The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 19 pages 30-45

Christopher completely ignores his father’s wishes. He is still bothered greatly about Wellington, the supposedly murdered dog. He walks over to Mrs. Shear’s house to pay her a visit. He apologize to her for all the trouble he caused, but still confesses that he did not kill her dog and the real murderer will be brought in. She did not take a liking to this and shut the door in his face. Christopher’s curiosity over takes him. He quietly trespasses into her backyard to search her tool shed. He finds the pitchfork, clean with no blood. He infers that a stranger to him did it because he knew no one who hated Mrs. Shears or Wellington. He questions everyone in the neighborhood, but finds no new evidence. Then he comes to a conclusion, Mr. Shears, Mrs. Shears’s ex-husband. He was the only one that would truly want to cause trouble with Mrs. Shears. That is when Mr. Shears became the prime suspect.
Marzipan is a confection made of almonds reduced to a paste with sugar and often molded into various forms, usually diminutive fruits and vegetables. Cutleries are utensils, as knives, forks, and spoons, used at the table for serving and eating food.
One thing that frustrates me about this book is that no one really cares about Christopher except certain people. If he is challenged by a disability then why doesn’t he have more help then he does now. Siobhan and his father are the only people who seem to help understand life and people. Another thing that is upsetting is that his father hindered Christopher’s relationship with his mother. He did not allow him to see her in the hospital when she was facing emanate death. He also did not let him go to her funeral to see her for one last time.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 18 pages 15-30

Christopher finds himself stuck in a jail cell for his violent reaction towards the police officer. Other than that action, they now are pinning the murder of the poodle on Chris. The officers interrogate him for information assuming that he knows what happened on Mrs. Shears’ lawn. There is another characteristic of Christopher, he can’t tell a lie. This is because lies confuse him when he thinks about different scenarios. He also believes that if lies are told something terrible might happen like death.
They let him off with a warning giving him no room to get into another mess like this again otherwise the consequences will be worse. Christopher is still upset about the murder of the poor dog. He thinks that the perpetrator should be caught and punished. His plan is to investigate and clear his name once and for all. This would go against his father’s wishes for him to stay out of trouble.
One day Christopher returns home from school to find that his mother isn’t there as usual to open the door. He searches the house to find no one. His father calls everyone to find his wife. They are soon to find that she is in the hospital with a heart condition. She dies within two weeks. Christopher’s curious attitude made him ponder the different types of heart attacks that could have killed her and how she could have died at such a young age.
Apocryphal is an adjective, which means of doubtful authorship or authenticity. Embolism is a noun, which means the occlusion of a blood vessel by an embolus.
Why is Christopher so observant of his surroundings? I believe he is like this because he can't help be notice every little detail. He thinks that if he doesn’t express his feelings about his surroundings it would be bottled up in his mind and further mix his thoughts making his life more confusing. I also think that he likes doing this because it helps him understand what he is dealing with and how it is going to affect him. Why does Christopher’s dad not allow him to see his mom in the hospital? I would think that the dad would let him see his mom because Christopher likes the feeling of hospitals and it would take his mind off of finding the murderer of the dog. I think that he didn't let him go because he didn't want Christopher’s image of his mother to be tainted by death since he knew that she was going to die. Why does Christopher think that a number of red cars in order mean a good day? This is another thing that he is very observant about and that many people wouldn’t care or notice. He thinks red cars mean good luck because he likes things to be in order and that things happen by chance.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 17 pages 1-15

Christopher John Francis Boone is a unique boy. He knows all the countries of the world and all of their capitals. He also knows all the prime numbers up to 7,057, but in all of his knowledge he doesn't understand human emotion well. Christopher has stumbled upon a strange sight. In the garden of his neighbor, Mrs. Shears he finds a lifeless poodle with a pitchfork stabbed through its body. Christopher is overwhelmed with curiosity and decides to check out the dog. He removes the fork and holds the oversized poodle in his hands. He ponders his thoughts and thinks who could have done this. Mrs. Shears finds the dog in his hands and is enraged. The cops arrive and try to squeeze evidence out of him. He is immediately put on the spot for murder. Christopher plants his face in the grass, while the officers grab him to take him to the station. He doesn't like to be touched so he lifts his arm, striking the cop. The passage ends with Christopher observing his new surroundings, which is a cramp jail cell.
The meaning of Cardinal is of prime importance; chief; principal. The meaning of stimulus is something that incites to action or exertion or quickens action, feeling, thought, etc.
Christopher as I said is unique in his thoughts, emotions, and actions. This passage had revealed many traits about Christopher. It set the tone of what he is now in the book and what he will become. He dislikes and likes many things. These things include the disliking of being touched. He is also very observant of his surroundings. He notices the cold and wet grass or the small jail cell. The underlying factors are that he is a curious boy that has many questions left unanswered. His patterns follow that there is lots of grey areas about his life and it just keeps piling on with the case of the dead dog.

