Part I: Female Down
Directions:
1. You need to answer five of the questions below AND respond to the comments of five classmates.
2. When you respond, indicate the question # to which you are responding.
3. When you respond to a classmate's answer, you need to respond with a thoughtful comment. In other words, "I agree with you Richie" does not a thoughful comment make. "I agree with you Richie because I thought Cullen utilized appeals to ethos, pathos and logos extrememly well, especially on page..."
4. As always, ELABORATE in your responses and comments.
QUESTIONS:
1. The book begins with an assembly at the High School on the Friday before the attack. Considering there are several perspectives that he could have taken (beginning with the attacks or starting with events that triggered the attacks) what is the purpose and effect of this opening?
2. The dedication is to the thirteen people killed and to Patrick Ireland. Did you notice this? Did you find yourself checking (as I did) to see if you were reading about someone who died in the attacks as you went through the book? How did this affect your reading?
3. There are two epigraphs in the book - one from Hemingway and one from Dostoyevsky. Why did the author include these?
4. Did the Author's Note on the sources give you information that was useful in your reading of the book? For example - did it help to know that no dialog was made up in the book? Do you feel that notes of this sort give you more confidence in reading a non-fiction work?
5. You read about Eric and Dylan's preparations for the prom, their work at the pizza shop and their silly nicknames 'Reb' and 'VoDKa.' Did the author effectively characterize them as "typical" teenagers? Did this make them more frightening and/or make their actions harder to understand?
6. Beginning with a section on page 10 ('Rebel Hill slopes gradually....') and at the beginning of the chapter 'Springtime' we get descriptions of the school setting and the student body. Did you feel that this gave you an adequate picture of the school environment? Does it seem similar to secondary schools that you have known? If yes, does this make the book more difficult for you to read?
7. Did you know about the problems with cellphones overwhelming the operators? Do you think this would be worse now? How do you think this affected the reporting? Did the '24 hour news cycle' come into play here - that is, were the news agencies running with any information they could get - including cellphone calls from inside the school? Should the news shows have carried live telephone calls from the students? Why or why not? Do you think that this sort of coverage should depend on the news item being covered (i.e., if it does not put people in danger, should these sources be used)?
8. We begin reading of the parents responses in '1 Bleeding to Death.' Were you able to put yourself in their place? Are there any particular responses that stood out to you?
9. What did you think of the reaction of the Klebolds? Were you surprised that Tom suspected his son right away? Does it seem particularly odd that he reacted this way, given the response of the Harrises?
10. What is the 'First Assumption'? Is it that there was a terrorist attack? That there were hostages? Or that it was a large conspiracy? Or does this refer to the assumptions of the news media? In retrospect do these assumptions make sense (i.e., can you understand why there was this confusion)?
11. What is your opinion of the news media's questions such as 'were they outcasts' - and they use of the word 'they' to indicate some sort of groupthink? Why do you think that the notion of the 'Trenchcoat Mafia' was seized on so readily? Why do you think these early notions were not corrected as it became clear they were wrong? Do you think that mistakes of this sort lead to the 'school shooter profile'? To what degree does looking for easy explanations for complex problems come into play to explain these sorts of notions?
12. What anecdote in this section effected you the most? Explain.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey can everyone else try and post their comments before 11 pm tomorrow night; I'd really appreciate it
ReplyDelete-Richie
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete#6: I felt that Cullen’s description of Columbine’s setting and student body was adequate because it provided an unadulterated description of the environment and the behavior of the student body . He did not try to present the students of Columbine as perfect little angels, nor did he exaggerate on environment of the school. I do not know of any schools whose scenery is quite as picturesque as Columbine’s environment, but I found the description of the student body very believable. This made the book easier to read because I did not find myself questioning the validity of Cullen’s words very often.
ReplyDelete#8: I am fortunate enough not to have experienced the loss of a close loved one. With that in mind, I doubt it would possible for me to conceive the grief a parent would have at the thought that his (or her) child would be involved in a school shooting. In other words, no, I was not able to put myself in the parents’ shoes. None of the responses in “1 Bleeding to Death” were compelling to me.
#1: By beginning the novel with an assembly scene, Cullen establishes a sense of unity among the student body in Columbine High School. No would expect a massacre to take place at a school where the camaraderie is so obvious. This basic assumption by the reader allows Cullen to effectively convey the community’s shock at the Columbine shooting to the reader. Because I had limited prior knowledge of what would ultimately happen in the book, Cullen’s introduction seemed to me like he was praising the Columbine High School so that the shooting would seem more like a tragedy. He was not necessarily trying to elicit sympathy from the reader by doing so; rather, by focusing on Columbine’s success in student relations, Cullen highlights just how tragic the whole event was.
#2: I did not know who Cullen was addressing in the dedication, so I quickly forgot about the names. However, if I had known those were the names of the people that died (except Patrick), I imagine that I would have only read parts about their deaths. When I got to the parts where Cullen describes the school shooting/bombing, I read indiscriminately. This ultimately provided for a much richer reading experience because some of the most chilling parts came from the description of hiding students that escaped death by the hair of a naked mole rat.
#5: The author succeeds in portraying Dylan and Eric as regular teenagers. Prior to reading the novel, I had very limited knowledge of the Columbine shooting; I had always assumed that both teens were social outcasts who wanted revenge. But the fact that the two “attended the foot ball games, the dances…”, the fact that Eric “scored with a twenty-three-year-old at seventeen” (I haven’t even done that!), and the fact that Cullen describes them as “nothing unusual for high school” shows just how wrong my perception of them was. Their typicality is bewildering because it contradicts most arguments people would make for the motives of their actions.
Kelsea Newman
ReplyDelete11) Since the rumor got out that they were wearing trench coats, people assumed they were associated with the trenchcoat mafia, which was an ideal assumption, due to the fact, the name gives themselves, essentially, a negative outlook. Also, many of people that were involved in the mafia were assumed to be “gay,” and did not like jocks and other groupings of people, who were coincidentally attacked during Columbine. The people who created these rumors did not take account many other details needed to make an accurate profile, such as they were shooting anyone, not specific people. By making inaccurate assumptions, innocent people were blamed and negatively looked upon.
10) These assumptions make sense, and come to mind first when hearing about a shooting in the U.S., since this occurred after previous hostage events. Terrorist attack may have not been assumed, since September 11 had not yet occurred, and terrorism was not a large issue at the time, as it is now. This confusion was understandable, since most shootings were focused towards specific people.
9) I do not find the Klebolds’ reaction odd, due to Dylan and Tom had previously had trouble with the law, and both parents knew their son’s experienced anger management issues and depression. I find it odd that the Harrises did not suspect or was surprised that their son was involved having known all his disrupts in the pass, trouble he had cause, anger problems, and that he was dealing with depression.
5) The author effectively characterized Eric and Dylan as “typical” teenagers, which, overall, made the story more relatable and understandable, which was needed since it is difficult to believe that this shooting could actually happen. At the same time, this made their actions more difficult to understand, since it appeared that Eric and Dylan enjoyed participating in the school with the students at events such as football games and proms.
12 ) One of the most effective anecdote was when Dave Cullen was writing about the attack and described young girls laughing in the hallways before realizing Eric and Dylan were shooting towards them and everyone. This made the whole event show this was just like any other day at any school, and also that all students could relate too. Another significant event was when Dave Cullen described about Danny’s body was left on the sidewalk, and his own parents were not allowed to see him or retrieve him.
ELIZA CARTER
ReplyDelete#2 When I first read this question I actually laughed because I did the exact same thing flipping back to the dedication to make sure that the person I was currently reading about made it out alive. I don't think this hindered any part of my reading in fact it helped me to keep names straight. But then when I would read about the parents searching for a child whose name was in the dedication list it would make me feel very depressed and apprehensive as to when they would finally find out.
#4 When reading some non-fiction books such as memoirs sometimes it bothers me how much dialouge is included in the memoir when I know that the author couldn't have possibly remembered every single conversation in her whole life. So when I did read the Author's Note (which is the first Author's Note I've ever even noted) it surprised me that all of the conversations in the book are all real and either recorded or written down. Also it helped me to instantly believe that Cullen has the true un-biased perspective on The Columbine High School shooting. I think it's very impressive that he created his entire book from pure facts, nothing fabricated to keep the 'story' going.
ReplyDelete#5 The most widely accepted generalization about these boys is that they were social outcasts, picked on by their peers and therefore they got fed up and brought guns to school for revenge. I think that for most people this makes them feel better deep down knowing that these kids had a reason to kill these kids; because they were treated badly. There is a term in psychology called the 'just world phenomenon' which means that most humans will try to twist any story, tragic or not, to make everything fit into their cookie-cutter perceptions of humans and normal human behavior. The public accepted this view of Eric and Dylan because it made them feel better about the whole situation. But what Cullen reveals is that these kids had lives and jobs and friends. Dylan went to his prom and both were mostly well-liked by their peers. To me, this is the scariest aspect of this book because as far as we know these boys had no motivation other than to kill as many of their classmates as they could.
ReplyDelete#7 The information that I already had about Columbine did not include any problems with cellphones. But while reading this I literally thought to myself, “If they had problems with kids using their phones to call the news stations then, it would definitely suck if this happened nowadays.” People in this day & age live with their cellphones attached at the hip. I text my mom whenever there seems to be signs of trouble, whether it’s being late to school or forgetting homework and I know most people do the same. Kids depend on their phones and if something like this happened at Wheeler then 911 and the news stations would be blowing up with hundreds of thousands of phone calls. Most of the time I believe that the public has the right to know exactly what’s going on during a situation such as this, but seeing as it involved kids I think the media should have censored it’s broadcasts not to include phone calls from students in the school. Some kids may have accidentally blurted out their location and therefore given themselves away to Eric and Dylan, so in this specific situation I don’t think it was the right idea for the media to air phone calls from students.
