Hawkline Monster 2

"A unique thought was now in the shadow's mind and the thought was linking itself up with a plan of direct action to take place when next the monster chose to move. 'This sure is a weird place,' Greer said. 'It ain't any weirder than Hawaii,' Cameron said."

There is a lot of repetition in this book, it really adds emphasis to what is said. The characters always mention Hawaii and what a terrible experience that was for them at random times and every time the characters decide to go kill the "monster" just to get it over with, they get distracted by something and end up putting it off. Also, I find it really interesting that the "monster" in the book is the light, while the hero is the shadow. Usually that role is reversed- most people associate light with "good" and shadow with "bad," so the idea that the shadow saves them all from the light is really interesting to me. The end of the book really intrigued me too- it had no fairy tale ending. All of the the characters went on to live normal yet unhappy lives and nothing special came out of all the things that happened with the Hawkline monster. I couldn't see any kind of moral coming out of this story unless its something along the lines of things aren't always what they seem or don't judge a book by it's cover... coming from the fact that the shadow was the real hero of the story- which I for one did not see coming when I first picked up this book.

The Hawkline Monster Part 2

"The shadow wished that it could look out underneath the door to see what was happening, but, alas, its role in life was only to follow and so it detailed itself right behind the ass of the Hawkline Monster."

The shadow of the monster is my favorite character in this book. While he is associated with that which is bad, the shadow possesses a strong desire to reverse the situation, and try to improve the lives of the Hawkline sisters. He spends most of the book thinking about how much he'd like to stop the Hawlkine Monster, but not being able to do so. At the end, he sacrifices his current life to slow the monster down enough that Cameron and Greer can kill it, which, to me, makes it the hero of the novel.

Hawkline Monster part 2

"The professor had given up chemistry and was now devoting his life to stamp collecting"

This is such a small inconsequential line, but it struck me as comical. After all this drama and interesting happenings it just rushes to an end which is unexpected and funny. It brought the story to a light and carefree place. After all this and his desire to invent he just simply gives it up for something as mindless as stamp collecting. I liked that the story wasn't predictable. Usually the creation destroys its master.

"Greer and Cameron stood there watching the Hawkline sisters hugging and calling an elephant foot umbrella stand Daddy."

I chose this quote because I think it really brings a sense of craziness to the situation in general. Although it is obvious that their father had been turned into an umbrella stand, the way it is written makes it sound like they are crazy for thinking this. I also thought that it was kind of funny how they recognized the umbrella stand as their father.

The Hawkline Monster - Part 2

"The shadow of the monster had been turned into the shadow of diamonds. It also was without memory of a previous existence, so now its soul was at rest and it had been turned into the shadow of beautiful things."

While reading this story I didn't find myself particularly attached to any of the characters, mostly because the pacing didn't allow for the reader to really spend time developing any sort of attachment. Even Cameron, who, along with Magic Child, stood out to me more than most of the characters, wasn't all that captivating. I did, however, enjoy reading about the shadow's take on the story and its role as an extension of the Hawkline Monster. I honestly didn't really care all that much about what happened to Greer or Cameron or the Hawkline sisters at the end of the story, but I was strangely pleased with the fact that the shadow got a somewhat happy ending and wasn't plagued with the memories of its past life with the monster. The shadow's fate might not have had much bearing on the ending of the story, but it was just one of those little details that made the story a little bit better for me.

The Hawkline Monster Part 2

"It was very apparent that Cameron was not going to be converted to the geniality of tea drinking. It was, as you might say, not his cup of tea."

The odd humor in this sentence is striking, and made me recognize other bits of humor in the novel a little more than I did before. It continues onto the next page- "guiding him to his eternal resting place, a whole in the ground." These little bits aren't by any means laugh out loud funny, but I feel like they have a nice, understated quality that gives the novel sarcastic, humorous undertones. It helps add to the unique style of the novel.

The Hawkline Monster Part 2

"I'm sorry that this had to happen to our father's lifework but there are things that are more important." "Yeah, our lives," Cameron interrupted.

