Letters to Juliet

Title: Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magical City of Verona, and the Power of Love
Authors: Lise & Ceil Friedmen
Date of Publication: November 1, 2006 Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang

Summary:

The book Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magical City of Verona, and the Power of Love by Lise and Ceil Friedman is a book totally different from what I have ever read before. The book starts off by telling The Story Behind the Story, which is the first chapter that gives background information. This chapter tells about how Shakespeare wrote many of his plays from stories told before. They gave examples like how Romeo and Juliet went as far back as Pyramus and Thisbe. These stories were very similar they both have feuding families, love that is forbidden and a disaster at a tomb. The book then goes on giving information about the tomb site and how in 1230 the Frati Minori Francescani founded a church. According to the story of Romeo and Juliet in a small chapel inside this church is where they were married by Friar Laurence. The authors also give a little excerpt on Friar Laurence and his potions. According to the book he was a accomplished gardener that tended to an abundance of herbs. This is where the idea of the potion began, though the authors say that this was no remedy from his garden. They believe Shakespeare thought that such a potion actually did exist. Ettore Solimani was the hired custodian he was a believer of all the legends and took interest in particularly story of Romeo and Juliet. As his interest grew towards the story of the two star crossed lovers so did the interest of the tourist. One thing that the tourist found very interesting was when he led the couples to the tomb and told them to stand on either side, to hold hands and make a wish. Soon enough tourist began leaving cards behind recalling their experience and soon enough the letters came. These letters are from different people looking for advice on love.

The second half of the book focuses more on architecture of the places in Romeo and Juliet’s life. In the mid 1800’s Juliet’s house was identified as a rundown, five story brick building in present Via Cappello. In the early years this house was used as an inn for travelers. Also later in the years, parts of this building were used as small shops. There are also two theories about how there is a bonnet-like hat carved in the courtyard. The more romantic people believe that these are ties that the family has to the house. The more realistic people believe that there was once a shoe shop there. Regardless of what people believe, it still attracts many travelers. As the book continues it gives background information on Baci di Giulietta (Juliet’s kisses). This is a combination of beaten egg whites, sugar, hazelnut and cocoa.
Film Vs. Book: The book and film had many differences. The book focused more on the history of Romeo and Juliet and the places they had visited and where the story took place. In the movie it focused more on the protaganist and her journey to helping somone find their true love. Since the movie doesn't explain about the past of Romeo adn Juliet it makes it seem more like a fantansy. The movie also doesn't show or tell why people began writing to Juliet in the first place. Even though the two varied so much they were enjoyable.
Quote: He told them that Juliet would surely make their wish come true, and from that moment on they were under the idealized protection of love’s greatest heroine.” (Friedman, 51)
Explanation/ Reaction: This book was not what I expected at all and it’s not what I’m used to reading. The book did have a lot of useful information and I found out many things that I did not know before. Something I found very interesting was the story of as Pyramus and Thisbe and how similar Romeo and Juliet was to it. I had thought that Shakespeare came up with the ideas of his story on his own. Along with this surprised I also realized how realistically the story of Romeo and Juliet was taken. In Verona it was as if once there were actually star-crossed lovers that went through this tragedy. As I was reading this book I too also felt that they did once exist. I really did enjoy reading the letters to Juliet that the people had written. It amazed me on how many difficulties some people were facing with their loves. In addition to this I found out that the letters to Juliet actually helped a husband get his wife back. I choose this quote because I actually found this very romantic. It seemed hopefully and as if Juliet would actually make theire dream come true. It made fantasy become reality and this was somthing this book was very good at doing.

Life's journey: The perks of being a wallflower

Title: The perks of being a wallflower

Author: Stephen Chbosky
Date of Publication: February 1, 1999
Publisher: MTV books

Summary: The book The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky begins with a letter by the main character who is Charlie to someone, explaining how he is glad that there are people like them in the world. He then goes on talking about his family and his friend Michael who committed suicide. After Michael committed suicide he was impacted very negatively because then he too wondered if he had family problems like him. He describes his mother as a lady who often goes to the cemetery, his father as very stern man, but that cried during an episode of MASH, his sister a girl who is mean to boys and lastly his brother who is a football player. Through his first days of high school he begins reading different books his teacher gives him. As he gains confidence in his teacher he admits to him that his sister’s boyfriend hit her. His teacher tells his parents and his sister is outrageously angry at him. Charlie makes two new friends which are Sam and Patrick. He learns they are both siblings and that Patrick is having relations with the schools quarterback, Brad. He explains how he spent thanksgiving with his mother’s side and Christmas with his father’s side. Charlie reveals a secret on why around Christmas he is always very sad. He blames himself for the death of his aunt Helen. On his 7^th birthday she went out to buy him a second Birthday gift and died in a car crash.