ReplyDelete#8 I am not a parent and so while reading of the parents desperately searching for their students in ‘1 Bleeding to Death’I couldn’t possibly begin to relate to their desperation and need to find their child or hear word of whether or not they were alive and well. Nonetheless I am not a completely insensitive person and so while I may not have been able to put myself in the parents shoes, I did feel an immense amount of sadness and also I was anxious, I kept flipping to the dedication page to make sure that whoever the parent was that their child was alive. But when I read about Cassie’s mother looking for her, I knew that she would never find her daughter and that made me so sad and also angry that someone could just take a daughter away from her loving mother.
Richard #6 Dave Cullen's description did provide a unmodified description of the environment and the behavior of the student body. I agree this was effective because it also gave readers the oppurtunity to relate to the event, making it appear more authentic.
ReplyDeleteRichard #2 I believe it was more effective to not know the names, so when Dave Cullens provides anecdotes about the event of Columbine, there was more suspense and nervousness, which made the anecodtes more effective and enjoyable.
Eliza #4 By including this in the book, readers were given comfort in knowing that everything included in this memoir was authentic. It gave readers further respect for the novel, knowing they were reading a non bias book.
2. I noticed the dedication and wondered why it was addressed to thirteen people. Throughout the book I did periodically check to see if the people on that particular page did not survive the attack. The dedication certainly made me more aware of the emotions experienced by the victims and made the book more difficult to read. Violence is more easily taken from the aggressor's point of view, but a desperate victim's side is hard to imagine.
ReplyDelete4. Cullen's note definitely gave me more faith in his work. Knowing exactly which statements are one-hundred percent truthful and which statements people are less sure about helped me trust the author. It also allowed insight on how he conducted his research and gave the audience crucial information about the attackers and how information from them was collected and used.
5. Cullen's portrayal of Dylan and Eric made them seem surprisingly average. Each was unremarkable in that they had a decent life at home, they participated in school and had good grades, they had friends, and they seemed to have a normal psyche for teenagers. These attributes are relatable to any other average teenager. So relatable, in fact, that a normal teenager in the audience would ask himself or herself, "Would someone like me actually do such a thing?" It certainly frightens this part of the audience to see that a person so much like yourself is capable and willing of committing such an aggressive and violent crime.
6. Again, the author characterizes the school as alarmingly average. The picture he paints gives you the perfect idea of a perfect little school in the middle of a perfect little town inhabited by perfect little people, like in so many other places. The school environment and student body seem to exude the greatly sought-after idea of "The American Dream." Once I accepted that the school was very average, and that the attack could have happened anywhere, it was a little bit more difficult to read. I began making myself think that Wheeler High School is not ultimately average, to save myself the grief of believing that such a catastrophe could occur here.
12. Dave's change in his glasses affected me the most. He changed his image and was hurt by his family's failure to notice what he thought was a big deal. Along with his practice of putting gummi worms in their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Dave's reaction reminded me much of my feelings felt by my parents on a regular basis. Relating a parent to a parent that died in a school shooting does not exactly give the child peace of mind.
Richie #1- I agree with your analysis of Cullen's purpose of beginning the book with an assembly scene. The sense of unity definitely highlights the tragedy of the situation as a whole. The author's inclusion of this information does not outwardly demand sympathy, but rather shows how Columbine was just a regular high school that was struck with a catastrophic event.
ReplyDeleteRichie #2- I am so jealous of you. I imagine that not knowing who survived and who didn't while reading about them created a much more suspenseful and significantly less depressing experience. Unfortunately, I am unable to unlearn that the dedication is primarily to students that died.
Kelsea #9- The Klebolds' certainly had reason to believe that their child was involved in the attack due to your stated reasons. However, I find their lack of surprise odd because most parents will refuse to believe that their child is a criminal (The Harris's reaction).
Kelsea #12- Those anecdotes are both extremely powerful. The one involving the laughing girls is particularly painful because girls laughing in a hallway happens in basically every school. People don't want to relate that activity to their school, but laughing girls in a hallway is a similarity that Columbine shares with many other schools.
Eliza #7- I could not agree more on the influence of cell phones on this occasion. The attackers both had access to television and were probably watching the news to see how much damage they had caused so far. Also, the media literally could not do anything to help the trapped or injured students and staff, as the police wouldn't allow anyone remotely near the school. I also agree that if someone started shooting people up at Wheeler, our cell phones would become our worst enemy. Not only would they be unable to help us reach safety, but with the increased use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the truth would become much more twisted than necessary.
1.Cullen opens with that passage to show how normal the school seemed to be, and yet, ironically, how much love there was, despite Eric and Dylan's hate.
ReplyDelete2. I was indeed checking to see which characters were actually going to die, and which were just followed in their escape. It was a way of finding out who died and who did not quickly, cutting through the suspense. It did not have a negative affect at all, yet it did instill sadness when characters who seemed like great people were on the list.
5. Cullen very effectively characterized Eric and Dylan as normal, typical teenagers. They had friends, they had fun, they had normality, or so it seemed. Given that they had very normal upbringings, it does make one more scared how this could come from normality and why would they make this decision despite their seemingly decent lives.
8. I can only imagine myself in the parents place. The feeling of hope slowly dwindling away and maybe even holding steady as children, maybe your, maybe not, kept arriving. The suspense would kill me personally, but after a while, either my child would show, or I'd accept the truth. Misty Bernall was the most resilient and therefore the one that remained in my head. I admire her faith in her daughter's life, but after a while false hopes can be dangerous.
10. I'd would go even further back and say that the first assumption was that there were more than two shooters. That fallacy is what prompted more worry in the news media and among the rescue teams more on their guard than they should have been. Most assumptions were fairly reasonable since at the time, domestic terrorism was usually responsible for mass murders. A hostage situation is even more plausible since many children were trapped inside, like hostages. A conspiracy, however, is just an illogical assumption to make that early; conspiracies are usually obvious and full of evidence at least some time after the event.
Richie #8 - I almost share your feelings. No one can possibly can know how it would feel without the true terror and suspense.
ReplyDeleteKelsea #10 - I have to disagree and say that terrorism was still an issue back then, since it does not only refer to foreign terrorism, but domestic as well. I do however agree that normally shootings are focused on certain people and not just anybody in some place.
Kelsea #9 - I'm not sure if relatable is the operative word given what followed their "normal" upbringing, but I agree with understandable and your point about them seeming to enjoy events that took place at their school; even Dylan enjoying things that were past high school, college to name one.
Eliza #2 - I totally agree with you there: When the person's name was not there, relief, and when the person's name was there, sadness. The dramatic irony created can be very depressing.
Tali #6 - He does seem to convey the school as average, I would not say perfect, but normal, mediocre, nothing out of the ordinary. I agree with you in that it makes the book harder to read, always thinking in the back of one's mind, 'my school is pretty average, too.'
#2 This dedication was the first thing i noticed because i remembered hearing the number of people killed prior to reading the book, so i knew it was the list of the deceased. As i checked back to this list after reading about each individual, it made much more of an impact due to the fact of the realness conveyed.
ReplyDelete#4 This sort of "disclaimer" made by the author definitely makes the reading experience more enjoyable and informative because we know everything in the book is legitimate and nothing is sugar-coated, even though it reads like an action novel.
#5 The author clearly uses this general background information to make the reader aware that these two kids were not much different than most teenagers. Sure, they were a little odd compared to the popular kids, but so are hundreds of thousands of other students in the U.S., and they dont kill anyone.
#10 When this event occurred, there were so many assumptions flying around that nobody knew what exactly was going on. To the media, this event is airtime and good press, so they want to make the best story possible out of it. They did not confer with the police, who had their own assumptions, so confusion rose even more when the media began airing "information" that they had no intel about.
#12 The opening anecdote about Mr. D at the assembly affected me the most in that I as the reader know 13 people will die soon, yet Mr. D is standing there preaching to the students about how much he loves each and every one of them. The fact that their death is inevitable makes it that much more depressing.
Kelsea, #10: I think that the first assumption was the idea that there was some sort of conspiracy behind the shooting. Due to the media’s presentation of recent mass killings such as the Oklahoma City bombing, society had been primed to think that any sort of mass killing was the result of some insidious scheme. The media is responsible for jumping to this conclusion and spreading the idea to the public, and based on previous events, I can understand why the media made such an assumption.
ReplyDeleteEliza, #4: I feel the exact same way. For example, when we were reading A Girl Named Zippy, I occasionally found myself questioning the accuracy of Haven Kimmel’s memories. I did not have that problem while reading Columbine because the Author’s Note establishes the authenticity of the text.
Tali, #5) Although it is that Cullen portrayed Dylan and Eric as your “average teens”, one should also be aware that Cullen made an effort to highlight some of the more curious factors of Eric’s personality. For example, Cullen says, “He had a long list of betrayals…on his computer of despicable young girls.”
Tobs, #8) I did not admire Misty for her unwillingness to believe that her daughter had died. I felt sympathy for her because I realized that she would ultimately be extremely disappointed once she heard the news about her daughter. If I were a parent, I would assume that my child was dead because doing so creates a win-win situation. If your child is in fact dead, then your earlier assumption of his or her death allows you more time to grieve; if your child is alive, then you are overjoyed for obvious reasons.
Austin, #2) How does knowing the names of the people who died after reading the dedication convey realness better than not knowing the names of the deceased? Whether or not I knew their names, the accounts provided by Cullen in Columbine were more than enough to impact me greatly; if those names had not been included in the dedication, the Columbine would be any less real to the reader.
1. The book begins with an assembly at the High School on the Friday before the attack. Considering there are several perspectives that he could have taken (beginning with the attacks or starting with events that triggered the attacks) what is the purpose and effect of this opening?