I found this passage to be peculiar because of Cameron's statement that shows how much he values his life. I found this contrary to the passivity of most of the characters. I did not feel like I knew the characters in the story very well and felt like most of them drifted through the story without much affect on its happenings. Later sentences revealed that Cameron was impatient after a long day and that was possibly his primary motivation for disagreeing with Miss Hawkline

cass ford & "the hawkline monster" part ii

"The shadow was very uncomfortable, almost sweating.... The shadow thought that it was going to throw up." -- page 160

The shadow being personified was interesting. It became the most sentient of all the characters by the end of the novel. And, when it was first given human attributes, it was unclear of what the shadow's intentions were or how it felt in regards to the Hawkline Monster. The other characters were readily dismissed and treated more as props in a story than multidimensional creations. The final chapter is a good example of this. I was actually expecting the fates of the human characters to be far worse than what they were; even perhaps expecting that they would be defeated by the Hawkline Monster.

I'm not too sure how I felt about the ending of the book-- to me, something just felt off about it. I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the ending. It seemed rushed, especially after the 100 or so pages it took to get to actually finding the Hawkline Monster. I hate to say it, but it was kind of disappointing.

"The shadow by now had given up trying to figure out what was happening."

I liked this sentence; in fact I enjoyed all the references the shadow. I liked thinking of the shadow as a creature of its own, helpless in that it can't help but follow along after the Monster. At first it is as if the shadow resists, not wanting to go along with this, but being tied to it and unable to break free. But as the story progress the shadow just gives up and goes with it, the way the other characters do. This whole "to hell with it" attitude is a prominent mindset in the novel the more trippy the plot gets.

Hawkline Monster 2

"The way everybody was sitting it looked as if they were at a picnic but the picnic was of course the burning of the house, the death of the Hawkline Monster and the end of a scientific dream."

I thought this quote was interesting because I felt like it foreshadowing the sad future of the characters lives after the destruction of the hawkline monster. After Cameron dives into the lake and discovers the blue diamonds I feel like everyone thinks that their lives will be much better from this point. However, we find out that mostly bad things happen to the characters, for example, Greer ends up in a penitentiary. I think this went along with the gothic theme of the story. The reader feels hope for the future and expects a happy ending but the gothic side takes over and we are left with a somewhat depressing ending.

The Hawkline Monster 2

"Greer was arrested for auto theft in 1927 and spent four years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary where he developed an interest in the Rosicrucian way of faith" (215).

This paragraph caught my attention because I had never heard of Rosicrucianism before. After I finished the book, I looked it up. Reading a bit about it, I learned that it is a secret society created in medieval Germany which focuses on nature, spiritualism, and the physical universe. It is also compared closely with Lutheranism. One of the pieces I read talked a lot about alchemy and reminded me of the Chemicals in the book. This led me to try and decipher why the author connected Greer with this group of people. The only connection I can draw is Greer's love of Magic Child who seems to represent nature and control of one's self. The medieval secret society aspect of Rosicrucianism also fits in well with the Gothic side of the story.

Hawkilne Monster Part 2

" The shadow by now had given up trying to fugure out what was happening. The shadow just didn't give a f*** anymore."

This sentence sums up alot of the motives in this book. Everyone doesn't really care about anything, it just seems like stuff happens and they all go with the flow. There is this "what-the-hell" attitude and now it's spread from people to a world beyond humans-to the shadow. The pacing in the book also shows that this passive attitude. In each chapter it merely restates what just happened with no impressive detail, just obvious facts. However, I think the blatency of the book is intriguing because it's a fast read and you really don't have to think too much to understand the concept which, in my opinion, is like the characters in ths book-simple and surface

Hawkline Monster

"She was tall and slender and had long straight black hair. Her features were delicately voluptuous. They were both interested in her mouth."

