UNTIL GWEN--Dennis Lehane
Agenda:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lXthgpRBoM
Click on this link and read (saving paper):
adlibris.com/se/images/UntilGwen.pdf
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=76576
An interview with Dennis Lehane
theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/05/hookers-guns-and-money/3125/
Until Gwen Response
What about "Until Gwen" sticks out the most to you? You could focus on a scene, an image, a character, the style, the point of view, a theme--anything really. Write a perfect paragraph of 5-7 sentences in response.
Also:
"Until Gwen"
Use the title "Until Gwen" in a sentence about the main character of this story: "Until Gwen, he ______. During Gwen, he ______. After Gwen, he ______." Do the same with the main character's father: "Until Gwen, his father ______. During Gwen, his father ______. After Gwen, his father ______." Describe the lasting impact Gwen had on these two men. Are there similarities?
At the story's end, the main character has all the means to completely re-invent himself. Financially he is secure. On paper he has no past. He is able to completely start somewhere new where no one knows him. If you could write an epilogue to this story, one year later, where would he be?
https://prezi.com/r1sge_1scfof/until-gwen/
https://prezi.com/crdywghclmvp/until-gwen/
http://emilysimplicity.blogspot.com/2011/12/until-gwen-by-dennis-lehane.html
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I find it interesting that a second person story decided to make you, the protagonist, a bad person. Criminal and all, and even (spoilers) murdering your father at the end. Honestly if I were to continue this story, I'd probably just have the protagonist kill himself. He has nothing to live for now that his dad, girlfriend, and child are dead. If he has nothing to live for, then what's the point of going on anyway?
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ReplyDeleteUntil Gwen, his father was a murderer and a liar. During Gwen, he is the same. After, he is the same.The father's character remains the same. He is focused on lying, especially to his son. "Until Gwen, his father lived a life of crime. During Gwen, his father influenced him the wrong way and led him in the wrong direction. After Gwen, his father was killed by him as a result of greed and revenge." The main character followed his father's ways and became a murderer also.
ReplyDeleteWhat sticks out to me the most is the way that the old man and the main character relationship is very odd. At times, it seems that they are father and son, but then it doesn't. They lie to each other over the dumbest situations and the old man hides many things from the main character. it also seemed strange to me the way that the father gave his son a hooker as present as welcome home present from jail. Mandy, the hooker, immediately tells the main character that she is a part-time hooker. I guess that the father is paying for this hooker to be with his son, which is also pretty weird from a person coming out of jail. It would be interesting to find out the reason for his father having a hooker in the back of his seat welcoming his son. The story not including the family's past stuck out to me, because many questions arrived since I wanted to know the past and what had happened to cause these effects on what is happening. Bobby questions his father’s actions quite a bit throughout the story. He doesn’t understand why his father is the way he is, but at the end of the story, he kills his father, and joins him on the list of murderers. As the story ends, and the main's character's life continues, he has no past on papers, which allows him to completely start all-over without anyone knowing because his father and mother are dead. If the author would have a second chance to write a continuation of this story, it would be interesting to see that someone found out a
Personally I didn't really find the plot that interesting or appealing but the use of second person point of view is well used throughout the whole story. The story starts of first with all sorts writing strategies such as sensory detail and characterization. Mandy the part time hooker, the poor excuse of a father, and the beige car on the road with the wings that fly but yet still needs gasoline. The father and son relationship is quite rough and odd because it's not your usual loving father and son relationship.
ReplyDeleteUntil Gwen, he didn't know who he was. During Gwen, he found out who he was and was content, she made him realize he doesn't need a name or birth date from anyone to be himself. After Gwen, he's curious about Gwen, his mom, and himself.
ReplyDeleteUntil Gwen, his father was his father was a crook and a thief. During Gwen, his father was selfish and greedy. After Gwen, he was a liar and still selfish.
What sticks out to me the most is the relationship between the character and his father. They don't have a father-son relationship. It's more of a partner-like relationship.
what sticks out to me most is how this all unraveled so weirdly. i wasn't expecting him to kill his father,i was expecting him to give him mercy. but seeing how their father son relationship wasn't exactly the best it made sense. deep down i think that he kind of made the right decision. what his father did was terrible. they are constantly arguing..
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoyed this story and the second pov made it more appealing and interesting. The flashbacks throughout the story also gave us an insight into the relationship between Gwen and the main character and Gwen and his father.
ReplyDeleteNow that the main character is freed from any responsibility and there is no record of him in prison or of his past, he has a chance to start over without his father and that is a big opportunity i believe he wouldn't put to waste.
Mmm, I don't know I didn't really like the story. It was weird, and I don't like reading or writing in second person, however, the author did a good job of writing in second person, and it really makes you feel like you're the one in the story. I liked how the story stared off with characterization. It was cool to get to know the characters before the story got deeper.
ReplyDeleteSince he can start fresh, I'd probably just have him start over. But then have someone find out what he'd did.
I enjoyed the story. They way that the author continued to make it seem as if I was the main character really made me think. It made me feel a bit of a sting when he found out that Gwen was dead and when he had to kill his father it made me feel a deep pit in my stomach. I was affected by this story in a way no other story has.
ReplyDeleteUntil Gwen is defiantly an odd story, with the use of second person it doesn't give me a very close connection with the character, and i was unsure why he decided to kill his father rather then show mercy, although it can be argued that they don't exactly have the best of relationships. Second person is still fairly new to me, i always avoided those type of stories because i don't enjoy second person very much, this story made me curious to see other stories written in second person.
ReplyDeleteUntil Gwen brings you to a lot of wondering about what the hell happened to this man and who he is as a person. Him not knowing anything about himself. Not helping that he didn't have any source of a record for his existence, but only a record that he was in prison. Through the whole time 'Bobby' has lived through and for his father, not having a sense of individuality. Writing 'Bobby' as his own person would have to be quite easy, but you would have to consider his past and how this could have impacted his life. Meaning that his character has a wide limited space to develop. Creating him as a character a year from now, 'Bobby' would be working somewhere where he is able to use his ability with numbers, calculations and maybe something with weapons. He could be in the army or he can have a career in a bank. The only thing that would hold him back are his police records.
ReplyDeleteThe use of second person in Until Gwen creates a very unique feeling throughout the story- it's an odd feeling to be directly addressed as if the character is you but at the same time not know what is going on (at the beginning). I think second person is the most interesting point of view to read in because if it's done right it creates a unique and amazing mood to the story. Writing in second person is challenging and very fun to experiment with. Until Gwen was intriguing and had one of those endings that took you moment to take in. I'll be looking into more of Dennis Lehane's work.
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