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? That the boy in this book has a really good life to start out with, he is good in sports and he has a good girlfriends. But something must happen because then he has nothing going for him. It seems as though he looses he's girlfriend, his sports career and every thing else.

Write a detailed summary of the first 30 pages introducing the main character, setting, and plot. The main character is Louie. They live in a small town in Ohio, named Trout. There is only 900 people that live in this town too. They are all really into sports and they all want to win everything. Louie's best friend is Carter. He is dating a girl named Becky. He works at a gas station. Louie and Carter have been training for football all summer long. They can't wait until the season starts. When the season does start they get ahead of everyone else because they are in shape and no one else is.

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Due At End of Second Reading Day

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? A character that i found interesting was Boomer. I think that he is interesting because Louie is afraid of him. And mostly everyone else is too. He may be a very mean person but everyone seems to get along with him. He likes to suck up to the coach and the teachers at school.

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Due at end of Third Reading Day

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.

 

 

"I told her that wouldn't be necessary, that I wasn't a football hero anymore, but she said she wanted to anyway." Page 70

 

This quote is important because of the fact that Louie quit the team that night because his coach was being pretty much racist.  He thought that the coach was being unfair in the way that he wanted everyone to go after black guy on the team. And the other night he told his little sister that football hero's don't do the dishes so she did them for him. But the night that happened she offered to do the dishes for him but he said that she didn't have to because he didn't play football anymore. But she wanted to do them for him anyways.

"I don't play for Lednecky, Louie. I play for me."

This quote is from Carter to Louie.  To tell him that he doesn't just play for the coach that he plays for the team and for himself. And so that he can learn to play as a team and not just for himself.

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Due At End of Fourth Reading Day

    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.

The scene that I want to talk about is when Boomer takes out Washington. The person that I am going to point of view from is one of the other team members. Looking at them I would think would have to be that it was a very bad thing to do. There was no reason for them to do this to the other players.i

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Due At End of Fifth Reading Day

    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.

I think that the conflict in this book would have to be Louie quitting the team and then Becky dyeing. He quit the team because of Boomer taking out that Washington kid. And there was no reason for the him to have to do that. And another conflict would have to when Becky died. And this is a conflict because she was like his first REAL girlfriend and she understood what he was thinking about what was going on in his life.

 

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Due at the End of the Sixth Reading Day

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.

One of the characters that i have encountered that I want to write about would have to be Becky. One of the items that I would have her carry would have to be her pom-pom's. Because she is a cheerleader. Another thing would be a coke. This would be because she asked Louie out for a coke. The next thing that I would have with her would be books because she seems to be a good student. Another thing would be is a bridge because that is the reason that she dies. The last thing that I would put with her would have to be the tree that they go to all the time. Because they all go to the tree and talk about everything.

 

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Due at the End of the Seventh Reading Day

 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?

The main character in Running Loose is named Louie. Louie changes right away when we start reading the book. He changes the way he looks at people and the that you should survive.  When the book is over Louie is the kind of person that does anything to make it. He is also a more honest person.

Paragraph 2: WHAT is the novel about?

One thing that the novel could be is a love story. Louie and Becky fall in love no matter what other people have to say about them. This book is also about football and track. Some people may think that this is a very bad thing that he did and some may think that it was an ok thing to do. In the end he thinks he may have done some good things and he may have done some bad things. Which I think is a very valuable lesson that he goes through in his life.

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.

This book takes place in a little town called Trout, Idaho. The setting has many different key locations and areas that relate to the story. One of them is the river and bridge that they go to all the time. Others are a cabin other isolated schools nearby, etc. The story takes place in the mid-1980's. This is a fact because there is a part in the story that says the year. The most important setting of this book would have to be the bridge in my opinion. Because this is where Becky dies. And Louie goes there to see it before her funeral.

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

The climax would have to be when Louie blows up at Becky's funeral. Because he just can't keep his feelings in anymore and he just needs to let go.

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

So that the people that read this book learn to stand up for themselves in situations like the ones that Louie got into. And so that what happens to us we can handle with what happens. I think that theme of this story would be who you are.

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 think that this novel would have to be a 10. Because it is a life learning experience. How we can learn what to deal with some of the problems that we have. I think that you should read this book because it teaches you to stick to what you believe.

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...Movie...

 

Ferris Bueller’s Day off was an action filled movie. It was hard to tell what was going to happen next. Sitting on the edge of the chair everything is exciting. With Ferris Bueller ( Matthew Broderrcik) as the main character, his best friend Alan Ruck( Cameron Frye), and his girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara). They all start out the day with being "sick". They decide to have fun. So they call the school and get Ferris’ girlfriend out of school. Then they go around the town trying to stay away from parents and teachers. The principal Ed Rooney doesn’t believe Ferris is sick or that Sloane’s grandma really died. So he goes out and tries to find them in their brilliant lies. Everything in the movie I thought was very believable. They seemed to be just really doing it. The acting was pretty good too. All the special effects were believable too although there many it was easy to believe that they were really. Every where they go and what they do is realistic. You would think that they are every where they go. I think that teen-agers and older are the ones that should be watching this movie. I really enjoyed this movie. I had never seen this movie before but now that I have seen it I like it!