Title of novel - Running Loose

Author - Chris Crutcher

What clues did you get about the novel from the cover design and the blurbs on the book jacket?

        The novel is about a kid who is in football and is having some problems in life right now.

Write a detailed summary of the first 30 pages introducing the main character, setting, and plot.

        Louis Banks is the main character and the narrator of the story. Louis starts off by telling about his life which includes all about his    family, friends, and football. Louis sounds like he's got it pretty good for the time being. On the football team, he's probably the best behind Carter and Boomer. With family, his dad is fairly mellow and his mom is kinda weird but that's just the way some people are. With friends, he seems to be great friends with Carter, and has, or had, a girlfriend who was, from the sounds of it, amazing.
 

Write a page character analysis of an interesting character you have met so far. It doesn’t have to be the main character although it may be. What is the character like and how does the author reveal the characterization to you?

        Right now, I would have to say my favorite character is Dakota. He seems kind of different but at the same time he gives Louis some great advice. Dakota, of all characters, would be the first one I think of if I had to think of a mentor. The fact that he's there for Louis all the time and is willing to give him solid advice is unique in a character that would be in a story like this.

Choose two significant quotations from what you have read so far. Write the quote below along with the page number and explain in a well-developed paragraph the importance of the quotation.

Quote 1 - "'You gotta do what you gotta do,' was about all he said."
        This is a quote about something Dakota said. This line, in a way, embodies the way Dakota thinks in that it's short, simple and unbiased. Anyone who knows anything about advice knows that unbiased advice is the best advice. Dakota has a sort of feeling about him that just makes you think everything's going to be ok, and this line shows that.

Quote 2 - "Donkey Caulder was sitting propped up against the back of the building, drinking something out of a paper bag, and saying, 'Bullshit.' I couldn't have agreed more."
        This line shows how upset Louis was. At the same time it is kind of humorous. Louis was so disappointed but at the same time, was proud of himself for standing up for what he believed in.


 

Choose any scene from the novel and take on the point of view of another character in the scene and rewrite the scene from that character’s point of view.
        This scene is from the end of chapter four when Louis was with Becky in the meadow near sundown.

    We sat in front of this big yellow pine tree in the meadow, watching the sun go down. It started to get cooler so I moved a bit closer to Louis. Neither of us said anything for a while and finally he said, "I gotta ask."
    From there, he basically asked me why I chose him over every other guy. I've been told by a lot of people I could have any guy I wanted but right now, that didn't matter. It got quiet again and eventually I asked him if he liked me. He had these weird questions that had obvious answers of yes, so I thought it was safe to assume his answer was yes. He made me laugh when he asked me if I was Catholic. I told him, "Even if I was, the pope wears a beanie." We laughed about that for a little while and I was happy. I realized that with this guy, I wouldn't be wasting my time.

By now you should have a good idea about the novel’s conflict. Explain the conflict giving enough details so I can get it. Then make a prediction about what you think will happen in the novel

In this book there's more to the conflict than Lednecky being stupid and Becky dying. It's also a fight Louis has with himself. Louis has to try to deal with all that's going on around him but at the same time not let it get to him too much. Yes, a lot of Louis' troubles come from Lednecky and Becky's death, but the fact that he lets that stuff get to him is the biggest problem. The conflicts of the book all contribute the inner conflict of Louis.

 

Choose any character you have encountered in the novel so far. Choose five objects that this character would put in his or her pocket, purse, bag, or suitcase. In other words, these are objects that help define the character. For example, if someone were to write about me, he would probably list a bottle of water as an object that helped define me and then would go on to explain that I was never without a bottle of water and that it was necessary for me to drink lots of water because of my kidney and so on…Whatever you choose explain why these objects are appropriate for the selected character. Then if the person were to carry a bag, what kind of bag would it be? Describe it and explain why.

For a character, I would choose Boomer. In his pockets, he's probably got some change to call all his "girlfriends." He always talks like he's gonna get some from some girl so he would have a few condoms. I would bet he's got some small bottle of booze since he's such a drinker. Just like any normal guy, he probably has his wallet. Finally, since he's so big but is never really works for it, he probably has some steroids in his pockets.

Write a quick book review following the 5 W format. As you work through your response you can label each paragraph with the journalist’s question that it explores.
Paragraph 1: WHO is the main character of the novel? How does the character change over the course of the story? How would you describe this character’s personality?

    In the novel, the main character would be Louie Banks. Over the course of the novel, Louie deals with all kinds of ups and downs that change him. All the problems he experiences teaches him to appreciate the times he has now rather than worry about things to come. Louie himself is normally a pretty laid back guy but at the same time knows how to work hard

Paragraph 2: WHAT is the novel about?

    The book is about the main character Louie and a certain year of his high school life. In the year, he gets into great shape for football, quits football, falls in love, experiences the death of the one he loved, has problems with teachers and all kinds of other problems that contribute to the story's plot.

Paragraph 3: WHERE does the story take place? What is the setting(s) and how does it add to the novel. How does the location relate to the characters and theme? What time period or era? How can you tell? If the novel involves more than one setting, choose the most important one and explain why.   

    The main setting of the book is a town called Trout in Idaho. The time frame of the book is probably in about the 70's which is fairly recent but it just seemed like it was from a while ago. Near the town are a few others including one called Salmon River which is basically just an extension of the main setting.

Paragraph 4: WHEN does the climax of the novel occur? Tell me about it.

    I think the climax of the novel would be when Becky died. This part is the part that everyone remembers and is also a turning point in the story for Louie. When Becky died, you could tell it was big because it wasn't just Louie that took it hard, the entire town took it hard. The fact that an entire town could be so impacted by one death is a pretty big thing, fictional or not.

Paragraph 5: WHY did the author write this story? What point is the author trying to make? Link your why response to a theme.

    I think that Chris Crut/cher wrote this book because he wanted to teach people a lesson. This lesson was the no matter what happens in life, you have to deal with it, because if you don't, it will only cause more troubles for you. You need to be able to do things for yourself because you're not always going to have someone to rely on for help.

Paragraph 6: Rate this novel on a 1-10 scale with 1 being low and 10 being high. Then explain why. Make a recommendation about the novel one way or another.

    I would rate this a 9. I really liked this book because it was pretty intense and at the beginning, I didn't really think it would be that great but it turned out to be really good. It was great that a book could be so entertaining, but at the same time teach a truly valuable lesson. Certainly, I would recommend this book to anyone.