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
What does this picture say about the story?
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/
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/
http://emilysimplicity.blogspot.com/2011/12/until-gwen-by-dennis-lehane.html
Post your comments!
Post your comments!
Some specific dialogue strikes me in the story. "A forgettable moment if ever there was one, but you spent four years in prison remembering it" sounds very significant. It emphasizes what little there is to think about in prison. There are not many experiences on a day to day basis that can occupy the individual, thus they think about minor details in life. The quote sounds important because 'four years' is a huge amount of time. Another quote that I really like is "You think it'd bring her back?" The quote is tinged with bitter feelings, as it confirms that Gwen is dead. There isn't any way for her to come back. Taking photos is irrelevant at that point. Personally, I don't necessarily agree with that thought but since the father voiced his opinion out, it made me feel bad as well.
ReplyDeleteThe picture says that Bobby is throwing away his old self and in turn renews himself into a new person. Gwen is buried there, but Bobby also buries his father in that grave too. Bobby has an empty past and no one detrimental to his life by burying all of the bad. He separates himself from the people that impacts him the most.
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ReplyDeleteUntil Gwen, Bobby was unsure of his identity. During Gwen, he felt absolutely infatuated with her and looked to her for a purpose in life. After Gwen, he accepts the loss of the important figure in his life and tries to innovate a new personality without someone influencing him.
ReplyDeleteUntil Gwen, Bobby's father was a notorious thief who did malicious actions. During Gwen, his wickedness manifested into Gwen and he had a personal dislike for her. After Gwen, he doesn't see the wrong he did and objectifies Gwen calling her a whore. It is clear that the father had personal issues against Gwen.
If I had to write an epilogue of the story one year after the events, the contents would be grim. Bobby would fail at his renewal and find himself in prison once again. He'll probably meet another Gwen and struggle with more problems involving self identity. Bobby would go through a repeated cycle, burying more people in the grave.
ReplyDelete1. The thing that sticks out the most to me about Until Gwen is the way that the author writes dialogue, or any of the characters in general. It's like a real conversation, which is unfamiliar to me because I'm used to reading texts with people that sound nothing like anything I would say. It reminds me of the Raymond Carver type of story that takes place with desperate people in desperate situation. The protagonist recently is released from prison and right off the bat, his father buys a hooker for him. The whole tone of the story is dirty, quick, and real. It almost feels like it takes place in the tutorial portion of a video game.
ReplyDelete2.Before Gwen, he was lost. During Gwen, he was struggling to know who he was. After Gwen, he was reborn.
3.I would have the epilogue in a period where he has his life together, maybe with a girlfriend and a nice apartment. A job that's secure and decent. And he'll reflect on his past, acknowledging that they happened but he has moved on.
The style of Until Gwen stands out the most to me. It is written in a second person perspective, which you don't really see that often. You don't really feel restricted by this second person perspective, like you might expect. The second person p.o.v. allows the reader to connect with the protagonist (Bobby). It also allows the reader to experience things not necessarily through his eyes, but rather, through the eyes of someone that knows everything about him.
ReplyDeleteWhat stuck out to me was the story of George. Bobby seemed upset with his father for killing him but at the same time it didn't seem like he cared for George after the incident with his mother. In fact they stole from him which would suggest there was no actual emotion attached to their relationship. In the end it's safe to suggest that both Bobby and Gwen felt bad for George, it didn't seem like George was all there.
ReplyDelete1. The picture depicts the scene where Bobby is burying his father that he killed in the same grave as his girlfriend Gwen. The burial of his father is a metaphor for Bobby burying his past. The color scheme of the picture creates a melancholy atmosphere and the sharp contrast between the red and grayish-blue helps us recognize the bloody scene that has just occurred, even though the image itself implies nothing of the sort.
ReplyDelete2. Many things stick out to me the most in Until Gwen. However, what I am most affected by is how such a corrupt father-son relationship could develop to the point where they both create plans to kill each other. I find it interesting how a material object, like a diamond, can bring out extreme flaws in people and can't help but picture the absurdity of my father and I in that same scenario. I also enjoyed how the author developed the conflict between the father and son by including minor and seemingly insignificant details in the beginning, such as when the son bought glue, in order to create a clever ending.
3.Until Gwen, the son was largely ignored and demoralized. During Gwen, he felt accepted and listened to. After Gwen, he felt a longing to meet her again and feeling that things would never be the same again.
4. One year later I picture him living a superficial life on the outside but he secretly misses Gwen and probably cries about being without her; he also still probably has a deep hatred for his father. I picture him in a big house with a beautiful, but unfulfilling, wife/girlfriend, with a profitable job, but as I said, with all of this he is still unhappy.
1. The main thing that sticks out to me in Until Gwen is the second person tense. It makes you feel like you are Bobby or "no name" and it gives you a better understanding of how he feels. I also am in love with the overall story, it was interesting and foul really that his dad who wasn't his dad killed the love of his life and would kill him all for money, it was an overall interesting plot.
ReplyDelete2. Until Gwen, he was lost. During Gwen, he found himself. After Gwen, he lost himself.
Until Gwen, his father was still his father. During Gwen, his father was mean and cruel. After Gwen, his father was nonchalant.
Gwen had a lasting impact on both Bobby and his father because she was the reason Bobby found himself and found his life and she was also the reason Bobby's father lost his.
3. If I could write an epilogue I would probably write about Bobby being married with kids. Mainly happy, but still knowing how much Gwen effected his life. A sort of story like he never thought he would move on from Gwen, but in the end he did. Moved on from her, but never forgot about her type of story.
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ReplyDelete1) The picture could represent how Bobby is covering up/burying stuff he regrets doing in the past and how he is staring fresh
ReplyDelete2)Something about 'Until Gwen' that sticks out the most to me is how perfectly detailed the story is. It's not too over detailed, telling us exactly what color someone's shirt is and exactly what material, but it gives us a little more detail than normal which kind of brings the story to life a little more.
3) Until Gwen, he was confused. During Gwen, he found himself. After Gwen, he went back to confused again.
4) If I could write an epilogue, one year later I would have Bobby living a calm and chill life, a nice family, some nice kids, a nice wife, a good job. I would have this for him because I would want him to leave the stress of his old life behind and continue on with a nice comforting life.
Until Gwen was written in 2nd person point of view. The second person point of view makes you feel connected to the character more. (Bobby) The person telling the story is more so a close friend to Bobby. I think reading a story in a different point of view that your not use to its just a different experience.
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