Analysis of Coraline

The perception of reality presents the obvious theme in this book is the moral to be careful what you wish for.   As reality is distorted, especially through relationships,  Coraline realizes that her wish for attention is filled only paired with an absence of love.  She learns that love does not mean giving you everything you want and the selfish motives that her other mom has.  

Notable Moment in Coraline

The moment that stood out to me the most in Coraline was when she made the decision to save her parents and reasoned the risk by calling to mind the time her father saved her from the wasps despite the dangers.  He sacrificed himself by telling Coraline to run away and allowing her to be free from the stings he got.  She used this expression of love to rationalize her act of bravery, facing her fears to save her parents that love her.  

Analysis of Series of Unfortunate Events

I think an important theme in this book was the relationships that are portrayed and the genuineness that people either posses or lack.  The children obviously value each other greatly and go to great lengths for each other.  Mr. Poe on the other hand, does not seem to genuinely value the children and is consistently bothered by any length he is inconvenienced by.  Justice Strauss serves as a genuinely loving character who cares to stretch out and offer help towards the children.  

Notable Moment in Series of Unfortunate Events

I think that the moment when Violet and Klaus learn of Count Olaf’s plan and then after learn that he has taken Sunny is the most important moment in the book because it sets the basis for the unraveling that takes place.  It also represents another hardship for the children who seemed to be just figuring out how to achieve something more positive.  Also the strain that this situation places on the children indicates just how important the siblings value each other.  Violet is only undergoing all of this to save her sibling.

Analysis of James and the Giant Peach

            I think the element of escape featured in James and the Giant Peach serves an important role.  Sometimes you are forced out of or in to a situation, just like James is forced to live with his evil aunts.  Other times, you choose to escape these situations and allow yourself to be placed in a better setting.  James wishes for something better but he more stumbles into it rather than make a conscious effort to leave. 

            

Notable Moment in James and the Giant Peach

The build up of the book leads to the climatic moment when they arrive to New York.  The fear of them mistaken for an attack can serve a meaning on a much deeper level than the surface plot.  The fact that the people expect the worse and plunge into chaos represents the structure of society and reciprocates with the society that is formed in the peach with the grasshopper, the centipede, the earthworm, the ladybug, and the others.  

Analysis of City of Ember

            I think the quality of leadership is important in this story because there are foiling qualities in Luna and Doon opposed to the authorities especially the mayor.  I think the concept of people changing in the face of adversity is connected to this and also shows in other people like Lizzie and Looper.  It is easily seen that people with power in this society become selfish just as the mayor only focus was keeping him safe without worrying about the rest of the citizens, which is the opposite of what a leader should value.  The corruption in the City of Ember reinforces the idea that humanity will become selfish because the people in the City of Ember are not pressed by the same factors that are present today but still give in to the same temptations.

Notable Moment in City of Ember

It may be because I am a very family-oriented person or because I am the oldest sibling in my family, but the most notable moment for me was when Lina brought Poppy to the boat with Doon.  Not only does Luna’s decision to bring her sister show her priorities but it also give a glimpse as to what the future will be based on opposed to the corrupted priorities that were present in the City of Ember and its authorities.  Also, Doon’s character is shown, as he does not hesitate to accept and support Luna’s decision.

Analysis of The Giver

The Giver represents many ideas in the setting of a dystopia.  I think the exaggerated themes of security and equality emphasize the value of suffering, success, as well as the stress of love in relationships.  The Giver constantly poses the question to the reader, do the benefits outweigh the hardships that occur if life is not controlled.  Although the society possesses a great sense of security, the members are only safe due to the “ignorance is bliss” principle.  There are no feelings present in the members.  Because they cannot grasp the concept of suffering, pain, or sadness, they are always safe and content.  However, in a parallel sense they cannot grasp the concept of love.  This changes the entire structure of their society, most importantly the family structure.  The society becomes built around the function rather than enjoyment.  

Notable Moment in The Giver

            I think the most profound moment in this book is when Jonas transfers his memories to Gabriel in chapter 14 when he calms Gabriel’s crying by giving him the memory of a sailboat.  Jonas has been enduring an inner conflict concerning his frustration that everyone cannot share the memories, which leaves him alone in these experiences.  This action of him deliberately transferring memories marks the side of the struggle that was winning and suggests that subconsciously he had already made the decision that it would be better for everyone to share the memories despite the suffering it would cause.  

