In the book Deep, Birdie Sidwell can be grouped into the hero and seeker archetypal categories. She is a hero because she wants to leave her community to discover something exciting so she can write an extraordinary book. She doesn't really do anything heroic like Hercules, but she survived through a kidnapping that makes her an unordinary hero. She is also a seeker because she wants to go out into the world and find something atrocious and gruesome so she can write her story.
Morgan would be considered a seeker and an orphan. She decides to leave her parents, which makes her an orphan, and goes out to sea alone trying to cope with her sister's death. In some ways she could also be considered a hero because she saves Birdie in the end of the book. She went out of her way to rescue a complete stranger. I think that is a very heroic action.
The book's archetypal setting includes the sea and an island. The sea archetype represents chaos, strangeness, disruption, and is unpredictable. The story follows these descriptions exactly. The sea is where Birdie got kidnapped and Morgan faces chaos when her sister dies out at sea. The island archetype represents separation, lawlessness, and craziness. On the island Calista, in the book, Nicholas is keeping Birdie held hostage and away from society including her family. Nicholas also deals with illegal documents, and by the end of the story Birdie realizes that Nicholas is crazy.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Conflict and Resolution
The conflict in the story starts when Birdie gets kidnapped in the Caribbean. She is taken to an island called Calista and has to way to contact her family or help. She is all alone with her kidnapper, Nicholas. Birdie realized if she doesn't get off this island then there was a good chance that she would have been murdered. At the same time that Birdie was on Calista, Morgan had stolen her family sailboat and was living on the ocean by herself. She wasn't of age yet so she had to hide from the coast guard or she would get the sailboat taken from her. Morgan remembered that Nicholas had helped out her family once before when they had legal issues, so she went and saw Nicholas and got illegal documents saying she owned the boat and that she was old enough to be on her own.
Morgan realized that Nicholas was holding Birdie captive on the island and went to help her. However, in the attempt to help her she also got kidnapped. With team work and lots composure the girls get free and make sure Nicholas was arrested. Birdie got back to her family and wrote her book that had been her life long goal. Morgan didn't get in trouble for not legally owning her sailboat and she also went back to her family.
Morgan realized that Nicholas was holding Birdie captive on the island and went to help her. However, in the attempt to help her she also got kidnapped. With team work and lots composure the girls get free and make sure Nicholas was arrested. Birdie got back to her family and wrote her book that had been her life long goal. Morgan didn't get in trouble for not legally owning her sailboat and she also went back to her family.
Recommendations
Readers that enjoy adventure and suspense would really be interested in this book. The book keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time and a lot of unexpected events happen. The book is easy to read and understand. The chapters are relatively short and the alternating view points make the reader want to get to the next chapter to continue the characters' stories. I thoroughly liked this book and would recommend it to anyone.
Best and Worst Parts
The worst part of the book was the beginning because it started off slow and wasn't interesting. The first couple chapters were all about the girls' families and where they grew up. I thought it drug on for longer than it needed to but at the end of the book I was glad I finished the book.
The best part of the book was the middle and the end. After Birdie got kidnapped the rest of the book was exciting and thrilling. I easily finished the book once it started to get into the adventure of the girls. I thought it was awesome how the two main girls met in the book and how the book was told from alternating points of view. That made it possible to understand where each girl was coming from and how they felt throughout the book.
The best part of the book was the middle and the end. After Birdie got kidnapped the rest of the book was exciting and thrilling. I easily finished the book once it started to get into the adventure of the girls. I thought it was awesome how the two main girls met in the book and how the book was told from alternating points of view. That made it possible to understand where each girl was coming from and how they felt throughout the book.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Character Development
In the beginning of the story, Birdie thinks her life is all about rain. All she wants to do is get away from Riverton. She was really excited to go on her year long vacation in the Caribbean. However, once she got kidnapped and taken away from her family she realized how good she had it back home. At first, I think Birdie thought the kidnapping was some extreme adventure. The longer and longer she was away from her home she realized that everything that went "bad" in Riverton was nothing compared to what could go wrong in the real world. Towards the end of the story, she used everything that went wrong in her life to make her life prosper. She fulfilled her dreams of becoming an author of a great book. Birdie became a strong young women who could accomplish anything she put her mind towards.
In the beginning of the book, Morgan was a ridiculously strong individual. After her sister died, she was on her own. Her parents were around before she decided to leave them, but Oona and her were inseparably before the accident. Morgan had to fend for herself now. Her independence didn't let anyone in and if she hadn't have met Birdie I think she would've been alone forever. She stole her family's sailboat and went out to the sea herself. She thought all she needed was the wide open horizon. However, when she realized someone was in trouble on Calista, she knew the right thing to do was to help them. I think she was out to find a friend. After Birdie and her became friends, Morgan began to let people back into her life. She met a young man that was with the coast guard when they rescued them and she went back and found her parents. Morgan finally was able to deal with the loss of her sister and wanted her family back into her life.