 Charlie tells about how the holidays are always the same with family fights. On Christmas day he attends Sam and Patrick’s party and they exchange their secret Santa’s. In this party Charlie also gets his first kiss by Sam. On New Year he attends another party where he decides to try a new drug called LSD and since then he’s been having weird allusions. On February 8^th he explains how he has his first date with Mary Elizabeth who invited him to the Sadie Hawkins’ dance. He also participates in the The Rocky Horror Picture Show where he first caught Mary Elizabeth’s attention. Mary Elizabeth keeps calling Charlie every day after school and on all their dates all she does it talk. Patrick and Charlie begin spending more time together and they share many stories and secrets. During the end of the story Patrick, Sam and Mary Elizabeth graduate. Charlie ends his last letter by saying that he is getting better and starting to find himself. Also that he is glad that there is someone out there listening to him.

Quotation: “He’s a wallflower”  (Chbosky 37).

Quotation context: I chose this quote not only because it is my favorite but the fact that it gives meaning to the title. As I began reading this book I didn’t fully understand what a wall flower was, until I reached page 37. This is when Charlie goes to his first party and sees Patrick and Brad messing around up stairs. Then when Patrick comes down stairs he makes a toast to Charlie and says “He’s a wallflower”  (Chbosky 37). When Charlie asked why that was he said because “You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand. ” (Chbosky 37). Patrick was referring to the fact that Charlie seen him and Brad but didn’t say anything to anyone. This helped me realize the type of character Charlie was. He was very humble and inexperienced with the older crowd.  This quote also helped me realize that at the end of the book he had changed and grown. He was still a wallflower but much wiser and more experienced.

A Search for Sanity: Girl Interrupted

Title: Girl InterruptedAuthor: Susanna Kaysen
Date of Publication:  April 19, 1994
Publisher: Vintage


Summary:

The book Girl Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen starts off when she is in a doctor’s office getting an evaluation. The doctor notices that she is neglected of sleep, rest and seems not to be aware of her surroundings. After what she presumes to be a fifteen minute evaluation, he sends her to the “nut” house, which is the McLean hospital. In this hospital is where she meets the girls that she spends the rest of her teen years with. Georgina who was diagnosed as being a schizophrenic is also her roommate. Polly, a schizophrenic that set herself on fire is one of the kindest girls there. Kaysen always says that she must have a lot of courage to commit suicide by burning herself. She compares this to when she swallowed 50 aspirins in an attempt to commit suicide, which wasn’t as courageous as what Polly did.  Another girl is Lisa who is known as the sociopath who never sleeps and always keeps all the girls in a good mood. Kaysen tells about how one of her most memorable times was when Lisa hung all the furniture in the bathroom. Then there is Daisy who commits suicide on her birthdays. She was known as only a “seasonal event” and was addicted to latex and chicken. She also complains about how they don’t have any privacy at all.  They have to use plastic utensils and the windows are all guarded. As time progresses Kaysen starts understanding the factors of mental illness a bit more.  In the chapter Velocity vs. Viscosity she explains how she isn’t sure which mental illness she has, fast or slow. She talks about how her favorite nurse is Valarie because she isn’t afraid of them. She least likes Dr. Wick who is very old fashioned and doesn’t seem to understand anything.

A new girl arrives from Mexico named Torrey, she is a methamphetamine addict. When the girls realize that she is going to have to go back to Mexico because her parents will no longer pay. They pitched in money and came up with an escape plan for her, which failed. A new and memorable patient named Alice Calais arrives at the hospital. She soon has a melt down and is transferred into maximum security. When the girls go and visit her, Kaysen wonders is she will ever be in that horrible stage. Kaysen later becomes her therapist Melvin’s first analytical patient. Kaysen also is fascinated with tunnels she discovered under the hospital. She is so amazed and loves going through them, she often asks nurses to take her there. As time passes she gets a job outside of the Mclean Hospital where she encounters sexism. More time progresses and she marries a guy who she met before being a patient as the hospital. After she leaves the hospital she sees Lisa who has a kid and Georgina who is now married.  The books ends with Kaysen crying in front of a painting of a girl interrupted at a Frick’s museum. She breaks down in tears because she relates to the girl in the painting and how she was the girl interrupted once in her life.

Quotation: “Oh God. Could that happen to us?” (Kaysen 115)

Quoatation Context: This quote is said during the section where a new girl named Alice Calais has arrived at the Mclean hospital. She is a quite girl who is more observant than anything else. Some of the girls joke around how they believe she has lived in a closet because she has never tasted honey. Alice didn’t give any signs of having a real illness and the girls quickly got bored. Then one day she broke down and was sent to maximum security. When the girls when to visit Alice they began to become grateful of the little privacy they had back in their rooms. In maximum security there were no doors or toilet seats and in the rooms there was just a mattress. Kaysen was quickly startled when they found Alice on her mattress covered in her own feces. The girls leave and the uprising question is asked by Kaysen “Oh God. Could that happen to us?” (Kaysen 115) I believe this was a somewhat turning point in her life, when she began to worry a bit more about her surroundings. She acknowledged that Alice was very humble at first and then broke down. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to them. This quote comes from my favorite part in the whole book. The insecurity Kaysen begins to have shows how she is changing thought out the book. It also makes it more evident to see at the end of the book how she has grown and changed and is able to reflect on her life’s experience.