Chronicle of a Death Foretold (61-120)

Summary:

An autopsy is carried out on Santiago Nasar and seven major wounds on found on his body. His organs were almost in pieces and he was stabbed even after he died. After the autopsy was done the people that did the autopsy, Father Carmen Amador, a medical student and a druggy, they still smelled like Santiago Nasar's blood. After the twins go to jail, the narrator returns to find Angela Vicaro. He says that she has matured so much, he can hardly believe that  she is still the same person.  He asks her about who was the first person she made love to, and she does not  answer as suspected,  she does not specify Nasar. Angela was beat by her mother once her husband found out and left her. The narrator believed that Nasar died without understanding his death. Nasar died in the kitchen, he fell on his face and died slowly.

Quote:

"The truth is that she spoke about her misfortune without any shame in order to cover up the other misfortune, the real one, that was burning in her insides " (Marquez 91)

Reaction:

This was a very strong quote to close up the book and put the death of  Nasar to an end. I really admire how the author wrote what Angela was going to speak about and how beautifully he described what she was going to say, and how she was going to say it. Angela had nothing to hide now, the whole town knew about what occurred between them. She explains how what the town thought and what really happened were two different things because the town was not emotionally affected by how Nasar felt about Angela. Overall, the ending was confusing and unpredictable, I feel bad for Angela because she was left alone and unhappy. 

Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1-60)

Summary:

Santiago Nasar always dreamt about trees, and his mother thought it meant something, she thought dreams stood for something. Nasar was the type of  person that never left his guns loaded. He is described as merry, peaceful, and openhearted. The door in his house that lead to the Square was known as the fatal door. A note was placed in his house that had the information of  Nasars planed death. It included the motive and the place  it was going to occur. Though, this note was not found before he was killed, it was found after the murder occurred. Two men were going to kill Nasar. Luisa Santiaga tried to warn Nasars mother that they were going to kill him, but she was too late, the two men had already killed him He was killed by Angela Vicarios two brothers. She had lost her virginity to Nasar and as a result her fiance, Bayardo San Romar, took her back to her parents and did not want anything to do with her. Her brothers told everyone in town that they were going to kill him, but no one warned him, and thus he was killed.    

Quote:

" The weather was funereal, with a cloudy, low sky." (Marquez 4)

Reaction:

I picked this quote because I found it weird how they described the weather as funereal, a word that looks a lot like the word funeral. It almost depicted the whole death of  Nasar. As I was  reading I was constantly reminded that Nasar was going to die and that there was no way he was going to live.  The author constantly said that the twins were going to kill him, and I found this a bit repetitive. Though, I would like to know the consequences that are going to occur to the twins because of the murder. 

Secrets & Mysteries of the World (163-237)

Summary:

Human combustion is when a human body bursts into flames for no reason at all. Though, the feet, hands and fingers are left untouched. According to Francine, it is caused by a buildup of 

Phosphorus, which is highly flammable thus causing the body to in implode upon itself  and start burning from the inside out. People called physical mediums are people who harness kinetic energy which is the power to move objects. Auras are said to be able to change with our daily moods.  To add on, the world has many enigmas including black holes. They are known as vacuums. Browne says that it is a star that implodes or explodes a crater in the atmosphere. Then it creates a funnel which also shows up in a parallel universe. There are forty-four other universes out there. Polar tilts were said to be the cause  of the destruction of Atlantis. It causes climate changes and natural disasters to occur.  Halloween is a holy day for Wiccans, an ancient religion dominated by white witches. Dunking apples also has a meaning, the more apples you get the luckier you will be for the following year. Bonfires are said to ward off evil. 

Quote: 

" Belief is a powerful thing, and if people feel as if they've been cursed then they begin to almost fulfill their own prophecy." (Browne 174)

Reaction:

This quote opened my eyes because it told me to believe in my beliefs, and that is a very strong message. On the other hand, I wish I could fly, but believing that I can will not help my cause.  I picked this quote because it was a very strong quote. It wraps up Browne's whole book on the mysteries of the world. Browne believes in her powers to communicate with ghosts and in her spiritual guide, Francine. It shows how belief can actually power  the answers to these  universal puzzles.  Overall, Browne's book was very insightful in the history of all these mysteries, what people thought about them back then, what she thinks about them, and what people think about them now. It helped me realize that everyone has a different view and aspect of what occurs on Earth. It was very eye opening when it came to what Browne thought about these mysteries and why she thought the way she did. 