Analysis of Mrs. Frisby

            In the fantasy Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, I was especially interested in not only the message conveyed about mothers but also the overall message concerning the female role.  I was first struck by the drive that Mrs. Frisby possessed as a mother to make so many sacrafices and risks to save one of her children, all the while keeping calmness about her for her children’s sake.  I thought it was a positive message that she was willing to go to these measures to save just one of her children and refused to accept the idea of stranding him.  We discussed in class how Mrs. Frisby’s lack of personal identification suggests the dependence of women on their husbands as she is always referred to as Mrs. Frisby or Jonathan’s husband and never given a name.  It is also notable that any help she gets is earned through her husband’s previous relations, none on her own.  Despite the impressive measures that she travels, the owl and the rats are only convinced to offer their serious attention when they learn of her husband.  In addition, the fact that Jonathan had hidden a huge secret of his life and his superiority in knowledge and physicality from Mrs. Frisby indicates a furthering of the idea of male dominance.   

Notable Moment in Mrs. Frisby

           The moment that stood out most for me as an essential representation of the character of Mrs. Frisby was when Mrs. Frisby made the decision to face the cat, putting her children and their well being first above even her own life.  This shows her dedication as a mother as well as her bravery.  When she sees that there are no more options or resources available with the rats, she sacrifices herself but only after considering what is best for her children.  The rats respect her for this and allow her to follow through with the challenge that killed their friend and her husband.  This act of bravery and love by Mrs. Frisby is reciprocated by the rats committed loyalty as they come back to save her and follow through with their promise to save her children even after learning of the danger they were now presented with.

Anticipating Mrs. Frisby

I had never read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and to be honest was not really looking forward to another book with talking animals.  The plot was very different than what I expected in my preconceived notions mostly just based off of the title.  I read a book review that focused on "social sensitivity" in this book.  It stated that O'brien presents the effects of science as profound but neither all bad nor all good.  I thought this was interesting because this is very unique to fantasies and many present technology as evil.  The same review quotes O'brien saying that "The mind learns that it is not easy to separate good from bad; they become deviously intertwined. From books [one] learns that not all doors are simply open or shut, and that even rats can become heroes."

Analysis Lewis and Rowling

Both Rowling and Lewis present a similar plot that involves the conflict of real vs. secondary world and contain magic and evil.  The Goblet of Fire and Magician’s Nephew specifically have a created second fantastical world apart from reality.  These stories are both part of a series, which progressively grow darker and darker, to the point where they could possibly be considered dark fantasies.  They both certainly contain a powerful evil focus: Jadis and Voldemort.  These two characters play the same role in their stories and both are foiled by equally strong positive powers: Aslan and Dumbledore who posess an incredible wisdom.  The Goblet of Fire in particular portrays some gruesome qualities.  The similarities between these two series written by Lewis and Rolwings, especially the characters, represent the real world struggle of good vs. evil.  

Notable Moment in The Goblet of Fire

     There are several very profound moments in the Goblet of Fire, I think more so than in most other plots allow.  However, I specifically remember being hooked on a moment the first time I read the book when I was younger.  The moment when Harry sees Hermione at the Yule Ball and is blown away by her gorgeousness.  I wish I could say that this was as notable to me the second time but it is never really supported or worked up it is just stuck in there and kind of left hanging.  It obviously hints towards a special sort of connection between Harry and Hermione that I, as a romance lover, was hoping for a little more.  In my second read however, I found that there was much more of a focus on the moment when Harry saves Cedric in the enchanted maze.  I feel like the seriousness of this moment is not very accurately portrayed in the movie but this moment represents a lot more than just the power of the maze, dark magic, or Harry and Cedric's relationship.  It also stands for all that Harry has been through and its effects on his character.  The movie does portray the out of character hesitation for Harry to save the life of his companion while he is caught up in the competition and then the resuming of his goodness when he shares the prize with Cedric at the end which ironically leads to death.

