerie, Shakespeare, or just plain fantasy will enjoy this book. 

"A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter in any other way." -Caroline Gordon

Whenever I read a good book, I get caught up in the story. I’m able to forget about what’s around me. A well-written book can make you feel like you’re part of a different world, real or not. You can leave everything behind you and live someone else’s life, even if it’s just for an hour or two. I find it comforting to know that I always have a way to escape reality when I need to. The easiest way to tell a good book apart from a bad one is to read it and see the places it takes you. If you never leave the room you’re in, the book isn’t worth reading. If you travel to another world, however, the book is worth reading again. You may not be able to judge a book by it’s cover, but you can judge a book by it’s ability to transform reality into something amazing.

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/book/4.html