Secrets & Mysteries of the World (129-160)

Summary:

The pyramids and the Sphinx has been a mystery to how it has been made. It is very old and the way it is build is spectacular! The Sphinx is questioned when it comes to who it was modeled after. The Crop Circles, which are near Stonehenge, are very complex circles. They are mostly found  on the British Isles, but they can be found all over the world and the designs get even more complex as more appear. There are many theories about how they got there from a secret military experiment  to an underground archaeological theories. Others believe that these are just hoaxes and are completely fake. Browne adds on to say that the media does not always give the truth. Crop circles seem to have the world wondering about how they got there, and it is still a mystery to all.

Quote: 

" I believe that this was to show how humans could "morph" into a type of totem, to take on the qualities of animal and human and combine the two from bravery to cunning or strength." (Browne 138)

Reaction:

This quote shows what Browne believed in and how her mind worked. She believes that the Sphinx shows how people were able to morph into animals. It is interesting to me because I have never heard of this before. It is interesting how she her own theories that add on to the theories that others had in the past. I also googled the crop circles and found the many designs that Browne was talking about. I believe that an extraterrestrial might be responsible for these crop circles but scientists have no proof of anything or where it came from. I want to keep reading on the history of these mysteries, I wonder if any of these mysteries have an actual reasoning behind them.

Secrets & Mysteries of the World (90-128)

Summary:

Browne goes on to talk about the imaginary friends that children have when they are younger.  She believes that actually are spirit guides, like her own spirit guide, Francine. Though what is interesting is that the belief in these imaginary friends keeps them alive, that is why as children grow older they do not have any more imaginary friends. They also have special powers that show the future, spirit guides come from God and the angels , and thus they are good. Adding on, Browne also has encountered extraterrestrials and so has her grandmother Ada. It mentions that they look very similar to humans to make sure they fit in and are not detected. She says that during her encounter will aliens they said they were from planet PX41 in the Andromeda galaxy. Another encounter was with an alien who called himself John, he was puzzled at the way people on Earth functioned. Browne met him in a restaurant and he asked to sit with her and he asked many questions about his surroundings.

There are other things that puzzle people, such as the crystal skulls and the ice stones. No one really knows where they come from or how they got there, it's a mystery to everyone. The Nazca lines, which personally give me the chills, are said to be made from the Nazcas, but no one knows how they did it with such precision or how they even got it done! The World has many mysteries that even scientists can not answer.

Quote: 

"We are observing and trying to help." (Browne 102)

Reaction:

This quote scares me, because this is what Browne claims the alien said to her. I do no know if there is such things as aliens but this creeps me out a lot! This quote shows how she actually has proof & shows what the alien said to her during her encounter. Overall, this book has me wondering about these unsolved mysteries and what they actually mean. I even googled Nazca lines because I was so intrigued by them! This book makes my skin crawl and my mind wander to what could be. Now I wonder if there are actually aliens out there, or if Browne is just making this up. The history of these mysteries is very interesting!

Secrets & Mysteries of the World (47-90)

Summary:

This section is about the creatures that roam the Earth and what they do. First off is a Tulpa, which is a ghost. It is believed that you can summon  a Tulpa by creating your own. Sasquatch is another creature, footprints have even been found of this hairy beast. Leviathan are known to by sea creatures that eat stranded ships and people aboard. Fairies have also been found in Ireland. Described as small because women in dresses with golden hair. Demons are probably the most common thing people believe in, but is also a way that people explain misfortune. Gargoyles, on the other hand, were created to ward off quote. Witches have had a bad reputation but others say that they cast spells for positive ends. There are also white witches that use their spells for good and to cure people. Werewolves come from a Greek myth. In Germany in 1891, some say that they saw a man turn a wolf into a human in the town. They are assumed to appear when there is a full moon. Vampires are said to not be able to see their reflection, garlic keeps them away, and the only way to kill them is with a stake. Lastly, Cupacabras are found in Mexico and are known as creatures who drink goats blood. Some believe that they can fly.

Quote: 

"I really believe that we'll never know it all, but the beauty of life here and on the Other Side is to keep researching God and the world's mysteries." (Browne 73)

Reaction:

Overall, this quote basically speaks on behalf of the whole book. Browne seems to research on all these mysteries creatures and to also find people that are doing the same thing. She believes that she can contact the other side and that it helps her uncover the mysteries of the world. I liked this section because it spoke about the different creatures that are believed in, worldwide. It also helped me see what others in other countries believe in and their superstitions. I really cannot wait to read on to the next section! These mysteries keep me on my toes.