ReplyDeleteANSWER: “He said he loved them. Each and every one of them.” This beginning took me off guard. At first I was expecting him to start by entering in on the crime scene during or after the chaotic crisis. That is what is to be expected, right? That is what I think Cullen was after: getting the audience off guard with the beginning to keep them engaged. This unique beginning effectively captures the audience’s attention and keeps them wondering: “What’s going to happen?” “When are the murders going to start?”
2. The dedication is to the thirteen people killed and to Patrick Ireland. Did you notice this? Did you find yourself checking (as I did) to see if you were reading about someone who died in the attacks as you went through the book? How did this affect your reading?
ANSWER: What? I never noticed that! I guess it’s because, on the kindle, it went straight to the first chapter and not anything before it, like the dedications. Wow, I feel stupid right now. Well, as I look back at it now, my views on the victims are more intense and clear. With the way Cullen writes, he gives such detail and many facts, but also leaves things up to your imagination to who dies and lives when you don’t know already. For example, he describes Patrick’s escape and injuries in extreme, gruesome detail, and then in the line, “the kids had to run right past two bodies on the way out, so at some point, an officer moved Rachel father away.” He says “bodies” first and then clarifies that Rachel was one of these bodies. That pulls on my hearts strings, right there, or makes me think, “Awe, how sad!”
5. You read about Eric and Dylan's preparations for the prom, their work at the pizza shop and their silly nicknames 'Reb' and 'VoDKa.' Did the author effectively characterize them as "typical" teenagers? Did this make them more frightening and/or make their actions harder to understand?
ReplyDeleteANSWER- This did make them much more believable and realistic. Dave Cullen did an excellent job at portraying them as "typical teenagers" by adding their background information and bots of their lives. BY seeing them as slightly normal, popular kids, it does make their actions surprising, and themselves seem much more frightening for their unpredictable, dangerous behavior.
8. We begin reading of the parents responses in '1 Bleeding to Death.' Were you able to put yourself in their place? Are there any particular responses that stood out to you?
ANSWER- I could feel their panic and pain because of the impeccable use of appeals to pathos. Pathos is very strong here because Cullen connects the audience with the parents, allowing the audience to share the parent’s feelings of fear and panic. The Ireland’s response seemed the most touching because of how Cullen describes Patrick’s attack and struggle to survive. John’s response is completely understandable, the rush of guilt and pain for the possible loss of his son, “There should have been something I was able to do to protect him.” Kathy’s was much more surprising, how she refused to think of “oh, why didn’t I…I could have…” and instead was thinking ahead of the game, “What can I do now to help him?”
12. What anecdote in this section effected you the most? Explain.
ANSWER- I’d have to say the entire section of Patrick Ireland’s escape from the library, crawling with half his body and mind paralyzed. I never knew that someone could even function at least half the way he did after a shot to the head. Cullen’s descriptions and imagery with facts mixed in were so vivid, almost overwhelmingly gruesome. Sometimes I had to look away for a little while, the pictures in my head where so… so “wow, I can’t believe this is happening!” This part was so intense; I couldn’t put the book down for long. Then it made me start to really think and wonder: with half his body paralyzed and some serious brain damage, that later result in severe language disability, how does Cullen know such details?
1. The scene of the assembly gives the reader a strong impression of unity at Columbine, between the students and between the students and faculty. It is made clear that the principal cares for this student body: he cares for their safety, and that they have fun. But it also highlights the huge, impending irony: prom always makes teachers and parents sick with worry, and yet, everyone made it out in one piece. But school shootings had become a thing of the past, almost, something that no one was worried about, and that was what ended up killing thirteen people and wounding many more.
ReplyDelete3. Cullen included these to describe the two points of view that his book explores—that of the killers, and that of the victims and their families. The Dostoyevsky quotation implies that Cullen suspects the killers killed just for fun, just to be evil, that there was no reason leading up to it for years. Sometimes, bad things don’t happen to people, but those people turn out bad anyway because that’s just how they are. The Hemingway quotation gave a sense of much-needed hope, and Cullen included it to show that he believes the shooting, while tragic, strengthened the community of Columbine. Rather than succumbing to grief and sadness, they gathered together and let it make them better and stronger people.
4. This information about his resources gave me a very strong sense of security in my reading: none of this was made up, none of this is conjecture or speculation or make-believe. It gave the story a much stronger impact on me in two different ways. I felt the weight of the characters’ words and actions much more because I knew for certain that everything in the novel is fact. But also, it gave a bit of a more tragic spin; at times, I wished I had not read the Author’s Note so I could pretend that at least some of this came from the author’s imagination, that tragedy so real and tangible could not and does not exist in this world.
5. Cullen did an excellent job of making Dylan and Eric out to be normal teenagers. As an adolescent, I can identify with plenty of the characteristics he described about them, as can most teens: they have jobs, they’re frustrated with their fellow high schoolers, they just want out of high school, they have stupid nicknames. For the average American teenager, there is at least one trait in there that they share with the shooters. This certainly made it harder to understand their motive for the crime. It also made the event seem much, much more terrifying. If those two “normal” kids could plan and execute a mass murder, why couldn’t two “normal” kids at my own school? Or, even worse, and what no one wants to think about is, what if that happens to me? What if I’m the “normal” kid that goes bad?
11. The press asked leading questions because they knew what the public wanted to hear. In the smack-dab middle of a tragedy, they wanted some kind of reassurance. They wanted to hear that Dylan and Eric were weirdos or victims of bullying, that this wasn’t just some kind of random, reasonless tragedy. They wanted to believe that there was a reason, that the victims weren’t just innocent bystanders—because if the public could believe that, in some way, the students had brought it upon themselves, they could believe that it wasn’t possible that this could just spontaneously happen anywhere. And that would mean that they wouldn't have to worry quite so much about something like this happening at their own local high schools.
7. The problems with cell phones overwhelming the operators would only be amplified in today’s world. With the advent of the truly smart phone, now the problem would be less overwhelming the operators but rather overwhelming the network. Assuming roughly 1000 people at Wheeler have either Android or iOS devices, the networks would suffer severe lag, potentially crowding bandwidths that would be better used coordinating rescue efforts. The 24 hour news cycle would have been even more noticeable now in the age of instant communication through Twitter and Facebook. News outlets would have access to these sources and would probably blow the whole event out of proportion.
ReplyDelete5. The author characterizes the murderers as normal teens very effectively. It does make them seem much more normal than the original media reports suggested, adding to the typical sense of unease. In a school like Wheeler where such blatant normalcy is less common, it is easier to understand why one would want to cast them as outcasts.
6. The section describing the school as a physical place was valuable in creating a picture of it mentally. The classic photo of Columbine is the glass façade with a body hanging out, so Cullen’s description made it easier to visualize the setting of the book. Once again, the frightening normalcy of the school is somewhat bone chilling.
12. The anecdote I found most potent from a personal standpoint was the description of the body left on the sidewalk in the aftermath. As humans, we have a basic instinct to care for our bodies and the thought of simply being left to rot on a sidewalk with a bullet in your back is a uniquely chilling thought.
11. The media’s use of the word “they” is extremely significant from a psychological standpoint. The instinctive reaction is to classify the shooters as “them” and the victims as “us” is extremely invalid in this situation. The shooters were simply students, albeit students with a few screws loose.
Omelia #5- I was taken off guard by their "normal teenage behavior" too. Logically you'd think that stereotypes like someone who has been bullied, is an outcast, etc. would be the one to blow up the school, yet here are two popular boys, who are very active in their school activities, that come to school to shoot any possible live target.
ReplyDeleteAustin #12- Yeah, it is so depressing. Just thinking about how much Mr. D cares about the students and all he does for them, and then how 13 will still die soon, sends a little wave of sadness through me. Cullen definitely used that as his beginning to get the audience engaged with the use of pathos. Mr. D was even addressing Eric and Dylan when he said "he loved each and every one of them", now that sends a chill up my spine. It piles on the depression because, despite Mr. D saying he loved them, Eric and Dylan still killed 13 people soon after.
Kelsea #10 I agree, great deduction by the way, that it wouldn't have been terrorism for the main tragedies, such as 9/11, had not occurred yet to start America's terrorism obsession. Plus it is true that one would think that it would be another hostage situation because there were several not too long before it.
Eliza #7 "attached to the hip... blow up with phone calls" I laughed at that. Nice phrasing. I agree. With so many different ways to communicate with the phone, whether is be by tweet, text, facebook/internet, call, etc, the places that would receive such calls would be twice as overwhelmed nowadays than when Columbine happened.
Tobs #2 I wold have to disagree. Not knowing who died and who lived had more suspenseful effect, at least for me. If I had noticed the names beforehand, then I think it would have negatively effected the suspense, cutting it in half or almost destroying it completely. then again, i think back to The Glass Castle, and how we already knew about Jeannette's success later in life, despite her childhood. So, maybe it wouldn't have been that bad to have know previous to reading the dedication.
Tali#5
ReplyDeleteI beleive Dave Cullen was not portraying Eric and Dylan as "normal" teenagers, but normal from their family and peer's perspective, before later going on to convey their real personalities and what differentiated them and compelled them to murder.
Megan#1
Dave Cullen most likely provided that irony to emphasize that no one was expecting this to happen at all or suspecting Eric and Dylan of anything (except Brooks). He also portrayed the school as a normal school focused on education and school activities, including prom.
1. I'm going to go with the clichéd phrase I agree with Richie with regard to the use of the assembly scene. Columbine is a psychologist's Pandora's box, and the study of the events and the sense of unit felt is almost a discipline in itself. The unity the school felt is once again, an instinctive reaction. As the adage goes, only an alien invasion would unite humanity, only in this case the aliens were simple teens with guns.
ReplyDelete4. As much as I am loath to admit it, Eliza actually made a good point. The fact that Cullen was able to craft the entire tale and make it as riveting as he did based only on fact is an impressive feat on its own.