I chose this quote because I think it distinctly marks magic child's character. As much as it has nothing to do with what is going on inside her it has everything to do with what men view her as. She has respect for herself yet she does not judge. She is patient, gentle, and precise. Also when these two men are introduced they are molded as animalistic and primal. They are dirty in the sense that they are just hanging out in a whorehouse having sex with whoever without any cares.

This quote tells me that Magic Child has respect for herself and she values the task that lies ahead of her. It would be easy for her to seek attention from these men and to be needy for them to notice her beauty for the sake of being flattered, but instead she withholds. This quote made me respect her.

Hawkline Monster 2 (because I read it early and am therefore shunned by society)

"The shadow clumsily followed behind it, darker than the darkness in the room, more silent than complete silence and alone in the tragedy of its servitude to evil." - pg 158

I genuinely enjoyed this book, mostly due to its unique use of the combination of gothic/sci-fi/ghost story/western. The shadow of the Hawkline Monster particularly drew my attention. It can't do anything to stop the cruel antics of the real monster (a being of light, ironically), but it dreams of being able to control the powers of The Chemicals to please the Hawkline sisters instead of tormenting them. Here, the shadow is characterized as a clumsy fool being dragged along by the torturous Monster. Its sorrow reflects the static nature of Hawkline Manor - silent, alone, and at the mercy of the cruel light it had a part in creating. The shadow finally triumphs over the Monster in the epilogue, when it is the only "character" with a true happy ending. It lives in the diamonds, making them more beautiful with its graceful shadow and having no memory of its previous servitude. Perhaps it's the Gothic influence - shadow wins out against the Hawkline Monster of light.

"She had spent three months in Portland, looking for the right men."

I chose this quote because it made me wonder, what did it mean by "right men"? Why was she looking for these certain people? That all became more clear to me once they got to Magic Child's house, but at the time I wondered what it could possibly be. Right men for what? I thought that maybe this sentence had more to do with sexuality than anything, so it was surprising for me once I found out why she needed to find them.

"Cameron was a counter. He vomited nineteen times to San Francisco. He liked to
count everything that he did."

I chose this quote for several reasons; the first being the style in which these sentences are written. There are many ways to say the exact same thing that was said here in one long sentence, but it instead broken up into three short, but complete, ones. Much of the book is written this way. It doesn't waste time on flowery language or pretty descriptions or lengthy phrases; it's straightforward, it's blunt, it's matter-of-fact...much like the "typical" cowboys behave: if they have something to say, they say it. Otherwise, they're silent. The language here is very reminuscent of the "strong, silent" type.

Another reason I chose this quote was because of the content--Cameron counts things. At first, I was just sort of like, uhhh, okay? But the more I thought about it, the more I really liked the fact that he did that. People with OCD or similiar things are sometimes constantly counting or doing things a certain number of times--they do this to reassure themselves, as if using something firm and familiar as an anchor to help them maintain their grip on reality. So it is with Cameron and his counting. No matter how crazy this story gets, no matter what else happens, the numbers will always be the same, in the same, old, familiar order. Cameron fixates on this and uses it to grasp onto reality in this mad, mad world. When everything else is defying all natural laws, the numbers stay the same. One, two, three, four...

I like this book so far much more than the ones we have previously been reading. It's trippy, but it holds my interest more than the others. I like the idea of combining gothic and western, and despite myself, I find myself wondering what's going to happen with all this strange nonsense going on with these people and this house.

"It obscured the vision of the Hawkline Monster for a few seconds, knowing full well that if the monster were destroyed, too, but death was better than going on living like this, being a part of evil.." p. 176

I really loved this book because of the shadow.  I loved its hatred for the monster itself and I loved its selflessness in the end of the book.  It can even be metaphorical of a person that is caught in the shadow of someone evil, but can do nothing about it.  It can be frustrating to do exactly what the evil person does, and it can drive one crazy when he can do nothing about the entire thing.  I think that that's one of the things that drives the shadow crazy; the Monster is doing all of these horrible things and the shadow has no control over its actions or choices.  Being a shadow, it can only follow the Monster around and mimic what it does. Therefore, in the end when it rebels against the Monster, it is an amazing victory for the underdog.  I loved the ending of this book.

