Better Days

Reading the last part of the book reminded me of the Goo Goo Dolls' song "Better Days." As Craig steps out onto the sidewalk as he leaves Six North, he thinks to himself, "I'm a free man. Well, I'm a minor, but one quarter of your life is spent as a minor; you might as well make the best of it. I'm a free minor" (358). This signifies Craig steadily making the change into becoming a "free" individual again. He is free to do what he wants to do, like the other kids his age. Craig is learning to take life as it comes and enjoy every minute of it. In the song "Better Days," it says, "Everyone's forgiven now/ Cause tonight's the night the world begins again." This is what Craig is experiencing- a revelation, a new beginning. He is leaving the hospital rejuvenated, ready to start a new life that he will lead freely. No longer will he be bound by the restrictions of Six North, which signifies his independence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXmVnT1jElA

One more inspirational thought from the end...

One thing that we haven't discussed as much is the fact that Craig drew a personal drawing for each person before he left Six North. This really struck me because it showed that Craig had really found himself during his stay. He went from a depressed 15-year-old in an elite high school to a strong boy who had found his true calling: to be an artist.

These drawings that Craig made represented what he had learned about each and every person in the ward. The first person in line to get a drawing from Craig was President Armelio. As Craig was drawing he described how in Armelio's head he had "six-lane highways running parallel, streaking through a city, with purpose and minimal on-ramps." As Craig drew Ebony's brain, he described, "With all her gambling skill, she needs to have a Strip, like Vegas." While drawing Humble's head, Craig says, "I don't make any small blocks, just big ones...I put the ocean in there, to represent his hometown...then I splash it with highways, erasing the streets and putting them over the top, throwing in crazy intersections for no reason, making the whole thing look violent and random, but also powerful and true." The descriptions of these people's drawings showed their true personality, and what Craig learned from them through the weekend.
My favorite drawing that Craig did was the one for Noelle. Craig says, "The paper is 14"x17" and I had room to make the maps huge; the bodies are small and unimportant; the key thing that your eye is drawn to is a soaring bridge between the two heads, longer than the Verrazano, even, with coils of ramps like ribbons mashed up at each end." This drawing, symbolized chemistry and love. Craig's love for Noelle was perfectly captured in this drawing, and it really stood out to me. :)

After Finishing the Book.....

I found this really interesting website with a soundtrack that Ned Vizzini picked out to go along the story. After finishing the book, the song "Happy Today" definitely fits the last scenes of the book, as it describes somebody went through a difficult time but is finally feeling happy in the end, just to be alive, just as Craig did. At the same time, it's saying that the happy feeling won't last forever, because it won't and neither will Craig's happiness, but it shows the new appreciation for life that Craig has that will probably keep him from falling into another depression later in life.

http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2006/07/book_notes_ned.html

End of the Book Thoughts

The end of this book made me so happy. I loved it. On page 423, "And now he's getting up. Not for good, but for real. This happened after Craig got Muqtada his favorite Egyptian music record. Muqtada was happy, really happy. This shows me that sometimes that smallest, simplest things in life can make a person the happiest in life.

"And I know that I'm the happiest of all of them" (433). This, before his brain shift on page 443 ("I feel my brain on top of my spine and I feel it shift a little bit to the left. That's it"), shows me that there is a change in Craig-a real change. He is new and improved, and he will never go back to his awful stages in life again.

Lastly, on the last page, "Travel. Fly. Swim. Meet. Love. Dance. Win. Smile. Laugh. Hold. Walk. Skip..." and "So now live for real. Live" (444). This is probably the best modo I have ever heard and I want to actually use this-I love it.

This book has inspired me a lot, and opened my eyes. Any thoughts?

Finally!

Hey guys,
I finally got my account to work, I'm not sure why it wasn't working before but now it is!
Just a heads up I'll be commenting on old posts!
Thanks,
Mary

Noelle vs. Nia

Hey ya'll. Don't want to post too much, just a few questions for this next section to spark a conversation;

1.) What do you think happened to Noelle? On page 365; "People wanted to use you?" "Someone did. Someone who shouldn't." "I'm sorry." ... It confused me...also with the cutting...Just fill me in on what you think of Noelle!

2.) Does anyone else really hate Nia right now? She storms in, "heart broken" because of Aaron and her breaking up, and then basically puts herself on top of him. Later on she says, "This was totally on my checklist. Me and Aaron never did anything like this" and "You won't be seeing me again" (351-353). She's so rude to Craig, and I really hope he never goes back to her.

Definitely team Noelle here :)

Ch. 28-33

In this part of the book, we start to see Craig getting better. And even though he may not see it, it's quite obvious. He's been sleeping, eating, making friends, getting rid of the old bad friends, and even finds himself a crush. In the beginning of the reading, there's a part; "And people know they're not in Kansas anymore" (253). At this point, I was wondering whether or not Craig was going to get better or if this hospital was going to help him at all. However, later on he has a conversation with his inner solder; "She likes you, boy, and if you can't tell that, you aren't going to be able to tell a rifle from a cap gun in this war. " "What war is that, again?" "The one you're fighting with your own head." "Right, how are we doing?" "You're making gains, solider, can't you see that?" (287). He is progressing, and with his new friend Noelle, things look brighter for Craig.

Questions: What did you guys think of this section in the reading? Especially with the whole issue with his friends (page 257-"Now you've decided to turn being mad into being depressed...trying to play the pity card...")? Aaron was so rude to him and made the whole thing seem like a joke, calling it the "loony bin" and making Craig look like the bad guy. Another thing-Do you like Noelle? Or do you think that she is just distracting Craig even more from "focusing on himself" and getting better?