6. Tali brings up an interesting argument in saying that in knowing Wheeler is far from average, we might be less at risk than your milk toast high school such as pope. The other possibly is that we are simply at a massive disadvantage due to our diversity. When difference is encouraged, we do run the risk of concealing the dangerous nutcase next to the less dangerous nutcase that is the magnet.
5. Seeing as we have just spent the last few days covering logical fallacies, it surprises me that austin fell into the trap of pseudo-reasoning in the form of an incomplete comparison. Saying simply that hundreds of thousands of students are different from the popular kids is about as good of an idea as trying to define normal in terms of social groups. Even within the "popular kids" there is a whole dichotomy of subgroups, showing that the phrase "different from the popular kids" is about as helpful as saying a jacket is different from a desk.
11. Megan makes a good appeal to pathos of her own in her response here. Her diction is effective in conveying a sense that the killers had been wronged and the victims had been robbed of the dignity of the world knowing what truly happened.
Eliza, #5. I thought of the just-world phenomenon, too! It seemed like the public actually wanted to hear that these kids had been picked on or had hard lives at home so that it wouldn’t just be a random act of violence. And if the kids at Columbine had contributed to the difficulty of Eric and Dylan’s lives, they would, in some way, deserve what happened to them and their classmates.
ReplyDeleteEliza, #8. Even though I didn’t even notice the dedication, I felt the same sympathy for Cassie’s mom because Cullen tells us beforehand that she dies. I couldn’t stop trying to will her to accept that her daughter had died. The fact that we knew beforehand, dedication or no, that Cassie dies adds a whole new level of emotion to the reading in this part. It’s like we’re trapped between the knowledge that Cassie dies and our wanting for her hopes to be fulfilled.
Tali, #6. I thought that Cullen’s description had a disarming effect, except in a different way than you. His description of the picturesque high school (I considered it to be extraordinary, rather than ordinary—I mean, a gorgeous mountainside view doesn’t sound like your typical high school to my Georgian perspective.) made me want to go there and be part of the warm community they seemed to have. In fact, I got kind of distracted by the main plot and got sucked into the beautiful, perfect world they seemed to have. I got so invested in this idea that it was shocking to read about it getting shattered apart.
Kelsea, #9. I felt the same way about the Klebold’s reaction. Dylan and Eric’s friends may have been able to pass off their strange behavior as just another weird quirk, like a twisted, fun partying kind of thing. But that’s because they weren’t exposed to it as much, whereas the Klebolds and Harrises must have noticed that something was up—Eric had, in fact, had several “close calls” with his parents. I felt like there was no way they could have thought everything was just hunky dory. The Harris’s reaction seemed like a defense mechanism to me.
Austin, #4. I wouldn’t use the word “enjoyable” to describe the book. Cullen’s note certainly enriched the reading, because we knew with absolute certainty that everything he described was a fact. I did get very invested in the story, but it was like its own mini tragedy to me, not exactly enjoyable. Rather, the disclaimer he includes makes the book more raw and tragic to me.
1. The opening, “Mr. D,” serves to introduce a very ironic tone into the story. It allows the reader to grasp a better understanding of the situation. By knowing the actual event, and comparing it to the worries of Mr. DeAngelis, the audience knows that no one could have predicted this massacre. Mr. D worries about drunk driving and accidents, even though we as the readers are dreading what we know to be worse than drunk driving. Cullen uses this irony to appeal to ethos as we feel sorrow for the principal, who will soon lose multiple students that he considers part of his own family.
ReplyDelete2. By introducing the victims as dynamic characters with actual thoughts and pasts, Cullen again appeals to ethos. We, as readers, come to feel bonds forming between these students. Anyone has gone or is going through these high school hassles. We relate to these victims as if they were ourselves and it makes our reaction and emotion to their gruesome deaths so much more intense.
3. SKIPPED
4. The fact that this is a non-fiction book makes the emotions real. If the reader knows that the assailants felt this way, not just in fiction, but in actual reality, it brings the story to life for the reader. This is especially important in a historic event like Columbine. In “Author’s Note on Sources,” Cullen explains how much work this book took to get it as accurate as possible. For that, Cullen’s audience gives this book the due respect and can dissolve themselves in the story all the more easily.
5. Any reader can see the similar characteristics between Eric and Dylan and an average student. They both have part-time jobs, rebellious teenager sides, and problems with authority. This is especially effective towards any of those who either resemble these two, or were friends with someone similar to Eric and Dylan. This is extremely disturbing because any of these readers will feel exactly as one of Eric or Dylan’s friends after it became known who the shooters were. Cullen uses this to drag his audience into the story as if they were experiencing it as if it was fiction.
6. Cullen includes this descriptive account of Rebel Hill to provide contrasting features of the calm region and the disastrous occurrence. Similarly to In Cold Blood, the author gives a serene society to the readers to envision. It also contrasts the bustling business of a normal high school; it is much calmer. All of this dramatizes the events soon to come by setting up the juxtaposition of a serene society and a destructive event.
Richie #2 - Lol “hair of a naked mole rat.” I think that you missed out. When I read the stories about the victims, I related to them making me feel more emotion towards their deaths. Their stories amplify the feeling of pity and mourning for the victims.
ReplyDeleteKelsea #5 - I totally agree. The fact that they are normal kids is definitely disturbing to say the least. It is a huge conundrum to find the reason why two “normal” kids would shoot up their school. This book is partially dedicated to researching this enigma.
Eliza #4 - I don’t doubt that an author’s works are really fact when reading non-fiction. I just find the facts very bland. Similarly to Capote’s writing style, Cullen entrances us readers in a way that is similar to actual fiction. I think that it can be compared to fiction because history is, in its true definition, a story. I, like you, do appreciate Cullen taking the time to clear doubts about the validity of Columbine.
Eliza #5 - I think that Cullen used the first few pages of his book to clear up the misconceptions of the general public. Cullen obviously realizes this “just-world phenomenon,” and addresses it as soon as possible. I also believe that Cullen, being a reporter partially responsible for the wide-held notion of two bullied kids shooting up their school, feels like it’s a moral obligation for him to fix his mistake and get the truth out.
Tali #6 - I also compared Columbine High School to Wheeler. Cullen must have wanted to raise the question, “If this happened to a completely normal and regular school, couldn’t it happen to yours?” This question is a major theme throughout the book; can average become dangerous?
2. I did not notice the dedication of the book. As I was reading I was wondering if the people I was reading about died and also tried remembering which parent was for which child to see whether he or she had been shot or not. However I hate it when someone ruins the ending to a story for me and I felt that way here so instead of going back to see whether it said how many teachers or students died I wanted to find out when the author got to their part in the book.
ReplyDelete4. When I was reading I thought the author must have spent a great deal of time researching the events that happened at Columbine and I wondered if he had spoken to each person he mentioned to find out their exact perspective of what happened. Knowing that all of the dialog was not made up does help me feel more confident about the book. I enjoyed it more knowing that the author went into so much detail and must have worked hard to find out everything he wrote about instead of just writing about the general story of what happened.
5. I think the author did characterize them as typical teenagers effectively. After he explained their situations and went into detail about what they were like, I was surprised that they would become such murderers. It still is hard to understand what lead them to kill. I think most Americans would not expect teenagers to become so vicious without much reasoning.
6. I feel the descriptions did give me an accurate image on what the school was like and it does seem like most other regular schools. This does not make it harder for me to read because I understand that some people in this world have problems and act out because of them. In random rare occasions these people with problems make insane decisions that many cannot fully understand and this could happen anywhere including my school.
7. I did know about the problems with overwhelming the operators. I do think it would be worse now because even more teenagers have cell phones now than they did in 1999. Now that text messaging is more common that could help the operators deal with the people because panicked texts would be more clear and easier to understand than a person on the phone screaming or freaking out. I was wondering how so many of the students inside got a hold of news stations numbers though. Now with mobile internet it would be easy to get a hold of the stations numbers but back then no one really had that. The news stations wanted to report anything they could find and included live calls. I do not think the stations should have broad casted these calls live just because they could not be sure of what they would hear and it would just be better if they had listened to them first and possibly aired them later.
1. Beginning with an assembly in an average high school created a more personal account. It gave the reader, the audience, something to relate to. If Cullen had jumped right into the murder there wouldn't be a personal side to the story, automatically the reader's would think of Dylan and Eric as being maniacs, thinking they were crazy- causing them to commit such a terrible act. But building up to the murder meant we saw into their lives; they were just like you and me- looking for a date for prom, being lectured by their principal, all the normal high schools happenings.
ReplyDelete2. At first I did not read the dedication, and then I was flipping through one day and saw it. I realized he had dedicated it to those who died, and I began to wonder what happened to Patrick and if he would live or die. I constantly checked back to see if who I was reading about would make it or not. It brought out more emotion for me. When Cullen discusses the parents who are searching for their kid, it gave me a sick feeling. Almost as if it were happening in front of me and I knew something the parents didn't; I wished that I could go to the parents and just tell them so that they wouldn't have to wait and wonder any longer.
4. The Author's Note made me much more confident in the validity of the book. Knowing that he was taking direct quotes from what was said or written made the story seem real, instead of it just being retold through someone else. Cullen did an excellent job using so many resources to compile truly the most accurate version of the story he could possibly have without being in Dylan and Eric’s shoes.
5. Cullen accurately depicted the two as average teenagers. Struggling to talk to the "girl of their dreams" in order to ask them to prom, working for next to nothing at a pizza shop, and acting like rebels. Most teenagers can relate on some level to this. Cullen's ability to present straight forward information and make it seem so detailed and in depth gave the picture that they truly were 'normal' teenagers. This made it a little unnerving. No one thinks this is going to happen in their own school, but at the same time it made the audience think about the possibility that it could happen to anyone, anywhere- which was Cullen’s purpose. Not to scare someone but to inform people of the reality of the situation.