The Hawkline Monster

“The Indian girl travelled with them. They spent a great deal of time looking at her because she was very pretty.”

I thought this passage really summarized the characters feelings toward each other in the book as well as the writing style itself. The characters are very sexually charged and mainly recognize each other as sexual things. This is similar to the writing style in that it is very blunt and does not shy away from accurate descriptions. If the characters were more subtle they would not have stared at the girl during most of the travel. I find it surprising that the characters are not apologetic for the way they act and give in to their desires.

Hawkline Monster

"Magic Child was watching Greer stare at her breasts. She was imagining Greer touching them with his casually powerful-looking hands. She was excited and pleased inside of herself, knowing that she would be fucking Greer before the day was gone."

It didn't seem like Magic Child was interested in Greer, let alone in having sex with him. She seemed like an innocent character when she is first introduced. I have to say it is a little unsettling to be reading about grown men having sex with girls fourteen years of age. If Magic Child really is fifteen, I find it disturbing that she has has sex with so many men- including one in his sixties. Also, how blunt she is with Greer and Cameron. Not easy to picture a fifteen year old saying "fuck me" to grown men.

The Hawkline Monster, Part 1

"She was wearing a heavy winter coat."

Clothing seems to play an important role in this novel. Magic Child's unique clothing is repeatedly pointed out, and both Miss Hawklines are said to have become nude at some point. Miss Hawkline is said to be wearing a winter coat in this part of the novel, which is because of the ice caves underneath the house. Is clothing really that important to the author, that it is emphasized this much?

Hawkline Monster 1

"The Death of Magic Child"

I was taken aback by the title of this chapter, since the book hadn't even reached the main plot yet. A character dies? And the author announced it in the chapter name? Of course, Magic Child only really died in spirit after she became a copy of Miss Hawkline, but the other characters still refer directly to her "death." I suppose it's a testament to the author's blunt, somewhat satirical style that such an event is handled so nonchalantly. It's easily the most fantastical element in the story so far, if the mere mention of ice monster doesn't take that prize. Maybe I'd call myself a fan of this book. It gets right to the point in common, sometimes vulgar (and grammatically derpy - using second person in a third person narrative? RAAAAGGGEE!!!) language and explains such a mash-up of genres in a nonplussed way that I don't believe many other stories could pull off. It's an aggressive simplicity that works surprisingly well.

The HawklIne Monster

"It was very difficult for the shadow to pretend that it was gravy but it worked hard at the performance and sort of pulled it off."

This quote reveals the dry humor that characterizes the entire short story. It is definitely the first time I have read a story written in such a unique comic style. When I started reading I thought that the story would be a more serious one rather, it was quite comedic in its telling and entertaining to read.

As for the creativity of the quote, it likens the shadow to an actor in a play. Throughout the story Brautigan uses juxtaposing comparisons to create humor. I found many of them, including this one, to be clever rather than a more slapstick sort of humor, which I appreciate.

cass ford & "the hawkline monster" part i

"'Hawaii's a dumb thing to bring up in this conversation. These women have a problem,' Greer said. 'They paid us their money to take care of it and let's get on with it and I know you hate Hawaii because I was standing right beside you on the fucking place. I know you remember that because you remember every fucking thing.'" -- page 91

I find this quote to be pretty funny considering the nature of this book. The amount of time the story is taking to tell juxtaposed with the clipped, matter-of-fact language used to tell it in is interesting. Greer's quote adds a layer of self-awareness to the text and how the story is being told. This quote isn't the only time either Greer or Cameron says they need to go kill the monster and stop talking about it.

On another note, I really like this novel and the style in which Brautigan writes. He has a very distinct voice and is entertaining in the manner he tells the story. I'm interested to see where this book is going. Personally, I don't trust either of the Miss Hawklines and I certainly don't see things turning out as the characters are planning, but I have no expectations as to what will happen. Any predictions I have would probably turn out to be wrong anyway.

