Any thoughts on the scripture?
I know we can't keep going back to the first time we read, but what did you think of the preface? And now knowing the end, really the preface is a thought we don't hear Bella have later in the book.
Chapter 1
Alicewannabe noticed so much foreshadowing. Did you?I want to know what your impression of Bella is at this point. What do you think of her reasons to come to Forks? Can you feel those uncomfortable, newest girl in school feelings? Has SM captured you yet?
Music for this chapter is "Why Does it Always Rain on Me." You can listen to it on the blog I-pod. Here is a link for the lyrics.
Chapter 2
What are your favorite parts from Bella's first real encounter with Edward?
Music for Chp. 2: "I'm not okay", by My Chemical Romance,
Does it fit?
Warning: this song gets pretty hard. Its from SM's play list, but it does tell you more deeply about Bella's emotions than she might be letting on. Also this link is an edited version. It edits out one word, but I advise this version. I also recommend not getting too creeped out by the picture of the band. Yak.
Chapter 3
Comment on anything you noticed, loved, made you think, etc.
In particular
- What are your impressions on Charlie, and he and Bella's relationship
- Edward has so many varied interactions with Bella in this chapter. What were your impressions.
- Besides the accident, which is of course, pivotal, I think one other significant even happens in this chapter. This is the night she starts dreaming of Edward. What do you think of Bella's many vivid dream? Are they significant?
16 comments:
Here are some comments that AWB and Ruth started in another post.
AWB said to Ruth:
You and I can discuss. I am reading a chapter a day, even re-reading the chapter before I go to bed. I have so many thoughts, and now that I know the ending, there is so much foreshadowing in those first few chapters. So we can talk about what we read and how we think it pertains to the ending. And everyone else can catch up.
May 21, 2008 3:08 PM
Ruth said...
Great AWB! I agree, there is so much foreshadowing in the first few chapters. But I can't remember if I caught on to those hints the first time I read it. Did you?
Things I noticed:
**Bella not relating to people her own age or "people, period"
**"no one was going to bite me"
** and of course the descriptions of the Cullens during lunch that 1st day of school
So I wonder what else is a foreshadow that we don't realize yet since we don't have the 4th book.
Thanks TM for starting this post. Sorry we had our "discussion" elsewhere. But no worries! There's still plenty to talk about.
CHAPTER 1:
I think it was very Bella-ish to move to Forks so that her mom could be happy with Phil. Kind of reminds me of how willing and ready she is to make everyone else happy (ie: Alice & the wedding plans). It also shows how mature she is. What highschooler do you know who would give up their friends just for their mom's happiness? Finally, I noticed myself feeling able to better relate to Bella's "new girl" experience more this time around. Those feelings SM describes mirror my own in our new ward and at my new jobs.
Here are the lyrics to
"Why does is always Rain on Me."
I cant sleep tonight
Everybody saying everythings alright
Still I cant close my eyes
Im seeing a tunnel at the end of all these lights
Sunny days
Where have you gone?
I get the strangest feeling you belong
Why does it always rain on me?
Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?
Why does it always rain on me?
Even when the sun is shining
I cant avoid the lightning
I cant stand myself
Im being held up by invisible men
Still life on a shelf when
I got my mind on something else
Sunny days
Where have you gone?
I get the strangest feeling you belong
Why does it always rain on me?
Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?
Why does it always rain on me?
Even when the sun is shining
I cant avoid the lightning
Oh, where did the blue skies go?
And why is it raining so?
Its so cold
I cant sleep tonight
Everybody saying everythings alright
Still I cant close my eyes
Im seeing a tunnel at the end of all these lights
Sunny days
Where have you gone?
I get the strangest feeling you belong
Why does it always rain on me?
Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?
Why does it always rain on me?
Even when the sun is shining
I cant avoid the lightning
Oh, where did the blue skies go?
And why is it raining so?
Its so cold
Why does it always rain on me?
Why does it always rain...
Lyrics to "I'm not okay"
Well if you wanted honesty, that's all you had to say.
I never want to let you down or have you go, it's better off this way.
For all the dirty looks, the photographs your boyfriend took,
Remember when you broke your foot from jumping out the second floor?
I'm not okay
I'm not okay
I'm not okay
You wear me out
What will it take to show you that it's not the life it seems?
(I'm not okay)
I've told you time and time again you sing the words but don't know what it means
(I'm not okay)
To be a joke and look, another line without a hook
I held you close as we both shook for the last time take a good hard look!
I'm not okay
I'm not okay
I'm not okay
You wear me out
Forget about the dirty looks
The photographs your boyfriend took
You said you read me like a book, but the pages all are torn and frayed
I'm okay
I'm okay!
