"Miranda came into my life because I wanted to be bad. When you are a teenage guy and you are heading into your bad phase, when you are pissed off at the world and want to make a statement about how screwed up it all is, when you are cynical and smart and thinking about turning dangerous, you better hope that a good friend comes along and sets you straight. Or you better hope that you run into a really intelligent and sweet girl - one like Lisa.
"Unfortunately for me, Miranda came along before Lisa."
-Lesley Choyce, The Book of Michael 25
Michael Grove is a teenager wrongly convicted of murdering his girlfriend Lisa. This quote shows his admiration and compassion for Lisa. It also indicates that Michael can analyze and evaluate his past, realizing that what he did and felt was foolish. It takes intelligence and strength to do this.
Michael's journey will be difficult, with the trauma of the murder, trial and prison locked within his mind. Also, many people still believe him to be connected to Lisa's murder. However, I think that Michael's intelligence and strength will pull him through, and ultimately, he will succeed in both his inner and outer battles.
I chose this song, "Regret" by Anathema, because I feel it really details everything Michael is feeling. Love for Lisa... hate for her killer... loneliness... fear... and above all, regret. It also seems to me like the kind of music Michael might listen to.
That's an interesting connection to make- that this may be the kind of music that the main character listens to. Does it reflect the personality of the character as well? I think any song that shows some kind of emotion could represent a character. I also think that your predictions are well justified, and that you included that both his inner and outer battles will be resolved. Did this actually happen?
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the book, but this seems to describe Michael's character really well. You probably couldn't have chose a better quote that outlines the plot and main characters any better. One thing, though, I think you're missing the quotation mark at the end of the first paragraph. If not, you likely have an extra one at the beginning of the second paragraph.
ReplyDeleteHmm... I think it does reflect his personality, as well as his emotions. At the beginning of the book, at least, Michael seems to have changed since the murder, trial and jail time. He's learned a lot, and become a more intelligent person, but he has also become a real pessimist, able to see the worst in everything and assuming that in any situation, the worst possible outcome will occur. For example, he automatically assumes that Lisa's best friend Nicole will believe him to be responsible for the murder as well. He is very surprised when instead, she tries to comfort him and get him to release some of his angst.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that any song that shows emotion can necessarily be representative of a character, although it is an interesting idea. We all feel the same emotions at one point or another. Part of the function of our personality is to decide WHEN we'll have these specific emotions. Therefore, I don't think emotions by themselves are always representative of personality.
I think Michael has won his battles. He has pushed aside the people who won't accept him, and he has finally come to terms with Lisa's death and her murderer. He says that he has not fixed his life; instead, he has created a new one.
That last comment was to Anna. Thank you, Bethany! I searched long and hard for that quote. As for the missing quotation mark, I am using a style of paragraphing within quotations that some writers use, and others do not. The style I use states that when a new paragraph starts within a quotation, you do not put a quotation mark at the end of the paragraph. Instead, you put one at the start of the new paragraph. This process repeats for new paragraphs until the quotation is officially over. THEN you add the end quotation mark. It kight seem a little confusing, and not every writer uses it, but I think it makes quotations flow better.
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