The Hawkline Monster - Part 1

"You sure are 1 pretty girl," Cameron said.

Cameron stands out for me because, unlike the other characters, he doesn't just wander through life without paying attention to what he's seeing. He catalogs his experiences by counting seemingly meaningless things, a trait apparently only Greer is capable of interpreting. To us, these numbers are pointless, a waste of time, but to Cameron they're like signposts on the road he's traveling. I thought it was really interesting that Brautigan would include this quirk even in Cameron's dialogue, transforming "one" into "1" to further emphasize Cameron's connection to numbers.

The Hawkline Monster 1

"The two little whores didn't know what was happening. They had never seen anything like this before and they had seen a lot of things. The brunette suddenly covered up her vagina because she was embarrassed" (18).

The language of this novel is very blunt; however, through these straight forward lines, there is a lot of description. The subject matter in this section of the story in particular is very awkward, but the author does not dance around the situation by using metaphors or flowery language. They boldly write exactly what happens without any embellishment. I really like this method as it is not hard to understand exactly what is happening, making it an easy and enjoyable read.

The Hawkline Monster

"Even now Miss Hawkline waited for them in that huge very cold yellow house... in Eastern Oregon... as they were picking up some traveling money in San Francisco's Chinatown by killing a Chinaman that a bunch of other Chinamen thought needed killing. He was a real tough Chinaman and they offered Greer and Cameron seventy-five dollars to kill him." This paragraph stood out to me for two reasons: One being how casually they talk about killing. Greer and Cameron act like it's just a minor inconvenience along the way that they have to kill this guy to get some money. The second thing that stood out to me in this paragraph was how "dumbed" down it was. I'm guessing that Brautigan wrote it this way to show the intelligence level of the two main characters and to make it more realistic to how they thought. I know that I didn't quote this section but I thought it was really strange how Brautigan wrote about the whore house. He described the "whores" as naive and somewhat dirty, but they were just little girls who presumably didn't know any better.

"Magic Child looked out the window at the Columbus River. There was a small boat on the river. Two people were sitting in the boat. She couldn't tell what they were doing. One of the people was holding up an umbrella, though it wasn't raining and the sun wasn't shining either."

This book seems nonsensical, and the characters are wholly absorbed in themselves. The consequences of their actions, such as plotting to kill someone or spending time in a whorehouse, don't affect them at all. They float on through life, without some sort of pattern or meaning. This is exemplified by the metaphor in this passage. The people observed by Magic Child are synonymous with Greer and Cameron- floating through life, not making sense, and not knowing what it is they are doing.

Hawkline Monster part 1

"Cameron was a counter. He vomited nineteen times to San Francisco. He liked to count everything that he did. This made Greer a little nervous when he first met up with Cameron years ago, but now he'd gotten used to it by now. He had to or it might have driven him crazy."

A big theme in this book is insanity vs sanity and fake vs reality. I think it's funny that Greer thought he might go insane if he didn't get used to Cameron's repeated counting. Yet he never refers to Cameron as being crazy. Cameron's counting is a constant reasurrance of facts and reality even when things become supernatural and questionable.

The Hawkline Monster Part 1

"They stood there for a moment with their arms around each other: still laughing. They were the same height and had the same color hair and the same build and the same features and they were the same woman."

Before Miss Hawkline and Magic Child reunited, it was mentioned that one of the characters in the novel believed the two to be twins. At that time, I wondered why the two would try to be so different- dress differently, adapt different names, and in Magic Child's case, pretend to be of a different nationality. Therefore, during that point in the book, I figured that Miss Hawkline and Magic Child tried to find their own identities instead of being the same person. However, when they are reunited, I found out almost right away that my assumptions were incorrect. As they are around each other, their identities form together to create one person with two bodies. This makes me wonder why the two created such different identities in the first place, keeping my interest in the story.