In the beginning of the book, Morgan was a ridiculously strong individual. After her sister died, she was on her own. Her parents were around before she decided to leave them, but Oona and her were inseparably before the accident. Morgan had to fend for herself now. Her independence didn't let anyone in and if she hadn't have met Birdie I think she would've been alone forever. She stole her family's sailboat and went out to the sea herself. She thought all she needed was the wide open horizon. However, when she realized someone was in trouble on Calista, she knew the right thing to do was to help them. I think she was out to find a friend. After Birdie and her became friends, Morgan began to let people back into her life. She met a young man that was with the coast guard when they rescued them and she went back and found her parents. Morgan finally was able to deal with the loss of her sister and wanted her family back into her life.
Reasons for Links
I picked the link that leads to tips on what to do if you are kidnapped because in the book, one of the main characters, Birdie, gets kidnapped. I thought it would be a useful site to teach people what to do if someone has kidnapped you. It is good information to know if you are going to travel around the world where you are in unfamiliar territory.
I chose the link Susanna Vance because it gives a short history on the other books and short stories Vance had wrote. The link also allows you to read excerpts from her books.
I chose the link Susanna Vance because it gives a short history on the other books and short stories Vance had wrote. The link also allows you to read excerpts from her books.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Fifth Update
After Birdie had got her email sent off, Nicholas came down and saw her standing there butt naked. She yelled and told him to let her get dressed. So he shut the door and waited for her to put her clothes on. She quickly signed off the internet and put her clothes on and went to meet Nicholas at the door. They both went up to the house and were getting ready to eat an excellent chicken dinner. After they ate their dinners, Nicholas wanted to hear his completed story that Birdie wrote. Birdie read him the whole story and Nicholas was very happy with her afterward, he told her that she had "captured the real Nicholas".
That is when they heard the choppers coming. Nicholas duck tapped Birdie to a chair in the kitchen while he gathered up supplies and ran in and out of the house many times. Once he was done collecting the things he needed he grabbed Birdie and led her down to the boat where Bajo had been building a wooden box. When she saw the bars on the crate her heart started pounding she knew that was where Nicholas was leading her. He shoved her in the crate, gave her a flashlight and her inhaler, apologized for what he was doing, and then shut her in. Inside the box, there was some water, food and a bucket that was supposed to be used as a toilet.
That night Birdie awakened to a very quiet muffled bump. She looked out the box and saw a figure standing on the boat. It was Morgan here to help her. Right as Birdie was about to yell help, Nicholas jumped up from behind the boat and hit Morgan on the head with his flashlight. Then Nicholas opened up the crate and shoved Morgan inside the crate to stay captive with Birdie. There was barely any room in the crate when only one Birdie was in there, now that two girls were in there they couldn't move around at all.
The next morning Nicholas came to tell Birdie that he had seen her little email attempt to escape but that he could figure out when the coast guard should arrive and just hide on the little island until they left. He was very upset with her. Once Nicholas was gone Morgan started to murmur in her sleep for the first time since she was hit on the head. Birdie tried to consult her and tell her not to freak out or stand up because they were trapped in a little box. Morgan stayed almost completely calm considering the situations.
After Morgan woke up, Nicholas was on his way to pick up the crate with one of his tractors. He picked the box up and was off into the jungle with the girls. He set the crate down on an edge on top of the well. Then Nicholas left them all alone in the crate on top of the well.
Birdie and Morgan got to know each other decently well in the amount of time they were in the box. Birdie noticed that Morgan wasn't a big talker and tried not to ask too many questions about her or her family. Even though Morgan wasn't big on communicating they talked quite a bit and became good friends.
The entire time the girls were in the crate Morgan had been thinking of a way to get out of it. When they were on top of the well she thought that if they laid on their backs and tried kicking out the top then they could get out of the wooden box. Morgan discussed her idea with Birdie and they finally decided it was worth a try. So Morgan got down on her back and as Birdie was trying to position herself on hers, the old wood on the floor broke and Birdie fell through and hit the bottom of the well. Morgan tried to call for Birdie but she wouldn't answer. Morgan had no idea of deep down the well was.