8. I agree with Richie, it was difficult to relate exactly to the parents. The connection between a parent and child is something that only someone who has a child can understand; I, having never had a child (surprise!) was not able to relate completely. And I have never lost someone so close to me. But the fact is most can only begin to understand the heartbreak. School is supposed to be a safe place, not a place to go in fear. Cullen presented only the facts, he didn't include gory detail but he was exact, and precise in what he said. This allowed the audience to really get a clear picture of what was going on and to provide only what was necessary. If he had included precise detail it would make it seem more fiction, because he was not there- how could he know exactly what happened.
2) At first when i read the dedication, i didn't know for sure who the people were, but i had a feeling that it included the names of the people that were killed during the Columbine shooting. Throughout reading I did find myself checking back to see if I was remembering correctly that who was in the dedication was who I was reading about. Knowing that these were the people that died, apart from Patrick, caused me to read about their experiences looking for a correlation of their actions and their fates (running v hiding). It also gave me a lot of sympathy for the parents of the children as they awaited knowledge of their children's wellbeing.
ReplyDelete10)The first assupmtion of what was going down at Columbine, spurred on immensley by the media, was basically chaos. It was seen as a hostage situation because of the people still inside the school with the shooters, but in reality it didn't fit the pattern for a hostage situation, which made it even more dangerous. The media's role of taking one possible lead from witnesses and filling it out as an explaination of the events was crucial in setting the preconceived beliefs of what was going on. Although the police weren't entirely sure of the details of the motives or happenings, they shared information so that people would have some sort of comfort in "knowing" what was going on. The confusion came from different stories, none of them particularly untrue, but coming from different parts of the building and conflicting (ie the number of shooters) It is very easy to see where all the confusion was misleading and information fell through the cracks of the widespread coverage.
11) The media's questions to witnesses were definitely a factor in the misconceptions about Columbine and what was happening. They grouped the shooters together and the overall effect of the questioning and testimonies lead people to believe that the shooters were disturbed kids, part of a group that was into dark stuff like death and violence, although this was not true basically at all. Dylan and Eric seemed from the outside to be mostly normal kids, getting dates and having jobs. The media portrayed them as these dark, afflicted kids because that makes it easier to accept the horrible things that they did. It's easier to belive that some goth devil-worshiper kid would shoot up his highschool than two seeming normal boys with no apparent motive for their actions.
ReplyDelete8) While reading the reactions of the Columbine parents, frantic and crazed, I was somewhat able to put myself in their place, imagining how i would feel if someone I love was unaccounted for and possibly in the midst of a horrible event. I imagine that i would not be nearly as calm as some of the parents, and that the police would have a hard time of keeping me out of the school trying to get to my loved one. All of the parents reactions were touching, and I would certainly hope that my parents would act similarly if I were ever in that sort of situation. Some reactions were pretty surprising, like those of the evangelical parents, including Cassie's mom. These parents for the most part did not seem as frantically worried as the others, although they were surely upset. They encouraged the other parents and gave hope to people. I imagine that this would be extremely hard considering that they didn't know wherer their own children were, but their faith was inspiring and helpful to the other parents around them.
5)Cullen characterizes Dylan and Eric to be pretty typical teenage boys, the way i see it. They had typical teenage jobs (at the pizza place), were interested in dating and girls, and were even very bright. Sure they liked to experiment with pipe bombs and stuff, but even that seems pretty normal for teenage boys (take Suraj's video of blowing stuff up for example). No one at the time would ever think that they were actually planning something so horrible, like Robyn. But later on, the pieces fit together and the boys seemed to fit the descriptions of the shooters perfectly, and it didn't take long for their friends to figure out they were involved. I think that the fact that these boys seemed so normal is very chilling, because it shows that there is no way to fully determine if those around us could be capable of horrible things despite the fact that they seem perfectly "normal."
1. The book begins before the attack to set a foreboding tone. Much like In Cold Blood, Cullen builds the suspense before the tragedy, though he adds the details of the killings. The beginning assembly of the school demonstrates the the initial strength of the school: a display of its unity and support. In a similar vein of In Cold Blood, it introduces with a show of the perfect school / town, and concludes with a glimmer of the tragedy that is yet to come.
ReplyDelete3. The quotes at the beginning have great meaning. The quote by Dostoyevsky summarizes Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The wickedness of his acts is defined as the joy in the wickedness,and the lack of empathy at their massacre. This leads us to conclude that Dostoyevsky demonstrated or alluded to psychopathy, which Eric Harris was diagnosed with.
5. While the author does attempt to characterize them as teenagers, it portrays Eric Harris as a popular role model. He is smart, confident, handsome, a charmer, and reliable. Dylan is portrayed as more typical, but nonetheless partially successful. While it shows the horror of seeing a typical student turn to violence, the Columbine shootings are seen as Eric's fall from grace, showing a future success student at his worst.
11. The use of "they" suggests a portrayal of the killers as the enemy, or as evil. The media immediately latched on to any quick explanation of the killers, finding people to blame. Because many of the people interviewed misinformed the media, several assumptions of goth culture and trenchcoat mafia were formed. The myths didn't disperse afterward because it was convenient to use a scapegoat. It was almost expected with the absence of a clear motive. The results of these myths eventually built of the school shooter profile.
10. The first assumption was that there was a conspiracy based on the size of the attack. The pipe bombs used and the severity of the attack led to many conspiracy theories emerging, which caught on with the media. While the early assumptions may have been correct (Eric and Dylan were assisted by friends), the failure of the bombs suggested amateur work and the conspiracy idea should have been discarded early on.
Tali: So relatable, in fact, that a normal teenager in the audience would ask himself or herself, "Would someone like me actually do such a thing?" It certainly frightens this part of the audience to see that a person so much like yourself is capable and willing of committing such an aggressive and violent crime.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I bet many people reading this book considered themselves committing such crimes and thought how outrageous it was.
Tobs: Cullen opens with that passage to show how normal the school seemed to be, and yet, ironically, how much love there was, despite Eric and Dylan's hate.
I didn't think about the love there was until I read your comment. I agree it is ironic even though they hated it. How could people destroy such a normal place.
Kelsea: These assumptions make sense, and come to mind first when hearing about a shooting in the U.S., since this occurred after previous hostage events. Terrorist attack may have not been assumed, since September 11 had not yet occurred, and terrorism was not a large issue at the time, as it is now. This confusion was understandable, since most shootings were focused towards specific people.
Whenever I hear terrorism I always think of 9/11 and that is what I thought about when the author talked about the assumptions on terrorism. I forgot that 9/11 had not happened yet so I understand how they could be confused on the idea of terrorism at that time period.
Suraj: To me however, the characterization made the actions less terrifying and more depressing, as I realize that these two boys were similar to a good majority of people and I see some of myself in them and I wonder if I have that capacity for cruelty. I wonder if we all do in fact...
I wonder if everyone has some evil in them and some people just happen to be in situations where it is brought out in them more than others. If some people are just unlucky and have hatred built up more than others which leads them to do such monstrous things. Some people might have more self control than others and find other ways to take out their anger rather than killing innocent victims.
Ed: This is especially effective towards any of those who either resemble these two, or were friends with someone similar to Eric and Dylan. This is extremely disturbing because any of these readers will feel exactly as one of Eric or Dylan’s friends after it became known who the shooters were. Cullen uses this to drag his audience into the story as if they were experiencing it as if it was fiction.
I don't know what I would do if I had a friend who was a shooter. I would be completely shocked and horrified. I'm not sure how I would respond when it comes to telling investigators what I know about my friend.
2: I myself did not read the dedication, because i knew that it was to the deceased, and i figured that it would create more suspense if i did not know who would make it out alive.
ReplyDelete8: I have not experienced the death of close loved one thankfully, even though i have experienced the death of numerous loved ones. Even though that was a hard time for me and my family, in no way can i even imagine the pain that the parents went through. Although, i cannot put myself in the parents' shoes, part one was still very compelling.
5: Cullen effectively portrayed Eric and Dylan as normal teenagers, or at least as normal as teenagers can get. They were not outcasts, nor did they come from abusive homes, contrary to popular belief. This makes it all the more scarier when you think that two boys who had very nice lives, could commit such a heinous act.
6: Cullen's description of the school and the student body was very adequate. He did not show only the good, nor does he describe only the bad. I do feel like his description may be a little over the top, but that may just be because i go to Wheeler; however, Cullen's description of the student body seems very believable, based on what i have seen of high school student bodies. In a way, this makes the book easier to read, because i do not have to question what Cullen says. The say fact also makes it harder to read, because if it could happen at a normal high school in Colorado, then it could happen here.
11: I feel as if the media asked the questions that they did because everyone expected the shooters to fit the stereotype of school shooters. Even after the truth was found out, everyone still wanted to believe the lies, about the shooters being outcasts and part of a mafia. I believe that this is because they are afraid of the truth; they know it, yet they do not want to accept it. If they accepted the truth, then they would have no motive behind the murders, which would be worse, than if the victims were killed by deranged teens.
Tali #6- I think you put it excellently "The picture he paints gives you the perfect idea of a perfect little school in the middle of a perfect little town..." This made me think back to Moore's doceumentary when he is tlaking to the South Park guy who talked about how disgustingly average Littleton and Columbine were. I agree that it is chilling that this kind of thing could happen anywhere.
ReplyDeleteAustin #4- I agree with you that the knowledge that everything in the book is truth, just the way it happened makes it more enjoyable (although i dislike to describe this book as enjoyable) and that it is well written in the fact that it read like an action novel. because, when you think about it, this is the kind of stuff that the action/suspense movies and novels that we enjoy are based off of.