Rose Mellie Rose Response 2

"Yem opened the bottle of sparkling wine. This is the first time I have tasted it. Yem told me to make a wish since this is the first time I have been on a boat and have drunk sparkling wine. I made the wish right away without thinking: a long and happy life for the queen of the fairies."

I chose this quote because I got a magical sense while reading it. I really liked that even though so many disturbing and weird things (to us) happened in the story, this little section kind of takes you away from that. You feel kind of silly reading it and you realize that she really is just a young girl, but she has experienced so many things.

Rose Mellie Rose part II

"I stayed there a long time looking at the ocean, long after the Queen of the Fairies had disappeared over the horizon. And then all of a sudden everything stopped. I had the impression that even the ocean had stopped moving.

I was still on the pier when the fishermen came. They asked me what I was doing there all alone in my wedding dress. So I told them about Yem's leaving and about the channel he wants to follow to the end. The fishermen shook their heads. They say the channel only exists in legends. They think I was wrong to marry Yem. But I do not think like they do. I was right to marry Yem, no matter what the fishermen think. They don't understand anything about the Queen of the Fairies."

I chose this quote because I think that this is an excellent example of how much she values the legends. Throughout the book it seemed to me that she had no emotion, that nothing mattered enough to cause her to react. I thought at first that it was because she valued nothing, but this quote turned me 180 degrees. This quote made me feel like she is extremely emotionally stable. She lingers long after Yem is gone, but she does not fall to pieces. She trusts in the legends and the desire to keep them close. She holds onto them as her only stable piece of identity. I thought it was consistent that she married Yem because he held legend familiarity to her.

"The secondhand man can't really understand Miss Martha, despite his desire to understand."
This quote sounds very poetic and thus stood out to me during the second half of the reading. I can relate because there are some things that happen that I want to understand but cannot, in this novel and in life. The short sentences again set up a fast pace for the reading and it all sort of flies by and is over before you know it. In the first half, it made the narrator's voice seem child-like and naive. In this half, perhaps because she has become more of an adult in her lifestyle--marriage, pregnancy--she no longer sounds like a child to me. Instead, the short sentences give me a sense of dettatchment and apathy, like she is distant from what is going on around her. Another reason why I like this quote is because it reminds me of her, in a way that she really wants to understand everything around her but is unable to fully.

Response to Rose Mellie Rose

"He thinks he knows me because we were together on the bunk in his truck.  I have nothing else to say to him.  Our walk along the beach ended there.  The walk was ruined.  My whole afternoon is ruined." p. 65

I like this quote because it can be true of relationships; the intimacy of sex can indeed get you closer to someone, as it did for the truck driver.  However, it does not mean that you know them, who they truly are.  That also does not mean that you have the right to control them. 

After having sex with the truck driver for a second time, Mellie is angered that he is upset that she will not come with him to the continent, but wants to stay in Oat where her life is.  He says that he thought he knew her.  She seemed as if she would travel far, but it seemed as if she were stuck in Oat all her life now, dwindling it away for nothing too important.

This angers Mellie, as it would anger me.  Lover or not, the truck driver has no right to treat Mellie as such, considering that in reality, they really are not that close.  He does not know here from Eve, really; the only reason that he is asking her to come with him is out of loneliness or attachment.  And even when he's mad at her for refusing, he still gives her his address in hopes that she will change her mind and come to live with him on the continent. 

Rose Mellie Rose

"Mellie wanted to spend her last days lying on her bed in front of the bay window overlooking the ocean"

I found the book's treatment of water interesting, especially with regard to death. Nem dies underwater, the elderly Mellie makes a point of seeing the ocean from her deathbed, and one of Mellie's last sights is of the ocean. I'm not sure if water is just a symbol for change, as flooding influences where the characters choose to live or the ocean acts as a threshold for change between the island and the continent. There is definitely significance to Mellie living on an island. It has an oddness to it—that change surrounds her constantly, through the change and turbulence of the ocean, yet that very barrier of change holds the island in a state of sameness. It separates Oat from that which would change it. In its relation to death, perhaps the water holds an air of possibilities denied or out of reach for life. Water is what the dying could have done—ways they could have changed—that they regret.