Finally Morgan decided she would have to climb down the well wall and go get Birdie. She carefully got out of the crate without breaking anymore floor boards, and slowly climbed down the well. It was very challenging because the well was completely dark so Morgan couldn't see where she was going. She finally made is to the bottom of the well. Birdie was having a horrible asthma attack. Morgan remembered that Birdie had told her that her inhaler was in the pocket of her vest. Morgan checked Birdie pocket but nothing was there, it must have fallen out on the way down. As Morgan was searching the ground for her inhaler, she felt that mushrooms were growing on the bottom. This didn't make any sense to her because she knew that mushrooms needed nutrients to grow. She found the flashlight and inhaler, and she also felt wood under the mushrooms. She handed Birdie her inhaler and started digging to figure out what the wood was doing down here. She uncovered a small portion of the wood and read that it said Peter Vanderweer. Peter had his name all over the house. Morgan realized that the real owner had been put in a box just like the wooden crate made for them and put into the well. The real owner was dead right under their feet.
After Birdie used the inhaled, she calmed down. Morgan checked her entire body for breaks or severe injuries. Birdie seemed like she had survived the crash in a good shape. Birdie's breathing wasn't getting much better however, because breathing in the mushrooms was not good for her asthma. Morgan knew she wasn't going to be able to climb back up the wall with Birdie on her back. Birdie was going to have to climb it herself.
Morgan took Birdie's skirt off that was made out of a scarf and tied Birdie to her. Morgan told Birdie she was going to have to climb up herself. Birdie thought she wasn't going to be able to, but Morgan forced her to at least try. When they started climbing, Morgan told Birdie to tell her about her life back at home. Birdie started talking about her life back in Riverton and before she knew it they were at the top of the well. Morgan had to carefully swing back into the crate and then she had to pull Birdie up with the scarf. Once they were finally back in the crate they decided they should try to get some rest.
Birdie woke up to the sound of someone trying to get into the crate. Morgan was screaming that there wasn't any room left in here and that the person needed to go away. Birdie didn't understand why Morgan was trying to tell their rescuers to leave. Then Birdie realized that the person trying to get in wasn't someone here to help it was Nicholas trying to get in his hiding place.
The instant Nicholas opened up the crate Morgan jumped out and grabbed him by the neck and pulled him out. Birdie jumped out after Morgan. Now the fight was one between Morgan and Nicholas. Morgan got a couple good hits in before Nicholas was choking her on the ground. Morgan was screaming for help when Birdie picked up a can of water that was in the crate and threw it directly at Nicholas. It hit him square in the head. He fell backwards and Morgan jumped on top of him and hit him in the head a couple more times.
After the fight, Birdie and Morgan saw some men from the coast guard come running up to all the commotion. The men grabbed Nicholas and put him in cuffs. They asked the girls what had happened here. Morgan and Birdie explained everything that had happened the past couple months and how Birdie was the kidnapped girl. Morgan also told the men how Mr. Vanderweer's body was down in the bottom of the well. The coast guard took both the girls back to the helicopter and Birdie got to radio her parents.
Birdie went back to Riverton and could never realize why she wanted to leave in the first place. The story she wrote for Nicholas became her story. She rewrote it several times including all the detail she could remember, and finally got it published. She was illustrious in the town of Riverton now. She finally got her gruesome adventure that she wanted all along.
Morgan traveled around with one of the coast guard men until she turned 18 and could legally own her sailboat. She also decided she was going to go back and find her parents and try to get them help with their drinking problem. Morgan and Birdie continued to email each other back and forth for quite awhile and became best friends. The last email Birdie got from Morgan explained that her mother had died and she was sad.
That is when they heard the choppers coming. Nicholas duck tapped Birdie to a chair in the kitchen while he gathered up supplies and ran in and out of the house many times. Once he was done collecting the things he needed he grabbed Birdie and led her down to the boat where Bajo had been building a wooden box. When she saw the bars on the crate her heart started pounding she knew that was where Nicholas was leading her. He shoved her in the crate, gave her a flashlight and her inhaler, apologized for what he was doing, and then shut her in. Inside the box, there was some water, food and a bucket that was supposed to be used as a toilet.
That night Birdie awakened to a very quiet muffled bump. She looked out the box and saw a figure standing on the boat. It was Morgan here to help her. Right as Birdie was about to yell help, Nicholas jumped up from behind the boat and hit Morgan on the head with his flashlight. Then Nicholas opened up the crate and shoved Morgan inside the crate to stay captive with Birdie. There was barely any room in the crate when only one Birdie was in there, now that two girls were in there they couldn't move around at all.
The next morning Nicholas came to tell Birdie that he had seen her little email attempt to escape but that he could figure out when the coast guard should arrive and just hide on the little island until they left. He was very upset with her. Once Nicholas was gone Morgan started to murmur in her sleep for the first time since she was hit on the head. Birdie tried to consult her and tell her not to freak out or stand up because they were trapped in a little box. Morgan stayed almost completely calm considering the situations.