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini #9 120-135

At the beginning of these 15 pages, Amir and Baba are now living in a basement far from their mansion in Kabul. Baba finally finds the truth about Hassan and Assef when Kamal’s father tells him the story of the alley. There seems to be little chance of leaving until Karim offers them an escape. All of the refugees must escape in a fuel truck. The truck’s tank is filled with fumes and cramped. Everyone, including Amir is gasping for air waiting to get out. When they finally arrive in Pakistan, Amir exits the tank breathing heavily and collapses on the side of the road. Screams grab Amir’s attention. Baba and Amir push through the crowd of people to find Kamal lifeless in the arms of his father. The fumes of the gasoline were too much for Kamal. This drives his father crazy. He takes the gun from Karim and takes his life. Later on in the passage, we find Baba and Amir living in America. Baba is having a hard time adjusting to the differences of America; He believes no one has trust in America. The section ends with Amir graduating from high school at the age of twenty. Baba tells Amir that he is proud of him.
Amir’s traits and personality has changed throughout the book. In the beginning, he would not stand up for him self in many situations and was less assertive. He is now in America and changed. Since Baba does not really fit in, Amir takes responsibility for Baba’s actions like acting up in the grocery store. The changes that America has brought made Baba proud of Amir. The patterns of Amir’s behavior show that he is still growing as a character in the book.
I needed to define a few words in this passage. Summation means the review or recapitulation of previously stated facts or statements, often with a final conclusion or conclusions drawn from them. The definition of calloused means having calluses; toughened. Cretin means a stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person.

The Catcher in the Rye Final Paper, Holden is an Outcast

Holden is an Outcast
Holden doesn’t fit in with anyone and is a loner. Why is this? This is because he has a hard time acting his age, he does not act like a kid but he has a hard time acting like an adult, he sees most people as phony, and doesn’t care about his own life.
In The Catcher In the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden is made out to be a confused boy, lost in life with no purpose. He has gotten kicked out of numerous prep schools. He is a bright boy that thinks he has no purpose in life, which has left him depressed and lonely. Holden is a loner and an outcast because he acts mature for his age but older adults don’t give in. He describes most people as phony, and he has a bad attitude towards life.
Holden is only 16, but he acts much older than he is because Holden is lost and confused. He finds no one to fit in with his own age and searches for different groups to fit in with. He tries to fit in with older groups of people but fails to because of his young appearance. This is apparent in many parts of the book. It is not more evident to us when he offers multiple people to go and get a cocktail. The first occurrence was when he meets Ernest’s mom on the train.
“Would you care for a cocktail?” I asked her. I was feeling in the mood for one myself. “We can go in the club car. All right?” “Dear, are you allowed to order drinks?” she asked me. “ (Salinger 57)
Holden asks multiple people to grab a cocktail with him because he is depressed and alone so he feels that drinking with other people will wash his problems away. This happens many more times including various cab drivers and while with random women. Holden always seems to be interested in getting a cocktail with someone else so he doesn’t feel lonely. He also can get away from his school troubles and peers by drinking and smoking.

Not only this, but his encounter in the elevator with Maurice stirred up some obvious desperation for company. Hiring a prostitute for his pleasure is seen as shocking because prostitutes are known for middle-aged men who have not found love, which is hardly the case for a sixteen-year old boy. Holden not only acts like an adult but he also is very immature at points in the book. This shifting behavior is another reason Holden has trouble fitting in with anyone. Holden also tries to separate him self from his peers. It seems that he prefers the life of an outcast.
“Anyway, it was the Saturday of the football game with Saxon Hall. The game with Saxon Hall was supposed to be a very big deal around Pencey. It was the last game of the year, and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win.”
(Salinger 2)
At this point, Holden shows little interest in many things that are social events. Instead of sitting down at the field with all of his classmates to watch the game, he chose to watch it up on Thomsen Hill by himself. Holden acts immature at points and attempts to act mature because he is just trying to find a way in life.