post from Mideya

Rose Mellie Rose-- Marie Redonnet

As I read the last half of Rose Mellie Rose and everything started to come together, there was one quote that particulary struck me. It is when Mellie say, "Sometimes I dont kno who Mellie is. Mellie is me. I must not forget that. Fortunately I have my identity card with my photo glued to it." It is almost as if because Mellie has spent so much time in this deserted town and she has so many people she feels she must look after, she forgets who she is. She thinks that the card with her name and her photo on it is all she needs to remember who she is. She feels tha without it, she will lose herself but i think in a way she already has. She keeps losing pieces of herself when those around her keep leaving her.

Rose Mellie Rose Part 2

(I hope I didn't post this too late.)

"The veil grows thicker over my eyes."

Mellie has always had a veil over her eyes. She thought she was in control of her life, but all of her choices have been influenced by others in some way. Though she defies the truck driver, she still keeps her promise to not go to the Dance Palace. She gets engaged and married because it was Yem's idea. Even her decision to have her baby in the grotto was a mimicing of her own birth as Rose told her. In this way, I don't see Mellie as a very independent character. She's had to become an adult very quickly with her circumstances in Oat, but never quite grasped the concept of making decisions for herself. When she dies, the veil of cloudy judgment descends over her eyes, representing how irresponsible she's been.

cass ford & rose mellie rose part ii

"I did not put the sign from the Hermitage up in my new lodgings. You must not mix old and new." -- page 74

There seems to be a lot of differentiating between old and new in this book. The "new" of the continent vs. the old of Oât, old and new alphabets, etc. But things that are supposed to be clearly delineated as old or new often run together, like all the Mellies and Roses.

I don't have much more to say about the text. I liked the second half less, but I don't know exactly why. I don't think there was anything new introduced, like concepts or ideas, or even any major points being made. The ending was not surprising, in fact, it was predictable the minute she started talking about going to the grotto to have the baby. There was also no character change in Mellie by the end of the novel. This is disappointing, but when I think about it, I don't see much of a developed character that could change.

Then I read the explanation on the triptych of stories, and I think it's just reaching, even as a metaphor. Even as a story. I was constantly returning to reality to question how things were happening, like, how does Mellie pay for things? Where does she get food from? Why is a secondhand man being a mayor? Are there seriously only ten people on this island? It just wasn't believable, and not in a good way.

Rose Mellie Rose Part II

"This is the first time I have been pregnant. It is much more important than the first time I had my period."

This post reminded me of the beginning of the book when she first got her period when she was 12. At first this quote seemed dumb to me and extremely obvious, but then I remembered how she had to deal with a death when this happened. It was a hard time for her, she had to leave behind everything she knew. However, even with that said, I am wondering if that was the point of this quote. Maybe it has a deeper meaning as I suspect, but as I re-read the passage I'm wondering if she is just too young to understand the meaning of pregnancy.

Rose Mellie Rose - Tom

"Mellie is me. I must not forget that."

The entire book is extremely eerie. Everything about Rose Mellie Rose has a sort of double edge to it. Except for the fact that the island is dying and so is everyone on it. Like Mellie was found, her daughter Rose will be found as well. But like everyone on the island who has died, Mellie will die alone and pitifully. She had many opportunities to go to the continent and she did not take them. And she could have avoided her death altogether by going to the clinic for her delivery. But it seems she suffers from being a stubborn headed teenager. Not leaving the island and going to the grotto were her ultimate downfalls. But to me, she seems to be an impartial observer who in the end becomes sucked into the story of the island that ends in its death.

Rose Mellie Rose Part 2

“I walk as if I were in a dream. I no longer recognize the path or the forest.”