Megan #3- Thank you so much. After I saw question 3 i went back and reread the two quotes. I thought for a while about what each of them was there for, and i totally agree with how you said it. I think that these quotes are a great set-up for the difficult subject matter at hand, and give the readers something to hold on to for the families and also something to consider before we label Dylan and Eric as cold blooded sadist psychopaths...
#1. He was trying to get the reader a sense of unity amongst the school but I think he was trying to show to the readers how something like this could happen at any normal day. He shows that even if we think we are “safe” at school, especially with everyone around us at a pep rally, we are always in danger of people like the murderers. Also to show how loving the school was to everyone and that the murderers were not mistreated by the school too badly.
ReplyDelete#5 He did portray them as typical teens that smoke and drink and party. How their personalities were made it more realistic and actually made it scarier. Because a lot of kids reading this can relate the murderers to kids in their own school. So it makes it more personal and frightening to teenage readers like myself
#10 The first assumption was that they were holding hostages at the school, which is what the media leaked out. So this assumption refers to the media in a way. This assumption is in a way correct because the murderers were walking around the school killing people who were inside. They tried to keep people in and kill them but it did not work as well. The confusion was made mostly because most of the deaths happened in a way that seemed like they were held hostage.
#11 The media questions the shooting in such a prejudice way it is unbearable to hear. The media assumes “they” the murderers were outcasts and made fun of. However Dave Cullen makes it quite clear in the beginning of the novel that they were actually quite popular kids, we try to use easy explanations to some things just to give the tragic experience a reason behind it.
#12 The anecdote that affected to me most was when he said “Mr. D made his way around the commons, chatting up kids at each table, pausing as eager students ran up to catch his ear.” This anecdote about the principle at Columbine is scary. Because our principle today, Mr. Chiprany, is just like that in school. He is always talking to people and just being loving and caring all the time. It makes me realize that this could happen just as easily to me at wheeler.
4)I think him actually acknowledging that he wasn’t so sure about the dialogue and putting it in italics so the reader would know makes me feel more confident in the fact that it is accurate. It showed that he didn’t want to lead people on and just portray what he thought happened. He wanted you to get an actual feel for what really happened. It also helped to know where he was getting his information from and even the fact that he didn’t want to put himself into the story validates it more.
ReplyDelete5)The author did a very effective job making them seem so typical and normal and I think this is what made a bigger impact than just thinking they were social outcasts looking for retaliation. I know I was particularly impacted by the part where he revealed that they had been planning it for over a year. This was strange to me because it didn’t fit in with how “normal” they were acting and how they were talking about other plans for college and things like that.
7)I did know that cell phones can overwhelm reporters and it would definitely be worse now. With pretty much everyone in high school now having a cell phone and being so into social networking the rumors and even the true stories would get out a lot faster and easier now. It was obvious that the news agencies wanted to just give any information even if it was not beneficial for the people still in the building. At some times they seemed sympathetic and willing to not broadcast the calls but maybe they felt that being the first people with those kinds of stories was something worth pursuing. For the most part I feel like when it’s something extremely traumatic happening that the news tends to be way too pushy in getting information and not very respectful to the people going through those things. However, that is their job to relay the information to the public and keep them update so I’m a little conflicted with my opinion on that.
11)I think the media wanted to label them as a group of outcasts and think of them as the “Trenchcoat Mafia” because it’s easier to accept what happened when you have a reason for their actions. Nobody wanted to correct them because they maybe thought that the students being “outcasts” somewhat justified their actions. Not that it made it okay but that it was easier for them to understand why. These sorts of mistakes do lead to a “school shooter” profile because it’s what everyone is used to and what they can and are willing to accept. Nobody wants to make it more complex because even though it’s wrong, the school shooter profile is what they can accept for this kind of event. They want to keep even something as traumatic and horrible as this as close to “normal” as they can. A group of social outcasts shooting students at a school is easier to accept than a group of normal teenagers doing so.
12)The anecdote that affected me the most was found in the chapter “His Future”. While I was reading about Dylan’s plan for his future, I wasn’t aware that even at that time he had long ahead been planning the shooting with Eric. Later on in the chapter “Maximum Human Density”, Cullen reveals that they had been planning the shooting for a year and a half at least. This shocked me because it altered my opinion on them. I had been beginning to identify with some of the things they did and think of them as “normal” teenagers and the whole time I had assumed that they were triggered to start planning the shooting because of some event that upset them. It made me wonder what caused them to want to do it and why and also then why would they continue to talk about their plans for after high school and how they would stay connected to people long after if they had no intentions of doing so at all.
Eliza #4- I agree with you that it is pretty impressive that the book is so interesting to read, because of the dialogue included and details. However, i would say that in considering the other memoirs that we have read, the author is reccounting their own life experiences as they remeber them, making the book a memoir. In this case, Cullen did not experience the actual shooting first-hand, so if he would've tried to wrtie a book without the use of highly recorded interviews and dialouge from the people who were there first-hand, I would have a hard time believing anything he wrote down, especially because he himself admits that he was on the bandwagon of the popular media-spread ideas about the boys and what went on at Columbine that day.
ReplyDeleteTobi (aka Tobs xD) #1- I found it interesting when you said "how much love there was, despite Eric and Dylan's hate." If we are all accepting the image of Columbine as a "normal" highschool, how Cullen depiicts it, I would not be very inclined to say that there is a lot of love within most schools, at least in America. I mean sure, there is considerably school spirit, but "love" might be a bit of a stretch. Although your point about the surprise of the boys' hate was a good one.
Austin #4) I agree, even though he didn't use an abundance of imagery and descriptive words his diction was precise. He forced the audience to step into the shoes of those whom stories he was telling (weird wordage going on, but you get the idea).
ReplyDeleteTobs #8) I also agree, I think that Misty was the most resilient, but at the same time false hope is dangerous. I think that the way the officers prolonged their wait was not good for their psychological effects. More worry and anticipation woud start to drive someone insane, literally.
Tali #2) I felt the same, knowing the ultimate fate of each student both added to and took away from the drama. Not knowing would have created a suspense, but I think that the suspense would have taken away from the facts. Cullen is not trying to entertain, more just got the truth out there. He doesn't need to create suspense because the book, the story and events are so powerful and intense already.
Eliza #5) I couldn't agree more, the reality is that they are no different than anyone else. The media's reaction is obviously "just-world" they want to think it couldn't happen to themselves. So that people feel better they look for an excuse for the suspects, to make it seem they have reason to commit such acts.
Kelsea #10) I think that what you've said is accurate, since 9-11 people are more apt to jump to the conclusion that its terroristic. And I also agree that their reaction was understandable, like Eliza said everyone wants a reason or an excuse to explain what has happened. I think the assumption made sense based on what had happened in the past and what was happening at the time.
Reebs #5: I agree, with you. I do not think that Cullen's intentions were to scare anyone; but rather to make his readers think of the possibilities so that they would be informed.
ReplyDeletekelbie #8: Even though I could not possibly put myself in the parents' shoes, knowing me and my personality, I too would probably not be as calm as some of the parents were. Then again, maybe i would...i hope that i will never be in a situation to find out.
Tali #6: I do not feel like Cullen painted the town as perfect; he did list several things that were wrong, with people and the town. It did however, still seem realistic.
Tobs #1: I agree with you. It was actually very ironic, that Mr. D was showing how much he loved his students when Eric and Dylan acted as if they hated the world.
Austin #2: I disagree with you. Even without the names of the victims in the dedication, the story still would have been very real. The dedication missing, would not have taken anything at all away from Cullen's meaning and purpose of the book.
Eliza 4) I agree with Eliza in this one because I always think the same thing when I see so much dialogue in nonfiction books, especially if the author makes no mention of how he acquired the information. Cullen’s Note addressed any misgivings anyone would have had first hand and it makes you feel like everything you are about to read is legitimate.
ReplyDeleteTali 5) I thought that same thing to myself. I just wondered if they can be so normal and typical and are capable of doing that then what other people are capable of. It’s a scary thought because it’s hard to accept that normal, everyday people are capable of committing such horrible crimes. It’s easier to think that something was wrong in their life and that they were retaliating in some way.
Richard 8) I don’t think you have to necessarily have lost someone in order to imagine what it would be like to be in there shoes. Just the thought of anyone I’m close to dying is so horrible and unimaginable to me. Even though it is harder to identify with them because we probably have never lost a child, you can still imagine how much pain they went through.
Megan 1) I had the same thought that it was ironic for the administration to be worried about everyone’s safety over prom weekend and showing how they really valued every one of their students. It shows how unexpected the shooting was and also knowing that it is going to happen makes you feel terrible to think of how the school will be affected because they do seem so close.
Lori 2) I didn’t read the names first either and I also feel the same way about ruined story endings. I think it made it more suspenseful not t o know whether the people he was talking about were going to make it or not. I probably wouldn’t have remembered the names anyway and checking back and forth to see if they were the same people would get annoying and distracting.
Alden: That's a lot scarier in hindsight. Because the school shooting happened at an everyday high school, the comparisons between Columbine and Wheeler become much more scarier. That's probably the real reason that everyone was so frightened; the murders could happen anywhere.
ReplyDeleteSuraj: It's truly scary when you realize that psychopaths could be anywhere if they were adept at manipulating their emotions. The normalcy of the teenagers can hold an unstable individual. People like you and me who joke about terrorist stereotypes are unlikely to actually be the ones on killings, as it's usually the people who are more overt about their homicidal tendencies.
Telisha: It arose out of a need for an easy explanation. The duo committed suicide after their killing, and without interrogation, the media was free to expound of many "theories." Another reason was the belief that children and teenagers are inherently good but are led astray; "plain crazy" did not fit in. The theories also let many pundits talk about the evils of video games and hardcore metal - it made good TV.