Phony people to Holden are people who do not act like who they are. This hinders Holden’s social life because he doesn’t trust anyone. Holden looks at many other people’s appearance, personality, and character. He often sees these traits to be phony or fake. Throughout the book he calls many things and people phony. When he encounters his brother’s old friend Lillian, they have a conversation only involving D.B. When Holden reveals that he is in Hollywood, Lillian is suddenly interested in talking to Holden. This also illuminates Lillian to be a phony to Holden.
“How marvelous to see you!” old Lillian Simmons said. Strictly a phony” (Salinger 86)
Even after just meeting this woman Holden is quick to put a label on her. Holden judges people even though he does not know them very well. He does not give them a chance, but makes them out to be bad people and sometimes ignores them. Holden even refers to his own brother as a prostitute, which he considers phony.
“Ernie's is this night club in Greenwich Village that my brother D.B. used to go to quite frequently before he went out to Hollywood and prostituted himself.” (Salinger 80)
I believe that this quote reveals that Holden is upset with his life and is jealous of the success that his brother, D.B. is receiving. He also can’t open up to anyone about his feelings and problems about being depressed. He blames “people” for his problems and ruining his life. This is another reason why he does not fit in with anyone.

My third point is that Holden has a hard time in life and does not take it seriously. We see this in the very fbrginning of the book, when Holden says his goodbyes to Mr. Spencer.
“Oh…well, about Life being a game and all. And how you should play it according to the rules. He was pretty nice about it. I mean he didn't hit the ceiling or anything. He just kept talking about Life being a game and all. You know.”
“Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules” (Salinger 8)
This quote shows that Holden is a rebel and with that he does not believe in playing by the rules. He believes that the non-hotshots, which includes himself, have no rules to play by because life is simply no game. Holden also proceeds to inflict harm to his body voluntarily with drinking and smoking daily.
“He didn't live on the campus. He lived on Anthony Wayne Avenue. I ran all the way to the main gate, and then I waited a second till I got my breath. I have no wind, if you want to know the truth. I'm quite a heavy smoker, for one thing--that is, I used to be.” (Salinger 5)
This shows no attentiveness towards his own health, almost as if he wants to speed up the process of his life. Holden also provoked many skirmishes with Stradlater and Maurice in which he never fought back.
“I wasn't knocked out or anything, though, because I remember looking up from the floor and seeing them both go out the door and shut it. Then I stayed on the floor a fairly long time, sort of the way I did with Stradlater. Only, this time I thought I was dying. I really did. I thought I was drowning or something. The trouble was, I could hardly breathe. When I did finally get up, I had to walk to the bathroom all doubled up and holding onto my stomach and all. But I'm crazy. I swear to God I am. About halfway to the bathroom, I sort of started pretending I had a bullet in my guts. Old 'Maurice had plugged me.” (Salinger 103)
The passage shows that Holden is now wishing for death and he really does not care about his own life. Holden’s hard time in life, with the loss of his brother and other troubles has finally affected him majorly. He has placed him self away from others and does not care what they think about him.
Holden is a lost soul and has no direction in life. He believes no one cares about what happens to him and neither does he. He is alone and by himself because he acts older than he is, has a phony mindset, and doesn’t take life seriously. Holden can’t seem to find someone to truly listen to his problems. Many people deal with this in real life and sometimes end their own life. Holden has shown signs that he could be suicidal. What if Holden was not like this?
If Holden did not have these traits, then he could possibly live a life without trouble. Overall Holden doesn’t fit in with anyone. He tries to act with many personalities but none of them workout. It just seems like he can’t see eye to eye with many people, which cripples him in the long run.

