Independent+Novel+Study

=__Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life By Wendy Mass__= http://www.wendymass.com/images/Jeremy-Fink-cover.jpg file://localhost/Users/block3/Desktop/new-york-manhattan-gratte-ciel_SD.jpg//

// Journal Entry #1 December 2nd, 2011 //

// 1.Why did you select this novel? // // 3.What has happened before the novel began? // // 4.What's going on as the story begins? //

// Jeremy Finkand the Meaning of Life seems to be a really good story so far. I've read up to chapter 4, and as soon as I started reading I was intrigued. Two years ago at church camp a girl was reading this book, and it seemed really cool, but I didn't have enough time to even start. When I saw it on the list I got really excited, because even the cover makes you want to know what it's about. The cover has a plain white background, followed by keys hanging from strings. At first I thought that maybe they were supposed to by the key of life, or what you're supposed to get from life, but now I know they're really to open the box Jeremy's dad left for him. // // The story starts with a prologue in which Jeremy and his best friend Lizzy sitting on a rock in the middle of the lake. They're both city kids, born and raised in New York, so it seemed odd that they're be found there. The two friends are trying to open a box they found earlier in the summer, which is where the real story begins. They were walking back to their apartment when they saw the post man delivering a package for Jeremy's mom. Lizzy managed to convince him to give it to them, so long as they promised not to open in. Once they get to their apartment though Lizzy starts to peel away at the tape. Before long they were taking out scraps of paper, when they revealed a box. It wasn't an ordinary box though, as it had a message on the bottom. "The Meaning of Life, for Jeremy on his 13th Birthday". Jeremy recognized this as his fathers handy work, and became determined to open it, even though there wer //// e no keys included in the package. // // This package meant so much to Jeremy not for the mystery of what's inside, but because his father left it for him. When he was just eight years old Jeremy's father died. I think this meant a lot to Jeremy, because he's still holding on tightly to the memories, not forgetting anything. His father had an incredible sweet tooth, and the boy eats so much candy I felt like I was getting a cavity. Also, Jeremy spends endless amounts of time researching time travel. He seems so hung up on his father that he seems unwilling to let go of the past. I think this will play a big part in the story, but I don't know how yet. //

// Journal Entry #2 December 9th, 2011 //

//5. Who is telling the story? How does this person’s perspective effect the way the story is told?// //6. What is the setting of the novel? Is the setting important or could the novel be happening anywhere? Why?// //7. What is the initial or first problem faced by the main character?//

//This week i read pages 40-74, and a lot happened. Once Lizzy and Jeremy discovered that the keys from his uncle's comic book store didn't work, they decided to go looking around flea markets for spare keys, hoping they'd find once that works. This would've been much easier in another city because New York is such a large place. If it had been somewhere like Port Alberni they'd only have the Farmer's Market to look at, but, being in the Big Apple, they had dozens of choices. It also helps being in new York because when Lizzy stole a basket of keys she was harder to find in the crowd, so the person running the stand didn't even bother to chase her. I think it's good that they are in new York// //because it makes the book more interesting. They talk about mungo, which I had never even heard of before this book. Apparently it's furniture and such picked up off the side of the road, fixed, and then used in your own home. When I'm older I can see myself collecting a lot of mungo instead of buying the same furniture most stores carry.// //When Lizzy suggested they take public transit to the flea market Jeremy felt uneasy. He had never taken a bus or subway alone without his parents before, but she kept calling him a baby so he felt obligated. Once they finally got to the subway station they realized that instead of tokens,you needed a transit pass, which was they're first problem. They were in luck though, because a superstitious Yankees fan came and let them use his pass. This is another reason being in New York was important. Without a team for him to be a fan of there would've been no reason for him to let two almost-teenagers use his pass.// //After they searched the flea market they hadn't found even one key that worked, so Lizzy told him of her last plan, Plan F. She figured that since the last place they knew the keys had been, they should still be there. Eventually Jeremy gave into her plan, so they decided to go the next Monday. That night Lizzy gave him a note saying that his grandma had e-mailed her.////reminding them that they had to perform at the summer talent show. This frustrated Jeremy because he hates being in front of people. Lust leaving the appartment can make him worrisome as he likes to stay in his comfort zone. Tis is relevant because if he doesn't like talking to people it might make it harder for him to find the keys. He's lucky to have a friend like Lizzy because without her he wouldn't be able to ask for help from others.//