This passage occurred when Mellie was leaving her baby in the grotto. It is after she left her baby with her gifts. I found it surprising that Mellie would leave her baby in the grotto and leave it up to someone else to take care of Rose. Mellie does show compassion and love for Rose when she leaves gifts such as jewelry but I feel as if Mellie feels an obligation to leave her baby at the grotto; almost as if it is a cultural norm or of religious importance. I think that the passage shows how Mellie does not want to leave Rose at the grotto because she almost looses a sense of reality and the ability to discriminate between things such as a path and forest.

Rose Mellie Rose Part 2

"Beyond the Dance Palace, the Continental is completely dark. It has just closed indefinitely."

Change seems to be a prevalent theme in this novel. Her life is constantly changing, with her transitioning from a child in Rose's house to a wife and mother in Oât. She's doesn't fight change, a lot of the time she favors it, such as when the square is painted pink or when she loses her virginity. Things change for Mellie constantly, and she just goes along with it, as all the other characters seem to. They don't mourn the loss of the fishermen's homes, nor do they seem to care if all the people move to Ot. Change in this books constant, but not important to the characters.

Rose Mellie Rose 2

"I spend my Sundays in the Buick. I go to Seagull Beach more for the Buick than for Cob, who acts as if I did not exist. He didn't care about the Buick now. He is letting it rust and get filled in with sand everywhere."

Mellie seems lost at this point in the book. I think she re-visits the Buick so she has some sense of connection to her past. It reminds her of a time when she was surrounded by people she loved. It makes her feel closer to Yem while he is gone. Her life seems to go in chapters that do not over lap. When people leave her life- they don't come back. Cob was in the last chapter of her life and now she doesn't really talk to him. She seems alone.

Also, I find it interesting that all of the characters have short, simple names: Cob, Yem, Nem, Pim- All very simplistic and similar. In a way, it makes all of the characters seem the same and not unique in any way.

Rose Mellie Rose - Part 2

"The blood is still flowing. It's bad to lose so much blood. What a state the Buick is in."

This is the thing that really kills me about Mellie - she's infuriatingly apathetic about everything she experiences. She comes across as distant and disinterested, even when facing her own death. Does the fact that Mellie still knows so little about the world render her incapable of feeling anything for her own situation? She goes through all of these things that most girls her age don't experience, but there's a distinct lack of believable emotion in this book because the narrator refuses to feel anything for herself.

Rose Mellie Rose part 2

"For my delivery, I will go to the Hermitage."

This story seems very circuitous. Mellie was found as a baby in the grotto and is now leaving her own baby their to be found. I am confused as to why citizens of this society think it's acceptable to leave their babies at the grotto, leaving responsibilities to other people to take care of the baby. It does not make sense to me that Mellie would take matters into her own hands instead of using her resources at the hospital. And throughout this whole process, she has no doubts whatsoever. Her views on the world and what's right or acceptable is alarming.

"This is the first time I have been pregnant. It is much more improtant than the first time I had my period."

Duh, it's more important! The language in this book honestly drives me nuts because she seems so monotone and these are huge life circumstances! What girl would think 'Oh being pregnant is more important than my first period.' I'm sure most girls would have a bigger reaction that Mellie's. Mellie also is a detached character which makes it more disturbing because as a reader, I feel like I'm experiencing all the emotions that she should be having, but the book simply doesn't say it. I'll admit that I felt like this book was incomplete and had an ending that made me feel uneasy. I suppose it was an interesting read, but I think for me, once it enough

Rose Mellie Rose 2

"Rose is sheltered in the grotto. Nothing bad can happen to her" (107).

The grotto in this book seems to be a sacred, almost magical place. Mellie is discovered here by Rose the very day she arrives at the Hermitage, and Rose goes there to die at the beginning of the book. Rose feels a mysterious pull toward the Hermitage and the grotto right before she gives birth to Rose. The grotto is a place for beginnings and endings. The middle happens elsewhere, but the three female characters: Rose, Mellie, and the baby Rose all end up in the same place. The book seems to be a cycle which can first be seen through the title, Rose Mellie Rose. We only get insight into one of the women's lives, but you get the sense that the other to did or will have similar stories to Mellie's.