Elsewhere (Extra Credit Book Blog)- Samar 7-3

Elsewhere 

Step One: 

1) Zevin, Gabrielle. Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005 . 1 -277. Print.

2) It's on Turn-it-in. 

3)

Step Two: 

           

 3)  Elsewhere, it's just like Earth, except you live your life backwards. Need to talk about your problems, go to Marilyn Monroe's office. Elsewhere, is where a 15 year old girl named Liz ends up. She was hit by a taxi cab, while riding her bike to the mall. In her new home, Liz will have to live her life backwards until she becomes a baby again. Then this child will be sent back to Earth and be a child of another family. Liz hates this and believes it is a dream. She wants to turn 16 and go to school, have fun, fall in love, and enjoy her life. Even though she is alive, she still is dead, and she doesn't like that. Even though she can see anyone from Earth anytime, she is not satisfied with her grandma Betty. Even though she meets new people and falls in love, Elsewhere will not stop giving her problems. Will Liz be able to live her life backwards and enjoy it? Or will she stay not satisfied until the day she returns to Earth? Read Elsewhere to find out! 

Step Three: 
       4)    I think the genre of my book is Fiction. It is fiction because we all know that this is not true. In the book on page 28-29, Liz receives a card saying that she should go up to the Observation Deck to watch her funeral from binoculars. On page 29 it says: "Liz locates binoculars #219, and sits on the metal stool. She removes the strange coin from her pocket and places it in the slot. She puts her eyes up to the binoculars just as the lenses click open. What can almost be described as a 3-D movie is playing." After this it describes what she sees in this "movie" about her funeral. This can not happen, as well as the fact  that you grow younger in a totally different world. 

•   Zevin, Gabrielle. "29" - Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus, and Graux, 2005 . Print. 

 

         5) Liz definitely matures and grows from the beginning to the end of the story. For example, in the very beginning she thought it was a complete nightmare, then in the middle she became better but still hated elsewhere and this continued for a long time until in the end she became a little more satisfied. 

1. On page 20, it says: "MOM! MOM! I"M HAVING A NIGHTMARE!" Liz waits for her mother to wake her up. Any moment. Any moment, Liz's mother should arrive at her bedside with a cup of water. Any moment. Liz opens one eye. She is still on the ship's main deck, where people have begun to stare." As you can see she tries to think it is a nightmare, and she hates this place very much. 
2. Then on page 86, Liz says: "My life is on Earth. My life is not here, my life is with my parents and my friends. My life is over." As you can see, she thinks her life is over, and that is the end of the world.
3. However on page 240, it says: In the year Liz will turn 13 again, she whispers in Betty's ear, "Happiness is a choice." "So what's your choice?" Betty asks. Liz closes her eyes, and in a split second she chooses. Five years pass. When one is happy, time passes quickly. Liz feels as if one evening she went to bed fourteen and the next morning she woke up nine."As you can see, Liz chose to be happy and embrace her new life. 

        Zevin, Gabrielle. "20"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print. 

        Zevin, Gabrielle. "86"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print. 

        Zevin, Gabrielle. "240"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print.

6)  Some of the author's characterization techniques are reflection, action and dialogue. An example of reflection could be on page 53-54, it states: "Liz strokes the remains of the stitches over her ear. She wonders who she could see about removing the stitches." This piece shows us, what she is doing, and what she is thinking. An example of action could be, on page 105 it says: "Liz storms out of the room and throws herself on her bed. " This action shows us that Liz is mad. Lastly, dialogue because on page 53, it states: "Elizabeth are you all right?" asks grandma Betty. "No," Liz answers. "'I'm dead, or haven't you heard?" We can tell from this dialogue, that Liz is a very sarcastic person, and she takes things very seriously. 

        Zevin, Gabrielle. "53"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print. 

        Zevin, Gabrielle. "54"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print 

        Zevin, Gabrielle. "105"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print

         Step Four: 

•      7)  The main setting of the novel is in Elsewhere because everything in the story happens there. It is in present time as well, because they have cars, and in school they learn almost the same things we learn. Liz even read Hamlet, Midsummers Night Dream, and more. Fore example on page 104, Liz is writing a letter to her teacher, it said: "I really enjoyed your class and continue to follow along from the place where I now find myself. Dissecting the pig looked pretty interesting, and I thought I might try it. Unfortunately, there aren't any dead pigs here for me to dissect." As you can see, they do similar things at school and from their action we can tell that it is set in the present time. 
• Zevin, Gabrielle. "104"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print

•  8) This story is written in the third point of view (she, he, it etc.) I think it is written in this point of view, to not make the story very personal and express the ideas of all the characters freely. This way the author doesn't always have to make it through the main character's eyes. This way we can see clearer what the characters are feeling and what they are doing.

• Step Five: 

•  9)  I think the primary themes are death, rebirth and the circle of life. Death, because Liz dies and it shows us her journey in a world full of "dead" people! On page 86 Liz screams: "I'm dead", she says "I'M DEAD!" Circle of life because on page 70, it states: "People die, people are born, people die again. Each birth and death is a little circle, and the sum of all this little circles is a life and a line." This statement explains it all. They are showing us the cycle of life in this novel! I think that this is the strongest theme of the novel. Rebirth because after they live their lives backwards, they will soon become children again. So they "will be born again". It states on page 68 that: "When man becomes a baby again, he is ready to be sent back to Earth, where the process begins again." This can also mean circle of life, that's why I think it is the strongest. However, rebirth is still a big part of this, alongside death. 

             Zevin, Gabrielle. "86"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print.
             Zevin, Gabrielle. "70"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print. 
             Zevin, Gabrielle. "68"- Elsewhere. NY: Farrar, Straus and Graux, 2005 . Print.

•          10)  I really liked this book because it was very touching and all the journeys of Liz Hall were so detailed I could picture every moment in my head. The book was fiction, and since I love fiction, I think it was my type of book. Each page was a new journey so I couldn't stop reading, it was truly one of the best books I read. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend! Even if that friend does not like fiction, they would enjoy it, because it's not a very "strong fiction" book, it's just simple fiction! I would picture my self in the book, not like Liz. A person who just excepted this and is moving on! I would rate it 10/10! Like what it said in the novel, when you are happy, time passes quickly! I was really happy while reading this book, that it passed very quickly!