Lori: I feel as if many of the personal insight into Dave Sanders was fictionalized, but fictionalized well. I missed the dedication at the beginning, so with the personal insight into Sanders, I truly hoped that he survived the killings. But alas, he did not.
Eliza: I was at Cape Canaveral over the February break to watch the shuttle launch. AT&T cellphone communications went down for a period between 4-6 ish, as so many people were texting there. Because of the time, the networks in 1999 would have experienced a mass outage, but today the networks have improved. Keep in mind that at Cape Canaveral there were over 40,000 people watching, while at Columbine there were considerably less.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRESPONSES
ReplyDeleteRichie, 1. I agree with your answer because you point out an appeal to pathos (about how he was heightening the effect) that I also noticed, causing the tragedy later mentioned to seem even more drastic then the prior knowledge I already had about the tragedy at Columbine.
Eliza, 8. I agree with you about how you can not possibly relate to what the parents were feeling during these times. Since i have never had a child of my own, I have never known what it feels like to raise your own kid the way you want, and to work so hard just to allow them to have a future. To have this privilege stripped to me after 15-18 years of hard work would be absolutely horrible and nothing I could even bear imagining. I also felt the same anger you felt about Cassie and her mother; it was just crazy to me to know that there are people in this world who just murder innocent people with loving families for no real reason.
Kelsea, 5. I agree with your answer because I, like you, was able to relate to Cullen's words and the lives of the high schoolers, adding a little bit of fear into the story for me. The "normal" factor plays a huge role in the story, making it creepier and creepier as people begin to understand that these kids were not mentally unstable and were perfectly normal kids.
Lori, 6. I agree with you fully on that one. The fact that the author was able to make the environment seem so real added a realness to the story that scared me a little bit, but i have to disagree with you about how it does not make it difficult to read; personally, I felt weird thinking about the potential consequences of what can happen at Wheeler anytime...
Tali, 5. After reading your answer, I noticed we had the exact same thought process about it, meaning that I fully agree with your statement. I, too, wondered if a tragedy like this could possibly happen at Wheeler, only due to the fact that Eric and Dylan were normal kids amongst a crowd of normal high schoolers, similar to our positions at our school.
QUESTIONS
ReplyDelete1. By beginning the book with a scene in a normal student assembly, the author is able to add peacefulness and show the audience that this day was a normal day, and nothing out of the ordinary was expected. The assembly scene allows the readers to feel very safe and secure, which can heighten the effect of the conflicts later described in the book. The authors purpose in beginning the book in such a way is to bring emphasis to the pain and sorrow that was felt from the surprise shootings.
5. The authors characterization of Eric and Dylan was veryy effective in making them seem like typical, average, everyday teenagers. This effect adds to the suspense and scary theme of the book; that normal teenagers can causes unbelievable amounts of grief to multiple families in such an unexpected way. This also made their actions harder to understand, because nobody would expect two average kids to plan a massacre inside of their own high school mid way through their senior year.
11. My opinion on the press's interpretation of this whole story is that I believe what the press did was right, even though it may have been proven to be false. The press and their wild accusations of Eric and Dylan being psychopaths and outcasts is in some way a representation of what the United States wanted to think; the citizens of the US did not want to believe that normal kids with normal lives would ever even think about senseless killing, let alone their own classmates and peers. The press's use of the word "they" represents how the world thought of the shooters as people not associated with people like the victims, who they referred to as "us".
8. After reading "1 Bleeding to Death", I do not think i will ever understand the grief and terror that the parents of the victims had felt when they had heard the chilling news. I personally have never had to deal with the sudden loss of somebody very close to me, so I am not able to fully relate to the sadness that is portrayed in the book, however, the part about Cassie's mother and how she was searching for her daughter really made me sad deep inside, and in some ways even made me angry at the killers and their brutal murders.
6. The author's representation of Columbine High School in the chapter "Springtime" really affected the way I was able to interpret the novel. The author's description of the environment and student body really made me think of my own school, and made everything seem so real. I was able to create a pretty good mental picture of the environment surrounding the high school after this chapter, making it seem like a calm, normal place. This made the novel more difficult to read, in my case, because it really made me think about how a tragedy like this could easily happen at my own school, and the chilling thoughts are things I never want to think about.
1.By opening the book with the High school assembly it shows the innocence of the school. The only thought the principle was worried about was whether or not all the kids would return from prom safe. By opening the book with this memory it almost scares the audience because a tragedy like this really cannot be predicted.
ReplyDelete4. For me any work of writing fiction or non-fiction, I tend to just trust whatever the author says , but by reading that no dialogue was made up, the story affected me more. It’s the thoughts and words that were said on that day and nothing was skewed to make a point. By telling the story the way it happened the audience can see what happened forthemselves
5. In my opinion by describing them as normal teenagers it makes it much more frightening, because you walk around school every day and you always see these “typical” teenage students. But because of events like Columbine and other tragiedies, school shootings can happen, and the most “typical student” can be pointing the gun.
7. I was not aware that the cellphones caused a lot of trouble, but in my opinion I do not know why student would call news stations. I think by calling the news it would just cause more fear in the area and more issues are bound to happen. In this age there is so much more technology that could be used to spread the news a lot faster (facebook) and that could cause more issues. The news agencies did just run everything that was being tapped and they would air the kids that would call in. I don’t think it is smart, because I the time even the kids do not know all the right information so they could air some comments that would cause more rumors and fear. I could put people in danger of course.
11. Of course the media wants to put that spin on school shooters by making the killers look like they had a reason to kill like they were picked on or harassed. By doing this the media creates a false protection for themselves, so they think that the school shooters are predictable.
---kaitlyn
1. The purpose of the opening was to create suspense leading to the actual event as well as cause a greater emotional reaction when reading of the event. By opening with an emotional principal worried about the safety of his kids after prom night enlightened the reader with the family oriented vibe of the school. This created a greater response of disbelief when reading about the event, even though the reader most likely had an idea of the story.
ReplyDelete5. The author successfully characterized Eric and Dylan as typical teenagers by describing all of their common teenage traits such as motives behind working and concern for prom details. I can say that to an extent their descriptions could easily fit some of my friends characters, which is extremely discomforting. So yes, their relatable characterizations made me very frightened because I like to assume I understand someone when they confide in me. However, the idea that they were lying to themselves as well as others made it impossible for anyone to say they actually knew them. Thinking you knew someone and their characters completely changing is mind blowing and difficult to grasp. Which leads to the other question, their actions were so random it did make it harder to understand.
6.I really appreciated the multiple descriptions of the location of the school as well as the inside of the school because it gave me better imagery of the massacre while it was occurring. The school is uncomfortably similar to an average high school making it easier for me to imagine the scenario actually happening. Of course that makes the book more difficult to read because the reader can actually fathom the thought process of most students and the feelings of shock and confusion.
11.The media grasped onto ideas of groupthink and mafia related groups as an attempt to make sense of such an unimaginable event. They were able to hold onto to these ideas when they were clearly false becuase it was a false hope towards the prevention of the unacceptable idea of animalistic inhumanity from commonly accepted humans. The mistake was kept in order to comfort the public and make the event more understandable because from the media, people expect complete understanding.
12.The anecdote that effected me the most was the introduction of the student bodies relationship with their principal. The relationship reminds me of the passion that our principal, Mr.Chiprany, has towards the success of his students. The idea that such a caring man, Frank DeAngelis would have to endure an unexpected tragedy of this level was heartbreaking, especially when I imagined our principal enduring this fate. Its relatability made it uncomfortable to read.
Richard 1. I think Richard relates the student assembly as an appeal to pathos effectively. I would totally agree with the sense of unity between the class and how safe they must have felt with each other, and the students could not see what was coming
ReplyDeleteElizer2. Haha of course Eliza would make this personal but I did tend to do the same thing. Again this was another appeal to pathos in my opinion because it did yug on my heart strings when the parents were looking for them and I knew what students were not with them anymore and it was kind of a huge spoiler alert!
Zander7. Zander makes a really good point and elaborates on things I never even thougt of. It is so true that in this day and age by connecting to the media would not be the first concern. The smart phones that can connect to facebook and twitter would be extremely powerful, and could reach thousands of people at one time
Tali 5. I think tali makes a good point in that asking you that question, “Would someone like me actually do such a thing?". It’s like an appeal to logos; you have to ask yourself could that happen.
Richard 8. I would agree with Richard. I have never gone through such a tragic experience like that. That being said it made it a the more painful to read the book because you felt so sorry for the parents and their loved ones.
Kaitlyn #11: I completely agree with this statement. It's clear that the media wants to blame somebody other than the killers because they are dead, so they try to reason that the two murderers were harassed or bullied, making it the fault of others.
ReplyDeleteArvin #1: I agree with what you say about this "normal day" anecdote adding to the effect of the tragedy. It does indeed show that these were happy students who clearly cared for each other, so the tragedy is that much more emotional.
Reeba #4: You're absolutely right. Knowing that all of the quotes were credible and the information was reliable made me feel much more confident in what i was reading.
Tali #5: I completely agree with you. The author was very effective in making the reader think, "Hey, if these two seemingly average kids did something so horrible, how can we tell what their reasoning was?"
Shelby F. #12: I can definitely see where you are going with this. I am just as amazed at the fact that Ireland was not only able to drag himself and escape after being shot, but also able to recount and describe everything that happened to him after such a head wound.
Telisha #2- I agree it did create more suspense throughout the book, but I think it did not really matter if I knew who made it out alive. The information I knew about Columbine before the book told me that it wasn’t select shooting at people, it was just who was unlucky and how did the murderers feel.
ReplyDeleteDhruv #5- Isn’t popular a type of teenager we all want to be? He almost describes him as a best of all kinds of teens. Popular, smart, and gets a lot of girls this seems to be more successful.
