Minor Characters

I found a lot of the minor characters in the novel to be interesting. One of the most intriguing characters to me was Marcus Livingston, because he was so mysterious. Throughout the entire book I was wondering why Marcus could not stop crying, and how he had died. I knew that something terrible must have happened since he had been crying for 30 years, but I had no idea what. I knew that most babies lightened right away, and that it was very odd that Marcus still hadn't. I thought that Leonard could have possibly been the reason that Marcus died, and was curious to find out what he did. However, once Marcus became attached to William Blott, I realized that Marcus desired a motherly figure. That is when I began to suspect Mrs. Livingston of murdering her child, and I was correct with that suspicion.

Taking Stock of My Work

-I feel that I told the story reasonably well. I think that it could have been better if I was able to remember more details. Overall I think I portrayed the situation well enough to get my point across.
-I think that the overall concept of my paper was a good one. I thought hard about what influenced me most from a literacy standpoint.
-I think I could have concluded my paper better. I realize that I spent the majority of my paper telling the story, and didn't do much to explain how it affects me today.
-The idea came to me naturally, and once I knew what I wanted to write about it was easy to get this paper written.
-I began drafting this paper with the freewriting that we did in class. After I knew what I wanted to say, I went straight to work on my rough draft.
-I don't usually use graphics or photographs to enhance my papers unless I'm specifically asked to.
-My peer's advice about my writing was helpful. I was able to hear what others thought about my writing style and content.
-I think that next time I would elaborate and add more details to my writing.

My Dash

I agree that the dash is what says most about a person. The years on either side are just dates. My dash is definitely love and human bonding. There are many people who are very important to me and who have changed who I am, and I'm sure that the list will only continue to grow as I age. These people have impacted my life and helped to mold me into the person I am today. Certainly without any one of them, I would be different in some way. The people who have impacted my life the most at this point are my immediate family members and a few of the most select friends. They have watched me grow and have been by my side during the good times and the bad. They've loved me unconditionally, which is something that isn't found much in life. As I grow older, I expect my dash will become focused on the family and life that I create for myself. I don't really think that I can imagine what my dash in life will truly be, because it has only just begun. People will come and people will go, and that will ultimately change who I am.

Talking to dead people

The thought of talking to the dead really intrigues me, mostly because it's not really something I believe in. My initial thought was that the book was based on an interesting concept. I enjoy reading the most when the story can be considered "outside of the box." The idea of talking to the dead has been done before but it is such a versatile subject that the author could really go in any direction with it. I'm looking forward to reading more of the book (I've already begun) and finding out where the author takes it.