//J ournal Entry #3 December 13, 2011 //

// 8. How does the author get you to read on or hold your interest? // // 11. Comment on the style of the novel. Is it easy or hard to follow the events? // // 15. Is there a message or main theme emerging in the book? How is it shown? //

Once again I forgot my book at home, so I can't tell you which pages I've read. I can tell you what has happened though. Once Jeremy and Lizzy got to the office building they used fake names to get in. Unfortunately they were caught by a security guard, and a police officer came to make them do community service. They had two choices, pick up garbage or work for a man named Mr. Oswald Oswald. Of the two, working for this man seemed more interesting. On their first day of work Mr. Oswald told them that since he was moving he had some stuff to get rid of. Jeremy and Lizzy were supposed to drop it off for him. I was going to stop here, but every time I went to put the book down there would be a question burning in the back of my head that I needed answered. Mr. Oswald gave them a letter for whoever there were meant to deliver the package to. James, the driver, took them to an old lady's house. He didn't go with them, so Jeremy was a little nervous. When they gave the lady the package, she was shocked. It was a book, Winnie the Pooh, that was signed by the auther. When she was a teenager her and her friend owned it together, but soon after she sold it to pay for a dress. One night at a dance she wore that dress and later met her husband there. Jeremy at first seemed shocked that she would do something like that, but he sort of understood that. He does so much just to get his father back, so he knows what it's like to want something more than anything else.

Journal Entry #4 January 6. 2012

2. What information did you need to know before starting this novel? 10. What plot twists or unexpected events happen as the novel goes on? 14. Is there a message or main theme emerging in the book? How is it shown?

So, over Christmas Winter Break, I actually read a lot of this novel. Enough that next week I have about 40 or so pages left. It will be pretty hard to sum up what I've read, but I'll do my best.i read from pages 124-216, which is well over 25, in my humble opinion. Like in the last entry, Mr. Oswald gave Jeremy and Lizzy items to give back to people who had pawned them as children. The first person I read about, Simon Rudolph, was incredibly odd. He as a child had pawned a fancy lamp with a glass lampshade, but they went to return it he didn't want it back. They asked him why, and he said that he already had a lamp. In his apartment he had one of everything, one picture, one apple, one lamp, one table. Everything there had one use, and nothing was there just for decoration except the picture. when he had pawned the lamp he was looking to buy a silver watch. Every day he wore that watch until he made his first $1,000,000, at which point he gave it to a homeless man. Lizzy was shocked, but Mr. Rudolph explained that giving made him much happier then keeping what he didn't need. Jeremy took this opportunity to ask what the meaning of life was. Mr Rudolph replied that it is different to every person, and there can't be just one answer. It shocked Lizzy, but made Jeremy think. The next person they visited, Amos Grady, is a scientist who pawned a telescope so he could buy cleats for track. Without those cleats he wouldn't be able to get a scholarship. Jeremy was really excited to be visiting an actual scientist, since that's what he wants to be when he grows up. Once they got there Lizzy asked the question 'why are we here?' but Jeremy gave her a dirty look. Instead he wanted to know about time travel. Dr Grady told them thateven if they could go back in time, they'd end up stuck there. Or once his father got saved they would disappear, no longer having had needed to go back in tie, and his father would still be dead once they left. He also goes on to answer Lizzy's question, saying that we are here because the bacteria we evolved from and the bacteria currently living on us allows us to be here. The contrast between these two answers surprised me. I thought the answer would be something incredibly simple, something we can all live by. I think that even if Jeremy manages to unlock the meaning of life from within the box he will be disappointed because there's no way to predict what his father could've said. The main theme, so far, is that the meaning of life isn't simple, we just have to go with it, and make stuff up. No matter what problems weface, everything will be resolved one way or another. This bring me to the next portion of my book. Jeremy had been wondering how to get to the fortune teller that had told his father that he would die at the age of 40. Jeremy thought it was important because at the age of 13 his father had seen that fortune teller. At the age of 39 he died. This problem made Jeremy worry, but suddenly his mother asked him to go for a trip to see his aunt's art show. Excited, he immediately said yes, seizing the opportunity to ask the fortune teller. Lizzy joined them, but when they got there they found out that she had been a fraud. He was disappointed, angry and confused, especially when Lizzy said they should go into a church for a Sunday service. While in there she was enlightened, feeling whole. Before starting this novel I think it would have helped if I'd had my own opinion on the meaning of life. So many opinions have been introduced that now I'm just confused. Maybe it's good that I didn't have an opinion, because now I have ideas to work off of, but currently, I'm just lost, and thankful Taylor Mali wrote the poem 'Miracle Workers'.

