Blog Post #3

          Before the book, Where She Went, even starts, there is part of a poem, which I found interesting. I began wondering why the Gayle Forman would incorporate another author's work into her own, so I looked into it. The poem reads, "It well may be that in a difficult hour, / Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, / Or nagged by want past resolution's power, / I might be driven to sell your love for peace, / Or trade the memory of this night for food. / It well may be. I do not think I would" (Edna St. Vincent Millay).
          As I read this poem, I first started thinking about how this could possibly relate to the book, but as I looked at it more and more I began to see the relationship. In the poem, it mentions a 'difficult hour' which we can relate to the time period of Mia being in the hospital, which would be difficult for both Mia and Adam. Also, when the poem mentions, 'I might be driven to sell your love for peace, / Or trade the memory of this night for food. / It well may be. I do not think I would', I take this to mean that since Adam is currently away from Mia, in New York, and has a celebrity girlfriend, and even though Mia is part of 'his past', he would not give up those memories and experiences for anything. Which I think is pretty cool.
          I think that Gayle Forman included this poem in the start of her book to show a bit of how Adam is feeling, before the book even starts. To be perfectly honest, I do not usually read the beginning pages of a book, and I would assume that I am not alone on that. It makes me wonder if there something meaningful like this, whether it be a poem or a phrase in many other books, and if so, then maybe I should stop and read it more often.

This is the full version of the poem that was mentioned.

Blog Post #2

          I sobbed. Gosh, why did I sob like that? I need to leave. I need to leave and never come back. Never come back to this house. Yes, that's what I'll do.
          I step outside and find Mrs. Bowles pacing back and forth in the driveway.
          "What'd you do that for?!" She angrily whispered.
          "I'm sorry! It's hard to remain emotionless all the time! Especially with that poem being read to me." I replied.
          "Emotional? There was nothing emotional about that poem. Trust me, there are better ones out there. We just need to find them before Mr. Montag does. He'll blow it for all of us." Mrs. Bowles shot back.
          "Don't you think I know that!? I am trying my best here! My first husband wrote that for me, back when we still married for love. They think that we don't remember those days, but I do. We do." I say.
          "Alright. Now if you're done psyching yourself up, let's talk about something important. Montag's onto something. And if we're not careful, we're going to get ourselves caught."
          "Mildred's on our side though right?" I ask.
          "Debatable. She's either with us to bust her own husband, or with her husband to bust us. It's a hard choice. I just hope that she chooses correctly, for her sake."
          "What if she chooses wrong? What'll happen to us?" I ask timidly.
          "We have nothing to worry about. If she chooses wrongly, she'll end up like Clarisse." She said without the blink of an eye.
          'This was so easy for her. How does she do it? She's so ruthless, cruel even. I can't let this happen. Mildred is too nice. She's a bit naïve, yes, but she is nice all the less.' I think to myself.
         
          Just then, Mildred walks out the front door and is shocked by the fact that her friends are still there.
          "What are you guys still doing here? I'm sorry for Montag. Those poems that he brought home are quite silly, don't you think?" She addresses her friends.
          "Quite," I reply for the both of us. I don't know what to do, of say to Mildred. I refuse to let Mrs. Bowles treat her poorly. I decide that I'll give Mildred the scoop later. Just as I decide this, Montag walks out the front door as well, and gives us a weary glance.
          "What are you people doing out here? Come on Mildred, let's go inside." He practically demands, as he leads his wife back inside the house despite her numerous protests. He comes back outside and gives us another glare.
          "Whatever you two are up to, leave my wife out of it. She knows nothing!" He says, acting like a completely different person now that Mildred is inside the house.
          "Doubtful. I saw that warning look she gave you when you started to read us the poem, that look could kill!" Mrs. Bowles speaks up.
          "Look, I know you're looking for books too, well if you haven't guessed it, so am I. How about we team up and find twice as many books together as we would be able to separately." Montag suggests.
          After a few skeptical looks between the two of us, I speaks up. "I guess that sounds like a good idea."
          I can tell that Montag is glad that we agreed. He thinks that the threat of us telling the police about his search are over. If only the poor guy knew that we were only getting started. Sorry, Montag.