I'm okay, now
(I'm okay, now)
But you really need to listen to me
Because I'm telling you the truth
I mean this, I'm okay!
(Trust Me)
I'm not okay
I'm not okay
Well, I'm not okay
Okay, are you ready? I finally finshed chapter one. (Lovely sigh here)
Oh but first:
The scripture.
you know it is the forbidden fruit from the tree of "good and evil" Not just evil. And in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surley die.
Well, Bella will surely die, but how really? Of course it leads you to think she will die at the hands of a vampire, but giving up your life for someone you love is different somehow. And of course our Cullens are good and evil. There evil isn't by choice. And humans will die anyway. When she finally gets to be with Edward will it feel like a consquence of choosing wrong?
Very taunting use of scripture.
Preface:
I remember being creeped out by the preface. Now I find it hauntingly beautiful. "Dying in the place of someone else, someone I loved." She thought it was her mother and Edward. It is just to save Edward in the end.
I also found it fascinating that right after the scripture on the previous page says
"thou shalt surely die"
the preface begins with
"I'd never given much thought to how I would die --"
That thought stands alone.
But one more from the preface:
So she says she had reason enough in the last few months to give thought to how she would die. Would that mean thinking about what would happen if Edward lost control of his lust for her blood?
Wow. Bella is brave!
Don't shake your heads and say I think to much. This stuff just rolls off my brain. Sorry if it is tedious to wade through.
Now on to chapter one:
Random thoughts here:
I was taken back by SM's appealing writing style from the very first page. I love this line:
"It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me . . . "
Next thing I really noticed (since I loved every word along the way) was what AWB pointed out about Bella's description of not fitting in with, well, the rest of the world. A "glitch in my brain." An unreadable glitch, maybe?
When Bella locked the door, was the fist time my mind really locked in on Edward (he is always lurking there somewhere). I flashed forward to when Edward would know exactly where her house key was, from careful study.
I love this line from her checking in:
"Plants grew everywhere in plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside." So descriptive!
There are so many things I noticed and loved but I will try to sum it up quickly.
I noticed how Angela is polite enough to remind Bella of her name. Love Angela.
Of course Edward's hair. WOW!
I was much more aware of the scene in the school office with Bella and Edward. I had forgotten how she "felt a thrill of genuine fear" when he looked at her with his absurdly handsome face. Well that is certainly a foreshadowing, and an obvious one. It sets up the tension so well.
Mostly though I was reminded how much I like Bella. She is so real. Sad, scared, but not a wimp. She has a little sense of humor and isn't so backward that she hides under a rock.
For some reason guys don't get Bella.
I think she is a wonderful heroine and really represents a part of every girl young and old.
Oh one definition I looked up on this chapter:
surreptitiously, pg. 23: (my mental definition was close)
"acting with stealth, secretly"
So I finished reading both chapter 1 & 2 today. And I loved it so much all over again! I didn't realize until I started reading it, how much that Twilight "feeling" had faded. And I have to say that as soon as I read the line, "The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out." My tummy did a little flip, and I started to get excited to get going into the story even more.
I do think there is some foreshadowing. One of a few lines in particular in chapter 1 that stood out to me is where she's talking about herself, and how she feels she's kind of odd and doesn't fit in with anyone, and says, "Maybe there was a glitch in my brain." There are many thoughts that come to mind with that one line.
I do feel her pain in being the new girl, very well descibed by Stephenie, she makes you feel so much of what her characters feel.
I love Bella's personality, I love her sarcasm and all the funny little things she says. I laughed out loud for some reason when I read the line about Mike going to sit by "some girl with braces and a bad perm." Just her personality is great. I LOVED her first real encounter with Edward. Of course probably my favorite part is when she first sees his crooked smile and stares at him like an idiot. I love the intensity to which he listens to her life story, his complete interest in it, although we also know that he's trying to figure out why he can't read her mind. I can't help but wonder what he is thinking while she's talking (Midnight Sun!). In fact, I think I'm going to read the first chapter of Midnight Sun now, while I'm right here at the beginnning, I've been wanting to do that.
I found myself thinking when Bella would flip her hair to block her view of Edward, that I felt bad for him and if she only knew not to make it even worse by flipping her hair around. Oh, and of course the first time Edward touches her ever, I tried to imagine that electric shock she felt, and he too I bet, that made her jump a little. I'm sure he just figured it was because of the coldness of his touch.
Oh goodness, I love it, I love Twilight, and I'm so happy to be reading it again. I'm sure I'll have more to say soon, I need to keep better track of my thoughts while reading, I always think I'm going to remember but I never do.
