Monday, December 12, 2011

The Crack

In chapter 6, Craig describes the wall in his apartment. "This crack in our front hallway has been there for three or four years. Dad paints over it and it just recracks. We've tried putting a mirror over it but it's a strange place to put a mirror-on one side of a hallway-and my sister started calling it the Vampire Mirror to tell if people who came into the house were vampires, and it came down after a few weeks, when I came home stoned and stumbled into it. Now there's an exposed crack again. It's never going to get fixed." Do you think this story ties into Craig's character, and is used as some sort of symbol by Vizzini?
Posted by at

5 comments:

  1. KelseyDecember 12, 2011 at 1:19 PM

    I thought the same thing. Craig himself is cracked, and he feels like it's right there in the front hallway for everyone to see. What I think is really interesting is his sister. In real life he puts up this mirror to disguise his depression, and she can see right through it. She uses it to see if the "vampires" are in. I love the way Vizzini does this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Emily LawrenDecember 12, 2011 at 2:54 PM

    I love it as well. Vizzini uses an abundance of symbols like this, including on the last page of chapter 14, where Craig says "I click END. I think it's a little harsh how the END button is red." right before he is about to attempt to kill himself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KelseyDecember 12, 2011 at 5:55 PM

    That sentence was so loaded. Craig breaks my heart sometimes. This stream-of-consciousness writing is a lot like Catcher, which is a good thing in my book (no pun intended). The way Craig thinks tells the story without saying it outright. These symbols are so effective because they portray an emotion, whether it's feeling "cracked", lost, or like your end button is glowing red.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Emily LawrenDecember 14, 2011 at 3:52 PM

    I agree. I feel like we see what is happening to Craig and we see his emotions without him actually telling us outright. It is a lot like Holden, but I feel like the book is quite different. It is much more positive and humorous, but yes, I can relate Craig and Holden.

    ReplyDelete
  5. KelseyDecember 14, 2011 at 4:51 PM

    I can relate to Craig more so than Holden. Part of it is because he lives in the same time period as us, but there's something more. I mean, no offense to Holden, but normal kids don't just drop out of school and call a stripper just to talk. We struggle with piling homework and envying friends in relationships, just like Craig.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)