After Morgan woke up, Nicholas was on his way to pick up the crate with one of his tractors. He picked the box up and was off into the jungle with the girls. He set the crate down on an edge on top of the well. Then Nicholas left them all alone in the crate on top of the well.
Birdie and Morgan got to know each other decently well in the amount of time they were in the box. Birdie noticed that Morgan wasn't a big talker and tried not to ask too many questions about her or her family. Even though Morgan wasn't big on communicating they talked quite a bit and became good friends.
The entire time the girls were in the crate Morgan had been thinking of a way to get out of it. When they were on top of the well she thought that if they laid on their backs and tried kicking out the top then they could get out of the wooden box. Morgan discussed her idea with Birdie and they finally decided it was worth a try. So Morgan got down on her back and as Birdie was trying to position herself on hers, the old wood on the floor broke and Birdie fell through and hit the bottom of the well. Morgan tried to call for Birdie but she wouldn't answer. Morgan had no idea of deep down the well was.
Finally Morgan decided she would have to climb down the well wall and go get Birdie. She carefully got out of the crate without breaking anymore floor boards, and slowly climbed down the well. It was very challenging because the well was completely dark so Morgan couldn't see where she was going. She finally made is to the bottom of the well. Birdie was having a horrible asthma attack. Morgan remembered that Birdie had told her that her inhaler was in the pocket of her vest. Morgan checked Birdie pocket but nothing was there, it must have fallen out on the way down. As Morgan was searching the ground for her inhaler, she felt that mushrooms were growing on the bottom. This didn't make any sense to her because she knew that mushrooms needed nutrients to grow. She found the flashlight and inhaler, and she also felt wood under the mushrooms. She handed Birdie her inhaler and started digging to figure out what the wood was doing down here. She uncovered a small portion of the wood and read that it said Peter Vanderweer. Peter had his name all over the house. Morgan realized that the real owner had been put in a box just like the wooden crate made for them and put into the well. The real owner was dead right under their feet.
After Birdie used the inhaled, she calmed down. Morgan checked her entire body for breaks or severe injuries. Birdie seemed like she had survived the crash in a good shape. Birdie's breathing wasn't getting much better however, because breathing in the mushrooms was not good for her asthma. Morgan knew she wasn't going to be able to climb back up the wall with Birdie on her back. Birdie was going to have to climb it herself.
Morgan took Birdie's skirt off that was made out of a scarf and tied Birdie to her. Morgan told Birdie she was going to have to climb up herself. Birdie thought she wasn't going to be able to, but Morgan forced her to at least try. When they started climbing, Morgan told Birdie to tell her about her life back at home. Birdie started talking about her life back in Riverton and before she knew it they were at the top of the well. Morgan had to carefully swing back into the crate and then she had to pull Birdie up with the scarf. Once they were finally back in the crate they decided they should try to get some rest.
Birdie woke up to the sound of someone trying to get into the crate. Morgan was screaming that there wasn't any room left in here and that the person needed to go away. Birdie didn't understand why Morgan was trying to tell their rescuers to leave. Then Birdie realized that the person trying to get in wasn't someone here to help it was Nicholas trying to get in his hiding place.
The instant Nicholas opened up the crate Morgan jumped out and grabbed him by the neck and pulled him out. Birdie jumped out after Morgan. Now the fight was one between Morgan and Nicholas. Morgan got a couple good hits in before Nicholas was choking her on the ground. Morgan was screaming for help when Birdie picked up a can of water that was in the crate and threw it directly at Nicholas. It hit him square in the head. He fell backwards and Morgan jumped on top of him and hit him in the head a couple more times.
After the fight, Birdie and Morgan saw some men from the coast guard come running up to all the commotion. The men grabbed Nicholas and put him in cuffs. They asked the girls what had happened here. Morgan and Birdie explained everything that had happened the past couple months and how Birdie was the kidnapped girl. Morgan also told the men how Mr. Vanderweer's body was down in the bottom of the well. The coast guard took both the girls back to the helicopter and Birdie got to radio her parents.
Birdie went back to Riverton and could never realize why she wanted to leave in the first place. The story she wrote for Nicholas became her story. She rewrote it several times including all the detail she could remember, and finally got it published. She was illustrious in the town of Riverton now. She finally got her gruesome adventure that she wanted all along.
Morgan traveled around with one of the coast guard men until she turned 18 and could legally own her sailboat. She also decided she was going to go back and find her parents and try to get them help with their drinking problem. Morgan and Birdie continued to email each other back and forth for quite awhile and became best friends. The last email Birdie got from Morgan explained that her mother had died and she was sad.
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