Journal Entry #5 January 13, 2012

16. What is the climax of this novel? 17. Why wouldn't you recomend this novel to a friend? 11. Comment on the style of this novel, was it easy or hard to follow.

Finally, the last journal entry. I read from 218-289, which is the end of the book. Jeremy finally got the keys, but it wasn't how I expected it to happen. Mr Oswald, the man he and Lizzy had been working for, let each of them choose something of his to keep. After a while he suggested that Jeremy take an old suitcase covered in stickers from various places around the world. It was filled with what Mr Oswald called 'floatsome and jetsam', the things that didn't really have a place, but he didn't want to throw away. Among the thimbles, rusty nails and leaky bateries, they find approximately 150 old keys. That night they brought them upstairs and managed to find three that worked, bringing their expectations up before knocking them right back down. Later though, when they went to visit Jeremy's grandmother, Lizzie presented him with the fourth and final key. Jeremy slowly opened the box, revealing his father's opinion on the meaning of life. I think this is the climax because, not only is it pretty intense, but it also answers the question 'what is the meaning of life?'.There were rocks taken from the ground after important moments, his first kiss, his graduation and the hospital where Jeremy was born. There was also a playing card, one of two the Lizzy needed to finish her collection, and a note written for both of them. He talked about how, even as children, we can change our futures and make our own paths. When Jeremy and Lizzy left the island they had opened the box on, Jeremy had a suspicion about how the card had gotten there. When they got back to New York Jeremy went to visit Mr Oswald one last time. Mr Oswald told him that he had been friends with Jeremy's father, and that he had infact put the card in the box for Lizzy. According to Mr Oswald, Jeremy's father had planned the entire scheme before he died. So much had happened by chance, but a lot of it was set into place to look like coincedences. I thought this was really creative, as it shows how far a father will go to make sure his child will have an interesting life. If I were to recommened this novel, it would be to somebody younger then myself, probably about 11 or 12 years old. The language was extremely simple, but that wasn't the only reason. Even though I'm only two years older then the main character, I feel that I have learnt quite a bit more. I'm more open to my surroundings, happy to be let loose in Victoria or Port Alberni or any other place so long as I have enough for a transfer ticket. This book is focused on Jeremy finding himself and becoming open tio new experiences, which I believe is a huge part of the teenage years. If I had read this two years ago I probably would've found it more interesting, but now it was sort of lame, at least, certain events. Them finding out how to use the transit system, or Jeremy saying he didn't like trying new foods. I can say I opnlylearned two or three years ago, but now it seems like such a simple thing I found myself shaking my head at their stupidity. I wanted to use the word 'naiveness' but I don't think that's a word. Also,the events in the book were easy to follow. They linked to eachother without pause, so i didn't really need to think about what I was reading. BYE.

=Focus Assignment=

The character I would like to talk about is, of course, Lizzy. Over all she was a much more interesting character than Jeremy. She had manmy character traits that made her an individual such as the fact she was a vegetarian, a decision she made when she was five, and the way she would steal things, but only things that nobody wanted. I think that trait was extremely important. When she was a small her mother had left her and her father. This left her feeling abandoned and unwanted, and I think that's why she wouldn't take things of value. Even if she did take something like a candy bar, it was onl when she felt that someone would really appreciate it. I know that stealing is wrong, but I think this gave her a sense of security. Not only did she get to save things from being abandoned like she was herself, but she could make others happy too. Quite often Lizzy would put down Jeremy, saying he was strange or needed to do something for a change. I think this showed that she's extremely impatient, but she was also comforatable with being friends with him. It's like Chan and I. Even though we've only know eachother for four months and seven days, we're totally comfortable around eachother. Every day we call eachother stupid and weird and challenged, but it's okay because we know we're kidding. I think that the fact that Lizzy can insult Jeremy and he doesn't get offended shows that their friendship is a really strong one. I think that if I were the main character I would love to have Lizzy as a friend, especially since the main character has the personality of a doornob. She's trustworthy, but she's also willing to get stuff done even if it means breaking a promise. This is shown when Jeremy tells her not to open the carrdboard box at the beginning of the story, but she does anyways. She realized how curious he was, and added that to her own curiosity. The end effect was them learning about the box Jeremy's dad had left for him. Also, she hid the last key from him because she knew it would mean more to him if he got to open the box on his 13th birthday like his father intended. media type="custom" key="12111272"