Haven't read chapter two yet but I love all these thoughts. Sorry RWV and I are always stuck in our itbs mode. We repeat each other a lot.
But two more quick chapter ones:
I love the description of Edwards arm. Where his white shirt sleeve is pushed up and she saw his forearm "surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin". um, yeah, love that, just love that!
Your right RWV, poor Edward when Bella tortures him with that hair of her.
Then just thought it was significant that although her first day of school went relatively well it seems what effected her the most were the Edward experiences, who she really didn't have any interaction with except him looking at her 3 times.
But she was already tuned into him and was fighting tears on the way home.
I'm just starting the second chapter and even now she is already so aware of him. Even though she is so uncomfortable with his reaction to her, which she is only assuming at this point, she is already disappointed not to see him.
Of course her fascination really fits because at the very moment chapter 2 starts, Edward is surely in Alaska at this point, trying to cure his desire for her blood and his fascination for this human girl. So I like knowing that their reactions a list mirror to some degree.
I wonder if I make any sense.
Oh I loved that description of Edward's arm too! I had forgotten that (that's one of those lines I was telling you I had forgotten MA). Doesn't she say something else like how he's not as slight as she thought he looked in the cafeteria?
Yes you make sense, I totally get what you're saying. It is so amazing how aware they are of each other from the first day they see each other. It just totally adds to what they become.
Oops, I kinda read and commented on the chapters in the midnight sun post. What struck Paul and I the most- in these first few chapters is that they are both so lonely-and content in their loneliness. They are alive but not living. It is amazing how they are both so internally effected by each other from the very beginning- how they both struggle with already feeling this magnetic attraction from the very beginning- how they are both fighting it- how it has woken a part of them they have never experienced before. WOW! The writing is so pleasing and conveys the emotions so well that you can't help feel them too. What I love about Bella is that she isn't so girly- she isn't caught up in the drama of High School. She isn't trying to fit in-not trying to be someone she isn't- she is just herself.
Oh - I am so behind, but one quick thing that I found myself thinking/feeling...Just like MA said, her first day really just revolved around him. Then in CH 2 - how him not being there contributed to why it was 'worse'. Even though I knew exactly when she was going to see him again, I found myself trying to quickly get through those few days, waiting and wondering when he was going to show up!
Love it E. Miss you.
Jill I really noticed your point today while I was reading still in the first few chapters. Bella is doing okay. Making a few friends. Accepting her new life the best she can. Content in her lonliness. Stephenie sets up the premise for this fairy tale so flawlessly. You feel their attraction (and not just physical) build in every interaction and then afterthought Bella has with Edward. Wow.
A couple other chapter 2 comments, very random:
I love the Mike/Golden Retriever comparison. She uses it 3 different ways. What a mental picture.
Along with Jill's lonliness point, Bella seems to relate to the Cullens from the beginning because they don't fit in. She comments about how even with all their "assets" they haven't been accepted in Forks. Bella is a kindred spirit from the start.
I like getting to know Charlie again and better. How he never really got over Renee. His first love. I love that Bella likes to cook and shop but I wish Charlie would help with the dishes.
A particularly striking quote:
"I was in disbelief that I'd just explained my dreary life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise me."
Just one comment on chapter 3.
I am so naive at how a writer works their magic but I am still awed at SM's ability to draw is in to the pull of Bella and Edwards relationship. You physically feel reactions to things they say and things that happen. I am still amazed by that.
Yes, I agree, and am still amazed myself. That's why we love these books so much, because of the magic! (Especially Twilight) I love reading everyone's comments and insights that I might overlook or not think so much about. Thanks for sharing everyone!
Doubt anyone will read this except on their email, but I finally read chapter 1.
I noticed a lot on the same lines as all of you.
The glitch in her brain, talking about how she never really connects with anyone, even her mom.
Her sarcastic sense of humor,..."my mother is part albino."
"No one was going to bite me."
I also noticed how much she talks about her pale skin - thinking that this is foreshadowing for BD. She didn't like her pale skin in Twilight, will she finally think it is pretty by the end of BD?
Also noticed how Bella and the Cullen's lives sort-of parallel each other at this point; Bella unpacks and stares out the window at the rain, letting a few tears escape. She is not excited or happy to be in Forks, but she just accepts it. Likewise, I noticed so much more this time, how bored the Cullens are at school. They are just staring at the walls while they are not eating. (How would it be to spend 8 hours each day staring off into space?) And, just like Edward is the singular exception to the fog of Bella's feelings, Bella is the one thing that prompts any interaction/discussion between the Cullens during this chapter.
The dreary weather definitely fits their mood at this point in the story.
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