The Walking Dead Book 2 by Robert Kirkman

After reading The Walking Dead Book One I found myself hooked into this series.  I had never gotten in to the TV show, but there was something about this story that made me want to keep reading.

While book one focuses heavily one the society before and after and how things have changed between the two, book two takes a different path and looks at the extremes people can be pushed to in the right (wrong?) circumstances.  

The rule that really put all of this into focus for me was Rick saying, "You kill, you die."  He yelled this in anger response to a mad man killing off two twin girls, which means he hadn't thought about the meaning of what he was saying.  This is shown very soon when he is forced to kill a man who is kicking them out of their current home.  If he had not done this, then all of his family and friends would have been forced into the outside world and most likely killed quickly.  Rick comes face to face with this face again when his best friend Tyreese kills his daughter's boyfriend Chris after Chris shot her in a mercy killing.  Rick seems to be okay with this murder, just not in the way it was so emotionally done.  He rules by picking and choosing which killing is okay and which is against the rules.  The other murder he doesn't mention in all of this is when his son Carl killed his friend Shane in order to save his own life.  This would have been an interesting topic to add to the comic as Carl and Rick would have both had to face the wrongness of Carl's actions, even if it did save Rick's life.  By the end Rick has changed his tune, because he has realized himself that this rule means nothing.

Rick making these choices for everyone is reminiscent of an old time sheriff in the wild west, and I think the author chose his career as a policeman just to help make this comparison.  Rick follows his own moral compass, but as he is driven out of his humanity that compass may no longer point towards good.  It will be interesting to watch him slip in the future and how that will affect his leadership.

-Amanda

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Assignment:
Discusses the relationships portrayed in the book you read for this week. How is situation and character of the vampire used to outline or convey ideas or truths about the important relationships in the story?

Responce:

In the book Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead there are many different relationships shown.  Whether it be friendship or love interest, the vampire attributes affect the relationships both metaphorically and physically. 

Rose and Lissa are best friends in the book.  Rose allows Lissa to feed off of her multiple times in order for Lissa to survive.  This is shown yes through the actually blood sucking that vampires must do, but also through their relationship.  Rose protects Lissa, she is her guardian, but also she relies on her.  When horrible rumors are spread about Rose through the entire academy, Lissa is the one to get them changed.  Like friends do, the two of them feed off of their reliance for each other and would not be able to survive without the other.  Lissa makes almost deadly decisions whenever she gets overwhelmed, and she used Rose to help her through them.  Lissa is saved in the end because of the bond that the two of them share.

Each of the girls also has a romantic relationship and what I would refer to as a fake romantic relationship.  They both want a certain boy, but string a different one along in order to get something out of him.  This is cruel, but does not sound out of character for a vampire.  They are put into different situations with the boys they like and the boys they do not like romantically to show the different ways that they feed off of their personalities.  When the girls are with the boys they do not care about they seem dull and fake, yet when they are with their compatible counterparts they seem to shine and do their best.  Rose becomes a better fighter and fully gives herself into the guardian role while Lissa gains control of her gifts and is able to feel calm.

The final relationship in the book that is worth mentioning is the feeders; these are humans who literally allow the vampires to suck their blood in order to feel a drug like high.  Without these people the vampire would either die or attack humans.  They are grateful to the humans and use them.  This is a simple reminder that the characters are vampires, showing literally how they must suck the blood of others in order to stay alive.

-Amanda LaCorte