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini #8 105-120

The start of these 15 pages picks up where the last passage ended with Baba forgiving Hassan for supposedly stealing Amir’s watch and money. Baba is pleading for them to stay and has forgiven them, but Ali gives hints to Amir that he knows what happened to Hassan in the alley. Ali believes that it isn’t possible for them to be living with Baba and especially Amir. While Baba pleas he begins to cry. Amir has never seen Baba cry before. He believed grown men couldn’t cry and it was also the first time he had seen fear in Baba. Baba’s endless begging was at a loss; Hassan and Ali decided to leave. In the next chapter Baba and Amir are forced to leave their house because of the invading Russians. They are put on a refugee bus to leave Kabul. During the ride they are stopped at a checkpoint. A Russian solider lifts the covers from the truck and searches the passengers. He finds a young woman holding a baby with her husband. He asks for 30 minutes with her. She bursts into tears fearing the worst. All of a sudden Baba stands up in defense. He tells the solider that this is wrong and will tear him to pieces. Amir tries to sit him down but to no effect. This makes Baba even more disappointed in Amir because it shows that he hasn’t taught him anything about standing up for him self. The solider threatens to shoot him, but Baba replies that he would take a thousand bullets from him. Baba is saved when another Russian solider intervenes. As they drive along the husband comes over to Baba and kisses his hand. This is familiar to Amir, as he has seen this many times before. They arrive at a house to switch trucks. They are shocked to find that the truck would need repairs. Baba goes in a rage and begins to choke the driver, Karim. The woman with the baby calms Baba down saving the Karim’s life.
The traits of Amir are consistent throughout the book. He is portrayed to be a coward and it does not go unnoticed. Baba notices that Amir doesn’t stand up for him self and is somewhat disappointed in his only son. This is relevant when Baba is standing up for the woman with the baby and her husband. Amir tries to sit him down, but this only angers Baba because it embarrasses him making him feel like he had taught nothing to his son. This is not the only event, Amir also never stood up for Hassan numerous times including the alleyway. Overall, Amir made choices in the book which portrait him as a coward.
There were many words that I need to define. Tarpaulin is a protective covering of canvas or other material waterproofed with tar, paint, or wax. The definition of Precipitous is extremely steep. The definition of Retching is to try to vomit. The meaning of exasperated means to irritate or provoke to a high degree; annoy extremely. The meaning of Silhouettes is a drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid color. A carburetor is a device for mixing vaporized fuel with air to produce a combustible or explosive mixture, as for an internal-combustion engine.

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini #7 90-105

The start of these 15 pages reveal that school has provided a gate way for Amir to forget about what happened to Hassan in that alley but it would not prevent would ensue. One day, Amir asked Hassan if he would walk up the hill with him to read stories. Hassan eagerly joined him. They sat under the cool pomegranate tree, when Amir started to pick the fruits. He hurled one at Hassan, which left him in shock and pain. Amir urgered Hassan to throw one at him, but Hassan stood still. Amir began to pelt him with tons of pomegranates as he soon fell tired and dropped to the ground. Hassan walks over with a fruit in hand. To Amir’s surprise, Hassan cracks it on his own forehead, and walks down the hill in dismay. Amir finally knew what needed to be done with Hassan. The summer of 1976, Amir turned thirteen. Baba and Amir have grown apart again, and have gone back to their old habits. Insight of that, Baba decides to throw a big birthday party for Amir. At the party Assef confronts him. Assef charms Baba by talking about soccer, while Amir is annoyed by it. Amir sees straight through Assef’s fake smile and charm. Assef’s gift doesn’t please Amir either, as it is a book about Hitler. During the party Amir sneaks off and is found by Rahim. Rahim tells him of his only love and how she left him. The next day Amir carries through with his plan about Hassan. Amir plants money and a watch that he had received as gifts in Hassan’s bed and informs Baba that Hassan had stolen it. Hassan and Ali are left sadden and are asked if this is true. It ends with Hassan making yet another sacrifice for Amir by replying yes.
Why does Hassan always sacrifice for Amir when he knows he gets nothing in return? I believe this is because Hassan wants to show Amir that there is more to life than just your self and sometimes you have to make sacrifices for other people. Why is Amir such a selfish person? I believe it is because he was spoiled from birth. He comes from a rich family and gets waited on for his every need. He is used to people doing things for him and not doing things for other people. Why doesn’t Amir tell Rahim about Hassan’s raping? I believe that it is because Amir is afraid of the truth and is a coward. He should tell Rahim because Rahim would accept it and resolve the situation.
There was no vocabulary that needed defining.