Secrets & Mysteries of the World (1-46)

Summary:
This world contains many mysteries that still are not fully understood. In the Salisbury Plains in England, many Stonehenge have been found. Some believe that it is used for religious ceremonies, and that it has been rebuilt many times. Others think that there is a spiritual meaning behind it, many others think it's some kind of calender. To add onto the list, some think that it's good luck and that it keeps negativity and promotes safety and grace. The Stonehenge is also believed to have been a place where justice was served. It was told that the closer you are buried, the higher rank you were. Egyptians also believed in superstitions like this, though, they were more interested in the phases of the sun and the moon and the configuration of the stars. Easter Island is in the South Pacific, it was discovered by Jacob Roggeveen on Easter in 1722, thus where it gets its name from. 887 statues, called Moai's, have been found on that Island. Though, the question is why they stopped building them, many believe that they some how ran out of wood. These statues were made to keep people out. Shangri-La is a place that is on top of the Himalayas and  a place where people are hiding the evolution  of humankind. It is said that this place is protected by snow guardians, and people that look for Shangri-La have never been seen again. The Bermuda Triangle is another place where strange phenomena occurs. Some say that it has healing power, even the power to  heal cancer. More than 1,000 people have been lost while crossing the Bermuda Triangle, it is believed that they might have crossed a portal to another planet. The Bermuda Triangle is also known as  "The Devil's Sea." Atlantis is believed to be a lost continent lost by electromagnetic energy. Pyramids of Atlantis have been found underwater. It is said that they had an 800 year life span and that they were from 8 to 12 feet tall! They had control over the weather and people believe that they are from the Lyran Star System. Lemuna is also thought of as a lost continent underwater. Though, these people were short and dark and lived in pyramid shaped homes, they also did not have a real leader. Atlantis and Lemuna are believed to rise again between the years 2020 to 2030 

Quote: 

"I find it amazing that when humankind can't explain something, more often than not we give it a negative connotation, especially if it was before the common era of Christianity." (Brown 9)

Reaction:

This quote is so strong, in the sense that I feel the same way. It seems like humanity gives everything they do not know much about a negative meaning. The history behind these places blew me away! I was afraid of  the outcomes of these weird places. I still question if I really believe in these historical facts, or if I doubt them at all. I believe this quote shows exactly what Browne is trying to say throughout the book, that just because we do not know something that does not mean we just add a negative meaning to it. Overall, I cannot wait to read about the mythical creatures that roam the Earth.

Four Past Midnight (324-399)

Summary:

Amy calls Mort and tells him that someone burned their house down.  Then he finds out Shooter killed both Tom and Don with his tools.  Mort thought about how the first story he published was a story he stole from a student in one of his creative writing classes in college. After it got accepted and was published he went on to publishing more stories, but the rest were his own. he goes to pick up the magazine that shows that his story that was published in 1980. When he turns to the pages of his story, the pages were ripped out. Confused and angry, Mort doesn't understand how he even got into his mail and ripped the pages of the magazine out. Mort put on Shooters hat then realized, there was no John Shooter, there never had been. Mort had made him up and started to believe his own lies. Mort was Shooter. He was the one that killed those people. A car slowly drove into the driveway, it was Amy. She found the door unlocked and went inside only to find "SHOOTER" written everywhere on the walls. Mort came out in Shooters hat. He took a pair of scissors and walked toward her, she scurried away. She then fell on a stack of paper, Mort stabbed her in the thigh. She kicked him and he fell. She tried to run away and he caught up with her again and stabbed her again, then a bullet was shot into his chest. Someone saved Amy, shot Mort and got rid of Shooter. 

Quote: 

"There was no Shooter. There never had been." (King 380)

Reaction:

Once I read this quote I was literally blown away. I couldn't believe that Mort was Shooter the whole time! He had made him up and made himself believe that he was an actual person! Mort was the killer. He killed his cat and burned his house and even killed Tom and Don and he blamed it on Shooter, he blamed it on an imaginary figure. He did not want, and could not get rid of these people any other way, so he killed them and decided to say that Shooter did it. This is a very strong quote because it flips the whole story around. This was also my favorite quote because it showed that Shooter was not even a real person, just someone that Mort made up. 