Anticipating Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

     I thought I had already done this post because I knew exactly what I was going to say.  My background experience with Harry Potter is very different.  I feel like most people that read more than one Harry Potter go on to read all of them excitedly.  Although, I did really enjoy the books I only read until the fifth one.  I probably started the series around third grade but I don't remember when I finished all I know is that my life became to busy and there were awful required readings that took up my time.  However, what I do remember from this book was that the fourth one was my absolute favorite...until I read the fifth one.  But they are definately my top two.  I agreed with what we said in class that the movie for this book was awful unfortunately.  I am excited to talk about this but worried that I might be bombarded with a little over excitement from die hard Harry Potter fans (like the members of our Quiditch team, although a very cool idea a little much for me personally).

Notable Moment in The Magician's Nephew

The theme of good vs. evil plays out throughout the entire fantasy. I thought the most profound moment that played this out in Magician’s Nephew was the symbolism of the making of the Lamp Post.  I thought it was very representative of the strength that Aslan stands for in good vs. evil.  While his actions (by his indifference to the violent hit) represent the strength of good, the Queen at the same time represents the sinister intentions and rash behavior of the evil side.  This opposition is played out through this instance and the victory of the good side is also shown as the iron bar grows under Aslan’s magic to become a Lamp Post.  I think it is also interesting to analyze the relation between the descendants of Adam and the Lamp Post.  Adam’s descendants let the Queen into Narnia and the Queen is the one who throws the material that is used to guide Adam’s descendants back into Narnia to conquer the Queen’s evilness.  I think this could be best related to the Christian allegory.  Not only are there many connections between Aslan and God as creators who mold a world at will, but there are also the shared good versus evil struggles that Christianity focuses on throughout history.  

Anticipating the Magician's Nephew

     To be honest. I started to read this book a long time ago when I was much younger, and stopped because I was not interested.  It is the only book of the series that I have had experience with but I did see the movie Narnia.  I didn't really like the movie but I will not use it to judge the books because I know that books are often much better than movies.  Hopefully I will be more interested in the book this time or maybe it just has a slow start.  It seems in a way more relatable to The Poenix and the Carpet than the other fantasies because of the more magical elements that I think it will contain. 

Analysis of The Phoenix and The Carpet

     I thought one of the most effective strategies that Nesbit used to convey her themes of fantasy was her unique form of characterization.  While Nesbit aimed an an audience of the average child, she successfully portrayed the children in a realistic fashion with good and bad qualities.  In this way Nesbit is not only adding interest to her fantasy, but she is also enhancing the didactic message in the story.  The fantasy is more appealing to the readers with these children because the story would become predictable with perfect children who always chose the right decision with pure motives.  The children with flaws are made more relatable to the reader.  The didactic message is enhanced through this because the children are simultaneously seen as a reflection of the intended audience, while at the same time creating a feeling of superiority for the reader.  This judgment of the children is allowed through the narrative voice. 
     The children's character is built as a central meaning to the fantasy.  Through specific eamples, gender roles as well as their selfless nature opposed to their selfish nature are played out.  For example, the boys help their sisters with chores and cleaning so that they can play; the children sing to and entertain their baby brother.  However, when troubled times put the children under pressure, their more slefish tendecies are seen.  Even Anthea, the moral pillar of reason, creates a lie to keep her mother from worrying when she is in fear of the consequences of losing the Lamb.  The children's motives for doing good are also questioned as the reasoning seems to very often be for self gratification or because they feel obligated.  However, there are good deeds done out of love as well because the children are complex characters. 
     Through this use of characterization, I feel that the messages are more accurately conveyed to the reader.  Because it is not the typical fantasy in a surreal perefect world, I feel the realism displays a more relatable theme for the audience.

Notable Moment in The Phoenix and the Carpet

                I think the most profound moment in the fantasy was the point in which we see the children’s character break down- when the Lamb is lost.  In this instance, the most obvious flaws in the children are forced to surface in the midst of such chaos and the “calmness of despair” was eminent.  The most shocking point of this moment was the moral lightning rod of the story took on an opposing role as the leader of deceit.  In her panic, she acts quickly to create a way to hide and hopefully buy time.  Although the children’s flaws showed greatly in this state of alarm, they thought straight enough to answer to the bird that they did want their baby brother back.  I thought this showed a very loving side in the children, their attitude that of course they would want their baby brother back and he was worth every trouble.  I felt that this moment was profound for these reasons- that the children’s character was represented in the most realistic way including positive and negative aspects.