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?