Four Past Midnight (247-323)

Summary:

 A man named John Shooter shows up at Mort Rainey's doorstep. "You stole my story." he says. Mort, a writer, is confused about this accusation, Mort didn't even know what this guy in a black hat was talking about. Mort decided to close the door, and waited for the crazy man to leave. After a couple of minutes the man got into his car and left. Mort opens his door and sees that the man left a wad of paper with a rock on top of it, so the pages would not fly away. Mort takes the rock off and picks the stack of paper up. He sees that the front cover says "John Shooter - Secret Window, Secret Garden." He reads the first page and then realizes it's  almost an exact replica of his story "Sowing Season." the only difference was the title. The phone ring, it's his ex-wife, Amy, calling to make sure he was alright. Amy and Mort were divorced. After he gets off the phone with Amy he goes back to thinking what he's going to do about Shooter. He decides to take a walk. After a couple minutes of walking in the woods he sees John Shooter and his car, nervous, he approaches him. Shooter wants to know why Mort would steal a story from a man from all the way in Mississippi, and more importantly how. Mort decides to tell him that he wrote his story in 1980, whereas Shooter claimed to have written in 1983. Shooter wants proof, and Mort tells him that he has a magazine that has the story that was published in 1980 and that he would show Shooter. Shooter gives him three days to prove himself or everyone he loves will die. Mort isn't afraid of his threats and walks home and takes a nap. When he wakes up from his nap he sees his cat, Bump, killed with a screwdriver driven through his head. Shooter had killed Bump and left a note that said "You have 3 days." 

Quote: 

"As he spoke, the face of John Shooter floated into his consciousness with increasing clarity like the face of a spirit swimming up to the curved side of a medium's crystal ball." (King 303)

Reaction:

This quote is a simile, it describes the clarity like a face appearing in a crystal  ball. This shows how much Mort thought of  Shooter and how scared he was of him. Mort didn't know what to do about Shooter or who to tell. He was afraid of people dying around him, he did not want to be alone. It also shows that he could see Shooter in a very could clarity, like he could describe him very well to people, if he wanted to. Overall, this quote seems to show Morts fear of Shooter and the way he could always picture the way Shooter looked in his mind.

Four Past Midnight (1-246)

Summary:

From a flight from Los Angeles  to Boston, ten passengers find out that they are the only ones left in the plane. As they awaken they find that no one else is on the plane and the only people that are were sleeping. They had gone through a time warp that was located in the Mojave Desert where an aurora borealis was occurring. The time warp took them into the past. The ten remaining passengers, Brian Engle, a pilot, Dinah Bellman, a blind girl, Don Gaffney, an engineer, Laurel Stevenson, a teacher, Nick Hopewell, a man from England that works as an assassin, Rudy Warwick, a businessman, Alber Kaussner, a violinist, Bethany Simms, a girl that does drugs, Bob Jenkins, a mystery author, and lastly, Craig Toomy an investor that is basically crazy. Since no one is flying the plane, captain Engle decides to land the plain in Bangor, Maine. When they arrive they see no one, everything is quiet, except for the sounds of static. Craig believes this sound is the sound of the Langoliers  and goes crazy and stabs Dinah, thinking she is the one who is in charge of them. He runs off hoping that the Langoliers won't get him. They start up the plane to go back to Los Angeles hoping that the time warp would still be open so they could go back to their time. The static sound gets louder and the Langoliers are a mile away. As captain Engle starts to take off they see Craig getting eaten by the Langoliers, and everything underneath them turns black. Everything underneath them ceased to exist, including Craig. As they slowly arrive to their destination they realize they need to be sleeping in order to still be alive once they enter the time warp. Nick decides to give up his life by taking charge of the plane for the rest of the people to go through alive. When the surviving passengers awaken they land in Los Angeles, at last they are back into their own time.  

Quote: 

"The place where life is freshly minted every second of every day; the cradle of creation and the wellspring of time." (King 232)

Reaction:

This was my favorite quote because it described the whole story of The Langoliers. I like how it describes that time is where life is "freshly minted". It shows how life is made every second and the past is either forgotten of or not remembered. Time is created all the time. This quote basically illustrates the main point of the story, that  life is made in every second. This is also a personification because life cannot be freshly minted, but it can be made. Overall, I think this quote fit the whole story perfectly and commented on the theme of this story.

Movie: Secret Window

Reaction to a review of the film:
"'Secret Window' dramatizes the plight of Mort, who is suffering from writer's block." I believe that this is somewhat correct. The movie always showed Mort sleeping, in real life I do not believe a writer would be at home most of the time. I think they would be out exploring the world, hoping to get inspired by what they see. The review goes on to say "Much of the plot turns on Mort's getting his hands on a copy of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine to prove that he published his story before Shooter wrote his version." I also agree with this. It seemed like the whole movie was about Mort trying to find the proof to show Shooter that it was it book and that he didn't plagiarize it from Shooter. I felt like the whole movie was going in circles, sleep, proof, sleep, proof. 
"It's the kind of thing that's fine for about 20 minutes, before your attention kicks in, or nods off." Lastly, I agree with this 100%! I was tired of the movie for the first thirty minutes, it was so predictable. It also was hardly scary, it was very similar to other movies I have seen. Overall, I think that this review, from New York Times, shows exactly how I feel about Secret Window. It didn't not seem like anything new, it wasn't scary, and it was very predictable. 