Kelbie #2- Yea I agree I felt that it only seemed like a hostage because it happened during school with everyone in class, and were killed inside the school but in reality it was just who the murderers saw first.
Reeba #1- I Agree it would have been less suspenseful to jump straight into the murder also his little foreshadows of how that was some kids last days in Columbine, really let Cullen “slide” into the murder while making it more personal with their last few days. Making it very important to the reader.
Lori #5-I agree completely with you, but also I like how he explained EVERYTHING about them. Up to the roofs on the pizza place where he works at. It makes the story more relatable to us teens and also more life-like instead of just explaining the murder, he explains the personalities behind to show that they were normal just like me and you. Which I think is the scariest part of this book.
1) Is there a difference between Columbine high school and Wheeler high school? Before the shootings most likely not. I feel the author uses the assembly to show the readers how normal a day and mainly how normal a school Columbine was. The author’s strategies outs emphasis on how this could be any other school and how much of a surprise it was when the shootings occurred.
ReplyDelete11) It’s unfortunate how the media portrayed them. Saying these students were outcasts, unsocial and unfortunately pinning that name to all other kids who might just not fit in. You see a kid that’s quite, maybe shy. Dresses a little different, has different hobbies and all of a sudden you’re worried he’s going to start killing everyone in sight at any moment because he’s, “just like the Columbine killers”.
5) By characterizing them as an average teen it made them much scarier. Because they were just like me and you ( besides being murderers) and led a teenage life, joked like teenagers, felt like teenagers, even partied like teenagers. By showing this the author creates an even more realistic boogie man, one that could be anywhere, and anyone.
8) There is no love stronger than that of a parent to a child, and for me to be able to feel how they felt would be impossible. In the Chapter ” 1 Bleeding to Death”, we are exposed to the worst kinds of fear. Especially the fear of not knowing. Not knowing whether your child was a victim or hell even the shooter during those minutes in the dark when very few knew what was happening. When hearing the parents concern for their missing kids, it really puts things into perspective.
7) I was aware of the overwhelming calls but not that they were broadcasted live. Things could have been said that people and family do not need to hear. In our day and age it would be even worse, due to 3g and fast internet on phones. Not to mention phone cameras etc. Though the worst would be the texting, although it could prove helpful in the situation.
1. This entrance to the novel immediately begins to refute the commonly held but erroneous belief that the Columbine killers were outsiders who were never loved nor liked. While the principle's words are not personal to the killers, they do directly stand against the idea of forlorn souls. This opening also makes the reader become more personally invested in the novel. It likely would have been difficult for the reader to identify with and feel emotion for two cold-blooded killers, if only because of misconceptions and reluctance to identify with a person who has committed such an act. (subconscious quilt by association, anyone?) However, it would be much easier and a much more effective appeal to pathos to note how strongly a principle felt about his students.
ReplyDelete4. I felt that the author's continuous insistence that all information was factual (or at least gleaned from fact) and multiple mentions of the time he spent collecting information biased me. The author, to me personally, seems overly zealous in proving his trustworthiness. Usually when reading a novel such as this, I assume that everything the author says is factual. The author's note brought to my attention the fact that there was some missing information about the shootings and some pieces of the book are strictly conjecture. I do not wish to hear that the author devoted years of his life to this project, perused thousands of pages of police evidence, or included information from "other journalists I consider reliable." I think that too much effort and personal reassurance was put into this entrance. It makes me think that the author expected people not to trust his sources. As a person who would have trusted the author without question, I wonder why the author seems to expect me not to.
5. Eric and Dylan do not seem quite like typical teenagers to me. Each boy seems to have his own twisted dichotomy. Eric seems like a good kid, but is characterized as having violent outbursts. Dylan seems typically shy and self-conscious, yet goes by the nickname "VoDKa." Neither of these teenagers seems quite right, and there is no apparent reason why. This makes them all the more terrifying. Just an in In Cold Blood, the audience sees that murders can occur for seemingly no reason at all.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete6.I do not find the descriptions particularly descriptive. Cullen says what the school looked like, but does not describe its feel, its aura, its hidden details. Perhaps this is done to make the school seem more normal, perhaps not. The comparison of the school to a factory is blatant and lets the reader imagine a very plain picture that does not seem the same as the schools I know of. The school seems mundane, but not typical. It is a close distinction. The school seems as if it could be anywhere, but it is not. The student body seems average in the interpretation that no one thing particularly stands out, but it does not seem the same as my stereotypical view of a suburban school. Perhaps this is because Cullen leaves much up to the imagination in terms of the description of the school, and I would prefer to think that something must be different.
ReplyDelete8. I find it difficult to imagine such a tragedy and to empathize with the parents in that situation. The events described do not seem quite real somehow. The author did build up the characters so we could feel a small amount of the terror they felt, but I did not remember their particular names and who was who and who was looking for whom. The amount of parents searching for their children that the author discussed made me feel detached from the situation. None of the parents particularly stood out to me, but the one girl who seemed surprisingly calm for the ordeal she had just undergone did. I wondered as I was reading why everyone's reaction seemed to be the same. That girl was the one person with a notably different response to the shooting.
Eliza # 7- I completely agree about kids living with their cell phones attached to their hips. This is too true.
ReplyDeleteLori lori # 6- I like how you commented on how this could happen to any school even your own. I feel like that was a strong point the author was trying to get to the reader.
Kelbie w. # 5- I think that your right about how the boys were so normal, how that even though they liked to play with bombs that’s something that teenage guys do a lot. And how you got the point across that Dylan and Erik seemed to most the average teenager.
Dhruv # 5- The fall from grace was a nice touch. I also agree that he, being a charmer, etc. is an interesting way to look at the situation and his attitude. Defiantly not a wrong view.
Arvin # 6- I too never like to think of chilling thoughts. Especially those brought on the similarities to Colombine and our school. You connected that bridge well and really let me no how you felt.
1. When I began to read the book, it took me a second to realize that this was an event that took place before the shooting, and this made me think 'Oh, the irony.' These were such beautiful and encouraging words, and they made you feel like Columbine was a very welcoming school. I think Cullen's purpose is to show you that these events can happen at the most unsuspecting, "normal" schools. Also, I think this opening makes the events a little bit more disturbing because we are introduced to such an amazing faculty member. It seems like Eric and Dylan had people to talk to about whatever was troubling them. They did not have to resort to such violence.
ReplyDelete2. I actually stopped reading to check and see if the names being mentioned were the people who died that day, and I think this gives the book a more dramatic and suspenseful quality. Also, it's very depressing, and it's sad to see that normal kids and teachers had to lose their life this way.
3. The author chose to include both of the quotes to showcase what he was looking for/hoped to gain by creating this book. "I am a wicked man, but do you know, gentleman, what was the main point of my wickedness." In relation to Columbine, I think many people just wanted some answers. They wanted to know how such a tragedy could have taken place, and they wanted to know what snapped in these boys.
4. This note did help me to have "confidence" in the book, and I didn't feel that anything was fictionalized. However, this does tend to make things a lot harder to digest. The truth is often times more sensational then fiction.
5. Cullen did a really great job at making Eric and Dylan seem normal, and this seems to make everything all the more difficult to believe. It opens up so many questions. Why would two boys with such promising futures completely throw away their lives? What went wrong?
Tali #1- That is an excellent observation, and I completely agree. When you read stories about violence/aggression they tend do tend to be from the perpetrator's point of view, and it is very difficult to read about it from the opposite perspective.
ReplyDeleteRose #8- I do agree that the events are very "surreal." However, the mayhem and the countless parents searching for their
children did make me "empathize" with the parents. I honestly couldn't imagine having to deal with such a terrifying situation, and while reading, I felt really anxious for the parents.
Alden #1- I second that notion. The opening made you feel like Columbine was just your average high school. This is also very frightening because it is absolutely true. What was different between WHS and Columbine before the shootings took place? This could happen anywhere.
Shelby W. #11- I agree. It's easier to believe that their was some crazy "chemical imbalance" or "mafia involvement" that caused the boys to shoot up the school. Who would want to think that Eric and Dylan did this "just for fun"?
Ed #6- I agree, and like in Cold Blood, it was a bit much. The suspense was killing me, and I just wanted to know the details of the murders.
Arvin #1
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good point that I had not quite considered. Opening the book in a normal school assembly does create a sense of tranquility. Looking back on it now, it seems almost like the calm before the storm. The normality of the assembly described in the first chapter seems to suggest that because practically everyone was oblivious to the impending disaster, we could be unaware of a potential tragedy too.
Shelby W. #12
I thought of exactly the same thing when reading about Columbine's principle. I was particularly reminded of Mr. Chiprany when Cullen described Frank DeAngelis enjoying talking to his students during A lunch. To know that our principle does exactly the same thing is a little chilling. It is much to easy to imagine Mr. Chiprany in place of the principle at Columbine.
Xander #11
Very good point. I have not thought about this in terms of Columbine before. As humans, we automatically (generally- When are there not exceptions?) wish to associate ourselves with positive forces. To call the shooters "us" would be to admit that they are similar to ourselves and that another person we consider one of our own could pop up at any time and commit some horrendous act. Unfortunately, scare tactics sell and pointing fingers is fun. What you don't know could kill you, and anyone, even your next door neighbor, could be involved.
Toby #8
This response reminds me of the insight that parents were both glad terrified to hear that more children had escaped with their lives because "Somebody's kids were in those ambulances." (page 72) I agree that Misty's love for her daughter was touching and, in a way, admirable. She never gave up hope, and that is a trait to be admired and, in this circumstance, pitied.
Ed Zhu #1
I would not say that the opening tone is ironic because, to me at least, the word "ironic" connotes (I just learned that connotates is not technically a word. Color me flabbergasted.) humor of some kind. Yet, there is some sort of irony in the fact that we know what will happen, but the principle is so concerned about something less calamitous.