Mitchell, Elvis. "The Secret Window (2004) FILM REVIEW; Beware of Amish Hitmen And the Anxiety of Influence." The New  York Times 12 March 2004. Movie Review. 23 January 2011 <http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A07E5DB133EF931A25750C0A9629C8B63>.

Movie: Secret Window

Reaction to the film:
Secret Window started with the main character, Mort Rainey, in a car, unsure if he should drive back. It's an extreme close-up of his face, but when he drives in reverse we see the setting, he's at a motel, an establishing shot. He steals a key from the lobby of the Motel and goes into a room that has a woman and a man sleeping in bed, it shows a reaction shot when he storms into the room. Then there is a bird's eye shot and it shows where Mort Rainey lives, which is in a wooden cabin in the middle of the forest. Then there is a close up to a little open window leading into his attic. Scary music starts up and there is a high angle shot of Mort sleeping on the couch. That is when the sound of someone knocking at the door awakes him, and when he answers the door a man named John Shooter points a finger at him, accusing Mort of stealing his story. A reaction shot of Mort's reaction is shown, and he slams the door on Shooter, Shooter then leaves his copy of his story on Morts porch and drives off. Mr. Raineys maid comes to clean his house and finds John Shooters story, Sewing Season in the trash and puts it on the kitchen table. It starts to get dark and rainy and  Mr. Rainey goes to the attic to finish his story, but he does not know how to end it. When he goes downstairs to get a drink, he sees the story on the table & takes it with him to the attic. When he observes it he sees that his story, Secret Window is the exact replica of Sewing Season. Once the maid leaves Mort goes back to sleep on the coach. When he wakes up his phone starts to ring. Amy, his ex-wife calls to ask if he's alright, she felt like something was wrong.  When he hangs up he goes for a hike in the woods he sees John Shooter again. Another extreme close up is on Mort's face.  Shooter says he's from Mississippi and that he wrote Sewing Season in 1997, 7 years ago. Mort rebuts by saying that he wrote his story, Secret Window in 1995. Now Mort has 3 days to prove to Shooter that he wrote the story or people would get hurt. Mort goes home and goes to bed, but when he wakes up he can't find dog anywhere, and that's when he finds his dog, killed with a screwdriver, another reaction shot is displayed. The next morning he buries his dog and goes to the police to tell them about John Shooter and his accusations. When he returns home John Shooter is there, he tells Mort to "fix the end of his story." Mort refuses and Shooter threatens that he's going to kill Amy if he doesn't. The next day Amy calls and says that he house has been burned down. Mort goes back to sleep. When he goes outside he finds Shooter hat on his porch and his car door open, with the keys in the engine.  He gets in the car and goes into town and goes to the post office to get the proof that the story was written by him. When he gets home he starts to talk to himself and puts on Shooters hat. His conscience tells him "There is no John Shooter, you invented him." Mort screams back "LEAVE ME ALONE!" and his conscience says "you are alone.." John Shooter appears and goes on, "Everything that you're doing is wrong. I exist because you made me, you told me everything you wanted me to do. I did those things because you did not want to. Fix the story. Fix the ending." Then there is an establishing shot outside, his ex-wife Amy parked in his driveway. She knocks on the door, no one answers. She knocks again, and decides to enter. She calls out his name and goes into the attic, when the door slowly closed in on her. The whole attic has the words "SHOOTER" and "SHOOT HER" engraved on the walls. Mort has scissors in his hands, and talks like Shooter, with a Mississippi accent, he tries to stab her  but she escapes and tries to start he car. He puts his scissors down and picks up a rock and throws it onto her car window, drags her out of the car, and stabs her with the screwdriver. Her fiance, Ted comes to the house looking for Amy but Mort hits him with a shovel and cuts it off with the shovel. After he kills his ex-wife. He has finally fixed the ending. He goes to the attic to finish the ending and says "The only thing that matters is the ending, and this one's very good, this one's perfect." The camera zooms into the small window in the attic, the secret window that outlooks the garden behind his house. Mort thinks to himself, "Every bit of her will be gone and her death will be a mystery, even to me." Mort buried his ex-wife Amy in the garden, the perfect ending to his story.